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.)

4. Chapter 4:New Experiences And Old Pasts

New Experiences And Old Pasts

Suddenly taking flight, she was honestly startled by the sudden fact that this creature have been able to carry about all three of them into the sky. She glanced down and see the green grass plain flowing past them like an ocean of green.

"Is this your first time seeing a Pegasus too?"

"Pegasus?" Nanami said with a look of confusion.

She glanced behind and saw the retainer smile nervously, "Sorry. I can't really ask my Pegasus to fly any higher than this with three people on her back."

"It's fine." she replied before looking ahead and saw Kamui and the others making their away to the lake she was at with the green ninja being one of them.

She pointed, "There!"

Her friend, Nijou, looked over from behind the man, "So, that's the group you are traveling with, Shiranui?"

Subaki gasped, "Lady Sakura!"

He said to us, "Hold on tight now."

Almost as soon as he said that, the winged horse dove down as the group below them looked up in shock, especially Sakura and Corrin. The wind blew past her cheeks as they zoomed into the group. Nanami drew back a breath in shock before it stopped and she could feel themselves lowered.

"Phew!" the retainer said with a sigh of relief and a calm smile, "We finally caught up with you, milady!"

As soon as he said that, Nanami left out the breath she held back. Sakura stepped back in shock as she yelped in alarm, "Waaah! S-Subaki?! Nanami and Sakuya? You're here too?"

Suddenly, her brown hair retainer came up to them from behind the group nearly out of breath and rather upset, "Oh, Lady Sakura… Did you even realize that you'd left us behind? How could you!"

"Hana!" Sakura spoke with a look of surprise and joy at the sight of the two retainers, "Why are the two of you-!"

Hana let out a sigh and said with a smile, "We received word from Yukimura. He'd told us that you left with Lord Kamui and Lady Corrin."

Sakura nodded with understanding and gratitude as she said, "Ah… Yukimura knew that I would need you two."

Hana giggled as she said, "Haha… even if Yukimura hadn't told us… we would have searched day and night to figure out where you were and caught up!"

"Indeed." Subaki said with a smile after helping Nijou and Nanami off the winged horse, "It is our duty to protect you, milady, and nothing will stop us. If you are headed somewhere, then it's only natural that we would go too."

He then bowed, "We will always support you."

Sakura smiled, "Thank you very much!"

Kamui looked over to his youngest sister in confusion, "Um… Sakura, who are these people?"

Sakura looked to her siblings in surprise, "Oh! I'm sorry, Kamui. These are my retainers, Subaki and Hana. They're both very strong and kind; they've p-protected me for years. They'll fight on our side, it'll be helpful to have such reliable friends."

"I see." Corrin said with a smile and a nod, "We need all the help we can get. Thank you, both of you."

"Of course." the red hair retainer said with a nod, "We'll carry out any mission flawlessly."

Hana nodded, "To be honest, Lady Sakura will be my top priority, but I'll do my best to help!"

Suddenly, Kamui glanced over to Nanami with worry, "Are you all right, Nanami? Kaze, told us what happened."

As Nanami nodded in confirmation, Corrin glanced over to Nijou with an outstretched hand, "Oh, hello. My name is Corrin and this is my older twin brother, Kamui."

Nijou took the hand with a smile, "Ah, my name is Sakuya Nijou. I am an acquaintance of Shiranui."

Kamui looked up in surprise, "Oh! Then, you're friends with Ron and Otomaru?"

Nijou smiled, "Yes. I assume they are with your group?"

As Kamui nodded, Sakura spoke up, "M-mother found him in the throne room the same day big sister Azura and I found Nanami. Mother let him stay in the castle as a guest after he told us that he was from, uh… 'Jaban'? This was two nights ago."

"Two nights ago…" Kamui said as he frowned, "I see. But, why did Subaki brought him here?"

"Perhaps we can talk more about this in another place?" Nijou began with a frown, "I was the one who asked for him to bring me to where Shiranui was."

Hearing this, the prince nodded, "I see. Then, perhaps we should return to the astral realm now. We can also talk more about the person who attacked Nanami."

Corrin smiled, "Then, I'll call Lilith!"

As soon as she said that, a bright light flashed before them. When it died down, the little astral dragon floated there in front of them. Sakura gasped in surprise as her retainers prepared themselves for battle. Corrin, on the other hand, grinned, "Lilith! You've arrived her right on time! I was about to call out for you."

Lilith smiled with joy, "Of course! I heard Lady Corrin call out my name, so I arrived here."

Her eyes soon caught onto the green ninja as she gasped in surprise, "Ah! I see that you're safe. That's good. Otomaru and I have been looking for you all over the castle. At least, it looks like you didn't receive any more injuries."

As she said this, Sakura looked up in surprise, "'At least, he looks like he'… Was Kaze already injured before he saved my siblings?!"

She turned to him, "I-I'm sorry! I should've seen that you wer-!"

The ninja shook his head, "It's fine, Lady Sakura. I've recovered quite a bit already."

"I-is that so?" the pale red hair princess frowned with concern.

Kamui narrowed his eyes in silence before he turned to Lilith, "It would seem that everyone is accounted for. Lilith, could you please bring us all back to the castle?"

Lilith nodded with a smile, "Of course, Lord Kamui!"

With that, a bright light enveloped them all before the usual scene of fluttering pink petals floated down before their eyes and the view of the castles and building appeared before them all. Once back, Kamui nodded in approval, "Thank you, Lilith."

The dragon smiled, "Oh, it was nothing, milord. I'm glad to be of help."

Kamui, then, turned to the others, "Sakura, Subaki, Hana, this is Lilith. She used to be our stable girl back in Nohr. While saving Corrin and I from a nasty fall at the Bottomless Canyon, she became an astral dragon and teleported us here. Lilith, this is my little sister from Hoshido, Sakura. She's a Princess from Hoshido. This here are her retainers, Subaki and Hana. They'll be joining us from today."

The little dragon on her blue orb bowed her head with a smile cheerfully, "I see. Greetings and welcome to the Astral realm!"

"H-hello!" Sakura replied with a small and nervous smile, "I-If I may, what is this 'astral' realm?"

Lilith nodded and waved her small arms to the area around them, "The astral realm is much like another world in the astral plane, where there are multiple other worlds. The world where the kingdoms of Nohr and Hoshido reside are only one of them. Here there are no disturbance from the other worlds, so it's usually safe away from the war itself aside from any intruders from this world."

Sakura's eyes widen in shock, "S-s-so this is another world?! A-a-are you certain t-that we can just intrude in another world like this? Y-you said that there are other people here, correct?"

Once again, Lilith nodded, "Yes, but it's fine. This world is rather large and the astral dragon himself allowed it. The astral dragon, Moro, is one of the first dragons and have turned me into an astral dragon when I asked for him for help."

As Sakura and the other retainers stood there in disbelief, Corrin nodded, "Lilith, can you go let Otomaru know that we have some new people amongst us and we may need some help? Just have him wait at the entrance of the castle. Also, I'll come back with some berries as an offering in your shrine. I found some on our way to the fort. They're quite sweet."

"That sounds wonderful!" Lilith said with a nod, "Then, I'll go look for him at once!"

She then bowed and soon flew off in search for the guy. Corrin turned to their maid, "Felicia? I know you must be tired, but could you prepare rooms for my sister and her retainers? Also, can you prepare another room for Sakuya as well? Since there's a lot of rooms to prepare, you should probably ask Otomaru to come and help while I give our sister a tour of the place."

The maid beamed a smiled, "Of course, Lady Corrin! I'll have it done as soon as possible!"

Before they could say something else, the maid bowed and hurriedly excused herself to begin preparations immediately. Corrin smiled nervously before glancing over to her sister, "Well, I'll show you around the area, if you like."

"All right!" Sakura replied with a bright smile.

Kamui, then, turned to Sakuya, "Excuse me, Sakuya? Kaze? Is it possible to also speak about today's incident? I would also like to hear the story from your side as well, Nanami."

As she nodded, both men agreed to tell the event to the prince. After seeing that the girls and their other soldiers have left, Kamui and Azura walked into the empty and cool war council before they all took a seat and Kamui spoke, "So, let's start with today's incident at that lake. Nanami, can you tell us what happened after we left you by the lake? I recall, after we heard that Kaze had left the castle, we decided to entrust you with the role to see if Kaze was safe, just in case."

"Milord and lady Corrin did?" Kaze said as his eyes widen in surprise before he bowed, "I apologize for have worried you and Princess Corrin, milord."

Kamui shook his head with a smile, "It's fine, Kaze. As long as you're all right, it's fine. But, Nanami, can you tell us what happened afterwards? We heard that you were attacked by a strangely clothed man."

Nanami nodded and began, "After you left, I went in search higher ground, so I could get a proper look at the battle. When I saw that the battle had begun, I had momentarily dropped my guard and someone tackled me down from behind, then ordered me to stand so that I wouldn't be able to do anything. Then, it would seem that Kaze jumped down on him and took me away from the place to where I then found Nijou and Subaki. Thank you for saving me, Kaze."

The ninja smiled, "You're welcome. It's a good thing I found you when I did."

"At least, you're alive now, thanks to Kaze." Azura then frowned in confusion, "But, still you could've run. Why didn't you took the chance to escape?"

Nanami shook her head, "That man… he had a 'gun' to the back of my head, Princess Azura. If I took any initiative to run, he could've shot me down at the spot, if he wished for it."

"What?!" Kamui exclaimed as Azura gasped in shock.

Kaze grimaced, "So, I was shot by that weapon…"

Kamui nodded, "Then, how did you find her, Sakuya?"

The young man nodded, "Well, I was able to locate her with my abilities."

Hearing this, Kamui's eyes widen in surprise, "So, you're an esper as well?"

Azura nodded thoughtfully, "That's right. You said that you were from the country of 'Japan', similar to Nanami. So, that would mean the two of you are friends?"

Nijou nodded, "At first, we came together because we are all espers, but we've been traveling for months now. You could certainly say that we're all friends now."

"I see." Azura said with a nod before glancing over to Kamui with a knowing smile, "I'm going to guess that you plan on taking him in as well?"

Kamui laughed in slightly nervous, "Haha… Of course. Since we already have taken in Nanami and her friends in, it's fine if we take in another one. There's still room in the castle, especially when Corrin and I have taken residence in the treehouse. What do you think, Azura?"

"Well, I'm fine with whatever you decide to do." Azura replied, "Personally, I have nothing against your decision, either, and Mother trusted him as well. I think Corrin would be really happy for another person around too. I only hope that we don't end up overworking Lilith with more people in the future."

Kamui nodded, "I'll speak with her myself later, then. It would certainly bad if we give her too much than she can handle at the moment."

"If you like, I'd be willing to help her." Nijou offered with a look of concern much to Nanami's surprise, "I don't take the role of a leader as well as one of our other friends can nor have I taken part in your battles, but I'd be willing to help as you were kind enough to offer shelter to our friends."

Nanami glanced over to the young man. It was the first time in a while to hear of him taking action in helping someone else other than back on the ship. It certainly wasn't the first time she's heard of something out of the ordinary. Even Moroboshi, who rarely ever volunteer to do something bothersome, took part in protecting their new friends from enemies with weapons originated from their country. After some thoughts, she nodded, "Then, perhaps I can help with the cooking? There have to be something I can do here too, since I can't take part in the fighting."

Hearing this, Kamui glanced over to Azura with a look of uncertainty and confusion before the princess nodded. Kamui looked back to them with a stern expression till he finally nodded with a smile, "All right, then. I'll first speak with Lilith about this later tonight. I'm sure she wouldn't mind having a helping hand around nor a cook. If she agrees, you may start tomorrow if you like."

As they walked outside, she noticed that the red sky have already become a more violet-blue shade as she glanced up. It was night. Have everyone already eaten yet?

"Hey! Nanami! Sakuya!"

She turned and saw Otomaru running over to her with a lamp in a hand and a bright smile across his face as Muroboshi followed behind him with a yawn.

"Muroboshi. Otomaru." Nanami said as she nodded in greeting to her team.

The esper smiled, "It's great that we've found you, Sakuya If you haven't eaten yet, want to have dinner with us?"

Nanami tilted her head, but nodded, "We've only just finished with the report, so I don't mind coming with you."

She glanced over to Sakuya as Otomaru continued, "Then, how about you, Sakuya? You must be starving by now, right? We'll show you where dining hall is!"

"W-wait!" Nanami's eyes widen in surprise.

Without hearing the response of their friend, Otomaru quickly pulled Sakuya and me away from the building's doorway and to the Mess hall building, "Here, they call the dining hall the Mess Hall. Hm… I wonder who's on cooking duty today?"

As he said this, faint sounds of conversations and clanging of pots and pans could be heard from within while Muroboshi answered with a smile, "Well, I'm pretty sure that it's that village girl tonight."

Suddenly, Otomaru jumped up with a triumphant smile, "Really?! All right! She's a pretty good cook back in the village. You should try some of her cooking, Nanami!"

"A-all right." Nanami replied with a look of surprise.

She only hoped that today's meal would, at least, be nutritious.

---

Koharu gathered all the clothing from the clean riverside and made her way back to the house with Casita. As they talked of the possibility of teaching the girl how to read more difficult books, she suddenly heard a voice whisper, "Well, I heard that the spies have seen a Hoshidan princess and a couple of Hoshidan soldiers leave with Prince Kamui and Princess Corrin's forces."

Koharu whipped her head around with wide eyes and saw two Nohrian soldiers walk away with lances in hand. She then felt a hand on her shoulder and looked back to see Casita looking to her with a concerned expression, "Is something wrong, Lily?"

Koharu quickly shook her head and smiled, "No. I'm sorry. I just got a bit distracted earlier."

Casita looked to her worriedly before shaking her head and smiled back, "Well, in that case, why don't we go see a friend of mine after we hang the laundry?"

Hearing this, Koharu tilted her head in confusion before she nodded, "A-all right…?"

Back in the little house, Koharu was left hanging the laundry as Casita went to run some errands. After doing so, she took a step back in the tiny yard as the white sheets fluttered a bit from wherever the small breeze was coming from. Suddenly, she heard the door open from inside.

"Oh! She's back!" she said with a bright smile as she walked back into the house, "Welcome back, Casi- huh?"

"We're back!"

Suddenly, a flurry of black and yellow tackled into the girl as it hugged her tightly. As the elderly woman closed the door tightly behind her, Koharu gasped in shock as she glanced down to the small figure, "P-Princess Elise?! I-it's a pleasure to see you again!"

The blond and purple hair princess looked to her with a look of curiosity before she smiled, "It's great to see you again too!"

Koharu glanced around with a look of surprise, "Um… Is your retainers with you today as well?"

Elise nodded, "They'll be here later."

Casita gave what looked to be a sigh of relief and defeat before she smiled, "It's wonderful to see milady again. Look at how much you've grown! You're already just past my shoulder! Why, I remember how you were small always wanting to play hous-"

"Casita!" Elise pouted as she threw her hands up clearly blushing while doing so, "Stop that!"

The elderly woman just laughed and nodded, "Haha… Of course, Lady Elise. But, I must say what were you doing down here in the streets of all places? Won't your siblings worry about your whereabouts?"

"In the streets?" Koharu said with a look of surprise, "But, I thought Princess are usually in the castles?"

Elise looked to her in disbelief before she smiled, "That's not really true! It only happens in fairy tales. I get out and move around too, you know! As for my siblings, only Leo knows where I am and Camilla was the one who told me how to sneak out of the castle. The castle was really gloomy and Father have been saying many strange things lately. I-I don't like it back there, so I decided to come and take a look in town today! I wanted to sneak out here by myself at first, but Effie and Arthur found me and they wanted to come with me! T-Then, I didn't know where your house was and… Anyway, I'm just really glad Casita found us! Thank you, Casita!"

As the girl jumped around energetically, Casita could only smile as did Koharu, "Well, I understand the situation. You're welcome to come visit us whenever you like, Lady Elise. Koharu, can you take Lady Elise to the table? I'll go prepare the tea and some snacks."

Koharu nodded, "All right!"

As Casita left to the kitchen, Koharu brought Elise to the dining table. After taking their seats, Elise smiled as she spoke energetically, "So, how do you like it here in town? I was really worried when I heard that something bad was going to happen to you."

Hearing the princess's words, Koharu could barely notice the small hint of concern from the girl's voice. Had she made the princess worry over her? Koharu grew uncertain and did her best to dispel any concern from the girl with a smile, "I'm fine. Miss. Elise and Selena saved me and Flora before we were caught up in it too. I really love this town too. It's really dark, but everyone I've met have been really kind to me. Casita is really nice to me too."

"That's great!" the girl grinned triumphantly.

Still rather confused, Koharu tilted her head as she questions hesitantly, "U-um… I-If I may, is it really alright for you to be out of the castle, Princess Elise? Y-you see, I read in books that princess usually spend their times in the castle."

In response, Elise frowns in uncertainty, "Huh… It's true that I'm suppose to stay inside the castle when I'm not given missions to help my siblings on the battlefield… But that sounds really boring. I'd rather be outside and play with the other children, if I could. Perhaps, that's how the princesses of your world lives? Ugh, I'd be so frustrated being cooped up for that long!"

As Koharu listens with look of surprise, Elise looks to her with a slightly worried expression and waves her hands as she continues, "Oh! I hope that didn't sound offensive. I was told that I was suppose to stay inside the castle, unless I'm told to help out on the battlefield. But, staying in the castle is too boring and there's usually nobody that would play with me. My siblings are all busy too."

Now that she thought about it, if she was a princess, it would probably be really sad if she had to stay behind the castle walls all day. She wondered how all the princess have been able to tackle such a difficult position. Koharu shook her head, "Oh, it's quite all right. I don't mean to sound rude when I say this, but I didn't know that being a princess would be that hard. But it must've been quite a task to sneak out of the castle like that."

When she thought about it, if there are castles and royal families, there must be knights and guards too, right? And they have the duty of guarding the castle and the people all day. They soon hear the floor boards creak as a voice spoke up, "Not only that, but is it really all right for you to be out of the castle, milady? What about the king? Wouldn't King Garon be upset if he learn that you disappeared from the castle?"

They looked over and saw Casita walking in with a tray of cookies and tea. Behind her walked in Lissa's two retainers. Elise looked up with joy at the sight of the two, "Effie! Arthur! Welcome back!"

As the two bowed, Castia set the down and Effie spoke up with a look of uncertainty, "If I may, what Ms. Casita say is true…"

Arthur nodded, "Ah, his majesty would be quite furious if he hears of your absence."

Koharu looked over to Elise with a look of concern as to the situation presented before them. She recalls the books that the visitor brought to her when she was small. It always spoke about the situation in the castle being rather chaotic when a princess disappears from her home, usually kidnapped or cursed by a bad person. However, Elise obviously wasn't kidnapped, rather she chose to leave by her own will in this case. It would seem that her older sister, Camilla, knows about this and, possibly, Leo too. However, what about Prince Xander? Wouldn't it be best to let him know too? Holding a teacup in hands, Elise smiled widely, "It'll be fine. I've told Big sister Camilla that I would be in town to see Casita and Koharu today! Leo told me where the place is, so he should know that I'm here!"

Her retainers look to one another with uncertainty before Casita spoke, "But what of the crown prince? I'm certain he'd be quite worried about where you are right now too."

Hearing this, Elise look down with a frown, "Big brother is always really busy ever since Big brother Kamui and Big sister Corrin didn't want to come home with us, and Father have been acting very strange recently. He spoke something very scary about them too. Camilla said she's felt something really strange too and that it'd be all right if I come into town today. Father have always been a bit scary sometimes, but it seems like he's gotten much scarier recently and Big Brother Xander isn't always around when that happens… I don't like being in the castle any more…"

As Koharu listens, she began to grow concern for her. Even her retainers gave the young princess worried expressions. Finally, Casita nodded with a small smile, "Well, perhaps things just isn't going too well for now. If you like, you can always come visit us here in town, Lady Elise."

Hearing this, Elise smiled brightly once more and looked up with almost glittering eyes, "Really?! Yay!"

"But…", Casita continued, "you must let one of your siblings know of your whereabouts before doing so from now on, alright? It won't be good to send your siblings in a panic."

Hearing this, Elise nodded firmly and as serious as she could display across her face, "Okay!"

Then, the same carefree smile came over once more, "Oh! What are you planning on doing today, Koharu? Did you know that Leo…"

As the two began to chat carefreely, Effie spoke to Casita on the side, "Thank you for helping us take care of Lady Elise, Ms. Casita. I hope we're not intruding on you like this."

The woman smiled and waved it off with a laugh, "Oh, it's fine, Effie. Ever since you brought Koharu here, the house have never been so lively before, and it's been so long since I've seen Princess Elise. It's hard to believe that she's grown so big since I retired from the castle. You know, it feels like only yesterday when she was just a little darling in my arms. My, does time goes by so fast!"

"That's…" Effie gave the woman a nervous look as she braced herself for the long stories the former nanny would tell the retainer.

---

It has only been a day and night since the last battle at Fort Jinya. Today, Prince Kamui and his sister would take the army through Izumo due to its neutrality in the wars. Despite their concern over their new comrades' safety, the prince and princesses have hoped to leave Nanami and her friends in the care of the ruler of that kingdom as it was neutral. As for Nanami, after discussing their roles in helping around Kamui's castle yesterday, she was asked by Lilith if she and Heishi would be willing to help her clean the castle while Nijou help her keep the list of chores they needed to do as he help them. Muroboshi have decided to continue keeping an eye out for their would be assassin ever since that incident two days ago. It was rather interesting at first. Nijou seems to have been able to take care of the chores quite well despite it being his first time with some parts of it. Though not many knew about him, neither of them felt the need to ask from the start, not when they're not willing to give away information about themselves either. All, except for Otomaru. Her teammate doesn't really care as much regarding their abilities and is the most open minded out of all of their comrades from their ship. He also shows no fear when it comes to stating his opinions as well, which worries her sometimes since they're living in a castle with four people of royalty now followed by their own retainers. Even Lilith had to keep an ear out for his words as of late.

"So, the group will have to go through the Wind tribe?" Nanami looked to Azura and Corrin with a small look of surprise.

Through out her own travels with her father as a child, there were a couple of times they had to go through tribes and, as easy as it was getting in at times, they had a harder time leaving it when some comes chasing after them. Sometimes, they came for their lives, other times it was for her specifically. There were very few times when a tribe never done anything to them and let them pass without any incidents. Corrin nodded, "Yes, it would seem that we'll have to go through the Wind tribe, since that would be the safest path."

As she glanced over to Azura, the blue hair princess continue with a nod of confirmation, "And, with our soldiers being mostly of part Nohrians and Hoshidans, we might be able to get through the Wind tribe without much problems. I've heard that the Wind tribe have also allied themselves with Hoshido. We should be safe while we make our way there because this is still Hoshido's territory."

Nanami frowned, "Then, nothing would happen if we pass through there?"

As Corrin nodded, the silver hair princess asked, "Is something wrong, Nanami?"

The esper shook her head, "No, it's nothing. Then, I'll go let Muroboshi know."

Corrin nodded once more with a small smile, "Yes. Thank you, Nanami."

The girl nodded and, then, turned around before hurrying off into the direction of archery. After the girl was gone, Corrin glanced over to Azura, "I wonder if we said thing that bothered her. She looked a bit nervous when I mentioned going to the wind tribe…"

Azura frowned before shaking her head, "I'm not sure, but, from what she told me, she certainly have been through a lot."

Corrin also frowned with a look of concern, "I wonder… she's been a bit of a mystery out of all of her friends here. Sakuya have only just arrived, so it's natural that we don't know much about them. But, hm…"

She shook her head, "In any case, I'm just glad that she seems rather close to you, Azura."

"Me?" the blue hair princess said with a look of surprise, "It's true that we spent a lot of time together, but I'm just trying to get her to calm down a bit more. Though, I do hope that she could see us as friends."

Corrin smiles widely, "I'm sure she does. Kamui and I've been keeping an eye out for her recently, and it looks like, out of all of us, she always approaches you, aside from her other friends. But I wonder why she always tries to keep her distance? It worries me sometimes."

Azura thought for a bit before she spoke, "Perhaps you need to reach out to her first? Though we are close as it would seem, she's never once asked much of spending time with me, besides questions of some issues. Of course, I'm glad she's fitting in more now, but I've always been the one to ask her to come to places with me. It looks likes she more into listening what needs to be done rather than making a decision to call out to us, but that's what I think."

Corrin frowned before she spoke, "Perhaps, we should ask her friends? I'm sure they might know more about her than we do right now, but it would be rather nosy of us going into her business…"

Azura nodded in agreement before a thought came to her, "How about we go talk with Heishi about the espers? Perhaps, Nanami isn't the only one like this."

"That does sound like a plan. We would be starting with something to get to know them better. After all, it does seem like all her friends does tend to keep their distance from our friends too." Corrin nodded, "All right. Let's go see if Heishi would be willing to give us a reason for this."

"Did someone call for me?"

The two jumped and turned around. Behind the two stood the brown hair teenager in the plaid Nohrian clothing they were able to obtain for the young man and clothing for his other friends at a town yesterday. His hand was behind the back of his head as usual with a slight look of confusion. Corrin looked to him in surprise, "Oh, Heishi! We were just thinking about asking you something."

The young man smiled widely and said, "Sure. What is it that you want to know about?"

"It's about your friends…" Corrin answered with slight hesitation, "Well, unlike you, Heishi, it somehow felt like your friends are trying to keep their distance from us more. Sakuya is an exception because he only just joined us. Is it because we're still like strangers to you and your friends?"

Hearing this, Otomaru laughed, "Strangers? Naw! Don't worry about that, Princess Corrin, Princess Azura. This is how we are sometimes. From what I've heard, some of us just dislike communicating, while others have their own reasons for this. Let's see…"

He thought for a bit before he spoke up, "I know! How about I tell you something only Nanami knows about me?"

Stunned, Corrin glances over to her friend before Azura nodded, "Are you sure you're okay with it, Heishi? We don't mean to be nosy, so you don't have to tell us if you don't feel like it."

"Naw!" Otomaru shook his head, "It's fine. I don't go telling everyone about my past, but I suppose it'd be fine telling you two since you seem to really care about her. I'm satisfied with my current family too, after all."

Corrin raised a brow in suspicion, "'Current family'?"

Otomaru nodded with a smile, "You see, I grew up with a band of nomads. We travel a lot and entertain people with our music and tricks."

Azura nodded. She knew about this talent of his after seeing him play his flute once in the middle of the road. She had always wondered how he was able to play his music so well and keep a smile on his face to keep a positive look when things happen. The young man continued, "However, I wasn't born in their group. You see, I use to grow up with family much like Mozu's only more… Hoshido style, I guess? So, I had this power of mine since I was little."

"Since you were little?" Corrin said with a look of surprise.

Azura remained silent. After listening to Nanami's story, she could already assume that would also be the case for her other esper friends. Otomaru nodded, "Yeah. Well, you already know that I can communicate from distances through our minds and what I feel can make others feel the same. Well… my family tolerated it, but, well… I was more of a quiet child when I was small believe it or not. Hehe…"

"Really?!" Azura couldn't hide her surprise this time as she rarely ever seen the teenager sad since his arrival.

"Hehe…" Otomaru chuckled sheepishly as he scratched his cheek, "Yeah… I had trouble trying to talk about how I felt to anyone, but, even when I didn't, they somehow knew. So, it was alright till I grew older. I was kicked out of the house when I was still a kid."

"What?!" Corrin gasped in horror, "They'd kick their own child out? But, why?!"

"W-woah!" the young man looked to her in surprise from her outrage, "H-hold on please, Princess Corrin! There was a reason, you see. My parents couldn't handle it anymore and my abilities were still pretty much uncontrollable. They've had to live with me around them almost every day. So, if you think about it that way, it was just as hard for them as it was for me. Of course, they could've tried to think of another way, but…"

"I see…", Azura nodded, "So, I assume that this was when the band of nomads took you in, then?"

Otomaru smiled as they could also feel the atmosphere around them grew lighter, "Yeah! They took me in. The people there taught me how to play the flute and to live more independently. They were really nice and took care of me regardless of my powers. From there, I eventually learned how to live with my powers till our comrades found me and brought me to where the other espers are. It was pretty much how everyone else came to the group as well."

Azura looks over to Otomaru in silence before she spoke up, "You know, you're really strong, Heishi."

The esper laughed shyly, "I wouldn't say I'm that strong."

Corrin nodded, "We know. But, I agree with Azura. Of course, you've had your difficulties, but it's because of that that we can say that you're strong. For me, I've always had my siblings and friends to rely on when I really need them. Even now, my brother and I have each other, Azura, Sakura, and our friends by our side. Of course, I believe that our other siblings would come to an understanding as well, if we talk to them."

Azura nodded, "That's right. Even I knew of the actual situation with the war. However, I didn't want to go against the family I have in Hoshido to stop what is really going on. It's only because that I have Kamui and Corrin here that I've finally decided to start acting."

"Huh. Now that you put it that way, I guess it's true…" Otomaru hummed to himself, "I'm going to guess that this thing you're talking about is something at this 'Bottomless Canyon'?"

Without waiting for an answer, he shrugged and continued, "Anyway, even if I told you my backstory, it has nothing to do with the others, but what I can say is that some might have a harder story than mine."

Azura nodded in agreement with a frown, "I get your point there."

Azura looks up to the esper in surprise when he looked at here with eyes wide and he asked, "Wait, did Nanami tell you her story, then?"

Before she could reply, the man sighed, "Aw man. And here I was hoping I'd be the only one who knew. Well, it's not like I plan on telling anyone any way."

"Wait!" Azura interrupted, "She didn't tell me everything, just a bit of it. But, I promised not to tell any one about it, so…"

As she stood there nervously, Corrin nodded her head without a second thought and smiled, "It's fine Azura. We won't try to get into everyone's business. I'm just glad that she has you and Heishi to confide one another. I was getting really worried about her too because she always looked like she'd rather be alone than to be with you or Ron. The two of you are friends, after all. But, what about Sakuya?"

"Ah…" Otomaru answered, "Sakuya was with a different team than us on the ship. Nanami, Ron, and I have always been on the same team with another guy, but I was told that he came to the ship with a friend. He and a friend of ours are also on the same team, but it seems like they never got along well. Of course, we don't know him as much, but it should be alright once we find his friend. He seems to be more worried about where she is instead of where we are."

Corrin frowned with concern, "Perhaps we can help. Can you tell us more about his friend of his?"

Otomaru nodded, "Sure. She's rather well-known by people as a guardian because she has the abilities to create these cool looking barriers. It's really well known and she set one up around our ship to protect us from any bad guys."

"Barriers?" Azura looked in surprise, "She can put up barriers too?"

Otomaru laughed, "Well, don't get too surprise. That's not even the last of it! I heard from Mozu that the ruler of Hoshido was former Queen Mikoto, right?"

"Yes…" Corrin nodded before she suddenly stopped herself with narrowed eyes, "Wait… Don't tell me-"

Otomaru nodded with a bright, mischievous grin, "You guess it! Our comrade's name is also Mikoto! Her full name is Mikoto Kuga. I heard from our friend that she and Sakuya are childhood friends, so they're really close. He also said that Sakuya could get really scary if someone jokes around with her. I don't know about that, but there was another time when she went missing and then came back with a guy. You should've seen his face. He still smiled, sure, but his eyes certainly wasn't."

He suddenly shuddered before his eyes immediately went wide with shock and they could feel a small sense of dread in them, "Uh… Don't tell Sakuya I told you guys that, would ya? Now that I think about it, he'd probably wouldn't be too happy if I brought that back up! Ahh! What have I done?!"

Corrin smiled nervously as she tried to calm him down, "I-It's fine, Heishi. We promise we won't tell Sakuya, so don't worry, okay?"

Heishi suddenly turned to the silver hair princess, "Really?"

Azura nodded with a small grin, "Of course, though please do be careful of what you tell others from now on."

"Of course!" Otomaru said cheerfully with a renew smile before he suddenly stopped, "Oh, wait. I was suppose to help Nanami and Lilith clean the halls today! I'm sorry, Princess Corrin, Princess Azura. I got some work to do! I'll see you later, then!"

As he shouted, he was already hurrying in the direction back to the castle before disappearing behind the Hoshidan weaponary shop that Kamui had made with the dragon veins a few days prior. Once gone, Azura suggested that the two head to the lake while the other soldiers prepare for the departure out of the realm. Once there, the topic returned to the information that Heishi provided them with.

"I didn't think that having such powers would also lead to so much conflicts." Corrin spoke with a grimace, "I guess no matter how powerful an ability is, there is always something bad that comes with having them. Have Nanami told you what her ability is, Azura?"

The blue hair songstress shook her head with a frown, "No. I can only say that even she had her own fair share of troubles. It looks like that, even though they have abilities that wouldn't affect their mental or physical state, it have greatly affected their social skills with other people."

Corrin nodded in agreement, "Yes. We can clearly see that going on right now. Of course, they're better now than they were before they joined us, but they still like to keep their distance from us. So, perhaps we should let them keep it that way for them till they feel comfortable enough to come talk to us like Nanami. She's certainly improved since we brought her with us. At least, she's been coming to see you or Lilith when she has a problem she can't handle."

Azura agreed as she continued, "It would be best if we brought them to Izumo as soon as possible or get them all back to their homeland before the state of war Hoshido and Nohr are in begins to take a toll on them too. Right now, it looks like most of them, aside from Ron and Sakuya, are only children who have yet to experience war at its fullest. I think we should take this chance and get them to a safer place in Izumo. It's the only place untouched by the war. Perhaps it would give us time to find them a path to take them to the nearest port and get them out of this continent. The only problem is we don't know where Japan is."

Princess Corrin stood there slightly stunned by the sudden commitment her friend suddenly have in helping the espers. She wore a small smile on her face seeing this. Perhaps having Nanami and her friends really did help them a bit. Her close friend, Azura, who rarely spoke or acted on her own, is finally deciding something for herself. Seeing this, Corrin could only feel more motivated in helping her as they conversed of the possible ways to help find a path to send the four back before Kamui and Sakura found them for their march to the Wind Tribe.

It's been a while since the twins and the soldiers have left for the Wind Tribe. As Nanami finished cleaning the halls of the castle with Lilith, Nijou and Otomaru. The silver hair esper was given a few pairs of clothing they were able to find from the nearest village they could find during an errand to get more medicine supplies. She hurried over to Nijou, "Is that everything that needs to be cleaned for today?"

The silver hair man wearing a pale gray and white shirt with long black pants and a pair of the same brown boots they were given from their countries' government nodded. Nijou replied with a soft smile, "Yes, Shiranui. Now all that is left is to clean the Mess Hall and make sure that there are enough basic medical supplies in the clinic for this week."

Lilith nodded, "Of course, we also need to make sure that there is enough food in the pantry too. Nanami, can you take care of that for us? Sakuya, can you go check on the supplies? The two of you just need to make sure that we have enough to last for about a week at most. Otomaru and I will go clean the Mess Hall."

"Roger!" Otomaru called out with a bright smile as he played around with a salute.

Nanami and the group immediately dispersed to check on their respective area. As she and Otomaru walked into the Mess Hall with Lilith, she immediately went to go look for the pantry while her friend headed for the cleaning equipment and set about cleaning. It took a while before she finally found where the pantry was and began to take out the pencil and paper she was given as she started to take note of the amount of food they have along with the amount of people in the castle. She still didn't know everyone well, beside her own comrades, but, after some thoughts, she finally finished taking note of everything in the food storage. By the time she finished, she glanced down on to her notes as she recall her other teammate, who continue to be missing. If he was here, he'd have finished this along with knowing whether there was enough food for them or not. Speaking of which, she had heard that Mozu was thinking of starting a new field in the Astral Realm. Perhaps, this will help them with the food situation. After much thought, she was about to leave when she noticed that the sun was already starting to set from the windows. She certainly hadn't realized that she had spent that much time doing the chores around the castle ground with the others. She decided to return to the two with her paper in hand. Since her arrival in this country, things have been going to well and bad for her and her friends. This continent is apparently in the state of war and have only worsened since Princess Sakura's mother, the former Queen, died protecting her twin children from an assassination. Since then, she have joined Prince Kamui and his group. Luckily, they've already found both Muroboshi and Otomaru, including her friend's teammate. However, as they're in a continent of war, she and her friends are unable to leave in search of their other comrades while under the constant protection of the prince and his small army. Will they truly be able to find the others like this? As she thought this, anxiety welled up as she thought about her other teammate. He's still suffering from his abilities too…

"Here's the amount of food that was found in both the pantry and the storage." Nanami told the little dragon as she handed her the list.

Around the same time, Nijou came in with a paper in hand and gave it to Lilith with a smile, "I'm back. Here's the list of supplies we currently have. I'd like to say that we still have a while before we have to get more, but I'm not too sure about that since everyone is always on the move and training."

Lilith nodded and thanked the two of them as she glanced over the two list. It wasn't long before she smiled, "It looks like we could probably last a while before we have to send someone on an errand again."

Not long after she said this, she quickly lifted her head with a jolt and a bright smile, "Oh! Lord Kamui and Lady Corrin is calling! I think they're done with their march through the Wind Tribe!"

She immediately handed the lists to Nijou and instructed for Nanami and Otomaru to put away the cleaning supplies before leaving to bring back the twins and their small army. However, not long after doing so, they heard Felicia's voice call out, "Agh. M-my apologies, my eyes are still blinded."

There was a very familiar laugh, "Oh, I'm sorry. I must be rather-"

"I'm pretty sure she actually blinded by the sand."

A child-like voice spoke up much to their surprise as Nanami immediately glanced over to Nijou, who, much to their expectation, smiled with a cold presence around him, "Well, it would seem that's another person found."

Nanami and Otomaru looked to one another with a frown as the brown hair main grimaced with a sigh, "Here we go again… Ah… Where's Mikoto when you need her? Do you think Sakuya will just ignore him like he did last time when Kuga wasn't around?"

As Sakuya have already made his way out of the building, Nanami frowned, but replied, "It's seems very likely."

As they walked out, there stood a tall man with black medium length hair tied into a bun in the back with a red pearl hair pin. He has hazel brown eyes and wore similar clothing as Muroboshi did the day they found him down to the cape like coat only with a loose black ribbon rather than a tie and the same untucked shirt. Besides him stood a young boy with messy short brown hair and blue eyes. He wore a strange white and blue outline jacket, purple and black outline shirt, navy blue short with suspenders hanging from the sides, visibly black socks, and black shoes with blue laces.

"Hey!" Otomaru called out as they walked over to them, "Itsuki! I'm glad to see you're all right!"

The man turned and his eyes widen in surprise, "Heishi? Nanami? Even Sakuya? You're here too?"

Behind him, a boy, who looked to be around Nanami's age walked out from behind the man, "Do you know them, Itsuki? Sorata?"

The boy turned around to the teenage boy with rusty brown hair in strange blue and brown clothing, "Yeah. These are friends, whom we traveled with. I didn't think we'd find them here though."

"Yeah. Well…" Otomaru spoke up, "I was found by some villagers before we were saved from a horde of those monsters that they call faceless. Nanami and Ron was already found by the royal family here from the start. We just found Sakuya two days ago too. We just decided to come along so we can find everyone and a way back-"

"Sorry, Heishi." Felicia spoke up after finally getting the sand out of her eyes, "But, Lady Corrin asked for me to escort them to their rooms. I-If you like, you can come along."

"Well, all right!" Heishi said with a bright smile and turned to Nanami, "I'll go explain everything to Itsuki."

The girl glanced over to Sakuya, "We should go see Lilith."

Sakuya nodded, "I wonder if Princess Azura would be on cooking duty tonight as well? Yesterday's meal was quite interesting."

Hearing this, Nanami tilted her head as she recall it only being some rice balls. She wondered if it was any different for Sakuya. Regardless, the two left Otomaru's group and headed straight for Lilith's shrine. Upon entering, they had nearly ran into the prince.

"Woah!" Kamui looked up in surprise, "Oh, I'm sorry about that! Almost bumped into the two of you. Are you here to see Lilith, Sakuya, Nanami?"

Sakuya nodded with a smile, "It's fine, Prince Kamui. We are here to make certain that today's chores were complete."

"I see." Kamui smiled as well, "Actually, if you don't mind… No, nevermind. Lilith should be inside right now. I've just given her an offering of some fruits the people in the Wind Tribe offered us."

"Ah, I recall there being a new person, who came with a couple acquaintances of ours." Sakuya spoke with a curt nod.

"Really?" Kamui said with eyes wide open, "I didn't realize that we've found more friends of yours. Was it that young boy and the man call Itsuki?"

Nanami nodded, "Yes. Thank you for finding them."

Kamui grinned with relief, "Well, it's more like they wanted to join us, instead. Also, I believe the new soldier you're speaking of must be Hayato. I believe he's the son of the Wind Tribe's chief… When we were about to leave, he just rushed out and told us that he wanted to come with us. Itsuki and Sorata, I believe, decided to follow him. Probably, they were worried about him. From our battle with him, he seems a bit… overconfident, let's say. However, he certainly is as strong as he says, but I recall my older siblings telling me that having too much confidence could lead to some problems…"

After some thought, Nanami sighed, "It's probably the chief who asked them to follow him, then."

Sakuya nodded, "We've never experience war in a continent as influential as this before. I wouldn't be surprised if they got too close to Hayato than they're allow to."

"Allow to?" Kamui echoed silently to himself.

"Sakuya? Nanami? Is that you?"

Out of the blue a small fish-like figure poke out from behind Kamui's shoulder, "Oh! It is you two! I apologize! I forgot I left the three of you back in the Mess Hall."

As Nanami shook her head, Sakuya smiled softly, "It's fine, Miss Lilith. We understand you have a lot of work yourself."

Kamui nodded, "In that case, I'll be taking my leave now. I have a small errand to run. Don't worry. I'll bring Ron and Azura with me."

"All right." Sakuya nodded, "I'll let Sir Gunter and Felicia know."

Nanami nodded, "Have a safe trip, Prince Kamui."

After seeing Lilith, Sakuya told Nanami that he was going to go see Hana and Subaki, who may be on the training ground or the arena again. Ever since the two came, the Pegasus knight have been spending his time training in private while serving his princess, while Hana can sometimes be found either in training room or by the princess's side. It was a surprise for her when she saw that they argue just as often when the topic came to their charge. She never recalled either Gunter being like that before with either Kamui or Corrin. As she walked down the path, she thought about going to see Itsuki Kagami or Otomaru till she remembered that one had only just got here and would need the time to adjust to his surrounding while the other is probably busy telling him of everything that's happened. She wanted to sigh, but, at the same time, she didn't want anyone to see her do so this time. Ever since arriving here, she's gotten rather irritated at herself for always getting caught in whatever she was feeling. This was not what she have been taught to do. However, since Lilith have told them that there was nothing to help with now, she was left with nothing to do, but return to the castle. She could have chosen to go with Nijou, but, at the same time, he was rather hard to understand and would sometimes speak riddles that they don't understand. Perhaps, she should go to the Mess Hall and grab something to eat before seeing what else she could do. She certainly was a bit hungry and the thought of food doesn't seem that bad to her. Upon walking in, she saw that Gunter was in charge of the cooking duty tonight. She then saw Kagami and Otomaru sitting down at one of the table with the new soldier, Hayato, as she recalled. She thanked Gunter for the food before walking to the table with her tray of food.

"Oh! Nanami!" Otomaru said as he waved his hand.

She continued walking over to the empty seat by him and set the tray of food before sitting down. Hayato looked up and stared at her with narrowed eyes, "So, this is Nanami? Isn't she a bit small to be in the army?"

Kagami nearly choked on his food as Otomaru laughed, "It's all right, Hayato. She's not a soldier, after all, but she can use a kunai and shurikens. Also, aren't the two of you about the same age?"

Hayato scowled, "No! I'm certain I'm older than her."

Nanami tilted her head in confusion as she saw no reason for such a topic to be of such value, "Is there something wrong with our ages here?"

Kagami shook his head as he said with a short laugh, "It's nothing big, Nanami. Don't worry your little head over it."

"Speaking of which…" Otomaru said as he turned to Hayato, "how old are you anyway, Hayato?"

"Well, I'm fifteen." The boy responded causing Otomaru to attempt stifling back his laughter.

Kagami sighed and shook his head as he gave his friend a warning glance, "Hei… If you're going to not make him angry, then you shouldn't have asked, regardless."

"S-sorry…" Otomaru responded as he began to take deep breath.

Hayato quickly glared over to Nanami as he asked, "Well, what is your age, then?"

As Nanami finished swallowing her large leaf of cabbage, she responded curtly, "I'm sixteen."

With that, she immediately set her attention back to eating her portion of salad and soup as Hayato's eyes widen in shock before he turned them back to his own meal in silence. Seeing this, Kagami neither sighed nor spoke more about the topic with a frown as he began to speak of other things, "So, Hei, do you still have your cards with you?"

"Obviously!" the young man grinned as he took out the small box from his pocket, "If you want, we can play another game. It's been a while since we last played. I've been practicing really hard since arriving on this land, so you better be prepared! This time, I'm going to win!"

"Right." Kagami said with a chuckle and a small smile, "That's if you pull the right card this time."

Nanami frowned. She really do enjoy the card game, but she knew that even now they still have work to do and turned to Otomaru, "Otomaru, we still have to take care of some chores later."

"Aww…" the man pouted like a child before stuffing his face with the piece of chicken into his mouth.

As they said this, Hayato remained silently eating his meal. Seeing this, she was unsure if the boy was even slightly curious of he game as she once was when she first heard of it. She had learned of the game not long after meeting Otomaru and Kagami on the ship. Since then, they've played it whenever they had the time. Aside from shooting shurikens, it was one of the games she enjoyed the most. Suddenly, Otomaru brought up a question she'd been meaning to ask the man, "Hey, Itsuki. Where were you and Sorata after we all got separated?"

The man sighed, "Well… I'm not too sure myself. The Wind tribe chief and Hayato was the one who found me and the kid. We just found ourselves in the clinic."

Finally, the boy looked up after he finished nibbling away his salad, "There was a report of a strange man and a child found at the bottom of the steps to our tribe. I was suspicious after hearing what Sorata said, but the chieftain believed in what they said."

Kagami sighed, "Right. Then, you spoke about us proving ourselves in battle."

Nanami looked up in surprise, "Itsuki, you can fight?"

He turned to her with a grimace, "Of course not, Nanami. I'm not trained to be a ninja like you."

Hayato frowned, "Even if you say that, the way you're dressed is already very suspicious and reports said that you suddenly appeared from the sky in a ball of light."

"In a ball of light?" Nanami repeated with narrowed eyes.

Hayato nodded, "Yeah, the men said that a ball of light was seen and the two just dropped out of the sky when it vanished. Itsuki told me that all you friends ha- Ow!"

Kagami smiled nervously as he interrupted, "Well, that's what happened. We were fortunate enough that the chieftain agreed to take us in till we adjusted enough to leave. That was till that prince and princess came by. So, what happened to the two of you?"

Otomaru smiled, "Well, I fell from the sky too and landed in the forest, or was it a plain…? Anyway, I almost ran into a boar after that! It was so fast! Mozu and the villagers she was living with saved me and took me in! They were all really nice! But then, those monsters came. Mozu and I escaped from those things and I tried to warn the whole village. We were about to get eaten alive by those things if Prince Kamui and Princess Azura hadn't came by!"

Hearing this, Kagami grimaced, "Wow… That's sounds rough. I've seen those things a couple times. Sorata kept thinking of taking a closer look at it too. He'd be dead if we weren't there to stop him from getting any closer. What about you, Nanami?"

She looked up from her empty plate and bowl, "I woke up in gardens of Shirasagi castle."

Suddenly, Hayato, who had been eating his soup, nearly chocked as he spoke, "W-what?!"

Kagami and Otomaru gave him a look of confusion as Hayato began to explain, "Shirasagi castle is home to Hoshido's royal family. It's where Princess Sakura and Princess Azura live, and you woke up behind the castle walls?!"

Hearing this, the men's eyes widen in shock as Otomaru gasped, "What?!"

Kagami gave her a worried glance, "Did anything bad happen after you found yourself there?"

"You didn't get caught in there, right?" Otomaru added with a look of concern, "I mean, you wouldn't be here if you had, right?"

"I was found by two ninjas before I escaped." Nanami said carefully as she slowly began to recall the incident, "Then, a red samurai found me. He told them to stop chasing after me before I jumped over the wall."

There was a cold feeling around the room before Hayato muttered, "You were chased by ninjas and a red samurai found you?"

"And you jumped?" Otomaru added silently equally stunned.

To her confusion, Kagami sighed as he chuckled weakly after the shocked silence, "Well, it would seem that Nanami here have the most adventurous experience awakening than anyone of us here. So, how did you join this army?"

Nanami tilted her head as she tried to recall the past events, "Well, Princess Azura and Princess Sakura found me after I injured my shoulder from jumping off the wall. They helped heal my injury and told me all that they could. They helped me a lot, even when they weren't sure where Japan was."

She paused as she thought of the attack that next day, "I didn't know they were of the royal family till I saw them at the town square where the queen was going to give some kind of speech about Prince Kamui and Princess Corrin. I saw the queen shot by the creepy sword Prince Kamui brought with him, but I didn't see what happened after."

Hayato's eyes widen in surprise as he exclaimed, "You were there during the assassination?! Wh-what happened?"

Nanami frowned before she nodded, "I didn't get a good view, but I saw that Prince Kamui had brought this creepy looking sword on him. During the speech, the sword flew out of his belt and into the crowd. I didn't see what happened, but a lot of people collapsed and I was pushed aside. Then, I saw probably broke parts of the sword shot out to Prince Kamui and Princess Corrin, but their mother went in and got hit instead."

She thought carefully as she continued, "I didn't see what happened after clearly, but everyone started running and I ran with them. I was going to return when I remembered that Princess Sakura and Princess Azura was still in the two square, but then I saw the enemy army and that red samurai was already there with the Hoshidan troops. I remember Princess Sakura was already there with her other siblings, but Prince Kamui and Princess Corrin looked like they were trying to talk to both sides."

Kagami sighed, "Well, with the way things are right now, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that the negotiations failed. It's a good thing that they're alive though."

Nanami nodded, "Princess Azura found me when she was looking for them and I was brought along. I didn't take part in the battle, but they found Muroboshi during the battle."

Hayato frowned, "I always thought that it was strange why Prince Kamui and Princess Corrin were exiled, since they don't seem to be bad people. That's what the chieftain felt during our battle. Well, it doesn't matter that much, since they were innocent from the beginning anyway. But, I wonder who was the assassin that took advantage of Prince Kamui's sword?"

Nanami shook her head, "I don't know. Everyone was running away screaming. I didn't get to see who it was too."

"If I had to guess, it may have been an assassin sent by King Garon, himself."

They all turn around and saw the experienced veteran walking over to them while wiping his hands with a clean cloth, "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help overhearing your conversation seeing that we're the only ones here."

Hayato raised a brow, "King Garon of Nohr? That sounds very likely, but how did you know that?"

As he placed the wet cloth back to its original spot, Gunter explained, "Because that blade was personally given by King Garon back in the castle. I was there when milord was given the sword and ordered to execute the Hoshidan prisoners, one which Lord Kamui and Lady Corrin refused to follow through. If the sword was used to assassinate Hoshido's queen, then I can assume that King Garon would probably be the one behind it."

He sighed, "To think, that's what the purpose of the blade was for… He must have known that they would be brought back to Hoshido. Regardless, Lord Kamui and Lady Corrin are alive. Though nothing can be done to save the queen, it would be best for us to assist them in stopping the war from continuing as they wish."

Kagami frowned, "And do you think it's possible after the leader of a country have been assassinated by the enemy ruler?"

Gunter nodded, "I believe that, if it were milord and milady, it's would be possible. They were able to convince both Princess Sakura of Hoshido and the Wind Tribe's chieftain. However, there are still things they must learn as leaders and a road ahead of them."

Hayato nodded as he sighed, "Somehow, I can believe that. Honestly, they didn't seem bad when we fought them."

Kagami nodded with a casual smile, "Well, if that's what you guys think, then there's nothing much I can argue against. Not to mention, this would be our first time seeing a war as long as this come to an end. It's a good thing we saw Ron on the field when we did, otherwise we'd never have met up with you guys. Who'd have thought the guy would end up using a bow and arrows? Not to mention, taking part in battle. How did he get to this land anyway?"

Hearing this, Otomaru turned to Nanami, who answered bluntly, "I don't know a lot. All he told me was that he found himself here and, he saved Princess Azura from an enemy fire. You're going to have to ask him about the rest…"

With that, she got up and carried her tray over to the bin of dirty dishes and utensils as she could hear the disappointment from Otomaru at the table.

After a few more minutes of catching on with Kagami, she and Otomaru began to clean the dishes and tables when they learnt that everyone had already ate that evening. With the amount of new people coming in, there was an increasing number of dishes that was needed to be washed. At this rate, they'll need help cleaning the Mess Hall. Despite all the additional effort, Nanami was relieved that she was no longer alone and away from her comrades. People she was much more familiar with. When they were done, she and Otomaru went their separate way as soon as they made it back to the castle. She was about to enter the building when she saw that Muroboshi had just entered the building as well. He was unusually silent after walking past her. Nanami was unsure whether the man was either tired from today's training or just sleepy, but she felt that something was off. After some thoughts, she nodded and hurried to the lake side where she had spent time with Princess Azura. Since she didn't have the money to purchase anything nor can she use the food in the pantry with permission, she decided to go search for the berries and fruits that Lilith had gone picking with her a couple days ago. It took awhile in the dark with only a lamp in hand, but she soon found what she was looking for. A peach tree amongst the numerous blooming Sakura trees. Glad that no one was around, she quickly climbed the tree trunk and onto one of the branches. Not wanting for their to be an accident, she had placed her small lamp on a flat rock on the ground beforehand. The light from the candle barely revealed the peaches hanging from the branch she was on. Carefully, she crept over to one of the peaches. It wasn't too hard as she had done this before as well. It wasn't long before she had about three or four in her arm before she got ready to climb back down. She wasn't sure if this would help him and, for once, she wanted to do something as Muroboshi seemed to be working harder than he usually had back on the ship. As she reached the base of the branch, she suddenly saw a shadow move from the corner of her eye. Instinctively, the girl jumped down and grabbed the lamp before hurry behind the tree as she blew the candle out being very careful not to leave any traces of herself lying out in the open. She made sure that the fruit and lantern she was holding would not be moved or dropped as she kept an ear out for any footsteps. After a while, she heard nothing, but the wind blowing between the trees. It wasn't long before she suddenly heard a noise. It was faint, but she could distinctly tell that it was footsteps as it drew closer to the area. She then recalled all the training she went through and came with a conclusion. She remained still unsure of what the person was doing here in this place. Then, the footsteps came to a halt right in front of her tree. Suddenly, she heard another pair of footsteps running over to the area.

"K-"

The voice suddenly stopped as shuffling was heard. She recognized the newcomer's voice. It was Princess Corrin. She wondered what she was doing here but remained quiet. Perhaps she would be able to slip out of the area unnoticed? Not long after doing so, she heard a sigh and claps that followed so after, "Haha… I didn't think you would hide yourself that well. That's enough! You can come out now, Nanami!"

With that, she silently let out a sigh of relief before immediately poking her head out from behind the tree trunk only to witness the princess jump and a green ninja chuckling with eyes slightly wide, "Well, that's certainly a surprise. Who ever trained you must have been really talented, if you can hide behind my back."

As she took some steps out from behind the tree, Nanami gave the man a curt nod. Corrin took a step closer to her with a look of astonishment, "Nanami? What are you doing out here at this time of night? And… are those peaches? Well, we are under a peach tree…"

Nanami nodded once more, "I wanted to give a friend some peaches since they seem a bit more tired today than usual."

"I see." Corrin nodded with a smile, "So that's what you were doing out here. However, it's rather dark right now. Next time can you wait till it's light out again before deciding to do something like this, Nanami? If you got attacked or hurt, no one would be able to find you here till morning."

Nanami nodded, "I get it."

Corrin smiled, then turned to the green ninja, "Did you come out here because you saw her coming here, Kaze?"

Curious as well, Nanami glanced over to the ninja as he grinned, "That was what I planned, Lady Corrin. But, I admit that halfway through I got curious after hearing the stories of the child's strengths from her friends and Lady Azura. So, I decided to do a simple test to see how skilled she is. I apologize if it alarmed you, Nanami."

"It's fine." the girl replied stoically, "I thought that you were testing my abilities."

"Oh?" Kaze stared at the girl with a look of surprise.

She continued, "It was just that I thought it would be your footsteps because it was a bit faint, but it also sounded unusually loud like you purposely wanted me to hear it."

"Really?" Corrin said with wide eyes.

Kaze chuckled with a wide smile, "Well, this is a surprise. I used to do this with other children around your age as well. None of them could get it down this well before. Can you tell me who was the one who trained you so well?"

She froze and hesitated, much to their confusion, before she answered, "My Father was the one who trained me."

Hearing this, Kaze nodded, "I see. He must have done really well if you can surprise another ninja."

Corrin giggled with a nod as she adds, "Especially one who serves the royal family. Now, how about you go back to the castle before it gets late?"

Nanami nodded and bid the two good night before hurrying back to the castle with peaches and unlit lantern in hand. As they watch the girl leave, Corrin had a look of concern as she spoke, "She got even more nervous… Could something have happened to her and her family in the past? Heishi said that almost everyone of their friends have some sort of a background…"

Kaze gave her a look of surprise, "Heishi said that? Then, have we spoke of something that offended her?"

Corrin frowned and shook her head, "I don't know. I want to ask Azura since she and Nanami are closer than the rest of us and she knows a bit of her past, but she have promised her that she wouldn't tell anyone of it… Perhaps we should give her time before she feels ready to open up to us."

"That may be for the best, milady." Kaze said with a nod before turning to her, "By the way, Lady Corrin, was there something you need?"

---

When Mikoto woke up the next morning, she felt something was off in the air and opened her window. A cold breeze blew into the room causing her to shudder and shut it immediately, "Brrr. It's so cold! It wasn't this bad last night. I should probably dress a little warmer today…"

As she put on her clothes of a pink and white kimono and tied her twin white ribbons in her hair, her thoughts soon went to the number of patients that arrived the past two days. She frowned, "I'm going to guess that today is going to be even more busy with the days getting colder like this… I hope we have enough medicine for them."

Not long after having breakfast with the healer and getting to her station, she immediately began checking over the amount of medicine available in the shelves. Suddenly, she heard rapid knocks on the entrance doors. She was startled and glanced over to it as voices began to cry out, "Hideki?! Kuga?! Are you in there?"

"You have to open up! It's us, Oboro and Hinata!"

Mikoto glance over to the back entrance and saw Hideki glancing over to her with a look of concern before he nodded. Mikoto hurried to the door and opened it revealing the two retainers battered as they tried to catch their breath. Stunned by their appearance, her eyes widen in surprise as she gasped, "Wha-?! Are the two of you okay? What happened?"

As they walked in, Mikoto quickly closed the doors preventing anymore of the cold air from rushing in. Hideki frowned as he asked, "You're Prince Takumi's retainers? Is something the matter? Did Prince Takumi caught the cold as well? Or was it Archduke Izana?"

Hinata shook his head, "You don't have to worry about them, sir. Our lord and the Archduke didn't catch a col-"

"More importantly!" Oboro interrupted nodded with an ugly scowl, "You two have to go hide right now! Nohrians are heading this way as we speak. Milord and Archduke Izana have already been captured."

"What?" Mikoto gasped as she recalled the current war that was suppose to be going on outside of Izumo, "Duke Izana and Prince Takumi?"

Hinata frowned with a firm nodded, "Lord Takumi and the Archduke ordered for us to inform you two and the villagers. However…"

Oboro grimaced, "Those Nohrian scums that are already here have taken over a large portion of the town. This is one of the few places left that's still unharmed."

Hearing this, Mikoto grimaced as Hideki's eyes widen and said, "But, there are still people who are sick from the cold!"

As Hinata and Oboro looked at each other uncertain of their next move, Mikoto frowned and turned to them with a firm look, "Oboro, Hinata, can you tell me how far has the enemy took control of the town?"

Oboro grimaced in slight confusion, "At least about two to three blocks from here. What are you planning to do, Kuga?"

Mikoto nodded with a determined expression, "Something I most likely should have done a couple days ago…"

"Mikoto?" Hideki looked to her with a look of concern.

She smiled and nodded, "I'm going to try and use my abilities to stop the enemies from approaching any further."

Hinata's eyes widen in surprise, "You can really do that?"

Mikoto nodded, "It'll take some concentration, but I should be able to stop them from coming, though I've never experienced an attack from a mage before… I'll do what I can at least. At the same time, can the two of you make sure that the people doesn't leave the area?"

Oboro frowned with suspicion before she nodded, "All right. But are you sure that you can fight?"

With a grimace, Mikoto frowned, "No. My ability is not an offensive one, so it can't harm others. I can only stop them from coming any further. Hideki, could you stay indoors?"

Hideki frowned, "But, you can get hurt or even killed if the Nohrians get their hands on you!"

Mikoto shook her head as she spoke reassured, "I promise I'll be fine. I won't be taking part in the battle myself."

"And we'll make sure the enemy doesn't even come close to touching her, sir!" Hinata added with a confident smile as he pounded his chest with one hand, "You can trust on us!"

Though hesitant, Hideki finally nodded, "All right, then… You be careful out there, Kuga."

Mikoto nodded, "Yes, sir."

She then grabbed her coat and hurried outside with the two soldiers as she put on her coat. Once she stepped outside, she froze. Much to her surprise, there was snow lying in the corners of the homes and buildings! With eyes wide, she gasped astonished, "Snow? But, it's still in the middle of Spring!"

Oboro scowled, "Yeah. And it all because of that Nohrian ice mage."

"An Ice mage?" she repeated in surprise before she frowned, "So that's why the area has been getting colder recently."

"Yeah…" Hinata nodded and turned to Oboro, "Let's hurry and tell the people around here to stay inside."

Immediately, the three departed to the nearest house. Slowly, they worked from inside the area to the borders where the Nohrians have supposedly nearly reached. They finally came to a stop as Hinata turned to Mikoto with a sigh, "Well… That's everyone. What now, Kuga?"

Mikoto looked around and nodded, "I've already seen the area clearly, so I'll start using my powers and form a barrier around the area. It'll take some time to stabilize it though."

Stunned, Oboro's eyes widen as her colleague exclaimed in surprise, "You can really do that? Our former queen Mikoto was also able to-"

He was stopped when a fist hit him in the back of his head.

"You idiot! Just shut up, so she can put up the barrier. You're going to make the enemies find us!" Oboro hissed before she turned to Mikoto and nodded.

Mikoto nodded back and began to concentrate with her hands raised out in front of her. As she focused, a familiar power surged through her as she began to visualize the entire town in her head. Much to their surprised, her body began to glow and rings of light shot out of her and white orbs began to orbit around her as it followed along the rings. Suddenly, a white cube surrounded by the same rings formed in her hands. It wasn't long before she could feel her strength begin to disperse around her and a pentagon shape appeared before her. As it ticked like a clock, strange, clear pentagon shapes began to form around them as it went came down. Once it hit the ground before them, the web and so did the light from her body disappeared like it never happened as she slowly began to relax her shoulders. In that moment, she could also feel the air around them warm up a bit under the sun. As she turned, she was so met with dumbfounded looks as Hinata spoke with eyes almost sparkling in front of her.

"That was so cool!" Hinata exclaimed, "How did you do that?!"

Mikoto replied bluntly, "I just focused on how big the barrier needs to be to protect the area that needs the protection."

Then, she frowned, "However, I would need to make sure not to over exert myself to maintain the barrier, especially when it gets attacked. I don't know how well it would go against the mages of your world, but the best it can do is stop physical attacks or threats from passing through."

Oboro nodded, "Then, would it hold up for another day or two?"

Mikoto frowned as she thought carefully. Since she wasn't in their world, she can't feel the barrier around the ship anymore. That would mean that she can use a bit more strength to keep this one up. Not to mention, her friend have decided not to attack them anymore and was willing to follow them on their journey. However, she'll still need to keep up her mental strength to make sure that the barrier could remain standing strong.

"I can," Mikoto replied with a nod, "but I'll need to make sure I have enough mental stamina to keep the barrier up. I don't know how your queen was able to keep her barrier up for so long, but I just don't have such same amount of energy as she did. Of course, I'll continue doing my best, but the best course of action is to evacuate the entire town while the barrier is still up. The people from inside can go in and out of the barrier, of course. However, with the people still suffering from the cold…"

The two retainers nodded as they knew what she was getting at. After much thought, Oboro spoke up, "Then, we will first go and save Prince Takumi and the Archduke. You stay with Hideki and protect this town. Don't try to overexert yourself if it means lowering the barrier."

Hinata nodded with a smile, "We'll take you back to his clinic. Don't worry. We'll make it back with Prince Takumi and the Archduke safe and sound!"

Mikoto nodded before she followed the two back to the clinic where the old healer was waiting. The man was relieved that the girl has made it safely back to the building unharmed before being informed of the situation. Once the two left, Hideki sighed in relief as he brushed his beard, "Ah… I hope they could save the archduke in time."

Mikoto gave the elder a look of confusion as he explained, "The Archduke has the ability to speak with the gods indirectly. He had told me of his most recent one just yesterday of someone coming bring winter to a stop. I hope the person could arrive as soon as possible…"

Mikoto's eyes widen in surprise as she recalled the snow piled up outside. Suddenly, she felt something push back against her. She grimaced before mentally strengthening herself. Seeing this, Hideki looked to her in surprise as he frowned, "Have they come?"

Mikoto looked hesitantly to the man before she nodded, "Yes, sir. They're attacking the barrier as we speak. However, they won't be able to get through as easily."

The man thought for a bit before he nodded, "Yes, but it would also sap at your mental strength… If we're to weaken their attacks, we'll need someone to fight them back. If those two make it back with the Hoshidan prince and the Archduke, we may have a chance against the Nohrian's attacks. However, we must hold out till they make it back. For now, I'll go prepare some tea. We must remain calm during these situations."

Hearing this, Mikoto bit the bottom of her lip in frustration while Hideki left, but nodded as she understood that she couldn't be of anymore help than this. Silently, she whispered to herself as an image came to her mind, "If only Natsuhiko was here right now…"

---

YueTian: I'm finally done! I've had so many writer's block on my other story and what was going on at home. I'm so glad I'm finally done! All that's left now is to take a look at my grades… *shudder* man, I really hate that. Even in college, it's even more terrifying than my High school years (obviously). Well, I'm sorry I can't talk to all of you more. I still need to finish typing my other story, FE Awakening With Blossoms (a crossover between CardCaptor Sakura (Not clear) and Fire Emblem Awakening). So, I need to get straight to that. Also, there's a poll going on for that story on what type of unit should little female Morgan become. It's located at my profile page with the button "Vote Now" at the top. You can only vote once and I think anyone is allowed to vote. I don't know. This is my first successful one so far. Also, I'll be very busy during this spring Quarter with a tight schedule and I may not be able to update as often as I wish I could, but I'll try my best to work on my stories to the best of my abilities. However, reality must come first. Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter!