Stupid. Stupid. He knew that he was risking pretty big on this, and he also knew that he was doing all this for the sake of an enemy who would be either insulted at the pity being thrown her way or wouldn't even care about it. But somewhere, it felt cynical to simply see such things without doing anything to stop them, as if silently approving of them.

"Yes, milord?" Asked Kotaro, smiling smugly, or perhaps amiably. He leaned against the cage, seemingly not worried at the idea that Kagero could use this to try to attack him. The woman, though, didn't actually move at all, simply meditating without budging the slightest muscle. It was almost eerie in a way : His enhanced senses could barely pick up her breathing, and her expression was as unreadable as Beruka's.

"Those are obviously inhuman conditions." He said. "She can barely move around and the food and water that she's given is…"

"I can assure you that we are simply taking our precautions. This woman is an elite soldier." He said, jerking his thumb backwards. "Giving her the slightest tool could facilitate her evasion, and it is in our best interest that we keep her in. She will feed us informations about Hoshido, and may be a useful bargaining chip… Or bait, more likely."

"Bait?"

"The Hoshidans will surely attempt to get her back, and this will make it easy to lure them into a trap." Explained Kotaro. "They shall fall against our combined might, and this will make the invasion easier for you."

"And what about… her?"

"We'll execute her." Said Kotaro. "Once she has exhausted her usefulness, that is."

His siblings observed him. Corrin disagreed quite strongly with the idea of so casually using a soldier as a bait to lure their friends into a trap… But could he speak up against that? He had been told by Beruka to analyze the situation and avoid reacting too quickly. The idea looked good at the moment, but hindsight made him realize just how truly painful it was to witness such a trick and be unable to intervene to stop it. His silence attracted Kotaro's attention, and the older shinobi folded his arms.

"It is war, milord." He spoke, dropping some of the politeness. "Such measures are expected when such a conflict occurs. A Nohrian prince should not have any problems with this."

Corrin pondered on his answer, though he noticed that Xander was about to take charge. Somewhere, the young man feared that his hesitation would embarrass Nohr, and decided to step up to dispel the situation himself.

"I apologize, Kotaro. You are right to do this. I wish to apologize for overstepping my bounds." He said, trying to hide just how much he regretted each word "I hope that your strategy will allow us to end the raids over the province."

"I am glad that you managed to acknowledge my point, Lord Corrin. You do have the cunning expected of a Nohrian royal."

"We shall prepare our troops swiftly and send the rat catchers to begin a sweep of the area. May our alliance be ever-lasting, Lord Kotaro."

"May our alliance be ever-lasting, Lord Xander." Kotaro bowed, but also shook the prince's hand. This seemed to be confusing enough for the gathered Nohrians, but Corrin kept his mouth shut for the moment. Once that was done, Garon's children moved out of the room, and the group walked back out of the cave. On the way though, Corrin noticed Shura being brought down to the cells, unable to escape thanks to a couple of chains placed upon him. The outlaw's smirk was a grim one, and he was quite unfazed by the spears pointed at him in case he tried anything funny.

"Now you're more of a Nohrian prince, heh?" He said to Corrin while passing by. The youth didn't answer, but he kept one red eye on where exactly they were taking Shura. The outlaw wasn't the nicest man, but the idea that another person would be sent down there, in these conditions, infuriated him outright. But he remembered Beruka's lessons, and kept his cool. He forged his mask as an emotionless prince, and kept it on through the return to where the Nohrian royals would be sleeping.

The top of the buildings had rooms for the royal family, and smaller ones for their retainers. The Mokushujin did their best to emulate the Nohrian aesthetic, by bringing in various portraits of steel-eyed rulers clad in intimidating suits of black armor and carefully putting them all over the fireplace. No matter where he looked, Corrin could see one of Garon's ancestors glaring down at him, in a way, this was oddly symbolic.

A bunch of old books were present on nearby shelves. Corrin didn't touch them, fearing that even looking at them for too long would cause them to crumble into dust, but Leo was in the midst of reading them. The young prince didn't mind. He wished he could ask his brother to hand him whatever he was reading (he was curious about the world after all) but as usual nowadays, his worries about the war quelled whatever interest he could gather for his surroundings.

He simply observed his younger brother. The prince came into the room to try and pick up some books, explaining that he found his lecture quite lacking, but both princes knew better than that. As of now, Corrin was making sure, through his senses, that no one was spying on them.

A part of him was getting just a little sick of all those ninjas spying on him from the shadows, undetected.

"Leo." He said, pulling on his collar. "I'm, huh, sorry about my outburst at Kotaro." Began the prince. The blond awaited a little and closed his book, turning to face his comrade-in-arms.

"I understand where you're coming from, Corrin." Answered the wizard. "I do not quite agree with the idea that people should be used as bait myself. It's quite… degrading."

He made a brief pause, and Yato's wielder knew what he'd say next.

"However… even with our premises to change Nohr, we cannot trample on the strategy of our others unless they happen to be blatantly suicidal. Kotaro's plan combined with the efficiency of our wizards could take some pressure off them. We've promised to support them after all." Leo took a moment to pause. "And Mokushu has been giving us resources for years. We owe them a debt."

"I know, I probably should've kept that in mind."

"You did. You kept your cool when you realized that you were upsetting him and you did so without our interventions." Said Leo, a bit more encouragingly. "You didn't make things more difficult for us, little brother."

"Hm… thanks, Leo." Said Corrin. "So, what are we going to do next?"

"They'll try to interrogate the woman tonight, though I've heard that she resisted all previous attempts. Tomorrow, perhaps, our army will move out to begin clearing the Hoshidan ninjas." Said the young man. "Then, Kotaro will get "cocky", and leak informations about executing the woman." He shifted in his seat awkwardly, and Corrin looked away "curiously" to hide his frown. "She'll be moved out of town beforehand, so that it may not take the full brunt of an attack."

"And if they do not take the bait?"

"… Kotaro will execute her. I've heard that the woman's loss is of strategic importance. Rumors say that she was hand-picked by the prince to assist her, and she's quite strong as a result. Hoshido will certainly not let her die."

"G-go on, please."

"Right. The wagon that will transport her will contain a dummy. Kagero will be executed tomorrow should she fail to give up any information. This'll ensure that the Hoshidans won't actually be able to save her."

"I… I see." Corrin felt a bit of nausea but hid it. "It's a pretty pragmatic move, I'd say."

Corrin went unto his bed and folded his arms while leaning his head on a pillow, observing the ceiling.

"Why do the people of Mokushu hate Hoshido so much, and vice-versa?"

"Mokushu was a former colony. It declared independence after being exploited for years, shortly after the first Qliphoth invasion, and then courted Nohr, Hoshido's rival nation." Said Leo. "They've escaped an invasion so far because of craftiness. Its neighbor country's army is overwhelmingly stronger but taking over Mokushu would be a waste of resources and would take a lot of time because of their traps and ninjas. They're content with the occasional raid though."

"I see." Said Corrin. "Weren't there other colonies too?"

Leo nodded. "Those books would perhaps inform you more than I can. Anyway… I'm hearing Odin's babbling. I'll have to intercept him before he make a mockery of himself in front of our allies." Brynhildr's wielder got up, looked over at his brother and then laid his hand on his shoulder. "If you have any doubts, we're here for you, alright?"

Corrin couldn't help but feel a bit coddled, but he hid away his doubts by simply smiling. "Alright, thanks, Leo."

The end of the provincial wars had Hoshido emerge as triumphant. Thanks to their discipline, powerful legendary weapons and determined army, only a few provinces remained by the time Queen Makoto declared that Hoshido would no longer expand this territory, explaining that enough blood had been shed. As a result, Mokushu, Kohga, Tsujin and Ikkomori were left.

However, her successors elected to keep an eye on them and kept them as colonies. They were not meant to be part of Hoshido, but they would still serve it. Aware that their combined powers would still fall short of Hoshido, the colonies accepted its rule. Many rebellions rose and fell in the centuries. The country of the dawn used the colonies to train its famed ninjas, and while It built roads and raised cities, quite a few thought that the colonies were just a loophole to conquer the provinces while respecting the rules set by Queen Makoto.

But it would take the invasion of Qliphoth, which forced most of Hoshido's army to assist Nohr, to allow them to break free, though they naturally waited until the end of the war to band together and announce their independence.

Hoshido's combined army, weakened by the war, opted not to confront the liberators directly and made a deal : They would not launch invasions on the provinces and they would still trade with them. The provinces, upon breaking free, kept a loose alliance to ward off future invasions. And for a few decades, all seemed well. However, soon enough, the provinces decided that they had too little space, and set out to earn more of it. Not having the means to fight Hoshido, Mokushu and Kohga made a pact and took over both Tsujin and Ikkomori. Hoshido, while it made efforts to save waywards citizens of both provinces, didn't intervene.

More years passed and both nations became reputed as mercenary countries, sending their famous ninjas on missions through the continent and earning the favors of other nations. Hoshido kept its eye on them, and gathered more troops near their borders, but Kohga struck at Mokushu, intending to remove what had become its rival. The, young Daimyô, Kotaro, led a devastating counter-attack and took over Kohga. Its citizens and ninjas scattered across the continent, and thus, the matter of the provinces was settled once and for all.

Nohr, which had become known for hiring a lot of ninjas, formed an alliance with the country. And this proved to be too much for Hoshido. Exploiting a loophole, the sly politicians of Hoshido sent ninjas to lead raids over the country. They would not invade them outright, but nothing in the deal could forbid them from doing so, after all. Mokushu, unable to fight back, now has to fend off these raids and hope that Hoshido will not further ignore its own pacts.

Corrin put the book away and scratched the top of his head. The book had been simple enough, but he understood the conflict somewhat better. Getting up, he stretched and wondered on what he could do.

Now that they feasted together, his siblings were busy. The retainers and soldiers were partying outside ("no alcohol", warned Leo), and Corrin decided to take some time off to focus on reading, or training, or whatever he could try to do to keep his mind off what he witnessed. Could he really accept what had happened? It was obvious that he should, but he still found himself refusing to just do that. Mokushu seemed to be very much like Nohr : Power-hungry, and quite willing to do a lot of things to achieve its ambition.

And he could sympathize with Nohr. A blight had been set on it after all. And he could somewhat understand Mokushu, since it had apparently merely fought back, but with all that resentment they had against Hoshido… what guaranteed that they wouldn't try to attack its citizens after Nohr was done carving a path forward? And could he take the time to stop them since Xander would likely tell him that they couldn't afford to hang back at this time of war?

Corrin went up to a window, opened it, and glanced at the town below. Its myriads lights, its streets, the tiny people navigating these very streets, the black ocean crashing against the beach, illuminated by the moon above… He wanted to admire this sight, and maybe even go down in the city himself, but he felt unable to admire the world in front of him. In many ways, it was as beautiful as it was described to him as a child. The wicked landscape outside of the fortress had nothing on the beauty of Nestra's cities, and he had already bore witness to the splendid sights of castle Shirasagi, amongst many other famous locations.

But yet, a tiny voice inside of him whispered to him. It told him that those dazzling sights were far less reflective of the real world than he thought. The burnt down Cheve or the sacked Macarath came up just as often as his more beautiful memories. And those sights were the ones that reflected the world as it actually was. The world that he kept going deeper and deeper into as that war kept going… but alas, even if he was in a position where he could just walk away, he didn't want to. Too much was at stakes, and the citizens of Nohr truly needed the resources of Hoshido if they wanted to avoid living a miserable life.

His life and his feelings would always remain less important than the fate of the world.

Sighing, Corrin wondered if he could tell himself that again the next time he'd doubt. Regardless, the young man put on his armor and a cloak, and began to head downstairs.

Below, at the halls, the Rats Catchers were gathered and hard at work. They were covered head-to-toe in dark clothing, and most had a bizarre bird-like mask on their face, with red lenses. Allegedly, they completely covered themselves to avoid being poisoned by a passing ninja, but some said that it was also to intimidate allies and enemies alike. The servants were intimidated enough to give them a wide birth, and a few looked, distressed, at the plates of food that were left on the table. They quite overestimated the rat catchers's desire to eat it seemed.

"I'm sorry, could I borrow this?" Said Corrin, to a maid in particular. She had long, slicked-back brown hair, large eyebrows, piercing blue eyes and was stressed enough to practically jump several meters high upon being called by Corrin.

"Y-yes! It's still warm. W-we could even tie it into a package!"

"Oh, that'd be great! I'm going to take a night walk after all." He said.

"Then shall we fetch you guards? We are aware of your fantastic battle skills, my lord, but one is never too careful!"

His reply thankfully came out with appropriate levels of confidence. "I fear no Hoshidans, milady. I thank you for your concern, though." And, upon seeing the relief on the maid's face, he wished he could do that more.

The Mokushujin city night was quite less obnoxious than the Nestran one. Though it made little difference for one such as Beruka. As usual though, Selena basked in the lights, in clear awe at the culture around her. This meant that she pointed a lot, exclaiming "hey lookie!" or "whoah!".

But while Selena's eyes focused on the food stands or clothes, Beruka's sight revealed most worrying sights, such as the slightest irregular movement in the crowd, or the couple of people who were talking to another, whispering, perhaps, of the downfall of the Nohrian army. However, her actual aim was sloppy tonight. Not as well-refined as it was. Perhaps because of the ambient noise, which made it hard for her to concentrate. Or perhaps because of Arthur's repeated insistence to smash his toe against whatever object happened to even exist near him.

Once more, the hero of justice laid on the floor, holding his foot and vainly attempting not to groan in agony. Effie, who stood next to him, kicked away the small child toy that somehow found its way to him (causing a young girl to howl in the background) and got him up.

"We apologize, Arthur always had some bad luck…"

"Oh, don't worry! It's just a bit odd that he keeps hitting all that stuff."

She had heard that Arthur and Effie, like her, were for the slums. This wasn't anything of interest for her : A huge portion of the Nohrian army had crawled its way out of Nohr's decrepit streets. The dark, yet sadly well-known underbellies of the large cities of Nohr were the theaters of a thousand tragedies as the less fortunate Nohrians, either too young, weak or sickly to be of use in society, fought to live for another day. Windmire's slums were perhaps the largest, and a few said that it saw more deaths over than span of a week than battlefields ever saw over the course of a war. Exaggerations, but there was a degree of truth to it.

The Nohrian government obviously minimized the slums and attempted to pull people out of their misery, but it still maintained them. Plenty argued that the slums toughened up Nohrians and made them stronger. The weak would perish (less mouths to feed), and the children would need to grow up quickly to become efficient warriors, and would earn their place at the table. It also helped that Nohr's countryside was harsh thus, it helped for them to have grown up somewhere "difficult" (as vast as an understatement as it can be to describe the slums) to better adapt to life outside.

Though rumors down there said that the nobles also found interest in seeing the slaughter. They would witness these desperate wretches crawl to attempt to gain even a tiny shred of what the nobles had, and the wicked aristocrats found pleasure in such a miserable spectacle. And if they weren't nobles, then it was the high-ranking members of the army, who liked to look back on their childhood homes. Iago, for instance, was one of those people.

The point was, Beruka liked to think that warriors like her were being bred down there, but whenever she looked at Arthur, she was most unimpressed. His belief in justice was one thing, but a man like him should never have made it out of the slums, let alone Mokushu's shores.

"So!" Selena turned to Beruka. "What do you think we ought to buy?"

"Weapons. To prepare ourselves for the battle that is due tomorrow."

"Hm… correct, but I think we're quite packed for that one." Said Selena. "Let's…"

"Head back and rest, for we will need the proper amount of sleep to carry on our duty tomorrow."

Selena looked back at Beruka and raised an eyebrow. "We won't be doing anything together for a while… well, you know, we'll be doing a lot of warring but yah. How about we use this last night to get ourselves a souvenir? We can do just that and then we head back to our quarters. Are you fine with that?"

This was a sensible proposal, and should she be in another mood. Perhaps she would've reluctantly accepted… but the young assassin wasn't feeling like humoring Selena, tonight. There was some kind of fire creeping inside her, and she was half-comforted, half-worried by its presence.

"We won't be forcing you do to anything, Beruka." Said Effie, seeing it wise to cut in. "It'd be nice but you're the one who decide what to do, right?"

"Aye! While it would be most regrettable if you were to refuse, I will not stop you! Perhaps because I'd damage my toe once more, arf!"

Beruka shook her head. The fire roared deeper with every word that was spoken. "I have no use for trinkets, and I tire of your shallow attempts to become my friend. Lady Camilla's protection shall be assured by only one of us tomorrow perhaps." It wasn't really cutting on its own, but "anger", as it was called, slipped in her words, and that fact alone seemed to be enough to stun the three retainers. This gave Beruka the time to quietly slip away, feeling somehow brazen. They didn't call out for her, though she could see that Selena wasn't upset. Surprised, perhaps.

The assassin's "outburst" wasn't as quiet as it hoped she'd be, but she wanted to put her priorities straight. She didn't trust her after all, so she didn't feel safe becoming her "friend", and beside… beside, what use was a friend to a King's Shadow? If Beruka were to gain that title, then she would need to abandon all her past relationships, and subsume her existence into Nohr's darkness. It would be easier to do it right now, and close her heart now, instead of feeding a false hope. She could only hope that Selena would remain a professional about this.

But the redhead's reaction was minor compared to what she was now aiming to do : Announce to Corrin her destiny, so that he could be warned in time. Now, right before the actual campaign started, it was important to settle all her personal matters. She had failed to do so, even when she had plenty of time, so she had no other choices but to do it right now, or fear that she would become too concerned by the battles to properly explain her future new position.

But was was holding up was why she struggled to attempt to cut off her bonds so easily. She knew that they merely wished to have her strength. Believed wholesale that no one in this world wished to simply make friends without reaping some benefits. And Corrin himself had said so on the ship, when she was back from feeding Altena.). It should be easy for her to suppress those relationships… but yet, why was it difficult? Such a matter was easy to settle for an assassin but yet something in Beruka told her to go back and offer her apologies to Selena, and the azure-haired assassin found herself almost humoring the wish.

She had easily ended lives, why was it so hard to just admit the truth? What was this odd feeling that grew as she made her way towards the place where she guessed the Nohrian prince was at? For the briefest second she considered stopping, as if terrified of somehow speaking about it to him, but the Nohrian refused to do so. How could one expect her to fight the Hoshidans when she was too cowardly to confront a naïve boy such as him? She steeled herself once more and headed towards the entrance, eager to get things over it.

And then she actually saw Corrin, at the entrance, carrying a small-box under his arm. To her frustration, whatever excuses she managed to give herself had long since faded into the wind by then.

"Oh hey!" He said. "Hello Beruka!"

Her reply was slower than she thought it'd be. "… Hello."

"I'm glad you're here." He admitted. "We haven't talked for a while, haven't we? We ought to catch up! Well, maybe later? I'm about to go take a walk and you don't really like the streets so…"

Beruka waved her hand dismissively. "I can handle the bright lights as long as you make haste."

"Alright, well, huh, follow me."

They both headed out for Kotato's palace. A few Mokushujins recognized the Nohrian prince and threw looks at her, perhaps thinking that she was a friend. A lesser assassin would balk at the idea of being unrecognized, but she didn't care, simply keeping herself ready in case a Hoshidan ninja attempted a most daring attack on the prince. Paranoia was good when one was into a territory potentially crawling with enemies.

"So, Beruka." He asked. "What do you think of Mokushu?" Corrin's red eyes turned towards her, seemingly genuinely curious.

"… Busy." She answered. "But there are more pressing matters to attend to, such as the incoming assault."

"You're right." He agreed. "Don't you feel a little nervous? We're really going to be attacking them instead of defending."

"No. This is what we trained for." Replied Beruka, reminding him of their training. "You have become more powerful than before and your family is assisting us. Hoshido will fall. There shall be casualties, without a doubt, but you will need to steel your heart and press on."

She kept pace with him. "I am not saying this lightly."

"I know, but it's hard. Tell me, Beruka, how do you… get numb to it?" He asked, whispering to avoid being heard. "How can you accept that so easily?"

"It doesn't come off easily… But I only ask that you do not weep for the enemy as you slay them."

"I know, but I'm just… curious, I guess. How do you do that?"

Arriving at the doors to the palace, the guards allowed Corrin to access Kotaro's lair. Beruka entered the building and waited until they reached the cave to speak up, for far less people stood in it. "My work?" He gave his silent approval. "I had to do it for a long time. You are aware."

"I am, but it's weird. You can't ever get used to killing, right?"

"Ask the army." She answered, going down the stairs. "Killing was the only way to survive deep in the slums. Diplomacy or pity would not earn you the right to live through another day, for misery can make people deaf to negotiations, as sensible as they are. Many of us had to fight our way to the top. And even after clawing our ways out of the slum, we simply went for the professions best suited for our talents."

She thought of him, and perhaps her body language betrayed her brief contempt because she felt Corrin's hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry." He said, before going down. And she just nudged his hand away. "Do not pity me."

Corrin looked ready to speak some more, but noticed that they stood near the halls where the prisoners were being held. A masked man approached, his tone wary. "Milord Corrin, what are you doing here?"

"I would wish to speak with one of the prisoners." Said Corrin. "I do believe that I can get him to spill valuable informations, and I have… brought a Nohrian torture expert with me in case he doesn't comply."

Beruka glared, and the masked man almost collapsed in fright. Such nervousness was odd coming out of the servant, since he had little to fear, but perhaps he was cowardly, like a lot of his fellow shinobis. "A-ah, I see! With whom do you wish to speak? We have plenty!"

"I wish to have a talk with a white-haired man. He was discharged from our boat recently. Led me to him." He said, struggling not to say "please" per accident. This bout of firmness allowed Corrin to easily gain access to Shura's cell, which happened to be near Kagero. A few guards stood near the cramped wooden cell, but he dismissed them with a wave, prompting them to retreat. "Stay back while I interrogate the prisoner."

The retainer did so, but beforehand, she leaned it to whisper a "good work." He still had a way to go in some aspects, but she managed to get him to be firm when he had to. Corrin couldn't help but crack a proud little grin, even if Shura's predicament had him drop it after a short time.

Beruka stood guard near the rocky entrance to the room, and saw that Shura was unharmed. His garbs had been taken away and replaced with a bunch of rags though, and calling the food nearby "indigestible" would perhaps be a compliment to it. In fact, the outlaw's tired eyes almost bulged out of their sockets when Corrin unwrapped his meal and handed it over to him through his cage. Had Corrin not handed him some cutlery, he would've perhaps dug into the food with his own hands.

"Sorry, I couldn't get it to be warm." He said. "Are you okay?"

The sound of chewing was his sole answer, so the dragon prince opted to sit back and wait. Beruka observed the situation but didn't see fit to intervene. She couldn't help but both be annoyed yet a bit intrigued at Corrin's continuous desire to feed a pirate who had attempted to steal their loot in some foolish operation, but another part found it rather intriguing. The way he constantly helped people and attempted, vain as it was, to spare his enemies was a source of frustration yet interest to her. Should he learn her lesson and eventually truly cut loose on their foes, she'd be satisfied… and perhaps, also a bit saddened.

Once he was done, Shura threw the small container away. "I've been missing my butler." He said, before looking up at Beruka. "Huh, and you've brought a girlfriend too." The assassin didn't see fit to dignify his words with a reply, but Corrin had to save face by putting his two hands in front of his face, as if yawning.

"She's Beruka, we're… battle buddies." He hesitated a little but composed himself. "Hm, anyway. Shura, how are you?"

"Well if you exclude the part where I'm in a small, cramped wooden cage that smells like piss, I guess I'm doing great."

"Have they done anything to you?"

"Mokushu's done the worst thing it could've done to me years ago. Don't fret, kid." He said. "I'm just an old outlaw way past his expiration date. I appreciate the attention but forget me, alright? You've got a legacy to build."

"A legacy?" Said Corrin. Shura chuckled and attempted to get himself in a confortable position, though the cage proved itself too tight for that.

"It's the mess you leave behind to future generations." He chuckled. "We all leave some legacy of our own, through children or writing but, let's not kid ourselves here, a prince like you is going to leave behind a bigger legacy than any of the losers sitting down there." He jammed his thumb backward. "We're all going to die down there, but you're about to take over Hoshido, right? Why'd ya waste your time on me?"

"I don't judge people by the impact they'll have on the world… And I'd like to ask you a few questions."

"Shoot."

"Are you from Kohga?"

Shura nodded, his smile barely hiding some refrained anger. "Took you a while to figure it out. I guess the names and techniques should've made it obvious."

Corrin brushed that off. "What were you doing in Nohr?"

"Heh. Well, when Kohga was invaded, I was away." Said Shura. "The books will tell ya that it was a war, but Mokushu attacked us by surprise and just butchered my people. A lot of us were away in missions in Nohr, so when we returned home, we found either smoking ruins or a new banner floating above our towns." He said. "And for many of my countrymen, that was the last thing they saw before Mokushujins jumped them. No prisoners… Heh, me though? I survived." He glanced away. "And I ran away, to Nohr."

"Why Nohr? Hoshido was close, right?"

"Hoshido? Heh… Yeah, maybe that was the better choice in hindsight. They have actual crops, their cities aren't crawling with psychopaths and it's easy for me to make a living there." He answered. "But I didn't want to go there after they just sat there and let it happen. And beside… I didn't feel like I deserved to live there."

Shura looked up at the ceiling. "I failed my country and my people, so crawling away to some piece of paradise? That wouldn't be very nice of me. So, I went to Nohr. I'd live in this blighted land as an outlaw and I'd get penance for not being there at a time where my country needed me."

"You would never had any impact on the war." Said Beruka, bluntly. Shura chuckled. "Nohrian honesty at work… Heh, impact or not, it sucks to outlive your country. I knew that I had no shot at ending the man who gave the order though, so I went to Nohr and resolved to become an outlaw. Though I moved south because it's just that terrible in there."

"Too used to your sunny forests?" Retorted Beruka.

"Pfeuh, you're acting proud of having some piece of shit landscape now? You Nohrians are about to set half of this continent on fire just because it's that much of a mess and you all want to get off it."

Corrin coughed "So… you don't have an high opinion of Nohr, right?"

"An educated guess."

"Yeah, we… I know that Nohr has failed you." Said Corrin. "But then why would you get on the ship? Did you plan to strike at us?"

"I'm not suicidal. I just… I just realized that maybe in all this mess, I could attempt to strike at Mokushu." Said Shura. "I could sneak in and try to kill Kotaro while he was busy. He's paranoid with small ships but he'd let the Nohrian ones in, right?"

"I see… hmm, still, you were strangely nonchalant about getting caught." Said Corrin.

"It was a one in a billion shot. I knew, as soon as I got on this boat, that I was going to probably die a slow death but by this point, I'm just an old man without an home to go back to, dragging his weight all around the continent and desperately trying to give himself a purpose." Shura pointed at himself. I don't care about dying, and even if I had managed to somehow axe Kotaro, I would've probably surrendered myself to his goons. I'd die, and I'd finally join my brethren in the afterlife."

Beruka blinked once, not touched by his self-pitying monologue, but Corrin shook a little, and struggled to keep his composure as he spoke.

"You're not without a purpose, we… We could try to give you one in the army." He said. "We'll give you one if you desire…"

Shura tilted his head. "I tried to rob your treasury, right? And I just admitted that I wanted to murder your ally. Who in the world would want to recruit me by that point?"

"Anyone who is willing to commit murder on such a scale for the sake of power is not an ally of mine."

Beruka almost slammed her head against the rocky surroundings of the cave, but restrained herself as Corrin held out his hand. "I'm going to have a talk with Kotaro and make him see the errors in his way. There is much I'll stomach today, but I will not allow this to stand any further. Join us, gain a purpose, and form your own legacy by helping against Hoshido."

Shura's reply didn't come out, partly because the outlaw was quite stunned, partly because he was interrupted rather loudly by a cacophony of sounds outside, accompanied by the abrupt intervention of two Mokushujin guards and the masked man from earlier.

"Milord, you must not stay here!" Said the one on the left. "T-there is an attack going on! Hoshidans are attacking!"

"Quick, you must accompany us to reunite with you-GWAH!" Before he could finish, the soldier found out that a large sharp object had entered his back. He fell right along his colleague : Both had a knife stuck in their back, courtesy of the masked man. His mask was that of a demon, but his shaky body language betrayed his actual doubt quite well.

"F-for Hoshido!" He yelled, shortly before Beruka knocked him out with a direct strike to the jaw. She wished to interrogate him, but it appeared that the situation was quite clear. And quite distressing : She had expected an attack, but how could Hoshido be this brazen? The Nohrian army was gathered here after all.

"W-what is going on?"

Shura sighed. "An attack, obviously!" He said. "You should go before you get ambushed by more of 'em. Ninjas are deadly."

"We'll do, but first…"

Corrin grasped the wooden cage and, without even grunting, ripped it apart with a simple pull, freeing Shura. "It's going to be dangerous for you to remain locked up down here. Come on!" And before Beruka could chide him, Corrin was off to step into the halls. The assassin sighed, and followed him, keeping a wary eye on Shura. The Kohgajin grasped a knife and followed them, seemingly not intending to betray them for now.

What was happening down there wasn't quite an uprising by the prisoners but, by the sounds of things, they were being freed by the Hoshidans. The guards inside, overwhelmed, were either slaughtered by ninjas or quickly overwhelmed by their freedom-driven victims. Hoshidan ninjas were going around either smashing the cages or unlocking them using a fallen guard's key.

"… You guys want a part in that?"

"We need to retreat. I'm… I'm going to try to find Kotaro since he has to be the target. Beruka, try to fall back and meet up with the others, and guide Shura!"

"Understood."

"W-what?!"

But before the outlaw could protest any further, Corrin dashed towards the stairs leading to the exit. Like a blur, he laid out the ninjas or prisoners in his sight, moving at fascinating speed. Beruka would've perhaps admired it more, but in battle, one had to be careful, especially when two Hoshidan ninjas were gunning right for them.

"You side with a Nohrian, traitor?! Then die!" But their serrated swords slashed naught but the air, and in an instant, Beruka pulled out her trusty axe to quickly take them down, cleanly separating their heads from their body in the same clean slash. This caused some pause amongst the fighters, which she used to throw her axe, landing it on another ninja's head.

"If you run, I'll catch you." And, with that bit of encouraging advice, Beruka dove into the fray, pulling out her weapon and slamming it into another with great speed. Shura contemplated his puny knife, looked at the hellish situation that was going on around him and decided that, between a lot of angry guards and prisoners and Beruka, perhaps fighting the former would be safer.

Both fighters, as they went in, didn't notice who was standing amongst the cannon fodder though. Kagero, Ryoma's retainer, was out of her cell, keeping a calm attitude as the situation around her unraveled. Leading her own part of the charge, she efficiently gave orders, and contributed to the slaughter of the hapless staff. As she slew yet another Mokushujin, her calm eyes settled towards Beruka… and twisted in fury.

It was her!

Corrin made his way across the castle, thoroughly regretting his decision to leave. Right now, his brothers and sisters were, without a doubt, panicked by his absence! But, luckily enough, the young prince didn't intend to dive at the heart of the fray yet. He'd just find Kotaro and would form a defensive position with him until help could arrive.

Up above, various Hoshidans and Mokushujins were fighting and, fast as he was, Corrin couldn't help but slow himself down by punching, kicking or even cutting down the foes on his way. He moved around the ravaged halls like a black arrow, saving or ending lives before the various soldiers around him could even react. And yet, this fantastic speed wasn't enough for him, not when it allowed him to see the people who were being speared in a corner, before he could intervene, or those who were already dead prior to his passing.

So many sights that he had to ignore to reach a man that he, at the moment, had quite the distaste for. Reaching a Hoshidan ninja that was about to murder a civilian, he casually pushed the assailant towards a wooden wall, with enough force to embed him into it, and then moved with great swiftness to yank him by the collar, speaking firmly.

"Why are you doing this? What is your goal?!"

"For Hoshido!" Replied the soldier. A defiant word, meant to be accompanied by a defiant gesture, but Corrin simply shoved the man through the wall, knocking him out, and headed for the civilian. "Quick, hide somewhere! I'll come back for you!"

The man seemingly agreed, but as soon as Corrin had his back turned, he grabbed his aggressor's fallen weapon and used it to stab a soldier in the back. Corrin briefly stopped before running upstairs. The halls of the Mokushujin castle were quite tight, but it was quite easy to guess where the office was. He knew Kotaro well enough, by that point, to assume that the Daimyô would hide beneath a large wooden door, with some steel compartment in it to ensure that no army would so easily bust it down. To Corrin's dismay though, the Hoshidans had already taken over it, and an intimidating group of soldiers stood in his path, eager to cut down the traitorous prince.

In answer, the traitorous prince sent them flying with a tackle, and ran for the door. Having no patience, he punched them open, with such force that the doors's massive hinges very nearly gave out. A foolish decision, since it could've been used as a defensive location, but Corrin was too stressed to realize his mistake. And too horrified by the sight in front of him as well.

Kotaro was kneeling on the ground. He had put up a fight, as indicated by the shurikens and dead shinobis around the ruined room, but alas, the Daimyo's bruises, his snapped arm-blades and, most obviously, the massive wound on his throat indicated that he had come up short. And who else but Saizo, the red-haired retainer of Ryoma, could come up against such a fearsome individual, and triumph?

"How's that for a single blow?" He asked, looking down at the soon-to-be-corpse. Kotaro moved his mouth to answer, but before he could do so, another masked man came up right behind him and stabbed him in the back, ending his life swiftly.

"Noooo!" Yelled Corrin. As rotten as he was, the prince would rather not have such a horrible demise happen to anyone, even someone he dislikes. Quickly snapping out of his shock, the dragon prince deflected the shurikens sent his way by Saizo.

"How did you get up here so fast?" Muttered Saizo. "Hmph. It matters not."

"It does!" Said Corrin, taking a stance. "Because I'm going to stop you two right here and now!"

N/A : Action time, woohoo!

Pretty neat chapter I hope! Kotaro's still a jerk here but it's because his role isn't really any bigger than in the game. Some new worldbuilding, Shura explanations, and Beruka's about to be in for the fight of her life against Kagero!

What did you think of this chapter? All reviews are welcome!

See ya later!