Cold Steel - Inazuma Gaiden

XIX: Flying Without Wings

"...Mind control?"

The questioning voices coming from both the young General of the Watatsumi Resistance and Narukami's Frostflake Heron made the lone thief of the group shift his weight ever so slightly from one foot to the other. The action itself was greatly insignificant, but Kamisato Ayaka knew that the movement itself indicated his own uncertainty and uneasiness as he shared his insights. The fact that their own tones sounded almost doubtful certainly didn't help, despite the young man's apparent showing of his calm and unyielding persona.

Still, the sudden amount of pressure seemed to disturb his composure enough to make Nobutada raise his fist to cover his parted lips, clearing his throat in the process to shake off some of the building discomfort.

"I... I know it sounds crazy, I mean... I also think it's borderline unthinkable," Her companion resounded - somewhat agreeing with the stance the two seemed to take. "Still... it was the first time I've ever seen anyone still maintaining some kind of collective cohesion after being consumed by the plague."

His reasoning seemed to produce a bit of curiosity from his fellow brunet, the half-shiba archer's emerald eyes seemed to twinkle somewhat as his own fingers went to support his chin, entering an especially thoughtful position. It was fascinating to see the metaphorical gears inside his head turned as he processed the information accordingly. With her practically living away from the frontlines throughout the Civil War, this was the first time she got to see a military tactician up close.

"True... this just sounds like it came straight from a children's story book," Gorou commented critically, not entirely doubting the other's take but something was certainly preventing him from taking it at face value.

Eventually, Ayaka too would provide her input. "...I also think there's something strange with the men we fought back at Nazuchi. Infected or not, their movements looked incredibly... deliberate. Not to mention, the uniformity in their actions was also something to consider."

Nobutada's head shifted to gaze upon her for a few seconds before he gave nod. "And those people were supposed to be vagrants, to boot. Former Samurai or not - they still looked too suspicious to be mere bandits."

To their surprise, Gorou offered a light smile - one that wasn't completely encouraging considering the rather conflicted look he had on his face. "No, no. I believe you," He reassured the pair from Narukami. "As I've said before, the Resistance's had our own encounters with the devices made by the Fatui before... and your claim is pretty synonymous with our scouts' reports."

The brunet manifested his communication device and just as usual, a fish's head appeared from within the reality marble of the contraption - handing a written note to the General, who easily took it and promptly placed it down on the table for his guests to see. Ayaka was quick to make her steel eyes familiar with the contents written on the paper, while Nobutada just silently and dumbly stared at the incomprehensible words and symbols that he could not even begin to decipher.

Fortunately, Gorou was also more than willing to elaborate his reports. "Our preliminary recon basically told us roughly the same thing. Journeying southbound to the abandoned Higi Village, we only see minimal activity from the vagrants currently housing themselves there, all of this, in spite the incredibly high concentration of Tatarigami. The reports here stated that they almost looked... docile."

That seemed to work in gaining both of the Narukami outbounds' interest and alarm. 'Looking docile' was certainly not a symptom of being affected by the curse of the Serpent God, at least one of them would know better that getting consumed by Orobashi's influence would only lead the victims to the brink of madness, and eventually drive them into a senseless rage to anyone and anything.