Chapter 10

Pov (Leonhardt)

Three days after Ladius' announcement about my grandson Thoma coming to join us with the Strike Witches; I was elated to finally be able to meet him. Today though Mio was starting her second step in her training to keep her magic.

"Are you sure I can sense my life force well enough to learn how to use it?" Mio asked.

"I'm sure, Mio, besides as you use your life force for your spell's you'll learn to sense it better as you shape it." I said confidently, "Do you know what element you're closest to?"

"Wind or air I believe. I feel the most comfortable in the sky." Mio answered.

"I can actually help you there. My elements are fire, wind, healing, and neutral. My stardust is an example if neutral magic. Of course I also have my sword arts that use magic." I said, "I've been seeing you practice a certain attack constantly at night with your new sword. Mind if I ask what kind of attack that is?"

"Not at all. It's an old Fuso sword spell called the Reppuzan. If I master it to a certain level it will become the True Reppuzan, said to be the strongest attack in the world, which can kill any neuroi in one blow." Mio answered. "I'm trying to master it before I lose my own magic, so I won't have to keep trying while I have to learn to use my life force for my magic."

"It looks powerful. Mind teaching it to me?" I asked, "You never know; with my experience in using sword based arts I might be able to master it in case you can't."

"Your drive to get stronger is always impressing me, Leo. I doubt that I'll ever cease to be amazed by you. Sure I'll teach you the basics of how to use it tonight." Mio said. "Ladius looked ecstatic when he said that his son was coming here. Almost as happy as you did when Ladius joined us.

"I could tell, Mio, my own personal training with Ladius is going smoothly. Thanks to him helping I should be able to use 80% freely by the end of the week." I said, "This war should be finished within 3 months if we're lucky and no complications arise. I'm hoping that we can actually communicate with the neuroi to see if there's a peaceful solution, and not straight up violence."

"All we can do is hope that there is a peaceful way to end this." Mio said, "I don't want anymore young girls dying out there. They still have their whole lives ahead of them. By the way have you and Fyuria put any thought into where your gonna live after this war?"

"We'll probably try Fuso or Orussia first." I said, " I'm going to leave that decision to Fyuri."

"You cherish her greatly don't you Leonhardt?" Mio asked, "It's good that you do. Never let that passionate love die."

"I don't plan on it Mio. I said I'd be with her until the day I die, and I meant it." I said, "Now try to form a coating of wind around your sword. Just try to form it; don't try to make it thin. When you're just starting wind magic it's highly volatile and can hurt you if you try to make it to thin to fast."

"How do I do that though, Leo, I've never tried this before." Mio said.

"Think about the air around you and exert your magic in a way that will control it. Just watch what I do." I said while I drew my sword and coated it in a thin coating of wind. "Now watch what this can do." I finished by swinging my sword horizontally at a small group of trees.

Pov (3rd person) later in the day (Ladius and Minna)

"Ladius you're improving quickly; almost quicker than your father has." Minna said, "Sherufanir is being a big help with Lynne. Everyone here has benefited since your family started arriving here."

"How so, commander? If anything us arriving has caused you a bigger workload." Ladius said.

"I'll list off some of the major factors first. Lynne has gotten more confident, Yoshika has somewhat better control over her continually growing magic reserves, Trude has forgiven herself for what happened to her younger brother, and I finally feel like I can trust men again." Minna said, "I feel that all those positives outweigh just a little more paperwork."

"Well, when you put it that way, I guess you're right." Ladius said, "If you don't mind me asking; why didn't you trust men until we arrived?"

"I'm still not completely comfortable talking about that yet." Minna said.

"I shouldn't have tried to pry into your personal life like that, so i'm sorry Minna." Ladius said guiltily, "If you ever feel like talking about it; I'll be there to listen."

(With Fyuria and Yoshika)

"You're doing fine, Yoshika, you just need to focus on your concentration a bit more." Fyuria said, "Leo had the same control problem when we first met, but he quickly overcame it through a combination of his own hard work and the help of others."

"This is different though! I've never had good control over my own power." Yoshika said, "I'm just a little girl of 14 years old!"

"Ellis was only 10 years old when she was first introduced to bloodshed, I was forced to take my first life at age 12, and Leo has DIED when he was 23 years old." Fyuria said, "My point is that you chose to come here, so you need to put forth everything you can otherwise your friends may die. As my husband would say 'Don't fight for yourself; fight for what you hold dear, fight for your dreams, and fight for what you believe in.' if you can't do your best you can't be deployed."

"Fight for what I hold dear, huh?" Yoshika asked herself, "Just what do I hold dear though?"

"It could be anything really. What is closest to your heart? Your family, your friends, or something else entirely?" Fyuria asked. "Don't decide too quickly though Yoshika. You need to figure this out on your own."

"I'll take some time to think about what you said, Fyuria." Yoshika said.

"Take your time, little one, I won't rush you." Fyuria said, "Just make sure to let me know your resolve once you find it."

"I will! You'll be the first one to know!" Yoshika said excitedly.

"Good. Now put that new enthusiasm towards your training, little one." Fyuria said.

"Why do you keep calling me little!" Yoshika said puffing out her cheeks, slightly peeved.

"Two reasons. One; you yourself called yourself a little girl. Two; I may not look it but I'm old enough to be my husband's grandmother. In case you're wondering I'm close to 90 years old so, compared to me, everyone on this base is a little girl." Fyuria explained.

"If you're that old; how can you still have kids?!" Yoshika asked.

"Different species remember? It was a miracle that Leo and I could have a child in the first place." Fyuria said, "I'm extremely happy that we can though. Just between you and I; I was kind of hoping Leo wouldn't ask me to be his wife because of that fact. He would have been better off with either Luana or Elaine if he had wanted a child."

"You would have been heartbroken if he hadn't asked you though." Yoshika stated, "I can kind of see how much he means to you."

"He means the world to me; it might be more accurate to say he is my world, because without him I feel as though I would have no reason to live anymore." Fyuria responded with a smile, "Leo and I were talking about something, but we wanted to make sure it was okay with you first."

"What is it?" Yoshika asked.

"Can we go to Fuso with you after this war is over? We talked to Mio about it, and she gave us brief rundowns of the different cultures of this world. From what she told us Fuso seems the most like Lucrellia." Fyuria said.

"I'll let you know by dinner. I'll need to contact my mom and ask if it's okay." Yoshika responded, "It should be fine though; my mother loves helping people."

"That's reassuring, Yoshika, we'd only be with you until Leo can get us a house built." Fyuria said, "We still have the schematics for our old house."

"Leonhardt's going to be building your home? How can one person do that?" Yoshika asked shocked.

"Blood, sweat, tears, and the love of his family." Fyuria explained, "He built the house we had in Lucrellia with his bare hands in two months. He said something about it having to be done by him alone, or it wouldn't be good enough for our family."

POV change (Thoma)

"We only have a few more days until we leave,Thoma. Make sure you have everything done, and leave no loose ends. Otherwise you'll regret it." Lavinia said.

"I know, sweetie, just let me finish packing our stuff then I'll get right on it." I responded, "I'll make sure to see everyone off before we go."

"I hope that Faina will be okay though. I can't get the thought that something bad is going to happen after we leave." She said.

"If you're that worried; then ask her to come with us. I'm sure that father and mother would welcome them with open arms." I said seriously, "Besides I do feel a little bad about separating you and your sister."

"Fine, I'll go talk to her about it in the morning; but for now come join me in bed. It's almost midnight." she said.

"You don't have to tell me twice, sweetie, I'll be there in a moment. I want to sort my thoughts out first." I said.

"Just don't take too long; the beds cold without you." She said.

'Father, mother, grandfather, grandmother; am I really doing the right thing here? I really want to see you again, but at the same time I feel bad about what I'm doing to Duran. I hope he can forgive me for what I'm doing.' I thought before walking to the bed. 'I hope this new world's problems are worth the pain of losing your parents.'

Chapter end

A/N: So Thoma's serious side is showing more now than during his generation in shares. Mio's magic training has officially started. How will the Witches take to the new additions? Find out next time.