Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Final Fantasy XII and its characters. They belong to Squeenix. I only own my OC and any other OC's that I make up.

"Hi there!" - talking

*Ugh, why?* - thinking

"Dude, what the hell?" - dreams or any different language spoken

Credit where Credit is due: My buddy MFG is my editor for my whole story~

JAPANESE USED:

Hai - yes

Oniichan/Niichan/ -nii : older brother, Hikari will be calling Kai this all the time, (Kai-nii, Oniichan, Niichan)

Hikari- her name means Light

Okaa-san - mom/mother

Otou-san - dad/father

Nee-san/ -nee/ Oneechan/ Oneesan - older sister

imouto - little sister

My POV:

We soon arrived at Bhujerba's Aerodrome. Once we got out, I stretched and so did Kai-nii. I saw Penelo run up to Balthier, giving him his handkerchief. Everyone else was talking, so that left Vaan, Kai-niichan, and me. Well, scratch that, Kai-niichan went over to Ashe to talk to her.

"Hey….does your brother have a thing for Princess Ashe?" Vaan asked. I smirked and nodded.

"Yup. Wanna go over to them?" I asked him as I looked up at him. He nodded and we walked over there.

"Hello Princess Ashe…." I greeted her. She looked at me with a faint smile. I gave her a short bow. "Sorry for lashing out at you earlier." I told her. She merely smiled and lifted my head up.

"Do not apologize. It's alright, Hikari. And please, just call me Ashe. Like your brother does." she told me. I nodded and gave her a light hug. She seemed surprised by the hug, but hugged me back nonetheless.

"You seem to be close to my older brother, Ashe." I whispered in her ear. She looked at me with a shocked face, but reverted back to her normal face. I smiled inside as I saw a tint of pink on her cheeks, though she was trying very hard to hide it. She lowered down to my height and placed her mouth near my ear.

"That is nonsense. I have no interest in loving anyone right now. My heart belongs to someone else right now." she whispered. I looked up at her and nodded while smiling.

"I understand." I told her, even though I knew she harbored a tiny feeling for Oniichan.

"So….shall we head to Ondore?" Kai-nii asked. We nodded and made our way over there. Vaan held my hand as we walked over there and I smiled the whole way. I swore I could have seen Penelo say something to Ashe and point to us.

"When Vossler learned my father had been killed... the night of the treaty-signing, he returned to Rabanastre to aid my escape. There was still time before Vayne's reach extended too far. We thought that you could protect me." Ashe told Ondore once we got into his office.

"However, when I then made the announcement that you had taken your own life... I must have seemed a model citizen of the Empire." Ondore replied. Ashe nodded. Ondore continued on, "The announcement, you see, was Vayne's suggestion. At the time I was reluctant, but I could not perceive his reasons. Now it is clear: he meant to drive a wedge between us."

Ashe stated, "Halim, we are past all this. Bhujerba must stand with us. We can stop Vayne." Ondore sighed and stood up.

"I once knew a girl whose only wish... was to be carried in her uncle's arms. Your Majesty is a woman grown now." as he said that, I smiled. She really was.

"Then Bhujerba will aid me?" Ashe asked.

"Suppose for a moment you were to defeat Vayne... what then? You cannot simply rebuild your kingdom with the only proof of your birthright stolen. The Gran Kiltias on Bur-Omisace cannot recognize you as the rightful heir without it. You may yet be a princess, but without proof of your identity, you are powerless. You will remain with me. We do nothing till the time is right." Ondore ordered.

Ashe clenched her fists, then Kai-niichan put his arm on her shoulder. "I cannot just wait!" she exclaimed.

"Then what does Your Majesty propose we do?" Ondore asked as he crossed his arms.

Ashe started, "Uncle Halim-" There was a pause and Balthier decided to intervene.

"Incidentally, what is the going rate for rescuing princesses these days?" Balthier asked. Ashe walked away and Kai-niichan was going to go after her, but I held his arm and shook my head, silently telling him she needed to be alone. "Food would be a start - the good stuff, mind you." Balthier added.

Ondore replied, "This can be arranged, though it will take some time."

"Time enough for a bath, I hope. Dirty business, you know. Ah, best bring a change of clothes too." Balthier said. Fran and I both shook our heads, and I also giggled. We were all brought into different rooms, one for girls and one for guys. As I went inside the room, I was accompanied by Fran, Ashe, and Penelo. Ashe was the first to take a bath, and all of our clothes were washed by the time she finished. She took her clothes, dressed up, and said she was going out for a while. Penelo was next to shower, so while Fran and I waited, we talked.

"Hikari…..is there any progress with Vaan?" Fran surprisingly asked. I looked at her and blushed. I was also shocked. I shook my head and smiled sheepishly. She nodded understandingly.

"You know?" I asked her. She nodded.."Don't worry, he will probably not know unless you tell him." she stated. I nodded and there was a moment of silence.

"What about you?" I asked her. She looked at me with confusion. "Aren't you and Balthier together?" She simply smiled and shook her head.

"I do not know. We prefer to keep it professional." she replied. I simply nodded and went to shower next, after Penelo. Then, Fran showered after me. I finished tying up my boots, and was in the middle of tying up my second pigtail. Once I was finished with that, I strapped on my pouch and bag. When Fran got out of the bathroom dressed, there was a knock on the door. Balthier came in and smirked.

"Looks like the princess is trying to steal my airship. Let's go." he said. We nodded and ran out of there. Balthier was holding a mic and he looked at Kai-niichan and me. "I suppose you guys know what this is too, am I right?" he asked. We both nodded and he smirked. "All right then." We made it to the airship. "That's quite enough, your Majesty." Balthier said in Ondore's voice. Vaan and Ashe both turned around. "What do you think? A bit over the top? In my line of work, you never know when something like this might come in handy." Balthier added, then he set it to Ashe's voice. "I'm trying to concentrate!" as he said that, I let out a small giggle and so did Penelo. We all walked forward to Ashe. "I'm leaving you with the Marquis." Balthier stated.

"You can't." Ashe replied.

"Trust me, you're better off staying here." Balthier advised her.

"Suppose you kidnapped me instead? You're a sky pirate, aren't you? Then steal me. Is that so much to ask?" Ashe asked. I face-palmed and Kai-niichan clenched his fists.

Balthier looked at her and asked quite smugly, "What do you have that I would want?"

Ashe answered, "The Dynast-King's treasure. The Dawn Shard is but one of the riches that lie waiting in King Raithwall's tomb." Balthier whistled.

"King Raithwall, you say?" Balthier questioned. Then, we all turned around to see Basch walking in.

"It won't do much to lower the bounty on your head." Basch stated.

"How much is the price on your head these days, I wonder?" Balthier asked.

Basch approached Ashe."Allow me to escort you in Vossler's place." he said.

"Will you be joining us?" Fran asked, directing the question towards Vaan, Penelo, Kai-nii, and me.

"What, are you kidding? I don't wanna stick around this place." Vaan said.

"Well, of course, since this is the princess we're talking about, I'm in." Kai-nii said with a smile as he played with the buttons on his shirt. I saw Ashe look at him curiously and smile. I smiled too.

"Well, if Oniichan is in, I'm in too." I said cheerfully. Penelo ran to the seat next to me and sat down.

"Then I'm coming too!" Penelo exclaimed."Penelo?" Vaan asked.

"Don't leave me here." she pleaded. I chuckled.

"Of course not!" Vaan, Kai-nii, and I replied.

"Then it's settled. We should leave before the Marquis realizes she's missing. Like proper kidnappers." Fran stated. We took off in the Strahl, without Vossler. As we were flying, I walked over to Penelo.

"Hey…look at them." I told her, pointing at Niichan and Ashe, who were engaging in an interesting conversation. She smiled and we walked over to them.

"Whatcha guys talking about?" Penelo asked. They turned to us.

"Nothing really." Ashe replied. I went over to Oniichan and bent down to him sitting down.

"I know you like her. Admit it. Penelo and I are planning stuff, so shut up and keep getting closer to her." I whispered in his ear. His ears turned red and put his head down as he his cheeks turned red too. Ashe looked at him worriedly.

"Are you all right Kai? You look a bit ill." she stated as she felt his forehead, which made him blush more. Penelo and I started laughing, then gave each other high fives as we walked over to Vaan, who was laughing too.

"Nice one!" he exclaimed as he gave us high fives.

"You guys should sit down. You might waste too much of your energy. Sleep if you must." Basch advised us. We nodded and sat down.

"Oh, by the way Basch, it's all right. We're not tired, but we'll follow your directions." I told him with a smile. He nodded and I kept talking to Vaan and Penelo. All of a sudden, thunder boomed and I gasped. Everyone looked at me. Thunder boomed once again and I quickly ran over to Kai-niichan. He hugged me tightly and told me everything would be ok.

"What's wrong with her?" Ashe and Penelo asked worriedly.

"She's deathly afraid of thunder." Kai-nii explained. Thunder boomed again and I shrieked, this time tears came out of my eyes.

"MAKE IT STOP!" I shouted as I sobbed into Kai-niichan's chest. I didn't know that everyone was looking at me in worry. Even Balthier and Fran, who were piloting, glanced at me from time to time. Eventually, the thunder stopped and I fell asleep in Kai-niichan's arms.