The Beast and the Sword Book 2: The Changes

Page 27: Survival

(Third Opening Theme: Gintama Opening 15-Pride Kakumei Performed By CHiCO w/HoneyWorks)

The outside had been just as bad as Karasu had previously predicted. Everyone had been practically fighting each other to get to a safe place from the corpses; and even went as far as to toss others to the corpses as to buy themselves time.

He and the group he had been with were extremely lucky to find a safe place where the corpses failed to notice them. Though he had a lot of explaining to do, he knew. As soon he and his sister, along with Avalon, Erin, Blaise and Dylan found a place where they would be safe, they started to bombard him with questions--regarding a certain tater-tot he knew.

He felt as though he didn't have a choice.

Seeing as how they had time to kill--He told them everything.

Or at least, certain things he wanted them to know.

Though neither of them couldn't believe it, as they had a look of shock on what it was him, and Sachiko had told them.

"The Princess?!" Erin said in disbelief, "That little tomboy girl friend of yours--Is the lost Princess of Clover?"

"Yeah..." Karasu replied, "... Though she's more like the true heir to Clover if anything."

"Well that explains why the Captains were protecting her in the first place." Dylan said.

"Wait, wait, wait--" Blaise said, "--If she's supposed to be the Princess that went missing five centuries ago like it said in the stories, then where the hell has she been the whole time?!"

"I don't really get it, but she was stuck in a tree." Karasu replied.

"She doesn't know how she got there, but--" Sachiko said as she comforted Shiromori who had been shaking, "--The tree kept her alive that whole time."

The four of them took a moment to process the information as Karasu could see them pondering, and trying their best to wrap their heads around the whole thing in general. "Okay, look, I know this is hard to wrap your heads around but--" Karasu started to say.

"Yeah, well no shit!" Erin said, "I don't know if you noticed, but everything you just told us is a little hard to swallow. I mean--Not only did you tell us that the Barbados Family bloodline--Some of the worst royals that ever existed is alive, but the long lost Princess, who by all accounts should be dead, survived!?"

"Hey--" Karasu said as he coughed a little, "--I don't know what you've heard but Pluck's family are the victims if anything!"

"They're the victims?!" Erin said in disbelief, "They're the victims!? How can you say that after all the hell they put us through?! "

"Erin please--" Sachiko told her. "—They're not bad people. I get along with the Triple As, Vandy and Jubei! Even Pluck-sensei taught me a lot of things! He taught me this country's language!"

"That Owl killer? Like hell he did!" Erin said. "I should have finished him before I knew who he was!"

"No wonder Plucky's all Buddy buddy with her!" Blasie added. "I bet those two are in cahoots!"

"I know he seems like a bad guy but he's not!" Karasu said, "And Prism's not either!"

"But how do you know that?" Avalon asked worryingly as Karasu looked at her a bit, "For all you know, they could be working with the King!"

"Because she's better than him!" Karasu told her as the group had been surprised by the tone of voice he took. Karasu took a deep breath to collect himself, "... I've--Met him before. The King is nothing more than a pathetic man, who only cares more about himself then he does for everyone else. I bet he's not even doing anything for the situation at hand, even with his powerful magic. Prism on the other hand, is not like that. She's been doing everything she can to make sure everyone is safe and alive, even if it means she has to get hurt. It doesn't matter if they're strangers, she'll still help them."