I'm sorry for the long absence. Been busy with life (and admittedly anime). Sorry!
Reviews:
Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: Yep, something is better than nothing… Ash is trusting her because he really needs someone to help him through his crisis, and Azura is the most able person to do it. And since Azura needs companionship, she'll get better too. She needs a friend, or else she'll end up cold and lonely at the end. The two are going to help each other… until Corrin comes along, that is. :'D And yes, Corrin is winning the poll. Thank you so much for your support, I really appreciate it! Thank you, I'll need all the luck I can get, considering last year…
pichufan101: Well, I mean, he could tell her the whole story, but what's the fun in that? :P He might tell her just the beginning, just to get something off his chest. If he decides to just dump it all on her, Azura would go crazy from all the strange information. She would think Ash was crazy. When people get emotional, even the most strong-willed warriors can break down at one point or another. Either way, I need to save some for some… other parts.
SquiddlyDiddly: Haha, thanks. I'm glad you think it's well written, I try to do my best, even if it doesn't turn out well. Don't worry, I will continue to update. Thanks for the support. :)
Aoi Hyoudou: Yep, the logical choice indeed. It'll make things better for the both of them in the long run. And the next update is right now, sorry.
AblazedNightmare: No, this story is not dropped. Sorry if it seemed so. And sorry I didn't get to PM that info to you either.
OneTimeGuest: Right now, you are right, Azura does seem to be the more logical choice, but we will see. They might become more like best friends than anything. And Corrin is still winning by quite a long shot…
rufus24: Here is your update!
I am so sorry this took so long to update, this had the potential to get difficult.
Now that that's finally over with, to the next chapter!
I don't own Pokemon or Fire Emblem.
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Ash told Azura about the beginning of his adventure, from when he left the house to when he saw that golden Legendary fly above him. He told her about Pikachu and his mom and Gary. The only things he left out were the technology and his underwear (because that would probably be more embarrassing here). Once he spoke of Ho-Oh flying over his head, he stopped, wondering what she thought of his tale.
She only stared at him, her golden eyes shining with an unknown emotion. Azura sat unmoving, which kind of worried Ash. He was starting to doubt that she would believe him. Of course, he wouldn't blame her. It was pretty farfetched, especially here it seemed.
He got up and started to walk away. "Well, thanks for listening anyways… I think I'm gonna explore the place a bit…"
"W-wait…"
Ash turned around, fearing the worst. "Yeah?"
To his surprise, he found her smiling at him even as she walked to him, hugging him. Surprising Ash for the second time in a single second.
"I… think I know how you feel right now. You're very away from that home you speak of, aren't you?"
Ash wordlessly nodded as she let go of him. "To be honest, I'm far away from my home as well... But everyone here accepted me as one of their own. I was given a nice home even if the one I had been born is was gone. Maybe someone will offer to take you in, just as Mikoto had done for me when I had nothing…"
Ash smiled sadly. "Maybe. But still, I just want to go back. It's home, after all…"
Azura shook her head and folded her hands out in front of her, just over her pendant. "I'll be here for you while you look for it, okay? I think you've helped me gain a friend," she said a bit vaguely as she walked off.
The lost trainer smiled and laughed, going after her. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he had a friend or two along the way.
Maybe things would finally start looking up a bit.
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A few days later, he was talking with Azura about the culture of Hoshido when a horse's neigh interrupted them. They looked towards the noise, and to Ash's surprise, it was a pegasus. It was running at a fast pace, galloping frantically in their direction. The two practically dove out of the way as it went past, both feeling a gust of wind from the speed.
"W-wait, Tsubasa!"
The pegasus slowed down for a moment before running off at full speed once more. A smaller figure ran past them, but Azura was able to recognize who it was immediately.
"H-Hinoka?! What's wrong?"
The eldest princess looked back at her, a scowl on her face. "Tsubasa isn't listening to me for some reason… it's the first time in years that it's happened though. I wonder what happened to her? Urgh, I can't think of that now, I have to get her back before she causes any damage!"
She ran off again, leaving both Ash and Azura staring after her. After a few moments, Ash got a determined look, and he nodded to himself. "Azura, wait a sec okay? There's something I have to do…"
And then he ran of before she could say anything. "O-okay…"
Ash sprinted forward, determined to help Hinoka get her pegasus back. It was in his nature, after all, to help people.
He easily caught up to Haruka before nodding to her and speeding his teeth. Ash thought at how similar this situation was to home. Saving Pokémon seemed to be a sort of special talent Ash had (though was it really that special?).
He just imagined it was a Rapidash or something and continued to chase it down the road so the castle.
Ash grinned as they headed towards one of walls that acted as a boundary and barricade. The pegasus would either have to slow down and turn or stop if it didn't want to crash into it.
Just as it neared the wall, he got ready to jump. He started to worry when it didn't even slow. Then its wings unfurled.
He groaned as he realized that the pegasus could fly. And that's exactly what it did.
Hurrying, Ash sprinted and jumped, hoping to catch a ride to help bring it back down. And lucky for him, he somehow jumped high enough to land right on its back.
The pegasus whinnied and flew haphazardly, trying to throw him of its back. Ash grunted and grabbed hold of the mane trying to avoid from falling from the increasing height.
Suddenly, he remembered the time he had rode that Ponyta and how it evolved into a Rapidash. That Pokemon had been easy to ride, unlike the pegasus which was resisting his efforts. And then there was that Rhyhorn he rode (with a little help from Serena). Actually, that experience was more similar to his current one than with the Rapidash…
Ash placed a hand on its side, hoping to calm it down. He tried to calm himself down. Because panicking usually only made things worse. "Hey, it's all right… calm down, I won't hurt you."
Despite his fears earlier, his voice was smooth and confident, yet soft. And somehow, the pegasus felt a calmness and relaxed as well, flying steadily in the sky.
Hinoka and Azura were watching from down below, and both were just as surprised as the other that he hadn't fallen off. In fact, Tsubasa the pegasus was calmly flying back down to the ground. After it landed, Ash petted it before getting off, only to face a wide-eyed elder princess.
He was a little bit confused by that. "What is it?"
She shook out of it and explained, "Well, Tsubasa usually isn't too friendly with a lot of people."
Ash only blinked. "Huh. I didn't know that."
She smiled. "But… thanks. For, you know, helping her."
He scratched the side of his face sheepishly. "It was no problem, really. I was glad to help."
And Ash made a second friend since his unfortunate predicament.
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After a week of staying in the castle, he was able to learn a lot about Hoshido, and also a little bit about Nohr as well. It seemed that Nohr was attacking the peaceful kingdom of Hoshido. Hinoka also informed him about her younger sister, the one who had been kidnapped by the enemy.
Hinoka looked sad as she talked about her, the princess named Corrin. It seemed she was as dear to her as anything (which made sense).
Ash nodded in sympathy. He knew how it felt to lose someone close to you. He's experienced it a few times himself.
Surprisingly, he got along pretty well with the tomboyish-looking princess. She was a little rough on the edges, but she seemed to be genuinely kind. And we was glad of that. Gave him a small sense of normalcy. Well, as normal as it could get for him anyways.
Though he made sure not to get on her bad side just in case she had a mallet to knock him over with.
That day, Ash was by himself. He was trying to get used to this place, although he wasn't completely sure how long he was staying. Still, it might be a while, but just in case, he needed to make sure he knew his way around if anything showed up.
But of course, he was lost. Again. Things did not go well for him in large places.
"Grgh!"
A loud grunt was heard nearby, causing Ash's curiosity to be piqued with interest. As he walked in the direction of the sound, he heard the clash of metal, almost like a fast-paced Pokemon battle. And as he turned a corner into a room, he learned why.
Ryoma, the man he had met earlier, was sparring with a random castle guard using regular swords. The eldest prince had a good control of his sword and skillfully used it to block many of his opponent's attacks. After a few minutes, it seemed he was able to find an opening, and he swerved his sword around the other's. And the blade ended right at the guard's neck.
They both then dropped their tense stances; their swords were placed by their sides. The guard sighed but smiled. "You are exceptionally skilled, Lord Ryoma. Indeed, I found myself defending your sword more than I was comfortable with. You would make a wonderful leader."
Ryoma placed his hand on his shoulder. "I appreciate your kind words, but do not discourage yourself for my sake. You have good skills as a swordsman, and it actually took me quite a bit of effort in order to bypass your defenses."
As they continued to talk about swords and such, Ash stood stunned. So the people here fought each other? He supposed it only made a sort of sense, it didn't seem like they had any Pokemon here anyway. But still, even he could see how skilled they were in battling. To him, it almost felt as if he was watching a Pokemon battle, but it wasn't.
Eventually, Ryoma noticed Ash's presence and narrowed his eyes, gripping his sword tightly. "What are you doing here?"
Ash stumbled on his words at the threatening tone. "U-um, well, I-I heard you s-sparring and decided to check it out." He took a deep breath to help him relax a bit before he continued in a stronger and more confident voice, "You looked pretty awesome!"
The prince blinked in surprise. He didn't expect the kid to praise him, especially after what happened before.
Ash rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "The thing is… I've never really fought before, and not with swords. Though there were those times…" He thought of all of the times he had had to fight, though not with a sword. And it turned out to be a lot.
Ryoma thought about the situation. The kid didn't know how to fight, but the kingdom was being constantly attacked by Faceless. Well, he did throw weapons with surprising strength in his sleep… he seemed to have potential.
Furthermore, it didn't look like the kid would be leaving them any time soon. He said he didn't have anywhere to go, and Mikoto's soft and kind heart would probably grant him haven here.
That decided it. He was going to teach him.
"Do you want to learn how to to fight with one? I can show you."
Ash looked up, his eyes sparkling in awe. "Really?! That would be so cool! Oh by the way, my name is Ash!"
The oldest prince chuckled at his reaction and grabbed a wooden sword. Ash did likewise, understanding that he wouldn't stand a chance with a regular sword.
"My name is Ryoma. Now, shall we?"
They both stood opposite of each other as Ryoma told the guard to watch Ash as he fought.
Then they begun.
Ryoma attacked first, swinging the wood towards Ash's feet. To his surprise, Ash rolled out of the way, and he felt some wood touch the middle of his leg. The prince grinned as he moved the sword towards the kid again.
Ash swung his own sword with all his might, stopping the other for a split second.
And Ash was only scared of being hurt more than he should
Ryoma grinned. Ash had a hidden strength inside him. Who knew how adept he'd become by the time he was done with him?
He really wanted to see how long he lasted with his own training regimen…
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After a another hour of training (more like torture), Ash collapsed on the ground, his muscles burning.
Ryoma decided that was enough and brought down the wood sword to his side once more as he held his hand out to Ash, who reluctantly took it and stood up.
"You know, you have a real aptitude for swordsmanship."
"Huh?"
"What I mean is, you aren't bad, though you can definitely improve. Would you like to learn more?"
"S-sure! If you think so."
Ryoma smirked. Oh, he was going to have fun with this.
The next day, Ash couldn't even move from his bed thanks to the workout the day before...
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He and Ryoma had decided on once a week in order to give time for Ash to rest, since he wasn't the best in shape.
A few days after his session, he was walking slowly around the castle since he couldn't stand staying still on a bed for another second. Even though he still felt sore.
But then he was sent back to bed an hour afterwards, as he was sitting against the wall.
He grumbled as he sat on the infirmary bed again. He had yet to get a separate room, and it was the only place he could sleep.
As he lamented in his misfortune, the door opened softly and quietly, and a small and petite face poked out from the side. She yelped a little and hid behind the door as she saw who it was.
Ash felt concerned. "H-hey, are you alright? I'm not going to hurt you…"
Slowly but surely, she walked into the room. It was the pink-haired girl from before, he realized.
She came up to him. "I-I was supposed to help you heal up but… I'm sorry, I'm just a little scared…"
Ash tried to comfort her. It was his nature (again). "It's all right! I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm sorry if I scared you. I didn't mean it."
She looked up at him. "I-I believe you…. my older siblings, Hinoka and Ryoma, have been talking about you a little bit. They said you were nice and stuff like that…" she blushed, her shyness getting the better of her. She changed the subject after a few minutes. "Anyways, I was sent here to help you recover since I still need training as a shrine maiden… so you don't mind if I help, do you?"
He shook his head, and she moved next to him, her staff clutched tightly in her hands. She then reluctantly held the staff over him, random paper slips circling her body as she did so. A soft green light enveloped him for a moment before it died down, leaving him a lot less sore than he was before.
Ash grinned at his healer. "Thanks so much! I feel so much better now! By the way, my name is Ash!"
She smiled softly back. "I-I'm Sakura. It's a pleasure to meet now. I'm sorry, I have to go now, but I hope I'll see you soon."
As she walked out of the door, she felt that maybe he wasn't as bad as she thought.
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During Ash's next training session, someone else came besides Ryoma and a guard. This time, it was a male a couple years older than Ash, with tied-up gray-brown colored hair. A wooden bow and a quiver of arrows were strapped to his back.
He looked at Ash with suspicion. "Ryoma, why did you decide to train this kid. What if he was a spy sent by Nohr or something? Then we would already be in deep trouble just because you helped train him. He could relay any information back, and then they could have an advantage over us! And before you know it, Hoshido would be ruled by Nohr and everything would be over. I don't mean to sound rude, but do you have any common sense?"
Ash blinked at the mini rant. He was either paranoid or really cautious.
Ryoma sighed. "Takumi, brother. I swear to you that the boy will not, cause us any more harm than he has already, and that was only accidental. His morals are correct."
Takumi only glared. "Maybe he's only lying to you."
The older brother sighed in resignation. "I'm sure he wouldn't have stuck around if he was a spy from Nohr. Nohr already gave up on sending sentient beings or humans since the barrier would only make them turn back since all harmful thoughts would be repelled. Only those with kind hearts could really come in…"
Takumi looked between his brother and Ash before closing his eyes in annoyance. "Fine. You're free… for now. Don't think that I trust you, despite what he said." He immediately strode out of the room.
Ryoma sighed again. At this rate, it was going to become a habit… he turned back to Ash. "We will continue practicing with the wooden swords until I know that you are ready, understand? Now, shall we begin?"
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Takumi narrowed his eyes as he stared at his target. He had to focus not only his mind but also his body. He had to stay in the perfect balance of tension and relaxation. If he was too tense, his muscles would pull and his bow would be damaged, since it might bend. If he was too relaxed, his arrow could be released at the wrong time, and the power of the arrow would probably change as well. Either for good or ill.
That was why he was doing his best effort to not sway to either one too much.
He pulled back his arrow, angling his bow so then the arrow wouldn't fall, and he took aim. Breathe in, breathe out. Slowly, deeply, calmly… there, he felt better. Now…
After a short moment, he released his arrow, the bow-string twanging against his arm.
Takumi clicked his tongue as his arrow hit the edge of the middle of the target. That might as well have counted as a miss. If he couldn't hit the center, there would be no point in learning how to use the yumi in his hands.
He sighed and went to grab another arrow from the quiver on his back. But his hand didn't touch anything. Having a sinking feeling, he took it off and only groaned when he saw he had ran out of arrows. The thing was, he had been shooting from a balcony a couple of floors higher than the set of targets below.
He turned and went down the stairs nearby. If only the arrows would magically appear as he shot them, it would save him so much time…
Takumi laughed at that. Yeah right, that could never happen. Though secretly, he still wanted it.
As he turned the corner to the target area, he looked surprised. For what he saw surprised him.
That boy from earlier was removing his arrows from the targets with obvious care. The targets themselves only had small holes. They were actually removed in the right way.
The young archer could only stare as Ash continued to collect the arrows into his arms. After they had all been taken, he nodded as if in satisfaction and turned to Takumi. Once he was close enough, he held out the arrows. Wide-eyed, he took them, absent-mindedly placing them back into their quiver.
He was shocked. Why would he help him after he placed so much suspicion? It didn't make sense. Was the older boy trying to act nice? What exactly would he gain by doing so?
Ash rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he tried to nervously talk to Takumi. "I saw you shooting those arrows, and I thought you'd appreciate it if I gathered them up for you. You seemed to concentrate really hard, and you actually looked kinda cool doing it too."
Takumi's eyes shone as a small smile appeared on his face. He tried his hardest to keep from yelling in joy. All of his other siblings seemed to get more attention than he ever did, leading to lonely days and nights. Ryoma was famous for his sword skill, as well as being the heir to the throne. Hinoka was a strong warrior in her own right, and she helped a lot of people, resulting in her popularity. Azura was kept well for even though she was the princess from Nohr. When she was heard singing, many gathered in order to hear her beautiful voice. His younger sister, Sakura, was the youngest and doted on by many women because she was 'cute' and 'shy,' as they said.
And to tell the truth… Takumi felt like he had had no talent. Not well-known for anything really. He did have some swordsmanship under his belt, but he definitely wasn't as talented as his brother or any master for that matter. So he wanted a talent all his own that neither of his siblings had the best results in.
And that happened to be archery.
He trained for a bit, and he grew to actually enjoy it. He started to feel better about himself. And he didn't care about the rigorous training or the bone-breaking focus. No, he didn't. And he felt himself getting better. And people took notice of that.
It was the best feeling he had had in a long time, but that, too, faded away until all there was left was the memory and husk of what had been. He had stayed the same, and hardly improved, leaving him to be alone once more. Since then, he had been yearning for that feeling back, when someone recognized him for a talent. It was what he had wanted most more than anything.
And now… he felt it crawl back into his stone heart. That warm feeling when you felt proud of who you were and what you did. It felt like his world was becoming more colorful in front of his eyes. And one person stood out, in front of him. Ash.
Had that boy really made his world brighter just by what he said? No, he sensed it wasn't just that. He could see a kind of sincerness in his eyes. He just could.
Takumi smiled wider as his brown eyes lost their dull hue, shining warmly. "Thanks. I do appreciate it. And I suppose I should apologize for earlier as well. Sorry."
Ash only smiled back before responding. "What are you saying sorry for? I think you had every right to do that. I was only glad that I could help you out."
"Well, since it seems you are going to stay awhile, why don't you help me with my practice sessions? I could really use a hand… I suppose." He blushed afterwards. Takumi wasn't one who let his emotions slip so easily.
"Of course! I want to see that arrow fly!"
Takumi smiled as he climbed the stairs. He felt as if his very soul was being lifted above the ground every step. And as he shot a good ten arrows straight into the center of the targets, he could only smirk. Because maybe, just maybe…
Things could be better around here.
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My favorite part was with Takumi. That felt wholesome in every way to me. I have a pretty good understanding of Takumi for some reason. Eh, I guess it helped to listen to some soft and nice piano music while I was at it, heh...
This extra long chap was just for you guys. Just in case you couldn't tell, this is kinda the 'bonding' chapter, where we learn how everyone gets along. :D Just a forewarning, the next chapter is where it really starts.
This is pretty much the prologue.
It will be a time skip to where the official video game begins. I might have some of Corrin's view just for the sake of the story before switching back to Ash. He is the main character after all.
Hey, what job do you think Ash should have? Mercenary? Cavalier? Some other reasonable job class? Please let me know, I am at a total loss here!
Also, Corrin is the winning pairing so far. I'll drop it the poll the next time I update.
See ya! Sorry for the lateness!
