Kingdom Hearts Covenant Oath: The Vanguards

[ThatGuyOverThere]

Episode One
Embers of an Old Age
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From her secluded vantage point, Harumi watched as the new recruits followed behind Hans towards the temple. If she was being honest, she would be surprised if any of them would pass. She couldn't help but feel something tugging on their hearts. She couldn't put her finger on what it was but she knew in order to complete the trials, one's heart had to be rid of all doubt. One thing was for sure, becoming a Guardian did change your life. But the Vanguard had given her a better purpose.

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by the shouts of a few angry citizens. It didn't take much to realize they were anti guardian sympathizers which made Harumi shake her head. The Guardians were there to help not make life harder. But lately their numbers kept growing which made her worry. If this kept up it wouldn't take long for the unverse or even the heartless to feed off the negativity and come storming into the Last City. The Vanguards mission yesterday gave credit to her worries. The unverse were becoming too bold.

Harumi watched as the officer tried to calm down the scene before him but to no avail. The men kept shouting but luckily the group of new Guardians were long gone to hear their hateful words. "Fenrir is right about them!" Those words caught her attention as it wasn't the first time she heard it. The only intel they had was that he was the new leader of anti guardian sympathizers. Everything else was a msytery. She was about to trail them when they left when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

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[Takumi]

Cyrus sighed. Really, a rowdy crowd? The red head rolled his eyes. Peasant folk--er, citizens, sure were something else sometimes, despite not being able to help being peasa-ahem, poor or unfortunate. Those silly people just didn't understand all the work others do to try and keep them safe it seems, what a pity. They appeared to be leaving though, and seeing dear Harumi appear to be ready to move he just had to speak up. "You're really not thinking of following them alone, right?" he scoffed, hand going to a hip.

This girl could hold her own, sure, but they were part of a team after all. Even if he'd rather sleep, but like always, the peasants-- the people's--wellbeing came first.

 

[GuanYue]

She couldn't take this... this.. Injustice! It seemed like very day that the anti-Guadrian rallies got bigger and bigger. Takeko could barely understand it. She knew the track record of the Guardians. Where her father had told her the horrid stories about them, she dug for the truth. The Guardians were meant to protect, not to destroy. The entire ordeal with them was conflicting. But Takeko couldn't believe that all guardians were bad.

Especially when rallies like these arose. It seemed to be getting worse today. Today of aaall days. It was almost like they knew somehow.

Just a few buildings over from Harumi's vantage point, Takeko sat on the ledge, overlooking the rally below. "Fenrir again, huh? Who is this Fenrir guy?" The girl mused to herself as she played with the frills on her sleeves at her wrists. It was unsettling that they didn't have very much information on the new leader. Let alone knowing what it really looked like. Was it even a he? Looking over, she saw that Harumi was now accompanied by Cyrus. "Hmmm?" She tilted her head a little, one pigtail rolling off of her shoulder.

"Who's going in alone now~?" Takeko chimed over the comlink, an index finger touching to her ear to activate it. "We're not thinking about leaving out poor little Take-chan, are we???" She moved so that she was now standing on the other building and most likely visible to the other two. While one hand was to her ear, she placed her other hand on her hip, as if giving some kind of playful attitude.

"So what's the plan?"

 

[ThatGuyOverThere]

Harumi looked over at Cyrus with her signature stoic stare. Behind that expression though she was surprised he wasn't taking a nap somewhere. On the battlefield he was a good Vanguard but that was when he was invested. Harumi didn't judge him harshly though, he came from a different background than her. What she could remember that is. "Yes, but I am glad you're here. Two heads are better than one after all." She answered giving him a pat on the shoulder.

Then she heard Takeko over their comm piece. Like always she was eager to get into the action. Though that attitude sometimes blinded her to the bigger picture but her eagerness was always appreciated. But the two found each other during their days of being vigilantes before the Vanguard. It was on the streets they learned to trust each other and they always had the other's back. And with Cyrus's magic, they were a force to be reckoned with. And as their leader, it was her duty to make sure her group completed their mission but also her teammates come back in one piece. Unlike her, they had something to go back to.

"Takeko we'll follow their trail but take seperate routes. Cyrus will stick with me, report anything odd. We need to gather what we can on this Fenrir so stay calm and stay undetected." With instructions given, she motioned her team to move out. They easily ran the length of the roof tops catching up with the duo from before. Nothing seemed unusual at first until they turned a corner to the more desolate part of the Last City. But it was more alarming that they were soon joined by others.

"Stay frosty team, keep your wits about you." She wasn't liking what she was noticing as the group started to grow larger and hateful chanting started to reach her ears. Was this another rally happening already? Maybe this was their chance to see Fenrir. Though the thought didn't settle with well with her regardless. They needed to remain hidden or the angry mob would grow more restless with their presence. Harumi couldn't help but feel sad at the sight. If they knew of the Vanguard she could only imagine the public view on the Guardians. Keeping secrets even for the greater good had a tendency not to end well.

Eventually the crowd led them to a platform in front of an abandon warehouse. The hateful chant from earlier turned to chants for Fenrir. The crowd kept growing louder chanting their leader's name. And when he walked on the platform, Harumi instantly brought her hand up to her comm piece while motioning her team to stay put. "That is Yamato Suzuki, he is the Third Rogue Captain responsible for stealing several keyblades not to mention eliminating some Guardians and a member of the Vanguard. He is not to be taken lightly." Harumi warned as she moved off her vantage point and into the shadows below. "Watch my back, I'm going to try to get closer to hear what he is saying."

 

[Takumi]

Cyrus huffed softly, hand moving to his comm link. "Now now, Princess, I was just making sure dear Harumi here didn't wander off without us." he responded to Takeko playfully with a small yawn. Giving Harumi a small snort he nodded when she said that she was basically going to head into possible danger. "Not only that but two pairs of eyes can pick up much more." he said, before adding, "three pairs can pick up even better stuff."

When Harumi gave his orders he cracked his knuckles and was more then ready to go. Luckily, it didn't take long to find the rowdy peasants. Though seeing Yamato Suzuki caused him to narrow his eyes with a frown.

"Got it, good luck." the redhead muttered into his comm link, keeping a close eye on both Harumi and Yamato. He didn't have a good vibe about this at all, but he believed in his leader.

 

[GuanYue]

Takeko let out a small giggle and eased up her posture, then gave a loose wave to the other two, "Glad to see you're looking out for her." The joking was put aside as Harumi spoke up about the plan. The frill-dressed girl turned to look down below as she listened to instructions. The flock was thickening down there. The rally was going to begin soon enough, and she was sure they were watching the stragglers hurry over to it. "Roger that. If you stay above, I'll lurk below."

With that, Takeko reached down and picked up a parasol that matched her dress and hopped down between the building she was on and the next one over, using the alley walls to bounce off and ease her fall. Once she landed on the ground, she dusted herself off and opened up the parasol, shielding her head. She walked slowly, casually, but quickly so that she could keep up with the crowd. She made sure to keep out of the way of other lurking eyes. Takeko kept walking until the area opened up to the warehouse in front. She decided to stick to the shadows of other abandoned warehouses that were nearby. She was just in earshot of everything, and from her spot, she could see the stage.

"Niiice and steady. No alarms just yet." Takeko mumbled into her comlink as she slowly started to make her way around. She wanted to try and see around the backside of the platform. Maybe she would be able to see this Fenrir before he got on stage. But who Takeko saw, made her eyes widen and she hid just inside one of the warehouses, using the large doors to keep cover. "Oh crap oh crap." She whispered to herself.

"Harumi, careful. I'm also in range." She replied on the comlink, peeking out to look over to Yamato. "... I know you said not to take him lightly, but he's a lot younger than I thought he'd be." She mumbled quickly.

 

[ThatGuyOverThere]

Harumi was able to blend into the crowd with relative ease. They were all focused on the stage and on their almost deafening chanting. Harumi couldn't hear much of what Yamato was saying but it encouraged the crowd nonetheless by the explosive cheers he was getting. All of this was very unsettling to her since it seemed like with one command, the entire angry mob would storm the streets looking for Guaridans to punish. And there were three guardians among them. Their only saving grace was that their existence was kept secret.

As Haurmi got closer to the stage, she couldn't deny the mad man's charisma. The way he spoke and carried himself could make anyone want to follow him. Which in this case was a dangerous attribute to have. Harumi managed to get as far as she could and looked up at the stage to spot any escape routes if the trio tried to apprehend him. But as she was looking, her eye flashed her symbol. And at that, Yamato only smiled in her direction. An devilish grin.

"And among us is a Guardian, let us show them our anger towards Guardians shall we?" Harumi tensed for a second before trying to think of a plan. "I've been compromised." She spoke into the comm link as the crowd started to grow around her. They tried to put their hands around her but she pushed them away. She was stronger than them by a long shot but didn't want to hurt any of them to add fuel to the fire. Instead, she managed to jump high in the air and summon her keyblade glider. "You two get out quietly and we'll meet up at the abandon warehouse. Move!" She commanded as she took off.

She made sure to go the long way in case she was being followed. Once she knew she was safe, she landed her glider and continued the rest of the way on foot. Eventually she made it to the warehouse and took a seat on one of the wooden crates. Not many people knew of its existence why it made such a good hideout. Sighing, she looked up at her partners. "It's going to be harder now since they know what I am. You two are safe though and use that to your advantage." She said as she placed a hand over her eye.

 

[Takumi]

Cyrus watched quietly, cursing under his breath at the news of Harumi being compromised. Luckily, however, she was able to get away. Sadly her cover was blown. Staying out of sight of the enraged mob he stuck to the shadows as he left his perch, sneaking off in the direction of the warehouse. Once he deemed it safe he hopped onto his Keyblade glider for part of the ride before hopping off and entering the warehouse the three were meeting at, deep frown on his face as he ran a gloved hand through red hair.

"Aye aye." he sighed upon hearing Harumi's words before placing his hands on his hips. "Those peasants-ah, I mean citizens, dirty you dear Harumi?" he asked, although knowing his fellow teammate was strong, far stronger than those peasants, the fact they had intent to harm and were close enough to even lay a hand on her was upsetting in itself.

@ThatGuyOverThere @Dao Ma

 

[GuanYue]

Things were going relatively smooth... at first. Takeko was still in earshot of what was going on, and Yamato continued to go on with his speech. Even better was that she could see a few of Yamato's affiliates just behind the platform. She was so close, she could hear them talking. Even if it was blended in with the chants and jeers from the crowd. She definitely overheard something about the most recent guardian ceremony... and something with the guardians and fulfilling a prophecy. The crowd got louder, and Takeko was having trouble hearing them after Yamato had announced their presence.

"Shoot." Takeko hissed to herself when Harumi was found. She quickly left her position and moved further into the warehouse to come out on the other side. She touched her finger to her earpiece. "I think I know where they'll be going next. We'll need to hurry." Each step she took quickened until she was running. Her glider appeared along her side and Takeko hopped on to make a quick getaway to the abandoned warehouse before Yamato and his men... or the angry mob... could detect her presence.

 

[ThatGuyOverThere]

Harumi nodded at Cyrus's comment. He may have come from a privileged background but he did care about his team. Inwardly she was scolding herself for giving herself away. It was such a rookie mistake at the wrong time. But unfortunately she couldn't control when her mark decided to show itself. However lately it started to show more often. She couldn't help shake the feeling that something was wrong. Either with her or something bad was about to happened.

"I'm fine Cyrus but thank you for your concern. But I will have to stay in the background now. Takeko and you would need to head the investigation but I will still offer support." She leaned forward cupping her hands. Then she heard Takeko's voice over the ear piece, her ears perked up at her words. "Get to the warehouse then we can discuss things. Make sure you're not being followed, we don't know what Yamato could be capable of."

 

[Takumi]

Cyrus took in Harumi's words and nodded in understanding. "You're welcome, Dear Harumi. Don't worry, we'll do you proud." he declared, placing finger tips on his own earpiece. Grumbling "be careful now, Princess, if you got yourself hurt I'd be downright furious." he hated the thought of his teammates getting hurt. Being one who cared greatly for the few he was close with him, he was more than willing to raise hell if they got hurt badly.

Glancing to Harumi for a moment, he regarded her with a slight tilt of his head. "Say, are you sure you're going to be alright?" he asked, taking a seat on a crate and crossing his arms.