Midori

"Hm hmm, dadada…" Midori hummed an upbeat song to herself as she stirred the contents of the bowl she had set over her makeshift campfire. It was bubbling and boiling, and nearly ready. "And for the finishing touch~" She grabbed some spices she had gathered earlier and tossed them in, sighing happily as the savory scent that emanated as a result hit her nose. "Perfection!" The young girl tilted her head back a little bit. "Asugi! Breakfast is ready!" She called out, waking up the redhead behind her.

"Eh? Wha?" Asugi asked in a daze, sitting up from the ground. "Morning already?" He whined, rubbing his eyes before stretching and yawning. "Time flies when you're dreaming about sweets, I guess."

"Actually, it's more midday." Midori commented rather casually, much to Asugi's surprise and annoyance. "I let you sleep in so that I'd have extra time to gather the ingredients for the stew." She grabbed two bowls from her pack and a ladle, using it to pour the stew into the bowls. She handed one to Asugi with her usual bright smile. "So, I guess it's more of a brunch than anything."

"Aw jeez, I can't get mad at you when you make that face." Asugi sighed, grabbing the bowl and sipping his stew. "But at this rate, we're never gonna make it to Shirasagi in good time." He took another loud sip, slightly grossing Midori out, though she didn't say anything. "I'm just glad you're good with medicine. Translates pretty decently to cooking."

"Same principles, really." Midori said with a shrug. "Combining ingredients to make something that's more than the sum of its parts." She took a much quieter sip of her own stew, savoring the flavor. "Hm, needs more spice. Darnit, I thought I had extra!" She set down her bowl, rummaging through her pack for any extra spices she may have leftover.

"You're scary smart for your age, you know that?" Asugi asked with a content smile on his face. "Guess that's what happens when Uncle Kaze's your dad…" He laughed before eating more of his stew.

"…Didn't do me much good, did it?" Midori asked, her own smile fading. "Didn't do the others much good." She stared down at her stew, suddenly not feeling very hungry anymore.

Asugi frowned. "Hey, Doc. What did I tell you about your guilt problem? What happened, happened. Honestly, with all we had to go through, it's a miracle the two of us managed to get here."

"You say that, but you wouldn't understand it the way I do!" Midori shouted, sniffling. "Healing people, saving people, it's what I do. It's what I'm best at. But I…" Her hands began to shake, threatening to spill the stew out of her bowl. "I couldn't save so many of them…"

Asugi reached a hand out and set it on her shoulder, giving a comforting smile as she looked up at him. "You saved me. That's enough." Midori sniffed, beginning to smile. Asugi was right. Even if it was just one person, she still helped someone. She just wished she could've done more. As she began to cheer up, a loud rustling could be heard nearby. "Aha, one of my traps! And you said they wouldn't come in handy!" Asugi leaped to his feet and dashed off towards the sound, leaving Midori hastily setting down her bowl and chasing after him.

"Darnit Asugi! It may have worked, but you spending all night setting it up was why you slept in so late! And now I bet a bear's gonna eat our stew…" Midori puffed her cheeks in a pout as she chased after Asugi; quite the tough task considering how much smaller she was, and her not being a trained ninja. However, her slower speed did grant her one advantage, being that she heard the sounds around her more clearly before moving past them. So, she ended up noticing the sound of rustling nearby. It seemed as if Asugi, in his haste to find his trap, had accidentally run right past it. Midori walked towards it, and much to her shock, she heard a familiar voice.

"Stuck inside this trap / Do I bother getting out / I'd much rather sleep." Midori gasped rather loudly upon hearing that voice. She dashed towards the trap, emerging from the foliage to see an old friend hanging upside down from a rope tied around her ankle, wrapped around a tree branch.

"Mitama!" Midori exclaimed, walking up to the girl with the starry eyes. "Is that really you!?" She noticed just how content Mitama seemed with her current predicament, despite the blood rushing to her head.

"Old friends reunite / In the past they had sought out / Signaling changed fate." Yep, it was definitely Mitama. "Greetings, Midori. It's a pleasure seeing you again after so long. I had begun to fear the worst." She idly tugged at the rope around her ankle, as if she didn't truly care too much if she escaped or not.

"Oh, lemme get that for you!" Midori headed over to the tree that Mitama was hanging under and began to climb up, carrying the handle of her knife in her mouth. Mitama didn't even glance her way as she began cutting the rope. Finally, it snapped apart, sending Mitama crashing down to the ground, much to Midori's embarrassment. "Probably should've given a warning…"

"I fall to the ground / Pain surges through my body / How heartless of you." Mitama lamented, amping up the melodrama to a level few others could match. She got up, dusting herself off whilst still holding onto a pen and paper, writing down her haiku. She barely even glanced up when Asugi emerged from the forest, just as shocked as Midori was.

"Well, I'll be damned. That really you, Stars?" Asugi asked, approaching the two. He glanced over at Midori, giving a friendly wink. "Make that two people you saved, Doc." Midori blinked, and it finally hit her. Mitama was here, alive. And if Mitama was alive, even after she had gotten separated from Midori and Asugi, then perhaps more of her friends had made it. Maybe she wasn't such a horrible friend after all. "Hey, you alright?" Asugi asked. Midori realized that she had been crying. She wiped her tears, sniffed, and nodded.

"Mhm. Never better!"

Corrin

"You sure this is the place?" Niles asked, his eyes flickering side to side as he scanned the crowd around them. A large congregation of people had gathered in the plaza in the center of town. For what, the group was unsure; they had only just arrived at the town the evening prior. Traditional Nohrian architecture, along with a seemingly constant downpour that had just cleared for the first time since they arrived, created a dour mood from the moment they had set foot there.

"It's gotta be. Remember what the letter said? 'The tower that stretches to the heavens'." Corrin gazed at the building across the plaza; small in length and width, but numerous floors high, rivaling that of a castle. "Lord Trayon's estate. Famed for its immense height." She pulled her hood back just a bit, so she could get a better look at how high the tower went. "I gotta say, he's not subtle about his desire to compensate for a certain something."

"Of course you would resort to such a lowbrow insult." A significantly younger voice scoffed, wearing a hood of her own. "The foolishness of youth, I suppose."

"Oh come on Nyx, it was funny. Admit it." Corrin said with a grin. They had found her a few months back in the middle of what Nyx had described as reflection and meditation. To Corrin, it just looked like sulking. Finding out later that Nyx was actually older than all of them combined, but trapped in a far younger body, only cemented Corrin's decision to extend an invitation to join their merry band. Much to everyone's surprise, even Corrin's, Nyx accepted, though she refused to say why. "That reminds me, I still gotta loan you my favorite book. I'm telling you, it's hilarious."

"A shame Mozu isn't able to see this. I'm sure she'd be awestruck by the scale of it." Azura said in her usual soft voice. Mozu and Rinkah had been put in charge of keeping an eye on the camp they had set outside of town, to make sure nothing happened to it while they were investigating the letter they had been sent.

Well, perhaps "sent" wasn't the right word. A few days prior, Corrin had woken up in her tent and casually gazed to her side, noticing a knife plunged through a letter in the ground right next to her. Somehow, somebody had placed the letter there without disturbing Corrin or anyone else in the camp. The contents of the note were brief. "Meet at the tower that stretches to the heavens." Corrin knew what a job application for thieves looked like, and it was one of the best she had seen in a long time.

As Corrin puzzled on who could have sent the note, someone bumped into her from behind. They stumbled back a brief second before quickly walking past her, a hooded cloak obscuring their face. "Sorry." A feminine voice uttered, belonging to the hooded figure. Before Corrin could dwell on it, Niles nudged her.

"Uh, Corrin? I think I figured out why so many people are gathered here." Niles said, pointing to the top of the tower. There, standing at the very edge, was a girl, staring out at the horizon ahead of her.

"Shame, isn't it?" A villager said to another. "Another poor lass sent to plunge off the tower by Lord Trayon's orders."

"I don't know about that. From what I've heard, she stole from him. Almost took something very important." The other villager responded. "He's not the kind to take that sort of action lightly."

"What is going on here…" Corrin muttered to herself.

Nina

The wind was roaring, blowing her hair all around. It was a good thing it was still tied into its usual braided pigtails, or else it would've easily gotten in her face. That just wouldn't do for a situation as delicate as this. As she stared out towards the rising sun, she heard a rather obnoxious Lord behind her begin to whine.

"What on earth are you waiting for? Jump already! Unless you'd like to forego the little dignity you'll have and be sent down with a spear in your chest!" Lord Trayon insisted, his two guards standing on either side of him with their spears at the ready. Nina glanced down at her hands, bound in high-quality cuffs. Not the kind you could just slip out of without breaking a wrist. Nina wasn't a big fan of that method.

"I was hoping you'd allow me to pray, first." Nina spoke gently, making sure she was still turned away from Trayon. "One last time before I fade away from this world."

"Fine, make it quick. Pray to whichever god will give you comfort." Trayon said dismissively. Nina hid a grin. She got down on her knees and held her cuffed hands up to her face. Then, she subtly reached for her hair and grabbed a small piece of metal that was previously hidden inside. She held it with her teeth and stuck it inside of the lock, beginning to pick it.

These cuffs were quite familiar to Nina. In this current time, they were still regarded as uncrackable. The best money could buy. Little did Lord Trayon know, they'd have a fatal weakness discovered around a decade from now. Just wiggle a lockpick in the right place, give it a few shakes, and…

Nina caught the cuffs before they could fall. She didn't want Trayon to become aware of her successful attempt, not yet. She stood up slowly, taking a deep breath. "Thank you for that." Nina whipped around and tossed the cuffs, hitting one of the guards square in the forehead, sending him falling to the ground. "Bought me just enough time!"

As Trayon took a step back, surprise covering his face, Nina charged at him. The other guard readied his spear, but Nina wasn't interested in any real fighting. Rather, she was interested in what was hanging around Trayon's neck. She ducked under a swipe of a spear and reached her hand out, grabbing onto his golden locket. "I'll be taking that." Nina yanked hard, snapping the necklace and freeing the locket from his neck. She then whipped back around, running the other way. Straight towards the edge of the roof.

Corrin

"Holy shit!" Corrin exclaimed as the girl plummeted off the tower. As she stared in shock, the hooded person who had bumped into her broke into a sprint towards the area below the tower, which was devoid of spectators. Another hooded person ran past the group and joined them. The two discarded their cloaks, revealing themselves.

A blonde woman with the clothes of a Nohrian dark mage, colored yellow and black, grabbed a tome from her satchel. A beautiful stranger, dressed in pink, even wearing a pink beret, did the same. They opened their tomes, each of them casting an Excalibur spell. The wind launched from the tomes, so strong that it created a visible arc. The spells went around the falling girl, missing her but causing her fall to be slowed by the less strong winds blowing against her.

As the girl with braided pigtails gently hit the ground, she flashed a cocky smirk at the crowd of onlookers. In her hand was a golden locket that she opened roughly. She pulled a small scrap of paper from inside, pocketing it before throwing the locket itself to a random citizen. "I'm sure you'll need that more that Trayon ever will." Before she could say anything more, shouts could be heard. "That's my cue to bounce! Thank you all for attending!" She then dashed off, her partners in crime following behind her.

"I get the feeling that's also our cue to follow." Corrin said to her comrades, who all nodded in agreement. They ran towards where the three thieves had run off to, eventually splitting up to cover all the possible routes they could have taken. Guards were also in pursuit, though they were far less interested in the hooded Corrin and friend than they were in the people who had just made a laughing stock of Lord Trayon.

The rain had picked up again by the time Corrin turned down an alleyway and spotted the girl who had jumped off the tower. She had a bow ready, an arrow docked, but it wasn't pointed at Corrin. Instead, it was pointed at a familiar figure the opposite direction from her. The man who had killed Kotaro.

"You!?" Corrin exclaimed. The girl's aim faltered as her eyes drifted back towards Corrin. It was only for a second, but it was enough to encourage the man to charge at the girl, a dagger at the ready. Corrin came to her defense, throwing a dagger of her own and successfully knocking the man's weapon out of his hand, cutting him in the process. He grunted in pain, gripping his bleeding hand and looking up at Corrin. His face was still obscured by cloth, his eyed hidden by natural shadow. He glanced back to the other girl before making a hasty retreat, running out of the alleyway.

Corrin approached the girl, who breathed a sigh of relief as she turned around. "Thanks for the save. I dunno if I would've been able to hold him off by myself." She looked around, groaning. "They'll save me from falling off a tower but of course they disappear the second we start running…" She mumbled, likely referring to her comrades.

"I'm gonna assume you're the one who left me that note." Corrin said. The girl nodded. "Well, I have to admit that you made quite the impression. A little too showy for my tastes, but that was probably just for first impressions' sake, right?"

"Oh no, I do stuff like that all the time." The girl answered, taking Corrin by surprise. "Where's the thrill of a good heist if you play everything safe? Thieving is dangerous by nature; might as well up the ante!" She grinned again. "I'm Nina, by the way. Pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise." Corrin gave a smile in return. "Though, our group's got a bit of a higher barrier for entry than you may think." That was a lie, of course, it was really just down to Corrin's personal whims. "You're gonna have to give me a little more reason to bring you and your friend in on things."

"Of course, of course. I expected as much." Nina said, grabbing the paper from the locket. "Which is why during my escape, I snagged this." She unfolded it, cleared her throat, and began to read. "Knights of honor guard the next step. We need to go to Cheve."

"Wow, impressive. Care to explain why I should care?" Corrin asked sarcastically, raising an eyebrow. Nina didn't seem to have expected that kind of response, and cleared her throat again, this time genuinely.

"R-right!" Nina chuckled nervously. "Basically, it's a treasure map, a cookie trail, whatever analogy floats your boat. I've been spending my whole life searching for the reward." She seemed genuinely excited just talking about it.

"And that reward is…"

"Not telling you." Nina gave a wink. "A girl has to hide some of her secrets, right? I guess you'll have to trust me." Corrin had to admit, she was liking Nina already. She hadn't seen enough of her friends to gauge whether they were trustworthy, but she could tell Nina's intentions were pure. Well, as pure as you can get when you're a career criminal.

"Alright, fair enough. Just explain one thing to me." Corrin's eyes narrowed. "How do you know that man?" Nina tried to hide her surprise. "Don't think I didn't notice the way you looked at him. You two have a history, don't you?"

"That's, um, well…" Nina began to mumble something incoherent, likely buying for time until she could think of a proper explanation or excuse to give.

"His name is Kana." A voice said from behind Corrin, causing her to turn around. There stood Nina's two compatriots, the one dressed as a dark mage and the one with a fantastic fashion sense. The dark mage continues. "He's our sworn enemy, one who sets to prevent us from reaching our goals at every turn! He infuses our lives with darkness and malice, using his mastery of the shadows to hit us with stealth! Truly a nightmare given human form!"

"What Ophelia means to say, in her usual excited way…" The other one began to speak. "Is that Kana is an enemy of ours. Certainly not somebody we'd ever trust. He aims to capture the treasure before we can, to use it for his own selfish means."

"Forrest is right." Nina finally spoke, causing Corrin to turn around to face her. "Kana's a threat. Judging by your own reaction, I assume you've met him too?" Corrin nodded in response. "I thought so. Then you know how dangerous he can be."

"All you're telling me is that bringing you three into the fold means we're gonna have to start dealing with him far more often. Not exactly an exciting proposal." Corrin pointed out, much to Nina's displeasure. "Did you actually think this through that much beyond the initial 'jumping off the tower' bit?"

"Alright, fine! The clues lead to a Divine Weapon. Not just any Divine Weapon, the Divine Weapon." Nina folded the paper back up. "The Yato. Said to be the most powerful of the bunch." There was a brief pause.

"Nope, never heard of it." Corrin bluntly said, only further frustrating Nina and confusing Forrest and Ophelia.

"That's because it's been lost for centuries! But it turns out that whoever hid it laid out clues to help find it!" Nina was trying desperately to convince Corrin. "If we follow the clues, we get the Yato. If you wanna take down King Garon, that's your best bet."

Corrin put her thumb to her chin as she thought hard about it. If Nina was right, if Yato really did exist…she had seen what Raijinto and the Fujin Yumi could do firsthand when she was in Hoshido. A weapon that was somehow more powerful was a pretty big deal. "Fine, you can join our little group. Don't try anything though; I'm still gonna keep an eye on you three girls."

"T-three!?" Forrest exclaimed in surprise. "You must be mistaken, there are only two women here." Corrin turned to face Forrest.

"Two? But you're all…" It clicked in her mind. "Oh. I…see." She wasn't too interested in dwelling on why Forrest dressed like a woman. "You do you."

Nyx

The group had arrived back at camp, with the three newcomers in tow. Nyx had paid close attention to all of them. Nina seemed absurdly arrogant, like the most insufferable qualities of Corrin given human form. Ophelia couldn't stop overdramatizing every little detail of life, even claiming that a discolored acorn she had noticed on the way was a sign that higher powers were blessing them with good luck. Forrest, however, was the one who interested Nyx the most. Not for his choice of fashion; the witch had lived more than long enough to learn to abandon her preconceived notions on such topics. What fascinated Nyx was how Forrest seemed keen on avoiding her at all costs, not even daring to make eye contact.

As Nyx was ruminating on this in her tent, she was rudely interrupted by Corrin, who stuck her head in through the tent flap. "Guess what I found?" Corrin asked, pushing her hand in and holding a book. "It's the book I read when I was a kid! Told you I could find a copy!" She noticed the death glare Nyx was giving in an attempt to scare her off. "I'll just, ah, leave this here…" Corrin set the book down on the ground and promptly left.

After a while of more contemplative thought, Nyx finally let her curiosity get the better of her, picking up the book. It seemed to be just another simple children's fairytale, nothing special. The hero Alexander fought great evil, such as the evil queen Cassandra and the dragon king Kana—Nyx stopped. Kana? As in, the same name that Nina and the others had given to the ninja Corrin mentioned?

That seemed like a rather odd coincidence. Though, in her age, Nyx understood that there wasn't truly any such thing as a coincidence. Rather, everything was a reason for something else to happen. The smallest influence could massively affect something later on. First Forrest treated Nyx like the plague, even more than most people naturally did, and now a character in Corrin's childhood book shared the name with a mysterious ninja that opposed them. Something wasn't right, and Nyx would be disappointed in herself if she didn't make an effort to get to the bottom of it.

Mitama

Mitama, Midori, and Asugi sat around a crackling fire, talking with eachother like old times, laughing and reciting old stories they remembered being told about when they were kids. For once, things felt rather calm. But as time went on, Midori eventually brought up a rather touchy subject. "Hey, Mitama? You…you still agree with us, right?"

"Whatever do you mean, Midori?" Mitama asked, giving a confused look towards Midori.

"It's just that it's been a really long while since we've seen eachother. For you it might've been even longer, considering how much the Deeprealm traveling messed with time." Midori began to explain. "Heck, Asugi was a year older after we got separated and reunited." She looked down at her lap, twiddling her thumbs. "I just wanna know that your goals haven't changed since we last saw eachother."

"My goals…you mean the destruction of Nohr?" The three of them went silent, the only sound in the night being the crackling of the fire and the chirping of crickets. "I still believe, Midori. Destroying Nohr is the only way to ensure Hoshido doesn't fall into ruin." She considered expressing her feelings through haiku but decided now wasn't the best time.

"That's a relief." Midori sniffed. "So many of the others stopped agreeing with us…I don't know what I'd do if you stopped believing too." Mitama waited a few more seconds for Midori to gather herself. "We leave at sunrise. We have to make it to Castle Shirasagi. We have to warn them of what's to come."

"Of course." Mitama said, bringing a hand to her chest. "The sooner we arrive, the sooner I can reunite with father…" She imagined what Azama would say when he found out his daughter was here from the future, attempting to save his life. "…and mother." The image of her mother filled her thoughts. A gentle smile, almost as kind as the soul it belonged to. A perfect foil for her father's nihilism. Her nervous laugh, her name which she shared with Mitama's favorite part of a cherry tree; its blossoms. Sakura.

Siegbert

"You requested my presence, Lord Xander?" It was still so bizarre to call him by that name. To not call him "father". Siegbert wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to get used to it. His father stood in front of him, his eyes scanning over a map of the continent.

"Yes, I did. Princess Corrin was sighted a few days back in Lord Trayon's territory, in Southern Nohr." Xander pointed to the location on the map. "Hoshido continues to claim they have no control over what she does, but I'm convinced she's been receiving aid from them in her efforts to undermine Nohr. I need you to go there and investigate, see if you can figure out where she went."

"Yes, Lord Xander." Siegbert had noticed his father's mental state had deteriorated recently. He wasn't allowed to bear witness to Xander's discussion with King Garon after Mikoto's failed assassination attempt, but when Xander had emerged from the throne room, he seemed determined not to speak of it.

It didn't help that Xander's decision earned him the ire of all of his siblings. Elise openly viewed him and Garon as monsters, whilst Leo had only grown closer to her and farther from him. Even Camilla, who usually understood and accepted the cost of war, found the ordeal to be a crossed line.

Add on top of that Hoshido's recent formal declaration of war and losing his retainer Peri during the assassination attempt, finding out she was one of the conspirators against Mikoto…it was no wonder that Xander seemed to only focus on the newly begun war effort. It was likely all he could do to stay sane. Siegbert thought about this as he headed back to his chambers. He was just glad that he had someone by his side who would support him. He needed someone like that for the choices he knew he would have to make.

He opened the door to his chambers, nearly stepping on an old, half-wilted plant. "Another treasure? I'm sure the maids don't appreciate it." Siegbert said with a smile. The wolfskin woman in his room smiled back.

"Maybe if I just tell them I'm engaged to royalty, they'll back off. Too bad I'm stuck carrying your secrets." Velouria teased, brushing some of her ashen hair out of her face. Siegbert approached his fiancé and gave her a kiss on the cheek, sitting down on the side of his bed as the two began to talk about the plan to search for Corrin.

Peri

"Heehee…those merchants sure did let out some fun screams, didn't they?" The girl giggled, walking away from a few scattered corpses next to a destroyed wagon. The blade she was carrying hummed with red energy, the eye on the hilt looking around frantically. "Oh, is that you Hans? I haven't heard your voice in a while…" She brought up Ganglari, nuzzling the side of her face against it. "You don't need to worry, I'll keep killing. You'll have plenty more souls to keep you company in there, and I'll have more fun! It's a win-win."

Peri's giggle turned into a laugh as she walked deeper into the woods, leaving the corpses of the merchants who had been unfortunate enough to run into her. The local wildlife was sure to take care of the remains for her. Or maybe somebody else would stumble upon the bodies first. Just imagining their reaction made Peri squeal with delight. It helped her ignore the always-present headache she had obtained ever since the weapon had appeared in front of her as she was bleeding out in Shirasagi. Maybe if she kept killing, the headache would go away too. Wouldn't that be nice…