Okay. So here's the thing.
We were heading to Nazuchi Beach—yea, we're still going there—because apparently my life goal now is to march into every possible battlefield like it's a buffet and I'm starving for chaos.
The tension was thick. The air was humid. My dramatic imaginary cape was flowing in the wind, but only in my mind because let's be real, I can't afford a real one.
Lumine was focused. Paimon was complaining about her nonexistent stomach being empty. And me? I was ready to punch fate in the face.
Then, BOOM. Trouble.
Two Shogunate samurai. Bullying a lone Resistance soldier like the dishonorable jerks they are.
I grinned. Slowly turned to Lumine. "Hey..."
She sighed. "No."
I leaned closer. "It's punching time."
She sighed harder. That's how I knew she was in.
We leapt in like a trio of dramatic anime protagonists who forgot to take their meds. Lumine sliced. I punched. Paimon shouted moral support and possible food orders. It was glorious. It was chaotic. It was therapy.
Those samurai got wrecked so hard they might respawn in another region.
When the dust settled, the Resistance guy stood up, coughing. "Phew... Thanks for saving me. I thought I was about to die!"
And that's when my brain short-circuited.
My eyes widened just a bit. My smile twitched into something softer. And I whispered like I was in the most emotional part of a Netflix drama.
"...Teppei."
There he was. Alive. Not dying in a heartbreaking questline. Not wasting away because the writers wanted to make me cry. Just... Teppei.
He smiled at us. Like a sunshine boy. "Thank you so much for your help. I'm Teppei from the Gobius Platoon. I'm with the resistance."
Lumine looked at me weird. She knew. She noticed the little glitch in my energy. But before she could say anything, I shoved the feelings back down and grinned like an idiot.
"No worries, man! We got you! We won't let you die! Or at least, I won't!"
He laughed a bit, rubbing the back of his head.
But inside?
Inside I was doing cartwheels. I liked Teppei. I liked his dorky loyalty, his try-hard soldier energy. He deserved better. And now... maybe I could give him that.
Teppei continued, eyes gleaming, "Just the other day, I heard General Gorou complaining about how desperate we are for more people. Your support will make a big difference! I'll bring you up to our camp... but first, let me bring you up to speed on our current situation."
We nodded. Paimon looked like she was about to ask for snacks. Again.
"The Shogunate's still pushing for this so-called 'Eternity'," Teppei explained, "with Kujou Sara leading a strong force. Vision holders are rare these days... but thanks to the strategy of Her Excellency Sangonomiya Kokomi—and of course, General Gorou—we're holding up."
I nodded slowly.
"If only I had a Vision," he muttered, a little wistful. "I could help even more."
And that hit.
That hit like a flying cabbage in the middle of a soup commercial.
I looked at him seriously. Like, full-on shonen protagonist sparkly eye mode.
"Man... Vision is good and all," I said, poking my own chest. "But you know what's better than a Vision?"
He blinked. Lumine looked suspicious. Paimon braced herself.
"A HEART OF A WARRIOR."
I pointed dramatically.
"Those who never bend! Not even in the middle of chaos! Not even if they're starving! Not even if they have to eat emergency rations that taste like regret and sadness!"
...Okay, I was getting carried away.
But Teppei's eyes... they glimmered. Dude was touched.
Lumine gave me a side glance, somewhere between impressed and concerned. As always.
"Enough chitchat for now," I said, pulling myself together. "A few more minutes and the situation might turn against the resistance."
Lumine nodded. Serious face. "We can't waste time."
Paimon puffed up. "Yeah! Let's go already!"
I turned to Teppei, dramatically of course. "Let's go, future hero."
And boom. The squad was moving.
We were heading straight into the heat of battle like morons on a mission. My blood was pumping. Teppei was safe. And my fists were itching.
***
So there we were, marching our way through Inazuma's tropical chaos with the wind in our hair, blood on our knuckles, and a trail of confused Shogunate samurai wondering what kind of fever dream just bulldozed through their ranks. I was feeling pretty great. Alive. Unbothered. Possibly a little too chaotic. You know, just a normal Tuesday.
And as we kept pushing forward—probably too enthusiastically for people who were technically not even enlisted—we only ran into a few more unlucky Shogunate soldiers. And when I say a few, I mean like five. Max. Real shame for them.
Well. It started with one guy trying to sneak up on me. Rookie mistake.
"Behind you!" Paimon yelled.
"Too slow," I grinned as I grabbed the dude's arm, flipped him over my shoulder, and sent him flying into a fruit cart that had definitely not been there five seconds ago. He crashed with a thud and an unfortunate splatter.
Another one charged. I ducked under his blade, tapped his shoulder politely, and then uppercutted him into orbit.
"Why does it always end with someone flying into the sky?" Lumine muttered.
"It's the drama. Gotta make it cinematic," I shrugged.
One more came swinging—clearly the overachiever of the group—and Lumine stepped forward this time, using her sword to parry his strike and then twirled to slash him into a tree.
"Your turn," she said.
"I thought you'd never ask."
"Hey Lumine," I called as I grabbed one samurai mid-swing. "Catch!"
"Shigeru, no—!"
Too late. I turned the poor dude into a full-body volleyball and spiked him across the beach. Lumine, ever the team player, caught him with a straight face and then yeeted him right back at me with enough force to violate at least seven human rights. I bicycle-kicked him into the horizon.
GOAL!!!
I even did the full-on soccer celebration—shirt half-off, knee-slide, arms raised to the heavens. Paimon nearly died from second-hand embarrassment.
"I can't take you anywhere," Lumine muttered.
"You did though," I grinned. "And now look at us! Annihilating dudes like it's our part-time job!"
Teppei, who honestly wasn't needed at all, just stood there clapping like a proud dad who brought his kids to a karate tournament but ended up watching them demolish black belts together with Paimon.
"Looks like the fight here's calmed down," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Might've even ended."
"Must be the Shigeru Effect."
"Please don't start naming phenomena after yourself," Lumine sighed.
"I already filed a patent."
Just as we were about to move, a last group of desperate Shogunate samurai appeared. Probably a backup squad. Definitely not ready for this energy.
"Ah, bonus round," I whispered.
One came sprinting with a spear. I sidestepped, grabbed the pole, snapped it in two, and used it to boop his helmet off like I was flipping a pancake.
"Here comes the pain train!" Paimon cheered. I don't know when she became our hypewoman, but I dig it.
Lumine dashed through a group of three, her sword dancing with Electro as she knocked them all flat in a beautiful arc of destruction. One guy tried crawling away, and I just... sat on him.
"Where you goin', bro? We're not done bonding."
Anyway, Teppei said he wanted to introduce us to the commander of the resistance—the one, the only, the floof legend himself: General Gorou.
"Oooh! Let's go meet the fluffy commander!" I exclaimed.
Teppei visibly flinched. "Please don't call him that when we get there."
"No promises."
So we strutted over to the Resistance camp like the uninvited VIPs we were. And there he was—Gorou in the flesh. Fluffy ears. Noble posture. War-torn seriousness. This man had the entire tragic shonen commander aesthetic down to a science.
Teppei explained how we saved him and went full hype mode about our skills.
"They don't even have Visions," he said. "And yet they can use elemental powers like nothing! Multiple ones, even!"
Gorou's ears twitched. "Impressive... I presume you've heard that the goal of the resistance is to defeat the Shogun's army and repeal the Vision Hunt Decree. This is no easy task. Each who sets foot on the battlefield must be ready to sacrifice their life."
"Yeah, kinda heard about that," I shrugged. "I even squared up with the Shogun herself."
Silence.
"Well, I got bodied," I admitted. "But I'm still willing to throw hands again. Apparently, I have plot armor and a high luck stat. Also, I might be suicidal, but in a fun way."
Gorou blinked. Teppei blinked. Half the resistance blinked.
Lumine sighed and said, "I've lost count of how many times he says that."
Paimon facepalmed. "And Paimon live with him."
Gorou cleared his throat. "That's... unexpected. But tell me, why do you wish to join us? The resistance cannot accept any who don't possess a warrior's will—you and I must be certain of your decision."
"Bro," I said. "I literally just told you I want to square up with Raiden Shogun again. That's all the proof you need."
So I launched into storytime mode like a dramatic theater kid with a spotlight. "Right, so picture this—Inazuma City, chaos everywhere, I'm dodging lightning bolts like I'm in a budget anime, and boom! The 100th Vision happens. Massive drama. Super sparkly."
"Don't forget the part where you almost died," Lumine said, folding her arms.
"I was getting there!" I huffed. "Anyway, we had to save Thoma—great guy, 10/10 hair—and then suddenly we're getting tag-teamed by the actual Raiden Shogun and her puppety murder clone. I'm talking double trouble with extra voltage!"
Lumine nodded, reluctantly. "It happened. Though I'd tell it in a slightly less... unhinged way."
"Oh come on, it was cinematic! You can't just skip the part where I tried to suplex an Archon."
"You missed."
"Details."
Gorou looked shocked. "What?! It was you two?!"
I beamed. "Yep! The beautiful disaster duo! We saved Thoma and looked real cool doing it. I even carried Lumine like a knight in a fantasy novel!"
She kicked me across the room.
I flew. Landed. Stood back up. Dusted myself off. "As I was saying, very cool."
"And now we've got better mugshots," I added. "Still wanted, though."
Gorou gave us a long stare. "Funny you mention that. We did recover a bounty notice from the defeated samurai. It read: 'Reward for the capture of a blonde-haired traveler, a mysterious flying pet, and...'" He squinted. "'A suicidal idiot with no regard for his own life.'"
"Oh COME ON," I groaned. "At least call me something cooler. Like 'Chaos Incarnate' or 'One-Man Catastrophe.'"
Paimon hissed. "Who are they calling a mysterious flying pet?!"
"They called me suicidal," I muttered. "Suck it up, emergency food."
"BECAUSE YOU ACTUALLY ARE!" Lumine yelled.
Fair.
Gorou smiled politely, probably reconsidering every decision that led to this exact moment. "My apologies. I understand your situation well enough for now. On behalf of the resistance, welcome to our ranks. Her Excellency is currently away from camp. We don't know where she went, but she left instructions for us to take care of everything in her absence."
He turned to Teppei. "Show them around the camp first. Then send them straight to the frontlines. If they're ready, of course."
"Ready?" I laughed. "Brother, we LIVE for chaos. Where there's chaos, there's us. We'll either body them—or get bodied. Depends on who we're fighting. But either way, fireworks are happening."
And just like that, we were officially part of the rebellion.
Long live rebellion! Long live chaos! And may the gods have mercy on anyone who tries to take us seriously.
Time to break some bones!
_________________________
End of Chapter 56
Quests Completed:
*We didn't just enter Inazuma—we announced ourselves with fists, flair, and at least three counts of property damage.
*Successfully turned a human being into a beach ball. Lumine assisted. Teppei is mildly traumatized.
*Met General Gorou. He now regrets asking questions.
*Secured a spot in the Resistance using pure chaos and questionable sanity.
*Discovered what the Shogunate really thinks of you.
Rewards:
*Unlocked new identity: "Suicidal Idiot with No Regard for His Own Life."
*+1 Official Resistance Membership Badge (Definitely Not Forged)
*+30,000 Mora (Probably looted off unconscious soldiers)
*+1 New Title: "Chaos Incarnate" (Self-proclaimed, but catchy)
*+10 Reputation in Watatsumi Island (Mostly fear-based)
*+1 Trauma to Gorou's mental stability
*+1 Friendship Point with Lumine (I still got kicked, though)
*+∞ Emotional damage to Paimon
Achievements:
"Bounty Hunter? No, Bounty Star."
-Unlocked Wanted Posters in three regions. Fame never looked so dumb.
"Certified Chaos Recruit"
-Joined the Resistance by traumatizing the commander in under 5 minutes.