Update time!
I promised myself I wouldn't apologize for late updates, but I feel I should explain what this story is and where it will go. You see, I am writing this story purely for the enjoyment of writing it as a hobby and also as a birthday present for my little brother. A couple of years ago when I was first uploading stories, I felt the need to post because I wanted to get advice and post my ideas, leading to some poorly written content. Now I feel the need to only post when I am satisfied with the chapter and I feel as if it is a job well done, instead of posting something bad. College is also starting here soon so updates may take a while, but I hope you will stick around and enjoy the story!
Now this story will loosely follow the Awakening story line with some little side arcs as well. I will not be following the story line completely word for word, but it will go in that general direction and will finish when it's finished.
Thank you for understanding
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy!
Warning: Spoilers!
Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem
Chapter 1: Kuroi
Kasai took a deep breath and watched his breath disappear into the cold air. The Shepherds marched up the snowy path toward the Longfort. Chrom was in the front, followed by Lissa and his trusted knight Fredrick, then the mage Miriel, next to her was the axe-swinging Vaike, and Kasai stood next to them. Bringing up the back was the cavalry Sully and Stahl and the archer Virion.
Aerne had decided to stay in the capital, she had been very cryptic when Kasai went to see her. "Oh, I can't go! I uh, found something in the library I want to look into!" The fifteen year old had said.
Kasai sighed as he focused on the man walking next to Chrom. The man who had been found with amnesia unconscious walked by their leader completely absorbed in some sort of book. He had messy blue hair and calculating brown eyes. His name was Kuroi and he was a genius when it came to tactics on the battlefield.
Everyone trusted Chrom, and since he trusted Kuroi, they trusted him. Still, Kasai had his doubts about the amnesiac. There has been suspicious activity along the Plegian border, did Kuroi have something to do with it? Was his amnesia just a facade?
Kasai swore silently to himself. If Kuroi turns out to be an enemy, Kasai would take him down.
Chrom raised his hand and the entire group stopped. In front of them was the Longfort, many guards stood on the proud walls with javelins and bows aimed at the group.
"Who goes there!?" A woman in a suit of armor demanded.
Chrom stepped forward. "I am Lord Chrom of Ylisse."
The woman laughed. "And I am Khan of Ferox," She said sarcastically. "Silence Brigand!"
"But I truly am Chrom," He replied hastily. "We come to seek aid from the Khan!"
"Enough of this! We've had enough brigands sneaking across our border disguised as 'Lord Chrom'. I've had enough, take aim!" She shouted.
Kasai gasped as javelins hurtled toward Chrom. "Chrom move!" He yelled, but it was too late. Chrom went turned to the side to block them just as a pegasus swooped down and scooped Chrom up, the javelins clattered to the ground.
Kasai followed the pegasus with his eyes and drew his sword. "It's Sumia!" He told the others.
"To arms!" Fredrick shouted.
Kuroi looked around and pointed at advancing troops. "Kasai, Stahl and Miriel go to the left, Sully, Virion and Vaike go right. Lissa stay with Fredrick, you two will be reinforcements."
Sumia and Chrom landed and Chrom slid off the pegasus.
Chrom nodded at Kasai and then turned to Kuroi. "What about me?" He asked
Kuroi frowned. "Try riding with Sumia, I'm curious to see how you two support each other."
Chrom nodded and hopped back on Sumia's pegasus. "This is just a misunderstanding, don't kill them!" He said as Sumia shot into the sky.
Kasai, Stahl and Miriel charged the line of knights marching toward them. Kasai ducked under a lance and sliced at weak points points in the armor.
Feroxi men may be stronger warriors, but their armor is made the same way Ylissian armor is so they should have the same flaws.
Running with this theory, Kasai slipped through their defenses and attacked around the back of the knights' legs. The knights fell to the snow and because of their heavy armor, they could not get back up.
"Nice!" Stahl cheered as he charged an archer.
Kasai spun around and blocked a sword. "Serious design flaw, the armor slows you down and if you were to fall down face first it will take a while to get back up."
Meanwhile, Kuroi scoped the battlefield, following behind the group to the right, seeing as Kasai's group was doing alright. The tactician opened his thunder tome and blasted an enemy, then spun around and disarmed another with his sword. Things were escalating, and the Feroxi troops were fighting to kill. It was only a matter of time until the only way to survive would be to kill them.
Kuroi shook his head. Chrom didn't want to kill them, and it would put a strain on negotiations if the Ylissians killed Feroxi troops. Kuroi had to think; how were they going to finish this quickly with minimal losses? He remembered a book he read once about Ferox and its military. They were fierce warriors, and the only way to gain respect from them was to defeat them in combat. If they could defeat the Feroxi captain in charge...
Kuroi looked around for Chrom and Sumia and spotted them taking out an axe-wielding warrior. "Chrom, we need to defeat the captain!" He shouted.
Chrom eyes fell onto the female knight, at the back of her troops. "Sumia, set me down close to her," He told her.
"Are you sure?" She asked.
"Yes." With that said, She dropped him off right in front of the knight and took off back into the skies.
"Look who came to fight," She laughed. "The head brigand himself!"
Chrom gripped Falchion tightly. "Don't worry, it'll be over in one strike," He told her seriously.
The woman growled. "Such arrogance! You think you can best me!?"
"No, I do not mean it arrogantly, but in order to prevent anyone getting killed, I will defeat you. Here I come!" He shouted and charged.
The woman thrust her lance toward Chrom, but he jumped to the side and sliced her lance in half. In shock, the woman fell to her knee and dropped the end of the broken lance. "I see... I was wrong," She gasped.
Chrom held Falchion at the ready. "Please call off your troops," He ordered.
The woman blinked, but did as he said. The Shepherds had won.
Kasai met up with Kuroi and Chrom as the woman who's name was Raimi was apologizing.
"My sincerest apologizes M'Lord," She said while bowing. "Please understand that it is my duty to guard the border and there has been more and more bandit activity lately."
Chrom smiled. "I'm just glad we got through this misunderstanding. Can we enter Ferox now?"
"Of course, allow me to escort you to Castle Ferox."
"Thank you." Chrom looked at Kasai and frowned. There wasn't anything wrong with him, it was just that Chrom could faintly see a dark blue-green color in his hair. "Kasai, what is that green in your hair?" He asked.
Kasai's face went pale. "Green?" He asked.
Kuroi scratched his chin. "Now that you mention it, there does seem to be a faint tint in your hair Kasai. I've seen that color before..."
Kasai smiled and closed his eyes. "I'm sure it's just paint in my hair. Aerne and I had been mixing spells together for some weird experiment of hers. Anyway I was going to ask permission if I could head back to the capital Chrom."
"Why?"
Kasai's eyes locked with Chrom's. "Aerne has been acting strange lately and I'm worried. Besides, you are going into Ferox now and all you're going to do is talk business and it's not like I'm going to be of any help to you then."
The two seemed to have a mental conversation, trying to figure out what the other was thinking. Finally, Chrom nodded. "You're right, as a soldier you won't be very helpful in diplomacy... and if something is keeping you from getting focused, then it can put you in danger on the battlefield. Go ahead and head back to the capital."
Kasai smiled. "Thank you Chrom, I owe you." With that said, he headed down the road and back to the capital.
"He was lying," Chrom told Kuroi as the Shepherds were being escorted to Castle Ferox
Kuroi frowned. "He seemed genuinely concerned about his friend."
"Aerne is like a sister to him, but no matter what she would do it wouldn't bother Kasai to the point where he would drop everything and run back. Besides, it was in his eyes. There was something else bothering him."
"Do you think it had something to do with his hair?" Kuroi asked.
Chrom chuckled. "It may seem silly to us... it has something to do with before we met five years ago."
"He's so secretive with me," Kuroi said. "Can you tell me more about him?"
And so, Chrom filled in Kuroi about Kasai about when they had met and how Kasai had become such a close friend as the castle came into view
So why did Kasai decide to head back to the capital so suddenly? Why was there a blue green tint in his hair? What is Aerne up to? Does blue green hair sound familiar?
Good questions, see if you can guess what they mean!
Thank you for reading my story and I hope you enjoy it so far!
