I returned to a distraught camp, though it seems none of them heard the battle. "Sister?! What happened?" Xander was the first to rush over, Elise close behind.

"Sis?" Hadronix is next, "...Lotus. Always flaunting your new skills."

"I got you." Elise assures me as her staff sends waves of magic over me.

"I-I can get R-Raven!" Sakura exclaims.

"It won't do much, her mana pool must be dried up by now." Hadronix looks her over, before shrugging, "Well, it's a good thing you're unconscious, Sis." She pulls out a syringe, it contains a blue liquid.

"W-wait! What is that?" Sakura is quick to stop the Hunter, "You can't just give her something."

"Liquefied mana extract, it's used to give a quick boost to one's mana supply. Burns like hell, but it works."

The youngest Hoshidan princess then pushes her away, "No, we have time to rest." She seemed surprised at her own assertiveness, before composing herself again.

Hadronix looks at her, then Raven, to me, then back to Sakura, before shrugging. "Alright." She puts it away. "It's not like I traveled with her for months, but whatever." Sakura smiles and nods, before kneeling beside the unconscious Monk. The Hunter strides away, "I'm trusting your healing instincts, Princess Sakura, you best not be wrong."

I cast a gaze over the camp, 'Gods, if Lotus decided to strike again…' I shudder as another sense of dread comes over me, 'Or if Phoenix makes her way here.' I shake my head, now's not the time to dwell on that, 'We have to get to Leo, first… but then what?' I find myself at a loss, according to Lotus, father wants me dead. I have a seemingly unhittable assassin on my tail, as well as a Tactician who is stronger than all reason.

Why me? Why am I being targeted? Why is my army suffering the most casualties? Why is my mate the one who had to die?

The following march is tense and silent. Elise, Sakura, her retainers, and Raven are in a small group as they whisper in hushed voices, an occasional giggle escaping them. Camilla strides beside Xander, who is in the front. Hadronix is roughly pulling up the rear, with her Spirit Eagle somewhere overhead. Jakob is by my side, as always, and I'm roughly in between everyone else. I don't like this silence, 'Revenge, kill.' I subtly shake my head, to go after either of those two powerhouses is suicide, even if my mate's blood is on their hands.

"...Ancestors." I overhear Hadronix mutter. I glance back to see her working on a device while walking. "I'm going to hazard a guess and say we are very close to our destination, Lady Yasei." She says without even looking up, "I'm going to forecast an unhealthy amount of portals and/or tears in the very fabric of reality." She pockets the device, "Something is interfering with my devices… great." Then she suddenly raises an eyebrow, pulls another device and starts to tinker with that one instead...

"Ew…" I hear Elise mock-gag. "Wasn't there another way to do that?"

"That bear didn't know any better, so I wasn't about to have it torn open to get that bag's worth of seeds out." Raven replies.

"But… you reached into its…" Sakura hesitates.

"Offering a helping hand to people isn't always healing and cooking." Raven continues, "but they needed those seeds for next year's harvest."

"Alright then, do you have any stories that are weird, but not disgusting?" Elise is next.

"Hm…" The Monk hums, "Well, I can't really explain how this one happened, but anyway, I was in Northrend and I dropped by the Wyrmrest Temple. The dragons assigned to time, the Bronze Flight, their uh… 'negotiator' asked me to investigate some distortions and when I went there I was to assist… well, me."

"You had to help yourself?"

"It's time distortions, or something. So at one point there was a future version of me helping me pull this off, and the next time I was helping a past me pull it off."

Elise huffs and Sakura sighs, "Weird, but not disgusting or hard to wrap my head around."

Then Sakura starts giggling, "I-I'm sure you couldn't even wrap your pigtails around that one, Princess Elise!" Soon after that comment, all three of them start giggling together.

With a small smile on my face, I focus my attention on the last two, Xander and Camilla, which in comparison to the rest, they are solemn, "I should've noticed sooner." Xander remarks, "the signs were right in front of my eyes."

"The war was the first thing on our minds, mistakes are bound to happen." Came Camilla's voice.

"I can't apologize to the dead, sister… I could have spared Yasei so much grief," My eyes lock on his back after that, "You and Elise were right, th… Keaton brought her happiness."

'Xander…' I breathe a sigh of relief. While yes, my mate is gone… at least he managed to understand. I unconsciously place a hand over my stomach, 'I just wish I could have held our pups, mate.'

Camp that night was more lively than the march. The mood just shot up for no reason. Even Hana and Subaki have seemed to ease up. Sakura's retainers are by her side, while the princess herself is with Raven, who is in the makeshift Mess Hall. Judging by the scents coming from there, I can tell she's cooking.

Xander has taken the early watch, while Camilla 'brushing' Elise's hair. She was honestly just reaching for an excuse to play with her hair. Jakob has recently been 'shooed' out of the kitchen, with the Monk saying something along the lines of 'ruining the surprise'. Hadronix is the side of camp closer to our destination, she has that same device from earlier, 'I think.' She occasionally glances up, but otherwise keeps her head on her work.

I am by the campfire, tending to my cherished sword that Xander crafted for me on my birthday, 'And it still remains unnamed.' Should I even bother with a name at this point? I'm just glad that it's back. Still, I can't help but imagine how Lotus got it in the first place. I mean, there's no way she could have fought through Ryoma and made it back here after using the wrong teleporting device, right? She must have stolen it before then.

And what about her declaration that she didn't kill Keaton? She seems adamant on only killing people listed on a contract, or people directly interfering with said contracts. My mate was part of neither, which means Phoenix had to have killed him. If so, then why? 'Revenge, kill.' No, it's better to not even bother to reach for an explanation. I'm going with my Dragon for this one, she just needs to die.

I look over my sword one more time, it's as clean as it is going to get. No smudges, no blood stains. I grip the handle, then put it back in its sheath, relishing in the familiar weight of it on my waist. Now all I need is my Yato, and I'll have all of my gear back. Yet, as I look around the camp, I'd rather have the rest of the army alive, rather than a single weapon. Xander's, Camilla's, and Elise's retainers are dead. Flora, Felicia, that man on the horse at Fort Jinya, Benny, Charlotte. This army could be so much more, but now we're struggling. Who isn't our enemy, though? If father wants me dead, then Nohr is against us. Hoshido is against us. The remaining Kitsunes are our enemy.

...That just leaves the remaining Wolfskin. Though, according to Keaton, all the Shifters choose to live in the mountains, and there are no mountains around here. Even if there were, however, it would be no guarantee that Wolfskin even occupy it, as it might just hold a Kitsune hamlet, instead. "Come get your home cooked Pandaren food!" Raven shouts from the makeshift Mess Hall as a delightful aroma exits the area. I finally rise from my seated position and follow the scent of food, my stomach shamelessly growling.

Then I actually enter the place, 'I should stop being surprised at this point, when it comes to these two.' The amount of food qualifies as nothing less than a feast, with Raven standing proudly at one side, a chef's hat, apron, and even both a rolling pin and frying pan on her person. I recognize some of the dishes, but I don't recognize the ingredients themselves. Sure, something may look like some beef, but it also is just different enough to make me question just what it is. Elise has taken to giddily asking what several of the things are.

"Big sister!" Sakura walks up to me, offering a bowl of assorted fruit, along with a nervous smile. "I haven't forgotten that you liked this. It has extra strawberries, too!"

I smile, "Thank you… little sister." I graciously take the bowl. 'Just like back in Hoshido. She remembered. Gods, now I feel that much worse for being unable to save Hinoka.'I pop a strawberry in my mouth, sweet with just a tinge of tart. Yet, for some reason, it's also bitter… or maybe that's just my imagination.

The dinner passes by well, as Raven proudly boasts her status as a 'Master' cook. The Monk has yet to look as happy as she does right now. Still, there is one person missing, and it's the one who decided to take an early watch. I grab an extra plate and place some various food on it, a combination of meat, fruit, and vegetables, before walking out to my big brother, who is still out there… alone.

"Big brother?" I ask as I approach him, "You need to eat, you know?"

He turns to me, a slight sorrowful look in his eye, before a small smile forms, "You're right." I move to stand beside him, "Thank you." He takes the offered plate, before sitting down on the makeshift seat, a log.

"...are you okay?" I ask after several minutes of silence. 'Not that I need to ask, as I catch the scent on him, after all.'

"Is it safe to assume you overheard my conversation with Camilla while we marched?" I sheepishly smile and nod, "Then I'll reinforce it. I apologize, sister. I made mistakes that has caused you suffering. I pledged my devotion to Nohr… I'm trading my own sibling's happiness for the people of my homeland."

"Being a King can't be easy." I reply.

"That doesn't mean I should be neglecting you all. Yasei, I know I can't change the past, but I can make changes for the future. I promise I'll be a man worthy to be called 'big brother'." He places the plate aside and heaves a sigh, like a burden has been lifted off of his shoulders.

"Thank you, big brother," I quickly pull him into a hug, "I love you."

He returns the hug, "I love you too, sister."

A/N: The last two 'battle' scenes were lacking, weren't they? An op Yasei followed by her being almost useless. But the next one?

I think I typed up my favorite one... okay, maybe top two. Sort of a tie between the bloodbath of the Kitsune hamlet and the one coming up. She's snapping and it's going to be great.