FE Fates of The World

by YueTian

Koharu and her friends are trying to get to a destination that only one knows of. Mikoto returned to them with a new friend name Natsuhiko, who agreed to follow them. Everything was going well till everybody wakes up and find themselves in a world of fantasy. Wyverns, magic, dragons. As well as the very thing they are afraid of: War. Can they return home alive? (Image not mine.)

2. Chapter 2: Out of Joint

Out of Joint

When she opened her eyes, she was met with the stone ceiling above her as the cold air touch her cheeks. For a second, she couldn't figure out where she was or if it was winter, but, as she sat up and looked around, she saw Flora slowly stirring and remembered all that had happened yesterday. Luckily, it wasn't too hard for Koharu to wake up in the morning, despite the lose of sunlight and the missing sounds of chirping birds. She was told that she was usually a morning person. After greeting her roommate, she got out of bed and changed out of the nightgown, Flora lent to the girl, and into the maid outfit. As she did, Flora said with a look of surprise, "How are you feeling? It doesn't look like you're sore from all the mopping last night."

Koharu smiled, "Oh! I'm all right. I am a little bit sore, though. Its just not as bad as I was afraid of."

Flora smiled, "Good. Then, I'll teach you how to make the food here. Since Japan seem to be much like Hoshido, I assume, the dishes are as well."

"Okay!" Koharu said with a bright smile and nodded energetically.

Through out the rest of the morning, Koharu helped the maid clean the fortress and learned many new dishes as she kept note of it with the small notebook and pencil the maid gave the girl. The maid told her that usually the cook of the castle would take care of the meals, but she wanted the girl to know as well just in case. Many hours seem to have passed before the two were finally allowed to rest after making the lunch. Thankfully, the servants here were very nice and was willing to help the girl, despite her unusual background. Flora had told her what would occur to those that seemed suspicious and that it would be far worse in the main castle. She was told that all servants were to swear their loyalty to the one they serve, especially the royal family. Flora and her sister, the real Felicia, had swore theirs to the second prince and second princess of this kingdom. Apparently, after Leo notified them of Koharu's arrival, they were also told of the twins' disappearance as soon as he and Xander received word of it back in the castle, which led to the younger sister's disappearance. Though she felt bad, Flora reassured her that Felicia knew of the situation and offered to help by letting the girl take her place, so they wouldn't need to keep her hiding in the shadows. Koharu wondered if serving under the third prince would mean that she would have to swear her loyalty to him as well. However, she was worried as she thought that would men that she'd have to remain in this place as well and she didn't want that. Perhaps, she would have to speak with Flora about this a bit more before tomorrow. The two princes and their sister had planned for her to serve under the third prince in hopes of finding her country and return her there before their Father could discover her and decide what was to occur to her. She was told that the king was a really strict person, who began the conquest against the other kingdom for the key resources they don't have and that the negotiation they had always seem to fail. As they were about to get back to work, cleaning the place, a messenger arrived with a letter to them. It wasn't hard to guess, who the letter was from since the messenger was the loud rertainer in blue and red that Koharu saw yesterday, Arthur. According to it, 'Felicia' was allowed to work under Leo under much persuasion from both siblings. However, there was also warning from the prince as both the king's tactician and the Hans person were both unhappy with the decision and were worried that they would try to do something. After seeing off the retainer, the two maid quickly returned to their work. There were times when the maid had to teach her somethings, such as writing certain characters, but, aside from that, she said that the girl was a quick learner and was rather pleased with it. It wasn't long before she saw the clock on the wall and it was finally night. The two had finished cleaning the castle one last time before they returned to their rooms and began packing. Suddenly, Flora turned to Koharu with the materials they needed to prepare for their departure in hand, "Koharu, you said that your friend have abilities. I'm curious if your other friends have abilities too, then."

Hearing this, Koharu nodded with a smile, "Yeah. We don't know all of each others abilities, but we don't try to really know it, since some of us aren't really comfortable with what we have. Also, we don't usually use it. All I know about them is that we're the only ones to have abilities."

"Really?" Flora said with a look of surprise, "Then, is it all right if I ask what's yours?"

Koharu froze before glancing to the ground and hesitated nervously, "W-well…"

Seeing the girl suddenly fret over the topic, the maid shook her head with a smile, "Nevermind. Forget I asked. In any case, how about let's put these uniforms away into your bag? We both have a big day tomorrow."

Koharu nodded, "Okay."

As they packed, Flora suddenly jumped," That's right! I still need to go get some night gowns for you just in case. I'll be right back."

As she rushed to the door, she turned around, "Oh, don't leave this room or open the door unless I come back, understand?"

As Koharu nodded, Flora smiled and walked out the door shutting it behind her as she walked away. With that, Koharu continued packing her belongings. However, it wasn't long before she heard a loud thundering noise and the room began to shake violently. As she screamed, the tremors knocked her off her feet and onto the ground, "W-what's going on?!"

As she continued walking, Flora placed a hand on her chin, "So, all her friends have abilities, huh? I wonder what ability does Koharu have that would make her so uncomfortable? I've never seen her so fearful before."

As she continued walking down the steps, she heard running footsteps rush over to her. Quickly, the maid pulled out a dagger hidden in the pocket of her skirt and prepared herself. She doesn't recognize this pair of footsteps before and grew worried as it draw closer to her till she saw the person. It turns out to be a female mercenary with two red twin tails, brown and white clothing, with a red shield on her shoulder, and a sword on her belt. Flora's eyes widen in shock, "Y-your Lady Camilla's retainer, Selena?"

The woman halted before her, "We need to get you and your sister out of here! Hans is marching over to this fortress as we speak!"

Hearing this, Flora nodded as she knew now was not the time to be shocked, not when they were already told of their suspicions of the man and the tactician. Suddenly, the fortress began to shake as a scream was heard.

Flora spun her head around in shock, "Felicia!"

The two rushed back to the room and Flora swung open the door, "Felicia, are you all right?!"

The girl was on the floor as she held onto the wardrobe with both hands and nodded, "Y-yes. What's going on, Felicia? And who's-"

Selena rushed in and grabbed the girl, "I'll explain later. Right now, the fortress is being attacked. I'm here on orders to get the two of you out of here."

Hearing this, the girl's eyes widen in horror as the maid grabbed their bag of belongings and turned to the two, "I know a secret path that leads outside to the forest. Let's hurry!"

Koharu nodded and quickly got up. Together, the three left the room and out the back door. Swiftly, the two rushed into the bushes covered in snow and ice before the soon found themselves out into the forest as Flora spoke, "The guards must've gone to fight back against the attack. It was careless of them to leave the back entrance open."

The woman nodded and continued pulling the girl along, "Come on! Hurry up! If we don't get out of here, they're going to find us!"

As they rushed through the dark forest, they suddenly heard a shout from behind, "Halt!"

The woman cursed under her breath as she said, "Damn it! They're here."

She pulled the girl as they turned a corner and continued running, despite how weak her legs were starting to get. The three kept running till they found themselves under some bushes. It wasn't long before they soon found themselves out of the forest and into the town lit by the lanterns in the streets, but the three didn't stop. They kept running till they soon came across the light blond retainer Koharu met yesterday as well, but without her pink armor. The woman released the girl's wrist and turned to her retainer, "Okay. You know what to do, Effie."

The woman nodded, "Of course."

Flora handed the bag to Koharu, "Here, Koharu. You take this with you and go with Effie. She'll bring you someplace safe."

Hearing this, the girl looked up to her with an anxious expression, "B-but, what about you?"

"I'll go to the main castle with Selena. She's the first princess's retainer." Flora said, "But, you need to remain here with Effie, Koharu. I'll probably be seeing the king as someone that survived the attack. No doubt, his tactician would think of an excuse for this. I need you to stay in town, where it's safer."

"B-but-!"

Flora shook her head with a firm expression, "You must stay here. If King Garon realizes that you're not who he thought you are, he could imprison you."

Hearing this, Koharu slowly nodded her head in disappointment as she knew that she did not want to be discovered by the man, especially for her background. Flora grabs her hand and places something into her palm, "Here. I believe this is yours? It was lying on the table before we left. It's something important, right?"

Koharu looked and saw the black and pink hairclip. She gasped and nodded, "Yes! Thank you very much, Flora!"

She then turned to the woman, "Also, thank you so much for saving us back there, Miss. Selena."

The woman grumbled before she said, "Just call me Selena."

Suddenly, Effie grabbed the girl's hand, "Sorry, Koharu, but we need to get going before Hans and his men finds us."

Hearing this, Koharu looked back to Flora, who nodded, before she began to hurry after Effie. She waved back to the maid, she's come to know so well, as she waved back in return with a small smile as she said, "Have a safe trip, Koharu."

As the figure began to become smaller as the two ran through the alley, Flora finally vanished as she too began to leave with Selena. As she followed after Effie, she could only feel sadness and concern for the fate of the maid as she recalled everyone's story of the king. Suddenly, Effie came to a stop. She looked and saw a pair of double doors on the ground. Carefully, Effie opened the door revealing a long stone staircase lit by lamps on the wall all the way down to the bottom.

"Hurry." the retainer whispered and gestured the girl inside.

Koharu nodded and, despite how sore her feet was getting, hurried down as she could hear the retainer follow after her after closing the doors behind them. As they descended down the steps, Koharu could hear he faint bustling noises as she continued down. She turned to the retainer, "Um. Where are we going?"

The woman smiled, "We going to the underground city of Windshire."

Koharu gasped, "There's a city underground?!"

Effie nodded, "Yes. I'll be taking you to see someone."

As Koharu tilted her head in confusion, Effie said, "You'll see who it is."

As they continued down, the bustling sound grew louder. It wasn't long before she soon found herself staring at a gigantic space filled with small buildings and crowds of people, and warmly lit by the lanterns, unlike the cold town above them. Koharu gasped in awe, "It's like a whole other world!"

Effie smiled, "It does. Now, let's hurry, before Hans' men find us!"

Once again, she pulled Koharu into the crowd of bustling people as Koharu continue to look around the place. Unlike the world above, the town was very lively. She could see the smiles of people as they laugh and talk with others around them. It wasn't long before they soon found themselves in front of a large wooden house as Effie knocked on the door. Then, a voice called out, "I'm coming."

It opened revealing an elderly woman in a brown and white dress, hair tied into a bun, and a bright smile on her face as she gasped, "Oh, my. If it isn't Effie. Does this mean…?"

The retainer shook her head, "I apologize, but I'm afraid Lade Elise isn't with me today, but I do have some business to discuss with you."

The woman placed her hands on her hip and stepped aside as she gestured, "Well, come in. I can't have the two of you talk outside like this."

Koharu thanked the woman as she followed Effie inside before taking a seat around a table next to her. After she placed the tea on the table, the woman sat down on the other side and said, "So, what is it that you wish to speak of? I see you even brought a friend along with you. Hello. I'm Casita. I was Lady Elise's nanny when I use to work in the castle."

After sipping her tea, Koharu nodded her head in greeting as she placed her cup down, "M-my name is Koharu. Thank you for letting us in and the tea."

Effie begin to speak, "Koharu was found by Lady Elise's older brothers yesterday morning away from the battle they were taking part in. She says that she was on a journey with her friends in a country called 'Japan'. Lady Elise and her siblings agreed to help her. She was sent to live with the maid in the Northern Fortress under the guise as one of the maids. They've decided to have her work under Prince Leo so they could find this mysterious country of hers and send her back home to her friends. However, even when King Garon allowed her to work under him, the fortress was attacked a while ago by those who secretly disagreed with this. Lady Camilla and Lady Elise sent me and Selena to go in and save her and who ever we could find in the fortress before the attack could occur. Lady Elise hopes that you could take in this girl for the time being before they could find other ways to help. So, could you please help take her in, Casita? You're the only one she can trust with this."

After some thought, the woman nodded her head understanding the situation, "I see now. That must've been really hard for you, Koharu. You're lucky to have Lady Elise and her siblings help you. Well, if she's a friend of Lady Elise, then she's welcomed here. But, I'm surprised that the two of you remembered me, much less know where I live."

Effie nodded, "We had to ask Niles and Odin for help with that. If Arthur were to help…"

"Ah." Casita nodded knowingly, "That'd be quite a disaster."

She then turned to Koharu with a smile, "Well, don't worry about a thing, Koharu! You're welcomed here."

Hearing this, Koharu smiled in relief, "Thank you so much, Ms. Casita!"

The woman laughed, "Just call me Casita, dear."

"Yes, Casita." Koharu said with a smile.

"Thank you, Casita." Effie said with a relieved smile.

Once the knight took her leave, Casita turned to Koharu, "Now, how about let's get you changed. We can't have you continue walking around in a maid's dress."

"O-okay?" Koharu said with a nod.

Casita put a hand on her chin as she spoke, "Now, if I remember correctly, there should be some old clothing stored away in the trunk. Come here."

As the elderly woman gestured, Koharu followed till she was in an old, but clean room. The woman walked over to a large trunk and opened it as dust from within flew out. As Koharu covered her nose and mouth with one hand, the woman continued to rummage through as she spoke, "Sorry about that. It's just been a while since I left sorted out the things in here."

It wasn't long before she pulled out a long white and red dress, then held it up against the girl, "Mm… Perfect! These use to be my dresses when I was a young girl. Of course, it'll need a bit of stitching around the waist, but, besides that, it should fit you just fine. For now, let's pull out a night gown for you. It's too late for you to be out and about anyway."

Koharu smiled, "Th-thank you."

"It's no problem." Casitas said with a smile, "Now, let's get you changed. You're safe as long as you remain here."

After changing into her new night gown, Casita let her use the room as it was her daughter's before she left to live on her own. Koharu laid on her bed as she recalled all that occurred to her today. Even if it was only two days, she missed the fortress and the kind servants. She prayed that the others were safe before her thoughts soon turned to Flora and grew worried. The maid was going to probably be seeing the king. The very person everyone warned her about constantly.

---

When Nanami woke up, she could hear the streets outside bustling as the light shined through the paper covered window. As she slowly got up, she reached for her bag and changed into one of the kimonos Sakura given to her. After getting dressed in a pale pink and brown kimono, she got out of the Inn after thanking the clerk and his wife. It was morning as the sun shined down on the bustling street full of children running around and the adults talking with other people. The clerks of other stores were calling out to people either buying snacks or ingredients for their breakfast under the Sakura trees all over the city. She could see the people making their way to a certain direction as she recalls the event that the clerk had spoke to her about. Curious, she went and bought a baked yam as she saw one being offered to a man and woman I uniquely silver armor and hair. It was surprisingly good, despite being a simple baked yam. Nanami took the baked root vegetable and followed the crowd of people till she was at the town center where a large statue of what looked to be a strange looking dragon stood. In the center stood a tall woman with long straight black hair in a beautiful white and brown-gold rimmed clothing. Behind her stood the saw two people she saw by the baked yam stand. There were guards who kept the people from pushing any further for a closer look, but Nanami could still barely see the three. The two both had bright red eyes and looked to be very similar. They must be the lost twins of this kingdom that the clerk and his wife told her about. As she saw this, she also noticed a menacing looking blade the man have hanging from his belt. Though unsure if the others could see what she did, she was sure she could see something like an eye on the blade move. She felt a shiver run down her spine as she saw this before she turned and saw something she was not expecting. Standing next to the two was the tall red Samurai she had encountered yesterday followed by a woman with short red hair in armor and a naginata in hand, a boy possibly slightly older than her with a silver ponytail and stringless bow in his hand, and finally, Sakura and Azura standing next to them. Nanami gasped as she couldn't hide her surprise at seeing them. They were the children of the royal family of this kingdom? She didn't think it was possible, but, with what Azura said and the fact that Sakura had two retainers with her, she confirmed the fact that they were indeed of royalty. Nanami was shocked to have met the princesses so soon after just getting here. As the queen finished giving her speech, the sword from the prince's belt flew out of his hand and into the crowd. She could feel the people push against her as gasps ran out in the air. She was unsure of what was going on till she saw something shot across the area and at the twins. However, Nanami's eyes widen in horror as she saw the Queen jump in front of her children taking in the objects into her body before she was caught by her son before she could hit the ground. At this point, screams filled the air as the people began to disperse, running in all directions to escape the place as the soldier rushed in to the place. Nanami followed after the crowd and ran past all the stands and stores.

She didn't stop running down the slope leading to the capital till she found herself outside of the town/city. She quickly hid under a Sakura tree as she gathered herself. She saw it all happen back there. The queen was killed… Sakura's and Azura's mother was killed! Her eyes widen in shock as she thought back. Just who would do such a thing and why? As she sat there pondering, she realized that Sakura and Azura were still with their mother! As she recalled the kind sisters, Nanami jumped back to her feet and rushed back to the town center. It wasn't till she was near the entrance back on top of the slope when she looked back and saw a large group of black moving figures. As she took a closer look, she saw that they were actually people in medieval armors that she once saw in the fairytales that Koharu read back on the ship. However, they weren't anything like the fairy tales with dark black armors. In the front was a tall man with blonde hair riding a white horse. Next to him was a boy slightly older than her also with blond hair and rode a black horse as a girl with blond pigtails appeared holding something like a staff while riding a chestnut colored horse. As she looked up she saw the sky was filled with Dragons! They were real life dragons! It wasn't just that. On them rode soldiers with a purple hair woman leading the troop from the sky. Nanami could hardly believe her eyes as she saw this. Could this be the Nohrian army that Azura warned her of? If so, she must go tell them and fast! She wanted to move, but her body was not responding as she froze stunned from what was before her. This was war? Before the guns and the cannons, this was what war looked like? It wasn't long before she saw another group of people moving up to the army from the other side lead by the tall red samurai and the other people that she saw. From afar, she could see Sakura being amongst them, but not the other kind lady she met. As the two were about to clash, she could see the royal twins everyone had spoke of. The ones the queen gave her life to protect. She watched in horror and uncertainty as they were about to run into the fray. Suddenly, she felt someone grab her shoulder as she spun around and found herself face to face with the princess.

"Azura!" Nanami shouted in shock before correcting herself, "I-I mean, Princess Azura!"

What was once a face of kindness turned into one of anxiety and concern, "Nanami?! You're still here? No, never mind. Have you seen Kamui and Corrin? Queen Mikoto's twin children from that event?"

The girl nodded, "There, up ahead confronting both armies!"

Azura nodded, "I see. Thank you!"

As she was about to run off, Nanami called out to her, "W-wait! Let me go too! I know I can't do much, but please! I want to see if my friends could be in that battle field! I promise to be able to protect myself."

Azura thought for a split second before glancing from the battlefield to her and nodded, "All right. But, stay close. You plan on finding your friends again, don't you?"

Nanami nodded with a relieved smile, "Yes! …Thank you!"

She didn't want to take part in the battle field, but, even if she didn't, she was worried as to whether or not they were suddenly sent in midst of the battle. As she reached closer to the battle field, she could feel her heart beat faster before finding the royal twins ahead of them shaking their head with a troubled expression as one of anger and disbelief appeared on both leaders of different sides. As they reached the two, Azura asks, "What happened? Kamui? Corrin?"

The other princess turned to her sister, "Both our families from Nohr and Hoshido wants us to pick who's side to choose to fight on, but…"

The prince turned around, "But, we don't want to pick either side if it means betraying the other and so I propsed for them to negotiate. However…"

The silver hair princess looked to the aqua-blue hair princess and said, "We'll have to get their attention if we want to stop them from fighting…"

Azura scans around the battle ground as Nanami follows her example only to see both sides starting to clash against each other. No lives have been lost yet as it only just began, but if this continues…

"I have an idea... Why don't we attack the groups closest to us?" Azura pointed out, "If we defeat the leaders, Ryoma and Xander can't possibly ignore us."

The prince looked to the woman with a look of realization before he grimaced, "That's true. I suppose that's the only way to get them to stop."

"Lord Kamui! Lady Corrin!"

They all turned and saw a maid in a black and white gothic maid dress with long, pale pink hair and wields a long staff much like Sakura's run over to the four nearly out of breath as she did so, "Phew! I made it in time, Lord Kamui! Lady Corrin! I'm so glad you're both safe!"

The silver hair princess gasped in shock as she exclaimed in disbelief, "Felicia?!"

"Felicia?!" the prince exclaimed as well, "What are you doing here?!"

"That's a fine greeting! And here I was panicking after we heard that you vanished from the battle at Bottomless Canyon!" the maid exclaimed in disbelief as she finally stopped before them, "I left the fortress and spent all my time trying o figure out where you went!"

"It took a while, but I've finally found you two." Felicia said as she calmed down, "I don't' know what's going on, but you can count on me to help!"

The silver princess, Corrin, said with a relieved smile, "Thank you, I'm grateful to have you here."

The prince, Kamui, said with a smile and a nod, "Yes. Thank you, Felicia!"

As the maid glanced back out to the battle field still fighting against on another, a look of confusion and uncertainty came over the girl as she asks, "So… who exactly are we fighting? Everyone seems really worked up, but they don't look like they're our allies…"

As she said this, Kamui grimaces as Nanami tightly gripped her kunai listening to his response, "The short verion is... we're up against the Hoshidan army and the Nohrian army right now."

"We've chosen not to side with either of them." Corrin finishes with a frown.

Felicia gasped in shock, "You can't be serious! Two armies?! What have the two of you gotten yourself into, milord? Milady?"

The maid shut her lips and nodded firmly, "… I suppose it doesn't matter. Your enemies are my enemies. I'll help you as best as I can!"

Seeing the determination of the maid, Nanami clutched her kunai tightly to her chest. She had just realized something very important. She's never had any experience in battle before, much less a war! Though she have taken very important things before in the past, she's never taken a life before. As she trembled, Azura caught on to this, "Is something wrong, Nanami?"

As if something hit her, Azura's eyes widen in surprise before she nodded understanding the situation, "That's right. You've never fought in a war before, have you?"

Though reluctant, Nanami slowly nodded, "I-I'm sorry…"

Through out her life on the journey with her father when she was younger, she recall rarely seeing people die before her. Even if she was taught to pick up the kunai, she was never taught how to kill a person in actuality, though she was taught the most vital points of a human's body. Azura thought carefully before she nodded, "Don't worry. Just go hide somewhere. You don't have to worry about me. I've trained to fight with my lance, after all. I'll come back to check on you after the battle."

As she was about to object without any thoughts of how to reason otherwise, Azura continued, "Of course, if I find any civilian amongst them, I'll make sure that they remain safe and bring them back, if I can."

Hearing this, Nanami frowned, but nodded. She didn't feel good to hear that someone else would be doing this for her, but she trusts the princess and the girl, herself, have practically no experience in fighting against others to the death. As she rushed off to hiding after being told to go, she rushed into the forest and scanned around her surroundings before finding a large bush. She quickly darted under the plant and watched what part of the battle field she could see through the opening of the branches. Thankfully, she was able to see the three royal siblings and the maid fight of the enemies before disappearing from her line of vision available to her. As she continue waiting for what seemed to be hours as the screams of the war continue, she heard the rustling sound nearby… and foot steps. She held her breath and remained stiff with her fingers tightly around her only weapon. She waited in silence as she did what she could to erase her presence before something black, green, and brown flashed past her small lookout and a very familiar voice whispered, "Hurry!"

She soon recall her encounter with the ninjas last night with a frown as she remained as still and as quiet as she could in the shadow of the bushes. It wasn't long before she heard the footsteps fade into the distance. As she pondered as to whether or not to crawl out, she heard something like a loud thundering crack of a whip followed by a whistle. She froze. She knew that sound too well.

Guns.

Somebody used those weapons from her country! Without thinking twice, she scrambled out of her hiding. As she did, she heard another gun shot go off and immediately ran out of the forest. Immediately, two images appeared in her head as she ran. Once out, she saw a tall man in green collapse on the ground not far off from one side of the battle field and a tall muscular man in red and blue fall to his knees clenching his arm. Suddenly, a cry ran out, "Arthur!"

A girl in gothic black and white dress with ribbons rushed over to the man with her staff. As Nanami glanced around for the culprit behind this, she spotted something shining in the distance. She soon recalled her last encounter with a gun and the way it shined in the hands. It was somewhat similar. As she thought this, she heard a groan next to her and turned only to see the green armored man trying to get up before falling back down again. She watched in horror behind the tree between the two of them.

The man didn't move.

Her eyes widen in shock before hearing another shot ran off. This time it hit the tree roots between her and the man snapping her out of her stupor. She glanced between the shining light and the man before gritting her teeth. She said that she wanted to help and, yet when the time came for her to help, she was unable to do anything. She was scared, terrified even, but she believed that, even at this moment, her friends were even more terrified than her, especially her kind friend with pink hair and pink eyes. And if it were that girl, she wouldn't just stand there watching others die before her, especially not her other friend with long black hair and brown eyes. She gritted her teeth as she trembled while beginning to run. Though the distance was short, she felt like it was much longer as reached to the man in the green armor. She glanced around only to find that everyone else was still busy fighting against the enemies to even notice the man fall. How?! The sound of the shot was loud and clear, yet nobody reacted to it! Suddenly, another shot ran off. This time she felt something sting her shoulder as she immediately covered her wound with her hand. Whoever it was seemed to be after her now. That was clear. She needs to hurry. Gritting her teeth, she released her hand and immediately tried to lift the man on her back before realizing exactly how heavy he really was. With a grimace, she began to drag him back into the forest as quickly as she could. It wasn't long before she reached back to her bush that she finally put the man back down. She turned back only to gasp in shock. This man looked to be a ninja! Why didn't she notice this before she pulled him out of the battle field?! As she thought this, she soon noticed the blood oozing out of his chest. She grimaced realizing how bad the situation was already. She immediately reached the torn kimono's cloth on her shoulder and tore it completely off revealing her left arm completely bare. She would have to apologize to the Hoshidan princess when she meet up with her again, but, right now, a life is more important than her clothing. First, she needs to stop the bleeding. She immediately placed the cloth over the bleeding wound and applied pressure on it with both hands. She wasn't too surer if she got this down as she recalled to what Mikoto's friend told her, but she did the best she could with what she remembered of that brief lesson. As she did so, she waited while making sure that the man was still alive. However, as time went on, the blood continue to spill and the man's breathing began to grow fainter. As she sees this, she knew the man was still dying. She was scared. She never seen death up close before and it frightened her at the thought of it as she whispered frantically, "N-no… No. Please don't die… Please…"

As sweat began to pour down her cheeks, she did tears from her shock as she desperately began to apply more pressure on the wound. She didn't know what she was doing wrong. She tried to think back to her lesson from that man Mikoto brought back. Though brief he has joined their group, the man was already telling them what to do if they were to ever see one get shot by a gun. However, many times she thought back she couldn't figure out whether she's forgotten something very important! She bit her bottom lip in frustration as tears began to fell onto her slowly bloodied hands. Suddenly, she recalled what the man of their group said.

Unless you're sure they're not hit in the spine, don't move them from their spot. Otherwise, you'll make their injuries worse.

She could feel the blood drain from her face as she recalled the phrase itself. She dragged the man away from the battle field without making sure of that important fact. However, it didn't seem that the ninja was hit in the spine, but, at the same time, he still hasn't stopped bleeding and is only growing weaker. Why?! Just why did someone showed up in this battle with guns in their possession?! She recalled that Masamune said that it was something banned from the world and shouldn't exist, supposedly. Yet, here she was trying to save a man from a gun shot in the chest!

"Ah, you're-"

Suddenly hearing a voice, she spun around and saw a man with short brown hair, wore orange sunglasses, a black cape coat with white rims worn over a lose white polo underneath, long black pants and brown boots that reached just below the knees. Nanami's eyes widen in surprise before the man saw what she was doing and frowned. He quickly walked over to the girl and took of his sunglasses for a closer look revealing his brown and purple odd color eyes. She glanced back at the girl before she narrowed his eyes and frowned, "Move aside and go call that maid over."

Though confused, the girl nodded and quickly moved over as the man got down and began to apply pressure over the wound without a word. She glanced around looking for the maid and suddenly realized something. The screaming and war cries continue as the sound of the birds remained absent aside of the warm breeze of the wind as she noticed the sky turn an orange shade. She shook her head with a frown. She needed to find that maid, Felicia, she believed. Nanami quickly scanned around her surroundings and saw Azura looking through the bushes followed by the Hoshidan Prince.

"A-Azura!" she cried out as loud as she could and rushed over to her, "Azura!"

Hearing her name called, the woman turned around with a look of surprise, "Nanami! I was wondering where you were! Thank god, you're safe! I was able to find a man out on the battle field just now and- Nanami?! What happened? You're sleeve-"

The girl looked up to the woman frantically, "Th-that ninja… he got shot… by a gun!"

"A gun?" Azura looked to the girl with a look of confusion before her eyes widen in shock, "Shot?!"

She turned to Kamui, who nodded and called out, "Felicia! Felicia, we require your assistance!"

Almost at once, they could see the pink ponytail maid run over to her liege with a staff in hand followed by his sister. Azura turned to Nanami, "Take us over to the ninja, Nanami."

The girl nodded and quickly rushed back to where the man and the ninja was behind the bush as the others quickly followed after her. Upon reaching there, Azura gasped, "Ron? …K-Kaze?!"

"What?!" Kamui exclaimed in shock as his sister stood there dumbfounded.

The prince turned to the maid, "Felicia!"

"Right away, Lord Kamui!" the maid responded and rushed next to Ron, "Here, let me take care of this."

The man nodded before stepping aside and said, "You got to take out the bullet from his chest first before you heal him, or that wound is going to get infected from the inside."

Felicia looked to the man with uncertainty across her face, "A 'Bullit'?"

Ron sighed and corrected himself, "Really? …You should check and see if there's a small metal object in his chest before healing him or that metal could-"

The maid gasped and nodded, "Oh! I get it!"

She looked back down at the man and immediately checked his breathing, "Not good. I'll have to do the best I can and fast."

As she immediately got to work, Ron sighed and glanced back to Nanami, "Go take a break. I'll make sure she doesn't mess up. Also, this could take a while… Oh and go wash your hands while you're at it. Watch out for any soldiers too."

Nanami glanced down to her hands and saw the blood covering them. She nodded as Azura began to lead the girl out to a nearby river. After washing her hands, Nanami looked to Azura, "Princess Azura…?"

The princess turned to her, "Yes?"

"How did you know about Muroboshi?"

The princess frowned in confusion before Nanami clarified, "…Ron…"

At this, Azura's eyes widen in surprise before she nodded, "Oh, right! He saved me out there from some unknown enemies aiming at me today. I was really surprised when he did that. I couldn't see the enemy. Yet, he somehow did and saved me. He got hit by the enemy, but Felicia healed him after, so he's fine now. When I saw his clothing, it reminded me much of yours. So, it seems I was right. That's good news. In any case, thank you for saving Kaze today, Nanami."

"Kaze?" the girl said with a look of confusion as they began to walk back, "So he's name is Kaze?"

The princess nodded, "Yes. He's one of Hoshido's ninjas that serve under Hoshido's royal family."

Hearing this, Nanami's eyes widen in surprise, "He serves under your family?"

Hearing this, Azura glanced to her with a look of surprise, "That's right. Speaking of which, how did you know I was a princess, Nanami? I don't recall ever telling you this before?"

"I was there at the square this morning, Princess Azura..." Nanami replied, "…I saw you with the queen… So, I thought…"

Hearing this, Azura nodded in understanding, "Ah, I see now. So, you were also there during the attack…"

Nanami nodded, "But, I ran with everyone else when I saw your mother…"

She stopped talking as her eyes widen in surprise, but the princess shook her head with a sad smile, "It's all right, Nanami. I'm glad to see that you're safe, though. I was worried when you didn't come out after I called for you."

Hearing this, the girl frowned apologetically, "…I'm sorry…"

"I said it's fine, didn't I?" Azura said with a much brighter smile, "Now, let's go check on Kaze before an enemy spots us. They should be done by now. I hope he's all right."

It wasn't long after they reached back to their spot did they saw Felicia speak with Ron and the twins.

"Kamui, Corrin, how did the procedure go?" Azura said with a look of concern, "Was she able to find that piece of metal as he said?"

They looked up to her as the prince nodded, "Yeah. You'd be surprise by how small this thing is, Azura."

As they took a look, the blue hair princess's and Nanami's eyes widen in surprise. The piece of metal was so small, but Nanami knew that, despite its size, it can still be used to kill people instantly. As she glanced back to the ninja who looked to have a much better complexion, Ron casually placed his glasses back on his face. Seeing the girl, Corrin said, "Kaze will be fine. We got the metal out of him and Felicia healed him."

Hearing this, Nanami silently let out a sigh of relief as Kamui spoke, "In any case, we need to bring him to a safe place to rest. I doubt we can just walk back into the city with him injured, much less the castle."

Azura nodded, "We also can't leave things as they are now- We'll be branded traitors by both kingdoms."

As the twins remain silent, Azura continued, "Listen to me. You'll lose everything if you donn't choose a side. It's either Hoshido or Nohr."

After some thought, Kamui frowned and shook his head, "No. There's a third option."

Hearing this, Corrin looked to her brother with a look of surprise and nodded, "Yes, we can choose not to support either side."

Hearing this, Nanami had a clear look of confusion and glanced to Ron, who only smiled with arms crossed with interest, as Azura inquired, "But… how?"

"We have a family in Hoshido." Kamui began, "We also have a family in Nohr. Even if we were to lose everything…"

"Even if all of them despise us…" Corrin continued, "I can't choose to side with one against the other."

"And neither can I." her brother concurred with a nod, "We simply just can't do that. I don't care if I lose everything. This is what we've decided."

As both Nanami and Ron remained silent, Azura nodded, "I see… You have to be willing to risk a lot to accomplish something major…"

After some thought, she continued, "I suppose you're right."

As she closed her eyes, she spoke with a frown, "…My own mother lost her life protecting Nohr, but I don't think she regretted her choice. She died protecting the ones she loved."

Nanami frowned. Wasn't Nohr the neighboring kingdom Azura had told her to be wary about? Why would the Queen die for the sake of another kingdom rather than her own. Also, she was assassinated in front of her eyes back at the square. However much she thought, Nanami's attention was soon brought back to the conversation as a confident smile appeared on the blue hair princess's face and stated with a nod, "I've made up my mind as well. I will follow you down the path you've chosen."

Hearing this, the twins smiled with appreciation as Corrin muttered, "Azura…"

Kamui nodded, "Thank you, Azura."

"Yes." his sister nodded as well, "Thank you for being by our side, Azura."

Suddenly, something blue, white, and red flew down before them from the sky revealing it self to a what looked like a cute golden eyes lizard with small claws and curled over a transparent orb. It had a koi-like tail and back fin much like a carp while wearing what look to be a common headdress tied back into an adorable bow. Nanami couldn't believe her eyes as she saw this. However, the prince turned to the cute being with a smile, "Lilith! Great timing."

Out of the blue, Felicia gasped dumbfounded by what her prince said and exclaimed, "Huh?! Wait… That's not our Lilith, is it?"

Corrin giggled, "Actually… it is."

"Oh!" the maid said as she clearly tired to recompose herself, "So, um, when did Lilith become… erm, an adorable creature thing?"

Hearing this, Nanami only grew more confused as the prince said nervously, "It's kind of a long story. I'll explain later. First, we have to take Kaze to a safer place."

Corrin nodded, "I'd also like to show you something before we catch up with the others."

Kamui glanced over to Kaze and walked over to the ninja before glancing back to Ron, "Ron, could you give me a hand and help me carry him? I don't think I'll be able to do it myself. We also need to get out of here immediately."

As the man hesitated, Nanami glanced over to him, "If you're not going to do it, then I can try to help instead."

The man shrugged, "Well, there's nothing to be done, huh? Fine, I'll help."

Hearing this, Felicia gasped, "Wait! Please, Lord Kamui. Let me help Ron carry the man instead. You don't have to-"

Kamui smiled, "It's fine, Felicia. You just stay by my sister an-"

Ron sighed, "Listen, just put help me get him on my back and I'll carry him instead. So, stop arguing already and get this over with. …I think I've had enough action for one day."

Both stopped speaking any further as Kamui nodded and helped place the ninja on the man's back.

"Thanks, Ron." Kamui said gratefully as the man just remained silent with a grimace under the weight.

"How is he this heavy?" the man muttered under his breath.

"Muroboshi." Nanami spoke up, "He's wearing armor and equipment on him."

"Oh." the man spoke with a frown, "I get it now."

Out of the blue, a bright light shined as they could hear the maid scream, "Oh! Whoa! What is that light?!"

"Erm," Corrin began with a frown, "we'll explain that later too…"

As the light got brighter, nearly everyone was forced to cover their eyes. When it was over, Nanami carefully brought down her arms revealing a beautiful scenery full of Sakura trees and structures that remind her much of Japan as she spoke hesitantly, "W-where are we?"

Azura shook her head, "I don't know, but it seems Kamui and his sister does."

"What just happened?! And, um, where are we?"

They turned and saw Felicia looking around in a state of panic and disbelief. Suddenly, the lizard began to speak in a feminine voice, "I'm so sorry for frightening you, Felicia! Please, allow me to explain."

Corrin nodded, "Right. I'll help get Kaze to one of the empty quarters to rest while you explain things."

Hearing this, Kamui nodded back, "We got it. I'll see you in a bit, Corrin."

With this, the princess quickly led the man and the girl past a large tree house and into the large Japanese themed structure. After turning a couple corners, Corrin slide open the door revealing a traditional Japanese room of tatami mats, a small table and shelf, and a futon already rolled out. With the girls' help, they carefully placed Kaze into the futon before finally taking a seat on the ground as Corrin said to them, "Oh, that's left now is to wait for him to wake up."

After hearing this, Nanami remained silent as she sat on the floor as Ron sat across from the girls. Corrin looked up with a look of surprise, "That's right! We've never properly introduced ourselves with the battle going on. I'm Corrin, second princess of Hoshido and Nohr. I know it sounds really confusing, but, though I was born in Hoshido, I was raised by Nohr's royal family since I was young as Nohr's second princess. The same goes with my brother. He was raised alongside me as the second prince of Nohr as well, though it seems that we were actually suppose to be the prince and princess of Hoshido. We're still trying to get use to that. So, may I ask who you are? I know for one that you're Ron Muroboshi and the two of you are friends."

"My name is Nanami Shiranui…." the girl spoke up with a frown, "I was looking for my friends since yesterday after I got here. So far, he's the only one I've found, thanks to Princess Azura."

She glanced to her friend, "Muroboshi, do you know what happened to everyone else during that morning yesterday?"

The man thought for a bit and frowned, "Nah, but I think there was a strange flash of light when I opened my eyes. Next thing I knew, I was in a tree."

As he said this, Nanami was unsure as to whether the man was either telling the truth or joking around as he would before. Suddenly, they heard the door slide open as Azura and Felicia walked in. The two looked up in surprise as the maid exclaimed, "Finally, we found you, Lady Corrin!"

The two walked in as the maid continue to pout, "You left without telling us which room you were in! Lady Azura and I had to look through so many rooms to find you!"

Hearing this, Corrin chuckled nervously, "Ah, so that's what I was forgetting. I'm really sorry, Felicia."

Despite her disappointed look, the maid easily forgave the princess and went to check on her patient once more. As she did this, a knock was heard on the door as Kamui spoke up, "I'm coming in."

As he said, the man walked in and silently greeted his sisters before looking over to the ninja and his maid with a look of concern, "How's he doing, Felicia?"

The maid looked over to him with a smile, "Much better. Though, it's going to leave a scar, of course, ad he'll have to stay in bed for a few days. A week at least, but he'll be safe to move around without much bleed by then if he doesn't move around much. If we have someone more experienced at healing then myself, then he may get better sooner. Still, if Ron hadn't told me to take out that piece of metal, I fear the injury would be much harder to take care of."

"To think such a small thing could put Kaze into such a fatal situation, such as blood loss. Speaking of which," Kamui spoke up with a frown and turned to the man, "How did you know that there would be that piece of metal in him, Ron? When we saw him, we feared he was shot with an arrow, but a small piece of metal?"

Ron sighed, "Should've known that you won't know about these little gadget…"

With that, Nanami watched as the man pulled out a small silver device from his pocket and placed it on the ground before them. When he was about to sit back, Nanami stared at the man firmly as he let out a sigh and nodded, "I got it. You don't much about it yourself too."

Remaining seated on the tatami floor, Muroboshi continued as he picked up the weapon again for them to see, "See. This here is called a gun."

"A 'gun'?" Kamui said with a frown.

"It's a mechanical weapon from our country." Nanami said with a frown, "I've never seen what it could do to a person till now, but on of our friends said that it can shot out those 'bullets' at people and can take many lives, just by pulling the trigger. It's extremely dangerous."

As their eyes widen in shock, Ron nodded with a smile, "Of course, depending on where the person gets shot, it can be dangerous and kill them instantly. It can also cover more ground than those arrows of yours. Also, it's suppose to be considered illegal to hold one from… Hey, are we really in a different country?"

Nanami frowned as he asked her this, "It would seem so. Princess Azura and her sister said that this place is called Hoshido."

Hearing this, Corrin grimaced, "If it's such a dangerous thing to have, then why do you have one, Ron?"

The man shrugged, "It's illegal, sure. But, I needed something to protect myself."

Hearing this, everyone shifted uncomfortably as Ron spoke up, "Well, as long as you guys aren't my enemies, this gun isn't for you, of course."

After some silence, Azura turned to Nanami, "Have you wielded such a thing before?"

The girl shook her head and pulled out her kunai, "I was only taught how to use my Kunai and shurikans. I've never heard of what a gun was until I've met this friend of ours. Muroboshi revealed his not too long after that friend joined us."

Hearing this, Kamui frowned, "You don't think that this friend of yours shot Kaze during the battle out of fear, did you? Anyone would've panicked when they find themselves in a situation like that."

However, Nanami shook her head, "No."

As she earned everyone's eyes, she continued, "I saw from the woods. There was someone hiding in the trees from afar. They were purposely shooting at the people from both sides with concise aims. He tried to shoot me when I was trying to save him. Hearing this, Muroboshi frowned, "Someone tried to shoot you? Hm…"

Hearing this, only one thought came to her mind as she recalled their only other friend that also wields a gun, "Do you think-?"

Moroboshi shook his head, "Nah. Though I'm not too sure myself, but I don't think he'd be the one shooting during the fighting. He said he's willing to join your group and not hunt you and your friends down. I don't see what would make him want to go against his own words, especially when that barrier girl is also there."

Hearing this, Azura looked up with a raised brow, "Barrier girl?"

"…We have another friend and our comrade." Nanami explained after some hesitations, "She can create barriers to protect us and our ships from outside attacks."

Hearing this, Azura's eyes widen in surprise, "Really? I didn't know that one of your friend could do that. I recall Queen Mikoto being able to do that as well."

Nanami's eyes widen in surprise as she recalled the woman in disbelief for she looked nothing like her friend, "Mikoto? As in Mikoto Kuga?"

Azura shook her head, "So that's her name? No, I'm afraid not. The former queen never had a last name, you see. But, I curious. Nanami, does all your friends have abilities?"

The girl looked to Muroboshi, who shrugged and said, "Nope. I'm not an esper, just a normal human being."

"An 'esper'?" Felicia tilted her head in confusion, "Now, what's that?"

"It would seem that's what people would call us." Nanami said with a frown, "One of our other friends said that there was suppose to be nine of us with abilities. However, there was ten of us in total on a ship only meant for those with powers. Aside from Muroboshi and one of our other friend, there's suppose to be one more of us that doesn't have powers, but…"

"Well, there's ten." Muroboshi finished with a smile.

"That's a lot and it does sound rather confusing…" Corrin said with a frown, "But I was able to get most of it. So then, if your from another country, what were you doing there in Hoshido?"

"Nanami told me that they just found themselves in Hoshido." Azura spoke as eyes shifted to her, "Remember when Ryoma and his retainers said that they saw a girl in foreign clothing running around in the castle garden?"

Hearing this, Nanami's eyes widen in shock as Azura just smiled reassuringly, "It's all right, Nanami. I can understand your reason for lying to us. You were the girl that appeared in the castle garden yesterday, didn't you?"

Hearing this, Nanami grimaced with uncertainty and fear before slowly nodding her head, "Yes. After you told me where the castle was, I realized that was actually behind the castle wall. I've only discovered today that the person I nearly ran into was your brother as well."

Hearing this, Muroboshi chuckled, "Well, I'm glad that I was in a pine tree, then. Better that than hunted down by some ninjas."

Nanami gave the man a short glare before turning back to Azura, "I apologize for lying to you. Are the ninjas still…"

Azura shook her head with a smile, "They gave up chasing you after Saizo and Kagero saw you jump off that wall. They thought you didn't make it. Ryoma tried to get them to stop chasing after you since you are only a child, but it seems you gave him a scare when you just appeared like that."

As the princess giggled, Nanami could only glance down to the ground embarrassing as she recalled that specific event and what she had probably looked like during then, as well as the annoying isult as being referred to as a child. Kamui and his sister's eyes widen in shock as Corrin spoke up stunned, "W-wait. You were that girl, who jumped off the roof?!"

She could hear Muroboshi chuckle again, "It seems you've gotten yourself quite a reputation."

He wanted to give the man another glare, but refrained from doing so as she was already tired from all the things that occurred today. Azura turned to the two, "So, are the two of you going to continue searching for your other friends?"

Hearing this, Nanami nodded. However, Muroboshi frowned, "That'd be a bad idea."

She turned to him as he continued, "With this war going on, we could get wrapped up in all this. A gun can take down a lot of people. However, getting surrounded by those soldiers out there could get us killed."

Nanami didn't know what to say. He was right. Though she really wanted to go and find her friends and comrades, they don't want to get wrapped up in the war itself, especially from them as they were espers. Out of the blue, Kamui spoke up, "Well, how about you travel with us, then?"

Besides his sister nodding with a smile, everyone looked to the man with a shocked expression as he reasoned, "Of course, we're a part of this war going on, but, in comparison to having the two of you travels these lands where the war could possibly influence, you'd have our protection as a group."

Hearing this, Nanami immediately shook her head, "No, we can't possibly bother you for something like this."

His sister shook her head, "No, we insist. You and your friends helped save Kaze with your knowledge of these weapons from your country. You didn't have to do that, but you did. Let this be our way of thanking you and your friend, Nanami."

Hearing this, the girl frowned before the man spoke up, "It'd be a good idea since we didn't know much about this country. Why not? I mean, even I didn't even know there was still samurais and knights still here in this era."

Hearing this, the twins frowned in confusion before Azura spoke up, "In any case, I still have something to show you at the Bottomless Canyon.

"'Bottomless Canyon'?" Nanami said with confusion.

"It's as the name applies." Kamui said with a nod, "A place where there are Canyons with ravines so deep that you can't see the bottom of it all. But what do you want to show us there?"

"Something that I'm afraid I can't mention about here." Azura said with a frown, "But I promise that I'll tell you in a bit."

She turned to Nanami, "How about you and your friend stay here with Lilith and keep watch of Kaze. He can't move around in his current condition and I believe he would try to return to Hoshido while like that."

Hearing this, Nanami was about to nod before her eyes widen upon realization, "Wait! But, there's still that shooter outside. You could get shot too!"

After some thought, she heard a sigh as Muroboshi stood up as he placed his gun in his coat pocket, "It doesn't seem the understand the danger of being shot by these things. I guess that I'll have to go with them then."

At this, Kamui looked up in surprise, "But, I'm sure you're just as tired as Nanami is here."

The man sighed, "And I'll be in just as much trouble when I hear you guys got killed with these guns. As someone who uses them constantly, I'm familiar with these dangers. They can even be used to carry out undercover missions. If someone's after you with a gun, it's already just as bad as if someone's after you with a knife. Best if you have someone, who's already familiar with these thing. In fact, your friend here was already aimed for it once during that battle, in case you haven't noticed. Huh, I thought it was strange when none of you reacted to the sound of the gun firing."

Azura gasped in shock, "So, that's what it was?!"

Left with no choice, Corrin frowned, "We may have to bring him along them, Kamui."

Kamui nodded with a frown of his own, "Yes, but make sure to watch out for yourself as well, Ron. We don't have an armory, yet. So, there won't be any protection for you besides us when there's a battle. We may not have these 'guns', but we still have arrows and blades that can also do much harm."

"Got it." the man replied with a laidback tone that causes much doubt on the girl.

After their conversation, Felicia gave the girl a couple of basic knowledge of taking care of the ninja's wounds, incase he does plan on trying to get back out of this other world called the 'Astral Plane' before leaving with her two superiors.

---

It was silent as the group returned from their battle to bring back their siblings. As clearly seen, they were unsuccessful in their mission to bring back their sibling. After setting up camp in the dark Nohrian territory, a pink armored knight and a red hair mercenary entered the campground as a soldier led them to a larger pale gray tent lit by the torches inside. As they entered, all four siblings, including a woman with long purple wavy hair and black female armor, were seen speaking with one another with a frown or a look of disappointment on their faces till the two arrival appeared. Seeing them, the purple hair woman spoke, "You've returned, Selena. How did it go?"

The mercenary bowed, "It was as you suspected, Lady Camilla. Hans launched an undercover attack on the Northern Fortress. I was able to warn the servants before he reached the place. However, I don't know what happened to them after Hans' began his attack. I was also able to escort the maid, Flora, and the girl out of the structure as the attack occurred and met up with Effie as planned before taking Flora back to the castle."

Hearing this, Effie bowed, "I've brought the girl to Casita and she agreed to aid the girl for us."

After their report, Elise smiled cheerfully, "I knew we could count on her! Great work, Effie!"

Camilla nodded with a smile, "You did a wonderful job saving this 'Koharu' my siblings have spoke of and Flora, Selena."

Despite the good news, Xander only nodded, "So, those two were willing to go that far. No doubt word would soon get to Father. I wonder how would Iago plan on explaining himself for this event."

Leo frowned, "No doubt that man will have an excuse for this event."

The princesses dismissed their retainers before turning back to their conversation.

Leo spoke, "Now that the barrier is gone, there's nothing stopping our kingdoms from entering into a full-scale war."

Camilla nodded, "I knew that this would happen eventually. The Hoshidans have put down all the negotiations Father attempted with them after all."

Elise frowned sadly, "But how are we going to tell Father that we couldn't take over the capital today?"

As she said this, grim and heavy silence hung in the air before Xander said to her, "Elise, how is your retainer, Arthur? If heard he was suddenly injured in midst of the battle today."

At once, the girl looked up with a serious expression as she could, "He seems better now. It seems that he was shot through the arm today. He said that he didn't even see any archer aiming for him either and there was no arrow. He also have this strange burn mark on his leg. I've never see anything like this before."

At her words, Camilla looked up in surprise, "My! I remembered getting a burn on my arm today as well and something shot past me while I was high up with Marzia, but there were no enemy mages in sight or archers. Also, at that height, there shouldn't be any archers or mages that could get us as easily. It was so strange."

Leo frowned, "That's unusual. I thought I heard something off today during the battle. It sounded a bit like some kind of explosion, but I thought I was just be mishearing things."

From their description, Xander frowned. Was there a third party attacking them from afar? But, who would dare to attack them during the battle? And, more importantly, how? Should he report this to their Father and see what he thinks of this situation? Of course, this could also be another one of the tricks they're enemy were pulling on them, but…

---

As night fell, Lilith floated into the room with some berries in a bag. The sudden arrival of the 'Astral Dragon' nearly made her draw out her blade as the being made no sound when it suddenly slid open the door. Though hesitant at the dragon's offer of food, Nanami's stomach growled loudly at the sight of the berries and began to eat them with the dragon. The being who reintroduced herself to her told her stories of how she came to meet the royal twins as a bird before serving them as a stable girl in her human form and giving that up to save them from a possible death. While they talk, she suddenly realized that she was still in her tattered kimono and decided to go to a different room to change quickly after the dragon offered to keep watch as she did so. After changing into a pale red and pink kimono, she soon returned to the room where the dragon offered her a seat and some more fruits. Through out their talk, the girl listened to her with great interest. She had never seen anything like this place full of magic and dragons. As Lilith began to talk with her about the more recent battles, Nanami soon learned that those dragons she saw in the skies were actually another mystical creature called a wyvern and the winged horses in the army the man, Ryoma, led were called Pegasus. As they talked, Nanami grew really interested in this place full of thing that would only appear in your imagination as a child. Then, Lilith asked after swallowing the last bit of her peach, "So, I heard from my superiors that you and your friends all have abilities and that you're all traveling to get to a place, but what about your parents, Nanami? Are they really okay with making you go with your friends without any communications?"

After some thoughts, she decided to tell the little being the truth. The girl shook her head, "Actually, I don't know what Father would think."

Hearing this, the dragon nearly sunk to the ground before rising back up and looking at the girl with a look of concern, "W-what do you mean? Did something happen between the two of you, Nanami?"

Hesitant, the girl continued, "I told Princess Azura and Princess Sakura that I was ordered to go with the people that then became my friends, but the truth was that I ran away from home. To escape from my Father."

After some silence, the dragon turned to her, "May… May I ask why you ran away?"

"…I was scared."

"Scared?" the dragon repeated with a frown.

"For as long as I can remember, Father had always been strict, even before I realized that I had an ability." Nanami explained nervously, "When we discovered this, my father stopped working as a farmer and began to train me to become a ninja. We were descended from a line of famous ninjas, after all." After some silence, she continued, "Since I was young, my father ordered me to use my abilities on people that our clients want us to use them on to make a living, rather than farming. My Father had become stricter and harsher than he once was before we discovered my ability, and I was never in the position to go against his orders. Because of that, we would always get chased by pursuers for using my abilities on the people and I would always have to take what's important to them."

With a nod, Lilith finished, "So, you took the chance to runaway when you had it, then?"

Nanami nodded in silence. After a while, the dragon asked, "If you may, would you tell me what's this ability of yours?"

The girl, however, remained silent. Finally, Lilith looked up and smiled, "Well, I'm glad that you ran away when you did. That would mean that you won't have to follow your Father's orders anymore and you're free to decide on what you want to do for yourself."

Hearing those words, Nanami frowned upon hearing them. It felt like something foreign to her, but she felt happy inside and slowly smiled with a nod, "I suppose you're right about that. Thank you for listening to my story, Lilith."

The dragon smiled, "Well, thank you for telling me them. It must have been difficult to do so. Talking about the past is not easy for everyone, after all. Now, I wonder when Lord Kamui and Lady Corrin is going to return? It's getting awfully late too."

Nanami nodded in silence. They've been gone since the afternoon and had yet to return. She recall the dragon telling her that, to get back to this castle, all they had to do was call her and she'd teleport them to this place. However, it's been hours now and they still haven't returned at all. Nanami frowned as she could feel the sense of fear and concern wash over her. Could something have happened to them? Lilith frowned and glanced to Nanami, "I'll go check the surrounding area at my shrine. You stay here, all right?"

The girl nodded, "I don't know how war is like, but please be careful, Lilith."

Hearing this, the dragon nodded with a bright smile, "Ah. Don't worry about a thing, Nanami. If something happens, I'll help take you and Kaze to a safer place."

As she was about to float outside, the dragon froze before turning around, "Oh and Nanami, about what we talked about, I'll keep it a secret for you since it seems you don't want many to know about it. But, I think you should try talking more with others around you. It must be hard to trust someone you just met, but I promise that there are still people that you can trust here and that includes Lord Kamui and Lady Corrin. Please give it some thought, okay?"

Hearing this, Nanami hesitantly nodded with a small smile as she silently prayed for the safety of the dragon and her friends. After the dragon closed the door behind her, Nanami remained seated in her place as she began to finish the remainder of her portion of fruits. It wasn't much of a nutritious meal, but it wasn't junk food and it satisfied her hunger for now. She looked back to the ninja still sleeping under his blankets. She recalled how serious a bullet wound could be from their comrade back on their ship. However, it would seem that this place's healing abilities really helped the man according to Moroboshi. Soon, her thoughts turned to the rest of her friends and comrades. It was only an assumption when she came here and met Azura and Sakura, but it seems that, after finding Moroboshi, she and everyone else were indeed mysteriously brought to this place. And that light. Just what was it? At least, she was glad that those ninjas have stopped chasing after her after thinking that she was dead. It wasn't the last time that she had gone through something as terrifying as that, but she didn't want to go through that again either way. Suddenly, she heard the sheets began to shuffle and lifted her head only to find the man slowly opening his eyes.

"W-where am I?" the man muttered before trying to sit up, "Urgh!"

Suddenly, he clutched his chest where the wound was. Nanami immediately rushed over to the man in shock, "Y-you can't get up, yet! You're still injured."

As she helped the man back on his back, she was internally panicking. She didn't know what to do besides what Felicia instructed her. To make sure the man remains rested and not to let him get up or he would reopen that fragile healing the maid was able to work on him. She had saw her reusing her magic on the ninja as the wound was only slowly healing where as the Hoshidan princess was able to heal as quickly from her memory of that previous night. The man looked up to the girl in bewilderment, "W-Where am I?"

Nanami frowned with a look of confusion before she answered, "I think Lilith said that this place was called the 'Astral Plane'. How are you feeling? Does it still hurt?"

The man grimaced, but said, "I'm feeling better. Thank you. The 'Astral Plane'? Hm… But, may I ask what happened? I remember I was on the battle field fighting Nohrians."

"I found you collapsed during the battle and dragged you away from there. You were shot by a dangerous weapon back there." Nanami said with a look of concern, "Prince Kamui's maid, Felicia, and my friend helped treat your wound. Then, he and Princess Corrin wanted to bring you here to rest. Princess Corrin said that this was to be a place for the soldiers' quarters in the future. They let you borrow this room for now, since they don't have an infirmary yet."

As if stunned, the man's eyes shot open in surprise, "Prince Kamui and Princess Corrin?! Can you tell me where they are right now?"

Nanami frowned. She was taught to mask her emotions since she was young, yet this man was doing the opposite of it all. She answered, "Princess Azura wanted to show them something at the Bottomless Canyon and haven't been back since this afternoon with a friend of mine. I don't know why they still haven't returned yet. But, Felicia said that you can't go moving around yet or your wound would open again. She something about nearly cutting an 'artery' or something."

The man, Kaze frowned, "I was that close to death with just one shot? Just how did I fell with just one shot? I would've seen the enemy fire, but…"

"The culprit was in the trees across the battle field from the woods." she said with a frown, "You were shot by someone hiding in the trees with a special weapon that shoots out small metal pieces. In my country, they're considered illegal weapons to hold. I have no clue as to how they or us got here."

"'Us'?" the ninja said with a frown.

Nanami grimaced as she was unsure as to whether or not the man would believe her, but it was the truth and, so, she explained, "My comrades and I were on a journey on our ship when we woke up yesterday and found ourselves in this land separated. So far, I was only able to find one of my teammates while the others are still missing. It was also thanks to Princess Azura that she found him on the battlefield this morning. We're not accustomed to war and can't take part without being told to do so. Even if we were, I don't think I'd be able to do much with my abilities."

Hearing this, Kaze raised a brow and glanced at the girl, "You take part in a war? But, you're just a child. Why would they put a child in the front lines?"

Nanami glared in annoyance at being referred to as a child, but she only frowned and said, "In any case, I was told that you must stay in bed while we wait for their return. Princess Corrin and Prince Kamui had been waiting for you to come to for a while before they decided to leave. They were very worried about you."

"They did?" the ninja said with a look of surprise, "But, I'm a Hoshidan ninja."

Nanami raised a brow in confusion, "But they said that you were a friend of theirs. Was that not true?"

At this, the man frowned, "Well, I did bring them back from Nohr…"

As the man muttered something else incoherent, Nanami glanced to the small paper-covered window. There was sun light shining through anymore. Only the light of the interior candles reflecting off of it. She was growing worried as to where the group and her teammate have gone. However, perhaps if it was that man, they would be all right, she hoped. Muroboshi had been one of the people to have stayed the longest on their ship and turned out to be the traitor amongst them when Mikoto's friend was still the enemy hunting them down. Despite this, he was now their ally and, though she still had her doubt on occasion, trusted his skills with the gun at least, as well as the safety of her new friends on these lands. He had a reason to do so and, that alone, was enough to convince her that he wouldn't go back on his words. She just hoped whatever was happening wasn't as bad as she feared.

As she did this, the man just watched the girl silently with a frown. This child admitted that she and her friends had come from a foreign country. Not only that, but the weapon that shot him was also from her country and is said to be illegal. However, even the girl admitted to not knowing whether how or why this happened. He just happened to be one of the unfortunate ones to get hit by this weapon that shoots out these metal pieces, but, to think that the prince and princess would save him after being exiled by their siblings.

As Nanami was still staring at the window slightly dazed in her worry, the man's voice snapped her back to reality, "Pardon me, but I don't think I've asked for your name."

The girl nodded, "My name is Nanami Shiranui. I was told that your name is Kaze, correct?"

The green ninja nodded, "Yes, that's correct. Nanami, you said that you and your friends suddenly found yourself in Hoshido. I know this may sound personal, but can you tell me where did you find yourself yesterday?"

Hearing this, Nanami remained silent as she tried to keep up her oblivious pokerface while ideas of what to answer race through her mind. She slipped. Because of her casual replies, she accidentally revealed that they had been randomly sent to different parts of the land, meaning anywhere. To make matters worse, she had only recalled that the two ninjas she encountered worked under the prince of the kingdom. Does this man also work for him too? Suddenly, she heard footsteps running down the wooden floor hall causing her to snap her attention to the door and place a hand over the pocket where her kunai hid. As the door slide open, a couple familiar faces appeared as a cheerful voice called out to them, "We're back! I'm sorry it took so long, Nanami."

It was Princess Corrin, Felicia and Muroboshi. Seeing this return, Nanami let out a sigh of relief and stood up with a small smile, "You're back!"

As they walked in, Corrin glanced over to the ninja and gasped, "Kaze! You're awake!"

Hearing this, all eyes turned to the man laying on the futon and looking at the princess with a look of surprise.

"Princess Corrin…" the ninja muttered weakly with a grimace of what looked to be uncertainty.

As they rushed over to the man, Muroboshi walked over to the girl and picked something up before handing it to her, "Here. This is yours, right?"

It was her kunai. Her eyes widen in surprise before looking through her pockets. It wasn't there, but she recalled being able to touch it before they came in. It must've dropped when she stood up just now. She took her kunai and placed it back in her pocket. The man smiled and patted her head before letting out a yawn and turned to walk away. He then sat on the tatami floor with his back to the wall, "Man, I didn't think I'd be moving around that much today. I think I'm going to take a nap now. Just call me when I'm needed. Didn't think this place would require this much manual labor."

Hearing him say this, the girl was surprised. Did the man actually just said he did manual work? She recalled all the times he had always skipped out on their chores and they'd find him either still asleep in his room or missing somewhere on their ship doing his own thing. It got especially more difficult when her comrades and friends tried to think of a way to get him to work. When he did, it turned out to be a disaster while she was made to help him because they were of the same team among their group. With a worried look, she turned to Princess Corrin, who glanced back and smiled, "Muroboshi really helped us a lot today at the Bottomless Canyon. Just let him rest… Oh."

Seeing the slightly surprised look on her face, Nanami looked back only to find that her teammate had fallen asleep right then and there. Corrin chuckled, "And I was about to let him use one of the available quarters here."

Nanami frowned and walked over to them man. She bent down and shook his shoulder, "Muroboshi. Muroboshi…"

It was no use. The man was out as soon as he had finished speaking. That or the man just decided to ignore them. As Nanami left out a sigh of dismay, Corrin said with a smile, "I'll go fetch Azura and my brother. You just stay here with Felicia, Nanami. I doubt you'd be able to move him on your own anyway."

"Lady Corrin!" the maid said with an eager expression, "How about you let me go fetch Lord Kamui and Princess Azura? You've spent so much of your energy running around in-"

"F-Felicia!" Corrin interrupted the maid with a look of horror across her face, "Don't!"

The maid gasped, "I-I'm so sorry. I almost forgot about Lady Azura's warning. Still, please just let me go fetch them for you. I'm sure you must be tired after all the fighting today."

"F-fighting?" Nanami said with a look of surprise.

They were fighting against enemy soldiers? So, that was why Muroboshi looked so tired. She immediately recalled the battle scene. However, Nanami was more surprised that they were able to get the man to do something. She supposed that it must be the fighting after all. She wondered what did they had seen at the Bottomless Canyon. However, seeing that both Felicia and Corrin refused to tell her for unknown reasons, she supposed that it may be for the best in the end. After seeing to the ninja's condition, Felicia helped Nanami bring the drowsy Muroboshi to one of the rooms decided to be one of the man's quarters that the royal siblings offered as the twins went to speak with the ninja. Apparently the two had decided how to arrange the large building so that it can rest as many people as possible and in case they were people of different kingdoms. To her surprise, the twins had decided to take the rooms in the tree branches as their rooms long before they had arrived. She had never thought the twins would go for something like that. She guessed that there were more to the royal family than she had initially thought. Not long after getting the drowsy man in his own bed and Felicia saving the both of them before he could unconsciously grab one of the two girls, Azura came and led the two to their rooms, much to the maid's stunned and horrified expression for their reversed roles. Thankfully, as the princess strongly insisted and reasoned, the maid gave in much to her disappointment. Along the way, the two struck up quite a conversation that included the maid's dismay in her own clumsiness that the girl had yet to witness and tried to apologize to the princess profusely if they had not reached the maid's room at that moment. After saying their good nights to the maid, Azura began to lead the girl to her room as well.

"You know, you've been awfully quiet as of late, Nanami." Azura commented with a look of concern, "Is something wrong?"

Hearing this, the girl looked up with a troubled expression, "O-Oh. No, nothing's wrong, Princess Azura. I just don't have much to talk about. Sorry."

The woman smiled, "There's nothing to be sorry for, Nanami. I suppose that a lot of things happened today."

After some thought, the woman continued, "Nanami, this may sound personal and I apologize in advance if it is, but how often have you been in a war setting?"

The esper looked up and thought a bit before answering, "I'm afraid never, Princess Azura. My friends and I were told that we were supposed to go to a place that prevents thing like this, but we rarely ever take part in them."

The princess frowned thoughtfully, "A place that could prevent wars? That does sound like a dream come true, but how would they be able to do that?"

The girl shook her head, "I don't know."

Azura looked to the girl in confusion, "Hmm… Then, why would your father order you to go join them?"

After some thoughts, Nanami finally spoke, "A-Actually, I wasn't ordered to do so. I deeply apologize, Azura. But, the truth was that I ran away from my Father. I was worried that telling you this may be leaking my whereabout to him, if he tried to catch me. My comrades and friends found me while I was wandering about and insisted that I join them instead. I didn't have anything with me or a goal in mind after I escaped from my Father, after all."

Azura's eyes widen in surprise before she remained calm again with a frown, "It's all right, Nanami. I understand. You were scared that he'd catch you again, weren't you. I don't want to be nosy, but can you tell me why you ran away?"

As she said this, Nanami could feel the sweat crawl down the back of her neck as she frowned in silence. Seeing this, the princess shook her head with a smile, "It's fine. You don't have to tell me, if it makes you uncomfortable. Ah, here we are."

Nanami looked to where the princess's gaze fell upon and saw a familiar looking door much like Muroboshi's door. Azura opened it and the two took a glance inside. There was a bed, a shelf, a small wardrobe, a desk, a window, and a small table with an empty vase that she didn't see in her teammate's. On the table sat her small bundle of clothes. Perhaps Lilith was here before? She recall the little dragon carrying the bundle out of the ninja's room. As she walked in, Azura smiled, "If there's anything you need, just remember to let me or Felicia know. Oh, I forgot to mention that a new soldier have joined us today."

Nanami looked up in surprise with a slightly widen eyes, "A new soldier?"

The princess nodded, "Yes. His name is Gunter. He works as Kamui and Corrin's retainer. They told me that he was a former soldier of Nohr before serving under them. If I recall correctly, he's also a seasoned veteran as well and wise. I'd ask for all the questions to go to him, but, since he's new here too, just bring any questions you have to me. I'll be in the room left of yours. Convenient, right?"

Nanami nodded, "Okay. Thank you, Princess Azura."

As the princess smiled and was about to close the door, she suddenly stopped and opened it again, "If you'd like, Nanami, you can come see me at the lake right of here tomorrow. I'll be practicing my singing before we head back outside of the Astral Plane. You're welcome to come and listen."

"At the lake?" Nanami said with a feeling of surprise behind her unchanged expression.

"Oh, do you have plans with your friend tomorrow? I didn't want to trouble you." Azurar said with a troubled expression.

But, Nanami shook her head with a smile, "No. I can come."

Seeing her smile, Azura grinned in relief, "That's great. I'll see you tomorrow, then. Good night!"

"Good night!" Nanami replied as she watched the girl close the door shut.

It was okay, right? She just wanted to follow Lilith's advice and she certainly felt like she can trust the woman with her story. The woman had helped her numerous times and she was very thankful for it. Her actions reminded her much of that pink hair girl, though she had a hard time communicating with them sometimes. After some thought, she shook her head. She'd decided to put her trust in the woman. Azura had helped her numerous times and never once did she criticize or raise her suspicions towards her actions. Like her friends, she was trusting and could be trusted with her story. She just hoped that it won't do anything to harm her in anyway as she had done so before.

---

In the land of Izumo, Mikoto was hard at work cleaning up the shop after the last patient left with their bundle of herbal medicine and the old healer's instruction. It's only been a three days after her work began and she's been living with the elderly man. The healer, whom she later learned was Hideki, was very patient with educating her around the shop as she felt like she was slowly getting better at this. During the days, Izana would come by and see her when he had the time. Even he was pleased with her progress. As she was walking back to the counter after their lunch, she heard the entrance slide open revealing the familiar looking lord walking in with a bright smile, "Well, Good afternoon~, Hide, Kuga!"

Seeing the man, Mikoto smiled, "Oh, Good afternoon to you too, Duke Izana. Are you here to see Mr. Hideki? He's currently in the back writing down the records. I can let him know that you're here, if you like?"

The man laughed, "Oh, it's fine, Kuga. I'm actually dropping by to see you."

"But, Mr. Hideki would be disappointed if you left without notifying him of your arrival." Mikoto said before he looked back at him with a look of surprise, "Wait, you brought someone here to see me?"

"Yes." Izana said, "I've brought a friend along with me, you see. He's come to Izumo to visit for a bit and is not much of a happy camper right now, so I thought I'd introduce him to someone closer to his age."

"A friend?" the girl said with a look of surprise and curiosity.

Though she's seen many customer, adult and children alike, there weren't many teens in the area as she thought there would be. It was only yesterday that she had just met with a boy around her age who works for a butcher shop just around the corner of the street. Though she was happy to find someone to speak with, that young man was always invading her personal space often being a loudmouth and talking over her constantly. She wasn't sure if all the boys here were like that, but she was really irritated with him and disliked every minute with him while she often wished to speak with the children and adults instead. Honestly, she was already preferring her teammates and comrades rather than him and she knows one being a much louder mouth than him. Still, the idea of talking with someone around her age did interest her, though she wasn't quite sure what kind of "happy" camper he would be.

Izana glanced over to the opened door, "You can come in now~."

At his words, three people came in. I front of the two was a young man that looked to be her age with a long silver ponytail, blue clothing, and held a tall bow without a string in his hand. Behind him stood two figures who looked to be slightly older than herself. A woman with a blue ponytail, black tradition armors for lancers, wore orange and dark blue kimono followed with blue leggings, blue boots, and blue and deeper orange gauntlets strapped around her wrists, In one hand she held a long tradition naginata. Next to her stood a man with brown hair tied in a bun that looked to be rather different than one of her teammates, wore light brown armor with gold-like rims, also wore guantlets that was of the same color as his armor, had on purple and white clothing, and wore sandals. On his belt hung a Katana. She looked to them with a surprised expression. These were soldiers, not regular citizens, but she knew better than to judge a book by their cover. Izana never brought someone to see her before, so there must've been a reason as to why now. She looked to the lord, who smiled and gestured, "This here is the second prince of Hoshido, Prince Takumi, and the two behind him are his personal retainers, Oboro and Hinata."

Stunned, she gasped. A prince?! As the two retainers nodded in greeting, Mikoto bowed, "H-hello, My name i-!"

Out of the blue, she banged her forehead on the front desk making a loud noise through the room and spectacularly, if she may add. As Izana tried his best to stifle his laughs, the prince's eyes widen in shock as she rubs her forehead.

"Kuga!" Hideki's voice sounded through the house, "Is everything all right up front?!"

"Y-yes!" she answered back as she tries to regain herself since pride was already broken with this one act.

"Woah!" the samurai said with a look of surprise, "All you sure? Cause that sounds really bad."

"I-I assure you I'm really okay. Thank you for worrying, though." Mikoto said with a smile, "A-anyway, my name is Mikoto Kuga."

The prince raised a brow in surprise, "Mikoto?"

Realizing what the duke had told her before, she quickly added, "Oh, that right… If you like you can just call me Kuga. I only just started working here a few days ago as Hideki's assistant."

"That and she's also from another world." Izana adds quickly.

As the prince gives the man a bewildered expression, Mikoto gasped in shock and glances to the duke with a frown, "I don't think you're suppose to casually say that aloud, Duke Izana! Also, who would believe that?!"

The man smiled, "Well~, I did tell him that you'd be working together in the future. So, it'd be best to get to know each other before that time comes, then!"

Mikoto glances back to the prince with a bewildered look, "Then, is the prince the one I'm suppose to help?"

"Nah~!" Izana answered with a chuckle, "The people have yet to arrive, but I did say that the two of you are destined to help this person. So, you're both comrades!"

Hearing this, the esper frowned before glancing back at the three. Besides the retainers, the prince was staring at the man as if something had sprouted out of his head. It was understandable, even she can hardly believe in this thing such as fate. If there was such a thing that went against her and her comrades, she'd be willing to go far to protect them with all the power she had. However, to her that she'd be working with a prince of all people…

As she thought this, Izana turned around and began to walk away as he waved, "Well, then I'll be taking my leave. Can't be late for my hair treatments. See ya~!"

As he was about to walk out the door, he stopped and turned around, "Oh! I'll have a servant prepare a guest room for you, Prince Takumi."

The archer gave the man a short nod before he left out the door. Once gone, the man shook his head with a grimace.

"I don't believe this." the prince said in obvious disbelief.

Mikoto sighed, but nodded, "Right. I'd agree if I wasn't stuck in a place that I don't know about. Well, I'm fortunate that Duke Izana would help me find a job and a place to stay."

The prince glanced to her in silence making Mikoto look back at him in confusion till he began to speak, "So, are you actually from Hoshido, then?"

Mikoto shook her head, "No. I'm not from Hoshido, Nohr, or Izumo. I'm actually from this country called Japan. However, the duke said that Japan doesn't exists here and I couldn't find it on the maps. So, I suppose I'll have to take Duke Izana's word for it, then."

Takumi narrowed his eyes in clear suspicion, "So, why are you here then?"

Mikoto could understand the young man's reason for his suspicion and it was a justified one to have. She couldn't blame the man for having it so.

"Duke Izana told me that I was brought here by their god, or something divine to them, to help out someone along with my friends." She answered truthfully with a frown, "But, I'm not sure if that is really true. However, it doesn't seem like Izana could lie about it. I just woke up in his garden three days ago and not on our ship. To be quite honest, even I don't know the situation or where my friends are right now. It's just me here as far as I know. …Um…"

Takumi's raised a brow as Mikoto's eyes shifted to the long arch of the bow, "What?"

"Well, if I may, is that a bow?" she hesitantly questioned with a frown, "It looks a lot like one and very decorative, if I may add. I've never seen one like it. However, where is the string? You won't be able to shoot your arrows without one. Did it snap?"

As she asks this, the swordsman's eyes widen in surprise, but the prince spoke, "You're trying to make you story sound pretty convincing if you're trying to make it sound like you don't know about the Fujin Yumi."

"T-The Fujin Yumi, you say?!"

They turned to the owner of the voice and saw Hideki standing in the door way to the back. The man's jaw nearly drop before turning to her, "Kuga, go make some tea, would you? I didn't think we'd have such important guests. You really ought to have told me, Kuga."

"Right!" the girl said before leaving her counter and hurrying to the back kitchen.

With the girl gone, Takumi turned to the healer, who led them to a seat around the table in the lobby.

"That girl, Kuga…" Takumi began as he took a seat and his retainers stood to the side.

"Ah, you mean, Kuga, Lord Takumi?" the man said with a smile, "I hired her three days ago. Izana brought her to see me after I talked with him about hoping to find an assistant."

Takumi frowned, "Izana said that she is of another world…"

The healer chuckled and sighed, "Ah, yes. So, it would seem that our lord have told you about her. She had told me that she's from a country called 'Japan'. From what I've heard, it sounds like it resembles Hoshido quite a bit."

"So, you believe her?" the price said with a look of surprise.

Hideki smiled and nodded, "Yes, milord. Lord Izana and I have been close friends for a really long time and I must say that there were many times that crazy things happen when you're around him, some being rather interesting events."

The old man chuckled as he added, "This also being one of them."

"So, you really believe in him when he said that things are 'destined' to happen?" Takumi asked with a look of confusion.

"Hah. Yes, Prince Takumi." The healer said with a nod, "Though, there was a time we tried to go against it to save my wife. However, she was physically too weak to fight back anymore and her fate unfortunately caught up to her. There was nothing any of us could do to save her."

"Oh. I-I'm sorry." Takumi said with a startled expression, "But, how would…Kuga help us? It doesn't look like she can use a weapon."

The healer nodded, "Yes. Well, When Lord Izana decided to have her work for me, he told me that, due to her ability from her world, he trusted her safety to me as she was also seeking to find a place to stay and work, and she's a really fast learner, if I may add. Also, she seems to be already well-educated."

"An ability?" Takumi said with a look of suspicion and surprise as did his retainers, "What kind of ability?"

Hideki shook his head, "I'm afraid I don't know, Lord Takumi. They never told me. Only that she has an ability."

"I see..." The prince said in deep thought.

As Mikoto carefully set down the tray of tea on the square wooden, she heard someone walking through the door.

"Um… Is the healer here?"

She looked up and saw a woman and her child both standing at the front desk, "Oh! Mr. Hideki, we have some patients."

"Ah, right…" the healer said as he carefully got out of his chair, "Kuga, can you get some of the cold medicine ready just in case."

"Right!" Mikoto answered and returned to the desk after pouring the tea into the cups.

Not long after she bundled up the medicine, she heard someone walking through the doors.

"Hey, Kuga!"

She nearly groaned as the irritating voice called out to her. It was him again…

"Are you free right now?! Wanna let me show you around the place?"

She frowned before mustering a smile and turned around, "I'm sorry. I'm still a little busy a few more bags of could medicine and my shift have just begun. Thank you for your offer though. Perhaps another day?"

Despite her reasoning, the man smiled, "Then I can wait."

"Oh? What about your parent's butcher shop, Jirou?" Mikoto asked with a look of surprise masking her desire to grimace.

"It will be fine." He said with a laid back smile, "My parents are currently on their shift and I just finished my delivery."

Her heart sank. She really doesn't want him to be here of all times. There was even guests in the place. Though the man wasn't bad, she certainly found him to be really irritating, insisting that he'd be here to escort her whenever she had to deliver medicine. It was all right as first as she didn't know the area as well, but it's gotten worse over time after she started to know her way around. She wanted to say something, but decided against it and returned to her work, "If you say so…"

After packing what seemed to be the third bundle carefully measured with the scale she's become accustomed to, the man finally whispered to her, "Hey, Kuga. Who are those three sitting in the back?"

He was pointing to the prince drinking the tea at the table in the far back. Mikoto sold the bundle of medicine to the mother and her child, then glanced over and said, "Oh, that'd be Prince Takumi and his retainers. Archduke Izana came by for a visit and wanted him to wait here while the servants get his room ready."

Jirou's eyes widen in shock as he whispered, "You mean the second prince of Hoshido?! What's he doing here? Izumo is suppose to be a neutral kingdom."

Mikoto sighed as she grabbed some more herbs from one of the many shelves, "I don't know, but Duke Izana let him stay at his mansion. He probably just have his reasons."

Still, she could see the butcher's son grimaced, "It'd better be a reasonable one, then. I don't want Izumo become part of the war as well."

Mikoto frowned but remained silent. This was probably something the people of this country really worried about. After gathering the herbs for the fourth bag, Hideki walked out of the back followed by a man and his wife.

"Kuga." The man called, "Is the medicine ready?"

"Yes." She replied as the man walked over to the front table.

After checking through the herbs, the man nodded with a smile, "Good job, Kuga. This is perfect. Keep up the good work."

Mikoto smiled happily and bundled it up as she said, "Th-thank you, Mr. Hideki! But, I believe I still got a long way to go before I can know my why around. Here you go!"

She then handed the two bundles of herbal medicine and handed them to the mother and her son after receiving the money for them. She then pulled out a drawer and sorted out the currencies as she was taught, then returned to her work with a look of concern, "There's been a lot of people catching colds, isn't there?"

"Ah…" Hideki concurred with a nod and an anxious expression, "There's been cases of cold last year as well, but it was never this bad."

Suddenly, they heard someone clearing their throat and saw that it was Jirou.

"If you're done," he said, "I can show you around the place as promised."

Mikoto frowned, "I still need to work on my shift and pack up the cold medicine."

Th man frowned, "But you promised a couple minutes ago."

She felt like she wanted to boil over as he said this. She never recalled making such a promise with him, even during the past three days! Yet, he's insistent on taking her out from her work. Still, Mikoto frown only grew, "I'm afraid I can't go with you, Jirou. Also, I don't recall making any promises with you as far."

The healer frowned, "I'm sorry, Jirou. But, there's been so many patients as of late and I would still require Kuga's assistance. You're going have to ask her another day."

The man frowned, but, before he could say something, they heard something move from afar. Mikoto looked up. It was the Archduke and a couple of his servants walking through the door.

"Oh!" the man said in surprise, "Is something going on here?"

Suddenly, the man stiffed up, "N-no, I-I mean. Nothing, sir. I was just about to leave! See you tomorrow, Kuga!"

As the man rushed through the door and was soon out of sight, Mikoto quietly let out a sigh of relief and turned to Izana with a grateful smile, "Well, it's good to see you again, Duke Izana."

"Yes, welcome, Lord Izana." Hideki said with a smile, "Are you back for Prince Takumi?"

"Yes. The servants have finished preparing his room and I've just finished my appointment with my appointments~." the man said with a grin, "So, I thought I'd come by to see how you two were getting along."

Mikoto glances over to the young man in the back of the lobby getting ready to leave, "Well, I'd say it's a good start, though we'd only just met today."

"That's great~!" the duke said with a nod, "I was notified by the gods that the two of you would get along. Haha!"

Mikoto could only return a nervous smile to the man as he said, "So, Hideki. How have the people been as far?"

As Mikoto took this as her cue to return to her work, she heard footsteps as she began sorting out the herbs on the table. She looked up and saw that it was the prince.

"Oh!" she said in surprise, "Is there something you need, Prince Takumi?"

After some silence, the prince said, "You know, you could just tell him that he was bothering you, rather than let him walk up to you like this."

Mikoto nodded," Perhaps I would. That's if he's not getting into my space before I notice it."

It was true. If she had chosen to put up her barrier, it'd have taken less than a couple seconds to do so. However, that annoying man was always quick to close the distance between them, to which, even if she did, he'd get closer to her before the barrier could've been of any use. Also, she knew that the elderly man and the man's parents were close friends. She didn't want to shatter that close relation for a newcomer like her.

"Besides, even if I did start to take physical action, it'd be impossible when he keeps getting annoyingly close to me." She whispered taking a quick glance to her superior, "Honestly, he'd be miles away from me otherwise."

Hearing this, a small grin appeared the prince's face as he chuckled and said in disbelief, "Really? I find that hard to believe after seeing that."

Seeing this surprised her as she, in turn, couldn't help but smile as well and nodded with certainty, "Of course, I can. Don't judge people by the appearances. I really am that strong, you know, though not with my arms."

Though she sounded sarcastic, it was the truth. She'd have kept him miles away if she wanted.

"Well, you're going to have to prove that later on." the archer said with a shrug, "Well, I'll be returning to the castle, then. See you!"

Mikoto waved as both he and the duke left the clinic and back outside. The sky was already red as the sun began to set into the distant mountains. Seeing this, Hideki nodded with a smile, "It may be time to start closing the clinic for today."

"All right!" Mikoto replied with a nod and went to put away the remaining wrapped medicine into a specified box container before cleaning up the desk.

It was night when Mikoto changed into her white kimono and crawled into her bed. As she did so, she couldn't help but shiver as a cold breeze blew in through her window. Though unwilling, she got out of her warm sheets and went to lock the window with a wooden plank on the hinges of the window preventing it from growing any more stronger than it already did. As she did this, she recalled the conversation she had with the old healer.

"It's been getting cooler as of late, even though it's still spring…" Mikoto commented with concern, "I do hope the patients would be all right tonight."

She crawled back under her sheets and remembered her meeting with the prince. She certainly didn't think that she'd see a real prince before. However, he didn't seem much different than any other people. Well, she really shouldn't have thought that when she was the same as she came from a wealthy family. It most likely isn't anything like a royal family, but she was still much more well off than others. The man reminded her a bit of her other friend, whom she met outside of her ship. She didn't know if that was completely true, but it certainly did felt like it. However, her friend was much more special towards her than any other person she'd only just met. At the thought of the man and her other comrades, Mikoto started to feel a bit lonely. She really missed everyone and was really worried as to rather or not they'd be fine without her barriers. She frowned. She knew that some would be able to protect themselves with their ability, but she couldn't help but worry. If by any chance that god really is real, the she prayed that they keep her friends safe from any harm that may come to them.

After what felt to be two hours, Mikoto found herself still awake in bed after tossing and turning. Finally, she sighed in defeat and got out of bed. She was clearly stressed from all her worry and confusion. Perhaps, it would be best to practice her ability for a change. It have been a while since she had practiced her powers and, considering that Izana had introduced her to a future comrade who would be helping in aiding the mysterious person, she may as well train herself for a bit before going back to bed.

---

The prince and his two retainers was on their way back to the castle of Izumo as the samurai, Hinata, whispers over to his colleague, "Hey, doesn't it seem like our lord seem a bit happier than normal? I mean, he finally laughed back at the old man's clinic."

The woman shrugged, "Whatever it is, I'm just glad that Lord Takumi is much happier now. Perhaps, I should get his kimono finished for the dinner tonight! Oh, I can't wait!"

At the woman's enthusiasm, the samurai could only shrug and heave a sigh in defeat as he knew that no one came tear her apart from her hobby of tailoring clothing and loyalty towards their charge to which he understands as well. Out of the blue, a chilling breeze blew through the group as Hinata shuddered for a split second, "Say, is it just me or is it starting to get cold around here? Oboro?"

The lancer only frowned and shook her head in disbelief. Hearing this, Takumi frowned, "It's still in the middle of spring, though. It's too early for these signs to appear. I hope this isn't part of a trap from those Nohrians."

Izana smiled, "Now, I don't know about that. Izumo is a neutral country after all. Both Hoshido and Nohr are welcome here in need of shelter, just like you, Prince Takumi~."

The prince sighed, "That's not how a neutral country works, but all right, then. Still… Duke Izana, is it possible for my retainers to go take a look around, just in case?"

The man shrugged, "Well, if it would make you feel safer~, then you may, Prince Takumi. Just be careful not to cause a misunderstanding, all right~?"

"Right." the prince said with a nod, "Thank you, Duke Izana."

He then turned to his retainer, "I'll be in my room, so I'll be fine with just my Fujin Yumi. The two of you are to scan the place. Understood?"

"Yes, Prince Takumi!" the two said in unison before rushing off into the distance in the dark.

---

YueTian: I'm done! Well, I'll post this up so my other readers from my other stories, "Questions and Reason" and "Fe Awakening with Blossoms", can finish reading the first couple of chapters and decided as to whether or not, they plan on continue reading it. Since I was having my writer's block, I decided to go with whatever is still motivating me to continue and write my story which happened to be this one. I hope you all enjoyed reading this as I think of how to finish my next chapter of "Questions and Reasons", but I may just continue working with my other crossover fanfic, "FE Awakening with Blossoms". It's really annoying how these writer's blocks keep popping up, but, if there weren't any of these, then I suppose it wouldn't feel as rewarding in the end of it all. …And… I just realized that I said Kamui and Corrin was the third prince and third princess when they're both clearly suppose to have been thought to be the second… -_- Days when you realize just how dumb you've fallen when you rush. Oh, gosh… By the time you read this chapter, I'll have that already fixed and reuploaded for all you readers. I also realized something when I wrote out the first chapter. And, no, it's not about anymore errors that I have or will discover to have to fix, but that I have very few viewers… I really have to say this, because I found it really funny after seeing how personally successful my other stories have come in comparison to this and the reason? Norn 9 just isn't as well known or widely watched. Haha… Well, I really should've seen that coming.

Mikoto: Just so you know, I did warn you about this.

YueTian: Right. I forgot about that when I published the first chapter. In any case, I'm going to take a look at my other chapter and see what I can do. There's got to be a way around this writer's block. It's getting annoying. Oh! Also, I have some midterms coming up this week and would require this entire week to prepare for it. So, I ask that you wait for a few additional days to a week for my updates. I still have school, just so you all remember. I'm a student too and sadly. Still, I'll work hard, so please wait for a bit before I can post up any new updates! Thank you very much! Now for the title…