Been awhile, hasn't it? Yeah...sorry about that, but...life has been really hard these past few months. I lost a lot of my close friends, a great girl, and most of my own self worth. Lots of times I considered taking my life just to end the suffering, but, well...I can't just leave you guys without any conclusions to this, can I?! I still consider this story the best I have ever written, there's no way I can just give up on it! Not after all the shit I put up with just to write it! So here we go, let's hope I still got the mojo to pump out something worthwhile. Happy reading, guys!

...

"Almost there...almost there..."

Asugi watched the cookies intently as they baked inside the oven, him being not willing to budge an inch away from his task. Almost there...almost there...

The faceless attack took a lot out of the army, the morale was in complete shambles. He may have been a humble ninja with a sweet tooth, but even he could see the results of the exhausting battle. It was tough to stomach, knowing that they had only just scraped by, by the skin of their teeth. He had heard that one of their comrades, a maid named Flora, had perished in the battle. Even though Asugi hardly knew who she was, her death still left a pit in his stomach.

Flora's death was a grim reminder that none of them were invincible.

Invincible...Asugi would be lying if he said he never felt like that sometimes. Unlike many others, he never stared death in the face, there was never a time when he was certain he would die. He didn't doubt that the others his age felt the same way. They had so many good memories together, it was easy to forget that they were in fact at war. It felt like no matter what happened, he and his friends would always make it out unscathed.

He shuddered at the thought of losing any of his friends. Gods, what if it was Midori instead of Flora? His cousin was only a little girl, and she was in just as much danger as the rest of them. Midori shouldn't be fighting at all, she was simply too young!

Weren't they all a bit too young, though? Shiro was the oldest of the children, but even then he was only eighteen...still too young if Asugi thought about it. He himself was only seventeen, not too far behind. But what of the youngest? Midori and Percy were thirteen, but Kana was twelve! Twelve!

'This war is more screwed up than any of us thought.' Asugi said to himself.

He wished he could be more like Dwyer, nothing seemed to phase that guy. Looking at the butler and his apathetic attitude towards basically everything, Asugi compared him to a rock. Something to stand on. Maybe that's why so many people trusted him a great deal, he could handle what they couldn't. ASugi snickered to himself. Of course, being raised by Jakob probably did that to a man.

The cookies he were currently baking were a comfort of source. He wished he could say he was selfless enough to be baking them for the whole army, but alas he was human, he was selfish. They were for him and for him only, something to snack on as he tried to slow down his racing thoughts. He needed this, he needed to numb the sting of Flora's death.

The cookies were just about done, he noticed. Humming to himself, he slid on his oven mitts and pulled open the oven door. He reached inside and slowly began taking out the fresh batch of cookies. However, his bare arm brushed against the outer edge of the scalding oven, and a small but intense burn formed on it. Asugi cried out in pain and quickly tore the cookie out and at them on the counter top, slamming the oven door shut with his foot.

Asugi hissed and took a look at his arm, gritting his teeth. "Holy shit pickles..." he gasped as he gently blew on the burn.

Another reminder that he wasn't invincible.

He was just glad his father didn't see his clumsy display, the old man would never let him live it down. That stupid 'master of explosives'... Asugi briefly wondered if his father ever felt fear in battle, but he soon brushed it aside. If Dwyer was a rock, then Saizo was pure steel. No way in hell anything could even remotely scare him.

He lifted one of the cookies and took a bite out of it, humming in delight. Another job well done, he decided, scarfing down the remains of the cookie. And to think, there were still so many more for him to snack on.

A sudden noise caught the ninja's attention, and his head perked up curiously. "What the..." he muttered to himself, approaching the kitchen door. The noise was growing closer, and Asugi raised an eyebrow. "Is someone...crying?"

Why would someone be crying at this late hour. Asugi bit his lip, and was right about to open the door when suddenly it flung itself open, smacking against his face and sending him crashing onto the floor. Whoever was the source of the crying bolted past him, not even acknowledging his presence. The person, a girl from the sound of the crying, stopped at the counter top when she noticed the cookies. She stared at them curiously, and Asugi let out a groan as he slowly rose to his feet.

"Yeesh, watch out for ninjas next time..." he hissed, rubbing his jaw.

The girl turned around. "I-I'm sorry!" she stuttered, clutching her hands together.

Asugi frowned. "Caeldori?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"

Caeldori wiped some tears from her eyes and looked around. "I...I didn't mean to come here, I just wanted to be alone..." She ran a hand over the counter top. "This is where Dwyer usually is..."

"Uh...yeah, I guess so," Asugi awkwardly agreed, rubbing the back of his neck.

The crimson haired beauty then bowed to the ninja, looking apologetic. "I'm sorry, I'll leave you alone, Asugi." She made her way out of the kitchen, but Asugi suddenly grabbed her arm, keeping her in place.

"Wait!" he called. He bit his lip. "Why don't...Why don't you stay and tell me what's wrong?"

"..." Caeldori kept her eyes trained to the floor.

"...I baked cookies?" Asugi offered.

Caeldori hesitated, but then sighed and nodded. She moved towards the kitchen table and sat down, her eyes lowered. Asugi sighed as well and grabbed the batch of cookies, placing them on the table in front of her. "So tell me what's wrong," he said gently.

"I..." Caeldori looked away. "I broke up with Dwyer..."

Asugi blinked. "But why?" he asked.

"Because he..." Caeldori caught her breath, and soon she broke into tears. "He didn't want to be with me!" she sobbed. "He only went out with me so he wouldn't break my heart!" She slammed her fist onto the table, burying her face in her other arm. "I was such an idiot! All that stress he was suffering...BECAUSE OF ME!"

"H-Hey now!" Asugi protested. "Don't go blaming yourself, Caeldori, it wasn't your fault...You had no idea what he was feeling, you shouldn't go putting the blame on yourself for his problems."

"But...if I hadn't pressured him, if I hadn't been so desperate, none of this would've happened!" She looked up at Asugi, tears cascading down her cheeks. "His best friends hate him because of me, Asugi!"

"Dammit, it ain't you fault!" Asugi barked, taking a cookie and forcefully stuffing it into the beautiful girl's mouth. "None of Dwyer's problems are your fault, Caeldori! Dwyer shouldn't have allowed himself to partake in something he didn't want to, that's on him. And it was HIS actions that turned his pals away, not yours!" He gripped her shoulders tightly. "Do you understand, Caeldori? It wasn't your fault!"

Caeldori stared at Asugi wide eyed. "A-Asugi..." she breathed.

The ninja took a deep breath and calmed himself down. "Now I ain't saying it'll be easy trying to move on, but if you ask me, this was Dwyer's loss, not yours. You just gotta hold your head high and not let this get to you, understand?"

"You..." Caeldori blinked as another tear ran down her face. "...are very convincing."

"I sure as hell hope so!" Asugi sighed, letting go of Caeldori's shoulders. "Sorry for being so rough."

Caeldori giggled softly. "No worries," she assured him.

"Now," Asugi began, gesturing at the cookies in front of the two of them. "I have a whole batch of cookies here, and I doubt I can eat them all on my own." He smirked. "If only there was a lovely lady to help me out here..."

Caeldori chuckled and shook her head. "Well, I'm not sure about your 'lovely lady', but I suppose I can help you out instead."

'Glad you're feeling better, Caeldori,' Asugi silently said as he bit into another cookie. 'Dwyer doesn't know what he's missing out on.'

...

"Where is it?" Dwyer murmured as he felt his way through the forest. "I know it's here somewhere..."

"What exactly are we looking for?" Nina asked, suddenly appearing behind him.

Dwyer didn't even flinch. "My silver dagger," he explained. "I lost it when fighting off the dark knight. It should be here somewhere..." He pointed at some trampled underbrush. "That's where his horse was, so we shouldn't be too far away from it."

"A silver dagger, huh?" Nina pondered, tapping her chin lightly. Her eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh, you mean this thing?" She reached into her bag and pulled out...a silver dagger, the same exact one Selkie had gifted Dwyer.

Dwyer nodded and reached for it. "Um...Why did you have that?" he asked as he sheathed it at his side, raising an eyebrow at the outlaw.

Nina shrugged and chuckled sheepishly. "I...might've been looking for things to sell..." she admitted.

"Why on earth would you need to sell anything?"

"I'm low on money, okay?!" Nina suddenly hissed, folding her arms over her chest. "I'm having a bit of writer's block, but I still need to keep my funds up!"

"Writer's block?" Dwyer repeated, curious. The answer struck his head soon after, though. "Gods...you're talking about those smut books about me and Ignatius, are you?!"

"THEY'RE NOT SMUT!" Nina argued, face bright red. "THEY'RE ART, OKAY?!"

"I never gave you permission to write about me, anyway!" Dwyer shot back accusingly, jabbing a finger at the girl. "Seriously, why me and Ignatius?! This doesn't have anything to do with the camping trip, does it?"

"Only the gods can judge me, Dwyer," Nina said cheekily, sticking her tongue out.

Dwyer ran a hand through his hair. "Just...Just forget it," he sighed, defeated. "There's no arguing with you, anyway..."

"Glad you've finally come to understand me," Nina beamed, clapping her friend's shoulder. "We should probably get going if we don't want the army leaving us behind."

"They're waiting for us in town, right?" Dwyer asked. Nina nodded and gently lead the butler along by his arm.

They walked in relative silence, until Nina stopped at the halfway point.

Dwyer raised an eyebrow curiously. "Nina?" he asked. "Is everything alright?"

"It's just...still so hard to believe," the outlaw answered. "All those faceless, I mean. It just...I never thought it would be possible."

"It's been a game changer for all of us," Dwyer agreed, moving to stand next to her. "I'm glad the town survived the attack, though."

"Me too," Nina hummed, "But still...it made me remember just what the stakes of this war are. And that's scary...we're just kids, Dwyer."

"Yeah..." The silence lasted longer than either were comfortable with, and Dwyer finally broke it with a cough. "We should probably keep going."

They began walking again, and Nina's mood seemed to perk right back up. "I heard about the crazy stuff you pulled off during the battle," she said, "they're saying you went up with Lord Corrin against the guy who was responsible for all the faceless!" She turned to him and smiled brightly. "I never knew you had it in you!"

The butler shrugged. "I had to do something," he reasoned, "I can't spend the whole war hiding behind others and letting them fight my battles for me- OW!"

Nina had flicked his forehead and leaned in close, poking his chest. "I appreciate your macho, but don't go too far into it, tough guy," she warned him. "You're still one of our best healers, and that's just as important during a fight, okay?"

"I know, I know..." Dwyer grumbled. "If I had more magic capabilities, my job would be a whole lot easier."

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone has the potential for magic," Dwyer explained, "but my father says only a few ever choose to go down that path. And even then, only a few of those will actually become competent mages." He gestured to himself. "My magic capabilities are only good for healing, I can't go any further than that."

"Hmmm..." Nina glanced up at the sky and smirked. "Maybe...maybe I could have some potential in magic," she breathed.

"Given who your mother is, I don't doubt it," Dwyer said, before giving the outlaw a small smile. "If you want, I could give you some lessons with the healing staff."

"Would you?!" Nina gasped in excitement, grabbing Dwyer's hands. "I would love that!" She pulled him into a hug and pecked his cheek. "You're the best, y'know that?"

"S-So I've been told," Dwyer answered, trying to ignore his blush. "Let's just get going, shall we?"

"Lead the way!"

'She's certainly chirpy today,' Dwyer thought, shoving his hands in his pockets.

When they finally reached the town, Dwyer saw his parents waiting for him at the entrance. Next to them were their bags, and some ways away was a wooden cart drawn by two strong looking horses. Dwyer frowned and sighed, once more running a hand through his blonde hair. 'They really are leaving,' he realized.

Nina looked between the family and tapped Dwyer's shoulder. "I'll meet you with the army," she whispered into his ear, before slipping past Jakob and Charlotte with a small wave. As Dwyer continued to approach his parents, he noticed that Jakob was holding something behind him.

"Well, it's time we said our goodbyes, son," the older butler started once his son was in front of him.

Dwyer nodded sadly. "I...I'm really gonna miss you guys." he said quietly.

His mother reached over and drew him into a crushing hug. "And we're going to miss you too," she agreed, "but I know you'll do just fine on your own. You have your friends, after all."

"Yeah..." Dwyer smiled at the thought. "I love you guys."

"We love you too," Jakob replied, patting his son's shoulder. "But before we go, there's something I wish to give you..." He took his hand out from behind him, and he presented Dwyer with...a healing staff. Though elegant in design, the staff still didn't look too special, though it wasn't one Dwyer remembered ever seeing. The handle was woven with fine leather, the shaft an ivory white. A ring sat on the end of it, with many points sticking out, connecting to a crest that shown with the many colors of the rainbow when held against the sunlight.

Other than its flashy colors, it still didn't look too special. However, Dwyer could feel the power of the staff radiating off of it, nearly blowing him away. His father nodded for him to take it, and Dwyer hesitantly reached out. He was afraid the thing might implode the moment he touched it. When he grabbed hold of the staff, he gasped. It was ice cold to the touch, yet flaming hot at the same time. Oddly enough, it was almost like the staff sensed who was wielding it, and its handle seemed to adjust itself to fit the shape of Dwyer's hand.

Creepy...

"What...what is this?" Dwyer breathed out.

"This is a very special staff," Jakob explained. "Once it was part of the Royal family's treasury, but Gunter entrusted its safety to me years ago. And now, I'm entrusting it to you." He smiled softly. "You may call that staff Bifrost."

"Bifrost..." Dwyer repeated, eyes wide.

"That staff holds tremendous power, Dwyer," Jakob warned. "You must only use it during the most dire of situations, for it can only be used once before destroying itself. I know you'll know when to use it."

"Father, I..." Dwyer was at a loss for words. He shook his head and sighed. "Thank you, I really don't know what to say."

"Do not think much about it," Jakob said as he smiled. "Perhaps you'll never have to use it. But you're now its guardian, I know I'm placing a great deal of responsibility on you but I know you'll use it well."

Dwyer nodded, eyes determined. "I won't let you down, Father," he swore.

Jakob nodded back, and the family each hugged one another one last time before Dwyer's parents picked up their bags and headed off towards the cart. Dwyer watched them as they left, and he waved goodbye to them one last time before the driver urged his horses forward. Dwyer continued to watch them until they were nothing more but a speck on the horizon. "Goodbye," he whispered, before turning his attention back to the staff in his hands.

Bifrost...a noble name for such a powerful tool. But a healing staff was only as good as the one holding it, Dwyer wondered if he would ever be able to draw out its true power. He held the staff up to the sun, its colors shining down on him brightly. "So, I'm your guardian now," he whispered to it. "Fine then, but I hope I never find the chance to use you..."

"...I'd dread to think what that situation might be."

...

Whew! Finally! I'm glad I managed to get another chapter out, it feels great! Like a whole weight has been lifted off of my shoulders! Sorry it's a bit on the short side, but I hope you guys enjoyed it! Don't forget to review! And remember, stay wykkyd!