Forth from the Dragon’s Den | A Blood Dragon Story

[Jayenbee]

Forth from the Dragon’s Den: A Dragon's Company

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29.09.826 A.S. Battleship Kokura

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Battleship Kokura, revelled as but mere myth by most, for others it was a symbol of pride, noble heritage and hope. For Oda Hitomu, it was home. It’s aging hulk, a venerable titan of a time long before him, it was a place he truly felt safe and one he was reluctant to leave.

“Dragon Oda!” The voice was harsh on Hitomu’s ears, coarse yet feminine, shattering his brief moment of pensiveness. His gaze quickly traversed from the view of the murky Midori cloud that lay just beyond the bulkheads, towards a comrade that he has had the pleasure of becoming all too familiar with recently.

“Hayashi?” He’d say with a sense of curiosity and sadness, masked but only by a pleasant smile spreading across his face.

“Didn’t think I’d let you leave without saying goodbye did you? Bakayarou!” Hayashi Aiko, being only a recent addition to Nakai Clan, she had quickly proven herself to be a capable warrior, if not infamous for her blatant inability to follow orders. As usual she was wearing her tattered flight suit adorned with the emblem of Nakai, zipped down and tied at the waist. She gave Hitomu a swift punch to his armoured shoulder, staring up at him with her over enthusiastic steely grey eyes. If it wasn’t for the fact that she was forced to wear a rebreather from time to time due to her most recent skirmish with a notorious Kaigun ace, Hitomu would swear she was smiling devilishly under that mask.

“Never crossed my mind.” He’d be lying when he said that, while he’d grown fond of Hayashi in the brief time he knew her, their ‘relationship’ was a little one sided. Hitomu purposefully showed little interest, he was a soldier first and foremost, knowing that one day his time would come, he’d have preferred to fade away as some distant memory and save Hayashi the heartbreak, but she was just so damn persistent. Then it dawned on him; “Hang on a moment. What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be flying a sortie in Hokkaido right now!?”

Hayashi took a few steps back, holding her hands on her hips she give him a disappointed frown. “Hey! I had to make a lot of promises and pulled a lot of strings just to be here to see you off; and this is the reception you give me?” Her frown softens as she shakes her head. “I can’t stay long anyway, I need to make preparations to head to Morioka.”

Hitomu lets out a long drawn sigh, taking a few steps forward to place a hand on Hayashi’s shoulder. “Aiko, I’ll see you soo-...” Before he could finish, Hayashi had swatted away his arm, glaring at him with a distraught expression upon her face. She then quickly stood to attention, giving him the traditional Blood Dragon salute. “Long live the Dragons!” She cried ferociously, the battle-cry reverberating down the halls of the vessel, provoking the response of several other Dragons in the vicinity to reply in kind; “Long live the Dragons!” - “Long live Takeda!” - “Long live Minamoto!” - “Long live Nakai!” Dragons from all over, united in a single goal replied, be they a member of a clan or otherwise.

Hitomu smiled proudly, returning the salute, giving her a quick nod of respect. “Long live the Dragons.” He’d say calmly, before Hayashi turned on the spot and began making her way down the corridor towards the hangar post haste.
He set himself at ease and returned his gaze back out towards the nebula that flowed around the Battleship like it were a vessel of old submerged into the depths of the ocean. "The best way I can honour Hayashi is to just be a Dragon then?" He mused as he gradually began to drift back into his stupor, only being interrupted as the ship-wide intercom crackled for a moment and then blared; “Attention, Yōkai Company report to hangar two. Yōkai Company to hangar two.”

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“When compared to the ranks
of warriors’ stalwart hearts;
I cannot enter into their number,
despite this body of mine.”

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// I would appreciate any feedback, grammar corrections, pointers or ideas. Perhaps there's something you'd like to be touched on? A character cameo? Feel free to PM me or contact me on Discord; викингмункй#0001

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When contending with a monster, you'd be wise to give the devil his due.