Deliverer of Birthright

by romeoraiden

My First Story. Two Nations. One desperate enough to bring a terrible war, the other more concern for themselves, and at the center, a sheltered Princess is forced to make difficult choices for the good of all. In her quest to do what's right many will stand with her and many more will oppose, throwing her in a state of despair. And from the chaos a Fallen Hero will rise again.

6. Chapter 6: A Tragic Start

Chapter 6: A Tragic Start

Eight hours after the fight in Fort Jinya, Corrin set out to find Ryoma, alongside Takumi, Sakura, their respective retainers, Azura, Saizo, Orochi, Reina and Rinkah, marching southeast of Hoshido and into the borders where the High Prince was last seen, near the Kingdom of Izumo. Most of them were against Sakura coming along for this treacherous journey, Mikoto included, however they youngest Princess was adamant on wanting to help find her missing big brother and despite her shy nature, she can be surprisingly stubborn, something few of them assume she inherited from spending too much time with Takumi, who's always made more time for her unlike Ryoma who's always keeping busy with his troops and keeping the borders secure but still tried his best to make time for them, and Hinoka who's always been fixated on rescuing Corrin, unintentionally ignoring her younger siblings. Strange how said High Princess hasn't made it her personal mission to be as overbearing with Corrin as possible now that she's back but she's a warrior at heart before anything else and is now out there keeping her people safe from the Grimm.

Right now the rescue team are making their way through a forest of cherry blossom trees, something Hoshido is famous for having more than one forest like this, as they make their way to the region in the south of Hoshido at the coast where Izumo lies. Saizo and Kaze were asked to go ahead of the group by Robin to scout for danger while Subaki and Reina do the same from the air.

"So, level with me, this Stairway we're heading towards, it's not really eternal, is it?" Corrin asked Robin as they travel while she is already sweating and panting after walking for two and a half hours. For such an amazing fighter, she is actually really out of shape, unlike Robin and the rest of the group, someone never ran laps during her training to be a general of her adoptive nation. Though she's in better shape than Sakura and Azura, the little princess will soon need to be carried by someone, no doubt the ever present Hana who will happily give her a piggyback ride, while the other former Princess of Nohr, is sweating the most of the three. How much water did the girl drink to be that sweaty? She's wearing white, which reflects heat. Corrin at least is wearing dark cloth and silver armor, which is likely cooking her.

"Nah, that's just a rumor made up by religious folks of Hoshido who were convinced that through Dragon Veins the top could lead them to Heaven and closer to the Dawn Dragon." Robin corrected. "But it is almost seven miles longer, so we have a long walk ahead of us."

"SEVEN MILES?! I'm already tired." Corrin cried in anguish.

"You're the one who agreed to march ahead sooner than it was wise." Robin reminded.

"Yeah, but I thought you would fly us towards our destination." Corrin complained. "Or at the very least Orochi could teleport us to the top already."

"No can do, Milady, I didn't bring my Warp Scroll along because I had to lend them all to those among my troops who arguably have the more important task of escorting people to safe zones." Orochi explained with a sheepish smile, both apologetically and playfully due to the Princess' reaction.

"Robin, your Morgenstern tome has dozens of different spells that most magic-conduits can only carry one, not a single one can make a warp?" Corrin questioned.

"Sorry, Corrin but I got nothing of the sort in my arsenal, Warp Magic is an overly complicated art, kind of like how tomes and scrolls are different in a way that one who masters one can barely master the other." Robin explained.

"A tome that possesses many spells unlike other tomes and scrolls is unheard of, let alone one that can vanish and reappear out of thin air into the owner's hands." Azura commented.

"Yeah, it's the one thing in my possession that holds close ties to my former life, since I had it with me in my arms when Corrin found me." Robin said while holding his Tome in both hands. "Sadly it hasn't given me any clues that can lead me to my home, like everywhere else in Horus. My only lead is in Mount Garou but even that is a huge mystery."

"Don't let it go to your head too much, we'll find something to help you on your way, I promise." Corrin swore to him.

"I know."

"Milady!" Kaze called out to Corrin as he and Saizo return and they look alarmed.

"Bad news?" Corrin asked.

"Enemy scouts of Grimm. Worse of the demonspawns, Nuckelavees, accompanied by a Seer and are coming in fast behind us." Saizo informed, alarming everyone, minus Corrin who has yet to encounter these types of Grimm.

"Crap, were not exactly in a position to be fighting such horrors!" Takumi cursed while staring at Sakura, not sure if they can fight such dangerous Grimm with her to protect.

"Everyone follow me." The Diviner instructed as they rush away from where Kaze and Saizo came from and she begins to use a yellow scroll and upon activation it creates a yellow dome that traps them inside. "We will remain invisible and difficult to track to everyone outside while in this dome but remain completely silent." She instructed while everyone else ready their weapons just in case they are spotted.

And there comes the Grimm that they are all so worried about, and this one is the very definition of a demon, a horse-like creature with an equine main body and a skinless humanoid creature that is fused with it. The horse part of it is larger than the average horse, with the trademark black color of all Grimm with a mane of black smoke coming out of the head. Every portion of it is menacing and seems slightly bulky when compare to actual horses and they have the typical white bone-like features of the Grimm around their face, ribcage and legs. Their forelegs have two-fingered claws and have hooved hind legs that leave a distinctive hoofprint. The other part of it has an emaciated, somewhat humanoid torso with rib-like protrusions and pectoral-like bone plates on its chest, as well as a series of bone spikes along its upper spine. Its two long, thin arms end in a hand with only two fingers. The shape of its head is similar to that of a Human head but with a longer, pointier chin. Its mask bears some resemblance to a Human skull, but the holes that serve as the eye sockets are elongated and slope downward. On its forehead, at the top of its mask, are two long, curved horns. Strips of flesh connect its upper and bottom lips.

Hana places one of her hands on Sakura's mouth, randomly assuming that she'll squill out of fear, as the Princess is already trembling nervously by the sight of it, while everyone else is alarmed, afraid even, surprisingly Saizo as well, though Robin knows it is not just because it is ferocious.

The human portion of this Grimm scours around, looking for prey, possibly because it somehow noticed the Ninja Brothers despite their best efforts, the duo seemed to be in a rush to get away. Things get worse for the group as the horrible monster makes an even more horrifying roar that makes them look away from it, while Robin, Rinkah and Orochi instead get headaches from it.

Accompanying this Grimm is another Nuckelavee along with a smaller, jellyfish like Grimm that can float in the air, possessing a spherical body that is covered with bone-like plates, along with red tentacles ending in white, bony spikes, and a single eye. This must be the one Saizo called a Seer.

The smaller Grimm moves ahead of the two Nuckelavees while making clicking sounds. After a minute of examining the area, the small Grimm turns to the bigger demons, it's clicking sound gets louder and the two turn their heads to the direction where the Hoshidans are hiding, which can only mean one thing.

'DAMMIT!' Robin cursed in his thoughts as the Grimm somehow know where they are, with the two Nuckelavees stretching both their arms ridiculously far, aiming straight towards all of them, causing Robin to rush out of Orochi's dome, exposing himself to the Grimm to halt their attack.

"Excalibur!" He roared and from both of his palms he fires a mighty gust of wind towards the Grimm, the smaller one is smart enough to evade the attack and flies away while the other two take the wind blast head on and are push back and knock to the ground, but the humanoid torsos of the Nuckelavees are quick to get up and make their roars at once, again somehow striking more fear into all of them, minus for Robin, Orochi and Rinkah who again only feel more painful headaches that causes Orochi to dispel her scroll, exposing all of them.

One of the Nuckelavees continues its assault on Robin by thrusting it's clawed hand at him, but the Tactician evades the arm, followed by slicing it off by channeling mana into his left arm, hardening it and while boosting its strength, to the horse-like Grimm's fury. This however, leaves him open for an attack from the other Nuckelavee who manages to hit him and slams the White Mage to a tree next to his allies who are already down, partially damaging it. Robin manages to force the Grimm's arm off him in time to evade another attack as the smaller Grimm enters the fray, its tentacles also stretchable, and, the barbs of which can be used as sharp weapons that Robin also manages to evade as it hits the tree instead, and as he gets back on his feet he is able to catch the next tentacle sent at him and pulls with enough force to harshly pull the jellyfish to the ground and without hesitation he stumps his foot down on the Grimm, shattering the spherical body with ease.

Robin turns too late to notice the Nuckelavee who's arm he cut off rush him and upon to stump on him with its front legs but Rinkah intercepts the coming attack as she rams herself at the Grimm while her whole body is engulf in flames, making her a living fireball as she pushes the beast away from Robin. She then continues her assault as she grabs it's humanoid torso with the aim to savagely pull it out from the horse part, forcing it to scream again, again somehow causing more fear and headaches to the Hoshidans but the Princess of Fire's will is strong and resists long enough to succeed in severing the Grimm in two. This unfortunately doesn't stop the horse portion as it forces Rinkah off it and into the ground. The Dark Horse goes completely feral after losing its other half and almost stumps on Rinkah but she manages to move out of the way.

Takumi tries to fight back, raising his Fujin Yumi to shoot the other Nuckelavee but his hands are shaking so uncontrollably, which causes him to miss rather pitifully, achieving only the Grimm's attention, who goes to attack him next, and The Prince relentlessly tries to finish it off, however, right in that moment, the tree that Robin was knocked into starts to crumble and fall, nearly hitting Sakura.

"Sakura!" Hana shouted as she pulls her Princess out of the way.

"Sakura…?" Takumi now becomes dreadful over his sister's wellbeing that he completely ignores the Grimm and accidentally shoots a wind arrow at the wrong direction, about to shoot Robin instead who barely notices the arrow on time and sets his own hand with thunder magic, that succeeds in blocking the arrow but the impact does knock him to the ground.

"ROBIN!" Corrin cried in horror, which turns into savage rage, as she focuses her attention on the Nuckelavee about to aim at a baffled Takumi and without her own knowledge, her face changes and gets covered by the same mask she wore during her battle with Wrath, and she roars with a massive blast of water coming out of her mouth that hits the Grimm and blasts it away, pulverizing it. Even after it's destruction, the water blast continues to go forward, destroying many cherry blossom trees for probably almost a mile.

Corrin is the most shock by her sudden attack, as she begins to scream, feeling a violent surge of dragon power preparing to go wild from her, already she desperately reaches for her Dragonstone to keep herself contain.

"Milady!" Kaze shouted as he quickly pushes Corrin out of the way as the Dark Horse goes to attack her, but instead rams over the ninja instead, who prepares to stump on him.

"KAZE!" Saizo shouted as he angrily goes for his brother's aid getting on top of the Dark Horse and shoves two shurikens into it's eyes. The monster howls painfully, backing away from Kaze while it rolls it's head around as fast and hard enough to knock Saizo off it, but the only reason why the red ninja let it go was because he jumped off willingly as he notices Reina descending from the sky at the nick of time and pins it to the ground with her Kinshi, afterwards she thrust her Venge Naginata into the horse's head, killing it finally.

"Is everyone alright?!" Subaki cried out as he too returns to the ground as the battle is all but over.

Corrin manages to calm down using her Dragonstone with her mask disappearing, but she is unable to relax as she hastily turns her attention to her allies, in particular her Retainers. "Robin! Kaze!"

"Worry not for me, Milady." Kaze assured her as Saizo helps him back on his feet.

"That could've gone better." Robin sighed tiredly as he stretches his arms, his headache now gone.

"Thank Iblis we're made sturdier of things than those wretched beast." Rinkah sighed, only now recovering from her headache as well but Orochi still looks worse for wear.

"I don't understand, my Scroll should've kept us safe, and it's not like Grimm can sense magic." Orochi said in contemplation, trying to make sense of what she might've done wrong.

"It seems that we still don't know much about the Grimm like we thought, though it might be even more likely that this is also a side effect of the Blight Nohr put all over Hoshido, making the magic that originated here become inconsistent." Robin assumed.

"That is most likely our latest predicament." Saizo said.

"A thousand apologies for not arriving sooner, Milords and ladies, but once the Nuckelavees were spotted neither my Yuzu nor Reina's Killua dared get close." Subaki said referring to his Pegasus while patting her.

"It's fine, Subaki, Pegasi and Kinshi have never been reliable when in a state of panic." Takumi said.

"That's racist."

"What was… what the hell were those things?!" Corrin gasped in horror, never feeling fear like that ever.

"Those were… Nuckelavee, they are among the high-tier level Grimm and among the most terrifying for they possess the magic power to spread fear upon others by just screaming, sapping away the courage of their victims, and makes some behave illogically with their attempts to stop the fear." Kaze explained, recovering from the said fear forced on him. "Though, those with high magical abilities are able to resist this curse but instead receive headaches."

"Yeah… I'm going to need a moment to recover from this." Orochi muttered weakly as her headache has only begun to fade.

Examining the rest of the group who were attacked, Robin, Rinkah, Saizo and Kaze are the only ones who are fine while the rest are still recovering, the worse of them being poor Sakura, who Hana is holding tightly in a tight hug while the Princess is crying uncontrollably.

"The worst part is that those things also act as true bad luck charms, cursing those they are hunting with misfortune, leading their prey to meet violent accidental deaths, friendly fire, tripping on nothing, hands suddenly become slippery, anything that shouldn't be possible happen in the current vicinity we are in." Takumi added. "What is fortunate is that they are so few in numbers that we typically have to put up with one at a time, though killing those parasites could never be considered easy, even for Ryoma. But this is the first time I have ever seen two of them together."

"Same. The Nohrians are getting bolder and more tenacious." Saizo cursed under his breath.

"What about that smaller Grimm? It look like it was the actual scout and was leading the two?" Corrin asked.

"That was a Seer, it possesses actual human intelligence than most Grimm and is capable of adapting to situations much quicker, those clicking sounds it makes are how they communicate with their brethren and give out orders." Robin spoke up next. "What's even more profound is that Two Seers can be used to allow long-distance communication between two parties, live depiction of the participants being able to be shown to the others via a red smoke-like substance that manifests in their heads. In addition, this method of connection between two Seers can allow either the Nohrian Royal Family or Dark Mages to directly manipulate the actions of the distant Seer. Their tentacles are stretchable, very powerful and prehensile, the barbs of which can be used as sharp weapons to kill and whatever they are made of, they can easily penetrate through even steel."

"Gods, how are we supposed to fight off an army that literally comes from Hell?" Corrin asked, not liking their options against such terrible monsters.

"Hell and the Underworld aren't exactly the same thing Corrin but to answer your question, to truly stop the Grimm, we need to dethrone King Garon." Azura explained. "Despite their allegiance to all members of the Royal Family, the Grimm are solely faithful to the King of Nohr, if we are to defeat him, either by killing him or better yet, destroy the Throne of Nohr in Castle Krakenburg which contains a unique Dragon Vein that allows him and his army to summon the Grimm in the first place, the demons will be forced out of our world and back to the Underworld where their true master resides." Azura explained. "Or at least that is what ancient text that document the lore of the Grimm explained, either way without the Royal Family at the core, the Grimm will lose all cohesion and be render useless without their hive minds, and the rest of the Nohrian Mages will too lose their power over them."

"What's more if we can push our army within Nohr the Grimm will be forced out of Hoshido, for their first priority is defending their homeland and its people, regardless of what their Demon King says on the matter." Takumi added.

"It sounds very risky, but I supposed it's better than them in Hoshido." Robin replied.

"Precisely."

The group lays low for almost ten minutes resting up and getting their spirits back up and the injuries are so minor that it took no effort at all for Sakura to heal those who were hurt at all.

"Nearly lost control again in that struggle." Corrin muttered, still depress over her dragonic powers.

"So we noticed but don't let it get to you, Cor, you'll get the hang of this power eventually, you just have to give it more time." Robin reassured her.

"I don't know, Rob, even if I do keep this power contain what are the odds that I can hold it for as long as I want?"

"You're asking the wrong guy, but what I can say for certain is that every power is a curse as well as a blessing. It's understandable to be afraid of your inner strength if you don't know how to handle it but sooner or later you'll have to let it loose once and a wild and start to get a handle on it before you're put in a position where you need it." Robin advised. "And considering what's become of the environment, that time will arrive a lot sooner than we've hoped."

"You just said that you're the wrong person to answer my question and you go and say that." Corrin protested playfully, making Robin wave his hand as he shrugs it off.

"I'm just saying the first thing that comes out of my mouth, I don't know."

"Really, because it seems to me that you always seem to know what you're saying." Azura commented.

"I have my moments."

"You two are at a nickname bases already?" Hinata asked kindly to the white duo.

"Rob and I are pretty tight, and I like to be playful about it, and there's something about nicknames that always makes me smile. Unless offensive nicknames are thrown in the mix." Corrin explained. "Considering how close all of you are, I'm a little surprise that some of you don't have any nicknames to give to each other."

"Hana is my nickname." Sakura's Samurai retainer revealed. "My name is actually Kazahana."

"That's a pretty name." Corrin commented.

"Thank you, it means wild flower."

"Oh, kind of like Sakura means cherry blossom." Robin said.

"Beautiful, I know, and it's not just me that goes by a nickname frequently, Kaze here is actually called Suzukaze." Hana revealed.

"Really, that would've been nice to know when you pledged yourself to me." Corrin said kindly to her newly ninja retainer.

"Apologies, Milady. I have gotten so used to everyone calling me Kaze that I can't help but dismiss my true name after a while." Kaze said innocently and with a light chuckle.

"Hate to break up this nice conversation but we got other problems." Reina said as she returns from the sky as she decided to continue scouring for more danger while Subaki remained on the ground this time to give more support.

"What did you find?" Takumi asked.

"I spotted smoke from afar and right in the direction we are headed, there's a village under attack." Reina informed, getting everyone serious.

"Grimm?" Takumi asked.

"None on sight, probably Nohrian soldiers, though I didn't bother to get any closer, but I am familiar with the village up ahead of us, it is Aikawa." Reina explained.

"Aikawa, huh." Takumi replied, as he also seems to be familiar with the place and his serious expression turns to a calm and unconcern one, almost apathetic.

"Let's not waste any more time, then." Corrin ordered.

"I know, regardless of our true mission, we can't afford to lose a single drop of land to the Nohrians." The Hoshidan Prince declared as the group march ahead, hoping to make it in time to save Aikawa.

They arrive in time to see many of the villagers running away from the doomed Aikawa while being chased by six men in black armor not like the ones worn by Nohrian Knights.

"Those are the bandit group of the Blackhounds!" Kaze said familiar with the invaders. Corrin has heard that name before, it's the group of mercenaries that Hans used to be a part of before his rehabilitation into the Nohrian Army.

"How dare they return!" Saizo shouted in anger, running ahead of the group, making the first kill by throwing shurikens at a cavalier about to swing his sword at a woman running away while carrying a child in her arms. The Shurikens pierced deep into his neck, sword arm and left eye, as well as the horse, forcing them both on the ground, and catching the attention of the Blackhounds, who the Hoshidans make short work of.

"There are still people fighting within the village." Oboro said, as they can hear the loud shouts of violence and death.

"The Blackhounds are mostly comprised of Mercenaries, Cavaliers, Fighters and Outlaws, and in each raid they are led by one Berserker. But despite their brutality they lack the combat experience of true warriors like those of our group." Saizo explained, mainly to Robin about the enemy their facing.

"Scoundrels like these typically attacked thinking they can come in and go whenever they want without any open defiance and giving the state of this place it seems that they weren't wrong to think so, however this also means that they are blissfully disorganized and have no concern for a plan, meaning that we have the advantage in more than just having them outmatched so this should be pretty primitive for us." Robin said as he begins to plan ahead. "Let's split into two groups, Takumi, you take the right side of the village accompanied by your Retainers, Hana, Saizo, Orochi and Reina, stick together and provide cover fire for them with Reina from the air, Outlaws made be amateur in comparison to Military Archers but that doesn't mean you should let your guard down. And I'm confident you won't receive any serious injuries so if you find survivors offer them your vulneraries."

"The rest of you will be taking the left side then. I can tell from here that the stakes are higher over there." Takumi said.

"I like our odds." Robin shrugged. "Sakura, remain at my side as we pushed forward, Kaze remain with Corrin at all times while Rinkah pair up and watch over Azura. Subaki, take to the air but remain close, watch out for archers but not too much as I'll be covering for you as well."

The group split and go to face the invaders, Corrin's group are quick to find the Blackhounds as they rebel in the carnage they bring but are mostly stealing what they can, some ignoring the fleeing villagers, more concern with the belongings while others decide to just kill them off for a variety of reasons, mainly because they enjoy it, either way, they've earned Corrin's fury for their ruthlessness as she rushes ahead of the rest with Kaze right beside her as he throws more shurikens at two Blackhound members who notice her about to attack. His own attack at them provided the Princess the chance to strike uninterrupted, cutting the arm of one of them with the Yato, while she slices open the other in his chest from his left shoulder all the way to his right abdomen, leaving them both lying on the ground with grievous injuries.

Corrin briefly stops for a moment, surprise at herself for what she had done, granted she had every intention of fighting these men and punish them for their crimes, even if it means mortally wounding them but she struck too quickly without hesitation. Her previous rampage aside this was a first while human, and it feels wrong yet at the same time so natural.

She is snapped out of her trance as she hears the clash of metal as Kaze blocks the sword of a mercenary aiming for her and the Ninja pushes him aside before kicking him in the temple, knocking him to the ground before finishing him off with a shuriken right through the same temple. As gratitude, she assists him with a fighter that snuck up on them that they overpower easily.

Rinkah confronts a fighter, who barely last two seconds against her as they clash with their club and ax respectively but by their last clash, the Flame Warrior hits the fighter by his wrist, forcing him to drop his weapon, leaving him defenseless as she finishes him off by grabbing his face with her left hand, which ignites on fire, incinerating him alive but only the entirety of his upper torso. Azura remains behind her as she confronts a spear fighter and despite her skinning body in comparison to the muscular man, the Songstress' expertise with a spear enables her to hold her own as the two seem evenly matched until Azura gains an opening, getting behind him and slashes open the back of his knees, making the Blackhound scream in agony as he falls on his knees, and Rinkah takes the chance to end him as well the same way she did to her previous opponent.

Some of the villagers that remain caught in the crossfire take the chance to flee from the fighting only to be chased by one fighter who focuses on an old man who trips and is about to be killed by the Fighter only to be saved by Subaki who impales the fighter from the back with his naginata and with impressive strength, lifts him in the air with one arm and throws him away from the old man.

One Outlaw gets behind Subaki and aims to shoot the Pegasus down but Robin stops him by blowing him through the wooden wall of a house next to him with his wind magic. Sakura goes to assist the old man who looks wounded with fresh blood on his abdomen, Robin remains beside her, using his thunder magic next to electrocute three mercenaries getting close to either of them, with him and Subaki covering for the Princess as she begins to heal the old man.

Corrin cuts down one more mercenary, leaving him severely wounded on the ground, and the cut is deep and will probably die because of it but she did not even notice and she turns to focus on more foes as she and Kaze are about to face off against a Fighter but someone else gets to him as an arrow is shot, piercing right through his head from his left, killing him instantly. The two turn to see the one responsible who is neither Takumi or Reina but a grown man, who is probably between his late twenties to early thirties, messy white hair with a bit of black hair at the front, dress in a green and black outfit with brown accessories, brown boots, and a cape, nothing like the Blackhounds and looks more like a pirate and is holding a steel bow.

"Wait, I know this man, he's not with the Blackhounds." Kaze said familiar with the man.

"I could tell by the arrow he shot at another Blackhound." Corrin replied.

"SHURA!" Yelled a Berserker rushing towards them, particularly the Adventurer now named Shura. Saizo said that Blackhound raids are typically led by a Berserker so if they can take him down, they can end this fight all the quicker.

Shura confronts the Berserker, picking up a silver sword lying on the ground and clashes with the Berserker's mighty axe. The Berserker is seemingly the better of the two with Shura backing away with each blow but counters by making a mighty swing that forces the axe off the Berserker's hand. This doesn't stop him as he rams himself into Shura and knocks him into the wall of a wooden house. Shura retaliated by locking his hands together in a tight fist and slams at the Berserker's exposed back, forcing him to loosen his grip on him, allowing Shura to push his foe aside and rushes to get his bow that he was forced to drop during the clash of weapons but the Berserker grabs him by his cape to pull him back to him and delivers a punch to his face that knocks Shura to the ground.

"Black Bulls ain't shit after all." The Berserker smirked picking up his axe to finish Shura off but doesn't get the chance as Shura picks up an arrow that belong to the quiver of one Blackhound and impales it into the Berserker's feet, making him drop his axe again which the Adventurer picks up and uses it to decapitate the Berserker.

"Funny, I was about to say the same to you Blackhound Scumbags." Shura sighed, relief to have ended this fight. He briefly turns to look at Corrin and her group and notes that there doesn't seem to be any Blackhounds left, at least from this side of the Village. "Took you damn Hoshidans long enough to get here."

"Ah…" Corrin muttered not sure how to respond to that, since she didn't know how to explain that it was by mere chance that they've arrived here. Shura ignores them and turns his attention to the nearest house and calls out to someone inside.

"Mozu! It's safe to come out now." He called out and out comes out a diminutive girl who's probably the same age as Sakura, dressed in the garb of a poor villager, her cheeks dusted by both dark freckles, the flowers in her dark hair have wilted slightly, and she is holding a brass naginata while shaking nervously and fearful from all the violence. Poor girl.

"Is it… is it all over now?" Her question was more of a plead.

"Yeah, help has finally arrived so we'll be safe now." Shura assured the girl.

"B-But… but… my ma and pa…" Mozu began to shake, tears as her parents were among the casualties. All Shura can do on the matter is place his arm around her and hold her tight as she starts crying in anguish.

"I know kid, I know."

Hours pass and the Villagers return to their home and begin to mourn their losses and bury the dead while Corrin's group agree to spend the day here, delaying their search for Ryoma and help the wounded. Most were okay with this decision while few like Takumi and Saizo are agitated by the delay, understandable since this is their brother and lord respectively that they are looking for, Takumi's efforts to help the villagers also seems lacking, like he doesn't care about anyone here. What's gotten in to him? And as if the Gods themselves feel pity for Aikawa, it's starts getting cloudy above, the sun barely visible and it rains but not so much.

"All and all, the people of Aikawa will be alright, and there are monks living here as well so there is no need for Lady Sakura to overwork herself in helping them more." Kaze informed Corrin while she and Azura are sitting in chairs within a bar with both Robin and Kaze standing beside them and she is currently staring at the villagers mourning for their loved ones who are already all buried, all of them wearing black robes to avoid getting wet and Sakura is beside them, Takumi as well, the others are wherever they prefer.

"Try telling her that." Azura said worried for the little Priestess.

"If Saizo can't get her to take a break, and he has tried, nobody can, I'm afraid." The Green Ninja makes a light chuckle, that does brighten up the sour mood.

"These people were lucky that we got here but I am surprise that a bunch of bandits stormed this place while in the middle of a war and monsters everywhere." Corrin asked confused.

"Wow, you have all the telltale signs of a full fledgling rooky when it comes to this life." Shura said from another table with a weak chuckle before taking a sip on a glass of wine.

"Forgot you were there, you said your name was Shura, right?" Corrin said sounding more polite.

"Yep, and he's not your typical Adventurer, he's the leader of an infamous group of thieves named the Black Bulls who are rivals to the Blackhounds but nowhere near as immoral or at all. They mainly operate in Nohr but have been spotted all over Horus, smart enough to avoid detection from Hoshidan Ninjas." Robin informed her.

"Always a pleasure to hear how my reputation proceeds me." Shura said smugly.

"What are you doing here in Hoshido, I'd expect your group to keep your distance with the war having now begun?" Azura asked suspiciously.

"Got separated from my crew last week while evading one of the biggest Grimm around that was chasing us, managed to escape and made it here. No one in the Black Bulls is really loyal to Nohr and those blackhearts love expressing their disapproval of us by tearing us to pieces." Shura explained.

"Understandable, though for the past four years the Black Bulls have been showing up in Hoshido and stealing our resources to give to the Nohrians." Kaze said.

"You are aware of the state the Kingdom is in, right?"

"Yes, Nohr's always been lacking in food of their own lands, hence why they are always buying them from neighboring nations with their unmatched wealth or conquering them when diplomatic options become fruitless, this war against Hoshido was their breaking point to take it all." Kaze confirmed.

"Right, so while most of the nobles there are people in need of an arrow through the head, one of them actually understands that the word 'noble' is just a fancy word for good people and hired me to get some of the sweet Hoshidan dishes to give to his home town and he sure has a lot of money to spare, so I made him a frequent client for my services." Shura explained. "However I made sure he understood my desire for word of my activities don't make it to the prying eyes of Garon so that we Black Bulls don't end up being forced to work for him. Old man scares the hell out of me, he's a Demon King after all."

"Right." Corrin muttered, regarding that last part, as the thought of Garon being the leader of the Grimm really bothers her more than most, same with Arete, Xander, Camilla, Leo and Elise being in the same page.

"So, you two whiteheads turncoats as well judging by how you both dress?" Shura asked Corrin and Robin.

"Basically, but I have a feeling there's more to your question."

"You really are in the dark about all this, huh." Shura said. "Let me explain then, this diminutive little village, Aikawa is called an Anti-Nohr Zone, people from Nohr who've had enough of the hardships back home and managed to make a living in Hoshido, and because of how wary the actual Hoshidans are, they don't really care for this village, nor the other thirteen all around. They're treated fairly sure, but the lack of trust makes them go ignored by the rest of the world when there's trouble."

"The Villagers did seem a little too surprise and too grateful to see us arrive." Corrin said only now realizing the overreactions the people of Aikawa gave them when the Blackhounds have been dealt with, while others seemed very critical about their late arrival.

"Yes, I'm ashamed to admit that Aikawa has always had it rough, even before the creation of Lady Mikoto's barrier, we ninjas would always be sent to make daily checkups on all villages around Hoshido due to the lack of soldiers everywhere to make sure everything is alright but we were always told by our superiors to ignore all Anti-Nohr Zones." Kaze explained, regret eminent in his voice. "Despite her own resentment, the Queen has tried to watch over them either way but our forces would always obey reluctantly. I am sure you've noticed Lord Takumi's sudden change of behavior to one of apathy once he found out it was Aikawa in danger."

Corrin can't help but grow angry at this, tightening her fists and making a weak growl but did good to keep her emotions in check for a change.

"The only upside is that the Grimm haven't attacked this place, I've spotted several Grimm nearby the village for the past three days, even the overly aggressive and horrifying Nuckelavee but all they did was stare at Aikawa for a few seconds and run off someplace never to return, meaning that they know that the villagers are Nohrians, despite their desertion and leave them alone, and considering that Garon and Arete are finally able to lead their army to lay siege in Hoshido it might as well be their divine right to live here." Shura continued. "But of course, during times of war there are always opportunists who wish to take advantage of any situation no matter how dire to do as they please, then we have the other guys people love to hate, the Blackhounds, who are on Hoshido's must exterminate list behind Nohrians."

"I'm surprise that you would choose to stay and help Aikawa. A rare quality among thieves." Azura commented.

"It's called having standards, sweetheart, and we Black Bulls have more than Nobles these days, but it's nothing special to the eyes of most." Shura shrugged.

"What will you do now that the village will pull through?" Robin asked.

"Try to sneak my way back to Nohr, I guess, I've never been a fan of the place but Hoshido is typically sunshine and rainbows in appearance only, then the rainstorm of shuriken comes down on you for stepping out of line." Shura replied.

"You may not get the chance, Dark Mages and Grimm are guarding the borders of the Bottomless Canyon so the Port Towns in Mokushu is our best bet to ride to Nestra all the way back to Nohr but even then, entering Mokushu territory may not be easy." Azura warned.

"I'll take my chances, but first thing's first, I got to get to Izumo and meet up with an old associate who owes me a tool that will come in handy against Grimm." Shura said.

"We're heading to Izumo as well." Corrin pointed out, intrigued.

"Well ain't that a coincidence." Shura smirked, also intrigued. "Any chance if I make it to the top of the Eternal Stairway first I can get that sweet sword of yours as a trophy, whitehead?"

"No!" Corrin gave a quick and harsh reply, holding on to Yato tightly.

"Worth a shot."

"Why don't you travel with us, then, it's safer to move about with strength in numbers." Corrin suggested, feeling confident that Shura is trustworthy enough due to his valiant effort to save Aikawa.

"I wouldn't recommend it, Milady, this thief may be more honorable than most but there will be heavy objections from everyone else, especially Saizo due to having no love for the Black Bulls after all the repeated failed attempts by our ninjas to apprehend a single bull." Kaze objected.

"That's fine, I don't like fighting alongside those I don't have chemistry with, anyway." Shura said.

"You can't have chemistry without starting from scrap." Corrin pointed out.

"Point taken, so how about this, if we see each other again while on our way there and meet up with trouble, first one who needs saving owes the savior a debt in service." Shura gives a friendly wager.

"That won't end well for you, we have the higher numbers." Robin declined, of which Shura can only smug.

"We're in a warzone pal, anything can happen, especially the unlikely." He said before exiting the bar.

"He seems nicer than he appears." Kaze said warmly.

"Indeed, though he also has all the telltale signs of a man with a tragedy behind him." Azura noted.

"That seems to be a thing all whiteheads have in common, huh Robin?" Corrin asked lightheartedly.

"Apparently." He shrugged. After a few moments of silence, someone else enters the bar, the little girl Shura defended, Mozu.

"Ah… Hello." The girl greeted nervously.

"Oh, hello, Mozu, right? How are you?" Corrin greeted as she gets back on her feet to walk to her. "Wait, that's a dumb question, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I'm… I'm calm for now." Mozu said more headstrong than they expected, though she is suffering from what she had to endure, she's strangely at least putting up a strong face.

"Anything you need, I be happy to lend a hand." Corrin offered.

"It's nothing, I'm just walking around with no destination, and thinking." Mozu muttered.

"About what?"

"About… what should I do next." She confessed nervously.

"Oh…" Corrin stays speechless for a moment, not sure what to say. "Well… Aikawa is safe and would likely thrive again. Bandits don't normally come back to the same place to rob after failure. Right Robin?"

"That depends on their intelligent level, and they all seemed really dumb but I doubt they'll want to keep risking their lives to attack a place where they lost so many men, this is a war zone after all." The Tactician replied in confirmation but this is just a thought and there is no way to really know what goes on in the minds of criminals they barely understand.

"There must be someone who can take you in, uncles, aunts, friends of your parents." Corrin suggested but she only succeeds in making Mozu feel worse.

"There's no one! Everyone I love is gone, and the rest who survived I barely know. I have nothing now!" Mozu cried, with Corrin getting on her knees and hugging the girl as tightly as she can to give her comfort, with the remaining three staying silent, not sure what to say.

"There, there." Corrin whispered in her ear, not letting go of her until she's able to calm herself. "What can we do, guys?"

"I'm not sure if there's a right answer that we can give. She wishes to strive and move forward despite her losses and pain, some will no doubt wish to leave Aikawa, not able to bear the pain that has become of this place, while others will want to stay and bring life back. I personally believe she should be the latter, however, now is not the time to fix villages or heal wounded hearts." Robin mediated. "I'm afraid Aikawa is no longer a safe place for her to be in, for none of them, sooner or later more fights will happen here, everyone needs to leave and go to the major cities and find shelter."

"It will be difficult if Pure Hoshidans discover their origin but because of the turmoil they might be mistaken for regular citizens." Azura remarked.

"I'm certain they will have it easy because of it but we can't turn back to help them make it to Suzanoh, finding Lord Ryoma is our top priority and even if Orochi had her warp scroll she wouldn't have been able to teleport so many people at once without succumbing to severe Magic Overuse." Kaze stated.

"Tomes and Scrolls are basically the same thing, the key difference is how the mana within is managed that makes those without experience using them have a harder time mastering but unnaturally high mana reserve should help me utilize the scroll faster." Robin offered.

"If it were a regular scroll you might pull it off in a day, however Magic regarding teleportation takes weeks to master and you have no experience harnessing the magic from scrolls so I doubt you'll be able to master it so soon anyway." Kaze objected. "As much as it pains me to say this, but these villagers are on their own making it to the safety of the major cities. We could offer to take them to Izumo since we're heading there but even with all the power we possess together; I don't like our odds."

"Me neither." Robin cursed their misfortune, while Corrin can only come up with one solution.

"What if we only bring one with us at least." She suggested, earning her a glance from everyone.

"You wish to bring Mozu along, Milady?" Kaze asked in confirmation.

"So many of the children here weren't spared from the senseless killing and there are more young ones suffering elsewhere, even though I accept that we can't save everyone, we have to do what we can for those who can be save." The Princess said focusing her gaze at Mozu. "Listen, Mozu, if you want, you can come with us. We could never even hope to replace those you loved and lost but we can take care of you."

"I can join your group?" The Village Girl asked to clarify while also baffled.

"Yes, but only until we find you a safe place to call home. Our group is bound by a dangerous cause. We go from one battle to the next. That's no life for you." Corrin said.

Mozu remained silent for a few seconds for a short contemplation before making her decision. "I'm not afraid. I can help. I might even save you or your friends. Let me join your cause, whatever it is."

"Alright." Corrin nodded in approval before turning to her comrades. "Any objections?"

"I can't speak for the rest of the group but you'll get none from me." Azura replied, okay with Corrin's decision, with both Robin and Kaze nodding in approval.

"I won't be asking for any of their permission." Corrin declared.

---

Corrin's group spend the night in Aikawa, resting in the houses that have not been left in ruins and are currently unoccupied by any of the villagers, Takumi and Sakura shared one house with their retainers, Reina and Orochi are in another, Corrin, Robin, Kaze, Azura and Mozu share another while Saizo and Rinkah chose to remain outside doing whatever they want. Shura had already left without saying goodbye to anyone, much to Corrin and Mozu's dismay.

"You know, I don't mean to be rude in any sort of regard, I mean, now seems the perfect time to be racist but I still abhor it but, I never gave these Anti-Nohr Zones any credit, this place has all the signs of a once prosperous place to call home before those lousy bandits showed up. The people are pretty nice." Hinata said relaxing in a kitchen, lying down on a chair with his feet on a table and is eating an apple.

"Apparently so, perhaps their time in Hoshido has made these people more humane unlike their time in Nohr." Takumi wondered while he is standing next to one of the windows of the front of the house, staring at the once lively neighborhood and noticing people passing by, doing whatever they feel like doing.

"Well, I guess Nohrians do have souls after all, they just needed a little light in their systems for them to stop behaving like animals." Oboro shrugged while she is lying down on a couch.

"Perhaps, either way they won't be our problem anymore as we set out tomorrow, first thing in the morning." Takumi instructed.

"Pardon the intrusion." Saizo spoke out appearing out of nowhere inside the living room the three are resting in. You think a ninja popping out of nowhere would startle anyone but the three of them, basically everyone in Shirasagi, even Sakura has gotten so used to it that they frequently expect one to show up but they never see it coming for real, which shows how amazing Ninjas are with stealth.

"Yo, Saizo." Hinata greeted.

"I've just come in to report. The Village is secured and free from danger at the moment." Saizo informed.

"Have any Grimm been spotted?" Takumi asked.

"Yes, Rinkah spotted a pack of Beowolves not far south, however all they did was stare down at Aikawa for a few seconds before leaving us alone and running off somewhere else. More Grimm showed up an hour later, a herd of Goliaths to the east but again all they did was stare before moving along." Saizo continued. "It seems our suspicions have been proven true, even though the Anti-Nohr Zones have deserted their true home, the Grimm still see them as their people and will not attack. I have little doubt when I say that we can all rest easy tonight without worrying about attacks. Same with the Blackhounds who know better than to attack the same place twice after suffering so many losses."

"Tsk! Using Foreigners as meat shields and protection charms to ward off monsters just so we can have one night's rest in our own lands, is that what we've come to." Takumi hissed at the bothersome dilemma they have right now.

"It is a necessary evil, Milord, this skirmish delayed us by a lot so it's only fitting that we use anything and anyone at our disposal to make it through the night." Saizo stated, rather coldly but still means well.

"How are you holding up, I know it can't be easy relaxing knowing Ryoma is out there without either of us assisting?" Takumi asked with concern regarding his brother's faithful retainer.

"How I feel should not be a priority of one such as yourself, Lord Takumi. Pay me no mind." Saizo insisted, but still appreciative.

"Don't be like that, we're all worried about the High Prince and Kagero, I can only imagine what Orochi is going through right now, she and Kagero have been best friends so long, I be concern if she put up a strong face frequently." Oboro insisted.

"Darn right, and besides, It's Ryoma we're talking about, even if he were to lose Raijinto, Nohrians would still have a hard time taking him down." Hinata boasted.

"I know, and I am sure he's not alone, there was another reason we were heading to Izumo beside hunting that Dragon Grimm, is was that we were to rendezvous with a Knight of Cheve, there is a rebellion in the Dukedom ready to take up arms against Nohr and they requested our aid." Saizo explained.

"That's great but doesn't it seem unnecessary and irresponsible of us to send a member of the Royal Family as envoy just to assure some rebels they have our support." Hinata wondered concern.

"Let me guess, Scarlet was this said knight?" Takumi asked with a sigh.

"Yes." Saizo nodded in conformation.

"Who's Scarlet?" Hinata and Oboro asked at the same time with curiosity.

"You two don't need to know." Takumi insisted as he returns to Saizo. "How is everyone else?"

"All of them are resting up, Rinkah and I will stay up a little while longer before resting, I am certain that they will all be ready to leave by morning. Also, there is one matter you need to know is that we will be traveling with a fifteenth member." Saizo informed.

"Fifteenth?" Takumi repeated.

"I couldn't help but eavesdrop on a conversation Corrin had with one of the villagers she rescued, a little girl named Mozu, and for some reason, mainly pity she has agreed to take her with us and find her a new home, since everyone she knows here is dead and the rest of the survivors she lacks any chemistry with."

"What the hell is she thinking, as if I don't have enough to worry about with watching over Sakura 24/7?" Takumi protested but there was no anger in his voice, only annoyance. "She just might be no different than mother, taking in strays left and right because she's fueled by pity."

"That is probably the case. And we have all noted that she has quite the temper so she too won't take no for an answer and we'll risk a completely pointless argument if we tried." Saizo added.

"Now I wish she had inherited some of that Nohrian cynicism." Takumi muttered but will relent, trying to avoid any fights with the new ''favorite'' as much as possible. "Let's just hope there aren't any more setbacks from here on out."

---

Morning came and Corrin's group resume their journey to Izumo at the same time the People of Aikawa all agreed to leave their village and find the safety of the major cities, and none paid mind to Mozu going with the other group. And there were objections to bringing Mozu along from the others but Corrin would hear none of it and all fifteen of them set out. Two hours later they make their way to the mountain region close to the border of Oldstrong, a particular region that the Hoshidans originally had no claim to, hence the foreign name and is made up one part mountainous, one part is a desert where the Wind Tribe reside in. First they make it to the long stairway made of the stone that they need to walk to make it to the Wind Tribe Village then to the grassy region where Izumo lies. Sounds easy enough.

"Hey, Robin, you've been on this path before, haven't you?" Corrin asked.

"Yep, if we're lucky and there aren't any setbacks we might make it to the top before noon." Robin explained, earning a groaning from Corrin, Hana, Takumi, Hinata and Oboro.

"Jogging and me do not get along." Corrin muttered.

"I'm aware." Robin shrugged.

"Oh, quit complaining and feel the burn you baby!" Rinkah lectured at the scene before her and patted the Princess in the back rather hard that Corrin nearly falls to the ground.

"HEY!" She cried.

"Wow, there sure are a lot of stairs, I can't even see the top." Mozu said in amazement as she stares at the top but sees no end. "It's almost as if we'll find Heaven at the top."

"You're not the first to assume that." Azura smiled at the girl kindly. "What we'll find at the top instead is a very windy desert, where the Sky Dragon that the Wind Tribe worship once resided."

"The people who can use Wind Magic with a mere thought because of the divine blood coursing through their veins." Corrin said with wonders before turning to Rinkah. "Hey, Rinkah, being from the Flame Tribe, how well do you know your windy counterparts?"

"Not as much as I should, the Elemental Tribes haven't had the best relationships in recent decades, with my tribe preferring to remain in isolation, the Ice Tribe working for Nohr, albeit reluctantly and the Wind Tribe preferring to stay neutral but still helpful to Hoshido." Rinkah explained. "The Ice Chieftain Kilma has been silent for a while and my old man and the Wind Chieftain had a huge falling out back when I was still in my mother's womb that nearly resulted in both tribes going into a war, not sure what it was about and my mother always told me not to concern myself with father whenever he behaves like a tantrum child, which is very frequent, so we're barely in speaking terms. Not sure if bringing me along is such a good idea."

'Wow, Elise was right about Rinkah not getting enough hugs from her dad, causing her to be so moody.' Corrin secretly thought. 'I was never hugged by my dad and I turned out alright. Then again Gunter and Xander have always been perfect substitutes.'

"P-Please don't think like that Rinkah, you're one of us now, so Chief Fuga has to take it easy in letting us pass." Sakura assured her.

"That's right so put that frown upside down, already." Hana cheered.

"Hey, trick question Rinkah, can everyone in your clan use the respective element of your Tribe's Dragon?" Corrin asked.

"Not exactly, only one family is descended from the Precursor the Tribe worships while the rest lack divine blood but we are able to transfer and share our powers with members of the tribe through special rituals known only amongst the Tribes but only 50% of our clan's population can harness my family's sacred power. And it's the same with all other tribes." Rinkah explained.

"Wow, that's impressive, wonder why I never learned that during my studies of Horus's cultures." Corrin wondered.

"Because everyone is convinced that we're all inbreeds and so the more delicate information concerning the tribes is considered 'classified' for young minds." Rinkah hissed with a lot of irritation, concerning this insulting rumor.

"That's disgusting." Corrin mumbled, with the rest of them sharing the same sentiment.

"This is the first time I ever heard about that." Takumi commented, equally disturbed.

"Well, I'm glad I can at least trust you people with what hold's truth in my life." Rinkah said with a faint smile.

"Anyway, we won't be stopping by the Wind Tribe unless we have to, so let's get this over with, I can already feel my legs wasting away just by staring at this thing." Takumi ordered.

"Oh, just staring makes me so nervous, I don't know if I can do this." Sakura muttered while trembling.

"Fear not, Milady, you can ride on Yuzu to make yourself comfortable." Subaki offered his Princess. "Reina and I will be walking alongside you all since it be best we all stick together when going up."

For a moment Sakura considered the offer but quickly went against it. "N-No, I can handle this, it's just a few hundred stairs, I'll probably won't sweat as much this time." She said feeling more determine to be less of a burden, as usual.

"That's the spirit!" Both her Retainers cheered in motivation for her.

"She's a determined soul." Robin commented with a smile regarding the young Princess' efforts to push herself.

"Indeed, she's always been overwhelm by being related to strong siblings like Ryoma and Hinoka that she can't help but feel left out and is always pushing herself harder." Azura explained with a smile as they began to travel up the Eternal Stairway.

"What about Takumi?"

"He's in the same boat as her but she instead feels more secured around him than inferior." She finished.

"Quite the family dynamic. Not that I would know."

"I'm sorry, I cannot imagine what it must be like not knowing who your own family are, much less the uncertainty that there might not be anyone waiting for you at all." Azura said raising concern regarding Robin's amnesia.

"I'm more calm about it than I was before, even if I won't like what I find in Mount Garou, It can't be any worse than not knowing, at least, that's what I like to think." Robin said with a sincere smile with small hints of sadness that Azura can plainly see.

"Those three years resting in Corrin's fortress must've made you restless, then." The Songstress wondered.

"Not because of my lack of memory, but because Corrin's butler was an unbearable perfectionist who lectured me at every turn I took, and when he found out how terrible I was at cooking when I tried to make myself dinner, let's just say he wasn't too keen on me staying any longer unless I learned how to at least be a quote-unquote 'partially semi-useful' butler and this was during my second day in the fortress. I myself wasn't too happy about being a freeloader in the fortress of a Princess, so I asked for a job in Nohr's Service Industry first chance I got in my third day, or at the very least their military since my muscle memories never left me and I apparently have battle experience from my previous life." Robin explained more about himself.

"Indeed." Azura noted, intrigued by Robin's use of magic.

"Although Corrin would always insist I not concern myself with a job and I could stay for as long as I wanted but everyone else disapproved with her offer."

"And I kept telling you to ignore everyone cause they're always so judgmental." Corrin said getting in on the conversation.

"And I appreciate your most generous hospitality as always but you know I can handle myself just fine, I could've scored a life of my own if I was given some pointers about how everything works in Nohr instead of crashing in with the royals." Robin insisted.

"And give you up when I conveniently ended up needing you for the darkest moments of my life, no way! I learned to dodge every arrow thrown at me with grace, and I dodged the most harmful arrow of all by not letting you go." Corrin argued adamantly.

"So I've noticed." Robin sighed, while Azura chuckles at how much Corrin cares and is dependent of Robin.

They resume their travel through the long stairs, stop to rest after fifty minutes to have lunch before walking again and just like before, Corrin, Azura and Sakura have begun to sweat a lot, even though the temperature within the region is pretty well balanced between heat and cold, however as they get closer to the top, it begins to heat up and closer to the desert part of Oldstrong, and by then the others like Takumi, Hinata, Oboro, Hana, Orochi and Reina also began to sweat while Robin, Kaze, Rinkah, Saizo, Subaki and Mozu remain in good shape with them never once giving in to the heat or exhaustion from all the walking, much less drop a single drop of sweat.

"Gods… these stairs seem to go on forever." Corrin breathed, stopping for a moment to catch a breather for the third time since they resume their walking.

"Indeed. But what did you expect? This is the Eternal Stairway." Azura pointed out as the main issue is easily noticeable. "Not to worry, we've almost reached the halfway point."

"How are you guys able to last this long without dropping a single drop of sweat?" Corrin turned to both her retainers who remain in tip top condition. "Seriously I stop to check out on everyone every five minutes and you both look like you could run a marathon and remain first or second place from the beginning no problem." Her statement earns her a chuckle from Kaze.

"Well, one of the benefits of being trained as a ninja at an early age is learning how to keep your body in top condition for as long as physically possible and avoiding sweating since even a single drop could proved fatal in missions." He explained, regarding himself and Saizo.

"I'm just used to constantly traveling without rest, it helps the magic inside to have a body that's physically endowed." Robin replied.

"Good for you." Orochi muttered, not being so endowed in terms of magic despite having such a perfectly shaped body, that she goes and hitches a ride on Reina's Kinshi to rest, and as for Sakura, she finally gives in and asked to take a break on Subaki's Pegasus, who has been unmounted the whole way up since the Knight chose to walk beside his Princess, same with Hana.

"Rinkah I get, cause she's constantly fired up but what's Mozu and Subaki's excuse?" Corrin asked.

"Expect perfection and you'll never be disappointed with me." The Pegasus Knight replied with a very charming smile, that made Corrin and Azura look away with their cheeks getting slightly pink.

"So annoying to hear him say that." Hana hissed, a little loudly, not caring who heard her.

"You don't have to worry about me, I grew up taking on manual labor such as crop cultivation and animal hunting for sustenance, I'm quite used to this sort of stress." Mozu replied casually as she has not once been bothered by walking up all these stairs despite not being as well trained as anyone here.

"Tragic how the Zoner is more robust than one of the two leading this rescue mission." Rinkah remarked referring to Corrin as one of the two co-leaders of the mission to find Ryoma, the other being Takumi.

"Explain to me exactly how someone who was originally trained to be a high commander of one of the biggest armies in the world and a deadly Hoshidan Hunter is so out of shape from something as primitive as walking some stairs?" Takumi questioned his sister with a hint of smugness in his voice while his face is melancholic.

"I hate jogging, shoot me." Corrin hissed.

'I'm waiting for you to give me the chance.' Takumi mused.

"Please, let's not argue, we still have the top to reach." Sakura pleaded, fearing that an argument will erupt between her siblings and she is still troubled by what Ryoma had said to Takumi four days ago.

"Relax, Lady Sakura, everyone here's just trying to stay in high spirit." Robin assured her while he gently and discreetly moves Corrin away from Takumi, as the two have been fairly close to each other since they started walking with Sakura originally in the middle.

"Seriously Rob, I don't see why you can't just fly us to the top one at a time since you seem to have so much magic reserve?" Corrin questioned Robin.

"And waste a good opportunity to get you to perform at least a semblance of jogging? Come now, Cor, your arms may be flawless but your legs are just for show, you and Azura look like you need the exercise." The Tactician smirked at the two Princesses, and he gets a pouting Corrin who also glares at him while Azura only makes an offended ''Hmph''.

"Mister Robin can fly?" Mozu asked with wonders getting in on the conversation.

"Yeah, that feels like something that needs to be addressed cause no Mage has ever been able to fly before." Orochi said. "I mean, there have been many theories made by Diviners to utilize one's internal Mana to make one's body completely weightless but none ever proved sound."

"Everyone ignored me when I brought the topic up." Sakura cut in upset.

"We had a dragon to fight Sakura, the topic was completely irrelevant at the time." Takumi specified.

"It's not something that I can say with total certainty if I've achieved it with ease or spent my whole life training for it because flight feels like second nature based on experience since all it takes is a thought for me to take to the skies, nor do I have to use too much mana at all but very little, unless I take flight at inhumane speeds that not even a Kinshi can keep up with." Robin explained as best he could over a power he doesn't really understand. "It's the best feeling in the world, of that I can say for a fact."

"I can attest to that." Corrin smiled as she enjoyed all those times Robin took her flying with him. Not sure if it's because of the flight part or that Robin always has to hold her close in his arms that she enjoys it too much. "Hold on, what if when we make it to the top there are Grimm there waiting for us to strike and I can't fight at my best when I'm tired from all this walking."

"You have dragon blood in your veins and you can turn into one, I'm sure the adrenaline pumping through your veins will lessen enough of your fatigue to hold your own, either way, Kaze and I can handle the rest." Robin shrugged.

"Your logic is irrefutable." Hinata praised.

"I can attest to that as well." Takumi said as he always feels this intense and sometimes violent rush whenever his adrenaline rises up in a way that he's sure no other human feels that has to do with his inhuman bloodline. "Though, Azura and Sakura clearly lack this dragonic trait." His statement unintentionally lowers Sakura's already weak self-esteem while Azura makes another offended ''Hmph''.

"He means it in a good way, Milady!" The two retainers hastily assure their little Princess as best they can to increase her self-esteem.

"I'll have you know that I'm well drilled when it comes to keeping myself in shape, I received training from Hinoka on how to managed a naginata." Azura claimed.

"Yes, and we all know how ''reliable'' my sister is when it comes to 'making time' for others." Takumi said sarcastically regarding Hinoka's sense of priorities. "Honestly, Azura, if you wanted to be an actual spear fighter, you should've received lessons from Oboro, rather than a second class chump." He lectured, unknowingly praising Oboro over being superior than the High Princess of Hoshido when it comes to using spears for combat, making his blue haired retainer blushed furiously, as if she wasn't flustered enough during her dinner with the royal family, that Takumi doesn't know about.

"Careful with your words Lord Takumi, our future Lady Oboro still hasn't recovered from the flushes she received from the Queen when she was invited to dinner to celebrate Lady Corrin's return." Subaki said smugly, probably in retaliation for accidentally hurting Sakura's feelings.

"WHAT?!" The Second Prince shouted in disbelief, turning to his female retainer. "Oboro!"

"I… I… I… I meant to tell you but getting the privilege to talk to the Queen so casually was so… was so…" Poor Oboro was hoping to avoid this conversation.

"WHAT DID YOU TELL HER ABOUT US?!" Takumi demanded, also flustered, earning him the laughter of everyone in the group as they stop to catch their breath, minus the no nonsense of Saizo and Rinkah who only get annoy by all the immaturity, while the actual adult in the group, Reina only gives a light chuckle to the infancy. Subaki and Hana hi-five each other for getting what they view as 'justice' for their Princess.

"Some rescue team we turned out to be." Saizo growled at even his own brother for getting caught off in this childishness.

Eventually, after another three hours after calming down from the fun they had, they finally make it to the top. They can see from a distance what looks to be buildings of a large village.

"Finally!" Corrin makes an exasperated sigh of relief upon making it this far but still have a long way to reach their destination.

"The Wind Tribe Village is pretty close now, once we passed through, our journey to Izumo will end all the quicker." Kaze said.

"Not quick enough, we still have almost a day and a half of walking before we can make it to Izumo." Robin claimed.

"And now I feel sad again." Corrin feels down about herself.

"Not necessarily, Saizo and I have come to the village many times before, Hoshidan and the Wind Tribalists used to have a few skirmishes four to six years ago due to a certain domestic dispute and my brother, I and a few others would escort several diplomats to settle things peacefully since half of the ownership of this region belongs to the Wind Tribe. At two occasions we escorted Queen Mikoto here to speak directly with Chief Fuga to properly seal the deal, and during our stay there my brother and I befriended a Diviner who possesses one of few Warp Scrolls that exist in the eastern half of Horus, and she often visits Izumo whenever she takes a vacation from her duties to her tribe." Kaze explained.

"Don't you mean you befriended her and your brother just stayed silent and ignored the both of you." Azura corrected as like everyone else, minus for three among them knows that Saizo is not one to socialize in any kind of conversation, even Ryoma has a hard time getting the red ninja to open up to him. All Saizo does in response to her rude comment is just make his own ''Hmph'' but not because he's offended but simply because he's harsh to everyone, minus for Ryoma.

"So… it's a she we're talking about, huh." Hana asked mischievously regarding Kaze's ''friend''.

"Please no." Kaze sighed, dreading where this conversation is heading to.

"You my friend are wasting your gifts with the ladies." Hinata remarked also mischievously as Kaze's dashing good looks and kind personality makes him a favorite of the ladies, something he prefers to avoid at all times.

"Can we not have this now, please." The green Ninja pleaded for mercy and embarrassment.

"I warned you to be more cynical and quiet to avoid these petty chats." Saizo lectured him.

"Unlike you I actually enjoy having friends." Kaze argued.

"Well, you do strike me as someone who can easily get with anyone, you're pretty astonishing." Corrin said kindly to Kaze.

"Lady Corrin, please be silent for a moment…" Kaze suddenly said as he and Saizo get serious all the sudden.

"Oh, c'mon! It was a genuine compliment!" Corrin cried.

"No, that's not it. I'm sensing an unusual presence. I think we're being followed." Kaze informed, getting everyone armed and ready for the worse. "Attention! Whoever you are! Show yourself now if you wish to avoid conflict!" Kaze demanded to whoever they must face next, and out of nowhere three beowolves show up right in front of them. This is the first time Mozu has ever laid eyes on Grimm and gets understandably scared by the sight of them with Corrin pulling her behind her for her protection while she points her sword at the Grimm before them. The only one not alarmed by the sight of the Beowolves is Robin.

"Grimm! Where did they come from?" Corrin said, wisely keeping her guard up even though three Beowolves aren't much of a threat with their numbers higher.

"Grimm?" Robin repeated in confusion.

"How strange. I expected humans. Beowolves aren't usually this stealthy." Kaze said most confused by this unusual predicament

"Are we seeing the same thing?" Robin asked, not sure what they are all seeing.

"They shouldn't. Something isn't right." Saizo said finding this scene confusing.

"Doesn't matter, let's just take them down!" Takumi ordered as he fires his Fujin Yumi at the middle Beowolf.

"TAKUMI, NO!" Robin yelled and to everyone's shock, the Tactician runs fast and hits the magical arrow with a small bolt of lightning that knocks it away from the Beowolf.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Takumi shouted enraged.

"These guys are not Grimm!" Robin warned, just when the Beowolf that Takumi attacked moved in to hit Robin, only for the Mage to place his palm at the wolf's chest, and knocks it to the ground, and the other two are going to have a turn to sink their claws at them. "If none of you can see what I do, then that means…" He began as he summons his tome that opens by itself again with it shining with a pink glow and Robin raises his left hand upward.

"RELEASE!" He roared and from his open palm shines a bright pink light that illuminates the surrounding area, forcing everyone else, including the Beowolves to avert their eyes from the light for two seconds before it fades and once done, the group return their gazes back to the Grimm and they are gone, in their place there are three men, warriors of the Wind Tribe, judging by their armor that the Hoshidans are all familiar with.

"Wind Tribalists!" Rinkah gasped in confusion.

"Where are the Grimm?" Corrin asked just as shocked.

"Grimm? Oh, Hell, you bastards as well, is this what Hoshido has come to now that Nohr has invaded!" One of the Tribalists shouted angrily as the trio regroup and keep their distance, their weapons arm and make use of their wind magic, surrounding themselves in a barely visible, seemingly harmless and weak tornado.

"I don't understand." Sakura muttered.

"There were never any Grimm before us, what you all saw was an illusion that someone cast on us to make the Tribalist look like Grimm, and I get the feeling that it only affected you guys." Robin explained. "I felt an odd sensation as soon as we made it to the top but this particular illusion spell was stronger than most."

"I didn't feel anything from the external mana." Orochi muttered confused as she too should've been able to notice an illusion being cast near her.

"An Illusion? HA! You're not the first Hoshidans to make that excuse right after killing our own people, we won't fall for it!" Another Tribalist snapped at their words.

"Wait a minute! He's telling the truth; we really didn't know what we were seeing until now." Corrin pleaded with them to listen.

"Just hear us out, I am Prince Takumi of Hoshido, and I give you my word that we did not come here to start a war with the Wind Tribe. This is all a Nohrian trick to put us against each other." Takumi avowed, trying to fix things before they escalate even worse.

"Your High Princess said those exact same words right after she and her troops slaughtered so many of our brethren! We are not people who can be easily fooled and manipulated!" The Tribalist shouted, refusing to believe their claim holds truth.

"Hinoka's here!" Corrin gasped.

"No! There has to be a mistake." Sakura cried in denial, refusing to believe that her sister would commit such an act.

"You Hoshidans have been nothing but troublesome, angry savages ever since King Sumeragi bit the dust and now that war breaks out you think you can do whatever you want, even in neutral territory!" Again the Trio snapped accusingly.

"How dare you!" Saizo snapped at them for speaking ill of his people and late King.

"Nobody do anything stupid!" Robin commanded all of them.

The argument is put on hold as they are caught off by the roar of a horrible beast from far away, likely near the Wind Tribe Village.

"Another Nuckelavee." Reina cursed, each of them have become familiar enough with the beast to recognized that horrible roar of fear anywhere.

"There were never any Grimm, huh?" Oboro scoffed at their further misfortune.

"Don't get smart with me." Robin hissed.

"The Village!" One of the Tribalist cried as they rush back to the village with the group following in pursuit. Once they arrive, they make it to the scene of a massacre within the desert side of Oldstrong, most of them are dead Wind Tribalist along with a few Hoshidans, only four are left alive, the High Princess Hinoka, her two retainers Azama and Setsuna, along with a young boy who's likely only a year older than Sakura and Mozu with maroon shoulder-length hair and is wearing a sleeveless sky blue kimono, who might also be from the Village, all of them facing off against a Nuckelavee, holding another wind tribalist by his right hand and she was still alive until the Grimm literally squishes the life out of her, along with blood coming out of her mouth in a horrible fashion.

"NO!" The Boy cried out in horror before it turns to anger and from both his hands he fires a large quantity of air in the form of a tornado-like blast that hits the Grimm head on but the best he could do is force the demon to take a few steps back and drop the now dead wind tribalist before the boy soon gives out and collapse from exhaustion with his spell ceasing.

"Hayato!" The Trio cried out to the boy as they rush to his side.

"Hinoka!" Takumi yelled as they too all rush to help them as the Nuckelavee prepares to attack them but first notices the rest of them heading their way to stop it and it retaliates by making it's terror roar forcing all of them to fall on their knees and the mages suffer severe headaches.

The Nuckelavee then returns to his first four targets and goes to finish them off with Hinoka mustering up all the courage she can to get back on her feet and stand between the Grimm and the boy with her Bolt Naginata in hand, ready to make one last stand.

"What do we do?" Corrin cried in desperation to save them but can't think straight from all the fear consuming her. Robin tightens his left fist as it surges with the Ignis flames, and the power heals his headache, afterwards he places his hand on Corrin's right hand with the flames surging through her as well, purifying some of the terror she is feeling. The two Whiteheads then stare at each other intently.

"You know what you have to do. You can't deny what you are forever, I'm so sorry you're being forced to push yourself further into this." Robin said, encouraging her to use her Dragonstone, as the Princess stares at it in her left hand.

Corrin has only a few seconds to decide as the Nuckelavee begins its march to kill the High Princess.

"HINOKA!" Corrin roared intently as the Dragonstone shines brightly as it transforms her, entering her dragonic form once again as she charges forth and at inhuman speed, ramming herself on the Nuckelavee and pins it to the ground.

"Corrin!" Hinoka gasped at the sight of her sister in dragon form once again. The Nuckelavee fights back, grabbing Corrin by her long neck, able to stretch its arm unnaturally long, succeeding in pushing her off it and pins her to the ground but she retaliates by grabbing the arm and squishes it so tightly that it breaks and she tears it off, making the monster scream in pain. The Dragon Princess doesn't stop there as she resumes to pin it down by placing her hand on both its humanoid and horse head and squashes them with her newfound superhuman strength, killing the Demon of Terror.

"At a girl." Robin sighed in relief with the headache fully gone and everyone recovers from the shocks

"Big sister! Are you alright!" Sakura cried out as she and Takumi rushed to Hinoka's side.

"You two." Hinoka muttered relief to see such heartwarming faces.

"Ah, how fortunate to have all of you come to our aid. I was worried that we had to pick up the Princess' remains from a horse's legs." Azama said rudely but still appreciated their arrival.

"He means thank you." Setsuna replied next casually.

"Just try to stay still as we get you all fixed up." Takumi insisted to them as Sakura and Orochi begin to use their Healing Rods on them, including the boy named Hayato that the Trio focus solely on helping.

"Gods, that Grimm was scary and that scream it made hurt my ears a lot." Mozu muttered, still covering her ears while still shaking scared.

"Really, that's all you felt. How curious." Rinkah said as she noticed that Mozu's fear towards the Nuckelavee was only from the sight of it and not from its roar.

Everyone then turns to see Corrin, still in her dragon form and remains silent, staring at the ground where the Grimm was before its brutal demise and everyone wasn't sure how to respond, minus Robin who walks towards her, now standing in front of her.

"Cor? You alright?" He asked her gently, earning him her attention. "It's alright, Corrin. There's no one left that will hurt you."

"Rob… I feel strange. Like, I'm not really me anymore. How can I…" Corrin began, her voice while distorted and monstrous, it's clear that Corrin is still in there and in control. Robin raises both his arms to indicate her to stay calm.

"Just focus your thoughts on being yourself, the stone is inside you now and it will keep you in control. All you have to do is just want to change back." He instructed.

"Just want to change back." She repeated before her body changes again, back to her human self. She nearly loses her balance and trips, causing Robin to hold on to her.

"Better?" He asked her softly.

"Better." She smiled at him warmly before they return to their friends. "Hinoka, are you alright?"

"Yeah, don't concern yourself with me." Hinoka replied with a smile of gratitude to her younger sister. "Thank you, sis. I owe you one."

"Another time, and now for the real issue, what are we supposed to do now?" Corrin wondered.

"We must speak with the Wind Tribalists and try to settle this incident diplomatically. This whole skirmish was no doubt the cause of that illusion you all experienced and as such many of them see us as the enemy now." Robin instructed.

"He's right." Hinoka muttered with shame visible all over her. "Even though I was deceived, Wind Tribalist blood is in my hands. I have to do something about this, before things get progressively worse, even if it means suffering the consequences."

"Peace, Hinoka, we'll find a way through this, I know it." Azura assured the High Princess as they must now head to the Wind Tribe. They have a lot of explaining to do, regarding Hinoka's supposed crimes against them before they can proceed to find Ryoma.

---

This Chapter was rushed by a lot, I know, with the fun and peaceful moments suddenly turning serious and violent, especially Mozu's recruitment but I wanted to get ahead the early chapters already and try to reach the more important ones that concern the War, granted I will try to make time for the events that play out in Chapter 8 to 11 of Birthright but vastly different, of course. Regarding the support conversations, I intend to have those but instead of just a conversation between just two people when getting to know each other, I'll try to have more people involve to engage in bigger conversations and try to have them bond better together, and a bit quicker.