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.)

3. Chapter 3: A Bookworm VS A Shut-In

A Bookworm VS. A Shut-In

Koharu woke up seeing the wooden ceiling above her head. That's right. She recalls the events that led her to the underground city. Never had she thought that she would see something like this one day. As she sat up in her bed, she looked around her room. It was the same as before. A bit dusty in some parts. Nothing a bit of cleaning couldn't fix as she recalled one of her friends would use to say. She smiled and got out of her bed to the dusty wooden floor. It was difficult to adjust to her changing life style, but she was determined to do her best regardless. If she be careful, she'll be just fine. As she opened the door, she gasped in surprise as did the other elderly woman behind it. The woman, Casita, laughed, "Well, I was about to come and wake your sleepy head up, but it seems that you've done the job for me! Good Morning, Koharu!"

"Good morning, Casita!" the girl said with a bright smile and let the woman in.

Casita walked over to the chest and began to rummage through it, "Now, today I'll be having you help around the house, so let me get you some clothing ready for you. There!"

The woman then pulled out the red and white village dress and put it up against the girl before she smiled widely, "This will do very well! Can you change into this for me, dear?"

Koharu nodded and held the short-sleeved dress in her hands before she began to change as Casita continued to rummage through the chest. It wasn't long after she finished changing into it did Casita pulled out a pair of below-knee boots, white stockings, and a large handkerchief, or was it a bandana? She wiped the boots of with a wet cloth and handed them to Koharu, "Here you go! A pair of old boots my daughter once wore and my old hair kerchief!"

"Hair kerchief?" Koharu repeated with a dumbfounded look, "Um. How do I put this on?"

Casita gave the girl a look of surprise before she laughed, "That's right. I forgot that you're not from this region. Here, this is how it's done."

The woman pulled the girl to the mirror and showed her the steps to putting it on. It was quite simple to her surprise and reminded her much of the fairytale of Cinderella. Not long after, she put on her stocking and boots before twirling around the woman for her to see. Casita nodded her head with approval, "That's wonderful! You'll blend right in to the crowd! Now, let's get ready and go to the market before the food runs out!"

"Yes!" Koharu nodded and rushed after the woman.

The streets were rather crowded as they walked through the crowds of people. Everything was warmly lit by lamps and torches. As they walked further down the streets with their basket in the crook of their arms, they soon came to a bustling part of the street.

"Ah! Casita!" a woman behind one of the stands called out to her with a wave of her arm.

The woman waved back before the two walked over to her.

"Good mor'nin, Casita!" the woman smiled before looking down to the girl, "And who's this young girl with you?"

Casita grinned, "Oh, she's the daughter of a former coworker of mine from the castle. She had a weak health, so my friend couldn't work as well. However, she's fine now, so she asked me to care for her while she catches up on her work. You know how strict they are with their maids' progress. She'll be with me for a while, though we don't know how long it would be before she's done. Haha! She's quite shy as well. Her name is Lily. Quite beautiful name isn't it?"

Hearing this, Koharu looked up to the woman nervously as she tried to follow along and nodded her head, "H-hello…."

"Ah…" the woman says with a smile of understanding, "I see now. Those workers of the castle surely have it tough. Hello, Lily! The name is Sareh! I work here in the markets selling fruits and vegetable we gather or get from the surface. It's a hard job, but someone got to do it to feed the people here and myself, of course! Anyway, here's today's ration of vegetable and fruits, Casita!"

She then fills their basket with carrots, potatoes, and other vegetable and fruits.

"Th-thank you!" Koharu said with a look of surprise as the food.

Sareh smiles, "Your welcome. You should have told me that you were getting a new resident, Casita! I'd have tried to help out a bit more at least."

"Oh…" Casita said with a frown, "I would, but Merith had to leave her with me in the middle of the night. So, even I wasn't prepared for it. I decided to let her borrow some of my old clothing because it was rather sudden for them too."

The woman frowned before side glancing the area and whispers, "Is it the king's wrath again? I've heard that his mood has gotten worse. If the servants aren't careful, they'd be faced with execution now. They say that one of the maids who survived an enemy ambush last night was sent back to her hometown, so at least she didn't fell with the other unfortunate ones. Not only that, but the king's children have found the kidnapped prince and princess."

"They did?" the elderly woman gasped," Lady Elise must be quite overjoyed to hear this."

The woman grimaced sadly, "I'm afraid that's not possible. Rumors says that the twins have been exiled for going against both Nohr and Hoshido on that very same day. I wonder what's led to such a fate to our young prince and princess."

"Really?" Casita gasped before a look of concern fell over her, "Oh dear. Just what could've happened?..."

The woman shook her head in the same confusion before the decided to chat a bit more as she handed out the rations of food. It wasn't long before they finally decided to take their leave. Along the way, Casita showed her some of the streets and taught her to watch out for the alleys as they could contain very dangerous people. As they stepped into the house. Casita and Koharu placed the basket on the table before the woman rolled up her sleeve, "Now! I'll get you some supplies to clean your room while I get brunch ready!"

"Yes!" Koharu said with a smile.

Once she was shown where the cleaning supplies were, Koharu filled her bucket with water and began to walk back to her room with her cleaning supplies and set about cleaning the room as she could hear the clattering of the kitchen. After moping the dusty floor clean, she threw open her clean curtain and began to clean the table and the rest of the furniture with a bright smile across her face. It felt very much like her old home only there was someone here to help her. After a while, she let out a sigh of relief and stepped back to see her accomplishments.

"My! You've done a fine job cleaning the room!"

She turned around and saw the elderly woman who smiled, "Well done, Koharu. Now, let's head to the table and have some food, shall we?"

Koharu's eyes lit up with a bright smile and nodded, "Yes!"

Before she could run off, Casita called out to her, "Now, make sure you wash those dirty hands of yours before you even think of touching the food!"

"Yes, Casita!" Koharu replied before changing her destination to the bathroom that the woman had shown to her. From there, she's helped the woman around the house more and learning new things from the kind woman. It wasn't long before she could see the hand on the clock eventually struck nine that she realized how late it has gotten. Casita turned to Koharu as she washes the dishes from their dinner, "Koharu, can you bring over the rest of the dishes for me?! You can go back to bed after doing so!"

"Okay, Casita!" she replied and piled up her dishes before walking to the sink.

She was worried and wanted to help her, but the woman was rather strict with her and wanted her to be getting ready for bed saying that getting enough sleep isn't something she'd have for long, so she needed to cherish it while she still can. Just what kind of work did she do in the past that would take up most of her sleep? However, Koharu decided not to question this and got herself ready for bed. The day was rather short, and she had spent most of it indoors helping Casita with house chores. However, the kind woman had told her that she would take her outside to help her with some laundries while she could show her around town a bit more. As she thought of this, her mind soon wondered to her team mates and friends. Are they doing well? How is Kakeru? Is he desperately looking for her too? She's already spent three days in this city. Would they find her if she were underground? She, then, realized that because it was most likely that her destination would prove it harder for them to find her from the sky! As she was about to jump up, the voices of Elise and her brothers' echoes in her mind. They were willing to help and have even gone as far as to help protect her from their Father, the king. Soon, the conversation from this afternoon rose up into her mind again. Koharu was happy for the siblings that their missing brother and sister were alive but was concerned after hearing of the missing twins' exile. She recalled the depressed look of the young girl and the dark circles under the first prince's eyes. They had spent so much time and effort to find them, but, in the end, something made them exile their siblings. It was hard to believe that the two would try to go against the three siblings, especially when they did all they could to look for them. She had heard stories from Flora and the other servants back at the fortress of their charges. Just what could've led to such an outcome?

---

In the dark water of the lake, a small, partially-naked boy possibly around the age of sixteen with messy grey hair that moved along with the waves, blue eyes, and a blue tattoo on his right eye swimming in the waters scanning around the lake till he saw movement close by. Carefully, he got closer to the movement and hid behind some rocks. As the object drew closer, he could see the silver glint in his view of vision. Carefully, he drew his make shift wooden javelin and waited for the fish to get closer as he carefully positioned his weapon. Once the fish was in sight, he thrusted his javelin up and stabbed the fish through its stomach and out the back. Finally! He then easily swam up to the shore. As he stepped onto the land, he could feel his muscle getting a bit sore. This was why he'd rather stay indoors instead of working like this. It was a bother and he hated it. He stuck his wooden javelin into the sand and resumed to changing into his clothing. Suddenly, he paused. He could've sworn that he heard a high pitch scream just now. He grimaced, "Oh, no. I'm not taking any chances…. It's already annoying as it already is too…"

He sighed, then quickly gotten himself dressed before grabbing his meal and dragging himself back to his shelter.

---

Xander wanted to groan as he followed his retainers. The two then led him to the lake in the forest behind the Krakenburg castle. Laslow pointed over to some rocks, "I saw a water mon- I-I mean I saw someone there, milord! It was only a few minutes ago too. It simply walked out of the water with a javelin in hand!"

Peri smiled joyfully, "And Peri knows that as well, because Peri came running here and saw it when Laslow screamed!"

"P-Peri!" Laslow rebuked, "I didn't scream at all."

The cavalrywoman tilted her head in confusion, "But, Peri heard this really bloody scream."

Xander sighed and said, "And? Where did you see this 'monster', Laslow?"

The two stood up stiff as the blue retainer pointed over to the rocks, "Th-there, Lord Xander!"

Along with his retainer, Xander walked over to the rocks to see what had gotten his retainers so worked up about. It was quite ridiculous to think that it'd be some monster. The only thing out here currently was either bandits or stray Facelesses. Xander stood by the rocks and scanned the area. However, he saw nothing, but the calm waters where he recalls his step-mother had once spent her time with a sibling he long lost before the time of her death and his sibling's kidnap. The place was empty now. It's always been that way sadly, not even his Father dare to come to this place anymore as it would stir up sad memories. As he thought of this, he suddenly came to a halt as he saw something shine on the sandy shore. He narrowed his eyes and walked up to it. The object was an aquatic plant that could only be found under the water. As he heard his retainers hold their breath, Xander shook his head with a frown before pointing to something next to it, "Laslow, these footprints are clearly human as you can see."

The two rushed over to his side as their eyes widen. One of surprise and the other of excitement. Peri jumped up and down as she followed them with her eyes into the woods, "Look! Look! It goes all the way into the woods! Can Peri go catch it?! Can she?"

Xander frowned and shook his head knowing what the woman might try to do, "No, Peri. I need you and Laslow to go track down who the footprints belong to and bring me back the person alive, got it? I still have to finish my report for Father."

As the mercenary's eyes widen in horror, Peri pouted, but the two nodded their heads and walked into the woods as Xander sighed and called out to them, "Make sure the both of you return alive!"

"Yes, Prince Xander!" Laslow called out nervously as he walked further into the woods.

As the two eventually disappeared from his sight, he couldn't help but worry if the two would be all right in the end. He then decided that, if they don't return in the next hour, he would ask some of the men to go in and search for him… or he would have to go in there himself… again. He then recalled the last time he had to literally go into the forest to find Laslow, who had only become his retainer recently at the time, only to find him practicing his dancing and accidentally fall into the bushes upon realizing his presence. It had taken him almost two hours to find him and, since then, he make the condition that the man was to finish his duties first before thinking of going to practice his dancing in the woods.

---

He had just finished sending his report to his Father when he was close to getting back to his room. Only to freeze upon a couple of lurking shadows walking through the halls. Xander grimaced. Of all time for his retainers to not be with him! He placed a hand on the hilt of his weapon and called out, "Who's there?!"

Immediately, one of the figures slipped and fell spectacularly onto the cold stone floor, "Woah-! Argh! O-ow…"

Xander was surprised upon hearing the familiar voice, "Laslow? Peri?"

At once, both figure stood up straight as the prince approached the two. It was them no doubt. However, to his shock, he raised a brow upon seeing the two completely drenched in water as the droplets fell onto the floor. Peri's make up with completely ruined and her mascara was running down her cheeks along with the water whereas the mercenary was completely flushed, most likely from his fall and appearance. The two was clearly shivering as Xander frowned in concern, "Wh-what hap- No, go get yourself changed first, then we'll talk."

Though the two wanted to say something, Xander shook his head, "I can't have my retainers work when they're sick. Go get changed, then see me in my room. Now."

The two froze as Laslow nodded, "At once, milord."

The two sprinted out of his view and down the halls. He grimaced once as he saw the mercenary fall again. He sighed and turned to a guard, "Have the servants help clean up their mess."

After possibly five minutes, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Xander called as the door opened.

It was his little brother along with his archer and mage retainers behind him. Xander raised a brow in surprise, "Leo? What's wrong?"

The man frowned as he walked in and spoke, "I though I'd let you know that I saw Laslow and Peri running back here from the forest soaked while I was up in my room."

Xander sighed and nodded, "I know, Leo. I saw them just now. They should be here soon."

As in on cue, there was a knock at the door once again before the older siblings allowed them in. Once inside, the two lined up before him as Xander stood up, "Laslow, Peri, what happened back there in the forest?"

The woman began to exclaim in excitement, "There was a huge wave of water back there and-and Peri and Laslow wen- "

Laslow frowned and began to speak, "Peri. Let me speak instead please… Milord, we followed the foot prints and it led us to a small cave west of the lake under some bushes."

"A cave?" Leo said with a look of surprise and glanced over to his brother in silence.

Xander frowned, "I don't recall there ever being a cave… Regardless, what else?"

"There was a campfire and traces that the person may have been there for quite some time." Laslow continued.

"Yeah!" Peri said with wide eyes, "There was a ton of fish bones and one of them was half-way eaten! Then, we tried to investigate the cave-!"

Laslow frowned, "You mean, when you charged into it! I apologize, Lord Xander. I couldn't stop her in time. However, when I ran after her, a sudden wave of water came out of nowhere and washed us all out of the cave!"

"Yeah!" Peri said with a pout, "It messed up Peri's make up too!"

"Then, I decided to call out to the person and get him out of there, but he refused to do so and threatened to use his powers again if we enter." Laslow grimaced, "Then, Peri ran in there again and this time the water chased us, t-then… well…"

"Peri ran." Peri replied bluntly causing the archer to smirk silently.

Xander raised his brow, "Powers? Did you say the man have powers?"

Laslow nodded, "Yeah. I'm unsure if he was joking, but I don't recall there being magic that creates water out of nowhere… Of course, I'm no expert in the field."

Leo frowned, "I don't recall there ever being a tome that lets one use water so freely to chase others… Brother, perhaps you could let me take care of this problem. Of course, it would probably be a while before Father hands me the next mission and you still have to go off on another mission soon."

After some thoughts, the prince finally nodded, "All right, Leo. But, make sure to be careful. We don't know what we're dealing with this time."

Leo nodded, "Of course, brother."

He then gestured his retainers to follow him as he walked out the door. Xander then glanced over to his retainers, "The two of you will remain by my door. I have some matters to take care of now."

The two bowed and walked to the prince's door.

---

As Leo walked over to the lake he could see the footprints the retainers had mentioned and the aquatic plant that was pulled out of it. He then followed the footprints into the forest and soon came upon a campground. The dirt beneath their boots was muddy and there were remains of what use to be a fire place. The only problem now was that this was the side of a cliff and so there are many bushes around.

"I found it!"

At Odin's voice, the prince spun around and saw the yellow mage move aside the tall bushes. It was just as the mercenary said. There was a small cave barely enough for one person to walk in without much issue. With the tall bushes, it was well hidden and hard to tell from the shadow of the cliff.

"Good work, Odin!" the dark knight said as he walked over there only to pause as he notices something on the ground.

"Fresh footprints?" Leo said with a frown as he narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

These footprints were of bit unusual. Unlike larger footprints of the mercenary's and the knight's, this one was smaller, and the water had yet to pool into them. Leo grimaced and turned to the archer, "Niles, see if you can track down this person using these tracks. They look to be rather fresh. Odin, the two of us are going to continue looking around for some clues."

Niles nodded, "Yes, milord."

"Of course, Lord Leo." Odin bowed dramatically with a smile.

As the archer ran off with one of their lamps, Odin and Leo continued to scan the surroundings for clues only to find nothing, but only found a javelin with a soaked cooked fish. Leo grimaced as he put his fingers on his chin, "I've never heard of anyone able to use water tomes or there ever being one. So, how…"

Suddenly, he recalled what Flora had told him last her saw of her before she was sent back to her village.

The child is very determined and headstrong; however, she is too honest. She is like my sister that she would try to stick up for others, though not very good at it. If there is anything notable about that child, it would be that she is very scared of what she is capable of. Unfortunately, she is also too frightened to even speak of what it is that she can do. However, she knows that it's something bad by the looks of it. She has also told me that the rest of her friends also have these 'abilities', however, many are reluctant to speak of what they can do and, by the looks of it so is she. Please, I ask of you that you watch over that child, milord.

Leo frowned. Never had he thought that he would one day see the maid plead for anything else, but forgiveness when her younger sister would mess up her maid duties. However, that child had even touched Flora's heart that only his broth- no, Kamui and Corrin could reach. It was only because of Flora's request and seeing the girl for himself that he considered letting this go without telling his brother and watching over the girl's safety. Though it bugged him when she said that Koharu had told her that she has abilities that even the host itself feared the most. It was hard to imagine the fear in her eyes being any more than what he had seen back the day they first found her. However, it would seem that even her friends have them too. Could this man be one of her friends? If so, he had done very well showing no mercy to his brother's retainers, unlike Koharu who most likely would have a harder time to even think about fighting back. Suddenly, his eyes widen upon realization. If that was true… He had just sent his retainer to go after someone who's capability are not known of yet! Almost as soon as he realized this, he heard a loud splash in the water. He spun around in surprise, "Niles!"

He then exclaimed, "Odin! Hurry to the lake!"

"Right away, milord!" the man replied as the two rushed over to the water.

Once back at the lake, he froze. Not in horror, but in shock! There was Niles standing there by the lake glaring in the water all the while water was dripping from his clothes. He ran over to his retainer, "Niles! What happened?!"

The archer turned to his liege while mustering a smile, "My apologies, milord. But when I saw him, he had already jumped into the water and refuse to come out. I've thought of going into the waters myself and pull him out for you, but he just kicked me out of there."

Hearing this, Leo grimaced, "Well, it's a good thing he didn't try anything else. He most likely has abilities."

"The ones the maid had told us about?" Niles questions with a grimace.

Leo nodded and looked over to the water the was a ripple leading its source into the center. He walked over to the shoreline, "Perhaps we can see what happens if we call to him? He can't have gone too far underwater."

He then cupped his mouth and shouted, "Hey, come on out! Whoever you are!"

After a couple of seconds, there was no movements. Leo frowned. He wanted to go after the man directly, but he knew that he needed to be really careful. He cautiously took a step forward, then another daringly before he noticed a slight change in the water surface. Immediately, he snapped open his tome from his hand as a stream of water came at him.

"Brynhildr!" He exclaimed after a quick chant and summoned out numerous vines into the water.

If he were to get splashed, he might as well do it while catching the man! However, as his vines understandably floated in the water, the stream immediately dispersed before it could even get him. His eyes widen in surprise as did his retainers'. He starred at where the air bubbles floated on the surface before it began taking a long while between each. He can tell that the person has gone deeper. He grimaced and vanished his vines before seeing the change in the pace of the bubbles. He had remembered someone once teaching him about this. How the pace of the air bubbles could differentiate the depth of the water surface from the object. His eyes widen in surprise. He feared his vines? He frowned before threatening stepped forward a couple steps. No movements. Leo sighed in relief. At least, they may have found a way to go against this person, though, regrettably, he'd have to tell his brother that he has yet to catch the man. He turned to his retainers and began walking back to the castle, "Let's move back for now and give him his space. We can't catch him like this."

The two looked at one another before hurrying after him. Suddenly, he felt a tap on his boot as he accidentally kicked something over. He looked down and saw the little wooden rabbit on the ground. Carefully, he picked it up. Upon observing the piece, he was impressed for its craftsmanship. Could it be the man's? He shook his head and placed it into his pocket. He can ask the man after he catches him. Leo gestured for his retainer to hid among the bushes with him as they wait for the person to resurface. After his retainer had chased him back into the water, it'd most likely be a while before he resurfaces and, seeing that they'd be gone by then, the man would take this chance to make his escape. They'd catch him when that happen. So, they waited silently for the man to resurface. However, they soon discover that to be unlikely as the man remained hidden underwater. Leo then considered calling in the soldiers to guard the place, but he then recalled the girl and his Father. It was already hard enough to keep Koharu from being discovered by their Father. Keeping another person hidden after what he's done to their retainers would be rather difficult. He sighed and got up. It's been an hour since they've been patiently watching the water surface. He shook his head and ordered, "That's enough. We'll come after him another time."

He then pulled out the wooden rabbit in his hand, "Perhaps our friend would be able to help us with this problem."

He turned to Niles, "You should first go change, Niles. I'll be heading back to my quarters now. I know this will probably be difficult, but please try not to get caught."

The archer bowed and then began to return to the castle.

---

After hours of staying underwater, the teenage boy sneaked up to the surface cautiously. He stuck his head out of the water and let out a sigh of relief as he saw the coast was clear. Then, he grimaced with a frown as he mumbled, "Ugh… This is so annoying… I'm so~… tired…. I hate this…"

As he complained quietly to himself while floating in the water, he looks up to the eternal night sky with narrowed eyes, "… That doesn't seem like his powers, though…"

He sighs, "… I knew this was too good to be true… I just want to be left alone…"

---

Koharu got up the next morning only to hear the knocking on the door. She quickly got up and changed into another of her dress that Casita had set aside for her along with her usual boots. She wore her rusty red and pale red dress followed with her white hair kerchief. She then put on her new pair of white stockings and boots before she heard Casita call out to her, "Lily~! Someone's here to see you~!"

"C-coming!" She cried back to her before checking the mirror quickly and dashing out the door of her room. When she was out of the halls, she gasped in surprise, "Niles!"

The man mustered a smile and waved quietly to the girl She ran up to the two as Casita bent down and whispered into her ear, "Lady Elise's brother wishes to speak with you regarding some trouble they have. Niles is here to escort you to him. You know how the alleys are."

Koharu nodded before Casita placed a whistle tied to a string around her neck. She smiled, "I know I came trust the man, but if something happens along the way here use the whistle and help will come. You'll see. Now, be careful."

"Yes!" Koharu nodded and then followed Niles. They soon turned from the main streets into the dark alleys where some drunkards were on the ground either starting to sober from their night out or was starting to come too. There were also some small children glaring at them followed by some of the adult. Suddenly, images of her past began to return to her. As she was about to freeze, she felt something pull her along by the arm. She looked up and saw that it was the archer retainer, who frowned and kept walking silently. They kept turning corners till they soon found themselves by some lifeless remains of a tree and, under it, a couple of hooded figure in brown robes. They were currently on the outskirts of the city with nobody in sight. She looked to the two and saw that it was the prince and his other retainer, Odin. The prince nodded, "Good work, Niles."

The archer nodded with a smile before Leo turned to Koharu, "I'm sorry for calling you out this early in the morning, Koharu. But, there were some… strange reports going around the castle. I needed to ask you this in secret, so don't go around using my name. I also have to go somewhere in a bit, but I thought that it'd be best to ask you this now before something unexpected happen."

He then pulled out a well-crafted wooden rabbit to which Koharu gasped in shock, "M-may I take a closer look?"

He nodded and handed the rabbit to her. She gingerly examined the small rabbit as Leo continued, "I found this yesterday by a lake… around the outskirts of town. There's been a report from Laslow that he saw a person on the outskirts of town. The man completely fooled him and nearly did so with us. I found this wooden figurine along the way. It looks like you know of it?"

Koharu frowned in deep concentration before pulling something out of her pocket. To their surprise, it was another figure of a rabbit only it was on all fours where as the one Leo found was on his hind legs looking out with alertness. Still, they could see that the craftsmanship was the same.

Niles chuckled, "Well now, ain't this a surprise?"

Koharu nodded, "This bunny is most likely made by one of my friends. We knew each other because we were put into a team with a couple other members to care for the fruits and vegetables on the ship. During that time, I saw him make a bunch of little animals like this and asked if he could make me a bunny. However, after he started, he couldn't stop and kept making more of these bunnies. He told me that he just felt like mine would be lonely and he ended up making a whole family of them. I thought he stopped making them, but…"

Leo sighed, "Well, now we know. The three of us were chasing after him to get him to stop. My brother only intends to have a word with him, but he refused to leave the cave Laslow found him in and chased him out with some strange powers. When we went after him, he dived under the water and didn't come out for a long period of time."

"Ah!" Koharu looked up in surprise with a bright smile, "Then it must be him! My friend is a 'shut-in'?... I think that's what my team mates told me. He doesn't seem to like to interact with people as much on our ship and we would have to bring his meal to his room sometimes. He always seems to be depressed about something and doesn't like many on the ship as much or coming outside to do chores with us… Oh! But he's a really good swimmer and can stay under water for a really long period of time. As for his powers, I don't know what he can do…"

Hearing this, Leo groans, "So, that's why he wouldn't come out when told to…"

Suddenly, a thought resurfaced, and Leo asked, "Yesterday, when he used his abilities from underwater, I was using my Brynhildr to have vines draw him out. He immediately fled deeper underwater and cancelled out his powers. Do you know the reason for that?"

Koharu frowned with a look of concern and worry before her eyes widen upon realization as a memory came to her. She grimaced and said, "I think it may have to do with one of our other team mates."

"One of your other comrades?" Odin said with a look of confusion.

Koharu nodded, "You see, because we always had a really hard time getting him out of his room, one of team mates would always become impatient and would usually threaten to break down his door with an axe."

"Oh, now that's just great." the archer muttered with a chuckle and a satisfied smile.

Leo sighed, "Excuse Niles. So, what does this have to do with my magic?"

Koharu nodded, "W-well, that other friend of mine… he usually uses his vines to bully him from time to time, then me and our other team mate would try to persuade him to let him go. So, when he saw your vines, there may have been a chance he thought it was that friend of ours and tried to hide deeper under water. He's done that once before to hide from him."

The dark knight grimaces, "I get it now… But, he refuses to come out of his hiding and we can't force him out, unless we figure out a way to get him to leave the waters… Considering that this is him, do you perhaps know anyway to get him out?"

Koharu thought for a bit before she shook her head, "I'm sorry, but I don't know. Even I had a hard time just getting him to open the door. He was just starting to open to us before I suddenly found myself here. The only one who would know would have to be our friend who uses vines. He's always the one who could drag him out of his room if he felt the need to."

Leo smiled, "I see. Thank you, Koharu. We'll see if we can figure out a way to get him out, then. I'll let you know if there's any changes and think of a way from there."

Koharu bowed, "O-okay. Thank you very much! Please bring him back. Oh, and here's the bunny back."

With the rabbit back in his hand, Leo nodded with a grimace, "I can't make promises, but I'll try at least. However, right now, I need to leave for my mission. Make sure to remain here with Casita. Niles."

The archer nodded and turned to Koharu, "Well, let's return you back to your aunty, Lily."

Koharu nodded and began to follow the archer. Once out of sight, Leo sighed and sat back down on the dead log with a hand over his face, "Great, so we're dealing with a shut in…"

Hearing this, Odin frowns as he tries to hold back a smile upon his charge's words.

---

Upon returning to the house, Casita checked to see if the child was alright before she smiled and began to gather the old and dirty clothing into a large basket. As they walked to the small river that flows underground, Casita showed her the sights around the place and spoke a bit more of the alley that Koharu said she had seen. She soon learned that the children were mostly orphans or people who had been forced to leave their homes and onto the streets. In fact, Casita and her friends were going to help distribute food to those that came to the temple near the area tomorrow, including those who lost their homes. She invited the girl to which she easily accepted out of concern for the children and the people. For the remainder of the day, Koharu had met more friends of her temporary caretaker and spent the rest of the day helping the woman around the house and cooking Nohrian dishes, to which she find to be very interesting and different from what she has been used to in her country.

Opening her eyes, she was soon met with the sight of her ceiling. She sat up on her bed and looked outside her window. It was a clear pane window with bird singing outside and Sakura flowers petal gently falling in the wind. She went to her bundle on the table and got herself dressed out of her sleeping garments into another yellow kimono with white flowers. She investigated her mirror on the wall before placing her kunai and a couple of shurikens into her sleeve pocket. She then walked out of the building as she recalled the directions out and left to look for the lake. It wasn't long before she heard a beautiful and familiar voice coming from close by. She then found herself by a large lake and spotted Azura singing not to far from her. As she walked up to her, she said, "That was beautiful, Princess Azura."

The princess jumped in surprise before she turned around and saw her, "Oh! Nanami! Good morning!"

Nanami bowed, "G-good morning, Princess Azura. What was that song?"

The princess smiled, "It was a song my mother taught me when I was only a child before she passed. She was the former queen of Nohr, you see."

Nanami's eyes widen in surprise, "The former queen of Nohr?"

Azura smiled weakly, "Yes, that's what everyone knows her now. Have you heard of the incident the twins had when they were children?"

Nanami nodded as Azura continued, "After they were kidnapped, the Hoshidans kidnapped me, a Nohrian princess, as a trade off for at least one of them. However, King Garon refused to agree with it, so Queen Mikoto ordered that I live with the royal family and to be treated as one of the Hoshidan princesses."

Nanami's eyes widen in surprise, "Queen Mikoto sounds like a very kind mother."

Azura smiled softly, "Yes, she was. So were the Hoshidan royal family. They all knew who I was and why I was with them, but they still treat me like one of their own siblings. It just shows that blood does not define everything, but who you are on the inside and the bonds you share."

Hearing her words, Nanami knew that she was right. And, because of it, she was prepared to give up her life to the one who wants to take it. Because of the bond they share. It was her own punishment for doing what she did all those years ago that ruined their life.

Azura frowned upon seeing her shaking hands. She had no idea what the child have gone through in the past nor does she know if her words would be of any help, but she really wants to help the girl after hearing her story yesterday. She had done something that the Nohrian family and herself were unable to. She escaped from her own father. Azura recall her failed attempts to flee the castle after her mother's death. The war between the concubines were growing and the children were being used as their precious tools. Though she was spared of the fate due to her kind mother, her step siblings weren't so lucky nor did her mother as she was the second queen of Nohr and it began to greatly affect her as well after her mother's death. She could barely remember what her surviving siblings looked like before their mothers' deaths. Thankfully, she could barely even recall what those women looked like at all. Azura was unsure how to help the child, despite her words. Perhaps, if it were one of her Nohrian siblings, they'd be able to know what to do or say to the child. However, even they are still under the control of their surviving parent, King Garon. Her Hoshidan siblings knew little of the relationship between the children and the parent, but even she knew of what her stepfather have done to Hoshido and was unable to decide which kingdom to side with, which led to her caring for the Hoshidan siblings and only for them and their safety. Had it not been for the twins, she'd have to fight against Nohr for her current family. What could she say to help the child? Or would she have to wait and watch over her from the distance? Would she stay strong or would she fall apart? She certainly seems to be able to hold herself together at first, but now… Perhaps she should've asked for Kamui and Corrin to join her? However, knowing them, they were probably still fast asleep in their individual rooms on the treetop. It was hard to wake the two once back in Shirasagi castle and it wouldn't surprise her if they accidentally ignored her for a dream again. Perhaps, it would be better for them to relax before the march back in the normal world? She smiled at the thought and said to Nanami, "How about I sing my song for you, Nanami? I was told that it can help relax before."

The girl gave her a curious look before she nodded with a smile and sat down by the lake as Azura began her song once more.

It's been a while since Nanami had gone with their friends to head towards any nearby towns for food. Corrin said that she would stay behind and create their Mess hall while they were gone. Their little dragon friend also told the girl that she will keep an eye on their injured friend while they were gone so she could go and look around the kingdom as they didn't spend much time in doing so. Despite what her team mate said, Muroboshi was forced into a brown and black archer clothing as he insisted in coming with them while also being quite stubborn in refusing to change into this countries' native clothing for cover. It took a while, but, with Kamui's help and Azura's instruction beforehand, they were miraculously able to fit him into one, which was more shocking than seeing an armory and weaponry created with magic or something called a "Dragon Vein" before their very eyes. However, he could keep his sunglasses on to which they'll say that it's an acquaintance's new invention for him as a gift, since nobody knows what it is. As they were walking down the dirt path behind Azura and Kamui after Lilith helped teleport them to this world, she glanced at her team mate in suspicion. Not bad suspicion, just one of curiosity and confusion. The man was never one to often volunteer in things like this at all. When they were tasked in cleaning up the ship, the man would always skip out on it and doze off somewhere. That or he was secretly examining their ship under Mikoto's friend's orders, which they later discovered. Normally, she and the others would be forced to search for him and drag him along to help them. However, that only made things worse and what was supposed to be clean became a disaster. Most of the time that occurs, the man would sometimes act rather laid back and wait for assistance before being allowed to skip the chore. It frustrated her time and time again when she was paired up with him once, though it didn't last long after he vanished only to reappear with Mikoto. Yet, despite his personality, here he was volunteering in joining them to go shopping for food and some supplies with the two royals and their maid and nothing bad has happened. Just what is the man planning this time? She couldn't even tell what he was thinking with his sunglasses on. Just as she was about to say something their surrounding began to shift slightly as pink ripples formed in midair and she heard an echo going through her head, "Everyone! The Faceless are coming. Like a lot of them! We need to get out of here! Now!"

They all froze in surprise before Kamui exclaimed, "What was that?! An invasion is occurring?"

As he glanced around only to find that he wasn't the only one who heard that Nanami's eyes widen as she shouted, "Otomaru!"

"Look! Up ahead!" Felicia shouted in horror.

There was large plumage of smoke rising for a small village nearby as people were scurrying out of there followed by strange figures running after them clumsily. Kamui grimaced, "We need to hurry and help them!"

He turned to them, "Ron, Nanami, the two of you stay close and keep up with us! Felicia, you and Ron will help cover for us. We need to save the villagers!"

Nanami nodded and pulled out a dagger as Azura called over to her with her lance in hand, "Nanami, we'll need your help to evacuate as many villagers as we can. Don't focus on attack the enemy. Just help the villagers get out of here."

Kamui added, "Also if that was one of your friends, it would be best if you can keep an eye out for them too!"

As they enter the village, the group began to go after the faceless together while Nanami would go and help guide the nearest civilian out of the village and their homes for safety. Along the way, they could already see the burning buildings and bodies lying across the ground left by the monsters' attacks. After hours, they soon finished with what they came to this village for as the remains of the dead "Faceless" lay strewn over the battlefield. Like them, Nanami was sweating from the heat of the burning building and covered in the ashes floating in the sky.

Kamui let out a sigh as he glances around the battle field with a frown, "Well, it's over. We couldn't save everyone here, though."

He grimaces as he could see the dead bodies of the former resident of the ruined village. Young and elderly alike were slaughtered before they were able to get to them in time. Suddenly a high-pitched scream sounded causing everyone to turn and see that it was coming from the woods by the area.

"Someone's in trouble!" Felicia gasped.

Kamui grits his teeth and rushed in followed by the group behind them. They soon came into a clearing where a girl about Nanami's height stood with a long naginata in hand and behind her…

"Otomaru!" she exclaimed in horror as a young man with messy mauve hair and hazel eyes held nothing but a long branch in his hand.

He wore a light villager clothing of gray and red clothing followed by his usual long brown boots. Upon hearing his name, he spun his head around and eyes widen as she shouted, "Ah! Nanami! Ron! You're both oka- Woah!"

He sudden jumped back and landed on his bottom as the patched monster's fist landed where he once stood. Taking this chance, the girl rushed in and struck its arm before pulling back, "Are you oka' Heishi?!"

"Y-yeah…" the man said as he slowly got up to his feet. His wooden branch had slipped out of his hand as he had jumped back.

Nanami could feel the sense of fear running through her. He was scared. She quickly turned to Ron with a desperate look. The man nodded and aimed at the monster's head before pulling the trigger. A loud sound broke out causing the birds around the area to take flight. It didn't seem to have hit the beast as the monster turned to them and charged at them.

"Nanami!"

As she could hear the man's scream followed by his fear, she could feel an arm wrap around her waist and was pulled to the side. Once back on her feet, she saw that it was the prince that had helped her. A sense of relief went through them before the could hear the other girl call over to Otomaru, "Heishi! I'm freakin' out here and can't thin'k!"

The man's eyes widen in surprise, "Oops! S-sorry!"

After saying this, they could feel the sense of fear disappear from them as Kamui took this chance and charged at the monster. As he pushed the being back, Azura came up from behind it and cut it down with her lance. Finally, the monster fell to the ground and didn't move. Feeling that the battle was finally over, Nanami let out a sigh of relief before she heard footsteps, "Nanami!"

She instinctively moved to the side as someone fell forward to where she once was. The young man pouted with disappointment and slowly got up, "Aw… Can't you let me just give you a hug, Nanami? It's been forever since we've last seen each other!"

Azura smiles, "Haha. Nanami, is this one of your friends? He certainly has quite a cheerful personality."

As Nanami slowly nodded in response, the guy immediately replied with a bright smile, "Yeah! I'm Heishi Otomaru!"

Felicia says with a look of surprise, "S-somehow, I don't feel that frightened anymore as I did earlier…"

The village girl grimaces nervously with a mix of uncertainty till Heishi spoke up, "Oh! That's because my-!"

Nanami immediately clamps her hand over his mouth and said, "T-there's a reason for that. I'm sorry."

Hearing this, Kamui nodded, "So, that means he's the same as you. Then, that voice earlier that warned the villagers…"

Heishi spoke up with his hands on the back of his neck and a bright smile, "Ah, that was me."

Azura frowned, "I see… Perhaps we should speak about this a little more back in the Astral Plane. It'll be safer there. Will you be joining us then, Heishi?"

"Join you?" Heishi gave them a look of confusion before he smiled, "Well~… it does seem that you're friends of Nanami… So, why not?"

Nanami, then approached the man, "Otomaru, have you seen the others? Besides Muroboshi, I can't find Mikoto or Koharu."

Otomaru frowned as he carefully thought back, "Hm… Nope. I just found myself around here after all."

Nanami frowned, "So no clues, either…"

He then frowned and turned to the villager, "But, Mozu, what will you going to do now? Your mother..."

The girl frowns sadly and shook her head, "I-I'm not sure… I-I could go help the other villagers who survived, b-but, with our fields damaged the way it is, it would be hard to find a place that would accept me in… And all the damaged homes… the graves of my friends... Starting over would be too difficult for everyone else with so many to care for… If only I was stronger, I'd have saved her…"

Kamui frowned, "Then, do you have any distant relatives near here? We'll be glad to take you there."

Mozu shook her head, "There's only been mother and me… Everyone I called family is dead. All I have now are a couple friends and acquaintances, but I saw that some even lost their family members… Every house reminds me of them… I-I don't want to stay here anymore…"

"Oh…" Azura grimaced, "I was sure that there'd be some villagers that were saved by us, but, to think the damage was already dealt this badly…"

Kamui said to Mozu with a frown, "Listen, we'll take you in. We can't replace all those you've lost. But we'll take care of you too."

Mozu looks up to them in surprise, "I can join your group too?"

Kamui nodded, "Yes, but only until we find you a safe place to call home. Our group… a family of sorts… is bound by a dangerous cause. We go from one battle to the next, ever in peril. That's no life for you."

Mozu nodded with a determined look, "I'm not afraid. I can help. I might even save you or your friends. Let me join your cause, whatever it is. I'll keep your family alive."

Kamui chuckled as his expression lightens, "Yes, of course. I have to admit, you sound just like one of us already."

Mozu nodded once more, "I'll do my best. And I'll stay safe. After all, Mother's watching over me now."

As Kamui smiled, a wide grin appeared on Heishi's face, "That's great, Mozu! You've found what you're going to do now!"

Mozu nodded with a bright smile in return. Kamui nodded and turned to Nanami, "Nanami, can you take the two back to the castle? Tell Gunter that we have a new soldier. Then, take your friend to see Lilith after introducing him to our retainer. Gunter is our retainer."

Nanami thought carefully, "I recall that he's an elderly soldier, right?"

"Yes." Kamui nodded with a smile, "I forgot that you have yet to met him as it was really late last night. I've already told him about you, so just let him know who you are. As the two of you can't really fight, I've asked Lilith to help watch over you and any of your friends we come by. Lilith or Gunter will explain more about it. I'll have Felicia go help the other surviving villagers with Azura. Ron and I will go to the town instead."

Nanami nodded, "Understood."

As he called the little dragon to their realm, Azura turns to Heishi and said sternly, "Heishi, the two kingdoms of this continent are currently at war. You must take care in what you say from now on. Although we are willing to protect you and your friends, others won't hesitate to take the opportunity to use you for what you have. So, please be careful. You as well, Nanami."

As Nanami and her friend nodded, the man said with a smile, "Yes, ma'am!"

Nanami had already known to keep her abilities hidden, even Azura and her siblings doesn't know about them. However, it was really nice for them to still accept her and her friends in without question as to what they can do or their reason for their circumstances. However, even if others will accept them when they did, she knew that it won't be same for the others and was partially prepared to receive this from them. As a result, she was worried how this retainer will take to them when he sees them. Quite possibly one of distrust.

---

After being transported into the Astral plane, Nanami immediately spotted a tall man in armor and graying hair walking over to them. As Heishi stares at him in awe and Mozu begins to grow more nervous, Nanami spoke up, "Are you perhaps Gunter? Prince Kamui's retainer?"

The man's eyes widen in surprise before he nodded, "Silver hair and gray eyes… Ah. Then, could you be the child milord spoke of? Nanami, correct?"

The girl nodded, "Yes. He wants me to return and tell you that there are going to be two more people with us. This is a friend of mine and the girl here is Mozu."

The man looked to the two, "Mozu… Are you perhaps a new recruit, then?"

The village girl nodded nervously, "Yes. My village was attacked my Facelesses and I lost my family. Prince Kamui let me join him. I-I don't have much fighting experience, but I've learnt how to hunt and defend myself with my naginata. I'm willing to use it to help Prince Kamui for this cause of his."

"Along the way to town, we saw that her village was attacked. We were only able to save a few, but the field and houses were destroyed and there were very few survivors. Mozu is one of them." Nanami explained, "Prince Kamui and Muroboshi have gone into town while Princess Azura and Felicia have gone to check on the condition of the survivors."

Gunter nodded, "So, this was recent, then?"

As the three nodded in response, the man turned to Heishi, "And this man? Is he one of the survivors?"

Nanami shook her head, "He's one of my comrades. An Esper like me."

The young man pouted, "We're also friends!"

"We found him in the woods by our village a couple days ago." Mozu added, "It was very surprising! There was a bright flash of light, and then he just fell from the sky. I swear if it wasn't for the trees, he'd have broken bones rather than cuts and bruises! Mother and I took him in. If it wasn't for him warning us with his powers, there'd be no survivors from my village at all!"

Otomaru blushed as he chuckled nervously, "All I did was warn you."

Gunter nodded, "So, he's also going to be with Lilith, then."

The little dragon nodded, "Yes. Should I show them to Lady Corrin?"

The veteran nodded before the three were soon brought to the castle. As they walked, Otomaru whispered, "Hey, Nanami! Was that guy we spoke back in Mozu's village really a prince?"

Nanami nodded, "Yes. He and Princess Azura were the ones who helped me when I got here."

Stunned, Otomaru's eyes widen, "What?!"

Lilith giggles slightly, "I think it will be fine. Lord Kamui, Lady Corrin and Princess Azura are kind people. So, I'd see why you never knew. Here we are!"

The dragon knocked on the sliding door with her small hands and it was soon slid opened. There stood Corrin with a bright smile, "Nanami! You're back! Come in. Huh, where is Kamui?"

As soon as they got in, Nanami and Lilith gave her a brief report of the situation. After doing so, the princess nodded and turned to Mozu, "I see. Hello, Mozu. I'm Corrin. Kamui's younger twin. I look forward to working together."

Mozu smiled nervously and replied, "T-thank you, Princess Corrin!"

Corrin turned to Heishi, "Heishi, was it? Welcome to the castle. So, you're Nanami's friend?"

"Yup!" Otomaru replied with a nervous smile, "I'm Heishi Otomaru."

As he said this, Nanami could feel the agitation in her, "Otomaru, try not to be so nervous…"

"Huh?" the man said in surprise, "Oh, right! Sorry about that! Too many things happened today, you know."

Corrin's eyes widen in surprise, "Huh? It's gone. That feeling just now was coming from you?"

Otomaru chuckled nervously, "Y-yeah. Our friends all say that it's my telepathy. So, I can send my thoughts to other people, including feelings. It doesn't work the other way around though. Oh, But I do try to keep it in check."

Corrin smiled and nodded, "That's good. We will end up having more soldiers joining us in the future hopefully. So, please try to be careful."

Otomaru smiled, "Yes, Ma'am!"

She glanced over to the dragon, "Since they can't fight, we'll be counting on you to watch over them for now, Lilith. Hopefully, we'd find a better solution for them later."

"Of course, Lady Corrin!" Lilith said cheerfully, "You can just leave it to me!"

Corrin nodded with a smile, then looked with concern and said, "Now, I just hope that brother and Azura can return safely. …Well, if Felicia and Ron are with them, then they should be safe."

As she said this, Nanami glances over to the man still asleep in the bed," Is he still hurt?"

Corrin smiled, "It doesn't seem to be as bad, but Felicia still recommends that he try not to move around as much. He should be fine in a couple of days. So, don't worry about it too much, Nanami."

The girl nodded silently as Otomaru looked to the man in surprise, "He's hurt?"

Corrin nodded, "Yes. Apparently, he was shot by this 'gun' during the last battle and it brought him down immediately. The weapons of your country are really terrifying. I can see why your country deemed it illegal to be in possession of it. Had your friends not find him, I fear the worst could occur."

Otomaru frowned, "So, your country doesn't know about these 'guns'?"

Corrin nodded, "I've been to both Nohr and Hoshido. Neither countries have a weapon quite like this at all. We also had to ask Ron to put it away in his quarter when he's here, since he told us that could accidentally go off if not handled carefully."

"Woah…" Otomaru said in surprise, "H-hold on! You mean you were able to get Ron to do something? That's amazing… You should really tell us how you are able to do that. Aside from Natsuhiko, he wouldn't even lift a finger to help us with chores around the ship and goes off dozing! Oh, Natsuhiko is another friend of ours."

"Well, he does listen to us." Nanami added, "And he certainly does try… Though it wasn't a good outcome in the end…"

Hearing this, Corrin tilted her head in confusion, "Well, all we said was that it would be one of his requirements to staying here. Though I do admit we did have a hard time getting him to change his clothing. He certainly did come out complaining how thick and heavy the clothing and armor of Hoshidan archers felt. Perhaps, the clothing of Nohrian archers would be easier on him? In any case, I've asked for Lilith to watch over you and your friends till you're able to leave this continent, Nanami."

"Thank you." Nanami replied with a nod.

After a couple more minutes, Lilith was then told to send the Heishi to his new quarter in this part of the castle. With more people joining them, Corrin and her brother have already begun to separate the two divisions for the men and women. Earlier, they had spoke of trying to help the camp around by taking part in doing the chores with them. It wasn't long after when the other four returned with food and supplies. Muroboshi just returned straight to his quarter for a nap as Nanami and Heishi went to help Felicia store away the ingredients. That night, Azura and the twins called for a quick meeting with the three at a building away from the castle called the war council room. Once seated in the wooden chairs, Kamui turned to them, "We've already talked about this together, but we've decided that Corrin and I will go to Fort Jinya and try to speak with the person in charge. Azura told me that our sister, Sakura, would be there. During that time, your group would remain here with Lilith till we return with anyone willing to believe in us. With how things turned out last time, I doubt they'd listen to us immediately, so there would be some fighting going on."

Heishi nodded, "Yeah. We get it. Some of us can't fight after all, so it would be difficult for us to be of any help."

Nanami nodded. Corrin turned to Muroboshi, "Ron, I heard that you still have a hard time using the bow?"

The man turned to them and said in a confused tone, "Hm…? Oh, sorry. What did you say just now?"

Nanami sighed and clarified what the prince was saying to which the man smiled and nodded, "Oh… Yeah. Those weapons have ever been much for me. I've always been using my guns after all."

Corrin frowned, "So, are you certain that it has nothing to do with those glasses?"

"I don't think so, Corrin." Her brother said, "I've seen him shoot before. He was able to hit the enemy soldiers dead on. Perhaps it really has to do with practice?"

Azura frowned, "But, if they see that we have someone who can use a gun, then…"

After some thoughts, Muroboshi sighed, "Look. I've never met with royalty before, but I get it that it'd be bad if I show up with my weapon. However, I'm the only one who has any knowledge of them and, after the first battle, are you sure that you're willing to go out there while the shooter is still up and about?"

Hearing this, the three royalties glanced to one another as Kamui nodded, "That's true… Then, how about you stay with our healers in the back. Since you do know some self-defense, it shouldn't be too bad, but you're not to draw your weapon less the shooter shows up and tries to get us."

Corrin smiled, "Thank you for protecting us from them, though."

With a sigh, the man leaned back and nodded, "Only doing this for us, after all."

Kamui and his sister only smiled and shrugged before Nanami spoke up, "Please be careful."

Corrin nodded, "We'll be careful, Nanami. Don't worry."

Suddenly, Muroboshi spoke up, "Oh! That's right. I almost forgot…"

Kamui turned to the man with a raised brow, "You forgot something, Ron?"

The man nodded with a smirk and turned to Corrin, "That dragon form of yours? Those metal plates might be able to stand a chance against those bullets."

As the Nanami and Heishi stood there stunned, Corrin's eyes widen in surprise before Muroboshi immediately added, "But, remember that it depends on a few factors. One, how powerful the guns are. Two, the way they shoot. Three, and most importantly, how thick the metal plates in your dragon form are. Well, since you were able to go against those weapon without a scratch, it must be pretty strong. At least, all it would do is leave a small dent in your armor. If they were to shoot in between your armor plates, then you'd probably get some damage. Of course, if you were to go against my gun, all it would do is flatten out my bullets. Speaking of which, I'm going to have to figure out where I can get more of them soon or I'm going to run out of things to shoot."

Kamui sighed, "Which is why I suggest that you practice with the bow and arrows. I did say that we don't make bullets here much less even know anything about guns till now. However, what you said may work. At least, we'd have some form of defense against these weapons. However, not all of us descended from the first dragons have such strong dragon blood in us."

Azura nodded and glanced to the two kids, "You might not know this, but the royal families of Nohr and Hoshido are all descended from dragons of this realm. Nohr is descended from the Dusk Dragon as Hoshido is descended from the Dawn Dragon. In the past the dragons were part of the first twelve that once existed here before the existence of the kingdoms. After the war amongst each other, the remaining dragons gave up their power and form, and took on human form. Kamui and Corrin are descended from the Dawn Dragon and are among the few that can turn into one. However, dragons are still weak against weapons designed to go against Wyverns, such as the blade Wyvernslayer. And, without a stone to contain their powers, they can lose their sanity and become wild beasts."

Kamui nodded, "That's correct, which is why I chose not to use the power as often. However…"

Corrin nodded and smile reassuringly, "I know and I'll be careful, brother. As long as I don't stay in that form for long, I'll be fine."

Kamui still frowned, but nodded, "Just let us know when something is wrong, Corrin."

"Yes." The princess responded with a smile.

Though Nanami was worried for their sake, Otomaru on the other hand…

"That's SO COOL!" Otomaru exclaimed with eyes practically shining with excitement as he jumped up, "Can you show me it?!"

Nanami sighed and pulled the child back down into his seat, "I'm apologize for his behavior. Dragons, wyverns and the… winged horses have only been folklores and myths from where we come from. They were never considered to be real in our country… including magic."

"I-I see." Kamui said with a nervous smile at the immense attention they were getting from the man, "Perhaps some other time, Otomaru."

Corrin smiled, "Perhaps, we can speak of things of your world in the future? I'd really like to know more about your country."

Heishi smiled, "Sure thing! This place is really cool too! Pegasus, dragons and then wyverns? This is awesome!"

Nanami sighed, but smiled and nodded none the less. The group, then returned to their individual quarters for the night.

---

It'd be a lie if she said that she slept well that night. Thoughts of war still lingers in her head as well as the thought that one of them is being forced into it because of the illegal weapon brought to this country. Would they all survive by the end of the war? She was told, that as espers, they weren't allowed to take part in wars without permission from the World that Masamune and Natsuhiko came from. Muroboshi certainly isn't an esper and he certainly did try to kill her and the other espers once, but it doesn't change the fact that he's still one of her comrades and a friend, who had once saved her in the dream everyone was forced into… and he was angry. Angry that she chose not to fight back when she was going to be killed. If not for the time she spent as his partner around the ship briefly, she'd have held doubt against him and be one of the espers, who dislikes the idea of keeping him on board after the reveal that he was the traitor on board the whole time and allowed their former to attack the ship. Now, because they were at a war zone, they and their new friends were in danger from an enemy shooter of their country with a gun. With the royalty being forced to attempt to stop it while being in danger of getting shot by the foreign weapon, the man has to follow them for their protection because, to him, they were the only one who would be willing to protect them from the war. For Nanami, she may have been dragged around at first, but now she wants to stay here with them for a couple reasons. Of course, they were the first that extended their hands to her to help and not restrict her, but also that they were willing to bring her along as they were traveling as well. It was a perfect condition for her as she needs to travel and find her comrades and friends. She's finally found Otomaru and Muroboshi. She still needs to find the others and fast before the worst can befall upon them, especially Muroboshi as he was the one walking into every battles as far. As she walks through the grass as Sakura petal float down to the ground, she heard a familiar faint thud. She looked and sees an unfamiliar building of stone. However, she could see the image of a bow and arrow on the signpost. Perhaps either Kamui or Corrin created another place for archery? But, they had already made one for Muroboshi to practice in before. Why another one? She cautiously entered through the doors and continued till she found herself sneaking behind the wall peaking to what looked to be a strange out door with numerous targets and arrows sticking out of them.

"Good. It seems you're finally getting better at this. Let's take a break before we head out, then. The last we need is for you to be sore while out there with Felicia."

She shifted her sight till she found both Kamui and Muroboshi each holding a bow and a small quiver of arrows on their backs. It was certainly unusual for Muroboshi to hold a bow while being dressed in Nohrian archer clothing and armor, but, even more so, for the prince to wield a bow as well is a rare sight as he usually holds a sword. Muroboshi sat on the ground with his smaller bow in one hand and a frown, "Geez… that took long enough…."

"Yes. I will admit that I'm not use to the bow either. I do have a younger brother, who is the best at this though." Kamui chuckled before he gave the man a confused look, "You know, I am curious. I heard that you usually don't volunteer to take part in many things before. If you don't mind me asking, why did you decide to put yourself in danger to help? Surely, if you ask other people in the town, they'd be willing to help as well."

Muroboshi shrugged, "Don't know. Is there something wrong with it? I am helping you, after all."

Kamui shook his head, "No, there's nothing wrong with it at all. I was just curious. I heard from Heishi that you normally don't take part in doing things like this. So, my sister and I were wondering why. I'm sorry if that was out of the blue."

The gunman smiled, "Is that so? Welp, don't know about that. My team mates are here, so I might as well be here. Things wouldn't be as favorable if I go with others I don't know, now would it?"

Nanami frowned in confusion. Muroboshi's words are always hard to decipher sometimes. During the times before they found out that he was the traitor, he would sometimes play nice and give out light words that could either be true or false. It confused her a lot before and she can tell that he's done it again when the prince also wore a confused frown across his face. As the prince shrugged his shoulders, Nanami took this chance to walk over to them, "Prince Kamui. Muroboshi. Shouldn't you two be in the cafeteria, right now?"

"'Cafeteria'?" Kamui repeated with a frown before he corrected, "Oh, you mean the Mess Hall. Yes. Well, I was hoping to help Muroboshi with his archery skill while practicing a bit myself."

He raised his smaller bow and chuckles, "I'm not use to archery as well as my one of my younger siblings are. Nohrian bows or Hoshidan bows. Still, I figured that I'd get myself some experience."

"One of your siblings?" Nanami repeated with as she tried to recall the public event that morning, "Ah, you mean the one with the silver ponytail? But, his bow didn't have a string…"

Kamui smiled proudly, "Yes, that's correct. However, his weapon is rather different. It's a divine weapon, you see. It's called the Fujin Yumi and only Takumi is capable of wielding and using it. The string isn't there when he's not using it, but he can make it appear in his hands along with his arrows. Not only that, but he's really good in archery. I've seen him use it before and it's really amazing. I was told that it's capable of shooting an infinite amount of arrows as if he doesn't run out of them. I don't know how he does it, but Takumi is able to use that divine weapon."

Muroboshi chuckled, "Really now. That's quite impressive, even if it's not a gun. And this magical weapon actually exists here?"

Kamui nodded, "It should be with Takumi. As I said, he's he only one able to wield it, like my Yato."

"Your Yato?" Nanami said with a look on confusion.

The prince nodded, "Yeah. It's a divine weapon that chooses it's wielder. You saw me hold it yesterday, right?"

Seeing the dark blade was no longer by the prince, Nanami shook her head with a frown, "It was the first battle I've taken part in, so I didn't pay much attention. Was it this dark sword with an eye?"

Kamui frowned and shook his head, "No. That was the one the enemy used to attack us that day. …The one King Garon gave me as a trap…"

He, then pulled out a blade of gold with four sockets and a hilt with a three finger claws at the end of each side. Somehow, it felt somewhat mystical about it. As Nanami and Muroboshi examined it, Kamui said with a smile, "Is something wrong?"

Nanami smiled and nodded with slight approval, "It's not scary like the other one…"

Kamui laughed nervously, "Haha… I-is that so…?"

The other man asked, "So… what about it is divine again?"

Kamui smiled nervously, "Well, I don't know much about it, to be honest. I only got it on that day we found you in the battle field. Just that it's a divine weapon that chose its wielder, really powerful, and is supposedly foretold that it would end a war. I hope that war is this one."

Muroboshi frowned, "But will you be able to take the burden of ending a war? That's the question here. I get it that there's this whole prophecy thing going on with it, but, just because you may be destined to end one, doesn't mean that the people will just drop their weapons for you, especially if it's a gun. You also can't stop people at war without killing and they won't just keel over for you."

Nanami held her breath as he said this. It was true. Even, if he were destined to stop a war, there will always be the will of the people. Even, if he was doing it for a believed good cause, they have their own ideas and backgrounds. Some may even be a good person as well. Suddenly, thoughts of the past reappeared in her head. She frowned before Kamui finally answered with a nod and a grimace, "I know that well, Ron. Just because I'm both a prince of both kingdoms and a wielder of a divine weapon, it does not mean that I'll be able to reason with everyone without fighting, nor am I able to protect every life out there on the battle field, even if I don't wish to kill them, which is why I'll try to save as many lives as I can. The responsibility of ending a war is definitely not a light one. I know that. However, both sides of my families are at war against one another and I absolutely cannot pick either side without betraying or hurting the other. My siblings in Nohr where we were raised and my family in Hoshido where we were born. I know from our time in both kingdoms that both are good families and people, who care for their kingdoms. And… I know that they can be reasoned with. I don't believe that King Garon would wish to speak with the enemy and can be hard to speak with, but I know that my eldest Nohrian brother would, and so would my other eldest Brother of Hoshido. If I can get my siblings to listen to one another and us, then we may be able to win back the peace both kingdoms have sought for, for a long time. Even, if that meant getting ourselves branded as traitors. We need to stop the real enemy at the bottom of the Bottomless Canyon. That's the hardest part here as none would think there being anything down there, had Azura not shown it to us."

After listening to what the young prince had to say, Nanami nodded. It made some sense as to what the twins were thinking the entire time, though she did not know what had occurred that day down at this canyon or that he was raised by the Nohrian royal family. However, his words somehow made her want to believe in them and their cause that they fight for. Perhaps Kamui and Corrin are really capable of achieving this peace that they strive for. However, a question lingered in her head. Just how long have the two kingdoms been at war? And why doesn't anyone know such an incredible place as the two kingdoms before? There are magic, mystical beasts, and magical weapons here. There was certainly no such thing as guns till now and the people of Hoshido… She recalled the friendly, kind people of Hoshido. It's hard to come across such people in their country. So, how?

"Heh. Well, if that's what you are trying to do, I might as well help… as long as we can stay here, of course." Muroboshi smirked as he said this and got up with a stretch before walking out of the practice field, "Man, I'm so hungry…"

He yawned, "So, who's in charge of this 'Mess Hall' today?"

Kamui nodded and chuckled nervously, "Well, Felicia is there tod-"

"Welp." the gunman interrupted, "Berries and fruits, it is…"

The man grumbled something quite inaudible before stuffing some arrows into his quiver and turned over to Nanami, "You coming?"

She nodded and waved to Kamui before hurrying after him.

---

By the water, Corrin and Azura was both spending sometime by the lake as the songstress was singing her song again. When she was done, Corrin smiled, "That was amazing, Azura!"

"Yeah! That was so cool!"

They turned to the voice and saw Heishi walking down to the lake with a stiff smile as he said, "I-I mean, you have a really pretty voice, Princess Azura! G-greetings, Princess Corrin."

As if feeling his uncontrollable nervousness, Corrin smiled, "You don't have to get so nervous or uptight around us, Heishi. Please just calm down. You're going to make us nervous too."

Azura nodded, "Thank you for the compliment, Heishi. Are you here to take a look around?"

The man let out a sigh of relief and placed his hands behind his neck with a carefree smile, "Yup! I'm also looking for Nanami! Have you seen her around?"

Corrin nodded, "I saw her heading into the archery building my brother just built today. It's the one made mostly of stone rather than wood. Kamui and Ron should be there right now. It should be to the left from here on."

"Got it!" Heishi replied with a nod, "Thanks!"

The man said before running off after waving to them. Once gone, Corrin comments with a nervous smile, "He's a really cheerful person, isn't he? I don't think he'd even need to have his ability for us to tell how he's feeling."

Azura nodded in agreement, "Yes. However, we should tell him to be careful, incase it starts to affect our soldiers' morale. His feelings can influence our quite a bit. It's a good thing that he can control most of it. In all, I do think that he is a really caring person, especially when it comes to Nanami."

Corrin nodded with a nostalgic grin, "It's like he's her older brother."

Seeing this, Azura calls out to her, "Corrin? Is something wrong?"

The silver hair princess looks up in surprise, "Huh? Oh, it's nothing. Seeing them reminds me of Leo and Elise. My younger brother and sister from Nohr. He always tries to be there for her quite often, even though Xander, Camilla, and us are always there too."

Azura smiled with a nod once more, "Yes. Takumi is like that with Sakura too."

Corrin chuckles, "It just goes to show how similar both families can be. Don't tell Takumi this, but I think he and Leo are quite alike, identical even besides their weapons!"

Azura giggles, "Is that so? I don't remember much of my time in Nohr nor am I fond of it, but, if that was true, Takumi would be quite furious being compared to someone like him, especially if they are from Nohr."

"But it does make you believe that they could get along well, doesn't it?" Corrin added cheerfully, "Do you think they'd like the same food? I recall Leo looking quite happy while having stew during dinner once. I think it was a beef stew that day?"

Azura grins, "Well. I do certainly recall Takumi having another bowl of Miso soup a few times before."

The two looked at one another before suddenly laughing aloud. As Azura wipes away a tear from the corner of her eye, she said, "You're right. I think the two would get along very well."

Corrin nodded, "We just need our families to at least talk with one another. I'm sure they also have other things in common besides this, like what they want for the kingdoms. Peace. We need to make them also see what the real situation is too…"

Azura frowned, "Yes. But, would it really be possible? It'd be hard to convince our siblings to believe in our words, especially if we tell them that we're unable to speak of it."

"I know." Corrin said firmly, "But, I believe that our siblings will at least consider it being the possibility. Especially, if King Garon is controlling our Nohrian siblings. We can't wait for them to realize that either."

Azura nodded, "Nor can we simply wait for Ryoma and our siblings to realize that something is off. I see. We need to tell them, even if it means saying that we are unable to tell them about it directly with words. Even now, they and he can be plotting something as we speak. We don't have much of a choice anymore, but how?"

With a determined glance, Corrin nodded, "My brother and I will think of something. In worse cases, we'll just have to tell them to the best of our abilities from the heart. Today's destination is Fort Jinya, after all. Correct?"

Azura frowned, but nodded, "Yes. Be careful, Corrin. I lost my mother once to this curse of silence. I can't lose you or your brother to it as well."

Corrin smiled reassuringly, "Of course, Azura. We'll be careful."

---

It was early morning when Prince Kamui and his sister led their group to the fort. They had packed what supplies they needed and made their journey to their destination. Of course, they even had to drag a sleepy archer as well. Nanami and Heishi were told to remain with the dragon and the ninja for the day as they didn't have much ability in fighting as the others did. As it quickly becomes morning, Nanami and Heishi walks over to the patient's temporary room with a tray of herb green porridge and dark color tea. As they got closer to the sliding door, Lilith, who stayed close to them the entire way, nervously asked, "S-Say… How about we just give him some plain porridge and tea instead?"

Nanami shook her head, "Just using rice won't have enough nutrients. It needs a lot of herbs to make up for what it lacks."

Otomaru nodded with a confident smile, "Yeah. And if it's too bitter, I've added sugar into the tea. See? Everything balances out nicely!"

Unbeknownst to the two, sweat began to pour profusely from the dragon's head as recalls the large amount of herbs and sugar used into this meal while thinking of a way to save their poor patient from the terrible fate. However, the three had already reached the door as Heishi slid it open. Not long after Nanami walked in, she felt something amiss as she took her first step. She looked and froze. The man was gone…

"Huh? Did he go outside for a walk or something?" Heishi asked after sticking his head in after her.

Nanami's eyes widen as she slowly began to frown, "That… can't be… Felicia said that he was hit in the ribs and some 'arteries'. He should be having a hard time around otherwise."

They quickly turned to Lilith who grimaced as she clenched her claws tightly around her floating blue orb, "Heishi, look around the campground. Nanami and I will go and inform Lord Kamui and Lady Corrin about this. I'll be back soon. Nanami, you will stay with Ron and Felicia. Hopefully, he hasn't gone to take part in the fight. Whatever you do, keep an eye out for your surrounding and don't go to the front line, understand? Heishi, you can't take her place or go with her because you don't know as much about protecting yourself against weapons. Sorry, but please understand."

The two didn't hesitate to question as Heishi immediately nodded and sighed, "Nanami, be careful out there. You have to return safely, all right?"

Nanami nodded before Heishi hurried out of the door. She turned to Lilith, "Will that man, Kaze, be all right?"

Lilith frowned before smiling weakly and place a small paw on her shoulder, "For now, let's pray everything goes well. Still, we need to go inform them about this."

Nanami nodded before a bright flash of light surrounds them.

They soon found themselves in a grassy plain in front of the two twins. They turned to her with a look of surprise, as the girl and the dragon quickly glances around the group. Nanami frowned in disappointment and concern before Corrin called out to them, "Lilith?! Nanami? Is something wrong?"

Nanami looked up and saw the prince walking away from their retainer and closer to his sister and them. Lilith frowned, "I apologize, Lord Kamui, Lady Corrin. It's the ninja you brought over. 'Kaze'. I believe it was? I'm afraid he's gone missing. Heishi is currently looking throughout the castle ground. I brought Nanami with me to check if he might have snuck out of the Astral plane."

As Corrin gasped in shock, Kamui frowned, "I'm afraid if that were true, then he must have snuck out of our group a while ago. We've been walking for a while now and haven't noticed him being amongst us."

His sister nodded with a worried look, "Still, he can't have gone too far. Felicia. You said that he was hit in the ribs?"

The maid nodded with a concerned expression, "Th-that's right! It'd be hard for him to move around with that injury. I'm not a really good healer either, so it must still be quite painful for him… Had I known this would happen, I'd at least had tried to heal his wound a little more this morning. I-I'm so sorry!"

Corrin shook her head, "No, Felicia. You've done the best you could and nobody could blame you for doing your best. But, I'am worried about this. The war between Nohr and Hoshido have already begun and there's faceless and fighting in many places already. If not careful, Kaze could end up getting hurt or worse."

Kamui nodded, "Not just that, there's also that shooter out there. Even if Kaze knows that now, it doesn't change the fact that the shooter can shoot from a distance before anyone can notice them and, according to Ron, the projectile reaches its target much faster than a normal arrow could leaving him with a much shorter amount of time to react to it much less avoid it."

Azura frowned, "Kamui, I think it should be fine. There's only one place Kaze have gone to."

Corrin nodded, "Shirasagi Castle. I just hope nothing happens on his way there…"

Her brother frowned, "We can try and ask one of the soldiers there later on and see whether he's made it back or not."

Felicia nodded, "I'm sure he'd get better help there than with my staff too."

With concern, Kamui spoke, "Are you still worried about that, Felicia? It's just as Corrin said. You and Ron have done what you could and, because of that, Kaze is alive."

Felicia nodded with her head down clearly still depressed as she muttered, "That's great, but I wish I could do just as well serving as a maid too… Other than Heishi and my lieges, nobody else showed up in the Mess Hall…"

Hearing this, Kamui and Corrin smiled nervously as they recall the traumatic situation in the cafeteria and the chaos Nanami and Heishi volunteered to cover for her. They hope that, at least, the two espers can make something more decent for tonight, at least…

Corrin then turned to the dragon, "Then, perhaps, Nanami can remain with us, then? She can help us keep a look out for him?"

Kamui shook his head, "No, sister. Remember what Ryoma's retainers reported? They've clearly seen her. I don't want it to suddenly become two ninjas chasing after her."

Azura nodded, "Even if they did claim that she didn't make it out alive from that fall, doesnn't mean that they won't be on the look out. But, we do need some one to keep an eye out for him… Even if it's him being amongst the soldiers in Hoshido."

Kamui frowned in thought as everyone's eyes turned to him. Finally, he sighed in defeat with a smile, "Fine, then. We'll bring her along. But, she's to remain with Ron and Felicia in the back. She clearly doesn't have much experience in skirmishes and battles as we do, much less a war."

"Even if this is our first experience with it firsthand too?" Corrin added with a sly smile at her older twin.

Her brother chuckled and nodded, "Yes. Which is why we'll need to be just as careful, Sister."

Turning to Lilith, he said with a nod, "If something happens and we need Nanami out of here, we'll call for you, Lilith. Is that all right?"

The dragon nodded with a smile, "Yes!"

With a nod, the twins watched the dragon disappear leaving the girl with them before Nanami hurried over to the maid and her comrade. Surprisingly, the man still has the Nohrian bow on his shoulder and a quiver on his back while the gun was in his pocket tightly fastened together to not accidentally go off. As the man gave a yawn, the prince looked over and nodded, "Then, let's move on, then."

---

As they walked, they could see the high stone walls with flags fluttering and whipping against the wind with many red armored or clothing soldiers looking out from above while others move from one place to the next. Nanami could see the old veteran Nohrian soldier, Gunter, rush over to the twins and the songstress speaking some inaudible words between the four as they continued moving forward. As they got closer to the walls, Corrin came to a stop as they could see the soldiers suddenly start to mobilize more quickly while others point to them. Muroboshi frowned, but, before he could attempt in doing something, Kamui called to him, "Don't, Ron. That's only going to provoke them to attack. We're only here to negotiate. Not to fight. Unless, we are forced to raise arms, don't attempt to start the first attacks."

The man shrugged with a feigned sad smile, "Do I really look that untrustworthy as to provoke an unintentional fight, Prince Kamui?"

The prince chuckled nervously, "Of course not, Ron. Just, after how you kept trying to shoot your arrows this morning after only hearing part of what I said, I think it'd be best to tell you what I think before you start acting when I'm not even done talking."

Muroboshi sighed with another shrug before Corrin spoked up, "How about we have Nanami go hide by the lake in the trees? She's only here to help see if Kaze's here. It's not intended that she take any part in all of this, if things do go south."

Azura nodded, "That'd be a good idea. Nanami, what do you think?"

The girl glances from the three to the Fort up ahead before looking over to the lake and nodded, "That'd be fine. I can go climb the trees."

Felicia gasped, "Oh, you can't just go climb up trees in a dress, Nanami!"

As Nanami silently muttered to herself with a grimace upon realizing her error, Corrin's eyes widen as she frowned with a nod, "That's right… Perhaps, you can just go see if you can find a place with a ground high enough for you to see?"

Azura nodded, "The interior of the fort in a wall that runs up to the slope. The main building should be up there. She may not be able to fully see us, but she can certainly see the main building and part of the walls."

Kamui nodded, "If they let us in to speak with our siblings that could be the place to go. Nanami, just be careful out here, alright? I trust in your hiding abilities if there are enemies nearby, but, if things get even a little difficult for you, run to a safer place. We should be back before sun down."

"Understood." Nanami said with a nod and glanced over to the others, "Be careful over there…"

Then, she immediately rushed over to a glimmering blue lake surrounded by lush green trees and bushes without looking back. It wasn't long, after she finally found a place within a couple of bushes and in the shadow of the trees, did she see the group at the entrance approached by a strange blue hair man with glasses. As they talked, she could see that whatever the man was saying was getting louder before she could see the entire soldiers around the area began rush all over the place. She grimaced, "Oh no…"

The negotiations failed it would seem and the enemy have begun to attack the others. As she watched the others fought and disappear behind the walls of the fort, she made sure her weapon was in her pocket before scanning what areas were available to her view of vision. She could notice the entrances where more enemy soldiers were appearing from underground. On the top of the slope, that man sat on his horse… no, that's not a horse… What is that thing? She frowned in confusion and suspicion before glancing over to what else may be there only to find that there was a woman with purple hair tied up and in a strange white garb while wielding nothing, but strange sticks and papers in hand. Just what is she suppose to be? It wasn't till she notice something flash from the corner of her focus that she saw Corrin knock out a mage in a similar garb while wielding some of the same objects. Then, she recall what she had once seen in one of her travels with her Father. Those papers and sticks… Were they Omnyojis? She frowned, "The omnyojis of this country actually can use magic? …"

As she thought of the possibility of what would occur if they were in their country, something glinted somewhere before her. A gun?! She scanned the area quickly before she saw that it was just the light reflecting off of Corrin's dragon form as she faced a strange red ninja… Huh? W-wait! That's Princess Corrin's dr-?!

Click.

She froze. As she was slowly about to turn around before feeling something ice cold against the back of her neck. She grimaced. How could she have let this happened? She should've been more careful than to drop her guard a second ago. Then, she frowned. No. Her guard was up the entire time. This is a gun something from her country. Meaning, this person may be from her country. However, how was he able to sneak up behind her, a girl trained to be a ninja since young.

"Don't move."

It was a deep male voice. As sweat began to form on her forehead, she grimaced. She didn't have to worry much about being unable to carry that order out as she was already frozen from the fear of his weapon.

"Get up and put your hands behind your head, then start walking over to the wall. Run and I shoot."

Following the orders, she carefully got up and, as she placed her hand on the back of her head, she could see that the others were about to face the man on the strange thing. Not long after taking a couple steps, she felt a sudden wind behind her. Forgetting his words, she spun around and, before she could see the man on the ground, a green flash rushed at her and grabbed her before a blur of what could be green trees went passed her view. When she could finally feel the ground under her feet, she looked up and saw that it was Kaze. The man glanced around before patting her head, "All right. Go hide. Hopefully, they'll be able to find you here."

Kaze sighed as he turned back to the wall, "He was carrying that thing around… I still have something to do. Be more careful."

She then saw the red mark on his clothes, but he disappeared before she could stop him leaving her in what looked to be on the outskirts of the woods. Are all ninjas suppose to be like this? She can somehow come to understand why her friends get worried whenever she leaves. Perhaps, she can wait for their response before leaving them next time? She shook her head before looking for another new place to hide. Somewhere easier to blend into. It wasn't long after she found a spot did she hear the loud flapping wings and immediately hid behind some trees. When she heard the flapping die down followed with a sound of neighs, her mind immediately began to picture one of the white wing horses they call "Pegasus". Was is one of the remaining Hoshidan soldiers?

"Uh… Are you sure that you saw her here?" said a familiar voice, "You said that she was about to be attacked by a man earlier, then suddenly changed."

That voice…

"It was what I saw." a familiar quite male voice said calmly, "I understand your suspicions to my visions and you are free to disregard it as rubbish as well. Still, I thank you for bringing me out here, regardless of the suspicions I've raised by my sudden presence."

"It's no problem." the other said, "As long as Lady Sakura believes in you, then we'll trust you as well. However, if you are to do anything to physically harm her as that incident had with our late queen…"

"I know…"

This new voice sounded very familiar. A calm voice that carefully, but firmly spoke out words… who was it again? She believed that it was probably amongst Mikoto's teammates… It was no good. With so many things going on, she was already dizzy as is these past few days. She would just have to risk getting her hard-found cover blown. As she slowly stuck her head out, she could see a strange black kimono with white designs on it being worn by a man with silk-like silver hair tied back by a white ribbon, much like that of her friend Mikoto's twin ribbons, and with bangs split to one side. He have light brown eyes and was taller than her, possibly by half a foot, but she was unable to tell by the distance between them. He held a calm and gentle demeanor over him, much like Princess Azura's. She knew who it was just by looking at him. It's only been nearly three or four days after all.

"Nijou!" she called out as she took this chance to get out of her hiding spot.

The man turned as a small smile began to form over his face as he replied, "Ah! Shiranui. So, I was right that you'd be here."

As Nanami came to a stop she soon saw the white Pegasus next to him and behind him the red hair retainer, Subaki. The retainer looked to her with a look of surprise, "You! You're the girl Saizo and Kagero saw! Why are you still here?"

The girl frowned, "I was about to leave the city the next day, then heard of the event going on and decided to go and see. The attack happened after and, by then I was just outside of the city when I saw Princess Sakura and her siblings face off the enemy soldiers in black armors. Princess Azura found me and I was allowed to follow them."

Subaki frowned, "So, you're with them…"

Nanami tilted her head in confusion before continuing, "I'm out here to look for a ninja in green with green hair. We found him injured during the battle that day and was taking care of him till he disappeared this morning. He's still injured on the chest and shouldn't be up. Felicia told me that he could open his wound otherwise, but…"

She quickly caught her breath and continued, "… Prince Kamui and Princess Corrin wishes to make sure that he… was back in Hoshido, if he had gone back…. Phew…"

"Shiranui?" Nijou said with a look of concern, "Are you all right? Do you need some water? You probably had a hard time escaping from your pursuers…"

Shiranui shook her head, "No, Kaze saved me just now. Even though, I was supposed to find him and make sure that he returned… He found me and saved me earlier."

Subaki sighed, "I see. So, you spoke too much again…"

He then narrowed his eyes before he shook his head and said, "Kaze had recently returned."

"And what you say certainly validates to the condition he was in just now."

The turned and saw that it was the man in glasses. The man looked to the girl with a frown, "Light purple hair that shines silver under the light… Were you that child Saizo and Kagero found in the garden?"

Nanami froze before she nervously nodded, "Y-yes. I apologize for trespassing into your property that day."

The man looked over the girl with a look of surprise, "So you lived that fall."

The man sighed before Subaki began to speak, "She was found by Lady Sakura and former Princess Azura that night before the dinner with nothing, but her foreign clothing and a kunai in hand. My collegue checked her belongings, Yukimura."

The man, Yukimura, glanced back to the child. After what would seem to be hours, he finally nodded slowly and sighed, "We'll let her go this time being that she's only a child with just a kunai. However, since she's under Prince Kamui and Princess Corrin, she will be caught the next time we find her again."

Then, he turned to Nijou, "So, this child is one of your friends that you're looking for? I take it that you're going to follow her, then?"

Nijou nodded firmly, "You're correct, Sir. I'm grateful for being allowed to stay in the castle, even after …that occurred."

Yukimura sighed before rubbing his temples, "Our late queen trusts you till the end when she saved her own children. You should be thanking her kindness, instead. Or else, we'd have thrown you into the dungeon or outside long before then. Just be aware that you too will be taken into custody if you are ever to be caught too."

"I understand." Nijou said with a small smile and a hand over his chest in relief, "I'll keep your advice and warning in mind, Sir."

The man then turned to Subaki, "I've come to let you know that Princess Sakura have decided to follow her siblings. I advise that you should go with her and protect her. Take the two with you, if you can. I'll go search for Hana right now."

Subaki's eyes widen before he nodded and jumped on to his mount. As he helped both the girl and Nijou barely fit onto the horse. The man called over to her, "Before you leave, do you know what this 'invisible' enemy that the prince and princesses spoke of earlier?"

Nanami frowned in confusion as she tried to recall all the interaction she had with the royal family. Then, she recalled something rather suspicious that day they returned from this "Bottomless Canyon", but should she tell him? She frowned deeper before she finally made up her mind, "I don't know. I'm sorry. I do recall Princess Corrin telling their maid not to reveal something because it was too dangerous to say it. I wasn't there with them when they left to another place, but, after that, they couldn't tell me anything…"

After some thoughts, Yukimura frowned, but nodded, "Fine. I at least know something else now. No matter how small."

As they left, the man frowned, "This could still be a lie the three created… However, what that child said… If the queen was here, she'd have believed them within a heartbeat…"

---

YueTian: Finished! Finally! Midterms are over and I only have one class left before I return home! …And I may have twisted my ankle while seated… Don't know how I did it. I just moved my ankle and heard a loud crack followed by a slight pain that never faded… I swear, it's not broken, guys. Anyway, after this and my class, I'll begin to think about my other story! (Still stuck on Questions and Reasons… T-T) Perhaps, I'll just begin my next chapter of Awakening with Blossoms? Oh well… While I was writing all this and searching my info source (Wiki, I know. Not the best choices sometimes.) I soon discovered that I made a mistake on someone's appearances (or two).

Nanami:…

Mikoto:… Hey! My hair is black and my eyes are brown. There's no mistake."

YueTian: No. No. Not that. I was really sure that Nanami's hair and eyes were silver-purple… only to discover how silver your friend's hair was… This clearly wasn't silver and so I made a mistake. Sorry about that Nanami.

Nanami: …It's fine.

YueTian: And Mikoto's twin ribbons in her hair were barely there that I almost never realized it till I read her appearance summary! T-T I feel so bad for messing this up! T-T

Mikoto: Well, where's your glasses?! It's clearly right here! See!

YueTian: I've been wearing them everyday as of late! …Geez… Anyway, I'll go do some editing and title, then post this up,, which you are reading right now. See ya!

Time of updates are posted on my profile for all to see. Remember that I'm a student and may require time to complete a chapter. Thank you very much!