NOVEL NEXT Chapter 8: Interlude
Interlude
King Oni Yamato Castle, Outer Gate Number: 2976
[Dining room]
Although it was already past lunchtime, they decided to return to the dining room and turn it into their private dining room for now where only Sengo and Tomoe's brothers were talking about the time it was going to take to get home.
"I say it will take 1 month to get home!"
[Oda Nobunaga, Age: 15]
Sengo and Tomoe's older sister, Oda Nobunaga shouted excitedly and threw a leather bag containing gold, where her other brother of great muscles grabbed to feel the weight.
"This must have like 300 gold coins! Not bad! I will also bet 300 gold coins!"
[Raiden Tameemon, Age: 16]
Raiden also took out a leather bag where he threw it on the table competing with Nobunaga.
"Sengo and Tomoe will arrive 1 month and 2 week!"
"I'll bet, they will take 3 weeks."
[Lu Bu, Age: 13]
Being the younger of the two, Lu Bu also gambled by giving a shorter time on the bet.
"You're crazy Lu Bu!" Nobunaga exclaimed, surprised by the time it took Sengo and Tomoe to get home.
"It will be different for them. It will obviously take him less time to get home." Lu Bu said as if it was obvious.
"Lu Bu may be right, although it took Lu Bu about 3 months to get home."
[Kato Danzo, Age: 11]
Kato responded calmly while sharpening the kunai that was made by Sengo before going to this test that she also did last year.
"You and Chiyome were 2 months late, you can't tell me that." Lu Bu refuted Kato's words. "I took longer because I took a detour to look for a strong opponent."
Lu Bu raised his chest proudly.
"But that doesn't take away from the fact that you were the only one who took the longest to get home."
[Mochizuki Chiyome, Age: 11]
Chiyome, another of the younger sisters, spoke while watching the conversations and bets that her older brothers made.
"We have to calm down for a while, we must not attack each other because of the test that Sengo and Tomoe are doing."
[Minamoto no Raikou, Age: 14]
Raikou's angelic and calm voice stopped everyone's chatter for a moment.
"You took about as long as Chiyome and Kato."
[Okita Souji, Age: 19]
Okita watched the situation with amusement, with her feet on the table and a chopstick swinging between her mouth and nose.
"You took as long as I did!" I claim Raikou as a childish outburst. "You were even accompanied with Kojiro to finish this test with less time!"
"That stupid guy left me abandoned and I get home in 3 weeks, that was unfair!"
"Speaking of him, where is Kojiro."
Kato asked his sister Chiyome.
"He said he would go to the waterfall to meditate and then continue training with the katana."
"Huh, I really can't follow his meditation every time I go with him, meditation is very boring." Kato watched his kunai to see if it was sharp.
"I can barely keep up with his meditation step, the last time I went with him, I happened to fall asleep."
"Hahaha!" Kato let out a small laugh in amusement. "I hadn't heard that, it's funny!"
Chiyome blushed. "It's not my fault that the sound of the waterfall was so relaxing..."
"Good! The bet would be like this!"
Oda Nobunaga – 300 Gold Coins; Time limit: 1 month.
Raiden Tameemon – 300 Gold Coins; Time limit: 1 month and 2 weeks.
Lu Bu – 300 Gold Coins; Time limit: 3 weeks.
"Lu Bu will surely lose, the bet would be left with me and Raiden!" Nobunaga's eyes were shining fiercely as he made a gaze competition with Raiden.
"I'll win this bet, Nobunaga!"
Raiden also left Lu Bu aside.
"Wait!" Okita entered Nobunaga and Raiden's conversation. "I'll bet they take 3 weeks and 3 days!"
Okita joined the bet.
Okita Souji – 300 Gold Coins; Time limit: 3 weeks and 3 days.
"Yes, that's like this!" Now it was Raikou. "I'll bet they take 2 weeks!"
Raikou's gamble was the most dangerous, but easy money in the eyes of Nobunaga and Raiden.
Minamoto no Raikou – 300 Gold Coins; Time limit: 2 weeks.
"Your prediction is the stupidest Raikou!"
"Yours too, Okita!"
Raikou and Okita high-fived each other having a contest of strength.
"I say bets are stupid." Kato muttered, but he also passed a leather bag with gold and a paper written 1 Month and 5 days where Nobunaga read it in his mind.
Kato Danzo – 300 Gold Coins; Time limit: 1 month and 5 days.
"Hey!" Kato was shocked by Chiyome's bold move.
Mochizuki Chiyome – 300 Gold Coins; Time limit: 1 month and 3 weeks.
Tack!
An arrow tied with a piece of paper had entered through the open window and arrived near Nobunaga's feet where he read the paper.
"So so does he."
Sasaki Kojiro – 300 Gold Coins; Time limit: 2 months.
All of Sengo and Tomoe's brothers had bet... well, almost all of them.
"Nobunaga, just in case you found out why Odin's Valkyries are part of our family."
Raiden's excited tone had changed to a serious one.
"Yes." The same happened with Nobunaga. "It looks like they made a deal because of what happened in the past."
The brothers took their seats to listen carefully to what Nobunaga was saying.
"Past?"
"Yes." Nobunaga kept the paper of the bets as well as the leather bags with gold. "Our father helped Odin at Ragnarok where the prophecy of the destruction of Asgard was averted... looking for information about those who helped and participated that time with our father they said something that catches my attention."
The brothers said that it should continue.
"It was Odin who made the deal to give two Valkyries and join this family..."
"That is to say that our father accepted that without worrying about Odin's intentions..."
"I think the same as you." Nobunaga and Raiden looked at the table while thinking seriously about what could happen in the future.
"Excuse me," Chiyome said, raising her hand and instantly embarrassed as all eyes turned to her. "I don't think our father would accept that without considering the consequences of why Odin was the first to send two Valkyries."
They began to reflect again, this time analyzing what Chiyome said.
Until a question came into his mind that they hadn't asked themselves before.
"For our father wanted to have many children..."
Leaving aside the two Valkyries, in total there had been 14 children where unfortunately 4 died leaving a total of 10 children.
Each of them already knew their stories, understanding that their father was looking for the souls of warriors considered legends in human history. After all, he had given a [Sun Authority] to Queen Halloween, a ruler with the power to control the river of souls and who had given their souls to King Oni Yamato, to have him as her children.
Even his younger brother Sengo...
Wait, Sengo was never on our father's list of souls...
Nobunaga, Raiden, and Lu Bu looked at each other at the same time as if they had thought the same thing.
"It is said that Odin can see the future..." Lu Bu began to slap his index finger on the table. "Surely he saw something to give to two Valkyries as if nothing had happened to our father."
"And the answer may be in our younger brother Sengo..." Raiden continued.
Nobunaga sighed. "Sengo, Sengo, Sengo... seriously how problematic this situation is."
Raikou, Chiyome and Kato looked at each other confused thinking why they were naming Sengo and that this would be a problem.
"What did Sengo do." Okita asked without thinking too much about the subject.
"To be born." Nobunaga, Raiden, and Lu Bu gave a blank stare as they said that.
"I only understand that Odin is dangerous and what we do with our Valkyrie sisters."
Kato raised his voice as you sharpened more kunai.
Raiden and Nobunaga sighed.
"Nothing. Maybe it's just paranoia on our part for thinking too much about the subject."
"Then we won't do anything with Þrúðr and Randgríðr."
Chiyome had also prepared her kunai.
"No, they're part of our family now," Raiden said with a big smile. "It would be better not to damage the relationship we've built with them."
"What I understand is that we should wait and see what happens in the future with them."
Okito folded his arms under his chest.
"Stop." Raikou curbed the murderous instincts of some. "I can see that the real enemy is Odin. Þrúðr and Randgríðr are not to be blamed for Odin's hidden intentions. I wish they would redirect that killer instinct and instead discover the truth over time. Let's not jump to conclusions that could lead to a fatal end."
They decided to take a breath of air and stop; perhaps Raikou was right and they were drawing the wrong conclusions.
"I guess Raiden is right, let's damage the relationship we have with Þrúðr and Randgríðr."
They ended up nodding to Nobunaga's words.
"Remember that I will win this bet, forget about your gold hahaha!"
Nobunaga jumped out of the window and laughed at his brothers.
What Nobunaga did relaxed the heavy atmosphere they had.
"Let's meet back when Sengo and Tomoe return home." Raiden began to retreat from the room with a light laugh.
"Come on Kato, we have training in 15 minutes with Yoshi-sensei."
Chiyome and Kato also left the room.
"I'll go to the kitchen! I'm a little hungry!"
Okita also left leaving Raikou alone.
Sighing. "I guess this calmed down." Raikou's countenance darkened. "I wouldn't want them to kill each other."
The room was desolate.