Chapter 14: Sealed Windows and Open Doors

“Shuji?” I ask as I look over to him. Shuji is sitting on the counter of the ruins of a convenience store.

“Yeah, Katsu?” Shuji replies as he turns to face me. His face is filthy and covered in grime. I’m sure my face looks more or less the same. We haven’t bathed in about a week and we stunk to all hell. Our noses, however, were numb to it. They say humans can acclimatize to almost everything, well almost everything...

“I don’t think I can lead. I didn’t go through any leadership training all I did was follow Sergeant Tanaka around.” I say as I sit on the floor leaning against the counter. My voice shakes as I gripped my rifle tightly and looked down at the floor...

How the hell am I going to lead all these people in the middle of a warzone. I’m just a foot soldier that can fight slightly better than average. I don’t know how to keep anyone alive, I can barely do that for myself and I’m making most of it up as we go along…

“Then how did you do it when Sergeant Tanaka got shot? You seemed pretty in control to me.” Shuji replied.

“I don’t know I just saw all chaos and knew I had to do something. Sergeant Tanaka was dead, Naomi and Asami were screaming, pinned behind some beat-up Taxi. Takai was wounded, Yoichi was trying to drag him to cover. I don’t know in that moment I just… knew someone had to take charge.” I say as I look back up at Shuji.

“So I just did what I thought Sergeant Tanaka would do… I don’t know it all just happened. I have no idea how I did it or... if I can do it again…” I say my voice shaking.

“Well, the fact is they are out of NCOs that’s why they gave you that promotion, that’s why they gave me my rank. That disaster of an attack managed to decapitate our leadership. If I’m completely honest in that moment I did the same thing. I guess the past year of fighting gave us something, didn’t it?” Shuji finished with a smirk.

“Yeah, if we were adults we would be veterans,” I reply with a smirk of my own.

“We are veterans Katsu, we’re the only ones left from the first group. The rest are gone, only us left…” Shuji said as he lowered his head.

“What the hell is God doing up there? Is he just looking down at us with a pair of dice? Everyone else came up snake eyes except us?” I reply with a weary sigh.

“I guess he wanted to see everyone else first, not sure when our appointment is…” Shuji replied.

“Hopefully not any time soon…” I reply.

“Yeah hopefully… just be who you think you need to be. Doesn’t have to be who you really are, just what those kids need you to be.” Shuji says as he looks at the rank sewn into his sleeve.

“That’s my plan anyway. Besides we are Japanese, we are a people of many masks. A mask for society at large, a mask for our family, a mask for our friends, a mask for ourselves... Honne and Tatemae, the true face and the false. You just need to make a mask for your men.” Shuji says as he gets off the counter and grabs his rifle.

He walks over to me and offers his hand to me. I take it as he pulls me to my feet.

“Katsu, when we’re alone we can be just like we were back home. But out there we aren’t the Onaga brothers anymore. We’re leaders now, we need to act like it. We aren’t great heroes, we aren’t born leaders, we’re just the scraps command decided to use with all the first, second, and third choices are gone. So all we can do is pretend alright?” Shuji said as he grabbed my shoulders.

“Yeah ok,” I say a little breathlessly from all the pent-up anxiety.

“Good, just be what everyone needs you to be. Alright?” Shuji said as he patted my shoulders reassuringly. I nod mutely as I felt him squeeze my shoulders.

“Now give me a kiss,” Shuji said with a smirk.

“Stop it,” I say as I laugh and lightly punch him in the chest.

“Let’s go, Sergeant, we need to get back to our men,” Shuji said as he let go and began to turn towards the door.

Thanks…

Nii san…

I open my eyes, as I blink the vestiges of the dream from my eyes. I sit up and groan, my body is aching all over. Better than yesterday but still… ow… It feels heavier too, not sure if it’s just the fatigue or all the alcohol I drank yesterday.

I get out of bed my body feeling like it weighed twice as much as it used to. I raise my right arm and feel a shock of searing pain as my back muscle spasms from the movement. I hiss as I clutch at my shoulder with my left arm as I double over. It’s getting worse… I think I tore that muscle even more with that stunt I pulled yesterday…

As the pain starts to ebb and I try to raise my arm again. This time the pain is better, still hurts like hell but better. I lower it and try again, each time the pain seems to get better if only by a little. With a sigh begin to get dressed, wincing as I raise my right arm to put my arms through my greatcoat’s sleeve.

Just as I was reaching for my helmet I heard a knock on the door. Who could that be at this hour in the morning? I walk over to the door helmet in hand, when I open it I see Charlotte standing there an annoyed expression on her face.

“There’s someone here to see you,” Charlotte said in a clipped tone.

“Oh… who?” I ask confused. Then I notice sunlight streaming in from the nearby window. What time is it? How much did I oversleep?

“Just… come out,” Charlotte said with a sigh.

I follow her and I see Princess Filianoreh sitting on the couch a cup of tea in her hand. On the other side of the couch, I see Jacob sitting with his arms crossed and Ivan is leaning against a nearby wall.

I freeze at the sight. I pause as I see her turn her head and give me a sultry smile. I instinctively put on my helmet and a grimace grows on my face.

“What do you want?” I ask curtly.

“Is it that wrong I wish to visit you?” Filianoreh replied sweetly.

No way in hell she would just come here to see me. Someone like her does not do anything without purpose. She wants something... What does she want? Well let’s find out, shall we…

“What do you want?” I ask again looking her in the eyes.

“How impatient… that’s fine…” Filianoreh said as she put the cup of tea back on the table.

She then slowly walks over to me her eyes locked on my face. She stops close to me, a bit too close, not too close to make me extremely uncomfortable but definitely not far enough for my liking.

“They say an impatient man is a vigorous one… hmm I wonder... will you be as impatient in the bed-chamber?” Filianoreh said as she smiled at me.

“What. Do. You. Want?” I ask again my patience wearing thin.

“Hmm, I wonder if you can really hold back when the time comes but… It’s not what I want that matters, it’s what the Church of the Seven wants. You see they wish to meet the four heroes in the Seven Spired Monastery. I’m here to give you some advice before you go to meet those Holy men and women.” Filianoreh said.

This got my attention, she’s giving me advice? This is odd, and also quite concerning, to be honest. This is not something that I expected, is this charity? No, there is no such thing as charity, especially when to comes to people of power. Everyone wants something, even giving money to the poor makes the giver happy. It helps them convince themselves that they are good people. A selfish desire wrapped in a beautiful package…

“It seems I have your attention,” Filianoreh said with a laugh.

“The Church of the Seven, an ancient archaic institution, led by one Cardinal each for the seven gods. Light, Life, Water, Fire, Earth, Air, and Magic. Each god representing a piece of creation. The Cardinals are the most devout of their faith and in their arrogance and pride, they think of themselves as windows to the divine.” Filianoreh said as reached into the collar of her dress and pulled out a rosary. It was an ornate piece of jewelry, shaped like a star with seven points. Within each segment of the star lay a tiny gem of various colors.

“White for light, green for life, blue for water, red for fire, brown for earth, grey for air, and purple for magic. The gems represent the seven windows to the divine. Every soul on this world worships a least one of the eight.” Fililanoreh said as she cracked another smile.

“The eight?” I ask, the last one is my god, The god of the Dark, the god of Death, Sin, Madness and War.

“Why yes you see Onaga Katsuro, there is a group that worships the Dark God. They are called the Black Hand and all of the followers of the seven fear them. Their reach is long and their tendrils run deep. Did you know the night before you were summoned my father found this under his pillow?” Filianoreh said as she pulled out a piece of worn parchment from a pocket sewn into her dress.

I took the parchment and I smiled. This organization sure knows how to use their threats…

We are watching…

Never Forget….

Seems pretty dramatic, if not effective. Leaving this under the king’s pillow tells him that even he is not safe. It tells the nobles that if even the king isn’t safe, then what chance do they have?

“So what did the king do?” I ask as I hand the parchment to Charlotte who looks at it eyes wide.

“He had the guards who were guarding his room executed along with every servant that accessed his room that day,” Filianoreh said calmly as her lips curved into another smile.

“A waste of effort, the night you arrived the king found the same handprint this time plastered directly on his pillow,” Filianoreh said with a light laugh.

“Oh that shook him, the tendrils of the Black Hand truly do run deep...” Filianoreh said.

“Why are you telling me this?” I ask, something wasn’t right.

Why is she telling me I have worshippers? That’s basically telling me I have powerful allies... very powerful allies if what she says is true. Is this a test? Hand me a gun and see what I will do? If I fire will I find it chambered with blanks?

If I truly have allies this powerful then doesn’t that make my deal with her, totally irrelevant? She won’t get the throne if she kills me. The Black Hand will make sure she gets a long knife in her back...

“You would have found out eventually, consider this a sign of good faith,” Filianoreh replied as if reading my mind.

“So what is this advice you talked about at the start?” Charlotte asked as she looked up from the parchment. I saw Jacob and Ivan peering over her shoulder as they looked at the parchment.

“Well you see Heroes, the Dark Hero is a herald of the end of an age, or should I say the death of an age... The nation that summons the Heroes is always the most powerful, for they must fight to maintain control of the summoning gate. Which in a type of twisted irony, the nation summons its destroyer. You will lay ruin to this nation Dark Hero or so the legends imply…” Filianoreh says.

“Then why tell him this? Are you not a contender for the crown?” Charlotte asks.

“I am telling him this because I am a contender for the crown. My crown will become a noose if history repeats…” Filianoreh replied as she shoots a look at me.

So that’s what this is, she’s part of the leadership of this nation. When nations fall, rulers lose their heads...

“You’re playing both sides… if history repeats and you are my ally you stand a better chance to survive. If history doesn’t repeat then you have my child to ensure you take the crown…” I say as I narrow my eyes at her.

“And with that deal you struck with Katsuro you will ensure you have his child in your belly before all of this happens. This makes you valuable by the laws of the world, so the people here will be hesitant to kill you. No matter what happens you will be the mother of a child of a hero. In the worst-case scenario, you will end up as someone who get’s to live their life out in comfort. No matter what kind of… person you are, you are still a princess and that makes you a valuable ally. This also gives us the confidence to trust you because our fates are tied together as our success means your success.” Charlotte said coldly.

“Unless I decide to kill you anyway…” I add coldly.

“Oh, I’m not worried about that Onaga Katsuro... ” Filianoreh said as she reached up and cupped my cheek with her right hand.

“Would you kill the mother of an innocent child when she has done nothing but aid you? The mother of your child...” Filianoreh said with a sly smile.

This woman… she’s like a snake coiled around me. Playing me like a puppet… she’s dangerous of that I have no doubt. Still, guns are dangerous too and they make great tools…

Although could Filianoreh be part of Black Hand? I mean she’s a princess so she would have access to the king’s bedroom… and she does have that note… No, but if that’s the case why would she even need to do all this, the deal, the child, why would she even care about the crown is she worships the god that will destroy the nation?

No, I don’t think she is part of that, it just doesn’t add up. Most likely she’s just doing this for her own benefit. That fits much better with her actions so far. She’s using the child as a shield to protect her from the fall of the nation and as a key to the crown. So to her, it doesn’t matter which side of the coin it lands on.

She knows Charlotte would never lay with the prince, the heroes are always more or less the same after all… The prince can’t force himself on Charlotte either with the whole [Maiden’s Curse] thing. She will be the only one to have a child of a hero, for Charlotte is the only female Hero. Well at least the one with the highest level cap, this means her child or should I say our child will be the strongest in this world. Unless…

Charlotte has a child with one of us heroes… which would make things very complicated and very dangerous… they wouldn’t kill a Hero while the Rifts are around… but after that? I feel a thrill of fear as I contemplate something happening to Charlotte… This woman would not be above doing something to Charlotte.

Filianoreh is cunning and intelligent, that much is certain. After all, she is a woman in a medieval-style world where women have little social power. She definitely can’t compete with her brother with raw power due to her brother’s higher level thanks to him being the first child. So she uses the one thing she has that her brother doesn’t… the fact that she’s a woman. Quite a good plan if I say so myself, I would be impressed if it didn’t involve me having to put a child in her belly. Selfish reasons, fueled by ambition and executed through careful calculation...

Occam’s Razor... the simplest answer is often the most correct one. She just wants to keep her power and status no matter the outcome. Typical human greed and selfishness, this I can easily understand...

“I thought not… your relationship with Lady Charlotte is all the proof I need. After all, although the Dark Heroes are different each time, the other seven are the same people just with a different face and name. Making them perfectly predictable…” Filianoreh said as she took her hand off my face.

“The cardinals, the nobles will try to prevent this great fall. They will seek to use you as a window to see how they can prevent the end. In the face of destruction, they will be willing to do more and more despicable things. Desperation fuels unimaginable deeds after all, as I’m sure you are aware. This makes my aid valuable, I am only lower than my brother and father in terms of power...” Filianoreh said as she turned around and faced the large glass window that served as a door to the balcony.

“For you see Dark Hero they think you are like this window, they seek to see a glimpse into the end in hopes of preventing it.” Filianoreh said as she approached the closed window.

Filianoreh threw the door open and turned to face us her back to the opening. The rising sun, bathing her silhouette in light while leaving her front in shadow. I could still make out her smiling face however as she stood there bathing in the light of the sun.

They think you a window Dark Hero...

In truth, you are a door…

A door that leads to their end…

For the Dark God does not deal in Windows…

He only deals in Doors…