I really attribute the fact that I had 4 chapters done before chapter 1 was even posted to soda. A hyper Warrior is a productive writing Warrior. Who writes chapters till 1 am in the morning cause she wants to. Little bit shorter chapter, but not really by much.

So yeah, we partially return to Tempora at the end of the chapter, but it's related to the plot. In this chapter, we get introduced to Obscure's chosen, see a side of Shiro you probably won't see often, and get to see the mage of fairy as well. Oh, and like I usually say, If I write your OC wrong, Please, please tell me! It gets on my nerves if I mess up on something like that. It's one of my pet peeves.

That and Rickrolling. But that one is more of a double edge blade. I hate it, but am amused when it happens to my classmates.

I don't own MFB. All OCs belong to their respective owners.

Chapter 4 Chiaroscuro

"Your Majesty, you wanted to see me?"

Caspian nodded his head as he watched his Kingdom's chosen walk into the throne room with a calm look on her face. Emily Evans was a youthful teen about 17 years old, and stood around 5'6" in height, almost one or two inches shorter than Noir. Her skin was fairly pale, and she had sandy blonde hair that fell softly and smoothly just a bit past her shoulder blades. The Paladin of Darkness outfit currenly consisted of a violet colored top under a black jacket, a pair of dark colored pants tucked into her boots, and a necklace with a small amethyst pendant and a moon and start charm. Around her arm was a silver bracelet that was filled with different charms, including Obscures charm that was designed like the moon obscured by shadow, only leaving a cresent moon in it's wake.

At the moment, her dark blue eyes looked him over wondering what exactly her king needed. "Tomorrow there will be a meeting where I will be getting together with the other royals of Trinity in Vivia. The king of Prism has asked that our kingdom's Paladin comes as well, so that all of the other Paladins can meet and introduce themselves to each other." Caspian explained, and the Paladin of Darkness nodded her head.

"I understand, your majesty. Is that all then?" Emily asked.

"Not quite. Each of the Paladins will be escorted by a bodyguard so that they will be protected. I am assigning Noir to you, so that she may protect you from any danger on the way there. Shiro will also be assisting with protection, and I would introduce him but he seems to be absent."

"No worries, I'll get him on our way out before we leave for Vivia." Emily looked over to the king's side, where Noir had spoken. The second in command of Obscure's army gave her a kind smile as she walked over, her darksteel scythe swinging behind her."It is a pleasure to serve you, miss Evans. I hope I can be of assistance to you in as much as I can." Noir greeted, her black cat familiar purring from it's master's side.

"Thank you, Lady Noir. I hope you don't mind if I take charge now. I'm more of a leading sort of person, if you know what I mean," Emily explained.

"It's no problem. Lead the way. We just need to pick up Shiro, and I have a feeling he's somewhere in the market area. It's near noon so if I had to guess, he's picking up some peanut brittle." Noir chuckled as she and Emily left the throne room, the reaper warrior admiring the charms on the Paladin's bracelet, "That is an incredible collection of charms, I must say."

"Oh, thank you. I've been collecting charms on this since I was a child. There's quite an assortment of charms that I've picked up over time." The Paladin admitted, looking over her bracelet, "I have to admit, that's one reason I'm happy with accepting my role as the Paladin of Darkness."

"To see the other charms, right? I can't blame you, I'm curious as well. I've only grown up seeing Obscure's charm. It makes me wonder what the other ones look like. I've heard from our Majesty though that Prism's is a lightning bolt shape from what he saw at previous meetings."

"I suppose that makes sense, since Prism is the electricity kingdom." Emily pointed out as they stepped outside the castle's walls, "So who are we looking for before we leave fore Vivia?"

Noir grinned. "Shiro Mizukami. He's a Stratos Native who came to the kingdom of Obscure maybe about 5 years ago. He's hot-tempered, but rather good company compared to some of the other soldiers. Remind me not to introduce you to Reiji. He's one of the most unnerving soldiers in Chaos' platoon."

"You make it sound as if you fear Reiji and Chaos."

"While Both instill fear into people they face, Chaos is a person I'd rather take on in a dark alley. Blade on the other hand..." Noir shivered, and briefly frowned, "People say I'm terrifying as an assassin. But Blade is one you do not want to face at all. He's like a snake. Always trying analysing his prey before striking. Trust me, the cold feeling of being hunted is not fun."

The frown faded, and Noir broke into a grin. "But when I think of Shiro, I ignored and go to pester him. He's funny when he's mad."

"Well let's hope he doesn't mind being pestered. I'm not a fan of loud people." Emily admitted.

Noir fell into a fit of giggles. "No worries. Honestly, I don't think he minds. He's mentioned before that I'm the lesser of evils compared to Pluto."

"Why do I get the feeling someone's talking about me? Honestly, Some of my teammates are more unhinged than I am. I guess this is what happens when you're one of the few people who joined because they had no real place to go to after declaring self-exile, huh?"

Shiro sighed as he walked down the streets of Obscure, trying to relax after another stressful meeting. Standing next to him was a pair of children who were busy eating a few pieces of candy that the adult had given them. Both had pale skin and light blue eyes, but that's where the similarities ended. One of the children, about 10 years old, was a young girl with pale grey hair with streaks of sky blue. The other child, a male about a year older than the girl and had cropped brown hair with platinum colored bangs. Both of them wore worn out clothes, something often seen within orphans or streetless children in the kingdoms.

"Not many of them are happy being in a room together, huh Shiro?" The girl asked.

Shiro gave a chuckle. "You could say that Hana. You and Mori are lucky you don't have to be anywhere near those guys for a prolonged time," The adult stated, playing around with the chakrams attached to his side.

Mori looked somewhat amused as he bit into another cookie. "Lucky you got me and sis to keep you sane after meetings," the child pointed out.

"Beyond lucky. It's a good thing I get well payed for my missions, otherwise we'd probably lack the snacks to talk over our problems.

Shiro flashed a grin as both Mori and Hana laughed. It made him glad he chose to come to Obscure 7 years ago, taken in by a young woman who was the mother of the two children currently following them. Anzu Hanamora had been kind enough to give him shelter when he left Stratos, and for that the Wind Element warrior would forever be grateful for that act of kindness. When Anzu had fallen ill, the children had been forced onto the streets after her death, he had made it his goal to return that debt in the form of becoming a care taker to them, even with his commitment as a rogue of chaos. It was an act of kinship that made the three bond as family. Even more so than the family he had left behind in Stratos.

"Do you ever miss being in Stratos?" Hana asked, returning Shiro to reality.

"I do honestly. But I don't miss the stress I had being the king's right hand man. It wasn't a grudge against the Queen and her youngest daughter. But the responsiblity of protecting the family got the best of me." Shiro admitted, before giving a small smile. "I'm glad I chose to give myself exile. I wouldn't have met you two if I hadn't."

Hana and Mori beamed with happiness, and Shiro found himself joining the two as they walked down the streets. "You two should be heading home soon. Komana will worry if your are out after dark, and I think she'd freak out if she realized you two were hanging out with the knights of Obscure's court." The wind elemented knight stated.

"Aw, do we have to? You're pretty much family to us," Hana pointed out as she munched on a piece of peanut brittle.

"I'll be here for a few more days till my next mission, so I'll visit you guys again before I leave, I promise."

Both children giggled, and Shiro gave an amused look as the two ran off, leaving him to his thoughts before he sat down on a bench with his own bag of peanut brittle.

"I don't understand your motive with those two children." Shiro looked up with surprise to see Chaos looking at him, a chill running through his spine. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he had a twinge of fear and respect for the strongest warrior of Obscure.

Chaos was the same age as he was, with a muscular built and a height of 6'6" to tower over him by a good 9 inches, and had jet black hair, and blood red eyes. His outfit consisted of a black jacket over a matching t-shirt, a pair of jeans, black sneakers, and a necklace with a wolf's head pendant that hung around his neck. The more noticeable features on the male were a ruthless appearing glare and a scar on his right cheek.

"Their mother took me in when I first came to Obscure. I wanted a place to call myself. Their mother, and they themselves, gave me a reason to keep on going." Shiro explained.

Chaos scoffed at the Stratos native's explanation before giving a laugh. "How ridiculous. There's no such thing as kindness without an ulterior motive. You must have your own reasons for helping them," The Obscure warrior explained, before sending a bit of his magic towards the children.

Shiro's eyes widened, and he quickly produced a wall of wind behind the duo before giving Chaos a glare. "I don't know what your motive is for that, but leave them out of this, or I won't hesitate to take you down myself." The silver haired male growled, his teal eyes blazing with anger.

"Good luck with that then,"

With that said, Chaos gave a scoff before walking away. Shiro gave a sigh as he turned back to the bag of peanut brittle on the bench. "Caspian can have his Obscure warriors, but I'd rather be paired up with Noir any day than someone who tries hurting the people I call family." The Stratos native muttered as he reached to take a bite of the salty sweet snack in his hand.

"Aw, you say that as if you like me Shiro."

Shiro groaned as he spotted Noir making her way toward him, before giving a nod of greetings to her companion. "I swear, you like to mess with me on purpose Noir. You got a new mission for yourself?"

"Me and you. You and I are the bodyguards for Emily here. Caspian's orders."

If anyone inside of Obscure asked, he did not scream out in frustration.

"Princess Platina, you should be taking your responsibilities as a paladin more seriously. Your sister is also a paladin, which means both of you have a lot riding on this role!"

Platina giggled from her hiding spot in a sakura tree as she watched several members of Amour's court search for her, a bag of turkish delight in her hands. Sometimes it was just too easy for the 12 year old paladin to hide from them when the seasons changed. The flowers were in bloom, matching her platinum pink hair and dark pink eyes, the thawing snow allowing her pale skin to blend in with the scenery around her.

"When I don't want to be found, I don't want to be found," Platina stated as she smoothed out the dress she was wearing, her familiar floating alongside her, "I'm not running away from my duties after all Rua."

"I know that Platina. But why not tell the guards that? It might be easier on their duties as members of the castle." The butterfly familiar pointed out, her pink wings matching the flowers around her.

Platina shook her head. "That wouldn't be fun. I may be the youngest Paladin Amour has ever had, but I am more mature than others think. Besides, it's good training for them, don't you think?"

Rua peeked out at the guards walking past their tree for a sixth time before nodding. "I suppose you have a point."

A nod escaped Platina as she sat back into one of the larger branches of the tree before smiling. "Maybe I should tell them it is my thinking tree though. Mother knows it, that's why she allows me to come here. I come here when I have a lot on my mind."

"So you do have a concern over your responsibilities?" Rua asked.

"Well... Not exactly my responsibilities as a Paladin Rua. It's more over how seriously I'll be taken as a Paladin for my age." Platina admitted, before squeezing the green frog plush in her hands, "I don't think they'll expect me to be very good as a paladin. Well, Titania will, since she's my sister. But sometimes being the youngest is a blessing and a curse."

"That is a very good point Princess."

Both familiar and Paladin looked up to see her bodyguard Ruka standing at the base of their tree, the red and brown haired teenage knight slightly amused as she gave the princess a lazy smile.

"Queen Bianca mentioned you had a thinking tree in the past, so I put two and two together. I figured not to say anything as I am your bodyguard and protector, but it as people say. You are a lot more mature for your age." The fairy elemented knight stated as she took a bite of her snack, a sugar apple.

"Just on certain subjects. Mother taught me how to choose my battles when it comes to social problems." Platina returned the smile as she jumped down from the tree, her familiar floating down as well, "I grew up taking responsibility while also having fun."

"An interesting lifestyle. You grew up living within the kingdom's walls, yet you would always sneak away to talk with other people outside in the streets."

"Life is unique lady Ruka. I allowed myself to do as I please cause I like to learn about the world. Life in and out of the castle is very different when you look at it from other's perspectives."

"I suppose you do have a point." Ruka paused as she sat down at the base of the tree, the Amour princess following her actions, "So you're nervous if the paladins will take you seriously then?"

"In a way, yes. I'm the youngest out of all of them, from what our castle's seer said. Arturia said that most of the others are all between 16 and 20 compared to me."

"I wouldn't take it as a bad sign. It just means you have yet to grow up as a mage and a princess. From what your mother, Queen Bianca, told me, your sister Titania was a lot harder to deal with when she was your age."

"Sis doesn't like dressing fancy. That's her problem. I suppose when you have a Queen that likes to design clothing, I can see why she got sick of it. But she grew up a light mage, I grew learning fairy magic." Platina paused as she looked at the charm of fairy around her neck. It looked like a cross between a butterfly and a four-pointed star, with a piece of morganite in the center. the gleaming pinkish-silver metal gleamed in the faint light of the sun above them.

"Well, then I guess time will tell when you discover how you'll grow. Should we head back to the castle? We have quite a bit of practice and packing before we head to Vivia, Princess Platina," Ruka pointed out as she stood up.

Platina gave a nod as she followed suit. "Lead the way."

The noises in Tempora had begun to grow quiet for the night, the sounds of clanging metal and hissing steam reduced to just the sounds of crackling from the simmering fires of the forges dying down. It was the quiet after a busy day, Koto mused, was her favorite part of living and working in the kingdom of metals. The peace that came from the dying fires of a forge comforted her, gave her a calm escape from the burns that she had acquired from some of the swords she had fixed up today.

That was until, the sound of a metal hammer hitting metal cut into the air.

"Koji..." Koto groaned as she looked over at her twin, the male working on some other project in his hands at the moment.

"Sorry about that sis. Wanted to finish up the final touches on this. It's finally just about completed." Koji admitted, gesturing to the object next to him.

Koto looked over at the creation next to the revived forge. It was large, round cylinder of some sort, with several spots that seemed to retract into the inside of it. Attached to those areas were blades that were at an angle, like the bladed umbrellas that she had once seen in Stratos. On the flat surface was a handle, and dozens of pictures were etched on to it. Had she not known those pictures, she probably would've mistaken them for just random markings on it.

"Is that..." Koto asked.

"Yep. I finally finished it after 2 years of working on it. This baby is gonna revolutionize my fighting whenever we end up in combat." Koji grinned as he lifted the contraption of his up, gripping the handle to keep it in his hands. Had it not been for the blades, she probably would've mistaken it for a shield of some sorts.

The sound of fluttering caught both blacksmith's attention, and Koto looked over to see a spotted brown owl perched on the window with a piece of paper on it's leg. "It's Yasa!" the woman exclaimed, quickly grabbing the piece of paper from the owl's claws.

"Father's owl!?" Koji asked, rushing over to his sister's side, "What's it say?"

"Hold on, let me read it..." Koto stated as she read the note, and as she continued into the letter, her face had grown considerably pale. "Koji..."

"What is it sis?" The male twin quickly took the note as before reading it out loud.

Dear Son and Daughter,

It has been so long since I have gotten time to write to you. I have heard of your accomplishments as some of the best blacksmiths in the entirety of Trinity, and I couldn't be more proud of you two. You have grown up so much since your mother's death. Kohaku has recently turned 10 here, and he's proud to hear his older siblings becoming some of the most well known people in our kingdom.

I am writing to you to say that the Queen of Diamante has chosen her Paladin of Stone, and I am surprised to say that you, Koji, have been chosen to become the paladin. As for you Koto, your reputation has not been ignored. You have been chosen to become the traveling blacksmith of the Paladins, your skills with fire, water, and steel turning you into a master forger catching the attention of each king and queen of Trinity. I have been asked to write to you two in order to pass on the order that the queen has told me, and that is to ask for you two to return to Diamante in order to complete the formal ceremony.

I am excited to wait for your return, and to see how well my son and daughter have grown.

With love and regards,

Taki Mikuri

"Oh my god... Koji..." Koto whispered, both trying to figure out their emotions at the revelations of the news.

Then all of Tempora's silence broke.

"Oh my god this is so freaking exciting! Sis, do you know what this means!?" Koji asked as he tackled his sister into a hug.

"I do. Koji, I'm not sure how to deal with all these exciting feelings I'm feeling." Koto admitted, and her twin grinned.

"The only way we usually do. Celebrate!"

Koto chuckled. She knew this was coming. "Alright, one box of cookies. But that's all. We got a long trip ahead of us tomorrow."

"YES! COOKIE PARTY!"

If anyone asks, yes I do like messing with Shiro. Because he's one of my favorite OCs to mess with! ^^

*Chuckles* Yes, Koji celebrates with a box of cookies everytime he gets big news. I'm sorta the same way, only with a bag of chips and soda. A quick fact though. Originally when I was thinking on which twin to become the paladin of stone, I wanted to choose Koto. But then I realized that Koji is a better choice because he's more of a combat person than a sit back and watch person, where as with Koto it was reversed. The the idea for his weapon came up... :D

Did you notice that one of my non-important OCs from TSAT was in this chapter? I planned for Ruka to have more of a role in this story, as she kinda reminds me of myself in a way. The apple she was snacking on is a real type of fruit too, I looked this up. From what the description says about it, people who have eaten the sugar apple say it tastes like a sweet custard (To which I'm curious to try it now.)

Emily Evans Belongs to SilverSwirls, and Chaos belongs to Nightlingale.

Hey, you guys figure out the meaning of this week's chapter title? It's referencing something between two kingdoms, and it's a type of art style. First one to figure it out, gets a preview of Chapter 5. Also, here's my question of the chapter for ya. What do you think Koji's weapon is?

That's it for this chapter. Until next update, this is Warrior signing out! See ya on the other side of the Nexus!