Author's Note: Sorry for the wait! I have a good reason... No, I don't. I wrote the first 300 words or so on paper, and wanted to grab that paper before I wrote the chapter on Google Docs. However, I am very lazy and didn't feel like looking for the paper, so I didn't realy start writing this until two days ago. Two days ago... which was just over 2 weeks after I published the last chapter. So this is a few days overdue. But it's out, and I hope you enjoy it. I'll go back and revise the last chapter after this, though I won't really change any plot relevant things so don't worry about it. Just some grammar/formatting and minor sentence corrections/additions. Enjoy!


The first thing Robin did was split the group in two. The first group included Kaze, who would go with Subaki to the left toward the chests, since the Pegasus knight had the highest movement range of those who would fight. The enemies near the containers didn't appear to be particularly strong, but were still large in number. As a precaution, and because every group should have with it a healer, Sakura would thus also go with them. Small cuts and bruises were easy to shake off, but enough cuts could slow someone down just so that their reaction time was delayed by a second, which could mean the difference between kicking the enemy down and losing a finger. Hana was there to round off to an even four, and because she had the best chemistry with Sakura at the moment. Later on Robin would work on pairing up people who had little experience fighting with each other, but for now it was best to stick to what worked. At least, until he saw how good his newcomers were.

Hana also rounded off their weapon types. Subaki used a naginata, Kaze shuriken, and Hana herself a katana, so the group had three different pieces of equipment to use. It could be considered two types, because naginata and shuriken were on the same branch of the weapon triangle (and since when were bows and tomes part of the weapon triangle? They surely weren't back in Arit), but the range granted by the shuriken put it in another category as far as Robin was concerned. For the moment, anyway.

The grouping was also completely Hoshidan, which would hopefully make the members of the wind tribe hesitate at least slightly in their attacks. One Nohrian was enough to change the minds of the tribalists. As such, Jakob, Corrin, Robin, Azura, and Rinkah formed the other group. The first three were visually foreign, which Robin could do nothing to change, while Azura was known to not be Hoshidan, so any reservations the wind tribe might have had about them were erased on the basis of point of origin. Rinkah was just the left over. Though…

"Rinkah! Go with Kaze's group!" That would probably make things a bit more even. Hana would have her hands full protecting Sakura, and Rinkah could complete the triangle. It also meant each group had 4 fighters, since Sakura really didn't count. Unless she secretly had pure muscle hidden underneath those sleeves, Robin doubted she'd be able to do much more than annoy someone by whacking them over the head with her festal if it came to it. Or possibly daze them. That could be a good strategy. Not only would the blow to the head throw them off, but seeing such a timid, dainty girl slam them with all her might would probably make the enemy stop out of pure confusion. And maybe draw the eyes of everyone around…

...But that wasn't certain, and as funny as it would be, Robin didn't want to risk it. He'd just have to wait until the next battle or so, when they'd hopefully have enough people that he could execute his plan with an extra member for backup just in case it didn't work out.

Which brought him to his current "dilemma" of sorts. He lacked an extra member because of his planning Gunter out of the battle. As powerful as the old man was, he really wasn't worth using at all. Because he wasn't just old, he was old. He could pass for Robin's grandfather for crying out loud! Or Gerome's. They had a pretty similar hairstyle going on there, and both had the habit of straightening up their backs and puffing out their chests in a servant sort of way.

Though Rosanne and House Virion must have been gone for a good portion of Gerome's life, Cherche must have instilled at least some of her values and servant-ly ways on the kid. He did follow Inigo and Lucina (but mostly Inigo) as though he was waiting for them to ask him something at all times. Really, he should have been following Kjelle. Cherche did serve Virion, and Gerome as her son would thus serve Virion's daughter by proxy, but he chose to hang with different nobles, for whatever reason. Maybe it was just by how needy they were. Virion, though possessing the capability to be serious, liked being over dramatic and to beg for whatever it was he felt like at the time. Kjelle had inherited Sully's no-nonsense, "I can do whatever the hell you throw at me without your help" sort of personality, so she didn't require much assistance at all. At least, that was what she showed in front of Robin. Maybe she was different when not in his presence. Most of the children tried to put on a brave face in front of their parents, and their parents' friends after all.

Inigo on the other hand… was a bit more like Virion than Virion's actual kid. Or maybe sort of the opposite. He had that womanizing personality down, but in a different sort of way. He was more genuine, though that didn't properly describe it. He seemed to be serious with his compliments. Inigo also seemed a lot more lonely. Maybe that was why Gerome always hung around him. Kjelle had her own friend group with Cynthia, Nah, and the others, but Inigo didn't really have anyone to be with most of the time, other than the women he was always asking out to tea. Owain liked to do things with the dancer, but was also a pretty sociable person himself and was always off with someone or another trying to complete his latest quest. Gerome tended to fill that spot then, even when he seemed about ready to slap Inigo upside the head for whatever stunt Inigo pulled or dragged him into.

That… wasn't really relevant though. He was doing that a lot lately. Getting nostalgic. Did people who actually had memories get lost in them as often as he seemed to be? He had a good three years to go by, and had never really experienced significant change. Every once in a while, during peace time, he would get kind of nostalgic thinking about the war with Plegia (which was kind of odd, now that he thought about it. Who misses war? Maybe it was because it was the first thing he could really remember. He woke up, fought in Southtown, joined the Shepherds, fought some more, and went to war. Fighting was more familiar than not doing so, even if he had spent a whole two years out of his less than four living in peace). Not as often as he was doing now though… he would just have to work on concentration. That would solve things! A new land meant new things to think about. Maybe he was getting caught up in old ideas now because he was always so busy with new things when not in battle. He was much more used to fighting than the astral plane and the aspects of Canta, so relaxing might have just been easier doing what he was at the moment.

"Robin, are you sure we shouldn't call back Gunter to even out the numbers? This battle doesn't look easy, and I'm not sure if we can win without him. He's probably the strongest one here, and has the most battle experience," Corrin asked. She walked over to Robin and gestured to the entrance to the maze, where the knight was currently standing guard. Robin resisted the urge to roll his eyes. At least Corrin was thinking logically. And it wasn't as though she could have known how good the tactician was himself. He was supposedly an amnesiac, and certainly wasn't showing off what he could at the moment. Plus, she was probably right. Gunter was the physically strongest out of the Cantan group (minus Corrin, who if given a weapon of the same caliber could probably do just as much if not more damage than the old man. She was just doing less because divine weapon or not, the Yato wasn't all that strong when compared to the gear Gunter held), and certainly had the most defense, but failed in other areas. He'd have to have a talk with the girl about the importance of considering speed, skill, and other good points later. She was improving remarkably quickly, though. It was nice to have such a fast learner at his side. For now, he needed to concentrate on the battle at hand.

"Trust me on this. Right now, we need to make sure no reinforcements arrive from the front of the castle," 'which they won't' "and Gunter is the best man to do that. You also have to consider the current situation with the wind. We as people have hands and thumbs with good grip. If the winds were to blow us off one platform, we could grip the other and keep from falling. We're also fairly light. Chances are, if what Kaze said is correct, the winds will lift us from one end to the other, no problem. I'm not so sure about what will happen with an armored horse. From what I've seen so far, Hoshidans don't wear nearly as much armor as Nohrians, and don't have horses either.

"Subaki would be fine even if the winds couldn't fully support him and his mount, because pegasi can fly and lift him back onto the platform in case he fell. A plain old wingless horse on the other hand… There's sand down there, and not only would a fall really hurt it, but it might begin to sink in, and I really don't want to think about how hard it would be to move a horse, stuck in sand, with a broken leg. Plus, Gunter might get dragged down with it and I don't think he would be happy with us letting him get crushed by his own horse. You get what I'm saying, right?" Robin finished.

Corrin nodded fiercely, and walked back over to Jakob and Azura to talk a few things over with the two.

If it weren't for the fact that Kaze seemed to be an honest man, Robin would have called the whole thing bogus. Winds that can push only the enemy, evenly through air, over 60 meters, and always managed to land the people on the platforms? What kind of unrealistic, silly design was that? The whole thing about Subaki and the safety granted by his pegasus was complete nonsense Robin had pulled together to justify not bringing Gunter.

The elderly knight was just too old to use. It would only be a matter of weeks, or even days, before all the others passed him up. Even if he did improve a little, it was doubtful that the servant would get better at a faster rate than the younger members of Corrin's army. It was already obvious from what had gone on in the few days since Robin met Corrin, Jakob, and Azura that they were rocketing up in skill level. Gunter was just average. And that was a reaching compliment. Right now, the others needed the experience from the battle, and Robin was sure the group would do just fine without him. The tactician was actually kind of hurt by Corrin's comment. Didn't she have any confidence in him?

'I mean, come on! Think of how well we did at Fort Jinya for Naga's sake! I'm not completely incompetent…' Robin thought. It was kind of depressing. Running an entire army might have taken a ton of work, more so than he would have liked on several occasions, but it was nice to have people who believed in him. Thinking about it was seriously bumming him out, and all the reminiscing combined with having to explain such a simple concept was making his head hurt. Was it that hard to wrap your head around something so simple? To trust a guy?

Sending Kaze's group left, Robin joined the three who had stood over him when he woke up in the new land he found himself in. Jakob could heal and attack from afar, Corrin could power through whatever headed at her, Robin would handle whatever came his way, and Azura rounded them out as support.

The plan was simple. Eliminate everyone in sight, get the treasures, and meet up at the bridge to where Fuga stood. Or rather, not eliminate. Incapacitate would be a better term. Corrin was adamant about not killing anyone. Robin doubted they'd make it the whole war without taking a single life, but he'd do his best to respect her wishes for the moment. The members of the wind tribe seemed reasonable enough. If Corrin's army managed to get a hold of their scrolls and chuck them down into the sand below, they'd probably remove themselves from the battle. Robin had also stocked each member with vulneraries in case they did something that would require immediate healing as to prevent someone from bleeding out. The shop in Fort Corrin was pretty well stocked.

And speaking of which, what was up with that? Why was there a shop in the astral plane that the army members had to pay for? Even if you completely ignored however it was that Lilith managed to stock the store, where did the money go? It's not like Lilith could just leave and go buy herself dragon kibble with it. Really, there were so many things wrong with the situation that Robin could speak for a day straight and not finish. It was probably best to just leave it alone.

"Well then, I'll be off. So try to keep up Hana, we wouldn't want to disappoint Lady Sakura," Subaki chuckled, flying away with Kaze. The ninja was sitting straight up on Subaki's pegasus, not touching the other man in the slightest despite the fact that his current position wasn't the most stable. Then again, Kaze did have very sharp blades on the insides of his sleeves, so he would end up ripping the red head's clothing to pieces if he held on. But the pegasus was getting poked with the way Kaze was gripping it, and the ninja noticed. Fixing himself, he crossed his arms as to not slice the flying creature. However, this meant the ninja was much less balanced, so he visibly clutched the flying beast tighter with his legs. The Pegasus whinnied out of pain and drew the attention of nearby enemies, who finally got into combat positions.

"H-hey! No fair, Subaki! What if Lady Sakura gets hurt because you aren't there to protect her! And wait up! You got a head start!" Hana wailed, chasing after Subaki and slicing through everyone in her path. Sakura stayed a few feet behind the samurai, and Rinkah a few behind the princess. They seemed to be working out fairly well, and Robin began ordering his group to move out.

"Corrin, you take the front. Jakob, stay right at her back, just far enough away that the Yato can't take a chunk out of you. Azura, spear anyone who comes in from the sides and sing for Jakob whenever you have the chance. I'll take the rear. Does that sound good, Corrin?" Robin directed at the girl.

"Me? Oh, uh, yeah. But why do you want to know what I think? I mean, you're the tactician. I'm fine with listening to what you say."

"Because this is your army, not mine. One day we may end up separated, and our troops will need someone to take up the lead. I'm not going to be around forever, so you'll have to pick up where I left off. This is just a little taste. I'll let you direct where we go today, and will just correct the little things I think could go a smidge better." Robin responded.

It wasn't all that big of a risk putting her in charge, anyway. They were on a relatively one way path, and he had already given them just about all the direction they needed. Robin's words would hopefully also inspire Corrin and Azura to think for themselves. He would have addressed them more directly, but both would have shrugged his words off. Jakob would insist that it was Corrin who would lead, and that he would simply stay by her side the entire time; Azura would likely give some short self deprecating statement and also pass off the position to Corrin.

"What do you mean by that? Are you planning on leaving us soon or something?" Corrin asked, curious.

An oni savage raised his club to attack the her, having been alerted by the cries of Subaki's pegasus, but Jakob threw a dagger at the man's unprotected stomach, it piercing him. Slowed, the shirtless man paused long enough for Corrin to kick him to the floor. Azura then hit the man in the temple with the end of her naginata, and their opponent stopped moving.

Robin picked up the motionless man's club. "No, not necessarily. But I one day want to go back home. And chances are, that's not somewhere close. I obviously don't fit in with the Hoshidans, and from Jakob's words I don't match any Nohrian region he's heard of. My homeland is probably a ways away from here, and if I returned I wouldn't be able to help you anymore. So that's why. I plan on sticking with you until the end of this war, but will take my leave after. If any battles or fights pick up after my departure, I'm counting on you to lead your old troops to victory." Robin then tossed the club down into the sand below, and checked the tribalist for any other weapons, of which he had none.

Realistically… He knew where his home was, and that it was far enough away that it would be impossible to even get in touch with Corrin if he went back. He was from another world, and though he had traveled through the Outrealm Gate a few times before, it wasn't as if he could come and go as he pleased. Naga had granted him passage to fight for the children in what Chrom had deemed "the Future Past" in hopes that that future would never come again. He couldn't just power his own interdimensional travel. But if that was so… would he ever be able to get back to Arit in the first place?

"Aaaaah~" Azura sang, suddenly in front of Robin.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"You looked… off, and threw that club, really, really far away, which must have taken some considerable effort. Your seem… uncomfortable, or tired or something. I figured singing would put you a little more on your game," she answered.

"Oh. Thanks. Now Corrin, what next?" Robin asked, stepping past the blue girl haired in front of him. She was right, he wasn't feeling the best at that moment. Discomfort wasn't quite the word for it but… it would suffice.

"Onwards! There's someone just ahead. We'll run up to him as fast as we can, and then all go. Um… He looks like a mage, so it's probably best if… Jakob hits first. He has range. Oh, maybe the four of us can box him in; then we won't have to worry about range, right?" Corrin shouted, pointing Yato straight out in front of her.

The wind was whipping through her hair, and she looked as though she belonged in an adventure play. Silver armor glinting, cape billowing, head held high, and sword out, she was the perfect representation of a child's dream idol. The sand dunes weren't all that interesting, and paled in comparison to the castles that most stories took place in, but it added better effects. Because despite what many novels said, armor did not actually tend to shine during indoor battles. Candlelight was quite poor unless there were lanterns or chandeliers everywhere, and even large windows did not let enough light on to create the same kind of shine brought on by the midday sun reflecting both directly onto, and indirectly off the sand back onto Corrin's armor.

"Ah yes. Good strategy. But may I add a small revision?" Robin asked, smirking.

"Totally!"

"I think, and just remember this is only a suggestion, that we should wait at the edge of the bridge rather than making our way all the way over to where the diviner is standing." From what Robin understood, mages and diviners were different, and he hoped she caught on.

"But why? Shouldn't we be trying to get to Fuga as fast as possible?"

"Yes, and this will help us do it. Think. What is it about this region that's molded our current strategy? How is it unique?" Robin suggested, hoping Corrin would catch on to his implication.

"... The wind! The diviner's standing in it…" she realized, bringing a hand to her chin as a thoughtful look rested on her face.

"Exactly. Going straight to attack the diviner would prevent us from taking some damage, yes, but the wind would push us back to where we started, which is what we don't want. As you said, we should be trying to get to Fuga as fast as possible. We can take a small hit in exchange for not having to work back to our current position."

Corrin took Robin's words in mind, and sent Jakob first, putting herself directly behind the butler. She only directed him partway as Robin suggested, and he smiled. With a small correction, Robin moved Corrin far enough back as to not be in the enemy's scroll range, and pushed the unconscious oni savage next to Jakob so the diviner wouldn't be able to pass either to get to the rest of them. If the diviner attempted to walk over his friend, which he probably wouldn't do, Jakob could just grab him or stick a dagger in his neck. Which wasn't the plan, since they were aiming to be as bloodless as possible, but the members of the wind tribe didn't need to know that.

Corrin agreed, and they set up. Sure enough, the diviner went for Jakob, who got in two daggers before the winds suddenly shifted. When walking through the wind that ended up blowing them back, green or brown tinge was visible in the air. Now the tinge surrounded them, signalling they would be pushed if they didn't move quickly. Jakob took a step further away from the group, finishing their opponent. Azura went behind him, sang her usual tune, and he moved again. Corrin followed her servant out of the wind, but her fellow princess wasn't moving any longer. She stayed where she was, hair and dress getting thrown about.

'Oh come on Azura. Just take two steps and you'll be out of the wind! Do you want to get carried away!? I mean, I know this wind is pointing forward and not back, but we really shouldn't be separated,' Robin cursed. He grabbed Azura by the arm, and attempted to drag her out of the wind. Unfortunately for them, the wind activated much faster than the other one, and moved them both a platform up, away from Corrin and Jakob who called out for the two.

It was an odd feeling, getting moved horizontally through the air. He had moved vertically through the air before, when he was riding with Sumia and her pegasus had taken an arrow to the wing, causing them to both plummet to the ground. They were close enough to a cliff that the pegasus itself landed only a few feet from where it had fallen, but Robin and Sumia had been thrown back as they fell. Cordelia rushed over and caught her sister in arms, but Robin wasn't so lucky. He crashed down, hitting his head hard on the rocky ground below. A few minutes later he woke up, Maribelle overhead. His head was pounding, and he felt as though his arm had just been healed from a fracture, but continued on anyway. He was the tactician, and couldn't let the Shepherds be hurt just because he wasn't feeling like he could fly over a rainbow. Of course, once they got back to the barracks Libra bluntly declared him as having a concussion and banned him from doing anything but sitting or lying down for the next two days. But it wasn't all that bad. The most frustrating thing wasn't his injuries, but the fact that he wasn't even allowed to read, in worries of him "rehurting his banged up noggin" as Lissa had cheerfully put it when Chrom came in to check in on his second in command.

"Damn it… Azura, go for the bridge to our left. Corrin and Jakob will hopefully have the insight to push through the enemies to get to us, so we should be able to meet up there. I'll take care of the enemies to our back, since there seem to be more," Robin ordered, pushing the girl in front of him.

She always seemed overly winded after she sang, and Robin was worried that it was more than just a result of poor endurance. If he ever had guarantee of no battles, the army would definitely be running some laps around Fort Corrin to keep this from happening again. But Azura… they would have to have a talk later. Something was certainly wrong, and Robin needed to know about it lest the group suffer from her secrecy.

"But what about the men in front of us? I can fight, but I don't know if I can take them on. My defense is… less than acceptable, I know." Azura said, moving toward the men nonetheless.

"Yes it is, and that is why you will be going for the diviner, and not the big man with the club. You've got some great resistance to make up for your lack of defense, so we should be safe there. Corrin on the other hand has such poor resistance that she gives me a heart attack whenever she tries to attack someone with magic, so I'm just praying she takes care of the brute for us, rather than the guy you should be going after. And don't worry. Worst comes to worse my coat is stuffed to the brim with vulneraries and a concoction, and I can blast the tribalist with lightning if it comes to it. You just concentrate on defeating the diviner. Go!"

The aforementioned diviner had already locked on to Azura, and was summoning up his spirit beast, sending it running at her. Robin could hear someone coming up behind him, and saw a young man dressed in blue holding up a sparkling scroll.

'Damn it. I don't have time for this! So much for letting the others get good fighting experience. Sorry kid, but I can't let the others lose because I let you by…!' Robin then sent a lightning bolt straight at the boy, hurtling the kid back into the man following him. Both were knocked to the ground, the boy not moving, and the other enemy panicking. The conscious man then pulled out a vulnerary and began dragging his partner away from Robin, effectively blocking the way and stopping anyone from getting past him to where Robin and Azura were. 'Oops. I didn't mean to put that much power into the spell… Uh. That kid is a lot younger than anyone else on this battlefield, so he's got to be important. Is he Fuga's nephew or something? Ugh. He is going to be so mad at me… I hope this doesn't kill our chance of friendly relations.'

Azura let out a small cry as she and the diviner's spell colided, drawing Robin's attention back to the girl. She didn't falter, however, running through the trails of sparks and magic left by the magic beast that had hit her to attack its caster. The princess lifted her naginata over her head, bringing it down with a twirl, sweeping through the man in front of her. She then lunged out again, stabbing forward and hitting her opponent in the arm. He dropped his scroll, holding his bleeding arm, and when Azura took another step forward, held his good arm up in surrender. Azura then used her weapon to flick the scroll down to the sands below, and turned to Robin, looking for approval.

It was obvious she felt bad for what she had done, but Robin gave her a thumbs up anyway. She was better than he had expected, steeling herself when it became necessary, and Robin was proud. The diviner, in the other hand, looked absolutely confused and slightly offended. Someone had just come close to slicing his forearm off, and that someone's companion was giving them a thumbs up for it? It was a bit odd, but Robin was really happy and full of pride after Azura's victory, so hurting anyone else's pride aside he just had to.

"Kyagh!" Corrin screamed, slamming Yato into the enemy that separated her from Robin and Azura. The man was pushed back by the action, teetering toward the edge, and Corrin set her face in a victorious expression. She had just reached her companions! Except... She didn't just kind of gently push the oni savage toward the edge of the bridge. She had hit the man so hard that he was literally thrown off the edge, into open air.

The man screamed, and the four warriors of Corrin's jaws dropped. They were trying not to kill anybody, but the man was already injured and about to plummet into the sand. Corrin moved to grab the man, but Jakob gripped her arm and pulled his mistress close to his body. A look of guilt crossed Corrin's face, and Azura put a hand to her mouth.

They all let out sighs of relief, however, when the wind activated and flung the man back toward a previous platform.

"Yaaaaarggggg!" he screamed, rolling over on the platform he hit face first, before stopping in a heap. He put out a hand to get up, but then fell back down in a crumpled heap, letting out a little "Oomph."

Robin's companions then let out a few words about how they were relieved he didn't fall, and of their wonder at whether or not he would be okay, but the tactician himself doubled over laughing.

Azura shot him a look of disapproval, clearly not appreciating his laughter at someone else's (totally hilarious) injury. Jakob just pulled back as if he was questioning Robin's sanity, and Corrin just looked confused.

"That was… interesting. Well, since he didn't fall, shouldn't we get going? Kaze should be finishing up soon, shouldn't he?" the white haired girl suggested.

Robin collected himself and nodded silently, not trusting in his ability to keep from laughing again if he opened his mouth. He could see the other group in the distance, and they looked to be doing just fine.

There were several tribalists sitting in a circle, and the ones facing Robin all had frowns on. One had his head in his hands, and none of them were armed, obviously having been defeated and having accepted it. There was one chest on a platform to the left of where the full group had originally started already opened, and one to the left of where Robin stood the same. Subaki was currently holding off two men aiming to attack Kaze, who was opening a third. Rinkah jumped up and brought her club down on the head of one of them, and Subaki dealt a final blow to the second, who fell to the ground just after his companion. Sakura was placed safely in a corner of the platform, festal up as she healed Hana who was still on the lookout for any enemies that might pop up to attack the two while Sakura was distracted.

Corrin's group moved up, and quickly defeated the wind tribe members on the platform ahead. Waiting momentarily for Kaze and crew to catch up, Robin felt a magic blast blow past his head. He simply turned, unalarmed, while his 3 allies dropped into combat stances. On the bridge leading to Fuga was the young boy from earlier, bandaged and furious.

"You sure are persistent, aren't you?" Robin chuckled, crossing his arms as he addressed the boy. "You know, you really remind me of someone else I know, who was also stubborn and itching to prove himself. He used magic, too. You're not the same of course. You look a little more mature without that giant, goofy hat."

The tribalist paused, confused, before lifting up his scroll.

"I don't know who you're talking about, but I'm not going to let you win, you jerk! And what do you mean a little more mature. I'm very mature! I'm not some sniveling kid, y'know! And I'll prove it!" the boy yelled, letting his scroll loose and sending a beast at Robin. Azura attempted to cleave it in two with her naginata, but it did little other than blur the image of the spell. Unlike the tomes that Robin was used to, these scroll beasts didn't seem to damage anything other than flesh. If you fired a tome's wind spell at a naginata (or rather a spear, since Robin had never seen a naginata before his arrival in Canta), it would be blown back and possibly snapped in two provided the spell was strong enough. The spells of scrolls on the other hand completely ignored the weapon and brushed by toward Robin, who was standing still. Tomes did at least slightly ignore physical objects, as the heavy armor of generals did not protect them from spells in the slightest (though that may have been because of the material they were made of. Miriel hypothesized that metal altered magical effects, which was part of the reasons mages wore cloth, but had yet to completely confirm it), but scrolls were on a different level.

The boy was still panting, obviously injured from Robin's earlier attack, and his spell wouldn't do much. Corrin however, ever the hero, decided to jump in front of the tactician, attempting to shield him with her own body. Had Robin's arms not been crossed and had he had the time, Robin would have face palmed. But he didn't, so he merely sighed as Corrin got herself injured and Jakob charged at the boy, enraged. He staggered from the dagger hits, and dropped to a knee. The tribalist raised his scroll once more to let out another attack, but wasn't fast enough. Planted firmly on Subaki's pegasus, Kaze threw a shuriken straight at the magic casting item and hit it dead on. The scroll was a knocked from the boy's grasp, and joined many others in the sand below.

"What? No! You can't!" The boy said, tearing up slightly. He seemed to notice it right away, and promptly and furiously wiped the water away with his sleeve. Getting back up, he attempted to run to where Fuga stood. But Kaze stood in his path, having hopped off Subaki's mount while the boy spoke. The diviner grunted in frustration, and then sat down, hands on his cheeks as he glared at the group.

Robin smiled sweetly as he passed, getting a kick out of how hard the kid had tried to stop them. He was similar to Ricken, for sure, but was determined to prove himself in a different way. This one had a little more teen angst mixed into his stubborn nature. But the two looked alike, so regardless of similarities in terms of personality, they had their appearances to speak for connection.

Rinkah and Hana met up with the rest of the group right after, and they moved toward the last remaining wind tribe troops. Quickly defeating everyone else on the final platform, Robin and Corrin moved in front of Fuga, who was standing strong.

"You may have been victorious so far," the tall man began, initiating conversation, "but let us see how you fare against my strength. The final test begins!"

Raising his club, he threw it at Corrin, who rolled out of the way. Rinkah grunted as she jumped up to attack Fuga, but was promptly swatted away by the man as he pulled a naginata off his back. Though Rinkah had said the wind tribe sub-specialized in katana, the man had clearly gone to further arm himself with the third member of the main Hoshidan weapon triangle while Corrin's group prepared, and was quite adept at using it.

Both Kaze and Jakob threw their respective ranged weapons at the leader of the wind tribe, but they did minimal, if any, damage. Subaki then swooped down, batting Fuga's naginata away with his own. While the old man was distracted, Hana moved in, delivering a powerful blow to the man's unprotected back. He let out a small noise, throwing Subaki off and moving to slice Hana with the katana he had grabbed from his side, but Corrin had gotten up and blocked the blade. Rinakh had also recovered thanks to a quick song from Azura, and swung her club at Fuga's head. She stopped just before his temple, holding the weapon still.

Everyone froze, and Fuga let out a small chuckle.

"It seems you have bested me. Though I do think eight on one is a bit unfair, victory is yours. I yield."

'...Technically it was seven on one, since I didn't actually do anything. And are we really counting Azura? She didn't actually try to hit you. I mean, she did help Rinkah deal the final not-blow, but still.'

Sakura moved to heal Fuga's back, and the man accepted with a polite nod and a few words of thanks. Jakob then began to heal Corrin, who had downed a vulnerary after blocking the spell aimed at Robin, but was still injured. The others stood silently, waiting as members of the wind tribe and Gunter began filtering onto the platform from the bridge, slightly nervous.

Rinkah chose that moment to break her silence.

"So, are you gonna apologize to my dad about this? You slandered the name of our tribe. We of the fire tribe have pride, and I would never turn traitor! I'm strong too, Wind Tribe Leader Fuga," she spat.

Fuga raised his eyebrows at her words, and gave his reply.

"Yes, I will. I do apologize for my assumptions. And I certainly won't doubt your strength again. After all, it was you who put in the final action that brought my defeat. Congratulations, Rinkah of the Fire Tribe. I am confident my brethren of the flames will prosper once you take lead."

"Hmph!" Rinkah scoffed and walked away, but Robin could tell she was blushing at the praise.

Fuga then looked at Robin, as if to say 'Of course, it was an equal effort and simply chance that she was the one to finish me, but I'll grant her the pride nonetheless,' and Robin smiled back.

Corrin then stepped forward, Jakob having finished healing her.

"So, will you listen to us now? We aren't making this all up. We just can't explain it all yet." She had a sincere expression, and Fuga let out a breath.

"Of course. From our battle, I could tell you have the pure, honest spirit of a warrior. Though I do not fully understand what prevents you from revealing your reasons, I believe they are for the greater good. You remind me of Sumeragi, in our younger days, with that determination and nature," he explained.

"Father was like that, too?" Sakura said quietly, barely loud enough to hear over the winds which still blew over the desert.

"All that and more, child. Your father was my brother in arms, and we went on many an adventure together. He was a monster in battle, but not inhumane. His power was unmatched, as was his kindness and give for forgiveness. He was so close to his blade, the Raijinto, and I can see now why Corrin wields the Yato. A divine weapon for a person well worthy of wielding it."

Sakura's eyes were sparkling, from tears and joy alike, and Azura hugged her. The girl leaned into the older woman's touch, and Corrin spoke up once more.

"You know of the Yato?"

"Of course. Not only is it a weapon of legend, but Sumeragi spoke of it a few times. It is said to be the key to the Seal of Flames; a key to limitless power which is rumoured to be strong enough to slay even the mighty gods that brought it into being."

"Wait really?! Then Azura, do you think we could…?" Corrin looked to Azura, waiting for a response.

Azura then joined Sakura in her tears, mouth momentarily opened and quickly shut, nodding slowly and looking as though a tremendous weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

"This is all I know of the subject though," Fuga continued, "and so if you wish to learn more you must seek out another. The Archduke of Izumo is said to be a descendant of the gods themselves, and I am sure he is more informed than I am. Seek him out, and I am sure you will find the answers you are looking for."

"Thank you, Fuga," Azura said, collecting herself. "I hope that you can explain our actions to your tribe, but we must be off now. It is imperative that we reach Izumo as soon as possible."

Fuga then waved, and Corrin's group started on their way. They were stopped, however, by the voice of a boy.

"Wait! Don't go just yet. I must accompany you. You may encounter more opposition on your way there, and I know my presence will be a great aid to you. Chieftain Fuga, may I accompany Corrin and her group on the rest of their journey? You surely saw how greatly I defended your position during their attack."

'How greatly…? You were defeated twice, kid! But we could really use a mage. Please say yes, Fuga. Please say yes.'

"I'm sure you will be a great help, Hayato. Just promise me you will be careful, all right?" Fuga said, ruffling the young diviner's hair.

Hayato grumbled about not being a kid, and how he was too old to get his hair ruffled, and that Fuga didn't need to tell him to be careful, and whatnot, and the old men let out a bellowing laugh.

Corrin and Azura thanked Fuga once again for the information, and she and her companions set out for Izumo (which they were going to anyway, but who cared. Someone new had told them to go, after all).

They stopped however, at one final voice calling out to them.

"I wish you luck, good sirs and mams, on your journey ahead!" it cheered, causing Robin to turn.

One of the men getting healed had shot up to say his words, and with a step forward he tripped on a stone lodged out of the path in the fighting and slammed into the floor. It was the same man who Corrin had knocked off the platform and was carried by the wind, faceplanting into the platform he had landed on.

"Bwahahahahahahahahahah! Ahahahhahahahah!" Robin burst out, falling to the floor once again.

"Robin! That's rude!" Azura scolded, horrified.

"Oh come on! It isn't even that funny!" Jakob cried, throwing up his hands in frustration.

"Ahahahhhahahahah!" Robin continued. It was like Sumia, but funnier. And he just couldn't help himself.

'Man, I wonder if Izumo is going to be as fun as this,' Robin thought, wiping a year from his eye while laughing so hard the tribalists were starting to back away.

Gunter joined them, and the group walked off, leaving Robin with one hand on the ground laughing so hard even Fuga looked concerned.

He could join them later. For now, he was going to finish his laugh about the good fun of someone injuring themself and breaking their own nose because of it.


Author's Note: There it is! I hope you liked it. I wrote it all in the last three days. Except the first part, but I didn't actually take that word for word. Actually, I only glanced at it and made it three times as long as the paper version, so there was no reason to wait for the paper to write... On another note, I listen to really random things while I write, but for a while I was listening to TPR's World of Ruin: Melancholy Music From Final Fantasy VI, which I realy recommend you check out. All of TPR's stuff is amazing, really. Also, if you haven't checked out my profile you probably don't know, but I'm the biggest FF fan. I've played many of the games (though I'm still working on finishing them all), have some merchandise, and even went to a special FF symphony. Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the FF series, was there! It was amazing. Though this is a different fandom, so I'll shut up about that. But yeah, you should check out TPR. Maybe not actually watch the video, as it includes footage from FFVI, but just listen to it in the background. Until next time.

Oh! And man was writing this chapter hard just based on the fact that I kept writing "Fuma" instead of "Fuga." You see, there's this manga I love called X (aka X/1999), and one of the main characters is named Fuma (or Fuuma. so I also keep writing Fuuga). The main character is actually named Kamui, too. You guys should check that out too. I recommend you read Tokyo Babylon first, but it isn't required. I'm actually scanlating all of the Tokyo Babylon manga, since the current scans suck. I've finished the first two volumes so far... I have way too many projects for the amount of free time I have in my life.

Originally published September 18, 2016.

Eruran out.