Kenna woke up the next day and went to the mess hall after putting on her armor. She was hoping to see Tiaoshi and the others there, so she could say her "Good Morning" 's to them. But she got her hopes up when she saw that it was only her protector, Ike, Chrom,Lucina, and Robin. They seemed to be troubled by something.
"...Hey." Kenna's voice almost trailed off, but it got their attention. "What's wrong?"
All five of them were quiet, and didn't respond at first. Lucina motioned with her hand for the redhead to come over and sit down with them. Kenna did what the princess told her to do, though she was completely confused.
"...We...just got word that Mother and many other people in her army were killed in battle overnight." Lucina spoke up to Kenna, whose eyes widened in horror.
"Oh my gosh." Kenna didn't know what to say, even though she didn't know that there was a battle going on last night. "...How did this happen?"
"...Well, Sully, Lucina's mother, saw that demonic minions were coming towards the castle." Chrom spoke up, and Kenna put her attention on him. "So she gathered up the army and went to fight it. But she and the rest of the army weren't in the battle for very long. The minions...killed them instantly, and left them to die. So when we got word of it and rushed out there to help them...it...was too late..."
The blue-haired King of Ylisse started sorrowing, resting his face on his hands. Ike rested a hand on Chrom's left shoulder, with Lucina resting a hand on his right. Both of them were sorry for his loss, and had concerned looks on their faces. Kenna, Tiaoshi, and Robin were sorry for his loss as well.
"Well, I'm terribly sorry...to hear about that." was all Kenna told him before she went into thought. Chrom had mentioned the demonic minions, which Ike had told her yesterday. Kenna knew that it was Akuma's doing, but she completely forgot about it. "...But...I do think that this is Akuma's doing."
Everyone but Tiaoshi and Kenna gasped. "Akuma?" Robin questioned. "Who is she?"
Kenna and Tiaoshi looked at each other, then nodded. Tiaoshi went into explaining who the demon goddess was, and how Kenna and Tiaoshi know her. The mission that Solaria assigned the redhead and protecter happened to slip out during it, but Lucina, Chrom, and Robin didn't seem to mind. Ike was the one to be surprised.
"So you're telling me that you two are on a mission to stop that demon goddess?" he questioned Kenna and Tiaoshi, and they both nodded. The Radiant Hero exhaled. "...I should've known that. Those black knights looked too familiar..."
"Too familiar?" Tiaoshi raied an eyebrow. "You mean those black knights that captured us might be in partnership with Akuma?"
"That's what we assume." Chrom lifted up his head and looked at the two women. "...But we are not sure yet. We'll have to see for ourselves when the time comes to fight Akuma."
"Right." The redhead and the blonde said in unison.
The six of them then became silent, with Kenna wondering if there's anything that needed to be talked about. But there didn't seem to be any, so Kenna went to get herself some breakfast. Tiaoshi stayed where she was.
"...So where are the rest of the people in this castle?" The blonde entity scanned the perimeter around her, since she was used to seeing the knights, Sheperds, and the like coming and going from the mess hall.
"They are out on the field, training." Lucina answered. "I am afraid that there might be another battle with Akuma later on, but then again, I'm not so sure." She then exhaled, and decided to get something to eat as well. Chrom and Robin went with her, so Tiaoshi and Ike were the only ones at the table.
The 2,001 year old entity didn't know what to say to the blue-haired Hero to start a conversation, so she thought of Kenna's training sessions with him.
"...So, how are Kenna's training sessions doing?" Tiaoshi perked an eyebrow, and Ike looked up. He seemed to be lost in thought about the army outside.
Ike took a second to switch from the army to the training sessions in his brain. "Oh, she's...been doing good. She's improving on her sword fighting and defense skills, but I kept on having to remind her not to look at my abs during the first time of her training."
"Oh, I see." Tiaoshi couldn't help but giggle at that. "Well, I'm sure that Kenna focusing on those will disappear after some time." She then reached inside herself to find something else to say, and got one. She almost lost it, but managed to remember it just in time.
"Besides that, though, do you think of Kenna as a friend, even though you haven't known each other for that long?" Ike's eyes widened when Tiaoshi asked that question, and he sighed.
"...Kenna had asked me this yesterday, but yes,I do think of her as friend, Tiaoshi." Ike responded, then looked away. "...I believe through the training sessions, we'll get to know each other better and become closer friends."
He could see Tiaoshi's smirk from a mile away. "And it is not what you think it is, Tiaoshi. She seems too...how do you put it- 'fangirly' over me."
Tiaoshi laughed a bit. "Kenna is always like that. But as you get to know her more, she is actually a serious and hard-working person."
"She is?" Ike raised an eyebrow in doubt. "...Because she doesn't seem that way to me."
"Well, just give her some time, and it'll show through." Tiaoshi said the sentence a tad fast since Kenna and Lucina were coming their way with their meals. Chrom and Robin were still deciding on what to get.
Kenna sat down next to Tiaoshi and started eating, and Lucina sat down a seat away from Ike. Ike then decided to get something to eat, which was chicken.
Kenna giggled. "I guess he loves meat-based foods."
"He does," Tiaoshi nodded, "And so does his descendant, Priam."
"Priam?" Kenna raised an eyebrow. "He is Ike's descendant?"
"Yes, but he rarely comes here anymore." Tiaoshi explained. "Or that's what I have heard. Priam is no longer with Chrom's army and is with a different army now."
"...Ah, I see." Kenna said, and continued eating. The blonde continued to eat hers, and glanced over to see dango on Kenna's plate. She almost spit out her water.
"...How in the world did you get dango from here?!" Tiaoshi exclaimed, knowing that it certainly come from their realm.
Kenna saw the dango on her plate, and smiled. "Oh, I just packed some in case we became hungry during the transition between realms."
Tiaoshi still didn't understand, so she let Kenna leave it at that. They then saw Chrom and Robin finally coming back to the table with food on their plates. Took them long enough...Tiaoshi thought, and couldn't help but smirk.
"...Speaking of the armies," Chrom spoke up to Robin, who was paying attention while eating. "We need to go out there after we eat and stand by their side...in case those knights came back again."
"That's a good idea, Chrom." Robin smiled as he gulped down a piece of fruit. He then frowned. "But does that seem too soon, though? I mean, Sully and half of your army just got killed, so we can't stand of chance of going out there by ourselves and using the rest of the soliders that remain."
"...You've got a point there, Robin." Chrom sighed. "But I feel like that's the best choice to make."
The two then got silent, and Kenna and Tiaoshi have finished eating. So Kenna decided to bring up what was on her mind. "Ah, Chrom. Are you going to get Priam to join the army?"
Chrom looked at her, and his eyes widened. They then returned to their normal size as a doubtful expression appeared on his face. "No, I can't. He won't join our army again. I don't know the reason why, but I know he won't be of any help anymore." he then left it at that so the rest could finish their meals.
Once everyone was in their armor and ready to go, they heard a scream come from the distance.
"...I wonder who that could be." Lucina wondered, not recognizing the scream. But she was certain it was a male's voice.
The six then set out and joined the rest of the army. Kenna happened to see something running in the distance, and had a hard time making it out at first. But once it came into view, she could tell who it was, just by the blue hair.
It was Priam, Ike's descendant. His body was mostly covered by armor, and he had a green bandana wrapped around the top part of his head. He had a sword similiar to Ike's, who had Ragnell, but it seemed to be shattered in broken in some parts...but managed to keep together.
"What are you standing here for?" They heard him yell. "Get rid of this army behind me!"
Ike went to ask "What army?" but his eyes widened when he saw a stampede of black knights coming towards them. Kenna, Lucina, Ike, and Tiaoshi recognized them from yesterday, and got ready to fight. Priam got on their side, and took out his Ragnell. Ike happened to glance over at it, and his mouth dropped open in shock.
"...How in the world do you have my sword?" Ike pointed at Priam's sword, and Priam gave him a confused look.
"...It's because you gave the sword to me, Ike." Priam explained. "...That happened in the future, so you wouldn't understand."
Ike blinked, and looked away. "That's...true." He and Priam then focused on the army.
Chrom was in front of them, and glanced over his shoulder. "...Ready?"
Everybody else nodded. "Ready!"
Tiaoshi decided to pair up with Lucina, and Robin paired up with Chrom. Kenna decided to pair up with Ike, since she hoped this battle will help with her sword fighting skills. Priam had wanted to pair up with his ancestor, but glanced over to see that Virion, the well-known, light blue-haired archer, was alone. So he paired up with him.
And then, without another word, they charged at the black knights. The knights proved to be more powerful than expected, but Ike and the others didn't mind. Ike was known to have fought on the battlefield in his whole life, so he was okay with this. Unlike him, Kenna had only started fighting on the frontline when she was 7 years old, having to use her powers to defend herself.
Kenna and Ike watched as her protector and the blue-haired princess took down a couple of black knights, and then saw that there was a few black knights surrounding them. So the two decided to stand back to back. Kenna took out her sword, and held it in one hand. She activated her powers in her free hand, knowing that if her sword proved to be of no use, then her powers would come in handy.
Ike happened to glance over and see the teal aura from Kenna's hand. Kenna could see his shocked expression, and sighed. "...I'll explain later." They then fought the surrounding evil kinghts. Ike managed to defeat half of them, and Kenna kicked one in the stomach hard with her foot. She dodged one of their attacks that was going over her head, and elbowed him in the chest.
He stumbled back a bit, and Kenna saw that this was the right time to conjure her orb into a bolt. When she did so, she bent her arm back, then sent the bolt flying where she had elbowed him at.
Blood expelled from the knight's mouth once the bolt made contact with his chest and pierced through it, and he fell to the ground, motionless.
Kenna exhaled. "Okay. One down, a lot more to go." She then saw Ike getting rid of more black knights, and went over to help him.
Ike stabbed the black knight he was fighting through the chest, and glanced over at the running redhead. He glanced at the sky, and saw a Plegian black knight ready to fire her spear at the woman's head.
"Kenna, look out!" he yelled, and Kenna turned around just in time. Her eyes widened when she saw the spear heading for her, and she blocked it just in time with her shield. She had activated it by crossing her wrists, thus creating a teal semi-circle that deflected it back at the Plegian. The Plegian saw it coming back, and dodged it.
Kenna gritted her teeth when she saw her dodge it. She then saw Ike coming towards her.
"Are you alright?" he asked, looking concerned.
Kenna nodded. "I'm alright." She and Ike now stood next to each other, and saw the same Plegian coming at them again. The Radiant Hero and the redhead locked eyes on each other, then nodded. Once the Plegian flew down a little, so she was near Earth level, Ike charged her with all his might, and slashed her across the chest, twice. The Plegian screamed in pain, and put her hand on the wound. The pegasus she was on slumped a little bit, but was still able to hover in the air.
"Don't forget about me!" Kenna smirked, and transitioned her bolt into an orb. She closed her eyes for a second as the orb became bigger and bigger. She then threw it quickly with all her might, and watched as it collided with the Plegian. The Plegian screamed as it hit her, and she flew directly off her pegasus. The black knights watched as she stumbled to the ground, rolling a few feet until her body came to a stop. They could see the blood from the wound streak against the grass.
Kenna and Ike could see the anger boiling up inside of them. Kenna got her sword ready, since she felt like that could be of use right about now. Ike had Ragnell over his shoulder, he was already prepared.
"Okay. Let's finish them off." Kenna told Ike, and Ike obliged.
Ike and the redhead then looked at the knights before them and smirked. "Prepare yourselves."
The battle lasted approximately 7 hours. Kenna thought it would take days to kill off those black knights, since she was very exhausted after the battle. As the army made their way back to the castle, Kenna fell to her knees.
Tiaoshi smiled warmly, and helped her up. Kenna could see that blood had ran down her forehead, and was covering one of her eyes, which was closed to prevent the blood from getting into the eye. There was a small trickle of blood on her lips.
"...You alright, Kenna?" Her protector looked at her, and Kenna grinned weakly.
"...I'm...fine." Kenna had taken a split second to breathe between those words. "I'm just exhausted, that's all." she then laughed a bit. "But don't worry, I'm not exhausted to the point that I'll faint."
"Well, it looks like you're going to any time soon." Lucina told Kenna, and Kenna and Tiaoshi looked over at her.
Lucina only seemed to suffer minor damage, with only a cut on her cheek, which had blood dripping from it, but seemed to be drying off. "...But you should get some rest. You and Tiaoshi fought hard today, and did an excellent job." she smiled at the last sentence, then went to help her father and Robin with their injuries.
Kenna sighed. "Lucina's right, Kenna." she heard Tiaoshi tell her. "You should get some rest."
The redhead weakly nodded. "Yes...I should." So without any more dialogue, Tiaoshi took her to her room.
Once Kenna was refreshed and up the next morning, she checked out her wounds on her face and body with the mirror in her room. She could see that Tiaoshi had healed the blood on her forehead, which she didn't realize was dripping down in the first place. She had really bad cuts on her chest and arms, which was from the black knights attacking her and Ike when they got distracted by an enemy Tatician. But those seemed to be wrapped up in banadages as well.
Kenna exhaled. Man, with cuts like those, I would've been dead by now. She then glanced over at her door, and decided to go to the mess hall. She found out that she was limping on her right leg, which she found shocking, to say the least.
...Was I attacked there as well when Ike and I were distraught by the enemy? she pondered, then left it at that, since she assumed that was the case.
When she reached the mess hall, she saw that nobody was there, not even Tiaoshi. I guess they might be in the throne room, talking about the battle. She then shrugged it off, for she didn't mind the peace and quiet. But then she spotted someone around the corner, so she started to walk over there.
When she saw who it was, she gasped. The woman gasped, and jumped. The two ladies then calmed down.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" Kenna went to say, but the blonde beat her to it.
"It's alright." she smiled, and her pigtails went along with the movement of her head. Kenna happened to see them, and then the formal yellow dress and magical staff, and it hit her.
"You muse be Lissa, Chrom's sister!" Kenna pointed out, and Lissa looked surprised.
"...Yes, I am." Lissa tilted her head in confusion. "How did you know?"
Kenna blinked, and looked away, a tad embarrassed. "...I...have just heard of you, that's all."
"Okay then!" Lissa grinned, and blinked. She looked at Kenna for a moment, and Kenna started to feel a little uneasy. "...And you're Kenna, right?"
"Yes." Kenna curtsied, trying her best to be polite. "I fought with Ike in battle several hours ago."
"I see." Lissa thought that over, but when she heard Kenna mention Ike's name, her eyes widened. "Oh. Speaking of Lord Ike, he wants to see you in the throne room for something."
It must be about the battle yesterday...Kenna thought. "...Okay then." she nodded to Lissa, and started making her way to the throne room. "Thank you." She then stopped in her tracks, suddenly nervous.
"What? Is there a problem, Kenna?" Lissa asked.
Kenna nervously laughed. "Uh, yeah. W-Where's the throne room, exactly?"
"Oh! It's straight ahead." Lissa giggled. "I hope that helps."
Kenna seemed to calm down, and continued on her way. "O-Okay...but thank you, again."
When Kenna entered the throne room, she could see that Chrom, Robin, and Lucina have left the room. She thought she heard one of them suggest to go to the training room to get some practice in, but she wasn't so sure. But she knew that Ike was in the room, with his back against the wall and his arms crossed.
Kenna felt a rosy pigment cover her cheeks when she saw him, but they returned to their normal color once she spoke up. "So, Lissa told me that you wanted to see me?"
Ike nodded, and released his arms from the position that they were in. "...That's correct. I wanted to talk to you about the fight with the black knights from yesterday."
I knew it...Kenna thought, then set it aside with a nod. "...Okay then. What about it?"
Ike looked away for a second so he could put on his mind on it. "...Well, I saw how you fought beside me in battle, and to be honest...I was impressed." he then walked over to her, and Kenna felt her heart skip a beat. But she did her best to keep calm.
"You had...good fighting skills when it came to using those orbs and bolts-whatever you call them-in your hands." he continued. "You seemed to use your sword from time to time, and not as often as you do when I am training you in our sword-fighting lessons."
Kenna nodded, understanding what he said, though she appreciated the small compliment at the beginning. "...So, um, is that a good thing, or a bad thing that I used my sword from time to time?"
Ike had to think on that, considering his tactics that he uses for battles, and his way of training. "...A good thing. But I have to say that you need to work on that once I decide on a new session."
Kenna went to say, "Okay..." but Ike had thought of something else to say. "Oh, and speaking of the orbs and bolts, may you tell me how you got those?"
The 19-year old women started to get nervous, and shifted her eyes to the left, so she wouldn't be looking at Ike. She knew that Ike was curious of that, but she has only known him for about two days. ...Should I tell him? Kenna pondered in her mind, feeling her adrenaline kick up. ..No, I don't think I should...
She then lock her eyes on Ike's once more, then went back into thought. She mentally bit her bottom lip. ...I...think I should better get it over with. But I need to leave one part out, and that's my past...
So, without any more hesitation, she told him how she got her powers. She had started with meeting Tiaoshi when she was 5 years old, and then Tiaoshi giving Kenna her powers so she can defend herself. She explained how Tiaoshi has been training her since, and that is why she has her powers and fighting skills concerning those down pat.
Ike had a hand rested on his chin, and his other hand on the elbow of that arm. He seemed to be in thought after Kenna's long explanation.
The redhead was worried that she might've said something wrong, or messed up while telling him. But when she saw that he broke his own train of thoughts, she was relieved.
"...I see." Ike spoke up. "...This is interesting. So your protector is an entity?"
"Yes." Kenna nodded. "I think that you or the others had asked this before. She's...from a different realm called Tigoris. The word entity means spirit, but in this case, it means a creature-like spirit that can turn into a human to disguise themselves from their enemies."
The Radiant Hero blinked. "Okay then. That's...quite odd, since we haven't encountered an entity before."
"Well, I guess this is your first time, then." Kenna smiled, a little awkwardly.
Ike just exhaled, and started exiting the throne room. A short gasp came from Kenna, and she ran over to him.
Ike could see her coming in the corner of his eye, and turned around, only for Kenna to hit right into his chest.
Kenna wasn't hurt at all, but she stepped back a half an inch. She saw where she hit into, and her face flushed. "Oh...gosh...sorry about that. I didn't stop in time."
"...It's alright." Ike nodded, and smirked, catching Kenna off guard. He then continued on his walk, making his way to the mess hall.
Kenna assumed that he might be craving chicken, since he must've been exhausted after the battle.
"Speaking of which..." Kenna said to herself. "I only saw a few bruises and cuts on him...he didn't seem to be hurt as much as we were." she shrugged it off with a "Hm." and decided to make her way to the mess hall, since her stomach grumbled.
"...I really need to get some breakfast."