Chapter 7

Two years earlier

True to her word, Eika trained No as though she was one of the older woman's own soldiers. Which was to say, she showed no mercy.

If No's kick wasn't high enough, Eika would have her run the drill another twenty times, until every muscle in No's leg groaned at the thought of having to be lifted even once more. Hand-to-hand combat was similarly grueling, as Eika refused to let her height advantage over No be an excuse for whenever No lost (which was often). They were careful to make sure that No was never outwardly injured, but after their weekly sessions, No always collapsed into her bed with a weariness that she hadn't felt since those first confused days in Nixtorm.

No felt the shift in the way that she carried herself, though. It made a world of difference to have an actual teacher, one who did more than simply put up with her the way that her tutors in Nixtorm had always given the impression. No barely even minded having to walk up and down the snow-covered road from the castle into the city, even though her fellow handmaidens thought her mad for so willingly taking on "errand duty" in the middle of winter (in previous years, they had drawn lots for it).

She learned several details about Eika during that first month. Eika originally hailed from Cragspur, but after linking with her Golurk, she had traveled to Spectra in the hopes that joining its army would help her gain a better understanding of her partner's Ghost nature. Eika also possessed opinions about Spectra's current state which she wasn't shy about expressing in No's presence, and after two years in the company of servants who tiptoed everywhere around the castle, the older woman was a breath of fresh air that No hadn't even realized she'd been wanting.

One day in late February, No asked the question that had been nagging at her ever since their first meeting. Snow was falling in a light dust around them as they set about the usual covering of their activities. The area of the barracks that they used was a smaller practice ring off from the main training ground, tucked away but not free from interruption. Once Eika had packed away the training dummy, No inquired as she shrugged her cloak back on, "Eika, if you've been in Spectra's army for a decade, why are you only a unit commander? In other kingdoms, couldn't a warrior like yourself be a general by now?"

The question obviously wasn't one that Eika had been expecting. She exchanged a look with Golurk, and No wished that she could understand how the partner-Pokemon connection worked for herself. Even though it was only seconds, No couldn't help but feel as though she was missing out on an entire conversation.

But Eika seemed to make up her mind as she declared out loud, "Fair point, old friend." Leaning against the archway that connected the practice ring to the arcade leading to the main barracks, she turned back to No and shrugged, "Golurk reminded me that if you were feeding Fuyuka any of what I've been saying, she would have already sent me off. I figure it can't hurt to tell you the story of why I bother to stick around. I should start by asking you how much you know about Fuyuka's predecessor, Lady Hideko?"

The sound of No's mother's name hung in the air alongside the clouds of her and Eika's breath. When was the last time that No had heard Hideko's name spoken out loud?

After a moment, No shook off the unexpected surprise enough to get out, "As much as everyone else. I had to find employment where I could, though."

"You and I have that in common, little Seviper," Eika said. "But make no mistake, Hideko was the matriarch who I came to Spectra to serve under. She helped me when I was still trying to figure out my link with Golurk, among other things." The older woman shook her head, softly laughing to herself.

"She wasn't exactly what I had been expecting, with all the stories you hear about Spectra when you're an outsider. I only saw her get into the magic stuff once, but it was enough to give a full-grown woman like me nightmares." Whatever darkness that memory held, Eika shuddered at it before continuing, a sight that No had never expected to see.

"I owed Hideko one for taking the chance on me and Golurk, but it wasn't just that. We... worked well together. I don't know how appropriate it would be to say that we were friends, but we certainly weren't strangers by the end of those two years." Eika looked down as she added, "And I didn't see Fuyuka coming either, so I feel like some of the blame lies with me."

Now that No thought about it, she did have memories of a female guard with a build like Eika's. Her dark brown hair had been longer eight years ago, and her arm hadn't been scarred yet.

She had also been one of Hideko's only guards who No hadn't seen in the aftermath of Fuyuka's coup.

"Long as I live, I'll never forget that night," Eika sighed to the gray sky. "The woman played her cards well, I'll hand her that. Things were less tense in the castle when she wasn't around. Hideko made Fuyuka her ambassador, so she never objected over Fuyuka's traveling to other kingdoms, even the times when she dropped off the radar for days. What we didn't know was that once Fuyuka was done with Hideko's business, she had her own. She recruited rogues and mercenaries from all over northern Ransei. Any warrior who didn't ask questions when she handed them money."

This was the first time that No had heard the story in full. She had never expected it to sit easy with her, but the misgivings stirring in her gut now weren't from the parts that she had been expecting. It had been easier for No to dismiss the success of Fuyuka's actions as mere luck. Having to acknowledge her aunt's role as that of a genuine tactician left No fighting the urge to grimace.

"She staggered how she brought them into Spectra - some of them came straight here and joined up with the commanders that she had already bought the loyalty of. The ones who were better at blending in, she positioned in the city. They charged the castle and the barracks at the same time, made sure we couldn't send for help." Eika's face turned from angry to somber. "I wasn't one of Hideko's guards that night. Sometimes I wonder if it might have made a difference."

Her hand moved to the scar on her shoulder as she said, "It's the worst kind of chaos, being in a fight and having no idea who around you can be trusted. Most of Hideko's men were in the castle. There was more bloodshed there." At this, No thought back on the several occasions that she had encountered cold spots in seemingly random parts of Spectra's castle. Had those been where her mother's guards were killed?

"Golurk and I put up a fight for as long as we could hold out. It took three of those bastards to finally put us down, and they had to take out my blade arm to do it. I thought I was a goner then and there, but they just separated me and Golurk. When dawn came, I was brought up to the castle, and when I saw Fuyuka sitting on that throne..." Eika's eyes darkened, while the runes carved into Golurk's body glowed ominously. "I won't tell you all the ugly things I wanted to do to her."

"She spouted off some crap about 'acknowledging my strength', and gave me the offer to serve under her. I was about to tell her to shut up, only in less polite terms. But right when I opened my mouth, some unlucky guard ran in announcing Hideko had gotten away." Raising her eyebrows, Eika remarked, "Realizing Hideko was alive - that changed everything. When she came back for her daughter, I couldn't believe she had taken the risk of staying near the city for so long. I did my best to hold Fuyuka's men up, but I couldn't do anything too obvious. At least after the guards she lost that night, Hideko finally had the sense to get out of Spectra, for all the good it did her."

No decided to brave the subject. "And... Hideko's daughter? She's still alive, isn't she?"

Eika gave a loud huff, almost bordering on a laugh. "Yeah, Fuyuka wasn't happy when that got back to her. But she knew better than to start a war with Nixtorm over it. After eight years being raised inside another kingdom's court, though? Let's just say my hopes aren't high that little No has much of an allegiance to Spectra anymore."

Sighing, she concluded, "So to answer your question, little Seviper, I've stayed under Fuyuka for the same reason as most - there's nowhere else. There's nothing in Cragspur I miss badly enough to go back. And if I ever had the chance to see Hideko's daughter again, I'd probably tell her to stay in that castle right where she is."

As No opened her eyes, it took her a moment to remember the events of the previous night - why the shadows cast on the ceiling by the predawn light seemed so different. Why she could feel another figure lying beside her in this unfamiliar bed.

The memories of the disastrous festival and all that occurred afterwards came rushing back, just as vivid in recollection as they had been in person. No's eyes widened as she made to search for the wellspring of magic that had so abruptly gone dry the night before - but she didn't have to. She could feel it there once more, ready to answer her call if need be.

In fact, No felt better than simply restored. It was almost as though accessing Hideko's spirit had somehow sharpened her own powers...

At the thought of her mother's name, a sudden shadow split across No's mind. There was a staircase, leading down. An eerie purple light cast softly onto dark walls. And an overwhelming sense of fear, fury, despair.

No gasped, and as quickly as the strange premonition had invaded her thoughts, it was gone. A remnant from one of the spirits that she had encountered the previous night? As a test, No called to mind an image of Hideko again, but nothing was triggered this time. It had most likely just been some stray trace of a spirit clinging onto her.

She rolled onto her side, her attention shifting to the man lying next to her. Nobunaga.

It was a new experience for No, waking up in the same bed as someone else. The midnight flings that she had shared at the castle hadn't provided a chance. No closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of the warrior from Dragnor. This man who had gone from stranger, to kindred spirit, and now to partner. The first person that No had laid her full truth bare before - who had, in a way, helped set her free.

Even in sleep, his face seemed serious. No's eyes searched its contours as she lightly ran a finger across Nobunaga's collarbone, lingering for a moment at the hollow of his neck where his pulse faintly beat. She traced up his shoulder, down to spiral over the black dragon inked into his bicep.

Quick as lightning, Nobunaga's hand closed around her wrist. Opening his eyes, he remarked, "Enjoying yourself?"

"Not as much as last night," No smirked without missing a beat. She propped herself up on one elbow, curious about the tattoo. "Tell me about Dragnor," she said. "Anything. What your life was like there."

Nobunaga's gaze moved to the ceiling as he thought. "It's a world apart from Spectra," he began. "But we honor our dragons much in the same way that you honor your ghosts. Because of that, Dragnor maintains a degree of isolation, even in times of peace. In my grandfather's youth, there were poachers who nearly wiped out entire breeds of Dragon Pokemon. Some lines, such as the one that Zweilous hails from, are still rare even today. We linked shortly after I joined Dragnor's army, when my unit was sent into the mountains for training. That was also when I took this on." Nobunaga nodded at the ink dragon.

"The black Rayquaza is second only to the Legendary Pokemon itself in Dragnor. We believe it to be a guardian of sorts. The legend goes that it was the partner of Dragnor's first warlord, and that after his death, it retreated into the mountains to watch over the kingdom from the heavens. You can see why the army adopted its guise." His eyes lingered on the ouroboros as he continued, "The traditional tattoo is the same as the oligarchy crest, but the story of the ground-eating serpent always spoke to me."

"Yes, I'm familiar," No nodded. "The creature was so blinded by its pursuit of a power that it already possessed, it never thought to unleash itself."

"But was that a blessing or a curse upon the rest of the world?" Nobunaga mused as No's fingers slid over the inked skin once more. No answered him with a kiss, one that would have almost certainly led to several things more had it not been for the sudden sound of a commotion outside the open window.

No and Nobunaga broke apart, the twilit luxury of being able to forget their roles shattered. Nobunaga rose from the bed first, crossing the floor to glance outside. "It's some sort of trouble with the castle guards," he said. No heard a man bellowing in a furious voice, and it took a moment for his words to become clear.

"Were you the one responsible for this?" A brief silence, followed by a smacking sound and a woman crying out in pain. Nobunaga looked back at No, and she was out of the bed at once, calling to Misdreavus as she pulled on a yukata from the room's small closet. Nobunaga finished dressing just as Misdreavus appeared in the corner of the room, and after a nod from No, the Dragon warrior left to investigate ahead of her.

"Are you alright?" No asked her partner. Misdreavus sent a pulse of confirmation down their wavelength, and the beads around its neck faintly glowed. "Do you have enough strength to glamour me again?" Misdreavus almost seemed offended that No had felt the need to ask.

"Just making sure," No appeased the Ghost Pokemon as she braced herself for the magic's icy shock once more. "It wouldn't do to have my powers back only for yours to be compromised." She still involuntarily flinched as the glamour's charge crept up her arm, but at least she had known what to prepare for this time. The glamour seemed to affect the air around No more than her body, but to concentrate such an amount of magic was bound to have a more present physical effect than usual.

Misdreavus kept close to her in the shadows while No crept down the stairs as quickly as she dared. She and Nobunaga hadn't been the only ones drawn outside by the noise, and No had to take extra caution to avoid unnecessary physical contact as she navigated the crowd that had formed outside the boarding house. Hopefully, the few people who had brushed up against her hadn't thought anything of it.

When she managed to find a line of sight through the crowd, it took No a moment to comprehend what must have happened. Before the platform that had housed the dancers' stage the night before, a woman was collapsed on the ground, glaring at the guards standing over her. The woman's clothing was stained purple in places, and No realized why as her gaze was drawn to the stage.

Trails of beautiful wisteria blossoms had been painted along its side, their vines curling into the characters of Hideko's name. There was no possible way that it had been the woman's sole handiwork, in such the short amount of time that there would have been to create the painting - which could only mean that she was now refusing to give up whoever else had helped her.

One of the guards grabbed the woman by the arm and pulled her upwards despite her cry of protest. As his companion signaled to the rest of their unit to disperse the crowd, the woman shouted, "My loyalty is to Lady Hideko! You can't erase what we saw last night!" The guard holding her wrenched her arm behind her back, and the woman yelped in pain as two more soldiers split off to bring her back to the castle.

Another handful of people tried to protest as the guards shepherded them away from the stage, only to find weapons being pointed at them - the cityfolks' voices failed within their throats at that. But No still heard murmurs around her, murmurs that sent her heart racing. It was too risky to reveal herself right here and now, but she needed to fan at the discontent that she had caused while it was still burning.

After several seconds more of maneuvering through the crowd, No found Nobunaga, tapping him on the shoulder. "There's an exit out the back of the boarding house," she said under her breath. "Meet me in the alleys. It's safer to talk there."

The glamour faded not a moment too soon, practically the instant that No and Misdreavus were once more within the shadows of Spectra's labyrinthine backstreets. A minute later, Nobunaga and Zweilous rounded the corner near where No had climbed into his room the night before, the Dragon warrior's hand on the hilt of his sword. "Now that we're in the light of day, do you care to explain what your plan is?" he asked.

His words rubbed at something raw inside of No. Truthfully, she felt as though all the pieces that she had collected throughout her time in Spectra had been thrown into the air, and now she was scrambling to catch them before any more could shatter. She doubted that would sound particularly reassuring, but it must have been conveyed on her face to some extent, because Nobunaga shook his head.

"Do not fall into the same trap that ensnared me when I learned about the oligarchy's plans," he warned. "I wasted time entertaining prospects that I had no means of carrying out, and because of that, they nearly succeeded at killing me. My sister is still in harm's way because of my failure. For both of our sakes, No, this has to be done correctly."

They were still too close to the square for No's liking. Without responding to Nobunaga, No let her feet carry her of their own accord, not even sure herself which part of Spectra's city they were leading her to.

Nobunaga followed her deeper into the alley, and although No was facing away from him, she could feel the scrutiny of his gaze upon her as he pressed, "The prospect that the fate of Ransei was resting in my hands wasn't enough to make me calculate my actions. If anything, it did the opposite. I knew that I was in danger, but I didn't realize that threat could be transferred to someone else. I thought that I had fallen into some sort of hero's story, the same way that the people in that square see you."

"How amusing. I was under the impression that they saw me as a murderer," No finally hissed.

They had come upon a small, forgotten courtyard housing an equally-so shrine. Even this one was decorated for the Festival of Ghosts, but it didn't look as though the few faded scrolls hanging from its stone face had been written any time recently. No made to move past it, but Nobunaga was quicker. He took advantage of the larger space, stepping in front of No and blocking her path so that she had little choice but to look at him.

"Whatever you've done in your past, you can divulge on your own terms," Nobunaga said. "But right now, it's not you that those people want to follow. It's the ghost of your mother, and a woman who is already dead cannot be the sole thing holding a revolution together."

Part of No wanted to demand what Nobunaga could possibly know about the specter of Hideko that had haunted her long before the night that No had linked with Misdreavus. And yet, now that No was out of the castle and the full moon's light, where her mother's voice wasn't echoing in her ears and the once-absolute barriers between her worlds had been ground into dust… "Why do you care, No?" she asked herself.

The stone of the shrine pressed against her back, perpetually cold within the shadows of the courtyard. How had this place even come to be, a forgotten pocket that some soul had felt the need to carve out, only to tuck away behind the shops and streets full of people who might frequent it? There had to be a story, and what frustrated No was that she couldn't glean any of its history – not even from the prayers tied to the shrine, the lettering on them weathered to little more than shadows on paper; not even the small cluster of drooping wisterias clinging to the archway that she and Nobunaga had passed beneath to enter.

"Spectra," No breathed.

Her eyes found Nobunaga's as she answered, "The Spectra you've spent the last few weeks in is the only Spectra you know. But the memories that I have of it are different."

Voice shaking, No recalled, "There was an entire quarter of the city dedicated to magic. Former warriors who decided to take up card reading or rune carving. Mediums, not as strong as someone of my bloodline, but still capable of channeling. Scholars who simply wished to understand the ways that Ransei exists differently from the rest of the world. I loved when my mother would take me there with her. Even as a child, I could feel the power that it drew from Spectra. If the castle is the city's brain, that place was the city's heart."

Nobunaga moved closer to No, as though he too was trying to see through the lens of her memory. "The first time I went back after returning here," No continued, "I barely recognized it. Practically everyone was gone, even some of the priestesses in the Temple of Arceus. All of Spectra has been like that under Fuyuka."

Recalling the exhilaration of the festival, No felt the anger returning too as she said, "The way that the city felt last night is how it always used to feel. An outsider might not be able to see it, but Spectra has been suffocating for a decade. How can it not, when the woman who is supposed to protect it doesn't understand a thing about it?"

The magic pooled from her palms, and Misdreavus gave a low cry in response to its partner's fury. No latched onto their wavelength, and without warning, a burst of purple light shot from her hands. No felt the stone of the shrine crack where she had been touching it as it absorbed the pulse.

Nobunaga watched the display without comment, but nodded as No breathed in afterwards. "We do understand each other, then. The way that emotion consumes you is what you need to remember. When all else fails, call upon something that sustains your, and nobody else's goals. Tell me again now - what is your plan?"

"We need an army before anything else," No started. "There are warriors among the cityfolk, and it's likely only the soldiers on Fuyuka's payroll will defend her. Even though you have military training, I'm not certain how many of the people here would trust someone they don't know. I can try to make up for some of that, but having a higher-ranking officer on our side would be best."

"You just said that they're all the ones who Fuyuka has under her thumb," Nobunaga pointed out.

Turning her head towards the northern quarter of the city, No knew what she had to do. "Not all of them."

16 months earlier

No had debated whether it would be wise to return to the barracks so soon. But she had never missed training with Eika before, and didn't wish for the older woman to think that No had decided to blow it off, or been scared away in the wake of what had rocked the city the day before. Still, No took the long way to the barracks to avoid being seen by too many.

As it turned out, she needn't have bothered.

Looking back, No supposed her first indication that something was wrong should have been that Eika was already waiting for her in the training ring. Normally, No began by running through the previous week's drills on her own while Eika finished whatever her duties that afternoon entailed. But that day, No's greeting had been the sight of sheer fury on Eika's face.

It was an expression that No had never truly seen before, not directed at her. Even when she had climbed Nixtorm's walls, Mitsuhide's anger had been watered down by his concern for her safety. Eika, though - in this moment, she was a tidal wave bearing down on No, even her hoarse whisper seeming to shake the foundations of the barracks as she asked, "What the hell did you do?"

And she threw a knife down at No's feet.

A knife that they had both seen No practice with for months now. A knife that, somewhere in the haze No's memories became between the moment she had felt the blood on her skin and the moment the door to the room had opened, she had dropped and forgotten to collect. A knife that had confirmed for Eika what everyone else in the city could only speculate.

Even as No opened her mouth to try and respond, there was nothing to say. Eika was far beyond accusations, she was stating what they both knew to be fact. No supposed her response would have been the truth, that she had tried to think back on those minutes between her last clear recollection of slashing the knife upwards and coming back to her body outside on the street, only to find a blackout in her memory. But all that she managed to get out were the words, "I don't-", and those were not the words that Eika wanted to hear.

"Don't you dare feed me that bullshit!" Eika snapped, and No backed up against the wall. "I said that I would train you to defend yourself! When I walked into that room, I saw one body missing a throat, and the other barely recognizable as human. It looked like a damn slaughterhouse. The only reason we could identify them was because their Pokemon were hysterical, still are hysterical because of how violently their links were severed! What you did to them goes well beyond anything I made you capable of!"

Was this sensation churning in No's stomach fear? That thing which she had locked away in all the years since that horrible day in Nixtorm's forest, never truly feeling it even as she had stowed away on a blimp to Spectra, or entered that room only one floor up from where she stood now two nights earlier? And how was it that No had never felt it standing in the presence of the woman who had taken everything from her and lying to her face day after day, but it threatened to consume her now as each word left Eika's mouth?

For a moment, No was certain that she was going to have to block a strike from the older woman. It looked as though Eika was more than building up to one. But all it took to leave No frozen in her tracks was Eika's next question.

"How long were you planning to kill them? How long did you think you would be able to lie to me about it, No?"

The sound of No's name on Eika's tongue was the opposite of everything that Hideko's had been - it ripped open a wound and filled it with venom, turning No's blood to ice despite the summer heat. No realized that Eika had chosen to come without Golurk today, and felt a sickening surge of relief at that much.

"I was always planning to tell you who I was -" No began, but Eika cut her off once more.

"You think that's what I'm angry about?" she fumed. "That you used a false name?"

It was almost worse that Eika wasn't shouting. Her words echoed only in No's mind as she continued in that same hushed fury, "I'm angry because your mother died to make sure you could be somewhere remotely safe, only for you to decide a few years later you didn't want it! I told you I only saw her magic once, but I saw it again all over what was left of those warriors' bodies. That's what told me what you are. And if I knew, there will be others who recognize it too. People did recognize you, if the rumors I heard about a bloodstained handmaiden walking the streets two nights ago are anything to go by."

Eika had kept several paces between her and No throughout her tirade, as though she didn't want to breathe No in. Even her eyes turned away from No as she said, "And you know what sickens me the most? I can't even ask you why I shouldn't turn you in. I'm going to help you get away with it, and that should finally make up the debt I owe your mother. But after that, I'm done."

She walked right past No through the archway, paying No about as much mind as she would a blank wall. Yet No still turned after her, finally getting out, "Who do you think that I returned to Spectra for, Eika?"

When Eika looked back, it wasn't even anger in her copper eyes anymore - only disbelief, flat on her voice. "Hideko didn't use her magic on humans, No. That was a line she wouldn't cross, no matter what." The implication was left unsaid, but it sunk into No's chest like the blade of the dagger that she clutched in her hand once more.

She didn't call after Eika again as the warrior walked out of her sight.

No went back to the castle, where Tsubaki forced an illusion that nothing had happened and Miyuri and Chigusa seemed to defend No from accusing glances more out of fear than friendship. And from all of them, No learned that it was far easier to ignore what others thought of her when they meant nothing to her life.

Eika's status as unit commander was just high enough to grant the woman her own quarters separate from the barracks. No had only been here once when she and Eika had been on speaking terms. It was small, made of the same pale gray stone as most of Spectra's buildings, and thankfully had a back door.

After breathing in and knocking on the dark wood, No's eyes traced up the ivy that clung to the alley wall. She heard the sound of footsteps inside the house, and brought her eyes back to the door just as it was thrown open to reveal a familiar face - one which looked less than pleased as Eika took in the sight of No, Misdreavus, Nobunaga, and Zweilous all darkening her threshold.

To her credit, she didn't immediately slam the door in No's face.

More accurately, Eika closed her eyes, drew in an extended breath through her nose, and said, "You have one minute to make me stop praying that this and all of last night has only been one extended nightmare."

That was about the best reception No could have hoped for. "Eika," she began, going over what she had rehearsed on the way. "You were there for me three years ago when I had nothing to offer you. This time, I do. You know who I am and why I'm here, and what I'm offering you is the chance to bring down Fuyuka that you and I both couldn't take on our own. I'm not here because I want you to like me or show me the same extent of loyalty that you showed my mother. But Spectra is restless because of what I did last night, and now I need people who can help me turn that into something capable of defeating Fuyuka. Show me one last thing - how to command an army."

Eika's face remained unmoved as her eyes flicked to Nobunaga. "And you? How did you get roped into this?"

"I have my own reasons," Nobunaga provided. "Namely, I also have found myself in need of an army. I believe that the saying is 'to kill two Spearows with one stone'."

Eika muttered a swear regarding how big those particular Spearows must be just loud enough to make it clear that she had meant for No and Nobunaga to hear it. She looked back over her shoulder into the house, and warned, "Don't make me regret this," before moving to let No and Nobunaga enter.

While Eika drew curtains over the front windows and went about waking up Golurk (which apparently slept by propping itself against the wall like some sominous totem), No observed the inside of Eika's home. It was mostly comprised of one large room, with a stairway leading up to a loft that No assumed housed Eika's bed. A small door to the side of where they entered lead to a washroom, but other than that, the front entrance space and small kitchen blended together. There was little in the way of decoration, although No was surprised to see that the ivy from outside also hung in trellises along the walls and up the stairway. She hadn't thought Eika the botanical sort.

Golurk seemed just as wary of No and Nobunaga as its partner, but No was surprised to be able to feel something coming from it now. It wasn't nearly as strong as her wavelength with Misdreavus, but much like the Ghost Pokemon that she had summoned in the shrine, there was something there that No suspected she could tap into if she wanted to.

"Well, start talking," Eika said as she walked back to the kitchen with a bundle under her arm and began fixing some tea. "This is not the day I want to show up late to the barracks, after the stunt you pulled last night. That wasn't exactly how I thought I'd be seeing Hideko again."

Nobunaga went first, telling the same story that he had told No about the situation in Dragnor. Eika leaned against the counter as she took in the details of the wavelength machine, brows raising when Nobunaga concluded on the note that Spectra would almost certainly be the first target. "Based on the timespan of when the machine can be completed, there are certain months out of the year where the border between Nixtorm and Dragnor is near-impenetrable, no matter the size of the force. It's what keeps our kingdoms in their current stalemate. But Spectra offers no such obstacle, making it the ideal testing ground."

"Well, I'm so glad to know that's how we're thought of," Eika remarked. Turning her attention back to No, she added, "It's a surprisingly decent cause worth fighting for. But that's assuming you can place yourself in a position to command Spectra's army, and your would-be forces aren't wiped out in the power seize. To avoid that, you'll have to play it the same way Fuyuka did - fast and plotted."

Eika withdrew a letter from the bundle that she had set down beside her, the one that No had sent asking her to come to the kimono shop. "This was a good try, I'll give you that," Eika said. "There are enough people in the barracks who I can win over to helping you. I can also give you the names of the warriors in the city, we all know each other. Fuyuka is probably going to try spreading the word that you've fled the city the same way Hideko did - that's how she got the masses to stop fighting her the first time. You need to step up as a leader before that can gain too much ground. Call another meeting if you can, but somewhere that will be harder for Fuyuka's men to crash."

"Perhaps that courtyard in the alleyways?" Nobunaga suggested. "The message could contain different entry points, so as not to create a crowd that would draw attention."

No and Eika exchanged an uncertain look. "Not everyone is as comfortable in the alleyways as I am," No explained. "There's a superstition that they're a gray area between the human and spirit worlds. It might be true, in total honesty - I've experienced instances within them where time seemed to move differently. The breakdown between the realms that the Festival of Ghosts marks already tends to make people nervous this time of year."

"I think that's a risk you'll have to take," Eika said, and Nobunaga nodded in agreement. "You did make a statement last night. People will want to get a closer look at you, for better reasons this time." No didn't miss the bite to Eika's tone in the second half of that sentence. That conversation was going to be had at some point, and No doubted that they planned for it to go in the same direction.

"What about the castle?" Eika asked, glancing towards No with an expression that read "later". "If you don't already have a way inside, forcing one won't be pretty."

"Leave that to me," No said. "In fact, I can take care of that as soon as we're finished here."

"Can you now?" Eika responded in that same flat voice from before. When No didn't give any indication of providing more details, the older woman sighed, "Alright. Just make sure you cover your tracks this time." For someone who didn't seem keen on directly bringing up the past, Eika wasn't above throwing out two years' worth of barbs over it. Nobunaga's expression as he watched No's interactions with her made it clear he had noticed the undercurrent of history that ran between the two women.

"I've learned my lessons," was No's only response. Looking back at Nobunaga, she said, "I think that it would be better if Misdreavus and I handled the castle on our own. Not many people saw us interacting before, which means less suspicion cast onto you."

"Then in the meantime, I will try to reach out to my allies in Dragnor again," Nobunaga answered. "I doubt that my flight has put me out of the oligarchy's mind, but there were several members of my old unit that did believe me before my story reached the ears of the wrong person. If I can get through to any of them, I can ask them to look for any signs of progress on the machine."

"We have our roles, then," No confirmed. The small space between the three of them and their Pokemon crackled with an energy that filled No with something dangerously close to optimism, even in spite of Eika's grudge and the threats that Nobunaga foretold. It was a massive "maybe"... but maybe this was a plan that could work.

Before No could leave, Eika pushed the rest of the bundle towards her. "Some better clothes than that," she clarified, casting a disdainful look at the oversize yukata that No currently wore. "Just because you want to be the next Ghost warlord doesn't mean you need to look the part so literally."

"Thank you," No responded as she took the clothes. Holding Eika's gaze, she added in a lower voice, "For everything." It was the closest to an apology that the warrior would be getting from her, but No thought Eika deserved that much at least.

"Save it for later," Eika said. "Send that witch to hell where she belongs first."