Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Dungeons and Dragons, that would be Wizards of the Coast–no, wait, they got bought out by Hasbro. Even then, however, this is a story set in a world created mostly by Lily Nadesico and myself, with Lily DMing the majority of the campaigns in it so far. I also don't own a rather minor crossover that takes place in this story… which becomes even more important for the timeline later on.

Rest and Respite? Or Rest and Relaxation?
a commission for Lily Nadesico by Xamusel

Inside the Orient of Nexos, there are a pair of countries, the Qun'Mi Empire and the Shogunate of Katai. For most of the citizens of these two countries, life was meant to be peaceful, with hardly a worry to be found. Indeed, the horrors of the world were usually kept far away from these two countries, while their neighbors were the ones most affected by the known evils.

Except they're lying to themselves extensively to run from the cold reality.

Two centuries ago, there was an invasion by a hostile species called the Oni, a species that arose from darkness to cause untold terror. The leader of the Oni, one General Ōtsutsuki Ginpachiro, was a massive monster of his species that sought to bring out the destruction of the species' aligned against him. He had nearly conquered the entirety of Qun'Mi and Katai combined, saving the capital of the latter for the coup de grace of the lands, and was on his way to conquering the remainder of the world after that. He was well on his way to doing so… but something stopped him.

Perhaps it was the will of the gods that he stopped. Or maybe the whimsy of fate had occurred. Whatever the case, it was enough time for the heroes of the time to be gifted a single weapon each to turn the tides of the war against the Oni. These weapons, the Four Heavenly Weapons, were made of legendary materials, materials that could hardly be replicated by any means, blessed to be able to withstand just about anything.

To the Hero of Wind, she was gifted a katana which could cleave the air around her at its weakest, the Byakko no Tachi. To the Hero of Fire, she was gifted a bow with arrows that were made of the fires of a phoenix itself, the Suzaku no Yumi. To the Hero of Water, she was gifted a naginata that could control the water all around the world and even in the air, the Seiryu no Yari. And, finally, to the Hero of Earth, he was gifted a shield that could repel and reflect any and all evil that sought to hurt he and his allies in a purified blast of Holy energy, the Genbu no Tate.

The heroes had fought long and hard against Ginpachiro, before they finally stood victorious against him. It was at the apex of victory that they were about to return to the rest of the land and spread the word of the oni's death, but then…

"In two hundred years, when the shortest day hits the peak of night,
I will surely return… all the world will know of my power and might."

Those were his final words, a prophecy of things that have yet to come, even as the two hundred year mark was about to pass. It was not exactly a truly peaceful time, either. Many hobgoblins, rogue oni, and humanoid invaders had tried their luck at conquering the lands of Qun'Mi and Katai. Time and again, however, they were thwarted by the military might of both nations combined. It was always a point of pride for the rulers of the oriental nations that they would survive anything thrown their way.

Even with all that said and done, however, the world was about to get rudely awakened to the fact that Ginpachiro was still out there… biding his time to get revenge on the orientals.

Ugh… this whole trip had been a right pain in the ass for us, I know it. To be sure, this was all the Riphians' fault. If they didn't decide to invade Katai like they did, we wouldn't be having such trouble, I know it. If only those morons didn't involve the hobgoblins and the oni out there… with no disrespect meant to Tsume Tatsuko-san. In all seriousness, this is where I say that we need help, even if it's a small bit of help.

Oh, right, I need to introduce myself. The name's Yamamoto Masaki. I'm an Oracle in the service of Amaterasu-kami-sama, and one of the few men allowed to know what she does to vile scumbags around the country. Normally, the privilege is reserved to women… which makes my selection even more ridiculous than it normally is. I didn't volunteer to take the job. Nope. Not one bit.

Still, I have to wonder. How come the whole lot of us are alone on this island resort? I mean, it's pretty strange to hear that nobody else is around. I could've sworn that someone outside my small group would find their way here… heck, there's no sign of even the proprietor of this resort, and that's saying something.

I sighed as I stood from my desk and walked across the tatami mats that made up the floor. I needed to go outside for a bit to calm my nerves. No one around, other than myself and my group, and I'm pretty sure this is a recipe for disaster in the making. I think we should have someone here for my peace of mind, if nothing else.

I walked over to the door leading outside the house, taking my talismans with me, before stepping onto the deck. I needed to be outside, so I kept on telling myself, but… I guess I needed to be outside even further than where I was. Where to go, though…? Maybe the beach will be a good place for me to wait.

I stepped into my sandals, which were oddly on their own next to the deck, and walked to the path that led to the beach. Of course, I needed to be sure not to overexert myself, given the injuries I sustained from the fighting right before staying on this island. It was the sort of thing I needed to actively avoid doing.

Even as I walked down the trail, I was looking out for any sign of the enemy forces, in case they sent ninja of their own to kill us all. It wouldn't surprise me if they actually did. I just would prefer not to fight anyone right now, especially considering my injuries. Even so, I walked forward, going towards the stairs that were under the main archway of the resort. I needed to be careful and look around, so I did just that. There was absolutely nothing wrong so far, even with the orange tree bark looking nor–

Wait… orange tree bark?!

I did a double-take and saw that, sure enough, there was an intruder. Fortunately, the intruder wasn't looking my way, but I couldn't be too careful, especially not with my injuries. I summoned energy to my talismans and flung them at the intruder, the enchanted paper flying towards the lousy excuse of an enemy, before the intruder noticed my presence. Fortunately, the intruder was going to be silenced, due to the nature of my talismans and the mystical properties they have. The idiot shinobi would be unable to speak, scream, or anything other than breathe, especially if his idiocy was supposed to be removed from the breeding grounds.

It was at this time when I got a good look at the enemy's visual appearance. Long blonde hair in a high ponytail, amethyst eyes, and a star-shaped mole under their left eye… where did I see that face before? And their body shape… a kunoichi?!

"L-Lise…" I whispered unbidden, unaware of why I said that particular word in that way. I mean, why would I say that name unless I knew her? Near as I could tell, I didn't know her, not one bit.

Fortunately, the talismans were set to be non-lethal, so there's that. Whoever Lise is supposed to be, I would find out freely, at least after a quick interrogation by Tatsuko-san. That's going to be fun.

As the talismans did their job, which was silence the enemy and knock them unconscious, I walked over to the kunoichi and picked her up in a bridal carry. Nobody would need to worry about this mess, not yet, at least. Even so, I wanted to make sure that I found the proprietor and anyone else, but, come to think of it, that would need to wait. I needed to make sure that this little missy was interrogated.

Still, where did I know her from, anyway? I have to know that one!

A few minutes later, I was back inside the house, looking around for whoever else would be there. I laid the kunoichi down to rest in my futon, while I undid the silence talisman to see if she would talk in her sleep.

Looking back, that was probably one of the dumbest things I could've done in my entire life, if considering the disadvantages it gave me just by doing that.

"Don't worry..." the kunoichi said in her sleep. "I'll find my godmother, sempai, and bring her home to us… I want to know her like everyone else does. Godmother Anna is going to be happy to see me once again, right, sempai?"

My heart started beating faster and more uncontrollably when I heard what Lise said. Anna? What sort of name is that, anyway? And why did I have some personal connection to that name? I mean, I'm no Samsaran, but I can definitely tell that my circumstances were like that of Jia Ruoyan, the group's Samsaran. It was like I was reincarnated in some fashion or another… what gives?

I grew lost in my thoughts at that. Who was I before becoming Yamamoto Masaki, and why am I who I am now? I couldn't honestly say. Even then… I needed to sort my memories immediately.

Before I could, however, I started feeling sleepy. I decided to take a nap for the time being…

A woman with auburn hair and blue eyes, wearing a pink jumpsuit and blue sandals, ran in a ninja dash from the village of Kyoto to her home base in the capital of Katai, Edo, over on the eastern shore of the island country. Her mission was completed, and nobody would suspect that she had done anything outside of the usual activities she had performed, namely washing clothes for the nobles that visited. Of course, her job was to take care of foreign intrusion, nothing that would harm the local populace. It wasn't as if there would be a case of a black-colored ship destroying Katai's preconceptions about their superiority… right?

'Soredemo, watashi wa…' the woman thought, before she heard and saw a tree falling in front of her path a few hundred meters ahead. 'Nandeto?!' She performed a hard stop with her feet, braking and arresting her movement, in time for the tree to crash in front of her a little bit before it could've crushed her. 'Na–'

Suddenly, a bark of laughter erupted a few meters from her left. Turning to face the source of the laughing, she discovered an albino man from what she could only assume was Riphia, only he wore an outfit that the Riphians wouldn't have any idea how to make, if that made sense. It was a short black coat and long black pants, the coat covering most of a white shirt. On his left sleeve, he wore a red armband that had a white circle, a black symbol of some sort in the middle of the circle. Over his eyes were a pair of shaded glasses… in the middle of the night?

"Vell, vell," he said once his laughter abated. "I never knew a kunoichi could successfully stop like zat at ze drop of a single yen coin. You must be someone special, ja?" Before the kunoichi could retort, he put his right hand into his right coat pocket and pulled out… a length of chains? "Better to end you personally, zen. Ve don't need any trouble from a vitness like yourself getting in ze vay!" With a sudden pulse of power, the chain extended and multiplied, before he started swinging it around in the air above his head. "Before you die, however, it is common courtesy to trade names vith each ozer," he added, a maniacal grin on his face. "I am Villhelm Ehrenburg, a member of ze Longinus Dreizehn Orden's Obsidian Round Table, and known by ze name Kaziklu Bey. Now, are you inclined to share your name?"

The woman growled at Wilhelm, before answering, "You want to know my name that bad, huh? Well, it's Akaroku Anna, you jerkface!" With that, she drew a hidden kodachi, before charging the man with the chains and striking as fast as she could.

Unfortunately, in spite of Anna's best efforts, Wilhelm effortlessly dodged or blocked all the blows that could've come close to him. Each time the kodachi came close to striking him, it seemed like he knew how to avoid injury, which said a lot… especially since he managed to strike her with a few tough blows with his chains.

Finally, the last strike came from Anna's kodachi, which managed to slice into Wilhelm's right arm. The desired effect came into play as the man dropped his chains and clutched his wound with his left hand, even as his chains reverted to its original length. With a short laugh, he said, "Vith zis, I declare myself ze vinner. You lasted longer zan most, I vill give you zat, but you look to be ready to drop like an apple from a tree."

As soon as the words left Wilhelm's lips, Anna fell onto her face, doing a fair bit of damage to her in the process. It didn't really matter if she could register the pain or not, however… she was completely out of it, anyway.

I jolted awake with a start. How the hell did I manage to not dream things like that in my entire life, especially from the woman's point of view?! Ugh… I need to get some water or something.

Before I could stand up, however, the door to my room opened. "Masaki-kun?" a woman asked me, looking as if she were confused about something. "Why is there someone in your bed that isn't you?"

This woman, an elf named Hana Hisui, was a kunoichi herself. It might seem strange, but this was probably a good time to tell her anyway. "Well, you see," I said, "this person was in the woods near the house. I wasn't sure who they were at first, and am probably still unsure who they really are, but there's no need to worry. I plan on interrogating them myself. I hope you don't mind."

If it were possible, question marks would appear over her head, she looked that confused right now. "How are you planning to interrogate them, Masaki-kun, when you're injured right now?" she asked me.

"Uh…" I started, before I thought the question over a bit more. "Okay, maybe I can't interrogate them right away," I acquiesced, before looking over at the still sleeping Lise. "What do we need to do to get rid of any intruders around here?"

Before Hisui-chan could answer that, however, Lise started to stir awake. "Uhn… where am I?" she asked.

"Oh, good, you're awake," Hisui-chan spoke up. "Allow me to introduce ourselves, missy. My name's Hana Hisui, though you can call me onee-san. With me is my partner in battle, Yamamoto Masaki. There are four others here that you'll probably meet at some point in time, but they're currently resting. May I ask what your name is?"

Lise looked around a bit, before she answered, "My name… my name is Uzumiya Liselotte. I was named that by my godmother."

I was about ready to say something, but then Hisui-chan said, "Well, how about you stay here for a bit? We'll ensure you get yourself some decent food and water, alright?"

"H-Hai, onee-san," Lise said, looking down embarrassed. "Eto… who bound my arms to my sides?"

I smacked my face with my palm. "Okay, I'll undo the seal on your arms and legs, Uzumiya-san," I said, before I held my right hand in the symbol for Tora, the sign of the Tiger. "Kai!"

Immediately, Lise made to move her arms, which actually happened. "Wow!" she exclaimed in amazement. "Sugoi! How did you do that?!"

Before I could say anything on the subject, Hisui-chan answered, "He's an Oracle for Amaterasu-megami-sama, Lise-chan. It'd be pretty embarrassing if he couldn't perform the seals and such he should, right?"

Lise nodded enthusiastically. "Wakatta, onee-san," she answered. "So, Yamamoto-san, is there any reason why you chose to be Amaterasu-megami-sama's Oracle?"

I removed my palm from my face, before shaking my head. "Nope, sorry," I answered. "I just wanted to be of help to people, y'know?"

"Say, Masaki-kun," Hisui-chan said, "do you mind going to get some water from the well? We could definitely use it right about now."

Before I could retort, I thought back to what I had said, before sighing in defeat. "Alright, fine," I said. "I'll go get the water." Standing upright, I walked over to the door, passing Hisui-chan in the process. "I'll be back as soon as possible."

A few minutes later, I was at the well, pulling the water out with a bucket. It might not seem like much, but the water was actually pretty good, at least in my opinion. Sure, there's not much I could do to improve the taste, but that's for the best. With all the water in the well, we'd probably have enough chance to put an end to some drought or another… wait, what? Where'd that come from?

'Not good…' I thought. 'Now I'm about to go crazy on myself. This sucks worse than my fifth birthday party… and that's saying something.'

Even so, I needed to make sure that I didn't go effectively crazy, considering that I was very likely to be that way if I didn't get my head back in the game and out of the clouds where it was right now. Ugh… why me?

Still, I had to wonder… who was in the kitchen right now? I don't remember giving anyone else permission to use it while I was out getting water, and I can see a figure cooking in there. I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman from here… curses. It seems like I suck at this sort of thing right now.

Wait… was that the proprietor of the resort? I hope so. Maybe they'll be willing to explain where they went all this time while my group and I were waiting for them to arrive.

Even so, I still needed to finish getting the water for Lise. Don't want to forget her benefit… nandeto?! Okay, there's definitely something wrong with me at this rate. Why else would I care about someone I don't even recall meeting in my entire life?! This is just all sorts of messed up that it sucks.

"Excuse me, Masaki-kun," a woman whose voice sounded like silk said from a couple inches behind me, startling me more than slightly. "Hisui-san wondered what was taking you so long to get water for her and your guest."

I turned to face the woman, who had pale blue flesh, and relaxed slightly. "Sorry, Ruoyan-san," I said, looking more than a bit bashful. "I was deep in thought and wanted to find out who was in the kitchen without my permission, while still drawing water from the well."

Ruoyan-san looked at the direction of the kitchen and sighed. "I don't recognize their chi, nor do I know their shape," she said. "Do you think it's an enemy?"

I shook my head. "I think it's our missing proprietor," I answered. "It'd make a lot of sense for that to be the case, at least."

Ruoyan-san nodded uneasily for a few moments. "Okay, well, we need to be sure," she stated. "I think someone should go over to the kitchen and confirm that."

I nodded, before saying, "You have my permission to go to the kitchen to figure it out. I mean, I think we need to know who's cooking for us, right?" With that said, I gathered the water and started on my way to my room.

"Masaki-kun?" Ruoyan asked, bringing me to a stop. "Will you be able to help out with the medicinal side of things later on?"

I turned my head to face her, before I said, "Sure, I'll do that, Ruoyan-san. Now, no more lollygagging, alright?" With that, I continued on my way to my room.

About fifteen minutes after I had my discussion with Ruoyan-san, I was, along with the rest of the group, in the dining room, having found out that the proprietor had to be off the island to get produce for us. The proprietor, a man named Iori Junmaru, was going to give us what had to be a feast. How does any of this make sense otherwise? It was not the simplistic amount of food I normally make when preparing a meal, that's for sure, but then… ugh. I don't want to cause the food to stay in our stomachs for longer than it should, but it seems like the food here is going to do just that to us, which is a case of 'oh bother' for me.

In any case, the meal had a lot of fatty ingredients, including strips of pig meat… what was it called? Bacon? Ah, whatever. I don't think it's that important to know the name of it, all things considered. I especially don't want to be on the receiving end of this meal if I can help it.

"Yamamoto-sama, you're probably the only one here that won't touch the meal provided to you," Iori-san said to me from the head of the table in a gruff tone. "I can assure you, I have a high standard of the quality of food I serve. I sincerely hope you decide to eat it."

I looked at the man, who was slightly rotund around the waistline, before I said, "I normally provide a meal that meets health standards from the capital of Katai, Iori-san. They did a fair bit of studies to determine that excess fatty foods, like meat cooked in grease, made people more sluggish than vegetables and the like that don't require grease and other such cooking agents. It's nothing against you, sir, just a matter of personal integrity for me."

Iori-san looked a bit like he was put off by the fact that I refused to eat the meal he provided, only it seemed to be for a split second. He then put a smile on his face that looked ever so slightly creepy to me, before he picked up a strange utensil and speared some of the greasy food onto it. "Well, why don't you see how yummy it is, first?" he asked, before punching me in the stomach, causing me to double over and cry out in pain. As soon as I was about to close my mouth, however, the food on the utensil was forced inside, with the greasy item forcefully making me chew it before swallowing it… wait a second, this isn't right! How can food do that to a person's body?!

Before I could question it, however, Iori-san began to input more food into my mouth for me to eat, looking happily maliciously at me in the process. "While you're at it, have some of this spam, too," he said, feeding me the next bit of greasy food on the platter. "Then you'll need to have this turkey, to be sure that you enjoy what comes next."

What the… what the hell is this bastard doing?! I don't want anything to do with this meal plan, and I especially don't want it in my stomach! I need to forcefully puke the food out, before it can affect me any more than it has.

Before anyone could react to the strangeness that was going on with me, however, Lise had managed to arrive soundlessly and pulled Iori away from me, before taking a kunai out from her belt-side pouch and holding it at the man's jugular. "Kisama, omae wo nani ka?" she questioned him. "Speak the truth, yarou, or else you will regret stepping foot onto this island."

"I-I don't know what you're talking ab–" 'Iori' started to say, before the kunai came close to slicing the jugular.

"Saigo no chance, yarou," Lise growled at him. "Come clean, or you'll be gushing blood out of your neck."

'Iori' paled a bit at the threat, before he– a strong stench wafted into my nose. Did he just crap his pants? Ugh. What a wimpy moron. "I'll talk!" he exclaimed. "J-Just get that kunai away from my jugular!"

Before Lise could answer that statement, however, one of the remaining three allies I had, one Yuwashi Michiru, stood up and rushed over to a chamber pot that was conveniently in the southeast corner of the dining hall and began barfing into it. While she was barfing into the chamber pot, with Lise and I watching, 'Iori' began making a run for it, having gotten out of Lise's grasp carefully and swiftly at the same time. He was about to go out the eastern door of the dining hall when–

*CRASH!*

–he tripped on Michiru-chan's naginata shaft? Fortunately, Lise and I were quick to catch up to the man, allowing us the opportunity to restrain him. "Okay, this is your real last chance, baka," I said. "Either you come clean the easy way, or you make this harder on yourself in the long haul. What's your answer?"

'Iori' looked about ready to growl in anger, but Michiru-chan picked up her naginata and held it at the ready against the man. "Okay, who the hell are you, anyway?" she all but demanded of him. "Last I checked, you said you were getting produce for the meal, and yet we've had nothing but greasy meat all meal. This just means that you're nothing but a liar about who you are, so unless you come clean, well… my friends here will be most creative with interrogation tactics on you." With a sudden shift in facial expression and tone, now looking and sounding like she was talking about something like pie to eat, she asked, "Ima, kenmei ni erande kudasai, yoroshīdesu ka?"

At those words, 'Iori' paled even further than the last time he did. "Okay, okay, I'll talk!" he exclaimed. "I'm not the proprietor of the inn, I'm one of those who serve the Oni as slaves! They wanted to do something especially nasty to the renters here, since they informed me that all of you would be women who were supposed to be serving them in sexual service! I was told to make you all be prepared for the servitude, and replace the actual proprietor in the process of infiltration!"

I gave the man a deadpan glare. "You really think that this will be the way your bosses wanted this to happen?" I said, my tone as flat as it could be. "I'm pretty sure that they're going to get this chalked up as a massive defeat on their part. In fact, how the hell are we supposed to be made sexual servants of the Oni to begin with? Last I checked, I'm a guy, and nobody is able to say othe–"

*Ba-DUM*

"Grk!" I grit my teeth in pain. It felt like… it felt like my whole body was on fire! I couldn't feel anything other than the intense fire and pain I was in… ugh. It hurt… it hurt like a bitch! How was I supposed to get over this pain?! I couldn't stay alert at all… I soon fell unconscious.

"Tatakau ka, in'na ka?" a mysterious man spoke to the woman from earlier as she was laying unconscious on her face. He then picked up the woman's living body by the back of her jumpsuit and started waving his left hand, the one not holding onto her, over her body. "Saa, hajimemashou, ne?" As he said that, a green energy started flowing from his hand over to her, morphing her from what she was before, morphing her into the form of a baby boy…

"…aki-kun? Masaki-kun?!" Michiru's older sister, Yuwashi Chizuru, exclaimed upon seeing me stir from my forced slumber. "Oh, thank Amaterasu-megami-sama! We were all worried that you wouldn't awaken over the past three days! Do you have any idea what sort of mess had been going on because of you fainting?"

I blearily started to move myself off the ground, unable to process what was going on around me more than what Chizuru-chan said. However, it seemed like I wasn't using enough strength to get up, since I had some sort of weight on my chest that refused to get off. "Uh, Chizuru-chan?" I asked, unaware of what my voice sounded like, or why she gasped as if I was someone else entirely. "Could you please quit pushing me down on my chest like that? I'd like to be able to sit up for once."

*POW!*

"Owie~!" I cried out as I felt my noggin get karate chopped, nursing the top of my head with my hands while I was laying back down on the bed roll. "What was that for, huh, Chizuru-chan?"

"You mean you don't know, Masaki-chan?" Chizuru-chan snarked at me, making me wonder what was going on with her. "So you had no way of knowing for sure that boobs are heavier the bigger they are?"

"Eh?" I asked. "What are you talking a… bout…?" I then looked down at my bare chest, more specifically the larger than normal mounds on top of it. "What in the nine layers of perdition happened to me?!"

Chizuru-chan blinked at my outburst. "I'm gonna guess that something wrong happened, right?" she asked in what had to be a rhetorical manner.

"Oh, you know it..." I deadpanned. "I just… what happened to me has got to be one of the most ridiculous things ever, you know?"

Chizuru-chan nodded, before she stood up from her position next to me. "Wait here, Masaki-chan," she said. "I'll get you some clothes. Just… we'll need to know your measurements soon enough."

I nodded, before a thought struck me. "About that, Chizuru-chan..."

"Hm?"

"I think I need to revert to an earlier identity, one which Lise knows very well."

That seemed to stop her short a few seconds. "You know Lise-san that well?" she asked me. "How so?"

"Well, you'd know her well if you're the one who named her," I answered. "I just don't know how come I'm alive..."

Chizuru-chan sighed a little. "I should've figured that would be the case," she said. "Now… what name are you to go by now?"

"My name…" I began, before I started to tense up unexpectedly. "We're being spied on," I announced.

"What are you talking about?" Chizuru-chan asked me. "Who's spying on us when we're inside a room without windows or anything similar?"

I didn't answer immediately, instead taking one of the tatami mats off the floor and picking up a rock from underneath. "Oh, I agree that the spies have a hard time trying to find us through a window," I said at last. "However, have you no idea how a scrying spell works in regards to other reflective surfaces?" With that, I tossed the rock at a mirror that was in the room, shattering it and relieving the tension.

Chizuru-chan looked at the mirror that got totaled, which had the lingering spellwork of a scrying spell fade out of obscurity, looked at me, then looked back at the mirror. "How did…?" she began to ask.

"It's better not to ask about these things," I said. "However, the enemies are going to attack us soon, right, Chizuru-chan?"

At that point, a full wardrobe appeared in the room next to my bed, namely consisting of clothes that would match my measurements in the color red. "Huh?" Chizuru-chan and I asked out loud.

Chizuru-chan took the opportunity to look through the clothing, before she saw that there was a note attached to the top of one of the outfits. "Hello, what's this?" she asked as she grabbed the note. Taking a quick look through the note, she passed it over to me. "Here," she said. "I'm gonna let you read the note."

"Thanks," I said, before I began reading the note. "To who it may concern, I am the Sun Goddess Amaterasu, sending a fresh wardrobe of clothes for my faithful Oracle. Please note, I didn't want to make you stay an Oracle with all the issues that entails, considering your original life calling as a loyal Ninja of the Shogunate. Please consider this my way of saying 'thank you for your service as one of my servants'. I promise you this, my dear servant, you and your friends will be in my realm upon dying instead of elsewhere. I have a strong need for people like you all, to save the country from an excursion by evil so powerful. I hope to see you as soon as you can make it. She really means that?"

"Sounds like it to me, yes," Chizuru-chan said. "Now, though… we'd better get ready to go and intercept our foes. Do you have any idea how many there are of the fools?"

I shook my head. "Nope, sorry, only that they were spying on us," I answered honestly. "Sorry for saying that..."

Chizuru-chan shrugged her shoulders. "No need to worry about it," she said. "Now, time for you to get dressed, alright?" With that, she walked out the bedroom door.

A/N: Ugh… how did I take so long from the prior commission piece being written to finishing this now (November 23rd, 2018, 21:11 Pacific Standard Time)? I really need to find a way to get these things taken care of properly. I don't want to take forever on writing these things. That'd be super embarrassing. (/)_-)

Now, to be sure, Katai is the in-universe version of Japan, while Qun'Mi is the in-universe China… oh, brother. I'll explain more if the group's DM wants me to explain what I know… *goes to check with the Dungeon Master of the group* and nope, no further explanation is forthcoming, sadly for me.

On other topics, I believe you all need some idea who the characters I mentioned are, at least the ones that aren't native in-universe. That is to say, the two men that aren't posing as Iori Junmaru, the local expy of Junpei Iori from Persona 3, are who I need to elaborate on. One of them should be obvious if you know your anime and related sources enough… or if you know where the group name Longinus Dreizehn Orden originates. The other person… well, he might sound like a native, but he's not. He's anything but. In fact, the both of them are from the same franchise, to be sure.

Now, for those of you not familiar enough with Japanese, the words and phrases in Japanese roughly mean, in order, "Even so, I", "What the hell?!", "Wha-", "Who are you, you brute?", "Bastard", "This is your last chance, bastard", "Now, choose wisely, okay?", "Will you join the fight to come?", and "Now, let's begin, shall we?". I hope that explains it somewhat.

In any event, the story's done, and I plan to make sure more of this comes out for everyone's benefit… supposing I get hired to write more for the setting. Here's hoping I get to reaching that point in time. It'd be so amazing to reach it relatively soon enough. It's going to be a blast for me to work on writing this stuff.

Untill we meet again… farewell.
~Xamusel