Fire Emblem Hearts
Chapter 1
Shepherd
Kazuki let out a soft groan as he slowly regained consciousness. His eyes fluttered open, vision a bit hazy as he down at the ground. He moved slightly, hearing an audible crack. He let out a surprise help as he started plummeting to the ground. He landed with a thump, the air escaping his lungs. He remained still for a few moments, realizing what had just happened. He had woken up in a tree, and now he was at the base of it, silently crying in pain. He grit his teeth, holding back tears as he rubbed his back side.
"Goddamn it...why?" he hissed. He closed his eyes, focusing on breathing, a loud wheezing coming from his mouth. He stared up at the violet skies, as his pain slowly diminished.
He suddenly let out a cry, jumping to his feet. He looked around for a few moments, heart beating wildly in his chest. He took a few deep breaths, calming himself down a bit. His eyes scanned the area, he had expected to find himself on the street that lead to his house. Instead, he found himself in a wooded path, surrounded by nothing but trees. The air around him was still, bland and unmoving. It was as if he had fallen into a dead forest, frozen in time. The leaves were still, they weren't even green. There were cracks in the ground glowing a brilliant blue, providing a bit of illumination. He glanced up at the sky, only seeing pitch black inky darkness.
He swallowed the lump in his throat, stumbling back a bit. He fell back hard, realizing he had tripped over his backpack. He quickly reached for it, peering inside. It was still full of snacks, drinks and food. He sighed, at least he wouldn't go hungry, where ever it was that he had landed. He stood up once more, slinging the pack over his shoulder.
"Where the hell am I? Let's see...I was on my way home from the store. I remembered something...then the world broke. Is that it?" he mumbled. He closed his eyes, a pensive look on his face. He thought for a few moments, but he couldn't dredge anything up. He opened his eyes, scratching his head as he looked around, a frown on his face.
"What the hell is going on? Why would the ground just...break? And that memory...it was..." he paused, the name on the tip of his tongue. He gasped, snapping his fingers. "Akira! How could I forget him!" he cried out, his voice echoing into the darkness.
The hair on his neck bristled a bit. As if on instinct, he jumped out of the way, avoiding a slash from a small black creature. It was only about 2 feet tall, with two small antennae on its head. It had beady yellow eyes and sharp claws on its hands. He growled, lowering himself a bit.
"Heartless? You're responsible for this aren't you?" he said. The creature said nothing, several more appearing from the ground beside it. Kazuki didn't have time to fight them. He swiveled on his heel, running up the path.
"Alright Kazuki, you woke up in a strange world, surrounded by creatures that can hurt you. They seem familiar though...where the hell have I seen them before? And why do I know their names?"
His thoughts slid to a halt when he reached what looked like an open courtyard. All around him, he could see what looked like houses, yet all of them were empty. There were bright oil lamps lighting the path that lead further into a town. In the distance, he could see a beautiful blue and white castle. He shook his head, noticing several more Heartless had appeared before him. He turned to leave, but the Shadows had caught up to him.
"Alright, what do I do now?" he mumbled.
"The keyblade! Summon the keyblade!" a voice cried, tearing through his mind. He groaned a bit in pain, clutching his head tightly with his left hand. One of the heartless jumped at him, causing him to gasp. He swung his hand out, slicing it completely in half.
It was then that he noticed the weapon in his grasp. It was the same one he had seen in his dream. It was a bit hazy, but it looked exactly like it. The heartless seemed to grow agitated at its sight, it was glowing slightly, with an unknown energy. A Soldier heartless attempted to claw at his chest, and he was quick to react, slicing it clean in half. He got into a stance, meeting the heartless head on.
"Come at me!" he taunted, though scared he wasn't going to die without a fight.
One of the Shadows let out a small screech, lunging at him. Kazuki swung his blade, slashing it in half. He parried a hit from one of the Soldiers, spinning around to destroy another Shadow. He dashed forward, delivering three jabs at another Soldier before backing away. He returned to his original stance, angling his blade in time to parry another attack, following with a counter-slash. It was as if he had fallen into a trance, gauge the enemy, slash, slash, parry, return to form, rinse and repeat. He had taken out a few of the Heartless, but they kept coming back.
"This is insane! I need a way to control this crowd, there's no way I'll be able to destroy them all at once!" he cried out, hoping someone would hear him.
"Remember, you have quite a lot of magical reserves. Always use those to your advantage. When you can't get in close with your Keyblade, magic will always be there to help you!"
"That voice again...wait, did she say magic?" Kazuki said, shaking his head. Several names flashed into his mind, magical spells he didn't know he had access too. He jumped back, holding his keyblade straight up into the air.
"Elthunder!" he chanted. Golden magic runes flashed around the tip of his keyblade. It burst into the air, breaking into multiple bolts that struck the heartless around him, taking several of them out. He smirked, slashing through some of the others, clearing a path.
"Maybe someone in this town will help me." he thought, as he sprinted away from the crowd. He jumped up, turning around mid air firing an Elblizzard spell back. He watched the ice burst and freeze several Heartless in place, some bursting into wisps of darkness.
"Hello? Is anyone out there? I could really use some assistance!" he cried out. It was quiet, the only sounds bouncing around the town was sounds of his own movement. A Soldier Heartless jumped at him, and he defensively countered, a dull clang filling his ears. He reacted quickly, kicking the creature back.
"You little shit, eat this!" he cried, pulling his keyblade back. He threw it at the creature, slicing it in half in a single hit. The keyblade flashed back into his hand, the light surrounding it dispelling itself.
"Strike Raid is a simple yet effective attack. By channeling magic into your Keyblade, you'll be able to throw it. Chain the attack and you'll be able to do a finishing move, Judgment! With that you'll take care of those pesky foes."
"Strike Raid...I better commit that to memory." he thought to himself. He glanced around, having stopped in what looked like a town square. He was a bit closer to the castle now, and could see quite a lot of the detail in it. It had various spires reaching up to the sky, all of them being a light blue and white color. The castle looked amazing, like that of a beautiful princess. Almost like a dream. He could see the face of the clock at the very front of the castle, seeing it was stopped at exactly midnight. He stared at it for a few minutes, noticing none of the hands moved.
"This castle looks familiar...but where have I seen it? I've never been here before...why...ugh." the boy clutched his head in pain again. He grit his teeth, one of his eyes tearing up from the sharp pang.
"Oh look! This is the Castle of Dreams!"
"The Castle of Dreams?"
"Mhmm! A woman named Cinderella lives here, it's so beautiful isn't it? One day, I'd like to live in a castle like this."the girl replied, earning a chuckle from the boy.
"Why? You already live in a castle, back in Daybreak Town."
"Muu...that isn't a castle, it's a stuffy tower. Come on, don't you ever imagine what it would be like to be a prince?"
"Not really...it doesn't seem appealing to me." the boy replied. The girl sighed audibly.
"Fine, and here I thought you liked princesses."
"I do like princesses. You're my princess aren't you?"
"Aw...you consider me your princess?" she asked.
"Mhmm, I do."
"You know what? Let's go into town, there's a store there that sells donuts. I'll buy you some."
"Okay, but we're splitting the bill...I can't let my girlfriend pay for my sweet tooth."
"What...what the hell was that?" Kazuki mumbled, shaking his head a bit. He couldn't see anything but darkness, the only thing he heard were voices. One belonging to a peppy girl, the other to a boy...one that sounded almost like him.
He continued walking, almost as if by instinct. He paused in front of a small shop, it was a small brick building with an angled roof. It had a white awning over the door, a sign that read 'Closed' being visible on the front. The building had a single window, the name Krispies being written on the glass. He put his hand on the glass, glancing at his reflection. His heart was beating hard in his chest, he could see the confusion in his own eyes. He didn't know what was going on, what this town even why, or why the castle looked so familiar. Who was that girl and why could he hear her voice? He took a deep breath, hoping to calm his nerves. He opened his eyes, in time to see a Heartless jumping at him in his reflection. He jumped out of the way in time, the creature bursting through the glass.
"Gah...don't you guys ever quit?" he shouted, at the small horde that had gathered before him. He held his keyblade tightly in his grasp, running straight at them.
He let out a cry, using an upward slash to send a few Heartless into the air. He jumped up, swinging his keyblade to and fro, somersaulting mid air; he brought the keyblade down, slamming them into the ground. He flipped out of the way, using a handspring to catch himself. He landed in a crouch, pulling his blade back, a swirling gale forming around the blade.
"Take this! Elwind!" he cried, swinging his keyblade forward, launching the spell out. It burst into a small funnel, the blades tearing some of the heartless apart. He took his chance, using a Strike Raid to finish some of the ones that were still falling.
"I think I'm getting a little better at this." he said confidently. He allowed his keyblade to disappear, not feeling anymore darkness around him. It was weird, before he couldn't feel anything but now he was more in tune with it. It was as if he could feel when the Heartless were nearby now.
He continued walking toward the castle. He was a bit drawn to it now, it was the only source of light in the area. As far as he could tell anyway. He reached the castle entrance, a long marble bridge leading over a moat. He stared up at the clock, eyes narrowed a bit. It hadn't moved at all, not a single hand had moved. He licked his lips, a shaky sigh escaping his lips as he took a step forward. He stopped, in time to avoid falling to his death. The bridge had broken apart, having fallen down into the moat. He heard a loud clicking and looked up, having realized the clock's hands had moved back an hour. The bell started chiming loudly, each toll lingering in the air for a few seconds.
"God...I almost died." he said with a laugh, a look of disbelief on his face. He clutched his heart tightly, feeling each thump on the palm of his hand.
Since his path forward had literally crumbled, he figured it was time to find another one. He started walking back the way he came, through the town. He paused to take out some of the heartless that had returned to the area, decided not to linger for too long. He spared a glance over his shoulder at the castle, a frown on his lips. He didn't know why he felt sad, but he did. This town didn't deserve to be in such a desolate place. But he didn't know what to do about it. The houses were empty, the stores were closed and the castle was desolate. He shook his head, turning back toward the path.
He continued walking away from the castle town, the light dying a bit as he moved forward. The path around him went down into a valley of sorts, large stone walls rising above him. The skies were still pitch black, swirling with violet clouds. He could see large pieces of rock, being frozen in mid air. He paused for a brief moment, wondering just how they were hanging in mid air. Then he remembered time wasn't exactly flowing in this place. At least that's what he assumed. He shrugged it off, and continued walking further and further down the path.
xxx
"Wonder how long this path stretches out for?" he said softly to himself. He was holding onto his bag straps tightly as he walked, a habit he had developed when he was younger.
He didn't know how long he had been walking for. It felt like hours, but he wasn't at all sleepy or hungry. He had been fighting the heartless for awhile though, leaving him quite winded. He continued trudging on, hoping to find someone in the darkness. But alas, no one showed up...just more heartless. After awhile, he started seeing the darkness brightening up a bit. He let out a sigh as he broke into a sprint, hearing soft rolling waves in the distance. He climbed over a few rocks in his way, finally reaching a beach.
He let out a sigh, straightening up a bit as he walked. The soft sand crunched under his feet, has he continued walking forward. The air wasn't as still here, in fact it was kind of salty in fact. The beach felt ver surreal to him. The darkened skies had cleared up significantly, and what looked like the moon could be seen in the center of the sky. Large rock formations came from the water, forming several arches. They were glowing a bright blue in color, pulsing slightly. He came to a stop in front of the water, watching it lapping at the shore. He didn't know why, but he felt at peace here, despite how dark it was.
"What is this place...why was I brought here?" he said, his voice filled with worry. He was still confused as to what was going on. He had thought it to be a dream, but this was far to real to be a dream. He closed his eyes, losing himself in thought.
"I wonder what truly happened...did the world truly break? Why is it that I feel so tired? As if I had just woken up from a nap or something? Sabishii...are you okay? And Akira..."
His eyes snapped open, gasping slightly at the name. A smile appeared on his lips as he jumped up into the air.
"Of course! The one who was missing from our lives was Akira! He was our best friend! We've been friends for years...haven't we? If so, then why did I forget him? Come to think of it, where the hell did he even go?"
Now that he remembered clearly, he remembered another key detail. Akira and Sabishii had been dating for awhile. He remembered Sabishii being interested in another guy, as she only saw Akira as her friend. They had a messy break up and decided not to speak for a long time. Kazuki remembered trying and failing to get them to hang out. Just when Sabishii had agreed to finally fix their friendship, he disappeared. He remembered someone else, Akira's sister Ann...she had been asking them about him. Searching for him to no avail...then she just disappeared. It was as if they hadn't existed in the first place. But now that he was in this place, he remembered everything vividly.
"I can't believe I forgot my best friend...wait, that means Sabishii forgot too! She doesn't remember Akira, or their break up. I have to go back for her!" he exclaimed.
"I'm afraid, that isn't possible." a voice said, causing him to jump slightly. He glanced to his right, a swirling pass of darkness rose from the ground, and from it emerged a cloaked figure. Kazuki backed up, clenching his fist tightly.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Oh come on? Are you sure you don't remember me? You used to be best friends with herafter all." the man said, earning a confused look from the boy.
"Her?"
"Ah, I see...so you've forgotten. Here I thought you knew who you were, bummer. I thought you were her apprentice, and yet here you war. Wondering the dark realm without a memory to your name." he replied with a chuckle.
"I don't even know what the hell you are talking about. Or about who for that matter. Now why don't you make yourself useful and tell me where the hell I am?" Kazuki snapped, summoning his keyblade to his hand. The man remained silent for a moment, breaking into laughter seconds after.
"Well lookie here, I didn't think you'd be able to summon your key back. That's quite the surprise, you've entertained me. So I'll give you a reward. You are in the Realm of Darkness...the resting place of hearts that fall into the Dark."
"The Realm of Darkness? What kind of baloney is that? Do you know how stupid that sounds?"
"As stupid as fighting off shadowy monsters with a giant key perhaps. But it's the utmost truth...you my friend, have fallen to the darkness. That little world you were in, couldn't sustain itself anymore. Those with strong hearts, were taken elsewhere. You got lucky...your heart could have been purged from your body, never to return." the hooded figure said, further confusing the boy.
"Hearts? Body? Listen I don't know what you are getting at, just tell me how to get outta here?!"
"There isn't one, I'm afraid. The Door to Light is a bit hard to open, however I do owe ya one. Well...I don't exactly owe you anything, but I'm sure she'd kick my ass a second time if I didn't help her precious apprentice. This is the only time I'll be helping you out, the next time we meet, I might not be so friendly." he said, snapping his fingers.
"What? Who are you? Why do you claim to know me? Who is this 'she' you are speaking of?" Kazuki cried out, preparing to lunge at the man. He snapped his fingers, willing a pool of darkness to appear around the boy.
"Ta-ta." he said with a chuckle. Kazuki let out a scream of surprise as the darkness enveloped him. He felt the ground fall from underneath him, once again making him free fall.
xxx
Kazuki regained consciousness not long after he had fallen. A bright ray sun was shining right in his face. He groaned a bit, using his hand to cover his eyes from the sensitive light. It took him moments to realize he was no longer staring at a darkened sky. It was actually blue, and the sun was shining brightly! He could feel the breeze on his face, and the air was quiet warm, most likely late spring or early summer. He rubbed his eyes slightly with the back of his hand, looking around the area. He could see nothing but fields, trees and farmland, along with a small town that seemed to be two or three miles away from where he was.
He also realized he was very high up. Rather, he was hanging off of a tree branch. About a fifty or so feet from the ground. He looked down, yelping a bit from how high he was. Before he could realize what was happening, he felt the branch under him give way.
"Oh no...not again!" he shouted, as he feebly reached for the branch above him. It too snapped under his weight, causing him to fall. He groaned and cried in pain, hitting most of the branches on the way down. He finally hit a thick bough near the ground, causing him to stop. He swore he could feel his ribs crack with that last hit. Before he could get his bearings, he slipped off that branch, landing on the soft grass under him.
"I swear to god, I'm gonna find that cloaked figure and shove my keyblade up his ass." he thought, slipping briefly out of consciousness.
Kazuki didn't know how long it had been. It felt as if he had been floating in an abyss. He could feel the ground underneath him, hear the birds chirping, feel the sun on his skin. Yet he couldn't wake up...he felt his ears twitching every so often. His hearing had gotten exponentially better, he noticed. He didn't know why it was, but whenever he tried to force himself to wake up, he just couldn't.
"Is he dead?"
"No, I don't think so. He's breathing so he's not dead."
"Voices? A girl...and a boy? They sound so far..." Kazuki thought.
"Hmm...maybe if we poke him with a stick he'll wake up."
"No Lissa, we shouldn't do that." a smooth male voice said firmly.
"Well we gotta do something! How did we wake up Robin?"
"I just woke up, your voices were enough to rouse me from my slumber." another more firm female voice replied.
"Robin? That name sounds familiar...wait, poke me with a stick?"
"She just joke up Lissa, maybe we should just wait until he...oh look he's waking up!"
Kazuki's eyes slowly fluttered up, the light making him cringe a bit. His vision was partially blocked by three figures. One was a very handsome blue haired man, probably the voice of reason he had heard earlier. He noticed the odd attire he was wearing, along with the mark on his bicep. He saw the hilt of a sword attached to his hip, a rather fancy crimson decorated with what looked like gold.
The girl beside him must have been the one that had been poking him. She was a cute blonde, with hair tied up in messy twin tails. She was wearing a tan colored dress, along with what looked like an apron over it. He noticed she wore a weird iron cage around her waist. It reminded him of the ones worn in Victorian Era England.
The final person in the group was a white haired young lady, wearing a violet coat with golden markings on it. It looked like it was several sizes too big for her, considering her hands were mostly covered by the sleeves. She wore equally baggy pants and brown leather boots. He noticed the hilt of a sword at her hip, she also held a yellow tome in her hand, with a lightning bolt etched on the cover.
After his assessment of the people before him, Kazuki concluded that he was indeed not home. As if the cloaked man had been bad enough, now he was in another place. He was still shocked, confused, slightly scared and injured. He could feel his sides aching from his most like cracked ribs. The blue haired man gave him a smile.
"Hey there, there are plenty of places to take a nap you know. This one is kind of dangerous." he said jokingly, probably to ease the tension. Kazuki chuckled, giving him a nod.
"Don't you know it? I woke up in this tree awhile ago, probably cracked every rib on the way down." he replied. The blonde girl knelt beside him, looking rather concerned.
"Are you sure? Maybe I can take a look?"
"Um..."
"Don't worry, you're in good hands. Lissa here happens to be a healer. My name is Chrom, you've met my sister Lissa. This here is Robin." the man said.
"Hello, it's nice to meet you." Robin said politely.
"Likewise. My name is Kazuki, I suppose it's nice to meet you all too. Ow...don't poke my side like that." the boy suddenly said, glaring at Lissa.
"Sorry! I just wanted to make sure you weren't bleeding. You're gonna have to take off your shirt." she said. The boy sighed, glancing down at himself. He noticed that, instead of his school blazer, like he had been wearing before, he was in fact wearing a cloak. Not just a cloak, a familiar looking cloak.
"What the hell? Wait...wait...I feel like I've seen this outfit before." he thought to himself.
"Something wrong Kazuki?" Robin asked curiously. He looked up at her, giving her a sheepish smile.
"I uh...had a pack with me, full of supplies. I was just wondering where it was."
"Ah...you mean that one up there?" Chrom asked, pointing a single digit up. Kazuki looked up, spotting his backpack hanging from a high branch. The branch looked ready to snap, probably from all of the snacks he had stuffed inside it.
"Fucking shit, of course it's up in the goddamn tree. Why wouldn't it be?" he snapped angrily. The boy glanced back down, noticing the smirk on Chrom's face, while Robin and Lissa were just stunned at his speech.
"Well...you certainly have a colorful vocabulary."
"Sorry Robin...it's just...I've had a stressful day. I just wanna get my stuff and you know...go home." he said. Chrom held his hand out to him, chuckling slightly.
"Don't we all...here, once you are up on your feet, my sister will look you over. We'll figure out a way to get your pack down." he said. Kazuki nodded, taking Chrom's hand. He cried a bit in pain, thankfully Robin supported his weight when he was standing.
"Allow me, you clearly can't take this off." she said, untying his cloak. She took a hold of it, folding it over her arm. Chrom helped him out with his shirt, eyes widening at all of the bruises he saw on his chest.
"What the heck have you been doing? Get into a bar fight or something?" he asked, stunned at the sigh.
"Well...I wouldn't call it a bar fight perse." Kazuki replied, rubbing his neck. Lissa said nothing as she looked him over, her dainty fingers feeling each and every rib.
"Well, the good news is that they're just cracked. Bad news, this is gonna hurt a bit." she said, reaching for her Heal Staff. Kazuki looked at it curiously.
"Staff magic? I wasn't aware arcane forms of magic like that existed. I thought it was all magic spells and the like...neat."
"Okay, here we go." she said softly, holding her staff above her head. The orb glowed brightly, the light flowing toward the boy. He let out a cry in pain as he felt all of his ribs popping back into place. He shed a single tear from the sudden jerk, but let out a sigh when the pain was gone. Even the bruising was gone, all of the violet marks and scratches had gone with it. He flexed his arm a bit, a grin on his face.
"Haha! I'm back to top form...thanks Lissa, I appreciate it." he said, taking the time to look at himself. He was never one for exercise, but he noticed his body was a lot leaner than before. He had defined pectorals, and his arm muscles weren't as flabby as before. While he didn't have a six pack, he did had decent looking abs.
"It's no problem at all. Healing is what I'm good at, though I am concerned. You aren't a thief right?" she asked, as the boy donned his shirt.
"No...why do you ask?" he said. He put on his leather vest, not having realized he had one in the first place.
"Well...because you're a kitsune."
"Lissa, what have I told you about assuming things?" Chrom asked, giving his sister a disappointed look. She pouted her lips.
"What? I'm just making an observation. Kitsune come from Plegia, and are more often then not, thieves." she said matter of factly.
"What the hell is a kitsune?" Kazuki asked, causing the two siblings to look back at him. Even Robin seemed confused at the inquiry.
"Are you serious?"
"Of course I am, I mean...I know what a kitsune is kind of. It's supposed to be some sort of deity right?" he asked.
"Um...not exactly. Kitsune are powerful demi-humans, capable of turning into large foxes in battle. With the aid of a beaststone of course. They also have noticeable ears and tails...like you do." Lissa added. Kazuki's eyes widened in shock at her words. He slowly reached up to his head, feeling around his scalp for a few seconds. He felt his fingers brushing up against something, something fluffy. He took a hold of one, tugging it slightly, feeling a bit of pain as he did. His other hand slowly traveled down, feeling a rather fluffy appendage he hadn't had before. After another second of silence, he simply nodded, as if answering an internal question.
"Alright...I've 100% confirmed my theory. The theory of me being absolutely bat shit crazy. There is no way this is happening, I'm not in a field, I'm not in another world. I'm not a kitsune...I'm just a regular boy, sleeping in his regular ass bed. That's it...this is all just a dream." he said happily. Lissa reached up for his cheek, pinching it as hard as she could, enough to leave a mark. With a yelp, he brushed her hand away.
"What was that for?"
"Well...sometimes when you are dreaming, a pinch will pull you out of it. So I pinched you...doesn't seem like you're in a dream to me." she said with a shrug.
"Are you sure you're alright? Perhaps we should stop at the nearby town and take you to the clinic." Chrom asked.
"Hmm...it could be that he has amnesia like me. It would perfectly match his behavior." Robin quipped, causing the boy to look over at her.
"Nah...I don't have amnesia. My name is Kazuki Morita, I'm 17 years old and live in Shibuya, Japan. I go to Shujin Academy, my favorite food is lasagna. I love eating chips and playing video games." he said.
"Shibuya, Japan? I've never heard of this country, have you sis?" Chrom asked.
"Mmm...nope. What's a video game?"
"Beats me...I'd like to know what these chips are though, they sound delicious." Robin replied. Kazuki grabbed a hold of his head, gritting his teeth.
"Oh my god...alright this is not happening. The first part was a dream, the school part was a dream. The world breaking on me was a dream. The realm of darkness was a fucking dream...this is a dream right? This is all a fucking dream right?" he thought to himself. He was breathing hard, trying to keep himself from having a mental break down.
"Milord!" a firm voice called out. Kazuki jumped a bit, hearing the loud clops of hooves. It didn't take long for an armored horse to come into view. Atop the mighty beast was an even mightier beast, clad in light blue armor. The man had brown hair, and chiseled features, with fair skin and brown eyes. He had a firm look upon his face, and was clutching a large iron sword in his hand. His other hand was clasping the reins of his steed, which had pulled to a stop before them.
"Frederick, what's the matter?" Chrom asked, standing firm before the man.
"Those creatures from before, it seems they've come back. They aren't like the dead we've fought."
"You mean those shadowy creatures?" Lissa asked, concern filling her voice. Robin frowned, biting her lower lip.
"I wasn't expecting them to return. I was sure the power of Chrom's Falchion would have been enough. We should take care of them, before they attack more people!" she said.
"Right...Kazuki, perhaps you should wait for us to return. We wouldn't want you to get hurt." Chrom said. Kazuki was about to say something, but stopped when a Heartless appeared behind the man. He pushed the blue haired man out of the way, quickly crossing his arms. He grit his teeth as the Soldier Heartless dug its claws into his arms.
Frederick wasted no time in slashing the creature in half, causing to burst into black smoke. Kazuki let out a small groan of pain, not at all bothered by the gash on his arm. He looked to Chrom, who had a look of surprise on his face.
"You okay?"
"I should be asking you that. You shouldn't have taken that hit for me."
"No, I needed too. Those creatures are dangerous, it's not the first time I've seen them." he admitted. Several small portals appeared around them, bringing more Heartless with them. Shadows, Soldiers and other creatures he hadn't seen before.
A few of them seemed to be bats, blue in color with red wings and tails shaped like hooks. There were some reindeer shaped heartless as well, odd creatures sure, but still just as dangerous.
"Alright, you guys gotta be careful. The little ones move around erratically and like to slash at you. The soldiers are a bit tougher to deal with, especially when they wind up and claw at you. I've never seen the reindeer or the bats, so watch out for them." Kazuki said, lowering himself a bit.
"How do you know so much about these things? Who are you?" Frederick asked, giving him a wary look.
"I'll explain later. For now we gotta take care of these things before they kill us!" he said.
"But you don't even have a weapon!" Robin cried, earning a smirk from the boy. He sprung forward, snapping his wrist slightly. His keyblade flashed into his hand, in time to parry the attack of a shadow. With a single strike, he destroyed it.
"Impressive...alright, let's take care of these things. Robin any ideas?" Chrom asked, glancing at the white haired girl.
"Help Kazuki out, I'll keep them off Lissa. Frederick, if you could take care some of the bigger ones, I'd appreciate it." she said.
"As you command." the mounted knight said, sheathing his sword. He reached for his spear, the sun glinting off the blade. He pulled the reins of his horse, quickly moving about the field.
Kazuki ducked to the side, avoiding a galloping reindeer heartless. He turned around, waiting for the creature to come at him again. He angled his blade, guarding against the attack. Before he could destroy it, a sword was brought down on its neck. A glittering pink heart rose into the sky, disappearing seconds later. The keyblade wielder turned to Chrom, giving him a nod.
"So uh...you got experience against these things?" he asked casually, throwing a few strikes at some shadows.
"Something like that." the boy replied. He threw a forward jab, piercing one of the Soldier Heartless. He flung him back with ease, holding his keyblade in up.
"Elthunder!" he chanted, several bolts of lightning rained down on the area before him. The heartless all hissed in pain, becoming more erratic.
"You're a mage too? What else can you do?"
"I can make pies, if I have the right ingredients of course." the kitsune said jokingly.
"I might take you up on that offer. Let us focus on the task at hand first, we can't let these things run about."
Kazuki gave him a nod, running forward. He spun around on his heel, slashing some of the bats. He jumped into the air, swiping his keyblade at them, before slamming them to the ground. He landed with a roll, continuing his sprint as he killed another reindeer heartless.
"Gaah!"
"Lissa!" Chrom cried out, having heard his sister's cry. The blonde girl was clutching her staff tightly, an armored heartless having attacked her. Robin was surrounded by some Shadows, unable to help her, while Frederick was dealing with his own armored knight. Chrom started running toward his sister, blade pulled back. Kazuki spun his keyblade around his hand, taking aim at the creature.
"Chrom, get her out of the way!" he cried out. The man didn't hesitate, blocking the incoming strike from the large heartless. He pulled Lissa out of the way, giving Kazuki his shot.
"Perfect, Strike Raid!" the kitsune cried, flinging his blade at the armored heartless. He called it back to his hand, throwing it a second, and then a third time. He called it back for a forth throw having closed the distance between him and the creature. It thrust its spear at Kazuki who easily dodged it. He jumped up, spinning in the air as he summoned his blade.
"Judgment!" he shouted, throwing his keyblade down full force. It struck the heartless causing it to burst, pulsing light enveloping it. Kazuki landed in a crouch, sweeping his blade around as he retook his stance. Robin and Frederick teamed up, taking the last armored knight, quickly destroying it.
Kazuki panted a bit, lowering his guard a bit. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to sense the darkness. Thankfully, he couldn't sense anything around him. He glanced down at his hand, looking at his keyblade with a stoic look. The gem embedded at the hilt glinted a bit in the light, gleaming in the sunlight. He managed to see a fox at the center of it, but only for a second.
"Is she alright?" he heard Robin ask, causing him to turn around. Chrom was looking his sister over. Lissa though hurt, had an embarrassed look on her face.
"Chrom, I'm fine. He just snuck up on me is all." she said firmly.
"I know, but I have to make sure you are alright. Healers cant heal themselves in battle after all. Make sure you take some vulnerary to seal that cut up." the blue haired man said sternly.
"Hmm...you handled yourself remarkably well Kazuki. However your stance could use a bit of work. How long have you been fighting?" Robin asked, causing the boy to flush.
"I uh...started today actually." he said. She looked him over, a glint in her eye.
"I see...I'm certain with training you would be quite the force to be reckoned with. You also show magical capabilities, I see quite a lot of potential in you."
"Um...okay." the boy said, not exactly feeling comfortable with the white haired girl's stare.
"I have some questions for you myself. You seem to know quite a bit about those creatures. Does that mean you are familiar with where they come from?" Frederick asked firmly.
"My apologies...I don't know where they come from you see. I just happen to know what they're called. They're known as Heartless, I only know about the Shadows and the Soldiers, because that's the only ones I've fought before." Kazuki replied. He narrowed his eyes.
"And that weapon in your hand? What exactly is it? I saw you run into battle and it magically flashed into your grasp."
"Oh this? This is called a keyblade...I uh...don't know much about this thing either. All I know is that it can destroy the heartless. They seem to get agitated whenever their near one. I think it's a magic medium too, I have no issue channeling magic through it." he said.
"You think? Or you know? You are a rather suspicious person. How do we not know you aren't behind these creatures? Perhaps you are a Plegian dark mage. Tasked with infesting the Halidom with this malice!"
"Now Frederick, I don't think that's the case. If Kazuki here had summoned these creatures, then he wouldn't have killed them. What would be the point of that?" Chrom replied.
"Apologies milord, you can't blame for being too careful. After all, I still grow wary about our amnesiac tactician." he said, earning a scowl from Robin.
"But he took a hit for Chrom, so you know he's a good person! I trust him, I can tell his heart is in the right place." Lissa said, giving Kazuki a smile. He flushed slightly, looking away from the girl.
"Thanks Lissa. I don't blame any of you for being wary of me, I sort of popped into this place. I'm still kind of confused about everything if I'm being honest."
"What do you mean by "Popped in" exactly?" the blue haired lord asked. Kazuki was about to reply, when a familiar voice cut through his mind.
"You can't tell other people about the worlds. Each world lies separate from each other. Though they are all connected, there still has to be an order. We don't know what would happen if people knew about other worlds. So be sure not to tell anyone, got it?"
"It's an expression from where I'm from. It means I'm new to the country." he sheepishly replied.
"This Japan place, correct?" Robin asked, earning a nod from the boy. He rolled his shoulders a bit, allowing his keyblade to disappear.
"Anyway...I should probably get out of your hair. You all look like very busy, very important people. I'll uh...collect my bag and mosey on...somewhere." he said, turning back to the tree that still contained his bag. His tail moved slightly as he walked, making him shudder a bit.
"Getting used to these extra appendages is gonna be tough...how do I even poop with this tail?" he thought. He felt a hand wrap around his wrist, causing him to stop.
"Wait! I have an idea. These monsters might attack again, and the way I see it, we need help dealing with them. So why don't you come with us?" Lissa asked, causing the young man to face her.
"Join you? Are you like a militia group or something?"
"Something like that. We happen to be a group of soldiers working out of the capital city, Ylisstol. We handle anything, from bandit attacks, to invaders. Anything to ensure peace remains in the country." Chrom explained.
"Mhmm...we're known as the Shepherds. Chrom is the leader, and Frederick is his knight! Robin joined as our tactician a few days ago. Then there's Sully who flew ahead of us and the new guy Virion. I think you'd fit right in with us!" the blonde girl said cheerfully.
"I uh...well I'm not sure. I didn't exactly intend to join the army when I got here." the boy said warily.
"Neither did I...but I myself don't have a place to go. I'd rather stick with friends than wonder around alone." Robin added, trying to convince the young kitsune to stay. The boy mulled it over, shrugging his shoulders.
"Eh sure, what the hell...I'm not doing anything particularly interesting. Besides, if the heartless show up again, it's best for me to stick around. Something tells me they're not the only things we'll be dealing with though." he said, his ears flattening themselves a bit. Chrom gave him a nod, holding his hand out.
"Welcome to the Shepherds, Kazuki." he said. Kazuki smiled, grasping his hand in a shake.
"Happy to be here Chief. Now, can someone throw Lissa up there so she can get my bag?"
"WHAT?"
A/N: Well as promised here's Chapter 1 of Fire Emblem Hearts. This time you actually got to see Fire Emblem characters! Oh my! I do hope going forward things will become better, I'm having fun writing this but I'm still a bit nervous about how this is turning out. I don't really wanna butcher anything for either series. But this is a vision I've had for a long time, since playing through Conquest actually.
I'm not sure when I'll update this again. I've got Chapter 2 ready, just gotta put it through the proof reading machine and then formatted for this site. I'm also working on Chapter 3 right now so that's a thing. I'll be sure to hurry up and finish so I can post some stuff. Lemme know what you all think, like it, hate it? Anything I can improve on? That's always welcome in the reviews.
By the way, I know at the end of KH3 Sora pulls a Yoda, no need to remind me random Guest Reviewer, though I'm looking forward to your review regardless lol. I'm always entertained when I check the reviews of the other two stories you posted in. I am aware of the BS that was that ending, and I am also mad. Screw you Normura, but also thank you for the experience. Whelp...see you all later!