Yami groaned slightly as he woke up, today was going to be a busy day. First he would have to go to a Captains meeting to discuss the kids, and then he would have to talk to his squad and tell them to keep an eye out. He quickly sat up and scratched the back of his head before walking out of the room. When he stepped into the hallway he was instantly greeted with the smell of food. Someone was cooking, he frowned a bit, he hadn't slept that late had he?
He walked into the common area and saw everyone else was waking up as well. He saw Zora was walking into the room as well as Nebra, apparently the smell of food had woken them up as well. He stepped more towards the dining room and noticed Hikari, Alistar, Charlotte, Vangeance, Ace, and Josslyn were already awake. He stopped mid-step when Hikari suddenly turned to look at him.
" Good morning Yami!" She called out, causing the others to turn and look at him in surprise. She had probably sensed his Qi if Yami had to guess. He gave a small wave before he walked over to the table and sat down.
" Good morning I guess," he greeted back before frowning. " What are you all doing up so early?" He asked before sitting down himself.
" Well, no matter how hard I tried I couldn't sleep so I came in here." Alistar said with a shrug before setting more food and coffee onto the table, Charlotte walked out of the kitchen and sat down at the table at the same time Alistar did.
" I always wake up this early." Charlotte said with ease before grabbing a cup of tea and putting it to her lips and taking a sip. Yami snorted, for some reason that didn't surprise him very much.
" I smelled the food." Hikari answered simply and Alistar chuckled next to her, she cut him a glare before she put a piece of bacon into her mouth.
" I think the rest of us also woke up due to the smell of delicious food." Vangeance chuckled before taking a sip of his coffee. As the others sat down at the table they ate in silence, the only sounds being the silverware hitting the plates or glasses clinking against their saucers.
Charlotte glanced up at Yami from across the table, she was beginning to get used to seeing him when she woke up. It was nice. Seeing him with sleep in his eyes, his already somewhat messy hair even messier, the way his voice was just a little deeper when he first woke up. It was cute. She quickly shook her head. 'Stop it Charlotte! This is only temporary, remember? Once Hikari and the others are sent back everything will return to normal.' The thought quickly sent a pain through her chest, a small piece of her didn't want to 'go back to normal'. But it was inevitable and, probably, for the best.
" Y'know," Yami started, suddenly shaking Charlotte out of her thoughts. " what are we going to do with them while we're gone?" Yami asked, jolting his thumb towards the kids. The other adults blinked, none had thought about it.
" Geez it's not like we're babies who can't look after ourselves." Josslyn muttered as she sat back in her chair. Hikari shook her head.
" Alistar and I will look after Ace and Josslyn. Y'know keep them out of trouble." Hikari volunteered, Alistar nodded along before he suddenly realized what she had signed them up for. He quickly turned to look at her.
" Why do you always volunteer me to do these kinds of things with you?" He asked with a sigh before he set his knife and fork down, all she did was smirk before taking another bite of her breakfast. They both knew why she did it; because they were a team, always had been, and probably always would be.
" I trust them." Charlotte said suddenly as she saw the unsure looks pass across the others faces. She had a feeling Hikari could handle anything that could possibly happen, she was her and Yami's daughter after all. Yami looked at Charlotte curiously before he nodded.
" If the Prickly Princess trusts them, then so do I." Yami said, causing her to blush and look away. She hadn't realized he held her opinion in such high regard.
" I agree. But we need to leave quickly if we want to make it to the meeting on time." Vangeance said before standing up along with Charlotte and Yami. " Thank you for the lovely breakfast Charlotte and Alistar."
" You're welcome fa-I mean, Captain." Alistar said with a warm smile before the three Captains walked towards the door.
" Hey you two," Yami suddenly shouted, turning towards Zora and Nebra. " You might start heading towards the Squads Hideouts, so that way you can be there for the memos." He added before walking out. Zora and Nebra grumbled as they followed suit, neither understood why they had to attend since they already knew about it. But it was an order, even if he didn't say it directly, so they had no choice but to follow him.
As the adults left Josslyn smirked at the other three in the room.
" Well now that the elders are gone, why don't we explore a bit? Maybe we can find a way out of this time and get back home." She grumbled before standing up, Hikari shook her head.
" We can't. Not yet and don't even think about walking out and going to look on your own!" Hikari said as Josslyn opened her mouth to argue. The young girls began to bicker back and forth like siblings, Ace just sitting there watching as he didn't really know what to say while Alistar sighed.
" I should've just took my chances back home."
—
Yami, Charlotte, and Vangeance sat down at the long conference table along with the other Captains. Dorothy was asleep as usual, Fuegoleon was having a small conversation with Nozel and Kaiser, while Jack and Rill were busy in their own little worlds. They all looked up as the doors opened and Julius and Marx entered the room, they all stood up until the doors behind Julius closed and he sat down, the Captains following suit.
" I'm sure most of you know why I've called this meeting today, while there are a few that do not." Julius said looking around the table, some of the Captains nodded and some shook their heads.
" Over the past couple of days there have been some children arriving, children that are not from this time. Right now there are only 4 children that have arrived, but just in case more happen to arrive as well I'd like for you and your squads to look out for them." Julius said as he looked at the table, Fuegoleon frowned slightly.
" You believe there will be more?" He asked curiously, Julius shrugged and placed a hand under his chin thoughtfully.
" I'm not sure, but I would rather take precautions just in case." Julius said before Nozel looked over at him.
" Have you discovered the reason as to why they're being sent here yet?" Julius shook his head at the question and sighed softly.
" Not yet. I'm hoping one of the children might be able to provide some insight into it, but I would like to wait until they're a little more settled." Julius said before Jack spoke up.
" Why don't you just have mushroom hair over there to look at their memories to get the information we need?" Some of the other captains nodded, that was a good idea, but Julius shook his head as Marx glared daggers at Jack's comment.
" I would rather them give us the information willingly if they know anything at all. The only way I'll take that possible information by force is if I believe they're lying and are a threat to the kingdom." He told them seriously, they all nodded and looked down at the table.
" Any more questions?" He asked the table kindly, Kaiser nodded before looking over at Julius.
" Do we know what links these children to one another? Or are they just being sent here randomly?"
" Well, so far all of their parents have been either Magic Knights or Magic Knight Captains. All the children, despite their ages, have really strong mana. So I'll assume they're all capable mages." Julius explained and the others looked amongst each other for a moment.
" Some of their parents are magic knight Captains?!" They asked in unison; Yami, Charlotte, and William all looked down at the table and kept silent. None really volunteered the information and Julius nodded at the other Captains as a soft smile graced his face.
" Yes, but we'll leave that discussion for another day hm?" He suggested, causing the three Captains to sigh in relief internally at having been spared the integration that would come from the other Captains, save for Nozel since he already knew who two of the children belonged to. They all nodded in agreement.
" Alright, since I think that's everything I'll let you all get to your squads and brief them on their new assignments." He told them before standing, the captains stood and saluted as well before Julius walked out of the room with Marx.
The Captains quickly stood and began to walk out of the room one by one except for Fuegoleon, Yami, Charlotte, and William.
" The kids belong to you three don't they? You were the only ones not surprised by the news or by the request to alert our squads." Fuegoleon said, surprising the three in question. They hadn't realized they had been so obvious, especially since the other Captains didn't seem to notice, but they should have realized Fuegoleon was more observant than the others and would quickly figure it out.
" I won't tell anyone," he chuckled, causing relief to wash over the Captain's faces. " but the others will figure it out soon as well. So you'd best prepare for all the questions and comments, and you might prepare your children as well." He added before walking out.
" He's right," William agreed as he began to walk with Charlotte and Yami. " There will be questions for both us and our children and we should anticipate them and ask the kids to do the same." William added as he walked outside the room as well, presumably going to the Golden Dawn Headquarters. Charlotte sighed softly before looking at Yami.
" Do you think the kids are hiding something?" Charlotte asked suddenly as she and Yami walked out of the room and began to walk down the hall.
" I don't think so, I can't say much about Alistar, Josslyn, and Ace. But I don't think Hikari is, she doesn't seem like the type." He said firmly, Hikari seemed way too honest so he highly doubted she would lie. Besides, he would be able to sense it with his Qi if she was. Charlotte chuckled which caused him to look at her in confusion.
" You barely know her and you're ready to believe her word over anyone else's." She said softly, he was acting so much like a dad already she silently wondered if he would act this way when he eventually did have a child.
" Like you wouldn't?" He countered. She turned a small shade of pink and looked away, of course she would, Hikari was her daughter and truly seemed to not know what was happening.
" Of course I would." She answered, causing Yami to laugh and she smiled. He really did have a nice laugh. She shook her head quickly to get rid of the thought. " I would obviously want to hear everyone else's side first but I would still most likely believe her."
" Look at us," he chuckled as they walked outside, it was Charlotte's turn to be confused. " We already sound like a couple of parents." She chuckled as well and nodded in agreement.
" We really do." She agreed as she watched him grab his broom and step onto it. " Do you think there'll really be more kids?" She asked him, and he paused for a moment and looked at the sky in thought.
" Maybe, considering how many have come back so far, and since this 'incident' or whatever seems to be so bad they're sending their strongest mages back I'm gonna assume there'll be more." He said before looking back at her. " Let's just hope there won't be anymore from my squad." He chuckled before using his mana to levitate into the air.
" I'll see ya back home Prickly Princess." Yami told her with a smirk before flying away, she felt her heart skip a slight beat at the promise. Her smile widened as her cheeks blushed.
She couldn't wait to see him back home.
—
Julius stood at the window overlooking the Capitol, he was a tad surprised none of the Captain's had asked the question he himself wanted an answer to. How were the children getting here? Sure Hikari came through an old magic item that was in the basement, but the others were found all across the capitol and in different places. Was there a time mage so strong that they were able to actually send people through time as well as space? Or was it a spatial mage who maybe had an ability that could transport them to any time they wished? Or was it one mage with both affinities? Julius wasn't sure but he was excited at the thought! He heard Marx sigh behind him.
" Sir, don't you think you should finish the paperwork before you get lost in your daydreams?" He asked exasperatedly, Julius turned around and blushed sheepishly before laughing.
" You're right, my apologies, Marx. I was just trying to figure out how these kids got here if they didn't come through the magic item like Hikari." He admitted before sitting at his desk and going through the paperwork slowly, Marx shrugged.
" I'm not too sure myself sir, maybe Lady Aika can look into it? Maybe there's another magic item like the one in the basement somewhere else in the Capitol or in the surrounding area?" Marx suggested Julius' eyes lit up with excitement, not only because he mentioned Aika, but also because he thought of something Julius hadn't; that there were two magic items that could bring and send people through time!
" Marx. You're a genius! Send for Aika right away, I'll try and have her look into this while-." Julius looked up as a magic knight crashed through his office door, the man was out of breath as though he had run a mile.
" Lord Julius, you need to come downstairs quickly!" The man said out of breath, Julius quickly stood and walked over to the man.
" What's happened?" Marx asked quickly as the man quickly stood upright and looked from Marx to Julius.
" We're under attack!"
" By who?" Julius asked, his face serious yet confused, they had signed peace treaties with all the neighboring countries, unless a few of its citizens decided to go rogue, or a few Clover Citizens were very unhappy.
" By a young boy!" He said quickly, now Marx and Julius both frowned.
" 'By a young boy'? As in singular and not plural?" Marx asked slowly, he scoffed when the magic knight nodded. " Really? One boy is giving all of you this much trouble?"
" He has transformation magic, and it's not like the normal kind, he can transform himself as well as objects!" The man said quickly, Julius smiled a bit before he walked past the man. That magic sounded awfully familiar.
" I think I'm going to have to pay this young man a visit. Come on Marx let's go."