Even after working together to stop the real villain, and with peace between the two countries, it's still not likely that everyone is going to welcome and embrace the Nohrians in Hoshido and vice versa. I also still think that there's going to be pockets of resistance, but that's for another day. I think Saizo might be one of those who has to take a bit of time to relax around the Nohrians.

The neighboring kingdoms of Nohr and Hoshido had been warring for years. It had not been so long ago that many felt peace would never come. It did, however, but it was not an easy peace for many. Hoshidans had gone from barely seeing a Nohrian within their home country, thanks to the protection of Queen Mikoto, who had sadly perished in the war, to having the Nohrian royal court within their capital to attend a harvest festival.

The festival was something Hoshido had done every year, but it was the first with their Nohrian guests in attendance. Hoshido always had bountiful harvests, while Nohr had little in the ways of farmland and weather that did not really allow for many crops to grow. A trade agreement had been struck, and so the Nohrians had been invited to celebrate the Hoshidan bounty.

Most of the civilians who had not seen combat were more warm and inviting towards their Nohrian guests. Rumors abounded, as they often did in times of war or peace, but many had never even met someone from Nohr. Tension was more open among those who had lost someone fighting against the other kingdom, though Nohr had its own share of losses as well.

Even those who had first fought against, then later alongside, Nohr were not openly hostile, even if some were not the most welcoming. One of the more mistrustful Hoshidans was the red-clad ninja, Saizo, retainer to the new king of Hoshido, Ryoma. He had seen so much during the war, under orders to do everything he could to protect Ryoma, that he found trusting Nohr to be a challenge; that was why he chose to not be a part of the celebration. He lurked near the courtyard, out of sight but where he could still keep an eye on everything.

It was risky, he knew. If King Ryoma found him lurking and spying on the Nohrians, he could be in great trouble. Perhaps even accused of treason. It was a peaceful gathering. The Nohrian king, Xander, and his younger brother, Prince Leo, were not armed. No one was, though it was those two who wielded the sacred weapons of their family.

It would be better to join the festivities, but he doubted anyone would notice him gone. He had always lurked in the shadows during such events. He was less social than his twin, Kaze, who he could see clearly from his location. Kaze was with his daughter, kneeling to the young girl's level. What they were discussing was not clear to Saizo. Both appeared untroubled, and Kaze sent her on her way to the table that seated the other children born during the war. She took a seat between the Crown Prince of Nohr, Siegbert, and the Hoshidan Pegasus Knight, Caeldori.

His own son, Asugi, was seated at the table nearby. Saizo shook his head as the young man popped the seventh, by his count, sweet in his mouth then offered his bag of goodies to those around him. Most of his companions accepted the offer without a second thought. What reason did they have to fear each other? The children got along much better than some of their parents, even before the war had reached an end.

His gaze lingered on the table for a moment longer before he shifted it to the new kings. King Xander appeared to intently listen to King Ryoma as he sipped a glass of wine. Saizo was not sure what his king was saying, but he was quite animated as he spoke. King Xander lowered his glass and slowly shook his head as he replied. What could that be about? Saizo considered joining them for a moment, but then he saw Ryoma laugh off whatever it was the Nohrian king had said. Everything appeared cordial between the two kings.

In fact, there did not seem to be much tension between anyone. He spotted Laslow, one of King Xander's two retainers, talking to Orochi, who was retainer to the late Queen Mikoto. Laslow had confounded Saizo. Though both had been retainers to future kings, their behaviors could not have been more different. Saizo took his duty seriously, whereas Laslow was lax and a large flirt.

The of them had competed in a "charm-off," which had been the Nohrian retainer's idea. Laslow, however, had lost. Saizo bested him seventy-five compliments to sixteen. The other man had dissolved into tears, muttering to himself about scary guys and masked guys and scary, masked guys. It had not been long after that when Laslow had protected Ryoma in an instance where Saizo could not. He had won Saizo's respect but still left the ninja feeling just as confused as he had been when he first saw what Xander had chosen as a retainer.

Whatever Laslow was saying caused Orochi to giggle. "Don't encourage him," Saizo muttered under his breath. He knew she could not hear him, and it also appeared that she was not on her first glass of wine that evening.

Not far away from those two were the youngest princesses of each country, Elise of Nohr and Sakura of Hoshido. They giggled to each other as they shared a plate of treats. Subaki, one of Princess Sakura's retainers, knelt between the two young girls and conversed with them. Saizo watched as he joined their laughter. It was great to see another retainer doing his job, Subaki had barely left Sakura's side that day. The young princess was a bit nervous, but also excited, about their guests. Subaki did his best to soothe her worries.

Subaki, however, had been one of the first to marry someone from Nohr, a retainer named Selena. The two had a daughter, Caeldori. Selena's old liege, Princess Camilla, had doted on the other woman after seeing her again. The princess and her ex-retainer were seated elsewhere, at a table that mixed Nohrian and Hoshidan retainers. Camilla was the only royal of the group, and her attention was only on Selena, who she had missed dearly.

Saizo was not wholly against weddings uniting the two countries, but having one in the royal family's line of retainers? That could complicate things. Subaki did prove himself capable of balancing his new family, his new bride, and his duties. Others might not have that skill. He glanced again to Laslow as he thought about that. He seemed unable to balance flirting and work.

A loud thump caught his attention. Saizo jerked his head in the direction of the table where the children sat. Prince Shiro had pushed himself away from the table. Standing, he had slammed his elbow down on the table and held his hand out to Prince Siegbert. "Come on!" he said, loudly enough for Saizo to hear. "I won't have you beating me and getting away with it! Rematch!"

The Nohrian prince had pushed himself away from his seat, his cheeks flushing a pale pink. It appeared that Shiro's little outburst, and call for a rematch, startled him.

"Ah." Saizo knew exactly what was going on. He had overheard Asugi talking recently about Princes Shiro and Siegbert starting a friendly rivalry, mostly on Shiro's part. Siegbert instead sought to cement a friendship so later, when the two ruled as kings of their country, there would be no issues between the two nations.

Shiro had demanded the Nohrian royal arm wrestle him, and Siegbert had agreed. Shiro had won the first bout, swearing that it had somehow created a bond between the two of them. Siegbert had accepted his loss gracefully, but Shiro had insisted on another arm wrestling contest each time the two princes met. Siegbert, who admitted he trained after Shiro's demands for match after match, had finally bested Shiro. Despite the two crown princes on friendly terms, Shiro could be very competitive.

Saizo could not hear what Siegbert had replied, but the prince of Nohr did reluctantly agree to a rematch there and now. Saizo watched as the two princes readied themselves.

"So this is where you've been hiding, brother."

Saizo glanced behind him. Somehow, Kaze had managed to sneak up on him. He turned his attention away from the rematch - a little reluctantly, though he would never admit to anyone he was interested in the competition - and gave his younger brother his full attention. "Do you need me, Kaze?" he asked.

Kaze crossed his arms over his chest and regarded his older brother. He chose to ask a question instead of answering the one his brother had asked. "Do you really think it wise to lurk like this? What if King Ryoma finds out? I doubt he would be pleased."

Saizo let out a frustrated noise. He would not admit, not even to his own twin, that he had considered the same questions. Behind him, he heard a thump, several shouts from the children, and a "Dammit!" from Shiro. So, Prince Siegbert had bested him again.

"He knows I've never been one for... social situations such as this," Saizo said, weighing his words carefully as he spoke. "It would not be unusual for me to be missing at a function."

"But you're not missing," Kaze pointed out. "You're spying."

Saizo glanced over his shoulder for a moment. In that quick instance, everything appeared just fine. There was a part of him, however, that could not let go of the idea that the Nohrians were not fully trustworthy. "Do you trust them?" Saizo asked Kaze. He crossed his arms over his chest and tried to stare Kaze down. If there was one person who would not fold under Saizo the Fifth's harsh gaze, it was his own little brother.

"Yes." Kaze's answer came without hesitation. "I admit, it took some time. Not even Lord Leo sparing my life was the turning point. I've worked and fought alongside them longer than you, brother. They're the same as us, though our lifestyles may be different. Have you taken a chance to get to know any of them?"

Saizo glanced away from Kaze, which was all the answer the younger ninja needed.

"Go on."

Saizo lowered his arms and almost reached for his weapons. "Are you going to force me?" he asked.

"I would prefer not to. I would hate to have to embarrass my own brother."

"Embarrass?" Saizo demanded, narrowing his one good eye. "The only thing that would come of us fighting would be me beating you. How would that embarrass me?" Unless... did Kaze mean that a fight between the two brothers would embarrass King Ryoma? Reflecting poorly on his liege would, in turn, embarrass Saizo.

Kaze chuckled and took a step closer to his brother. "There will be no fighting from me, Saizo. I know your secret, and I will take you to the middle of this gathering and tickle you if you do not join the festivities."

Saizo jumped back. He could feel himself growing warm under the mask he often wore. To be such a frightful, intimidating person, he was also very ticklish. Only two people knew that, and he wanted it to stay that way. He looked over his shoulder again. He really did not want to join in on the eating and small talk.

There he was, wedged between a brother who planned to expose a secret of his and a party where he did not fully trust half the guests. After careful consideration, he decided the party would be the less painful of the two options. "Very well," he said. Admitting defeat was difficult. "I will join this celebration."

Kaze hurried to close the distance between them before Saizo could change his mind. He clapped a hand on his brother's shoulder and quickly steered him away from his hiding place. "You'll find that you have plenty in common with these people," he whispered to Saizo. "Some of them are just as odd as you."

"Hey!" Saizo hissed.

Kaze laughed again "You might not have fun, but do try to behave yourself." With a quick pat on his shoulder, Kaze was gone, leaving Saizo in the middle of the mix of Nohrians and Hoshidans.

Saizo did not have fun, but once he was able to break the ice, he found being social to be a little less of a challenge. It was the Nohrian king's other retainer, Peri, who approached him first, curious as to where he had come from. "You weren't there and then you were!" she said with a raspy giggle.

"It's a secret," he said quickly, after a moment of awkward silence.

"But I wanna know!"

He managed to engage the young woman in conversation for several minutes, unaware of the passing time. He kept her amused by dancing around her questions of ninja secrets and eventually came to learn that, despite her oddities, she was a wonderful cook. After she had him try a dish she had prepared that night for the festival, she told him cooking came from the fact that she trusted no one else to make her food for fear of them poisoning it.

The fact that she answered so freely gave him an idea. If he just looked at interacting with others as a form of spying, perhaps he would feel a little less stressed about the whole thing. It took a while to shake Peri, who was quite happy to talk to the red ninja. After Peri, he spoke to several Nohrians in turn, and seemed to learn interesting, if perhaps not fully useful, facts about them.

He spoke with Effie, who, despite her feminine and dainty appearance, was stronger than even him. Arthur, who shared the duty of being retainer to Princess Elise with Effie, was nothing but a bundle of bad luck. His bad luck, however, did not bring his cheerful attitude down any at all. As he passed the youngest princesses, he overheard Elise mention being very good at playing the violin. Why, he even learned that the mage, Nyx, had a fondness for romance novels.

What help the tidbits he gathered would offer him in case of another war, he could not say. He just tucked them aside in case he needed to start more conversations with the Nohrians at a later time. As retainer to King Ryoma, it would have to happen again. The next time, thanks inadvertently to his brother, he would have a strategy in mind: just look at it as reconnaissance.