Nohr

Four days was the time frame Xander had to rest his forces for another assault on Hoshido. Those four days were done… Now he just had to report to Father for orders on where exactly to go.

Though, as he walked through the halls to the throne room, other thoughts passed through his head. Some were directed at Corrin, still expressing confusion on why she didn't return home with them… Or even stay with her blood family at Hoshido. But, while he was confused by his younger sister's decision to run from both, another line of thought made it's way to his head, specifically what his ever dutiful retainer, Hazama, had informed him about concerning Terumi.

Not long after the quick meeting with his Father four days ago, Terumi vanished from Krakenburg, obviously going to the Ice Tribe to put an end to their rebellion… Alone. No other people vanished with him. Then, only a few hours ago, a message came informing Father that the rebellion had been crushed and the rebels were now working for him once more. Somehow… That was the most worrying part to Xander. The Ice Tribe were no slouches in combat, even without Jin, who had most likely traveled to the Tribe to assist them, and there was no chance that diplomacy was even tried, considering it was Terumi that was there.

Yet, despite that, the rebellion was put down and now serving the Kingdom once more. Xander had no doubts that the only person that should logically defeat the Ice Tribe by themselves was his own Father… And yet, Terumi did the same himself. This wasn't the first time Terumi had put down a rebellion on Father's orders, but it was the first time he went against a rebellion filled with people who knew how to fight.

Thankfully, before that train of thought could go much further, Xander had made it to the large doors to the throne room, stepping closer to open the doors and go inside before instinctively stopping when he heard shouting coming from behind the doors,

"I told you already, I can't match your demands without destroying my own people. I ask you again, is this war necessary?! Should you have at least tried to talk with Hoshido? It is impossible for them to be so stubborn not to at least assist us in our many food shortages?!" A voice yelled, obviously very angry after a good while of trying to persuade the King. Thankfully, Xander recognized the voice of the owner, the Lord of one of Nohr's small provinces, Kagura Mutsuki, the man with a long history of being at odds with Father.

Xander heard Father's sigh from behind the doors, having not moved an inch since he heard Kagura, "We are at war now. It will be long before hostilities have ceased, too long. Diplomacy is out of the question-"

"Because you killed their king, and then assassinated their Queen, without trying to talk with them!" Kagura interrupted.

Sure enough, that was when a loud bang was heard, likely from Father's axe handle being slammed against the ground, "KAGURA. DO YOU HAVE PERMISSION TO INTERRUPT ME, THE KING, AS I SPEAK?!" Garon bellowed, followed by silence for a good few seconds as Xander could feel Kagura's silent fury, "... Needless to say, you are meant to keep order in your lands, and to accomplish my demands. You are not to question them" he continued after the short pause.

At that, Kagura growled, loud enough for Xander to hear, "Even so, you ask me to send you 90% of my people to fight your war, INCLUDING women and children. It will destroy my people and the economy of my lands, and even harm Nohr!" Kagura explained.

After a second of silence, Garon finally responded, seeming to give some thought to what Kagura had said, "Then I hope you have ways to prevent that" he replied. What followed was a sudden stunned silence, capped off with Garon's voice once more, "Leave. I expect my demands reached in two days time." he stated.

A few more seconds passed. Then, Xander stepped back, just as the doors to the Throne Room burst open, Kagura storming out and stopping only when he noticed Xander. After his initial surprise, Kagura couldn't help but smile, a far cry from how he was in Garon's presence, "Xander" Kagura said simply.

"Kagura" Xander replied shortly afterwards.

At that, the two stared at each other for about a second, only to stop when Kagura glanced back into the Throne Room, face darkening when he saw Garon again, "... Hopefully you can make him see reason" Kagura stated simply. With that, the Black Knight walked past Xander, making his way down the halls without a look back, leaving Xander to enter the throne room alone.

After a second, Xander himself walked through the doors he had been standing behind, noting how the throne room was now empty aside from him and Father.

Garon himself, after closing his eyes and letting out a long sigh at Kagura's exit, finally noticed Xander enter the room, "Xander. What do you have to report?" he asked, voice now much lower and calmer than it had been with Kagura's.

In response, Xander straightened slightly, even though he was already nearly as straight as a board, "The main army is ready to begin marching. We are finished resting, and the replacements you sent us have taken their places in the ranks" Xander explained, folding his arms behind his back, watching as Garon nodded,

"Good, then we can get to work. Bring your army Cyrkensia. I have a feeling the Hoshidan army plans to attack, to gain a foothold in Nohr. Make sure you speak with their ruler about this." Garon stated, causing Xander's face to pale. Hoshido, attacking Cyrkensia… A neutral port city near Nohr. It wasn't something he would've expected Hoshido to do… But this WAS war now. There was no guarantee…

"Do you have anything to add, Xander?" Garon suddenly asked, causing Xander to snap out of his thoughts to look up at his father. For about a second, he felt like bringing up the matter of Kagura. From what he had heard, Kagura was right about not sending most of his people for the war. They would return to a town that would have a difficult time getting back at it's feet after a long time of inactiveness. Kagura was right, he was likely the only person who could get Father to listen.

After that second's hesitation, Xander simply shook his head, "No father. I shall begin heading to Cyrkensia with my forces" he replied simply.

A few seconds passed as the two looked at each other, saying not a word until Garon nodded, "Very well. You are dismissed" he stated, causing Xander to bow slightly, then straighten and turn, exiting the throne room and leaving Garon to his thoughts.

Hoshido

When it came to Mozu joining the party, Corrin was at first unsure what to think. Yes, it she was helping someone find a new home and she was welcome to more assistance… But there was the initial problem of how she would explain everything that had happened over the last few days to her. Specifically, her being branded as a traitor to Hoshido (and Nohr), and the entire deal with Valla and Anankos. But, it turned out she actually didn't, because Ragna actually took the time to explain everything in his normal blunt manner. Mozu was surprisingly understanding to the fact that Corrin was a traitor to Hoshido, and didn't seem to mind that she was raised in Nohr, and while she was a bit confused at the entire "Other world" thing (which was what Ragna called it, because of the curse), but seemed to at least give a little bit of acceptance to what Ragna was saying, considering he seemed completely serious about the entire thing.

"In simple terms Mozu, lots of shit we have to deal with" Ragna said, having finally gotten to the end of his explanation.

In response, Mozu simply nodded, "That's… Quite a lot to have happened. But, if you're officially, um… Traitors to Hoshido, why are you heading deeper into it?" she asked, looking at Ragna as she said that.

Corrin, however, was the one to answer that, "Because we need to get the two Kingdoms to stop fighting so we can focus on taking down the actual enemy" she stated, "Hoshido is the best place to start, because… Well… Um… I don't think that we'll have an easy time getting the Nohrian family to listen to us with Garon being manipulated" she added.

Suddenly, before they could continue that conversation, Jakob suddenly snapped his fingers, "Milady, there's a fort in the distance" he said, causing everyone's attention to shift to where he was looking. Sure enough, the stone walls of a Hoshidan fort were spottable in the distance.

Corrin, once she spotted it, couldn't have looked more happier, "Well, that's wonderful" she said, turning to Azura, "Quick question, do you happen to know which fort that is?" Corrin asked, watching as Azura stood in thought for a second before speaking,

"From what I'd guess, it's Fort Jinya. I recall hearing Sakura and Ryoma speak about it, when a few months ago when Ryoma was worried about a war breaking out. By all likelihood, Sakura should be there, because she is supposed to go to it when the war started" Azura explained, "... We should continue. We do not have much time to waste" Azura added, beginning to walk forward again.

As they all began to do so, Ragna couldn't help but hake his head, "Walking towards the likely heavily defended fort in enemy territory. Are we just supposed to be hoping they wouldn't just try to kill us in the first 5 seconds they see us, or what?" Ragna asked, folding his arms as they continued forward.

In response, Azura simply shrugged, "If Sakura's there, we should be able to talk to them. She's always been the one to listen quicker than anyone else in her family. And, if we have to fight, then we should be able to handle the Hoshidan defences" she stated, keeping her eyes ahead.

Ragna, for a second, thought about that, then nodded, "Good point" he said, reflexively straightening his collar.

Corrin, however, couldn't help but frown as they began to near the fort, noticing something strange, "It… It's surprisingly inactive. No one's even on the walls" she said, causing Ragna and the others to look a bit closer at the walls. Sure enough… No one was doing patrols on it, nor did it sound like there was any activity going on inside.

"... Huh, that's strange. Normally there would be-" Ragna began, only to be cut off when the door to the fort suddenly began to open once they were only a short run away from its doorsteps, "Nevermind, looks like this is our welcoming party" he corrected, rolling his shoulders and walking forward, with Corrin and the others quickly followed.

Soon enough though, a figure walked out of the gates, quickly being recognized as Yukimura, stopping a fair distance away from the gates, a face very, very angry at the sight of seeing Corrin, "You have some nerve showing up here, Corrin" he called out.

In response, Corrin quickened her pace, moving in front of Ragna as everyone slowed to a stop, "Yukimura, I know that this isn't that great of a time, but I need to talk with y-" Corrin began, only to quickly be cut off by Yukimura,

"Quite. There is no reason for me to listen to the words of a traitor" Yukimura snapped back, causing whatever Corrin was going to add to die in her mouth. Once he said that though, his gaze went from Corrin, right to Azura, "... That goes doubly for you, Azura. You were raised among us like any other princess of Hoshido, yet when the choice came you had no hesitation in turning your back on us. Perhaps it is in your blood, just like Corrin" he stated with a shake of his head.

At that, Corrin shook her own head, "Look, Yukimura, I'm sorry for running from the war but I need you to-"

"Silence! I won't let you justify your betrayal. There is no excuse, not for you, or for-"

"Really?" Ragna suddenly interrupted, pushing Corrin to the side and walking forward, "How ignorant can you really be? Back at that battle, where Nohr engaged with your troops, Corrin had two choices. One was to side with you guys, which would make her a traitor to Nohr, or join up with Nohr, and become a traitor to you guys. Either way, what right choice did she have? Join with those who may have kidnapped her yet treated her with kindness while she was a 'captive', or join the people who she hardly knew about, but apparently are her true family" he said, clenching and unclenching his fists as if preparing for a fight, "You look like someone who actually has some brains, so how about you actually use that and think for once" Ragna finished.

For a few seconds, the two parties simply stared at Ragna, all in shock. However, Yukimura was the first to break the silence, eyes narrowing at Ragna, "... It would seem that would be it. GUARDS!" he suddenly yelled, taking a few steps back as multiple archers appeared on the walls of the fort, along with more swordsmen and spearmen charging out of the gate to assist Yukimura.

Ragna himself instantly gripped the handle of his sword, narrowing his eyes at the stances of the infantry moving behind Yukimura, and the archers on the wall pulling their bowstrings. Soon after, the others realized this as well, with Gunter raising his shield as his horse nervously stomped the ground, Corrin pulling out Yato, Azura adopting her normal stance, Jakob pulling out one of his knives, while Mozu looked around in shock, gripping her naginata as she took a few steps back from the quickly approaching battle.

… But it never came. Mostly because of the fact that Sakura was charging out from the gates, yelling at everyone to stop.

Upon hearing Sakura's shouts, Yukimura turned around in surprise, though he wasn't able to get a response out before Sakura pushed past him, finally slowing her pace when she saw Corrin and Azura, "Azura… Corrin…" she whispered at the sight, face set in a tone of disbelief. However, that quickly faded as she turned to Yukimura and the rest of the soldiers of the fort, "Yukimura, everyone, s-stand down!" she shouted, causing everyone to blink in surprise at the statement.

Yukimura himself managed to get a reply in rather quickly, however, "Lady Sakura, why are you even out here, get to safe-" he began, only to find himself cut off by Sakura once again,

"Y-Yukimura, there's n-no danger! At all! Why would C-Corrin and Azura even come back if they wanted to cause trouble?" Sakura asked, then looked back at Corrin, "... I want to hear w-what big sis- I mean, Corrin has to say" she added.

For another good few seconds, the two sides were completely silent, only for said silence to be broken when two figures pushed through the lines of soldiers. Specifically, a woman in styled Hoshidan outfit, and a red haired man in a standard pegasus rider outfit, both running towards Sakura,

"Lady Sakura, hold up!" the man yelled, slowing his approach once he noticed Corrin and the others. Though, instead of glaring at them, he simply looked at Sakura with a raised eyebrow with a silent question.

The woman, however, was anything but silent, hand flying to the hilt of her sword once she saw the group in front of her, "Lady Sakura, this isn't safe, get-" she began, only to see Sakura take a step forward, right towards Corrin,

"Corrin. S-Say what you have to say" Sakura stated, waiting until either Corrin or someone else decided to speak.

Corrin, thankfully, was the one to step forward to speak,

"Sakura… I'm going to start this off by saying that everything I'm going to say is true, you have my word on that" Corrin said, quickly sheathing her sword, "This was something I only found out recently, but this war that's going on is larger than what it appears as. King Garon is being manipulated by a force I… Can't name, due to a curse that will kill anyone that says his name outside of his land, which… Sort of shares the same curse" Corrin stated.

At that, Ragna decided to speak up, still on guard, "Remember those things that attacked Shirasagi and killed your Queen? They worked for this force, and I'm sure you remember how strange they were" he added, hand still on the hilt of his sword.

"We already know how to handle the problem, however" Azura cut in, stepping forward so she was with Ragna and Corrin, "If we stop the war between Nohr and Hoshido, and get you, Ryoma, Takumi, Hinoka, and the Nohrian royal family on our side, we can return to the real enemy's kingdom and take him out. Once we do that, we will not have to worry about a King who wants to destroy two kingdoms, thousands of people, and we will even be able to avenge Queen Mikoto."

While Sakura was silent, taking the information in and thinking about it, Yukimura sighed, shaking his head as he stepped forward, now at Sakura's side, "I'm almost appalled by how idiotic you take us. There is no tale I have heard that is more farfetched than the one you are trying to trick us with" he stated, preparing to continue his response when Sakura suddenly spoke up again,

"And you swear that this is true. All of it?" Sakura asked, causing Yukimura to look at her, eyebrows raised in confusion.

Corrin, on the other hand, nodded, "I wouldn't lie about this Sakura, you have my word" she replied.

Yukimura, quickly realizing that Sakura was thinking, turned fully to the younger princess, "Lady Sakura, there are over a hundred reasons why she could be lying to you right now. None of what she says is believable, and yet-"

"Yet I believe her, because there's n-no other reason for her to lie here. A-And she wants to end this war before it gets too out of hand. I want to DO something, not be stuck in the fort until one side wins, or loses. Wh-Which is why I'm going to go with her" Sakura interrupted.

For a few seconds, everyone was silent, the soldiers even lowering their weapons in surprise. However, the silence was eventually interrupted when Corrin, Yukimura, and Sakura's two retainers spoke up,

"Wait, really?!"

"Lady Sakura are you serious?!"

"Milady what?"

"I'm a bit confused Lady Sakura, we're what?"

At the four reactions, Sakura decided to answer, her decision now set in stone, "I'm going with Corrin. I believe her, and I want to end this fighting before it claims too many lives" she said, looking at Yukimura and her two retainers, "I… I'm not asking for any of you to come along, especially you Yukimura… I know that you still have to assist Ryoma" she added, watching as Yukimura nodded, shoulders falling in resignation, "But, Hana, Subaki, if you do not wish to come with me now, that is-"

Suddenly, Hana interrupted, stepping forth and putting a hand on Sakura's shoulder, shaking her head, "Lady Sakura, I vowed to go with you to the ends of the earth. This doesn't change that. And besides, if you trust them, they can't be that bad" she said, with Subaki nodding in agreement,

"We'll keep following you Lady Sakura. That I can promise you" Subaki stated. Just after he did so, he took the time to turn back to the fort, whistling loudly, then simply stood, waiting for something.

With that, Sakura looked between both Subaki and Hana, then smiled, nodding to the both before turning to Corrin, taking a few steps forward so she was almost face to face with Corrin. Or rather, she would've been, if not for the size difference.

"... Sis, I'm ready to go with you" Sakura said.

Instead of pausing in surprise for a few seconds, Corrin suddenly lurched forward, hugging Sakura furiously, "Thanks Sakura. Seriously, thank you" she said before letting go of Sakura, taking a step back while ignoring a few stares from Jakob, Mozu, and others on the Hoshidan front. Ragna himself simply shook his head at the sight.

Yukimura watched all this, frowning at both that and at himself. His duty was calling for him, telling him to order his troops to arrest Corrin and her followers and bring Sakura back. But, when he went to order his troops, he didn't tell them to attack. Instead, he ordered them all back to their posts, which they all did with surprisingly little hesitation. If they actually believed Corrin, he didn't know.

But, despite his instinct telling him to put faith in Corrin and Sakura, his mind knew that he would still have to, regretfully, inform this to Lord Ryoma.

Soon enough, Sakura and the others were ready to leave. Sakura had simply wanted to wait until Subaki acquired his mount, which came in the form of a large Pegasi that swooped down from the sky and landed next to it's rider, walking at his side as the others began to move out.

As they did so, Sakura decided to ask something, "So, do you have an idea of where to go next?" Sakura asked, looking at Corrin as she did so.

In response, Corrin thought for a moment, "Well… I was thinking of stopping at Izumo. It seems like the best place to stop and figure out where the rest of my brothers and sisters are" Corrin stated.

"Wait, Izumo? That's where Takumi is!" Sakura stated, causing Corrin to blink in surprise, then smile at the realization that her plan would actually bring them to someone important.

Ragna, on the other hand, didn't seem as happy at the name 'Takumi', considering his eyes narrowed greatly, "... He's the asshole with the bow, right? The one that accused you of being the cause of the Queen's death?" Ragna asked, causing the whole group to look at Ragna, noticing his air of disapproval.

Sakura was the one to speak up first, now visibly nervous from Ragna's glare, "Y-Yes, b-but he's j-just instinctive. I-I'm s-sure if we t-talk to him h-he won't… Um… T-Try and k-kill C-Corrin like before" she said, rather quickly.

Before Ragna could get his own response in, which would've likely been something about not believing that shit for a second, Corrin cut in, "Even if he tries, Sakura and I can talk to him. We'll need his help" Corrin said.

At that, Ragna looked straight at Corrin, "Do we?" he asked bluntly, causing Corrin to frown,

"Yes, we do" she replied. For a few seconds afterwards, the two stared at each other, one with more of a glare and the other with a gaze of determination. Then, Ragna sighed, shrugging as he looked away from Corrin and folded his arms.

With that, Corrin decided that they were far enough away from the fort to show Sakura, Hana, Subaki, and Mozutheir… Well, base of operations, "Alright, let's hold up for a second" she said, turning to the other princess and her retainers, "Before we go much further, I'd think it would be best for you to see something" Corrin stated, watching Sakura nod in response. With that, she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before calling out to Lilith.

Then, not even a second afterwards, a vortex of water rose from the ground, enveloping the entire group before just as quickly falling back to the ground, leaving nothing but empty air in it's wake.

Nohr

For a good full day, Flora had pushed her people through the blizzards and, eventually, through Faceless territory, moving them as fast as possible to Dia. Though, finally, she was forced to stop her frantic push of survival to allow all of them to rest, mostly from their wounds inflicted by Terumi or from the creatures they had fought. It was a slow, exhausting effort to push through the landscape of Nohr, but one they had to do now.

Flora herself sat further to the edge of the small camp the rest of the Tribe had made, one that would be easy to take down when they were ready to move. Specifically, she sat on top of a broken tree, staring into nothing as the events that had transpired not even a day ago replayed again and again in her head.

Lost in Ice

"Distracted again?" Jin's voice asked, causing Flora to look up from where she was sitting and nod in response,

"Yes" Flora replied simply, causing Jin to look at her for a few seconds before looking off into the distance, folding his arms. After a few seconds of silence though, Flora spoke up again, "Jin, I need to apologize for something. Specifically about my… Compliance to Yuu-"

"His name was Terumi. Just Terumi." Jin suddenly interrupted, forcing Flora to pause in her apology, "And there is no reason to apologize. I may have sounded… Agitated earlier, but that was because I was watching the man who killed the very person who found me unconscious in a blizzard and decided to rescue me. With time to think, I understand why you ordered me not to keep fighting, so I wouldn't kill myself" he explained, causing Flora's shoulders to fall in relief, "... I only hope that we can finish that scum's work fast. Every second I have to do this task for him makes my blood boil" Jin added with a shake of his head.

In response, Flora nodded, "... Me too Jin, me too" she replied, then stood up with a sigh, "Alright, we've rested enough. We should get to Dia before Terumi decides we aren't doing his dirty work" she stated with another sigh, walking away, specifically to where the other tribe members were resting so she could get them moving.

Jin himself looked at Flora as she walked away, then looked down at his blade, finding his grip tightening on the handle. Flora had no clue, but he had a wordless vow made to Flora already.

And that was to kill Terumi with his blade. Both to prevent the death of another chief, as payback for damaging his pride, and to enact vengeance upon a good friend.

Jin and Flora have reached Support Rank C.

Dragon Fort

When Sakura, Subaki, Hana, and Mozu were brought to the fort, everyone had expected them to be very, very surprised. And they were, with Mozu being the most surprised, nearly having heart attack when Lilith showed herself. The other three were surprised as well, but took the change much easier than Mozu, who only calmed down once she was able to talk with Lilith for a bit.

That was several hours ago, and since then the four had managed to settle in the Dragon Fort. Sakura and her retainers found a place to sleep in the many empty buildings in the fort, while Mozu had found the empty fields and, almost immediately, began planting some crops to grow. It was probably a calming thing for her, going back to what she did before her entire village was destroyed.

Ragna himself had decided to fall asleep once again at the tree he had found outside the fort. It was just comfortable, mostly because there wasn't the risk of insects bothering the hell out of him or the weather turning sour, because it was always calm, warm, and peaceful. At least, that's the only weather he had seen so far.

… Of course, there was the problem of people constantly seeming to want to talk to him once he was nearly asleep.

"About time you showed up again" Ragna said, suddenly opening his eyes to see Rachel standing a fair distance away.

At that, Rachel couldn't help but smile, ever slightly, "I decided to drop by for a little visit, Ragna" she replied. After a few seconds of silence, her smile faded, "... How are your memories fairing?" she asked.

Ragna wasn't smiling when he had seen Rachel, and even if it was, her question would've caused it to turn into a deep frown. At her question, multiple memories came into his mind… All of them simple phrases in an all too familiar voice.

"Doesn't that fake arm come in handy? Do you think it's pretty good for an imitation?"

"You're going to play with ME?! I don't think you get how this shit works!"

"Come on, give it a shot! Work those brain cells! Nothing? THIS is why you can't beat me, Rags!"

"Not in this lifetime, or the next... or even the one after that will you be able to defeat me, little Raggy! Now DIE like the little bitch that you are!"

"I'M TAKING YOU TO HELL!"

"... I know that face. Terumi, isn't it?" Rachel suddenly asked, causing Ragna to sigh in slight annoyance and anger,

"Yeah. Shoulda trusted my guts back at Krakenburg and killed that son of a bitch" Ragna replied, closing his eyes and folding his arms, still laying on the ground.

Rachel, on the other hand, simply shook her head, "It wouldn't have changed anything Ragna, not yet" she said.

At that though, Ragna's eyes snapped open, both glaring at Rachel, "What the hell do you mean by that?" he asked.

"Simply put, without full access to your Grimoire, Terumi will always beat you here. Specifically, because he is being backed by the enemy you face" she stated with a shrug, "Though, it is likely that you already guessed this" she added, watching as Ragna merely nodded,

"Considering he's already working with Garon, I'm not that surprised that he's partnered up with that other guy" Ragna stated, beginning to rise to his feet, keeping his eyes on Rachel, "Speaking of which, I have a lot of questions for you-"

"I only have the capabilities to answer one of your questions Ragna. And before you waste it, let us just say my… Position prevents me from doing more. That, and what fun would it be to tell you everything?" Rachel interrupted, giving Ragna a very faint smile at the end, which only served to make Ragna's small annoyance at her begin to grow.

"Fine. How the hell do you know so much about me? And why the hell do I even HAVE amnesia?" Ragna asked, folding his arms.

At that question though, Rachel seemed to think for a second, "Hm… Two questions, but I'll humor you this once, Ragna. For your first question, I've simply known you longer than you remember. Before you got your unfortunate amnesia. Which leads into your next question…" Rachel explained, turning her body around, only letting her look at Ragna out of the corner of her eye,

"... You're simply not part of this world"

With that, before Ragna could even react, a burst of black came out of the ground, enveloping Rachel and as soon as it had came, it was gone, along with Rachel, leaving Ragna to stare at empty air, eyebrows raised at Rachel's simple statement. Eventually though, he just groaned, sitting back down and closing his eyes with a deep frown.

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Unknown

Corrin, with a sudden sharp intake of breath, lurched into a sitting up position, panting heavily for a few good seconds. She wasn't sure what woke her up, but it had to be something. It was at that point that she realized she was, once again, in a dark void, just like the last few dreams she had were. After a few seconds of initial hesitation, she sighed, getting up to her feet.

Which was exactly when images started to fly into her view, and none of them good.

Hoshido and Nohr, both strangely peaceful in broad daylight. At least, until the skies suddenly turned red, purple mist beginning to seep from the ground and cause chunks of the ground to begin lifting into the air, slowly but surely tearing each kingdom apart.

A large sky, yellow in color, as if resting in the light of the dawn, specifically with a large… Thing in the air. Corrin got the feeling that whatever it was she was seeing, it was something of extreme power… Which apparently didn't save it from the same purple mist that was beginning to fill the air around it.

Just before the scene shifted however, a loud roar filled the air, instinctively causing Corrin to cover her ears, though it didn't do anything to help. As soon as the roar ended, a large, shadowy figure shot out of the clouds, rising to face the object in front of it as the mist filling the sky began to seep towards it. That was the last she saw before the scene before her vision suddenly went black.

But that wasn't the last thing she saw.

The last thing she saw was a pair of green lights suddenly blinking to life in the darkness, quickly taking the shape of two pure green eyes. Not a second after those eyes blinked to light, a sudden white smile appeared underneath those eyes, the teeth clearly sharp. Said smile never moved, but a deep voice suddenly spoke out all around her, carrying a power that she felt that she couldn't even begin to comprehend,

"The cogs of time begin to turn, Princess of Fate"

That was when Corrin's eyes actually burst open, the princess gasping and snapping to a sitting position, staying there for a few seconds as she took some deep breaths. She wasn't sure what she saw exactly, but whatever it was, it had managed to scare her entire being. Eventually, Corrin sighed, leaning a bit more forward and resting her forehead on her hands.

"Allow me to wager a guess, more of your little visions?"

A sudden voice speaking caused Corrin to snap to attention, head turning to see… The one girl she had seen just before she made her decision to not pick a side, sitting at the small table in her room, specifically drinking from a small tea cup. The umbrella she had held before was nowhere to be seen, but there was a dark shape pooled to her side, with a small red block on top of that.

"Wait, you're… You're the girl I saw back at the plains…" Corrin said, finding herself relaxing somewhat at a… Semi-familiar face.

In response, the girl simply took a drink from her cup, then placed it back into a small plate in her other hand, "I see your memory span is not as primitive as I initially thought" she said, looking at the tea in her cup.

At that though, Corrin frowned. The insult the girl just said was not lost on her… But for formality's sake, she chose to ignore it, "Um… Well, to answer your question, yes. More visions" she said, and instinctively, she asked: "... Why am I getting these?"

The girl simple sighed, "Oh dear, it looked like I was wrong" she stated, placing the plate and cup onto the table, still not looking at Corrin, "Obviously, it is because you have some semblance of importance in this world, and fate is preparing you for the trails ahead" she stated, then frowned thoughtfully, "Hm… Though why it would pick you is anyone's guess…" she wondered.

Obviously, Corrin actually had a line drawn with that statement, mostly because of the fact that she was continuously insulting her without any form of reason. However, it was at that point that the black mass at the girl's feet moved, shaking off the smaller red mass as it got up… Revealing a sort of cat-like face, which made Corrin freeze in surprise,

"Princess, don't you think you're being a bit too- AGH!" he began, only to find itself being stomped into the floor when the girl didn't waste any time and simply brought her foot to his head.

Still, Corrin was still surprised by the sudden speaking mass, "Wait, that can talk?!" she asked, which, while the black mass was still face down onto the floor, his reply muffled, the red mass began flying into the air, with only two small wings supporting it, eyes and mouth blinking into existence,

"Yeah, we can talk, we're just a bit tired from all of our work tod-" it began, only to get cut off when the girl suddenly smacked it away, sending it flying right towards the wall, splatting on it and then falling back to the ground.

It was then that Rachel stood, leaving her cup and tea on the table, "I did not come here to speak long with you. I simply came to give you some words of advice" she said, taking a step forward and finally taking her foot off the black mass, "... Be wary of Ragna" she stated. Then, without another word, she disappeared in a black void, both the red mass and black mass disappearing with her.

Corrin for a good few seconds, stared at the dark room with complete confusion. What did she mean by 'be wary of Ragna'? And what in the world were those two things that were with her?

Those thoughts, along with others, came to her head multiple times, until she sighed, head falling back to her bed's pillow as she looked up to the ceiling. Life had been very, very confusing lately.

Morning seemed to come relatively fast for those in the fort, and with another morning came another training session between Ragna and Corrin.

Ragna himself was simply walking towards the area they designated as a training zone, away from the fort where they can work in peace. Honestly, he knew that he'd have to figure out a way to help Corrin get the hang of her transformation, because if she could use that in her regular fighting style…

A training spar

"RAGNA!" A voice suddenly called out, causing Ragna to sigh, turning around to see Hana standing a fair distance away, hands on her hips as she smirked at Ragna.

In response, Ragna simply frowned, staying where he was, "Yeah?" he asked, causing Hana to begin walking towards him,

"I've done a little bit of asking around and learned that you're Corrin's personal trainer. That is true, isn't it?" she asked, watching as Ragna nodded. At that, her smirk turned into a wide grin, "Well, whaddya say about a little spar? Right here, right now. I want to test my blade against another skilled fighter" she asked, now standing only a few feet away from Ragna.

For a few seconds, Ragna just looked at Hana, looking both curious and annoyed by the challenge. Eventually though, he shrugged, straightening his coat's collar, "Fine, just one though" he said, causing Hana to grin even wider and unsheath her sword, taking a few steps back before getting into her fighting stance, while Ragna simply stood there, hands to his sides, "Either of us get hit, match is over, got it?" he asked, watching as Hana simply nodded.

And then the two waited.

And waited.

And waited...

Eventually though, Hana decided to take the first move, dashing forward and slashing diagonally downwards at Ragna's body. Ragna, on the other hand, didn't seem to react until the last moment, where he suddenly burst into movement, his right arm raised to block Hana's sword with an audible clang, while his left flew out, nailing Hana in the face, causing her to fly off her feet, landing a few feet away on her back.

A few seconds past before Hana propped herself up, holding her nose as she looked back at Ragna, who simply shook his right arm from the block, "There, that's the spar, now if you'll excuse me I have other things to do" he said simply, turning around and beginning to walk off again, causing Hana to quickly get back to her feet,

"Hold on that wasn't- Don't just walk off on me!" she yelled, beginning to run after Ragna, who simply stopped, sighed, and turned around again,

"Look, whatever-the-hell-your-name-is-"

"Hana"

"Hana, I have shit I need to do. Specifically, helping Corrin train. I don't have time for this right now" he said, eyes narrowing at Hana's, who simply glared back. Then, he sighed again, "Tell you what, I'll 'spar' you again at a latter time, just not now, not when I actually have a job to get done" Ragna finished, turning around once more and, without another word, walked off, leaving Hana to stare at his back until she sighed, sheathing her sword.

She had some training to do.

Ragna and Hana have reached Support Rank C.

Author's note: Don't have much reasoning for the lateness for this chapter. I know there hasn't been much action going on since the Branch of Fate, that's critical to the story and not just Ragna and the others killing some Faceless. but the next chapter is definitely going to have actual fighting going on, characters will get some more focus, and other such things.

And, because we've gone a while without showing a character's stats, I suppose it's time for Jin Kisaragi to get his shot, as he's already had his first support.

Jin Kisaragi: An enigmatic warrior from the Ice Tribe, who serves as Leo's retainer.

Class: Samurai

Personal Skill; Frostbite: Whenever Jin gets a critical on an enemy, their speed is reduced by 5 for two turns.

Weapon: Yukianesa: 10 MT, 80% Hit, 5% Crt, 80% Avoid. Jin only. Increases the user's speed by 5, and strength by 2, but lowers skill and resistance by 2.

Logbook: A warrior hailing from the Ice Tribe, and one of Leo's three retainers. Generally acts cold and distant to everyone he comes across, save for a few. Often kept away from Ragna due to becoming unhinged in the latter's a strange sword named Yukianesa. Birthday is February 14.

Least likely to laugh.

Critical quotes:

"Freeze eternally"

"Fall"

"I'll end your misery!"

"Disappear"