Battle of the Sebal Plains

— 15th day, 6th month, 1549th year, Continental Calendar —

On this day, a force of seven thousand men led by Fuuga entered the

Sebal Plains—a grain-producing region inside a valley surrounded by

mountains inside the Kingdom of Gabi. Overlooking the plains was Gabi

Castle, home to their king.

Once they passed through the Sebal Plains, they would enter an area that

was a wild mix of pro- and anti-Fuuga groups. There was nowhere for the

anti-Fuuga faction to mass their troops, so they desperately wanted to force

Fuuga into a final showdown here. On the other hand, Fuuga's forces would

be able to join up with the rest of the troops in their home country if they

could just get through the plains. That was why a united force of groups

from the anti-Fuuga faction (hereafter the United Force) arrived first and

were waiting for Fuuga when he arrived.

The United Force had seen what Malmkhitan's elite warriors could do

during the demon wave and realized they would be defeated in detail if they

didn't fight with cohesion. To that end, they didn't indulge in any

unnecessary delaying maneuvers along the road—instead concentrating

their manpower in the Sebal Plains where they would confront Fuuga's

main force.

Fuuga and his men knew of the United Force's intentions, but daringly

walked into the trap, seeing it as a good opportunity to wipe out all those

who opposed them. Without anyone planning it that way, both forces had

decided that this was the place for their final showdown.

◇ ◇ ◇

Fuuga's first order was to take Fort Sebal at the entrance to the Sebal

Plains.

"We can't take a lot of time. We'll take it quickly with a total offensive.

Moumei!"

"Yes, my lord. I am here."

"Lead the foot soldiers in a charge!"

"Understood! Let's go!"

Moumei, the giant man with a massive hammer, rode in on his

lumbering steppe yak, and the men chased after him on foot. Once he

finished watching them go, Fuuga gave orders to the remaining troops.

"Shuukin, Gaten. Have your cavalry run around and throw the enemy

into disarray! Kasen, your archers will support the other forces! They can

only have so many men holed up in a fort of that size. Crush them quickly!"

"""Yes, sir!"""

Now that they had their orders, the commanders moved into action.

Shuukin and Gaten's groups circled around the fortress, making it look

like they were going to attack points that were lightly guarded, forcing the

defenders to spread out. Meanwhile, any enemy archers who leaned out to

take aim at them were shot down by Kasen's bowmen. All of this reduced

the pressure on Moumei's infantry that were attacking at the front.

"Now's our chance! Let's go!"

Moumei held his shield up against the arrows pouring down on him

from the fortress as the infantry arrived in front of the main gate. Getting

down off his steppe yak, Moumei wound up with his massive hammer and

slammed it into the gate made of thick logs.

"Haaah!"

Crack! Two of the logs snapped clean in two, creating a gap.

"I'm not done yet!"

A second, then a third swing widened the gap. Seeing this, the defending

leader decided it was impossible for them to resist any longer.

"We can't last any longer... Retreat! Retreat!"

The defenders lowered rope ladders from the walls, scattering in all

directions. There had been five hundred men in Fort Sebal, but that wasn't

nearly enough to defend it against an army of seven thousand. They had

also been told by Duke Chima to abandon the fortress quickly so as to lure

Fuuga's forces deeper in. Because of that, the defenders retreated without

putting up a proper resistance.

Having taken the fortress without significant losses, Fuuga stationed five

hundred troops and the commander Gaifuku there to defend it. Gaifuku had

not fully recovered from the wound he took protecting Fuuga during the

attempted assassination.

And so, the preliminary battle was won by Fuuga's forces.

◇ ◇ ◇

After reorganizing, Fuuga's force of sixty-five hundred men headed into

the Sebal Plains.

"It's hot..." Fuuga muttered to himself as he rode on Durga's back,

advancing along the road with his troops. "I feel like it's only gotten hotter

since we entered the plains."

"That's how these mountain basins are," Mutsumi, who was riding

beside him, said, pointing to the mountains. "The hot wind blows down

from the mountains. I suppose you wouldn't see much of this sort of terrain

on the steppes of Malmkhitan though."

"It's unfamiliar to me, yeah. The rocky desert was already too hot for

my tastes, but the humidity here makes it even worse. I almost miss the dry

heat of the desert," Fuuga grumbled as he loosened his collar.

"Oh, my," Mutsumi chuckled. "You wouldn't hesitate to face thousands

of soldiers, and yet a little heat like this is enough to make you cry?"

"Ha ha ha! Well, I can't change the weather with brute force, after all."

"Could you two please act a little more aware of the danger we're in...?"

Shuukin rode up alongside the two of them to complain about the way

they were bantering in the middle of what would become the site for the

final battle. He pointed down the road in the direction their forces were

headed.

"Even from this distance, you can see it. The enemy intends to meet us

here."

On the road up ahead, they could see the banners of the anti-Fuuga

faction. Even just eyeballing it, there had to be between ten and fifteen

thousand eagerly awaiting Fuuga and his men.

If Fuuga's forces made it past Gabi Castle and could join up with the

elite troops from his homeland, it would be no easy task to take them down.

Once that happened, with the support of the pro-Fuuga states, he would

devour the anti-Fuuga countries in the Union of Eastern Nations starting in

the east.

That was why the United Force's victory condition was: do not let

Fuuga's army get past Gabi Castle.

Even if they let Fuuga himself get away, so long as they managed to

chase his army back north, it would kill the pro-Fuuga faction's inertia. If

the people who were lionizing Fuuga saw him suffer a crippling defeat, it

might disillusion them into leaving his side. If that happened, it would be

Duke Chima's time to shine. He'd use every diplomatic trick available to

dismantle the pro-Fuuga faction.

Meanwhile, what the United Force believed the pro-Fuuga faction's

victory condition was: get Fuuga past Gabi Castle and back to his home

country no matter the cost.

They didn't necessarily need to eliminate the United Force here in this

battle. If Fuuga could just break through the United Force's encirclement,

he would be able to win in the long term. They believed that, as the smaller

force, Fuuga's army would head straight for their victory condition and

recklessly attempt an attack through their center.

That is why, of the fourteen thousand troops—including Zemish

mercenaries—the United Force had scraped together, six thousand were

placed in the center to block the exit to the Sebal Plains, while the rest were

divided into four thousand on each flank in order to surround Fuuga.

It was clear to see that they meant to stop Fuuga's forces from attacking

down the middle, then pick him apart from the sides. If both factions

followed established tactics, that's no doubt how it would have played out.

However, Fuuga would never fight using established tactics. He hated it

when people tried to place him into a box. The United Force had misread

his intentions.

With a swing of his arm, Fuuga gave the orders.

"Position a thousand men on our right and left flanks. We'll have them

hit the enemy's left and right opposition. Shuukin and Gaten will take the

right, while Moumei and Kasen will command the left."

Established tactics said the smaller force needed to keep its fighting

strength concentrated. However, Fuuga chose a formation that seemed to

challenge the anti-Fuuga faction head-on.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Have they gone mad?!" King Shamour Sharn said in astonishment as

Fuuga's army got into formation in the distance. He'd been watching from

the United Force's main camp. Because the Kingdom of Sharn had

provided the largest portion of the United Force's fighting strength,

Shamour was their commander-in-chief. "They mean to fight us head-on

when they have only half our number?"

"Does that just show how confident they are in their own strength?"

King Gabi, who had become vice commander, cocked his head to the side.

"No, their army is a mixed force," Shamour spat. "Fuuga's own men

can't account for even two thousand of their number. The rest have to be

mercenaries, volunteers, and refugees. It's an insult that they think they can

face us head-on like that."

"Calm yourself, King Sharn. And you too, King Gabi," Duke Chima,

who had been standing by their side, tried to mollify them.

Mathew had been staying close to Shamour as an advisor in the United

Force.

He pointed to the flanks of Fuuga's army. "From what I can see, Fuuga

separated off a thousand men to each flank, but that leaves more than four

thousand in the center. Our own center has six thousand troops. He likely

means to use the two thousand on the flanks to prevent us encircling him,

then break through the center where the difference in our strength is not so

great."

"I see. So the armies on his flanks are sacrifices, then," King Gabi

replied and Mathew nodded.

"It's a heartless plan, but an effective one, I surmise. They only need

their main force to get past us, after all."

"And there is no shortage of fanatics who would throw their lives away

for Fuuga, huh? Hmm... His army was always incredible at charging

through the enemy, after all," Shamour said, recalling how the soldiers of

Malmkhitan had repeatedly torn apart hordes of monsters during the demon

wave.

If the United Force faced that head-on, they would no doubt take

considerable losses on their own side.

After some time stroking his goatee, Shamour finally came to a decision.

"Very well. We'll call back a thousand men from each flank in order to

strengthen our center. No matter what else happens, we cannot allow Fuuga

to get past us."

"I believe that would be a good idea." Mathew nodded in agreement.

And with that, the formation of each army had been decided.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Chaaarge!"

"""Yeahhhhhhhh!"""

Finally, Fuuga's army collided with the United Force.

The planners on the United Force's side thought that, as the smaller

force, Fuuga's army would focus their power in the center and attempt a

breakthrough. They had strengthened their own center, anticipating the

forty-five hundred troops in the center of Fuuga's army would desperately

charge the eight thousand in theirs. However, contrary to their expectations,

the forty-five hundred troops in the center of Fuuga's army advanced slower

than the two flanks, and actually stopped short of the United Force's own.

Then, following established tactics, they began their attack at range with

arrows and magic. Not a single unit charged the United Force's center.

Instead, there was a shootout as the United Force returned fire.

As they watched from the United Force's main camp, Shamour and

Mathew grew suspicious.

"What is going on?" Shamour asked. "Are they not planning to attempt

to attack through the center?"

"They've come to a total stop. Although that is what established tactics

would dictate..."

"They can't be sane, challenging us head-on with inferior numbers."

Mathew nodded. "I agree. Malmkhitan's strength lies in the mobility and

penetrative strength they have as a people of the steppes. I remember quite

well just how fearsome their charges were during the demon wave. That's

why we did more than enough to prepare for it..."

As he said that, Mathew looked towards the anti-air repeating bolt

thrower. They had carried it down from Gabi Castle and installed it here in

preparation for a charge by Fuuga's army. If one considered Fuuga's

reckless courage, it was entirely possible he would rush in alone on Durga's

back, so this was a measure against that. Yet, despite their careful

preparation, there was no charge from Fuuga's army, leaving Mathew and

the others disappointed.

"It would seem Fuuga hasn't focused his strength in the center..."

Shamour said, pointing to the left side of the battlefield.

That was where one thousand of Fuuga's men were fighting three

thousand of the United Force's. Despite being outnumbered three-to-one,

Fuuga's army had the United Force on the back foot.

Squinting a little harder, they could see something jumping around like

fleas on the battlefield. It was Malmkhitan's leaping cavalry.

"If we can see so many leaping cavalry, that thousand must be Fuuga's

most powerful force. And...while it's too far for us to see from here, they

must have stopped our attack on the right side as well. The thousand on

Fuuga's left flank must be elite warriors too."

"That means Fuuga placed his strongest forces on the flanks, then..."

Shamour nodded in agreement with Mathew, stroking his goatee. "Was

his goal not to break through the center, then? Does he mean to defeat our

flanks and surround us on three sides? Or perhaps he means to crush one of

the armies on our flanks, then attack from the side...?"

"The side attack seems most likely, but...if he was doing that, he would

have concentrated his strength on one flank. That is what I would do. A

successful encirclement or a side attack would depend on how quickly you

can defeat your opponent."

"I agree. If he takes too long, reinforcements will arrive from the

center... Fine, send a message to the units in the rear of the center!"

Shamour ordered his subordinates to take one thousand men from the

center to each of the flanks because of the protracted shootout. Now that

they knew Fuuga's elites were to their flanks, there was no longer any

reason to make their own center unnecessarily thick.

Mathew stroked his chin as he watched. "It could be that Fuuga's

aim...is to attack our flanks today in order to thin out the center. Then,

tomorrow or later, once we are predisposed to believe that the majority of

his strength is in his flanks, he'll place his elites in the center, and attempt a

rapid breakthrough."

"Hmm... In that case, we need simply be cautious in our troop

deployments, the same as today. The biggest headache will be if he has

some other plan in mind," Shamour said, looking to the castle behind them.

"Gabi Castle has hardly any defenders now. Fuuga left five hundred men at

Fort Sebal near the entrance to the plains, right? What would you think of a

plan to secretly move that five hundred to take our castle?"

"If they'll come to Gabi Castle...that makes things easier," Mathew said

with a wry smile. "In fact, we should let all of Fuuga's army in."

"What?!"

"I have told the defenders to set fire to their provisions if the castle

seems likely to fall. This is enemy territory for Fuuga. If he attempts to

settle in for a siege here without resupply or reinforcement, how long can

he last? We, on the other hand, will continue to receive supplies so long as

we hold the southeast exit to the Sebal Plains."

"I see. That would make it easier if we gave them the castle, yes,"

Shamour agreed heartily, slapping the sword at his waist. Mathew smiled

wryly.

"Well, given Fuuga's wild nature and his nose for danger, I doubt he

would fall for such a ploy. I think it's best that we try to make him drop his

guard and attempt an assault through the center."

"Then it's a battle of endurance today... What a headache."

The two of them watched as the battle bogged down to a stalemate.

◇ ◇ ◇

In the southwest corner of the battlefield which Shamour and Mathew

had been watching, Fuuga's commanders Shuukin and Gaten were going

wild with their leaping cavalry.

In comparison to the wise and brave Shuukin, Gaten was callow and

attention-seeking, but could show resourcefulness in a tight spot, and was a

good commander capable of thinking flexibly.

"Haaah!"

As his leaping temsbock touched down, Gaten cracked his twin iron

whips, wrapping one around a man's neck and breaking it, while the tip of

the other pierced through another man's throat. His versatile fighting style

and the whooshing sounds of his whips terrified the soldiers around him.

"What's this? None of you dare approach me? But you opposed Lord

Fuuga. And I was so looking forward to seeing what brave generals the

United Force had too!"

Despite his taunting, the soldiers of the United Force were too scared to

get within range of Gaten's whips.

"Honestly... You people aren't even worth my time. Moving on..."

Once he had confirmed no one was going to be coming at him, Gaten

started busily looking around the area. A short distance away he saw

Shuukin lop the arms off a mounted soldier and impale the man's throat.

Gaten rushed over to his side.

"It's irritating, having to stay in one place while fighting. Wouldn't you

agree, Sir Shuukin, right hand of our lord?"

"Gaten. There's no time for idle chatter on the battlefield," Shuukin said

without so much as looking at him. Gaten shrugged.

"I don't see why not. We're having an easy enough time. If, instead of

this mixed force of five hundred horsemen and five hundred leaping

cavalry, we could call Moumei or Kasen over here from the north side and

get together a group of a thousand leaping cavalry, we could break through

these pitiful soldiers with ease."

"Our orders were to delay them..." Shuukin said as he swung his blade

down on an enemy soldier who approached him. "I'm sure Lord Fuuga has

something he's thinking of. We just have to trust in our lord, and put our

martial prowess to work. Or am I wrong?"

"No, you're not wrong," Gaten said as he swung his whip. Crack! It

traced a low arc, sending three enemy infantrymen flying at once.

Then, catching the tip of his whip as it returned, Gaten chuckled.

"For me, it's been surprising to see our lord starting to give us such

precise orders. He's always been better at just charging in and crushing his

enemies."

"He must have realized that wasn't enough on its own, wouldn't you

say? Lord... Fuuga Haan has his eyes set on something beyond this sort of

internal conflict, a more distant conquest." As he said that, Shuukin looked

up to a sky that was yellow with all the dust that had been kicked up.

How far would Fuuga climb from here? It didn't matter where he was

going. It didn't matter how far it was. They wanted to follow him. They

wanted to chase after Fuuga's dream together. That was what all Fuuga's

followers wished for.

Suddenly...Gaten's temsbock leaped. As it did, the tall grass where

Gaten had been was instantly mowed down to less than half its former

height. If he had still been there on the ground, Gaten would have lost his

feet along with the bottom half of his temsbock.

"Hey! Nice dodge!" A big man carrying a huge ax walked towards them

with heavy steps. "I'd expect no less from one of Fuuga's commanders.

You're well trained."

Surprised, Shuukin asked, "Who goes there...?"

"Nata Chima, commander for the Kingdom of Sharn," the man with the

big ax introduced himself.

He was the second son of the House of Chima. Although he was

younger than Hashim, the eldest son, his stern expression made him look

older than Hashim who was in his mid-twenties.

Lifting his ax, Nata seemed to be sizing up the two of them as he spoke.

"From the lackluster fight going on in the center, it seemed like Fuuga

wasn't around. I was hoping I could fight him if I came to this side,

but...he's not here, huh?"

"We have no reason to tell you that!" Gaten shouted as he drove his

temsbock into a big jump.

Then, swinging both whips, he tried to pierce Nata's neck from both

sides. However, Nata dropped his ax to the ground, catching both whips in

his hands.

"What?!" Gaten cried out in surprise. Nata smirked.

"An interesting trick! But I saw it coming!"

Nata pulled on the ends of the whips he was holding, twisting his body

around like he was doing a hammer throw. Gaten was sent flying along with

his temsbock, but let go of his whips in midair, and used the reins to pull off

a landing somehow.

"Urgh... Damn your idiot strength!" Gaten struggled for a response to

the incredible power that had thrown both him and his mount.

Then, as Nata hefted his ax and was about to go finish off Gaten once

and for all...

"Hah!"

"Urgh!"

Shuukin charged straight at him, catching Nata by surprise. Shuukin's

sword aimed to mow through his torso, but Nata caught it with the handle

of his ax.

Clang! The sound of metal striking metal echoed.

"Guh! Don't get in my way!"

"Whoa!"

With a powerful swing of his ax, Nata sent Shuukin flying several

meters, temsbock and all. Shuukin recovered in midair, and landed his

temsbock.

As he did, Gaten rushed over to him, having picked his whips back up.

"He's got one hell of a throw."

"Yeah. Moumei's probably the only one on our side who could match

him in pure strength."

"That's trouble... Let's work together and finish him off quickly. I'll

make an opening..."

"Hold on, Gaten," Shuukin said, holding out his sword to stop Gaten

from rushing off again. "Our mission is to keep the fighting at a stalemate

here. We have no time to deal with this savage. Let's leave him be and head

to the next place."

"But—"

"Oh, come on! You're running away? You're supposed to be Fuuga's

men." Nata tried to provoke them, but Shuukin didn't pay it any mind.

"I've seen your strength. Yes, you're far stronger than any ordinary man,

but...you're still no match for our lord."

"What'd you say?" Nata grunted. Shuukin could sense his anger.

Even if this man were to stand before Fuuga, their lord would not see

him as anywhere near the threat that King Souma was. Nata's strength was

the simple sort, reliant only on his martial prowess.

"Let's go, Gaten!"

"Right!"

The two of them left Nata and rushed off to find the next place where

their allies were struggling.

"Wha...! Damn it!"

Left behind, Nata ground his teeth, slamming his giant ax into the

ground in frustration. It dug a trench rut in a corner of the battlefield.

◇ ◇ ◇

Meanwhile, at the same time...

"Don't push too hard! Move the line up slowly and steadily!"

In the center army, Hashim, the eldest son of the House of Chima, was

carefully commanding his troops. As he did, the fourth son, Nike, came

over to him.

"Big Brother Hashim... Big Brother Nata seems to have rushed off to the

left side of the battlefield on his own."

"Let him go. The only cure for stupidity is death."

Nike didn't rebut his elder brother's words.

On this first day of fighting, they all kept their intentions hidden.

Nothing was concluded, and both armies withdrew to their camps with the

setting sun.

◇ ◇ ◇

That night, once the fighting of their first day on the Sebal Plains was

finished, Shamour, King of Sharn, invited his commanders to the main

camp for a war council. Among them were his advisor, Duke Mathew, as

well as King Gabi.

"We've taken heavy damage to both of our flanks," Shamour said,

pointing to the sides of the United Force on the map spread out across the

table the commanders were standing around. "Fuuga had most of his

strengths in the flanks, as we suspected. We were able to repel their attacks

with the reinforcements we sent, but we took considerable losses in the

meantime."

"Hmph! How irritating," spat King Gabi.

"But we must have cut down Fuuga's main fighting force in return. If

you look at the number of casualties, our forces indeed had the worst of it.

However, we hold a geographical advantage here," Mathew said in a calm

tone of voice. "This is the Kingdom of Gabi. We can pull our wounded back

and give them time to recover, filling the vacancies with fresh troops.

Fuuga's army, on the other hand, cannot contact their homeland so long as

the southwest exit to the Sebal Plains remains sealed. They cannot rest their

men or replace them with new ones."

"Hmm... You're right. The enemy can't get reinforcements," said

Shamour.

"Yes." Mathew nodded in agreement. "And those troops that report

directly to Fuuga are currently the core of his army. If we whittle them

down, he cannot replace them immediately. If battles like today's continue,

Fuuga's army will die the death of a thousand cuts."

"""Yeah!""" the assembled commanders cheered at Mathew's analysis.

Gratified now that he understood his side held the upper hand, Shamour

plopped himself down on a camp stool and crossed his thick arms.

"I understand our advantage, but then why is Fuuga fighting the way

that he is? This is a battle of attrition."

"Indeed. I cannot understand why Fuuga's outnumbered army would

choose to fight like this."

When one of the commanders shared that same opinion, Mathew

brought a hand to his chin and got a pensive look on his face.

"I have been questioning that myself. If we try to explain their actions

logically, it would be to convince us that 'Fuuga will place his best forces in

the flanks again today,' so that we also focus our forces there from the

beginning. Then he would instead place his main force in the center, and

rapidly break through ours..."

"Hmm. In that case, we need to simply continue fighting as we did

today," Shamour concluded.

"You're quite right," Mathew nodded. "If we keep constantly aware of

where Fuuga's main force is and position an appropriate number of troops

in response, we should have no problem. But..."

"But what?" Shamour asked, responding to Mathew's uncertain tone.

Mathew seemed to hesitate for a moment, but found his resolve and

answered, "It's just...this isn't Fuuga's preferred style of fighting."

Fuuga was not this tactical. If an enemy rose up before him, no matter

who it was or how great the threat, he would keep pushing forward. And

that stance was shared by his army. Mathew questioned whether Fuuga

would really adopt this sort of thoughtful troop deployment.

"With the refugees lifting him up as some sort of great man, and a grand

army assembling beneath him, perhaps he's changed? How impertinent,"

Shamour said dismissively.

"Yes, that could be it..." Mathew nodded. "Whatever the case, if Fuuga

wants to join us in a battle of attrition, we could ask for nothing better. I just

ask that you all remain cautious."

The commanders all nodded in agreement.

◇ ◇ ◇

— 16th day, 6th month, 1549th year, Continental Calendar —

As the battle entered its second day, the moves they made were exactly

the same as on the first.

Fuuga's army positioned their strongest fighters on the flanks, and the

United Force sent reinforcements to their own flanks, bringing the fighting

to a stalemate. However, unlike the United Force which could afford to

change out their side units, Fuuga's forces were still exhausted from the

previous day's fighting and found themselves a little pressured.

As for the center, they were engaged in a shooting match like the day

before, and there were no intense clashes there on this day either.

"Tch..."

Fuuga watched from his main camp with a sour look on his face. He sat

on a camp stool, stomping his feet repeatedly. It had left a clear imprint of

his foot in the ground.

Mutsumi, who was beside him, let out a sigh. "Why don't you calm

down a little, darling? Acting irritated here won't do anything to bring us

victory."

"I know. I know that, but...it hurts, staying here in the main camp while

everyone else is out there fighting."

Mutsumi sighed once more and shrugged her shoulders. "That is what it

means to be commander-in-chief."

"Sitting put like this doesn't suit me. Going wild with all our strength,

racing around, and seizing victory with our own hands, that's how we've

always fought before now."

"But you know they'll take your head in no time if you do that, right?"

Mutsumi's chiding left Fuuga speechless.

"If you are going to seize hegemony on this continent, you need to

change your simplistic way of fighting. The Gran Chaos Empire is massive,

and Yuriga's letters warned you not to take the Kingdom of Friedonia

lightly either, didn't they? If you are going to face those nations on equal

terms, your army needs to evolve even more."

"I know... That's why I'm staying put now, isn't it?" Fuuga responded,

sounding unamused.

Mutsumi smiled at the sour look on his face.

"I believe that Sir Souma would trust his followers to handle things at a

time like this, you know?"

"Yeah, I'll bet he would..."

Souma understood that he had no martial prowess or gift for

commanding troops, so he would trust his subordinates to handle things at

times like this. Because he was the type that preferred not to be on the front

lines, he could sit in the main camp without getting agitated like Fuuga.

Because he could imagine it so easily, Fuuga stopped stamping his feet.

"Believe in my people and wait? It pisses me off that he can do that and

I can't."

"Hee hee. That's right. Let's trust in the people who are chasing your

dream with you."

With that said, Mutsumi walked around behind Fuuga and rested her

hands on his shoulders