A/N: GAHHHH, work suuuuucksssss. Endless meetings ate up all my writing time. Hopefully things will calm down this week and I can focus on writing again!

A grumpy, semi-conscious Squire trudged to the rendezvous point in the darkness. His shoulders were slumped and his feet dragged behind him with each step. As he came closer to the Nishigori's tent, he saw a dark outline out in front and realized that Mrs. Nishigori was already there waiting for him. He readjusted the shoulder strap on his bow, suppressing a yawn as he picked up his ambling pace a bit. His bow had been returned to him the night before, and he had been absolutely ecstatic. He'd had that bow for nearly a decade and it was like an extension of his left arm. He was intimately familiar with every little aspect of the weapon, from the tensile strength of the string to the weight of the quiver on his back. It felt like he had his best friend back and it brought him a great sense of comfort.

"Good morning, Squire Plisetsky. I hope that this pre-dawn morning finds you well."

"How does anyone function at this time in the day?"

Yuuko sighed as she took in the tired-looking young man before her. By the looks of things, he'd most likely had never had to wake up this early before. From what she'd gathered, he was the quintessential spoiled rich brat. Someone who always wanted to have things his way and turned his nose up at authority. Yuuri always told her to not judge people so quickly, and to give them the benefit of the doubt, but so far the young man had only left her with negative impressions. This morning was already not getting off to a good start. She needed an alert and observant helper, not some golden-haired kyonshi*. Breathe…try to relax…you have little yōkai triplets back home, and you've survived them just fine. Surely you can handle one ice dragon.

"Have you eaten, young man?"

"Yes, a servant brought some food to my tent."

"Excellent."

Yuuko reached into her shoulder bag and took out another bag that was identical to hers. She held it out to the Squire and he took it from her.

"We have a lot of herbs and materials to gather in a very short time. I hope that you can keep up."

Before the Squire could formulate a reply, the fox woman turned on her heel and took off running. Cursing under his breath, he scrambled into a run and scampered after her. If he hadn't been awake before, he certainly was now.

…

Twenty minutes of running in darkness later, the fox woman mercifully came to a stop. The young Squire nearly moaned in relief as his torture finally ended. He was woefully out of shape, not having done any strenuous activity since long before he'd left Occidentis. He cursed himself for not having taken part in any of the endurance training the Master Archer had scheduled for him. The man was always nagging him about being in top physical shape, but he had just blown him off. He couldn't be forced to go, so he didn't. He saw archers as stationary fighters who depended more on accuracy and the ability to rapid-fire arrows rather than their ability to run up and down mountains. He'd figured that he was young and healthy enough and didn't need to be getting up at dawn to train. How wrong he'd been. His poor conditioning had made him an easy target for a demon's poison dagger and now found himself doubled over, gasping and heaving for air to fill his burning lungs. He was utterly exhausted after his bout of pre-dawn calisthenics.

"There's a stream just north of here. Go get yourself a cold drink and meet me back here when you're done. Don't take too long, we have work to do."

Squire Plisetsky nodded and then took one big breath and let it out slowly. He straightened up his back and walked off in the direction the fox woman had indicated. Within a few minutes he reached the stream and eagerly bent over the water, scooping some up into his cupped hands to first splash onto his face before bringing a fresh batch up to his lips. The cool water stung his throat a bit as it went down, but was so refreshing that he drank it down greedily anyway. Once he'd had enough to sate his thirst, he stood back up and actually took the time to survey his surroundings. It was still dark and so he couldn't see colors or details, but he could tell that they were in a mountain meadow of sorts. The cool air still carrying the scent of night-blooming jasmine and datura flowers. He took another deep breath, allowing the scents to wash over him and bring him calm. He wiped his hands on his trousers and then headed back to the fox woman.

She was waiting for him, arms crossed and a rather unimpressed look on her face. He knew that the woman disliked him, her annoyance practically rolled off her in waves. Normally he wouldn't give a flying shit about what someone thought of him, but he'd earned her animosity fair and square and actually felt guilty about it since she'd saved his life. He was going to have to swallow his pride for a change and do whatever it took for her to accept his apology.

"I'm sorry if I took too long. I was...uh...thirstier than I thought."

The fox woman grunted in response and handed him a small leafy plant.

"This is what we will focus on first. It's a plant used in the poultice for wound healing. We'll need quite a large amount of them since there are so many more of us now. Try and find as many of these as quickly as you can."

The young Squire held the plant in his hand and sensed his lignum magic activate. He could feel the residual energy of the plant pulsing in his hand. It had been recently picked and so it was quite easy to read. He then knelt down on the ground and placed his palm flat on the soil. He closed his eyes and sifted through the different plant energies swirling beneath his fingertips until he found the matching type of energy. He isolated the energy until he had a clear idea of where it was most intense. When he opened his eyes, he pointed toward the east.

"There's a big patch of them just over that way. It feels like they're next to a big tree or something."

Yuuko was shocked, her mouth nearly dropping open in the process. She had not expected such skills from the young man.

"You are a lignum magic user?"

The Squire rubbed at the back of his head sheepishly as he looked up at the fox woman.

"Yeah. It kinda manifested a few years ago when I began archery training. People kept trying to get me to take up metallic weapons, but I hated every single one of them. Things only made sense after I managed to get my hands on a wooden bow."

"Well, it's a very welcome surprise and suits our purposes perfectly. We'll be able to gather herbs much faster than I had anticipated. Even with my heightened sense of smell, it takes a while to isolate specific plants."

"Ah, what a relief. I was starting to feel a bit useless."

The fox woman turned to face him, her chestnut eyes fixing him with a piercing gaze.

"No one is useless. Everything and everyone serves some kind of purpose. If you've been feeling useless, young Squire, perhaps you should review the circumstances that have left you feeling so."

She turned in the direction he'd indicated earlier and took off running once more. The Squire groaned, wondering not for the first time if the woman ever just walked somewhere instead of running. He readjusted his bow and then begrudgingly took off after her once more. They worked silently and efficiently, the fox woman handing him sample after sample of what they needed, and the young Squire's ability guiding them accurately to each new picking area. The sky began to grow light as the first rays of dawn swept across their mountain, revealing to the Squire that they were in a verdant and fertile valley. He stared, in awe, as the color returned slowly to the world around him. First, the dawn painted the landscape in hues of orange and yellow. As the sun rose higher on the horizon, the sun's light became whiter and the natural shades of the world around him became clear. He gasped, completely mesmerized.

"It's...beautiful."

Yuuko looked at the young man, a smile gracing her lips for the first time that morning. He looked so innocently awestruck at the moment and she realized just how sheltered he was.

"Yes, it is. We'll probably need to come back here at some point for more supplies, so you'll get another chance to experience it. But for now we are done, and should start heading back the mountain. I need to report to the training session and organize my team."

The Squire nodded, drinking in one last glance of the scenery before turning his back on the sunrise an heading down the mountain back to camp.

…

A fully armored Emperor pushed his way past his lodging's tent flap, stopping to admire the sunrise before heading toward the camp gate. His holy Phoenix sword, Megami no Kiba*,was securely strapped to his left hip along with a regular katana. The regular katana could be easily imbued with flames and was used to take down lower-ranked enemies. The holy sword was reserved for the more powerful enemies as it tended to draw out an enormous amount of magical power from its user.

Emperor Katsuki's reports all indicated that there was a rather high-ranked demon general and lieutenant at the stronghold, and he was actually feeling rather relieved that the King was here to assist. They would each be able to take down one of the major targets without overextending their powers. As the Emperor rounded the corner, he nearly literally ran into the King. His eyes were immediately drawn to the monarch's armor, clunky-looking metal pieces that looked heavy and not very mobile. At the same time, the King's gaze was drawn to the Emperor's armor and he was shocked by how sparse and lacking it was. They both opened their mouths and spoke at the same time.

"Don't you think that armor is..."

"...too much?", asked the Emperor.

"...too little?", asked the King.

Two sets of eyes widened comically before they both burst into laughter. The King was the first to recover and speak.

"It appears we both have differing opinions on armor. Forgive me, dear Emperor, but does that particular set offer you proper protection?"

The Emperor smiled at the King, finding the man's show of concern rather charming.

"Indeed it does, dear King."

The King eyed his armor skeptically.

"But you look so...exposed. Anyone could breach your defenses."

The Emperor's smile grew wider. It would make sense that someone from Occidentis would find armor from Orientalis strange or lacking in defense, even. His armor was custom-made to his body and his needs and covered him like a second skin. It was perfectly adapted to his fighting style.

"Ah, but that would require them to catch me first."

The King smirked, suddenly very curious about the Emperor's fighting abilities. One didn't get away with wearing minimal armor unless they were quick or stealthy enough to not need it.

"Would you care to humor me with a little bit of sparring this morning then, Emperor Katsuki?"

The Emperor couldn't really say that he was surprised by the King's request. He wasn't the first one, nor would be the last, to underestimate him based on his choice of light armor.

"Certainly, dear King. Nothing would please me more. Let's head out to the training area and make sure everyone is organized first."

The King clapped his hands together, tilting his head sideways as he beamed at the Emperor.

"Great!"

…

Once everyone had split up into their assigned groups and received the briefing from the leaders, they held their own warm-up and practice. After all preparations were complete, word that the Emperor of Orientalis and the King of Occidentis were going to have a sparring match spread through the camp like wildfire. A circle of spectators formed out in the clearing and the Emperor stepped out from one end as the King came out of the other. No announcements were made and the crowd fell into a hushed silence. The two monarchs met up at the middle of their 'battlefield' and bowed to one another before shaking hands.

The King spoke as squared off against the Emperor.

"I'm going to point out all the flaws in your armor, dear Emperor. I hope you're prepared."

"I would love nothing more than to be able to agree with you King Nikiforov, but your clunky armor is no match for me."

"O-ho! Such brazen words! I shall make you eat them."

The King drew his sword and took up an offensive stance. The Emperor crossed his arms behind him and stood with feet slightly apart. The King looked over at him, confusion clearly written on his face.

"Aren't you going to...um...draw your sword?"

The Emperor shook his head.

"It is not necessary at this time."

The King's eyebrows twitched in annoyance. The man before him was an unshakable pillar of genuine confidence. He wasn't bluffing at all, that much was clear. Well, I guess I don't need to hold back then.

The King lunged forward with his sword, his strike directed at the Emperor's exposed shoulder. He blinked, puzzled, when his sword met with a sudden empty space. He turned his head and saw the Emperor, in the same stance as before, standing nonchalantly to his left. What the hell? How did he end up over there? The King squared his shoulders and began circling the Emperor predatorily. The man didn't even bother turning to face him. Once he'd made his way to directly behind the Emperor, he lunged. Once again, his sword was met with nothingness. He found the man again, standing off to his right this time. Feeling properly miffed, he launched into a barrage or lunges and strikes, growing increasingly frustrated by his inability to land a blow and by the fact that the Emperor still hadn't drawn his sword. What a slippery eel this man is! He won't sit still enough for me to strike him!

The King looked around, trying to see if there was anything nearby that he could use to his advantage. He noticed a rather large tree about 20 paces to the east and decided to herd the Emperor toward it and hopefully use it to his advantage. It took quite a bit of maneuvering, but he'd finally managed to get the Emperor nearly backed up against it. He pulled his sword back, ready to lunge forward. The Emperor smiled...smiled at him before he turned around, ran up a tree and then flipped backward off it like it was nothing. Before he had the time to determine if what his eyes had seen had actually happened or not, he felt the slightest prick of a sharp object at the back of his neck.

"I believe in Occidentis you say 'check mate'?"

_terminology_
kyonshi - from the Chinese word jianshi – a "hopping" zombie , is a type of reanimated corpse in Chinese legends and folklore. It is typically depicted as a stiff corpse dressed in official garments from the Qing Dynasty, and it moves around by hopping, with its arms outstretched. It kills living creatures to absorb their ki, or "life force", usually at night, while in the day, it rests in a coffin or hides in dark places such as caves.
Yōkai - "ghost"; "phantom"; "strange apparition", are a class of supernatural spirits and demons in Japanese folklore. The word yōkai is made up of the kanji for "bewitching; attractive; calamity" and "spectre; apparition; mystery; suspicious". They can also be called ayakashi, mononoke or mamono. Yōkai range diversely from the malevolent to the mischievous, or occasionally bring good fortune to those who encounter them.

Megami no Kiba – Goddess Fang