Final Fantasy Type-0 and its characters belongs to Square Enix. I only owns the crappy plot of this fic.


Verse I : The Path We Tread


Machina crossed his arms tightly behind his back as he stood wordlessly outside of the king's chamber. A mournful sigh escaped his lips as he remembered what just recently happened. The King, Khalia Chival, had fallen ill. Royal doctors were called from all over the country, but not even one had succeeded to heal him. It was past time everyone realized the fact, the king was slowly dying of his old age.

His lovely granddaughter would always visit him both in the morning and in the night worriedly. Yet Princess Rem never shed any tears, not in front of his sickly figure. She would put on a smile to reassure him that she was doing okay, and the whole kingdom was waiting for his recovery. To that, King Khalia would reply with another smile, albeit that was a forced one. To reassure him more, Rem would always add a story of her expertise on handling the people's well-being. That was not a made-up story, of course, for Rem had actually shown her caring nature for any living being in the peaceful land. She was starting to show her light as a legal inheritor of the king.

However, Machina wasn't able to accept the fact as easy as his beautiful master. He was always looking forward to see the day Rem Chival would rule the country with love and peace, yes, but he was very attached to the wise king as well. King Khalia always showered him with fatherly love, assuming him as his family than a mere knight. And to that, Machina always repaid all his kindness by showing his loyalty and strength under his name in the quest of justice. King Khalia Chival was Machina's second father, and there were no exaggerations in that.

His reminiscing was cut when the door beside him opened, and the young Princess stepped out from the chamber, an anxious sigh from her mouth soon followed. Machina merely narrowed his eyes in dolor at Rem's figure. Oh, how Machina hated himself so much right now for being so weak and he wasn't able to comfort her in any sort of way. His mind suggested him to just cover her fragile body with his arms, embracing her and let her cry on his shoulder, but he made no actual attempt to do that, for he knew his place as a knight.

Warily, the princess turned her head at Machina's direction. She didn't need to say a single words, Machina could see it already from her eyes: Princess Rem was suffering more than ever. Yet, with her tiny body she still managed to suppress all the sorrow inside, even if she wasn't doing the best job in that. Rem opened her mouth to speak, hanging it open for one short second before she closed it again. After she decided that it was for the best at the moment to not to met her knight's eyes, she exasperatedly opened her lips again.

"Bodyguard, we will leave."

"It is your will, my princess."

He tried his best to cheer her up by adding a soft smile on his lips as he bowed in respect at her. Fortunately, while not as much as he was expecting, it was working a little. Princess Rem managed a weak smile of her own. That response soothed Machina's heart a lot. She was an epitome of an angel, and her smile was that of a living angel's quality.

Rem politely bowed at the direction of her grandfather from outside of the room, silently wishing him to get well soon, before the princess closed the door and she turned on her heel again, her loyal bodyguard followed closely behind her. Departing from the king's chamber, the two walked through the brown-themed hall.

No words were exchanged between them, and the only sound that was accompanying them was their muffled footsteps. Silence worked better than anything else at this very moment, especially on Rem's part. For the whole twenty years of her life, Princess Rem was always close to King Khalia without any doubt. Whenever she visited him, even on his busiest moment, her grandfather would always spare a time to pause his work and smiled at her warmly. She had long acknowledged that when she was in her fifteen that Khalia didn't smile at her as often as when she was younger, but he would still always did that should there was an opportunity to did so.

The relationship between the princess and her knight, however, was way more complex than that. It was no mere friendship nor it was mere platonic. It was a love at its' best, where even fairytales' romance stories were put in shame in comparisons to their own.

After those five years, Machina Kunagiri had grown into a very respectable and personable knight. While still harboring a deep hatred against Cid Aulstyne, that part of his personalities was tad overshadowed by the sole duty of him: Protecting Princess Rem from any sort of danger. He had thrown away every sign of him being the sole survivor of the House of Kunagiri, going through the rest of his life as a warrior of Knighthood of Phoenix of Suzaku's Kingdom. Thus, rumor about the possible survivor of Kunagiri was as good as fact at this very moment, and Machina was sure even Cid wouldn't be able to figure that he was still alive. He played silent, not going into any possible conflict by spending his time with his current master.

Rem herself never treated Machina as a mere knight, or a mere bodyguard at that matter. The dark haired knight might not realize it, but whenever she smiled at him, it was entirely a different type of smile. It wasn't the comforting smile that she was giving at her grandfather. It wasn't the kind smile that she was giving at her people. It was a smile of her deepest feeling as a woman, the one that stood above all of them.

Every time she said 'Bodyguard', she claimed that she loved him. And every time he replied with either a single bow or a 'Yes, Princess', he implied that he loved her back. It was astonishing on how they were able to keep their relationship as a princess and her knight still against all the longing feelings to have each other in a different light.

By the time they reached Rem's bedroom, the princess gracefully slipped her hand on the doorknob, still not able to met Machina's eyes directly without any remorse.

"Bodyguard." Her voice was hoarse, collapsing even. "Do not wander too far from here."

"I will not, my princess."

Machina gave another bow as an agreement to Rem's wish as she entered her private chamber. Her line just now was rather out of character and extraordinary for her, but it didn't even surprise Machina for a second. She was very distressed, she needed a shoulder to lean on, yet she didn't ask for one for it was her obligation to stay strong even in the darkest moment. She didn't want Machina to leave her side, yet she basically ordered him not to see her fragile side by keeping her company, mitigated by a layer of a door between them. Machina understood that very well.

The knight stared at the door in silence for a while, before a groan of frustration was out of his mouth. He kept it as low and as fast as possible so that nobody noticed his action. The once prince of Byakko then returned to his usual state, standing still for a while.

"You can come out now."

Unfortunately, there would always be a single person who managed to notice every little inch of his actions. Even Rem, despite her frequent observations on her bodyguard, wasn't able to see through him as good as him.

From behind one of the firm pillar of the hall, a figure crossed his arms silently. Dressed in his usual attire that consisted of bright, silver-colored long coat and pants with the same color, Ace emerged. Straightening his arms, the blonde walked toward Machina defenselessly.

If Machina's growths were to be addressed as 'amazing', then Ace's needed to be called as 'super amazing'. Ace was never born with any traces of noble bloods inside him, thus he never possessed any natural-born talent that was said to be inherited under the bloods of those royals. Yet, for the past five years, Ace polished his abilities so sharp that his abilities were widely known by the whole Oriense. He, unlike Machina, wasn't working for the knights anymore, instead he worked by himself. Under a nickname of 'The Caller', he was named one of the deadliest assassin from Suzaku.

Also the most elegant one. That's the sole reason why he was always wearing those bright clothes, for he wanted his enemies acknowledged the lights and its' beauty in their deaths.

"I am very sorry for reaching you at this sad moment." Ace bowed politely as soon as he was not too far from Machina, before continuing his words. "But I require a conversation with you as soon as possible, my lord."

Machina quirked an eyebrow at Ace's usage of his title. Sure, he didn't say it out loud, but he was implying it and Machina worried that Princess Rem might overheard that by accident. Should Ace didn't sound pretty damn serious about this, Machina would question that. Crossing his arms calmly, Machina stared intently at his best friend. "Continue."

"Bandits." Ace slipped his arm into the inside of his coat as Machina narrowed his green eyes at him questioningly. As Ace took his hand out again with something in it, he passed that thing at his prince, his expression turned more serious. "…Or at least that's what I thought at first."

As Machina grabbed the piece of clothes that Ace threw at him, he then proceeded to take a good look at it. When the picture that was drawn on the cloth piqued his memories, his narrowed eyes were widening. It didn't even need to be colored fully for Machina to realize what was in his hand right now.

It was a flag of the Kingdom of Byakko.

Since two years ago, the words about the tyranny of the new king of the beast country reached the ears of Suzakus. And the many attempts of Byakko to attack Suzaku weren't put into the math yet. War erupted, countless soldier were sent and obliterated. Machina stayed in the castle to protect the residents of the castle at that time while Ace joined the fights. It was horrible, chaotic even. Sure, Ace managed to carve his name enigmatically on the White Tiger Order, the elite squad of the enemy country, at that moment, but what the Suzakus gained weren't as much as what they lost.

Despite the enemy force's liability to reach his standing spot, Machina was livid. What had happened to Byakko? Kunagiri's country? His country?

King Khalia put a direct order to just retaliate at that moment against the White Tiger Order's offense without any form of reciprocation, waiting for at the right moment to launch a counter attack. Unfortunately, there wasn't any chance to do that, since they retreated right away after a week of attacks. Needless to say, Suzaku still kept their guards up as there was a possibility of that silly action was naught but a brilliant tactic of them.

Turned out that they were indeed retreating. Not denying that their country still needed to keep their eyes open, the Knighthood of Phoenix's elites were stationed as the frontlines. For days, weeks, and months, until yesterday, where their defenses were not as tight as that day. The day where the barrage of attacks was just finished.

"I require your permission to do an investigation." Ace sternly said, saluting his superior politely. "Perhaps they are already around Rubrum, my prince."

Instead of quickly answering, Machina's eyes narrowed at Ace. "Refrain from calling me with that title, Ace." Machina turned on his heel, letting Ace stared at nothing but his back that was decorated with a fiery red cape. "There's no one with royal blood here but Princess Rem who is just behind this door."

"I follow no one's order but yours."

Ace's interruption brought a slightest frustration on Machina's mind. Ace's loyalty was amazing, but there were some times when he shouldn't bring that matter up.

"Yuuki." The dark haired knight growled lowly, glaring intently at the blonde. "Do I need to repeat myself?"

Yuuki.

That's right. His true name. The true identity of Ace The Caller. The name that nobody else but Machina knew. The only thing from Ace's past that he hadn't thrown away, his true name… Yuuki, or in ancient language could be translated as 'Valor' or 'Bravery'. Still, he didn't exactly like to be called by that name, for he was prouder with Ace, the one name that terrorized his enemy just by hearing it passes through their ears.

And the unsaid fact that Machina would only address him with that if he was in a particular foul mood.

Ace's eyes twitched a bit at that. "Please do not address me with that name, my liege."

"I will at the moment you stop addressing me so formal."

"Is that an order?"

"If it'll stop you from doing so, yes."

They both smiled after that. No matter what happened, there would always be some jokes that only the two of them could understand and got amused at. Ace sighed in happiness once before he crossed his arms again, reverting to his usual expression.

"Your answer."

Machina touched his chin with his clenched right hand, its thumb tapped the skin repetitively. He was sure this was one of the fittest moments to attack this place if he were in his enemy's place. Sending any defender would do some good, yet what should he do in anticipation if it was a trap set by Cid? Like an ambush, perhaps?

"…Three days." Machina mused thoughtfully. "I'll give you three days."

Ace put on his own thinking gesture for a while before he replied with a small nod. The silver coated man spun his whole figure counterclockwise 180 degrees and proceeded to make his beeline out of the enormous hall.

"Ace."

As Machina's words echoed in his ears, Ace stopped dead in his track. Still, he didn't turn his face at the young prince. He stayed still, waiting for his friend to finish his sentence.

"Do not die."

The corner of Ace's lips edged into a smirk. He held his hand up to wave back at Machina confidently, continuing his steps without turning around even a millimeter.

"Comprehended."

Machina let Ace left the room first before curled his fist into a ball. The young warrior then clenched his teeth in regret. It irked him a lot that he always needed to send his best friend away to do the dirty jobs for him. What made it harder was that Ace always obeyed him without any protest. Even though they were both residents of Suzaku now, Ace would never acknowledge his own place as a man that was not a warrior under Machina Kunagiri. Ace's loyalty was very commendable that it hurt Machina. The now bodyguard of Princess Rem never once wanted to shackle his partner's life with his hardships.

Calmly stepping on the hard concrete of the Capital of Rubrum, Ace made his way toward his meeting point. It was a peaceful afternoon with comforting clouds all over the sky, yet what rhymed on Ace's ears and eyes were nothing remotely beautiful. His eyes already imagined the pool bloods that he would soon witness before him and his ears already captured the initial cadence of his enemy's scream of misery. It was never a nice feeling even for him, but it was something that he should, and would always do.

For Yuuki was a warrior whose nests were at the fiery battlefields.

Of course, Ace was always a cautious man. He did not initiate any mission without a deep, proper planning. Just like this one, where he would sit idly on the bench by the Central Plaza before anything else, companied only by the sound of rustling waters of the beautiful fountain and waited for her to arrive.

The blonde was throwing pieces of breads to the small birds that lodged around the place blankly when a hooded figure approached him. Cutting his current activity, Ace raised a single eyebrow at the figure when the said person removed the hood, unrevealing strands of flaming auburn hairs that covered the delicate head. Ace gazed at her expressionless as the girl sat tiredly beside him.

"Cater." Ace grabbed another piece of bread, resuming his latest action. "You're late."

"Jeez, give me a break." The short haired girl replied. She crossed her arms behind her head, an exhausted sigh followed soon. "Can't a girl get her beauty nap for another ten minutes?"

Albeit not from the same orphanage as Machina and Ace, Cater was another orphan as well. She was just an ordinary, run-of-the-mill girl in general, especially if you didn't count her information networks and her agility, which was often said to be as fast as a chocobo. If you did however, consider her to be an extraordinaire without any understatement, for she was a girl of surprise. Ace didn't know her well enough to knew the reason of why she wanted to share her information with him, or everyone else in general, but he trusted her enough to not to stab him in the back. It was a life or death matter when it came to communicating with him, anyway. Everybody could see that messing with Ace was nothing sort of a manner that one wanted to pull.

"You got the answer to what I asked the other day?" Putting back the bread into his silver-colored coat's pocket, he plainly asked her, ignoring Cater's complaint much to the girl's chagrin.

Cater groaned a little, taking a piece of a pleated paper from her violet-themed skirt. Lazily, she put that paper on the small gap of the bench that separated their skins from touching. In an elegant manner that was always with him, Ace calmly grabbed the paper, putting it on his own pocket. He would read that soon, but not before expressing his gratitude.

"You have my thanks, Cater." As Ace pulled his hand from his pocket, what was on his hand was not the paper anymore, it was a bag of Gils. He politely passed it at Cater, who grinned contently when she accepted the small bag with her small hands.

"Don't mention it! Also, you're the best, Ace." She smiled cheerfully at Ace, in which the blonde smiled back as Cater put the bag of money into her backpack. After flexing her muscles from her current seat for a bit, she continued. "By the way, how's Princess Rem doing? I heard that she's not faring very well with His Majesty's condition."

Ace grabbed back the piece of paper, opening and reading its content while taking a notice at Cater's question. Before anything else, he deciphered Cater's message on the paper. She wrote the exact details of the small, hidden path to the Yuhanra Region, along with a decently drawn map as an inset; there was also a small footnote slipped along with the paper. Inwardly smiling at Cater's superb ability to inform him, Ace took all of the information into his account before he folded it back and returned it to his pocket, turning the rest of his attention to answer Cater's question.

"I can't say for sure." He weakly shook his head. "Lord Machina might know, but I did not trouble him with that question since he didn't seem to be very accepting of the king's health as well."

Addressing him simply as 'Lord Machina' already gave a bad taste on Ace's tongue. Even though it was an attempt to hide the Byakko's prince's true identity, it still didn't feel right for him to call him that way. Not even noticing Ace's thought, Cater let out another sigh of frustration, before her face lit up a bit as if she was reminded of something.

"You know, I heard that there's a good physician in Korushi once." Cater tapped her forehead, mixture of both sure and unsure on her face. "Perhaps it will do us good to take a visit there. And by 'us' I mean 'you do it by yourself', Ace."

A frown was summoned on Ace's face. The male was about to say something when Cater continued her sentences.

"You're passing through Korushi to get to Yuhanra, anyway."

Still frowning, Ace did a double take at the note that Cater gave him. As Ace read it subtler, he needed to crosses Korushi Cave and then Korushi Town to get to Yuhanra Region, indeed. After a moment, he put the note back into his pocket again.

"I won't." Ace said with a matter-of-fact tone. "I'll stay in the woods. It'll reduce the chance of getting spotted by Byakko's military, presuming there are some of them already passed the border of Suzakus."

What Ace said was indeed correct. It was his way of living. He communicated with villagers if only he needed something, be it information, rations, or anything else. Aside of that, The Caller would be out of their sight, for his name was very infamous everywhere without any exception; most people would run just by sighting the silver lining of his clothes. Ace didn't mind, though. Working alone was his chronicle. Ace was a solitary, lone wolf, after all.

Ace was pretty sure that Cater almost let out her objection, but she shooed any words from her tongue just no sooner after that. He was fortunate, for Cater seemed to understand Ace's ordeal. Not that Ace liked to be pitied or anything, yeah.

"Okay, okay." Another groan from Cater. "I'll see what I can do. I make no promise, though."

He swiftly nodded. "…Thanks again, Cater. I'll see you soon." Ace then rose from his seat, brushing his shiny pants a bit. He looked around the plaza for a bit, making sure there were no eavesdroppers, which luckily, there wasn't any. He was about to proceed to his destination when Cater unseated herself rather quickly, tugging his coat's sleeve to capture his attention.

"Oh, there's something important about Korushi Cave that I forgot to tell you…"

The trip to Korushi Cave was hell for generic soldiers, especially if you were going there only with the help of single chocobo through the woods. Fortunately, Ace was no generic soldier. He was well-trained, and things like these were nothing but his breakfast. What made him wonder was the fact that he did not spot any Byakko's soldier anywhere. Was Ace assuming too much?

Either way, he stopped his chocobo when he reached the entrance of the mountain's cave. Landing down on his shoes, Ace took his chocobo's reins and tied its' rope to one of the tree. The tree was big and strong enough to keep it from running away, but it was shadowy enough to not to be noticed by anyone who passed the plains.

"Stay here, Boco." Ace patted the back of his chocobo comfortingly, in which the chocobo replied with a small 'wark!'. Managing a small smile, he then grabbed three layers of card between his fingers from his holster and headed towards the dark entrance of the cave. If what Cater said was true, he better be prepared for it.

And indeed, what Cater said was no lie. The place was damp, dark, and smelly even. The moment Ace stepped his shoes inside, an unsettling feeling rose on his feet. There was not any tinge of light here, even his silvery clothes couldn't show its' radiance here. Ace wasn't scared, but he didn't feel really comfortable in this place, that was for sure.

Ace made his journey to the other entrance of the cave steadily, letting his left arm stabilize his pace by tracing the rocky wall of the grotto. He walked for a good five minutes through the silences when it rang on his ears.

Sound of steps.

Reinstating his battle stance, Ace held his weapons up, aiming at the source of the sound. Sure, he could barely see a thing here, but he was not one to get ambushed. He was always the one to initiate an attack, and he did so. Even though there was a high possibility that his attack wouldn't connect, he unleashed three cards at the corner of the dark hall. And whether the hit connected or not, he grabbed another three pieces of cards between his fingers again.

It seems for once, Ace was underestimating his opponent. There were sounds of clashes of his cards against his foe's weapon, but much to Ace's surprise, the steps were getting closer to him in an intimidating and absurdly fast pace. That caught Ace by surprise, yes, but Ace was not Ace if he was to get caught off guard. Considering his enemy's speed was out of his league, he decided to jump back a bit, throwing another set of cards at his enemy.

Again, his opponent seemed to be able to dodge them with ease, and that was enough for Ace to grit his teeth in a slight anger.

Furthermore, his enemy was still able to add more velocity to its already insane speed. Before Ace even knew it, it was already behind Ace, ready to strike the young blonde from his blind spot.

At that moment that appeared to be a mere second, Ace was surprisingly still able to get a good look of his enemy. What flashed behind him was a human, around the same height as him. Ace reacted just in time by grabbing a single card, and curbed it in front of him to wound the neck of his opponent, a small trail of bloods falling from that small cut. However, Ace was countered with a fist to his face. That, if it didn't stop right before his eyes.

They both stopped at their track and the two fighters gazed at each other's eyes calmly. Ace managed to get a further look at his enemy despite the blackness of the cave, for his eyes were already adapted to the place's darkness. The man before him had a short hair, wore a sleeveless martial arts garb that was not tied appropriately, leaving his chest open to the air around him, and for his lower parts, he wore a Capri pants with a pair of leather boots that only reached up his ankles. And of course, the piercing red eyes that Ace kept gazing at.

It fitted Cater's description so much.

"Getting past Korushi Cave is close to impossible, hence why nobody uses that path. There's a reason for that, though. There's a good friend of mine who lives there. He's… well, somewhat weird just like you, but a good person nonetheless. He's some kind of a gatekeeper there, so he does not let anyone pass through his so-called-home easily. Just make sure you bring—"

"Here."

Reverting from his stance, Ace slipped his hand into his holster to grab a piece of apple. His 'enemy' only quirked a single eyebrow at him as Ace passed the red and juicy fruit to him. As the martial artist got a hold of the apple, he simply let his killing intentions go away. Still, his face kept calm and expressionless as he juggled the apple idly.

"Ace... The Caller." He stopped his juggling, taking a bite on the fruit coolly. "Minori send you?"

The card wielder only raised an eyebrow in confusion as the other guy laughed a little when he noticed Ace's face. He took another bite before he replied.

"Minori. That little sly informant." A chuckle. "Or perhaps, you know her as Cater?"

Ace gave a little 'Oh' before he nodded a bit. They both said nothing more until Ace spoke.

"Miyu, right?"

"Call me Eight, if you would." The other man calmly interrupted, once again juggling the apple. "It's a pleasure to be able to witness the strength of The Caller by my own eyes."

The Caller was actually in the same place to state the same thing, for this guy named Eight in front of him was actually able to stand on the same ground as him, but he said nothing. "Please, you're flattering me. I am also glad to be your acquaintances as well, Sir Eight."

Eight nibbled on his apple again before letting his chuckle controlled his mouth. "Who would've thought The Caller would be very formal? Just Eight is fine." A swift moment, and Eight already offered a handshake against Ace, in which the blonde replied positively. Soft, warm smiles were soon traded between the two young men.

"I heard from Cater that you resides here, Eight?" Ace claimed politely, pulling back his arm from the handshake with the same politeness as how he worded things. "Darkness does not terrify you, I presume?"

"Not in the slightest." Eight quickly answered, his arm held into his hip thoughtfully. "This darkness is but an illusion to one's eyes compared to the true, terrorizing darkness out there. You understand what I am addressing, no?"

"…Yes." Eight's tone just now was stern, but so did Ace's when he replied. Certainly, Eight was referring to Cid Aulstyne and his tyranny over the land of Byakko, if not the whole Oriense. Byakko's militaries were still untouchable, even if the other countries were to combine their strengths. "More than you. No offense."

"None taken." The chestnut haired man bit the last remnant of his apple, swallowing it for good. "Please, go right ahead. I can ensure you your way back from Yuhanra Region will still safe, should you decide to return to Suzaku from this same path."

Eight's words were unfaltering, and after how Ace fought him for a moment just now, he believed that Eight would live to his words. "Let us chat a little more after I breathe back in this land, Eight."

They both knew that by 'chat a little more', perhaps there would be some sort of sparring included, and they wouldn't take it in any other way. "I would be more than happy to."

Once again, smiles were formed on their lips before they both bowed at each other. Ace soon turned on his heels as Eight instructed him the way out.

With Eight's help, the trip to Byakko's land was faster than ever. Usually, if they were to take a trip to Byakko, they were required to walk through the rocky mountain, and that alone might take more than a day. But via this small, dangerous path, guarded by a strong man, the trip didn't take any longer than three hours. Sure, it was still tiring, but it was way less tiring compared to the former choice.

When Ace reached the forest of Yuhanra, the moon was already high. What accompanied him were only the sound of rustling leaves and shrilly songs of crickets. Still, Ace made his approach as cautious as possible, since he was in the enemy territory right now.

And his cautious nature helped him. He found two soldiers dressed in Byakko's armor were patrolling the forest at this hour. Fortunately for him, those two soldiers didn't seem to notice him. In fact, they were visibly sleepy, as he watched one of them stifling a yawn. Just his luck. Ace grabbed two cards by his hand.

The cards were nothing but playing cards, but whenever they were on Ace's hand, they were as sharp as razors.

Ace quickly threw a single card at one of them, and the said large man was dead. Before the other man could let out his surprise, another card passed his beefy neck and he was minus his head. The last things they gave to Ace were something that he was never fond of, pained screams and fountains of bloods.

Stiil, Ace did not falter at the sight. After he waited a bit from afar and nobody else was coming to the corpses' aid, Ace assumed that those two were the only soldiers stationed here.

At least that was his assumption, which apparently betrayed his sense since he felt a chill just when he was about to step out from his hiding spot. No, this one was definitely worse than before. Whoever watching Ace right now was a great warrior without any question, for the killing intention was too deadly for Ace's safety.

Where?

The card user scanned his surrounding agitatedly. There was no single breathing but his here.

Who?

Ace took a deep breath before he closed his eyes to concentrate deeper at his surroundings. It was almost like the same feeling as when he met Eight just now, albeit this one was more ferocious. One small mistake, and Ace guarantee that he wouldn't be able to leave this place unharmed. He gulped.

Think, Ace. Think.

The moment he heard a sound of movement coming from afar, Ace quickly opened his eyes and launched a single card at the said direction.

He hoped that it will reach whoever spied on him, yet it wasn't.

Instead, the one card that he threw was pierced by a sharp arrow. Not only his card, even his stomach was drilled by the arrow. Ace didn't want to admit it, but this was the second time today he was caught off guard; something that defiled his honor as a warrior.

Yet from this wound, he got a good understanding of who the hell attacked him: An elite marksman. Named or nameless was barely important, but this person was definitely amazing, to be able to snipe him from that distance in this darkness.

He dishearteningly hated to do this, but Ace had to retreat to somewhere safer. That marksman got an advantage if he was positioned in that height. Ace was comparable to a mouse against his enemy to a falcon at this condition. The Caller dashed back to hide himself, but two arrows were shot at him. Luckily, those two arrows didn't hit Ace's body since he was able to evade just right on time.

Another attempt to hide away, and other arrows prevented Ace from doing so.

Usually at times like this, Ace would cast a Thunder or a Blizzard to interrupt his enemy's vision, but he was in no condition. The wound by his stomach was enfeebling him. Ace would love to stop a bit and think of the possible ingredients for the arrow on his stomach, but this was no place and no time to do so as well. For now, he'll conclude that either a paralyzing or a poisoning arrow stabbed his poor gut. Ace always had back-up plans if his conditions refused to cooperate, though. Grabbing two round things from his left pocket, Ace threw it to the ground just in front of him.

As soon as the balls touched the ground, it emitted smokes. The smokes were absurdly thick and tall that it blocked the sharpshooter's vision. Furthermore, the smell wasn't too friendly for human's nose as well. Wisely enough, the shooter did not proceed any further, for senses were very crucial for a sharpshooter's life.

A good one minute, and the smokes were gone, along with any trail of The Caller.

"It seems that I underestimated him." The marksman's deep, yet composed voice echoed around the silent forest. "You'll not escape."

A cough, and bloods were oozing from Ace's mouth.

He mentally cursed himself for being such a weak person. He wasn't supposed to be wounded this easily, dammit! He was the best of the best. He was the number one assassin as well as the number one rider of Suzaku. After the encounter with the unknown bow-user just now, the only thing he was still proud of was his speed, which he used to retreat.

Damn it.

He brought himself away with all his energies, and he managed to get a good distance from the forest already. Now, he was somewhere with less trees. Although the scenery was a bit more familiar compared to before, this place was still not Suzaku nonetheless and he needed to keep his guards up.

Or so he wished.

Ace was inching farther away from the woods by any seconds as he managed to get a sight of a small town by his eyes. He was not fond of stopping in a town, yes, but he was required to do so in this condition. Sadly, while he was inwardly happy at this fact, his body didn't recuperate enough to let him stand on his two feet. Just around the small path that leads him to the entrance of the town, Yuuki fell to his knees, one hand massaging the wound on his body weakly.

Another cough and more bloods were streaming from his mouth.

Before long, he fell face first to the hard cobblestone due to the stinging pain on his stomach. More bloody coughs enveloped his mouth as the young man grunted in pain. Pain, pain, and pain… Those were the only thing that Ace felt as his eyes getting heavier.

As he lay on the ground barely conscious, he managed to see someone approached him from the corner of his eyes.

"A-are you alright, sir?"

That someone bent down next to him. It was a girl. A girl with beautiful figure and beautiful voice. Her white colored robe seemed to shine brightly against the dark sky, painting them with its' radiance. Her tone was full of worry, and she was reaching to him with her petite arm.

But that was all Ace could tell, because his vision was soon claimed by darkness.


Alright, six thousands words. Longest chapter I've ever wrote. Also, if you didn't notice, I used the first name of their respective seiyuu's name for Class Zero's real name, as much as I hate to give them so. Well, that's mainly because I've planned for both Queen and King not as a queen and a king of any country, and calling them as Queen and King respectively… Well, you got the idea. Hell, they're both too badass to just sit down on a throne.

Read and review and I might write faster. ALL THE NAGGING, MAN.