Chapter 4 – The Search


Beta'd by A.O. Talmidge


"So, where is he?"

"How should I know?"

"You live here!" Anna groaned in frustration, pinching the bridge of her nose, hoping in vain it would stave off her rising headache in her sleep-deprived state. There had to be some sort of clue. She turned to Akio. "Is there some way he could have gotten out?"

"Well, it's unlikely for him to have slipped by while I was with the other patient without someone noticing. So it's possible…" Akio stepped over to the closed window shutters and examined them before making a small 'ah!' noise. He motioned Anna to come closer.

"These shutters can only be unlocked from the inside, and I'm positive I locked them last night."

"So he went out the window. So what? How does that help?" Akio looking sheepish was enough to answer her question. She sighed. Time to move on to something else. "How long ago did you last check on him?"

Akio paused, thinking. "I'd say about three hours ago or so."

Well, so much for tracking him down, as that amount of time could put him just about anywhere in the capital city of Izumo, even if you took into account that he was recovering. There had to be something she was missing here.

However, she was wrong; even when she roped Akio into helping her search the room, nothing stood out. There was no physical evidence to point where he had gone. Maybe all that was left to do was to be patient and see if he came back.

Wait a moment. Patient. She hadn't paid it much attention before, but hadn't the former monk mentioned…? "Akio, you said there was another patient who you treated, right?"

He looked up from his half-hearted searching. "Correct. My last patient came in here and, due to the, ah, circumstances, I wasn't able to check on the escapee during that time."

The wheels started turning in her head. "You don't think it could have been a convenient distraction while other people from another group, or gang or whatever, came in and took him while you were working?"

Akio frowned. "Well I suppose it's possible, I guess, but isn't that a bit-"

"Do you know anything about them?" She interrupted. Akio looked uncomfortable when she asked the question. "Look I don't care if you're supposed to be all hush-hush on this. It happened on your watch. So if you know something, tell me."

"I won't break confidentiality. It would go against one of the reasons I started this business in the first place. However, I will say that nothing that I know about the people that came in points to them kidnapping. They weren't part of the vigilantes going around lately either."

Their eyes met and Anna stared hard. There was a long moment of silence between the two before Anna reluctantly backed down.

She sighed. So much for that. "Kidnapped or not, he could be just about anywhere in the city at this point."

A short silence followed before Akio broke it. "Actually, I'm not so sure."

She glanced toward him, surprised. "What do you mean? Both of us know pretty much nothing about this guy. You said earlier that he 'reeked of dark magic.' But what does that mean? Maybe he was, I don't know, running from a dark mage group that caught up to him shortly before I found that caravan. It could be a dozen other things. I don't even know his name."

"No, but from what you told me he does know your name. It's a bit of a long shot, but it's possible he went looking for Anna."

"Except that I'm right her-"

He cut her off. "An Anna, not necessarily you specifically."

"Oh." An Anna. That hit her harder than she thought it might. She closed her eyes and let out a calming breath, even though internally she growled. She and her sisters weren't some sort of mercantile species. They were unique people. However, the more logical side of herself acknowledged that the idea was sound.

She looked back at him. "Well, two of my sisters currently run shops here in Izumo's capital."

"Should you want to pursue this, then that's really the only solid lead you have besides simply hoping he comes back. As you said, we know little about what is really happening. Personally, I recommend letting this lie. You did your part and helped to save a life."

It was better than trying to chase kidnappers who might not exist. "I'm going to look for him. You stay here and hold down the fort, just in case." Akio made a grunt of acknowledgment as Anna left his house.

As the door closed behind her, she stopped and leaned back against the frame. Why was she so intent on chasing this guy? Was it purely to satiate her curiosity? Something else? As she began the walk towards one of her sister's shops, the answer wouldn't come.


Munching on a skewer of dango, Kaden hummed contentedly to himself, sitting on a bench nearby the stall he'd purchased it from. Whoever thought up of these was a genius.

He was far away from the scene of his earlier escapade, even though no one would be looking for a kitsune. He noted that even here in less busy parts of the city, the Festival of Spring had its claws sunk into it. There were stalls nearly everywhere that had popped up in the preceding week, just like the dango stall he sat by.

This area of the city he was in was relatively peaceful compared to the marketplace, but still held a plethora of people and smells. If Kaden were a lesser kitsune, he would have probably run and hidden away by now.

He went to take another bite out of one of the sweet dumplings when the relative peace was shattered. Across the street from him, a human-like shape came flying out of the door of a bar and tumbled to a stop in the middle of the street.

A small crowd of people, whom Kaden gathered were probably festival tourists, stopped and stared at the man. The locals simply ignored it and walked on. When Kaden peered closer, he could see features of white hair, and a tattered, weird looking black cloak.

He glanced across the street to the bar. There were a couple of jeering patrons shouting from one of the windows, but he couldn't make out what they were saying over the din of the street. A drunk who started a fight, maybe? Or, maybe it was a conflict of interests, if the way the man was dressed was any indication.

Kaden looked up and briefly met eyes with the bouncer who had tossed the man out. He recognized him as someone he'd recently done a favor for and gave a small wave. The bouncer simply rolled his eyes and slipped back inside the establishment.

Turning his attention back to the man, he noticed the small crowd that had gathered dispersed, probably after it seemed nothing else interesting was going to happen. To his credit, the man simply stood up and brushed off his cloak before he began walking off in a decidedly steady way. Probably not drunk then, though maybe slightly injured, if the almost imperceptible limp in his gait was any indication.

Well, whatever the case was, in Kaden's opinion it had spoiled the peace of the area. Sighing, he stood, ready to take his snack towards a quieter place.

He stopped when the scent of alcohol, mixed in with the scents of the city and something he couldn't recognize, caught his nose. The latter made his fur prickle slightly.

Curious, Kaden turned and noticed four men in Hoshidan attire had broken off from the milling crowds to follow behind the man.

Interesting.

He began discreetly following them, taking the rest of his snack with him.

Closing in towards the four as they made their way down the street, Kaden could tell that even from this distance all of them were carrying drinks and - his nose twitched in disgust - they reeked of alcohol. They weren't being discreet about following the man. Hoshidans, tourists or otherwise, with an unhealthy vendetta against Nohrians he guessed.

Strangely, the man didn't seem to notice, or maybe didn't care, that he was being followed and continued down the street as if nothing was happening.

Kaden had one dumpling left on his skewer when the drunks made a move. The white-haired man turned down an empty alleyway and the four drunks followed.

Leaning casually on a nearby stall that offered a good vantage, Kaden spotted them gathered around the white-haired man. One of the drunks shoved the man, enough for him to stumble, though he was still standing, while the other three in the group laughed and jeered. Seriously? Harassment in broad daylight? He glanced around. No one who passed by was paying them any mind, and ignored the scene, content to walk past and not get involved. From what he could see, there were no guards nearby.

He stepped closer to the group, still out of range of any attack. It seemed the situation was escalating, though it hadn't yet descended into full-on violence. One drunk human grabbed onto the guy's cloak and yelled, "Why don't you say something, Nohrian scum?" Despite his situation, the man on the receiving end of it didn't look afraid. Actually, now that Kaden could see his eyes, they looked confused and maybe a little…bored?

Interest peaked even more, Kaden stepped up behind the group, hoping, though not with much confidence, that this could be solved peacefully.

"You know," he called, and the group of drunkards immediately turned towards him, "There's a whole festival out there to enjoy, right?" He munched on the last dumpling and started talking around the mouthful. "Why don't you leave this guy alone and enjoy it?"

The drunk human who answered probably thought he had some personal stake in the issue and wasn't having any of it. "You have a death wish, kitsune? Get lost! This is none of your business," he snarled.

And then he spat at Kaden.

To Kaden, the world slowed down as he watched the spittle fly. With growing horror, he could only watch as it landed on his clothes.

Kaden's left eye twitched.

He swallowed the last of the dumpling and tossed away the skewer. He grinned and looked at the white-haired man. "On second thought, four on one seems kind of unfair, don't you think?"

Three of the drunkards laughed, though one startled at the sudden change in demeanor.

The man, whose cloak was still in the grip of one of the men locked eyes with him, raised an eyebrow, and subtly shrugged, as if to say, if you want to. Kaden liked this guy already.

The drunk human who had spat at him roared, "Don't say I didn't warn ya!" before he charged straight at Kaden. Kaden easily dodged around the clumsy punch thrown at him before he wheeled behind the human and threw a roundhouse kick at the back of his head. The drunk cried out and turned back towards Kaden, clutching his head in pain. Or, more accurately, he tried to turn, before he tripped and fell smack on his forehead. He didn't get up.

The jeering and laughter was silenced as Kaden turned back towards them, smirking. Before one of them could make a move, the cloaked man kneed the human still holding him in the groin. When he seized up in pain, the man grabbed the drunk's arm, stepped forward, pivoted, and threw him on the ground, knocking the wind out of him. He stayed on the ground, groaning.

The last two humans, who had been mostly hanging back and watching the ordeal, looked between the kitsune and the cloaked man, then between themselves, before hightailing it out of the alley, drinks forgotten.

Kaden took out a clean cloth out of a pocket and carefully wiped his clothes where the spittle had landed. After dropping it on the unconscious man below him, he walked up to the white-haired man, who was rolling his shoulder.

"You're not half bad," Kaden commented. "Where'd you learn that?"

The man turned to him. "I've had a lot of experience fighting."

Fighting drunks? His tone was confident and his stance sure-footed, so he probably wasn't just boasting. Kaden looked down at the man on the ground groaning in pain. "I can tell. We should probably get out of here before those other guys decide to complain to the city guard."

"They could try."

"Even so, let's just get out of here for now; we've drawn a small crowd." Sure enough, there were a few onlookers at the entrance of the alleyway, though they quickly dispersed. Kaden clapped a hand on the man's shoulder to lead him away through the crowd. He noted that the cloak was surprisingly clean despite how tattered it looked. Secretly, he approved.

The man brushed Kaden's hand off his cloak as they began walking. "So who are you, and why were you following me?"

He'd noticed? Best to just be forward, then. "Name's Kaden: kitsune and wanderer extraordinaire." He outstretched his hand in a traditional Nohrian handshake. "You?"

"Robin." The man didn't bat an eye as he accepted the grip and they briefly shook hands, and Kaden noticed that he had a strong grip. Nohrian, huh? Or at least from one of Nohr's territories, given the name. Interestingly he hadn't asked about the kitsune part. Plus one more for Robin in his book.

They broke the handshake. "You didn't answer my other question."

Oh, right. "You looked interesting. I was having a snack when I saw you get thrown out of the bar. Not exactly something I see every day."

Robin sighed looking uncomfortable, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. "You saw that?"

"Yeah. What hap-?"

"I'd rather not talk about it if it's all the same to you. The less said about it the better," Robin cut him off quickly. Kaden noted to ask him about it later if he got the chance. Probably best not to antagonize someone he just met. "Why did you help me out, anyways?"

"It would've been a shame if someone was beaten up just because of what they looked like." He'd had plenty of that in his own life to testify. "Although, from what I saw, it didn't really seem like you really wanted help."

"You don't say." He deadpanned. "It was obvious from how they moved and acted that they had no real fighting experience. Four drunks with no fighting experience and no weapons are hardly a threat. I baited them into the alley so I could call it self-defense."

Kaden's eyebrows shot up. "Someone has a high opinion of their abilities."

"Not without good reason." The man looked thoughtful. "By the way, Kaden, I'm looking for a woman named Anna. Red hair, probably owns a shop selling exotic goods, weapons and the like. Maybe slightly obsessed with gold? Have you heard of her?"

Something about it did sound familiar, but he couldn't place it. "I may have I've heard of her, but I don't know where she is, assuming she even has a storefront. However, I know someone who probably does."

Robin looked surprised, before he grinned. "Huh. You're the first person who's given me a straight answer all day."

"It is a big city, so it shouldn't be that surprising." It also wouldn't be surprising if several people wouldn't give him the time of day because he was Nohrian, but Kaden thought it unnecessary to point that out.

"If you say so. Think you could lead me to this person?"

Kaden nodded. "Sure." He leaned in closer. "But first, what say we get something to drink?"

"I'd rather keep my mind sharp, thanks."

Kaden backed off waving his hands in a placating manner. "No, no, not alcohol; just some tea. There's a great tea shop that happens to be where who we're going to see works. It won't take much time."

Robin looked closely at him, before he shrugged, and gestured ahead of him. "Alright. Lead the way."


Anna sighed, looking at the distinctive, familiar logo on the shop's sign. It was the same one which she used, after all. She needed advice, and loath though she was to admit it, her sisters were her only real friends. Did siblings count as friends? Whatever. It was a good thing it was Anna and Anna were in Izumo. Better them than Anna any day.

She walked into the store, and called out. "Hey, Anna."

Her sister spun around to face her behind the store's counter, a confused look on her face. "Anna? I thought you wouldn't be getting into Izumo until later."

"I arrived here ahead of schedule last night." Anna stepped further into the shop and glanced around. There was only one customer here at the moment, and he did a double take, looking between the two sisters, rubbing his eyes. Unfortunately, it wasn't the man she was looking for. That would be too easy. "That's part of the reason I'm here." She shot a meaningful glance at the confused customer.

Anna immediately caught what she meant, shooed the confused customer out of the store, flipped the sign to closed and latched the door.

"What's this about? You look tired. Did you lose your goods to bandits or something?"

"No, don't worry, that's not it." She steeled herself. "I need your help."


The afternoon sun shone above as the tea server bowed politely to them. Kaden returned it before briefly meeting her eyes and mouthed something. She nodded and seemed to get the message.

Kaden turned his attention to his drink, carefully spooning sugar into the tea. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Robin looking at him, curiosity plain on his face.

"So what exactly is a kitsune?"

Not the question he was expecting, but that was fine. Kaden added a tiny bit more sugar before he began stirring. "You're looking at one."

"No, I mean I get that, but is it like the Taguel?"

"Taguel?" Was that some sort of Nohrian colloquialism for the Wolfskin?

Robin seemed to notice his confusion and moved to clarify. "Sorry, what I meant to ask is if you can transform into a beast-like state with the help of a beaststone?"

Kaden looked up in surprise. Odd. Hardly anyone knew that. Though, he supposed it wasn't as if it was a forbidden secret or anything, just not common knowledge. May as well be honest if he already knew that much. "Yeah that's right." He grinned and raised an eyebrow. "Jealous?"

"It wouldn't matter if I was. But is that why we've been getting odd looks from so many people?"

Kaden paused, about to take a sip of his sugary tea, and subtly glanced about. Sure enough, there were several people staring at them with uneasy expressions in the open-air portion of the teashop. Some were less obvious about than others were, and one patron hastily looked away when he noticed Kaden had seen him staring.

Kaden sighed. "Kitsune are a pretty isolated bunch, and never go outside their territory. Humans never see them, especially not in cities."

"You're here," Robin pointed out, taking a drink from his own cup, which Kaden briefly noted was devoid of sugar. It probably tasted disgusting.

"I'm the exception, but that's beside the point." He didn't really want to go into what he thought on the subject. "Aside from my fabulous self, there's you. You're Nohrian, famous on this side of the border for being - and I'm abridging this for your sake since it goes on for a while - 'warmongering pieces of pegasus dung.' It's not exactly uncommon to see Nohrians in Izumo, but the hatred persists." Kaden chuckled. "Seeing the two of us together must be all kinds of weird for them."

"Maybe. Only problem is, I'm not from Nohr. In fact, before I came here I've never heard the word before."

"Seriously?" Robin nodded and Kaden looked into his eyes a moment. It didn't seem like he was lying. Still…

"Could've fooled me! You sure dress like one." Kaden folded his arms, one hand poised on his chin as he leaned closer to examine the man's attire which he had assumed was Nohrian in make. Actually, were those eyes stitched onto the sleeves? Weird. "However, even if you aren't Nohrian, your clothes closely match their style, so it's not exactly surprising that people are wary."

Robin let out "hmm," and looked lost in thought for a moment, before refocusing his attention on Kaden. "I think I can see where this is going, but what did Nohr do to warrant that much immediate suspicion?"

"Wow, were you isolated growing up or something?"

Kaden noticed something flicker across the man's eyes as he said, "Close enough." It was as close to an, I don't want to talk about it, look as anything he had seen.

Kaden took another sip of his sugary tea, thinking about how best to go about this. "So basically, there are two major kingdoms, Nohr and Hoshido, separated by the geography of a huge canyon everyone calls the Bottomless Canyon. And before you ask, yes, it really is big. Trust me, I've seen it."

"So on the west side there's Nohr." Kaden continued, "Nohr has lots of land, but tons of it isn't farmable and instead they focus a bunch on industry and expansion to sustain themselves. Expand or die. Hoshido's on the east,and their land is almost the exact opposite. Ages ago, Nohr tried to conquer parts of Hoshido for that land, and they've been in on again off again war with each other ever since."

As he was talking, Kaden saw Robin looking at him with interest. Was he really that interested in history? "So the people here are afraid of the war Nohr brings, not necessarily Nohrians themselves?" he asked.

"I guess, but that's only part of the picture. I've been to both places, and Hoshido isn't exactly innocent in this either. They have a bunch of surplus food in storage, but from what I've heard, generally refuse to trade. They have prosperity, but it's like all of it is for their own self-sufficiency, and they seem content to sit on that. It doesn't help that in the past, their leaders have been slow to react to change."

Robin put a hand on his chin. "So has no one ever tried to set up trade between the two nations? It could easily solve part of the issue."

Kaden let out a short laugh. "Well about that. See, you aren't the only one to have that idea. Thirteen years ago Nohr's current king, Garon, set up talks with the former king of Hoshido, Sumeragi, for just that. However, the peace talk was a trap. Garon killed Sumeragi, and kidnapped the one of Hoshido's princesses in the confusion as well." He paused, and then muttered, "What was her name?"

"So because Nohr's king committed the crime, all Nohrians are profiled for it? Sounds familiar."

"Wait, I thought you said you didn't know this?"

Robin shook his head. "I don't. Keep going."

"If you say so. Anyways, the kidnapping wasn't the end of it. The widowed Queen of Hoshido, Mikoto, sent out rescue parties for her daughter, but failed. Eventually, in retaliation, she kidnapped one of King Garon's daughters. Let's just say most Nohrians weren't happy about it. The war resumed in full force, but after ten years of conflict, Queen Mikoto set up some weird magical barrier that somehow keeps the Nohrian army out of Hoshidan territory."

That seemed to really perk Robin's interest. "Wait, how would something like that even work? You said it covers all of Hoshidan territory?" Kaden nodded. "Something on that large a scale would require a massive amount of magic to set up and keep going. And you said it's been up for three years?"

"Around three years, yes. And before you try to pry any more details out of me, no, I have no idea how it works." Robin's enthusiasm seemed to deflate some. "It seems to do its job for the most part as Nohr hasn't been able to do anything to Hoshido besides sending weird creatures to fight in their place."

Robin frowned. "Weird creatures?'

"They're called Faceless. Big, hulking Nohrian dark magic constructs that can bypass the barrier somehow. Nasty, things." He shuddered. "Not something I ever want to run into again."

Robin's frowned deepened. "I see. It seems to me that the barrier is only prolonging the inevitable. Magical or not, walls can always be torn down." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "So what about Izumo, then?"

"Well, thanks to the Archduke, Izumo's neutral. However, because of its relative geography, it's generally Hoshidans who live and trade here, or those willing to trade, anyhow. Obviously, there are exceptions, but most of the people this side of the Bottomless Canyon don't have good memories associated with Nohr; hence, your problem of people being suspicious of you because of what you look like."

"Makes sense. How about you then? What do you think of all of this?" Robin asked.

"Me? Well, I think it's all been perpetrated by people in power that are too prideful for their own good. I don't really care where you come from. Nohr, Hoshido, wherever. As long as you're a decent human and you don't want to kill me for my fur, you're good in my book."

There was something running through Robin's eyes, as if he was deliberating something. "There's nothing else, right? No other kingdoms or countries involved?"

Kaden narrowed his eyes. That was an oddly specific question. "Unless you count the outlying tribes and such, no that's it. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious." The contemplative look on his face said otherwise, and Kaden felt like he was missing something. However, it was probably none of his business.

Robin shook his head. "We're getting off topic. You said earlier you had a contact here that knew where Anna could be, right?"

"Oh, yeah. Although I wouldn't exactly call her a contact; just someone who knows a lot of people." And an informant for the vigilante group he had gotten tied up in. She knew Izmuo far better than anyone he knew. Kaden called over the tea server in question and the woman responded. "It's great tea as always, Sachiko."

Sachiko made another small, polite bow. "Thank you, Kaden. You've been coming here a lot lately, but this is the first time you've brought a friend with you." She paused, almost imperceptively, at the word 'friend,' though Kaden caught it. Sachiko probably didn't mean anything by it, but he knew she, like many, had bad memories of Nohr. To his credit, Robin just nodded slightly and gave a small wave.

Kaden continued. "Yeah, he's new in town, so I'm helping him out a little bit. Anyways Sachiko, you wouldn't happen to know if there's a shop or stall run by a woman named Anna do you? Red hair, maybe sells some exotic goods?"

"Hmm." Sachiko looked thoughtful for a moment, before her eyes lit up. "That's probably one of the merchant sister's shops. I heard one of the regulars here going on about it a while ago."

More likely Sachiko knew it because of what it sold, and how it could be useful to the group, but that was beside the point, since it worked out in his favor.

"Great! Where is it?"

"It's fairly close to here. If you head south from here when you exit the shop and turn left before you reach the castle, head down the street and you can't miss it."

"Thanks as always, Sachiko." She bowed again, and Kaden returned it before paying for the tea and leaving with Robin in tow.

They had just stepped down back into the street when Kaden caught another whiff of the unknown scent from earlier. He froze and looked around carefully this time, but saw nothing that seemed out of the ordinary. Was he going mad from the city air?

"Something wrong?"

Kaden startled before he realized it was just Robin, and starting moving again when he realized he had stopped in the middle of the busy street.

"Probably not. C'mon." Robin gave him a careful stare before nodding. As they walked, Kaden glanced around again. Whatever it was, the scent was already gone.


Her sister hadn't seen him. Still, Anna figured that she would feel better after laying everything out in front of her sister, someone who she could trust implicitly. She was right.

However, her sister wasn't impressed.

"So let me get this straight: you want my network of people to go out of their way to look for a guy you just met, who, for all you know could be some sort of psychopath killer, because, what? You're curious?"

Anna squirmed under her older sister's gaze. "Well, when you put it that way…"

Her sister sighed. "Look Anna, even if I said yes, my network's good, it's not that good. It would take time and luck to find him, assuming this guy's even still in Izumo at all. Why do you care so much about this, anyways?"

Anna sat silently, unable to answer. Her sister stared at her a moment before a predatory grin spread across her face. "Waait, do you love him? Has my sister been hit with the love bug?"

Anna blanched. "What? No!"

Her sister leaned forward, clearly ignoring her and pressed on. "So what's Mr. Mysterious' name?

"I already told you: I don't know. What does this have to do with-?"

Her sister clapped her hands together, cutting her off. "Oh, love at first sight, then." She proceeded into a theatrical swoon, dramatically throwing an arm on her head and leaning back. "Oh, to be young."

Oh, for the love of-

"Like I told you, I found him half-dead, Anna! I just have this gut feeling that I shouldn't leave this alone. That's it."

Her sister came out of the swoon and studied her carefully. "Wow, you've got it bad."

"Anna!"

Her sister snorted, and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "Spoilsport." Her expression swung back to something businesslike. "Yeah, fine, if you really are setting your mind to do this, I can put word out for people to look for him. I'll let you know if they find anything. Consider it repaying that time when you gave me that premium medicine stock for cheap."

That was probably as much as she could hope for. "Thanks, Anna."

Her older sister rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, no problem, Anna. Now get going. Just because you got to the city early doesn't mean you can slack off. You have nearly a festival weeks' worth of profit you can make, so don't mess up! We can't have you go and make the Anna name look bad."

"Of course." The two hugged briefly. After parting, her sister unlocked the shop door. Anna was just about to leave before she felt a hand on her shoulder.

She turned back, to find a very serious look on her sister's face. "Look, whatever happens, just, don't get involved in anything you can't handle, alright?"

"Don't worry, I won't." Anna flipped the sign over to open and walked out. Her sister's antics aside, she was right. For now, she should focus on setting up shop for the festival.


"Thank you!" Kaden called as he and Robin exited the store.

"Buy something next time, you cheapskates!" Anna shouted back at the retreating duo and slammed the door shut.

Kaden blinked at the rush of air that followed. "Well, that was awkward." He turned to Robin as both of them began walking down the steps. "You sure that wasn't who you were looking for, Robin? She matched your description perfectly, name and all."

Robin shook his head. "That wasn't Anna."

Kaden glanced back towards shop where the red-haired merchant woman, named Anna, whose shop had been full of clearly exotic goods, and had just thrown them out.

"You sure?"

"Positive. But it wasn't entirely a waste. Remember before she realized we weren't buying anything? While she was making small talk, she mentioned that one of her sisters was probably going to arrive in town today? That could be her."

"Wait, hold on. Anna has a sister…named Anna?"

"Several of them, actually."

"You're kidding me, right?"

"Do I look like I'm one to joke around?" He was right: Robin's face didn't have an inch of humor on it. "Besides, it's less confusing than it sounds."

Kaden entirely disagreed, but decided that the point wasn't worth arguing.

"So where do we look then? She could be anywhere; maybe not even in the city."

"Possibly. However, from what various people mentioned – or, those that would talk to me at least – that this week is Izumo's Festival of Spring, right?" Kaden nodded to confirm it. "Then it would make sense for a travelling merchant with credentials like hers to set up shop to sell her goods during a time like this."

Kaden didn't like where this was going. "We're going to the marketplace, aren't we?"

Robin looked confused. "Why so glum? Don't like the attention you'd get because we stand out so much?"

"Nah, I don't mind the stares, but the kids tend to get grabby with the fur." That, and he had just participated in an heist gone wrong in that same marketplace just this morning. Awkward would be a huge understatement of how he felt.

If Robin caught the half-truth, he didn't acknowledge it. "We could easily hold them off."

"Yeah, no thanks. Let's just go."


After returning once more to Akio both to check to make sure the man hadn't wandered back, Anna found herself running through a familiar rhythm under the evening sun. Directing one of the hired movers to unload her cart, Anna busied herself with readying her stall for the remainder of the Festival of Spring. The familiarity of the act was calming. She was thankful her stall, while still in the main market, was set up far away from the chaos of whatever had happened this morning.

In the end, there wasn't much she could do but return to her normal routine. All she could do was to trust that if the man was still in the city, her sister would be able to find him. And, if she couldn't, then maybe it didn't matter if she never found out who the man she had helped was. Maybe, like Akio had told her, it was enough that she had just helped someone in need.

She nearly jumped when she felt someone tap her shoulder. Anna turned around, expecting one of the movers to ask her a question. "Yes, what is-?"

The words died and she froze. Standing in front of her was the missing white-haired man, tattered black cloak and all.

A jolt of fear ran through her. What was going to happen now? She hadn't that thought that something like this was going to happen - she wasn't mentally prepared to face whatever this guy was! However, she could at least assume he had been the one to tap her shoulder since he was looking closely at her, before turning to the kitsune (kitsune?) standing next to him and nodding his head. He looked back, and Anna realized her mouth was still open, and she quickly corrected that.

"Sorry to bother you, but you're Anna, right?

She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. That was it? A tense silence followed, and Anna narrowed her eyes and began glaring at the man standing across from her.

The kitsune looked decidedly uncomfortable. "Um, should I go, or…"

She broke out of the stare, and sighed, exasperated. "You're kidding, right? I spend more than half of a good business day looking for a man I don't even know the name of, and he just happens to walk up to me?" Her hand met her forehead before she dragged it downward. She was too tired for this.

The man spoke again. "You were the one who saved me?" Anna nodded, and she saw something unreadable pass through his face, and his eyes shifted away. "I see." There was something in his tone of voice. Disappointment, or something else?

He looked back at her. "Then, I came here to thank you, Anna."

It was a strange, roundabout way of saying thank you. However, it was the way he said 'Anna' that tipped her off. She was right. He had thought it was one of her sisters that had saved him, probably one he knew.

Her voice softened. "You're welcome." She turned away from the man. "But please, tell me something."

"What is it?"

She wheeled back around. "You disappear out of a healer's house and it takes you more than half a day to get to a place that takes less than half an hour to walk to?!"

To her surprise, the man barely even flinched, though the kitsune jolted before he backed away to put a stack of crates in-between them.

"Actually, I went to get my cloak clean. It took a while, and after that…" The man shot a glance at the wary-looking kitsune. "I was…distracted."

"You escaped out the window because you wanted to do laundry." The man nodded and she groaned in frustration. Her sister was going to laugh so hard when she heard this. "Unbelievable. So why did you not tell Akio where you were going?"

"Huh? Who's Akio?"

"The healer in whose house you woke up in."

Confusion crossed his face. "Wait, that was a healer's house?"

"Why would you assume any differently?"

"Well for one, there wasn't anyone in the room I woke up in. The door was locked and no one answered when I called out. I wasn't going to take any chances, especially when one of the last things I clearly remembered was nearly dying. So, I escaped through the window, and when I realized no one was chasing me, I went to find you."

That shut her up quickly. But it also confused her more, and Anna felt like she was missing something important. "So then, are you on the run? Were you hiding in plain sight among that caravan I found you with?"

"Caravan? What are you talking about?"

"It's where I found you yesterday evening. Everyone except you was dead. Ring any bells?"

The man paused, bringing a hand to his chin. "Nothing, no."

So he wasn't part of it? He could be lying, but there wouldn't really be much to gain from it. Everything just brought up more questions, and Anna could feel her headache coming back. "Alright, look. I don't really get what's going on here, but a crowded marketplace really isn't the place for something like this, right?" She didn't wait for him to answer. "Let's start over. What's your name? It's only fair seeing as you already know mine." Even if it was by proxy via one of her sisters.

"Robin."

There was a long moment of silence between them and Anna noticed that the kitsune slowly inched out from his hiding spot, looking towards Robin. "She's not planning on attacking us, right?"

She glanced toward the kitsune, whose ears had been flattened against his head, then back at Robin. "Who's he?"

"That's Kaden. He helped me find you."

"Hey again." The kitsune gave a cheery grin and a wave. Dimly, she recognized the gesture, and remembered him as the kitsune she had seen in the park. Huh.

"Great. Sure, whatever." Maybe she should've been nicer, but at the moment she didn't care. She focused back on Robin. "So seeing as I saved your life and all, used an expensive medicine to save you along with paying your healing bill, I'd say that means you owe a pretty big debt to me."

"I don't have any money."

"Huh?"

"You were going to ask for gold, right? I have none." He didn't look like he was kidding.

She recovered quickly. "I wasn't going to ask for that."

Lies. The importance of gold had been drilled into her by her sisters at an early age, so that was always her first instinct. "Besides, only fools ask for a simple monetary reward. What I need from you is a favor."

She caught Robin rolling his eyes as he crossed his arms. "Past experience with your sisters says that it would be better for my health if I say yes." Silently, she cheered on whichever of her sisters was unintentionally helping her, and couldn't help but grin.

"Correct!" But what should she make him do?

Her eyes flicked over to the movers, who were nearly done putting all of her crates into the sizable storage tent behind her stall. An idea flicked through her head. It would be a great excuse to get to the bottom of this mystery, despite that it could be dangerous.

At the same time, free help was free help.

"To pay me back, you're going to work for me during the remainder of the Festival of Spring."


The sun was setting over the busy city of Izumo. Too busy for Leo's liking. The second Prince of Nohr enjoyed the quiet, brooding halls of Castle Krakenburg far more, since, as long as one knew where to go, you could enjoy a relative peace. Such peace would likely be unobtainable here, given his situation.

Currently, he was riding on horseback into the city in the midst of a full troop of Nohrian soldiers. It was a grandiose display of the military might of Nohr that his father, King Garon, had insisted upon. Leo had felt it was completely unnecessary, and given Izumo's neutrality, would send the wrong idea. Yet, he had no choice but to accept the situation.

Around him, he could practically feel the hostility of some of the townspeople as his group continued, even though none dared say anything. Some faces were smiling, but he could tell many were fake. He doubted that any of these deep-seated grudges towards Nohr would lessen just because he had the invitation of the Archduke himself.

He glanced at the saddlebag containing the invitation. Even after the entirety of the trip here, he still couldn't fathom why the invitation had specified him and his retainers specifically. It felt too obvious to be a trap, but he wouldn't let his guard down regardless.

Far ahead, Leo could see the castle in the center of the city looming closer. At its base he could just make out a regal-looking figure in neutral-hued colors the center of what seemed to be some sort of welcoming committee out in front of it. Leo cocked an eyebrow. So the Archduke was so sure of his safety that he would openly greet an envoy of a known hostile country? He wasn't sure whether to be impressed or wholly disappointed.

Leo's attention was brought back to his group when he heard his resident retainer and eccentric dark mage.

"The city which never sleeps is ill prepared for the arrival of its new shadowy protector. Hear me, calignosity of Izumo, and tremble. For I, Odin Dark, have arri-!"

"Odin." It wasn't his voice which had interrupted Odin. Unsurprisingly, it seemed his other retainer, Niles, was of the same mind on this matter.

Odin, still in mid gesture, turned to Niles, annoyance plain on his face. "What?"

Leo saw Niles scowl. "Just shut up for now."

Odin's hand dropped. "But I barely started! I haven't even gotten to the best part!"

"The best part of your spiels are when they end." He let out a sigh. "Look, I can tell you were prepping that one the entire way here, but for once, have some dignity, at least while we're surrounded by people who hate our nation's guts."

Leo put up with Odin's antics because of his results and loyalty. Even when he was being theatrical, he was scarily competent, especially in combat. However, this was neither the time, nor place.

"Niles is right. Control your impulses, at the very least until after we're done meeting with the Archduke."

Odin looked like he was about to retort, before he slumped and grumbled. "Fiiine."

Leo nodded in satisfaction and turned his attention back to the castle where the Archduke waited. The sooner they finished this, the better.


A/N: Something I wanted to emphasize that this I hope this chapter exemplifies: this story is written in third person limited format. In each point of view, you only see what that character sees. The thoughts and assumptions they make are not always true or reliable, merely what they think at the current time, based on their own personal experiences.

Also, don't worry, this won't dissolve into politics. Interesting as that could be, this is Izana we're talking about.