To Stop Time
"Nanami?" Ryoma raised a brow.
The girl looked to them in confusion, "Who…"
"They're people my father took in." the boy said with a frown, "My name is Akito Ichinose. My father is this village's chief. And? What about you? Are you traveling here?"
"Ichinose…" Hinoka frowned in confusion.
"I'm Nanami Shiranui." The girl replied, "Father and I came here on an errand…"
"Huh…" Akito said in confusion, "What kind of-"
"Big Brother?"
They looked back and saw the little Senri before them without a tatoo. Elise smiled, "Oh! It's Senri!"
As she reached over to pet his head, Akito jumped before him, "Hey, don't touch him!"
Her eyes widen in surprise as did Akito's. The brother grimaced, "S… Ah, forget it!"
As he moved aside, Senri strained a smile, "My name is Senri Ichinose and this is my brother, Akito."
"Nice to meet ya!" Elise smiled, "I'm Elise! And this Is my best friend Effie!"
AS the retainer bowed, Senri looked to her in awe, "Wow… Is that armor?"
"Yes." Effie smiled in response.
Akito looked to him, "About the work…"
Senri shook his head, "I decided to take a break today. Sorry…"
Akito shook his head, "It's not your fault. I should've tried harder to protect you. Ah…"
Akito looked to Nanami with a smile, "If you want, how about we-"
"Nanami!"
At the call, the girl looked to as they saw a man in slightly dark clothing and a hat on his head. The girl looked back to them, "Sorry, it's my father."
As the children bid each other farewell, Azura looked to the four, "I'll follow Nanami, then."
Ryoma nodded, "Be careful, Azura. Doing all of this in your condition isn't good."
Azura nodded, "I'm aware. But, I'll be fine. As long as the child in my physical body is all right."
Hinoka looked to Kaze, "Keep Azura safe, Kaze. Aside from physical condition, I'm more worried about the mental condition."
"Of course, milady." The ninja bowed.
As the two left the group, they looked back to see that the boys had already left.
"Huh?" Hinoka frowned in confusion, "Where did they go now?"
"They seemed to have gone back to the house." Effie noted with a frown, "What's that?!"
Ryoma frowned as he also noticed the flicker of a dark shadow, "Is that it… We need to get back to the house!"
After leaving the siblings, the scenery changed once more, Azura looked around in shock, "This…"
"It has to be what Nyx had warned us prior." Kaze noted as he grabbed hold of the princess steadily, "Please be careful, Lady Azura."
Azura nodded. They now found themselves in a dark closet with the door slightly ajar. Kaze gestured a sign of silence as he peaked out of it where voices began to flow in.
"You just need to erase the older brother from Senri's memories."
Azura's eyes widen as she heard the words and looked to Kaze who quietly stared out the door. Azura soon followed quietly to see the child speaking with the man they previously saw. The child hesitantly spoke, "B-But Akito doesn't seem to be a threat, father. I don't want to erase his memori-"
A slap was heard as Azura was slightly taken aback. The child was now holding to her cheek in silence as the man shouted, "Don't let that fool you! Listen, Nanami. If this goes on any further, the village is going to die from starvation with the child's powers. You have to listen to me. Even if 'The World' wants you to use your power for them, only I know how to put your powers for good use. You can be of use too and protect many people, if you just listen to me only."
The girl looked to him with a blank look and a quiet nod. Azura clenched her fist as she desperately wanted to jump in, but logic won over her as she stayed quiet. Finally, the father patted her head, "You only need to follow my instruction and erase Senri's memories of Akito. It's the only way to help the people here."
Azura help back a gasp as she heard this. They were going to do that do a child?! But, Akito is still with them, so he's okay, right?
After some conversation, the man finally left the dim room leaving Nanami in the room. Finally, Azura took this chance and tapped on Kaze's shoulder. The retainer looked up and nodded before quietly sliding the door open. Nanami looked to them in surprise as she pulled out her kunai from her sleeve. Kaze jumped in and snatched the kunai from the child much to her bewilderment. Quickly, Kaze covered her mouth, "Shh…"
"Nanami…" Azura quietly called out to her, "Are you all right?"
As Kaze lets her go, Azura stepped in and touched the red cheek, "Does it hurt?"
The girl was quiet as the princess continued, "We're not here to stop you."
"Who… are you?" she looked to the two suspiciously.
"My apologies." Azura took a seat on the tatami mat, "My name is Azura and this is Kaze."
Nanami looked to the man in confusion, "You're a ninja…"
Kaze nodded with a small smile, "Yes…"
Azura said to the child, "Nanami… What's going on? That was your father, right? Why is he making you do all this?"
Nanami looked between the two quietly, "Because… I want to be of use and help others…"
"Of use?" Azura frowned as the words reached her ears.
The child nodded, "Father said that my power can save people from despair, sadness, pain, and sufferings. He said that he can teach me how to use my powers for good."
"Does this have something to do with erasing memories?" Kaze asked.
Nanami's eyes widen before she slowly nodded, "I… I have the power to erase people memories for as long as I can remember… Father said that if I erase Senri's memories I would save the entire village. If I don't do this, he could beat me or leave me…"
Kaze's eyes narrowed as he remained quiet.
"What about now?" Azura questioned her, "You've met the brothers. What do you think?"
Nanami thought carefully, but was quiet. Azura softly held her small hands, "Nanami, I don't think your father is wrong. You have the ability to save people from such negativity, but shouldn't you be the one to decide such matters? I don't think that your ability is what saves them, though, but something else."
After some silence, Azura saw the girl look down as she continued, "You… actually knew that for a long time, don't you?"
As the child was quiet, there was a sudden crash from behind as they looked back and saw a dark shadow coming in from the broken window. Without notice, Nanami had thrown some shurikens at the being hitting it on the shoulder as it was taken aback. Azura readied her lance as Kaze rushed forward with a kunai. The shadow lunged at him. However, being well trained, Kaze had no problem avoiding the attack, "Nanami!"
The girl had already thrown her kunai as it hit the shadow in the chest. Kaze finished it off after cutting it down from behind. As it dissipated into dust, Azura looked back to her, "Nanami, are you all right?"
The child nodded quietly, "Ye-Yeah…"
"Nanami?"
Azura looked to her, "You should hurry. We'll try to take care of this."
The child looked to them in confusion before turning around and running out the sliding door. After she had left, Kaze gone to scout the place before he eventually returned, "Lady Azura, everything is clear."
"So it only sent one enemy after her?" Azura said with a frown.
Kaze nodded, "It seems to be that way."
"What do they want from the espers, though?" Azura asked though they knew there was no answer, "We should try and look for Ryoma."
Kaze nodded. However, as they got out, the scenery changed again. Now, they found Elise and Effie with them as the young princess gasped, "Big Sis!"
"Elise!" Azura sighed in relief before she noticed that the healer had her tome out, "What happened?"
"There was this strange shadow that came after Senri just a moment ago." Elise explained with a smile, "But, Effie and I beat them up!"
"It was the same with us…" Azura frowned, "A shadow came after Nanami not too long ago…"
"Just what are these things…" Kaze quietly questioned.
Azura looked around and found themselves back in the house of a large room. The room Akito and Senri were in before…
However before the door to the garden is Senri and Nanami. Azura's eyes widen, "Nanami…"
Kaze frowned, "If Nyx is right… Whatever we say, they won't recall them…"
"Oh no…" She frowned.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Elise asked the two in question.
"You wanna hear about my big brother?" Senri said, "He's a very nice man."
"Senri…" Elise looked to him in confusion, "Akito is a great brother…"
"He's strong, cool, and he always protects me." Senri smiled as they drew closer, "He's my favorite person."
The boy sat on the porch as he hugs his legs with a soft smile. Elise's eyes widen as he continued, "I hope I can grow up to be like him."
Suddenly, Nanami was already before them as she gently placed a hand over his forehead. Light shined as particles of it drifted up to the space above. It seemed to appear with an image of a brain that they would only see in books. Azura grimaced as she already knew what was going on.
"Wh-What's happening?" Elise's eyes widen.
Kaze grimaced as Azura hesitantly answered, "She's… erasing his memories…"
"What?!" Elise's eyes grew wide as she heard this, "Is this her ability? But, why?! Senri did nothing wrong!"
"It wasn't because she wanted to." Kaze interrupted till Azura raised a hand.
"The village requested it from Nanami and her father." Azura said with a frown, "But, when she questioned it, her father forced her to do it…"
"No way…" Elise muttered in shock, "Then, Senri doesn't know he has a big brother like Akito? Wait! What about Akito?!"
"I don't know…" Azura shook her head, "But, with his response to what the village wants, I got a bad feeling about this…"
Suddenly, the light vanished as Senri slowly looked up with uncertainty, "Huh? What was I just talking about?"
Nanami was quiet when Azura noticed something across the field. She frowned, "Kaze…"
They looked up and saw the black shadow rush across the field with Ryoma and Hinoka running after them!
"Elise, let's go too!" Azura said as she hurried over to them.
"Ah! Princess Azura!" Kaze's eyes widen.
"It's fine, Kaze!" Effie shouted, "This isn't her physical body, so her condition shouldn't be affecting her!"
Kaze seemed hesitant but nodded and rushed after the two princesses.
"Why? Why did you do such a thing?!"
Hinoka had just finished dealing with the enemy and speaking with her sibling and the princess when they was about to return to the village to find Akito. But, it was already too late. The group stopped as they saw the young boy and Nanami in the woods with a horse and its reins in the girl's hands. He looked to her in bewilderment, "Did someone ask you?"
As his eyes gleamed in rage and confusion, she tried to intervene, but was stopped by her brother, "Ryoma?!"
The samurai shook his head, "This is their past. Whatever we do now won't change the present. And in the present… they seemed to have gotten over what troubles them…"
"Do you think it's okay to tamper with people's memories?!" Akito screamed at her, "You got to be kidding me!"
"Akito…" Elise whispered quietly knowing they have no control to fix what has been done.
Hinoka noticed the girl's eyes widen as she watched on quietly.
"Give it back." The boy whispered with his head down before looking to him biting back tears to Hinoka's surprise, "Bring it back… That's my dear… my dear…"
Suddenly, shouts could be heard behind as Nanami looked back in shock, "They're here…"
Hinoka looked up and saw the villagers arriving with torches and farmtools or weapons in hand. Hinoka's eyes widen, "You can't be serious…"
"They're going to hurt a little boy?!" Elise gasped in shock, "But he's just a kid!"
Hinoka frowned, "Elise, go find Senri! We'll watch over Akito and Nanami! It's our job. Right now, he's by himself!"
"Right!" Elise nodded and jumped on her steed, "Effie, let's go!"
As the two rushed off, Hinoka saw Nanami push the boy onto the horse and threw him the reins.
"W-wait! What are you-?!"
"Nanami?" Azura questioned in confusion before she nodded.
Hinoka could see it too just as the girl slapped the horse on the rear giving it a dangerous startle as it rushed forward and the two vanished into the woods. Nanami then dashed under a bush further off and hid as the villager soon came and gone from the place as they noticed the hooves. Ryoma looked to them, "Azura, be careful and watch over the child. She's going to need your help. Hinoka, let's go!"
"Right!" she nodded and jumped onto her Pegasus before flying through the woods after the boy.
However, it wasn't long before she was thrown off her mount and tumbled into the trees!
"Hinoka!"
She could hear her brother call out to her, but she couldn't see him. The familiar sound of unsheathed blade was heard as the branches around her tightened. She dared to open her eyes in time to see her Pegasus fly over to her. She grabbed hold of the mane and pulled herself back onto the saddle. She looked back and saw her brother with his divine weapon in hand, "Thanks, Ryoma!"
"Look up!"
She did and was in time to fly around some swaying branches. That's when it hit her! She grimaced as she muttered, "Damn it. Taking advantage of him in a dream of the past too?"
After moving about, the plants seem to have finally gave way leaving the siblings with a clear path to town and the familiar child on the horse. She frowned as she wondered. What would he do now?... What did he do then?
Azura rushed over to the child hiding behind the bushes and reached out to her, "Nanami! Are you all right?"
The girl looked up in shock before looking back down with shame. Azura strained a smile and slowly began, "I saw what happened earlier with Senri…"
The girl's eyes widen before she hunched over in her hiding spot. Azura continued, "But, I also saw what you did for Akito."
The child was quiet before she continued, "I… took away his precious person's memories… Now the village is trying to take his life away too…"
"But they won't make it." Azura said, "It was an impressive feat doing what you did knowing that his brother would be angry. You saved Akito's life, Nanami…"
Despite her words, the girl was quiet. Now, she wasn't sure what else she could say to assure the child. However, Kaze patted the child's back and said, "Perhaps things like this can't be fixed as easily, but don't give up, Nanami. You saved Akito, so there's still a chance in the future to make amends, even if Senri's memories won't come back."
"But, I-"
Suddenly, a bright light flashed before them as the place before them vanished. Replacing it was a dark woods with nothing, but trees about them and the scent of the wet soil below them. The two stood up and looked about in confusion. Azura was the first to speak, "Where are we?"
Kaze frowned, "A forest, but where?"
Suddenly, a black cape brushed past them before dashing out of sight behind some bushes. Azura quickly took note of the familiar long purple hair and looked to Kaze, who nodded. The two ran after it in a hurry before they found themselves before a bright light. A gust of wind hits them full on as Kaze shields Azura. When the light dimmed down enough, their eyes open as they saw the flying machine. A part of it moved and gave way as a rope fell before the child… the teen. She grabbed the rope as the machine began to move up into the sky. Kaze grimaced, "My apologies, milady!"
He grabbed Azura around her waist and pulled her along before grabbing what was left of the rope. Nanami looked down as he long hair blew through the wind, "You're…"
Regardless the rope began to move up shortly after.
Once on the small platform, they heard gasps and an overly familiar voice.
"Kaze! Azura!"
When they looked up, they were each already in the arms of the two familiar figures. Azura's eyes widen in shock, "K-Kamui?! Corrin?"
"Well now, what a surprise."
Azura looked behind to see the familiar archer and Heishi now helping Nanami up. She said in confusion, "Niles? It's been a while."
"It has." The man gave a curt bow.
"If you're here, then…" Azura looked around.
"Ron is currently steering the ship as we speak." Niles replied before his smirk became a grimace as he turned to Heishi, "Though I would think it over on who should be the one… 'piloting'…"
"Huh?" Heishi's eyes widened, "That's right! Hey, Ron! Let me pilot the ship instead!"
As the boy rushed back in, Azura noticed the espers attire being that of the similar uniform as to when they first arrived. Kamui helped Azura up with a relieved smile, "A lot has happened, Azura. Takumi and Camilla are here too."
"That's good to hear." Azura smiled before noticing Nanami entering the machine, "We've seen a lot too…"
"I know." Kamui nodded, "We only came down here when Heishi and everyone heard that Nanami was on the move. I think she was trying to get away from her pursuers."
"She was on the run?" Azura's eyes widen.
"You didn't know?" Corrin said in surprise.
"No." Azura shook her head, "After we changed times again, we found ourselves in the woods and Nanami had just ran past us. Then we followed her up to this machine. We didn't know that you'd all be here too. If not for Kaze, we wouldn't have even made it."
Kamui looked to his retainer with a smile, "I see. Thank you, Kaze."
The retainer only bowed in silence as Corrin looked to her, "But, what was she running away from, then?"
Azura thought for a bit before she asked, "I'll try asking her. Perhaps… Perhaps, she'll tell me what happened and how long it's been."
Kamui nodded and escorted his wife into the machine. They made it to where the child was sitting in a vacant seat as Kamui stood to the side and watched her interact with the esper.
"Nanami?" She called out.
The girl that had been looking about quietly before, now turned to her with a jolt and saw the princess knelt before her as she had once done in the past, "You're… from before…"
Azura nodded, "My apologies, something happened that we were taken away before you… years ago."
"Taken away?" Nanami frowned in confusion.
Azura nodded, "I'm sorry. It probably doesn't make any sense right now, does it?"
Nanami shook her head, "No…"
Azura sighed in relief, "I see. Nanami, can you tell us how long it's been since we last met?"
"Six or seven years…" she answered quietly.
Azura frowned, "That's a long time… I.. was told that you seemed like you were fleeing from something earlier. Can you tell me what it is?"
This time, she looked to the princess, "If I tell you… will you tell me about why you're always with me?"
Azura looked to Kamui hesitantly as he gave her a look of confusion. She slowly nodded, "All right…"
"Father wanted me to go on another mission."
Azura's eyes widen as she saw the spot of blood hidden under the cape.
"But, after I finished the mission, I sent him a note telling him it was completed and… ran away."
Her words came to them in a surprise as Kamui, too, noticed the blood stains on the child. Nanami continued, "I think Father had people come after me because people started attacking me after I left the city. Why are you always around me?"
Azura was silent at first. Not from uncertainty, but from shock as she saw the blood continue to spread from her side. She grimaced with feeling she didn't have the time to click to and answered, "To protect you… Kamui! She's injured!"
"I know!" the prince said as he handed her some bandages, "We have to stop the bleeding till we get back to the ship! Heishi!"
"Yeah?!"
"We have to get back fast!" Kamui said as they pressed the wound slightly with his folded cape, "She's hurt!"
"Serious?!" the voice sounded slightly panicked, "Hang on!"
"How did this happen?" Kamui asked with a grimace.
"A…" Nanami whispered quietly, "There was a shadow that jumped out from the trees and…"
"Nanami?!" Azura gasped as she saw the esper began to slump over.
Doing this, Azura finally began to noticed the faint look in the child's eyes as she grimaced. How did they not notice this sooner?! The blood… She must've been injured for a while before they found her. Kaze and Niles rushed in as they helped the child lie down on the bench. Nanami didn't resist their aid either as she was already partially conscious. Quietly, Azura prayed in her heart, just as she had at her mother's death bed, for her close friend's life. For it to at least work just this once!
After sometime, the light finally dimmed away as Leo finally found themselves before a snowy field under the bright sun.
"Finally…" Leo sighed, "I was starting to get tired of feeding the chickens all day. It's impressive that the farmer do these things each morning."
To his surprise, Xander said, "Leo, look…"
The younger prince turned to his sibling's direction and walked over suspiciously to find something that snuffed the air out of him. Compared to their home, the trees didn't just bear the weight of the snow, but the fruits and leaves as well. With the light of the sun, the snow shone like jewels before them. It was all so unusual to them…
"It's like if Nohr was just like a kingdom without the darkness…" Leo said quietly.
Xander nodded, "Ah… it does."
They suddenly heard the crunch of the snow as they look to see a slope down and below it was a familiar pink hair figure with a grey cape over her.
"Koharu…" Xander's eyes widen.
"How many years has it been now?" Leo questioned with narrow eyes, "It's like as if she's now like the one we found."
"Let's hurry." Xander nodded.
The two rushed down the slope pulling their steeds through the snow.
"Wait!" Leo called out to her.
The girl stopped and looked back in time to see the two run over to her. Her eyes widen as a smile formed, "Xander! Leo! It's been a long time!"
Leo sighed as he asked, "How long?"
"Um…" Koharu thought carefully, "The last time I saw you two was seven years ago and you only stayed for a few hours. Before that was probably around three years ago and a year before that, I think…"
"That sounds about right…" Leo sighed in relief till he noticed the familiar uniform.
Xander frowned, "Then, you're going?"
"Yes." Koharu strained a smile.
"Are you all right?" Leo questioned with a frown.
"Y-yes!" the girl strained a smile again, "I-It's just it's been a long time since I spoke with a person aside from you two. And I always forget about the two of you till we meet. It really strange. But, I guess I'm just really excited."
As she gave them a more energetic smile, Xander nodded with a grin, "You've done well coming this far."
Koharu nodded, "I have you to thank for helping me get this far, though! Xander and Leo have always been protecting me from those things. If not for you, I wouldn't get to meet people like myself."
Leo shrugged, "We're just doing what we can. So, when is this ship coming?"
"Ah! That's right!" Koharu gasped, "The lake!"
As she rushed into the dense woods, Leo sighed, "And she's still like this…"
Xander nodded, "It seems the child hasn't changed at least."
As the two followed her into the woods, they finally came upon a large sparkling lake. Koharu's pace quickened as she rushed down towards it.
"H-Hey!" Leo called out, "Be careful!"
"Y-Yes!" Koharu replied as she made it to the lakeshore.
She looked around in the air to their confusion as she muttered, "Where's the ship? Where?"
Leo groaned as he sighed and whispered quietly to himself, "The Lake, Koharu… The lake…"
Xander strained a small smile till his eyes widen, "Watch out!"
However, it was too late as she accidentally slipped on the cold mud bank and fell back to the lake.
Leo snapped open his tome, but froze as a blond hair man in a black trench coat caught her. They remained still in their spot as the man smiled, "I was right. It is a girl."
However, startled, Koharu pushed him away and stumbled back to the lake in another direction.
"Brynhi-"
Suddenly, light shone from the man's hand followed by the orbiting light. The two held their breath as the light dimmed down slightly. Light shone from the ground as vines sprouted from the soil and wrapped themselves around Koharu saving her from the demise of the waters. The man smirked as he said, "I got you."
"Xander…" Leo said with a frown.
Xander nodded, "Ah… He's the esper that was brainwashed…"
Out of the blue, a bright light shone before them nearly blinding the trio as they looked up bracing themselves against the sudden gust of strong wind. Their jaw nearly dropped as they saw a large machine before them in midair!
"You got to be kidding me…" Leo barely muttered with a stupefied look.
"Oh, so its finally here." The man smiled.
With the light still glowing, he waved his hands as the vines pulled her up before wrapping around her. With her tied up, the man reached over and picked up the girl bridal style before stepping onto the platform of the machine that landed just above the lake. This alarmed the two as Xander rushed over, "Wait!"
However, the continued forward as part of the machine opened up.
"U-Um, what's this?" Koharu spoke up.
Finally, the man stopped and looked to her, "Oh! Don't be afraid, although it's probably hard not to."
Before Leo could use his spell a voice called out to them, "Is that the girl you were talking about?"
They turned around and saw the familiar blue hair man walking out of the trees with an apple in hand.
"Akito." The man smiled, "Where were you?"
The man huffed, "I was looking for her too."
As he tossed the apple into the air and catching it, he continued with a smirk, "Still, I guess you were right, Kakeru. But just because I's a girl, you shouldn't lower your guard."
"Sure." Kakeru responded as he sets her down and removes the vines, "I don't like to be rough."
He smiled as the vines dropped to the ground, "I'm sorry, but you'll just have to come with us. You were waiting for us to come for you too, weren't you?"
He frozed as he saw her readjust her cape. Leo sighed as he could only imagine what the man had in mind when a voice from the interior called out, "Kakeru? Akito? Can you hear me? It's time. Tell me your status."
The man walked inside with a exasperated smile, "The loud one is here."
Koharu looked to him in confusion, "What?"
"Prince Xander! Prince Leo!"
The two turned around and saw Ryoma and Hinoka walk over to them.
"Prince Ryoma and Princess Hinoka…" Xander raised a brow, "Of course, it seems I've forgotten about the teams."
"What matters is that you're here with the esper you're in charge of." Ryoma looked up to the machine with a frown, "I see you've met with the missing esper."
"Kakeru Yuiga, was it?" Leo said with a frown.
"Yeah…" Hinoka nodded, "Due to the condition Toya set, nobody have talked about themselves."
She looked to Akito was a frown, "No matter the proximity of the situation."
"Let's just leave that there." Xander said, "Have you already seen the enemies, Prince Ryoma?"
The samurai nodded, "We've already encountered a few before arriving at the ship with Akito. But, let's speak of the matter else where on the ship."
Leo huffed, "That small thing?"
Hinoka grinned, "Not really."
Seeing the smile on her face, Leo raised a brow.
Regardless the two boarded the ship with the Hoshidan royalty as Leo noticed Koharu looking out the window.
"You should take a good look at your hometown." Akito said as he piloted the ship.
They could see the town below them with the field of rice ready for harvest, children playing amongst them and people in the market. The sight brought a smile to the girl's face till they came upon the ruins of a charred building. Koharu's face changed as she held back her breath. The four saw this as Leo frowned, "Ko-"
However, Xander patted his shoulder and the prince withdrew to the back reluctantly. However, the expression on her face told her everything…
This was her home…
The ship then soared into the dark clouds as Koharu was taken aback. KAkeru tapped her on her shoulder with a smile, "It's okay. You'll see the ship soon."
As he said this, they watched as Akito steered the current ship avoiding a large spherical object floating in midair.
"What was that?!" Leo's eyes widen.
"One of the parts of the ship." Hinoka answered, "I'm telling you… This ship is… big."
As they passed through some strange patterns of light, they saw a gigantic figure of a woman with wings and flowing dress and hair sticking out from the round wall. Xander seemed slightly taken aback to Leo, but he doubted the other siblings knew as Xander asked, "This ship… is it truly a ship?"
As the small ship now passed through the skies, Koharu said in surprise, "This is… the ship?"
Now out of the clouds, they could see the round shape of the 'ship' in mid air without any masts or sails. The size of the thing nearly made Leo's jaw drop as he noted, "That doesn't look anything like a ship, though…"
"You should see the interior of it too." Hinoka said with a sigh, "it really doesn't look anything like a ship…"
Leo grimaced as he saw a couple of familiar girls standing at what looked to be the port, "Really…?"
As the ship landed at the port and the door opened, the group took a step outside.
"They're here!"
The group was greeted by Elise who jumped onto Leo.
"Ack! Elise?!" Leo stepped back in surprise.
"Everyone's finally here."
They looked up to see Corrin greeting the group with a smile before she looked around, "Well, everyone, but Sakura…"
"Princess Sakura is still missing?" Leo raised a brow.
"She's with Natsuhiko, after all." Takumi walked over to them with a frown, "As long as he makes sure that she's all right, then she should be safe…"
Xander looked over to see Mikoto and Nanami already there in their uniforms. Mikoto had her arms crossed as she watched the other three got off, "Kakeru. You didn't do anything rough, did you? We don't even know who she is yet."
As Koharu walked over to them, Kakeru gestured to her with a smile, "Just look at her."
She walked up to them and gave a bow, "Nice to meet you."
As she stood before them, Leo noticed Takumi and Kamui raise a brow.
"Those clothes…" Mikoto noted with a frown, "They sure bring up a lot of questions."
Akito, who stood at the open door, sighed as he scratched the back of his head, "I mean, is this the eleventh person? How many more will come on board?"
"I don't know." Nanami responded, "The World decides that."
Akito huffed as he made his way off. He turned his head with a grumble, "Don't talk to me so casually."
Hinoka sighed as she shook her head, "Again?"
"Are you guys fighting again?"
They looked over to the entrance to see Masamune and Heishi walking over as the orange hair man saw the newcomer. Seeing her Heishi's eyes lit up, "Hey, is she new?"
He rushed over to them as Akito made his way out of the place gesturing Heishi aside.
"It'll be even livelier around here." Heishi smiled as he stepped aside for Akito with a raised brow, "What's the matter with Akito?"
"Is he always like this?" Leo questioned.
Kakeru looked to Koharu, "Sorry. It's like of tense around here. Let's go. I'll show you around the ship."
"All right." Koharu nodded.
Following the man, Leo followed the group up through the stairs only for his jaw to nearly drop. Before them was a small world of huge lakes of water, bridges that stretched from one building to another, greenery that surrounded floors after floors of structure levels, and a strange looking circular waterfall under one of the bridges. It was something like a bright, fantasy-like capital of its own only with fewer houses than one of an actual capital. Koharu looked just as stunned as he did as Masamune said with a smile, "Are you surprised that it's like this on a ship?"
"Yes!" Koharu said in awe as they could see the large tower on one of the large spiral tools.
"Is this even a ship?" Leo muttered in bewilderment.
"Heh." Takumi grinned, "I know that feeling."
"It was the same for all of us here." Kamui chuckled.
Corrin nodded, "It's more like another world, huh?"
"Before we do anything else we should talk first." Masmune said, "We want to know what you know as well. The navigation system on this ship was also watching you. And it seems that you know about the ship too."
"The navigation system?" Xander raised a brow.
Corrin pointed to what looked like a huge telescope behind a blear glass orb, "That's the navigation system that he's talking about. It seems that they're able to track down espers with it. We saw Koharu walking through the woods with you through it too."
"It seems their world is filled with high technology." Ryoma noted with a nod.
Hinoka giggled, "I bet Yukimura would love to come and take a look around this place too. He's always trying to create something back in the castle."
"Seriously?" Leo frowned, "That's impressive progress if they have done all this."
They noticed Heishi covering his ears as a sign of using his ability.
"Hey, guys! Come to the meeting room!"
Koharu looked to him in awe as she said, "Was that…"
Heishi smiled and gave a thumbs up, "My ability!"
Kakeru tapped her shoulder, "Now, let's go to the meeting room and see the others."
Koharu nodded with a bright smile, "Okay!"
"The meeting room?" Leo looked to Kamui.
The prince pointed down under one of the tools with the tower to a small patio on an empty part of the tool.
After reaching the patio that had a large strange lit up table and several chairs, they all took a seat around it. Without a seat, Leo and the others stood next to the esper's their responsible for. Koharu stood between the seats without her cape as Masamune announced, "This is our new member."
"Hi." Itsuki called out to her, "She's so cute."
"I'm Sakuya Nijo." Sakuya said with a smile as Orochi stood behind his chair.
Koharu gave a curt bow, "H-hello."
Mikoto sat straight as she noted, "I guess we hven't introduced ourselves yet. I'm Mikoto Kuga."
Masamune smiled, "I'm Masamune Toya."
Heishi jumped out of his seat, "Im Heishi Otomaru. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Itsuki Kagami." Itsuki said with a smile, "I'm glad It's a girl."
"Very nice to meet you." Koharu replied with a polite bow.
"Kakeru Yuiga." The man stood up from his seat next to her, "Just call me Kakeru."
"Okay." She nodded as Leo watched the man with suspicion.
"Well, where's Senri and Ron?" Mikoto asked as she looked to the empty seats.
"And Akito…" Nijo noted with a frown, "They didn't show up."
Leo looked to Niles and Effie who stood behind the respective seats. They shook their head. Hinoka sighed, "Akito isn't coming."
"Again?" Felicia groaned as she looked to the ground disappointedly.
"I'm Nanami Shiranui." Nanami said looking to her emotionlessly.
Seeing that everyone had already exchanged their names, Mikoto looked to her, "What's your name?"
Startled, Koharu looked to her before she nervously looked to the ground, "Well, ah…"
Seeing her hesitation, Leo raised a brow, but Koharu spoke before he could call out to her.
"I…" She began nervously, "don't know my name."
"You don't know?" Mikoto said in bewilderment.
Leo noticed Takumi and Corrin look to him, but he shook his head making them look back to her in confusion. Takumi shook his head, "That can't be right. She has to be called something, even if she doesn't remember her real name."
"It's been a very long time since someone called my name." Koharu said anxiously as if a reply, "So I forgot it…"
"What? Really?" Heishi said in surprise.
"Yes…" She replied.
There was an uncomfortable tense silence before Mikoto spoke up dutifully, "Even if you forgot your name, you do remember your ability, don't you?"
The girl clearly shuddered as Nanami spoke, "Do you have a special power?"
Kamui frowned as Kaden muttered, "Talk about blunt."
After some moments of silence, Koharu squeezed her clenched hands tighter and replied quietly, "Yes…"
"Okay, that's enough." Mikoto said with a nod.
Nanami explained, "You don't have to say what you're capable of."
"I have to ask you about another thing." Mikoto added, "About your clothes."
Kakeru nodded, "That's right. Those clothes are provided on this ship."
Leo's eyes widen as he looked to her quietly.
"A traveler gave it to me." Koharu replied honestly.
"A traveler?" Kamui raised a brow.
"Ah…" Camilla nodded, "I remember that she spoke about the traveler during our conversation too."
"Who is it?" Kakeru questioned.
"I don't know." Koharu answered.
"Do you have amnesia?" Nanami questioned.
"No." Koharu quickly responded.
Kakeru looked to her before he smiled, "But, it must be inconvenient to not be able to remember your name. I'll give you my last name, if you want."
Koharu looked to him in confusion, "What?"
Nijo responded, "Kakeru, what you'rer saying is too irresponsible to the girl."
"Is it?" he replied with a raise brow.
Heishi laughed as he pointed to them, "Of course it is! Giving your last name sounds like you're getting married."
Leo wanted to sigh as he could recall a certain person from this.
"I didn't mean anything deep like that." Kakeru responded with a laid back chuckle.
"Huh?" Koharu watched the exchange dumbfounded.
"I don't think she's lying to us." Itsuki said as he walked over to her, "Anyway, maye this is enough for now, don't you think?"
"Yeah." Heishi grinned as he sat back down on his seat, "It's good to have more peers. Besides, we're already way up here. It'll be too much work to go back."
This caught many of their attention as Koharu looked up, "What? Where are we headed?"
"The place the World decided." Masamune replied.
"The World?" Koharu questioned.
Suddenly, the tool in the center of the circular table lit up till a shape appeared before them.
"What?!" Koharu looked up in awe.
"What's this?" Xander frowned.
"An image." Kamui replied, "Don't worry. We've seen it many times already, Xander."
"We've all gotten use to this by now." Camilla smiled.
"You must've heard about it." Masamune said, "The World is an organization that was created for peacekeeping and management of this land. It's origin and science easily exceeds the civilization on the surface. This ship was provided to us by the World, and we're responsible for its operations."
"We, the people with special powers use our abilities for peace." Mikoto explained, "That's the mission that was given to us by the World."
"The mission…?" Koharu asked in confusion.
The image vanished as Nanami said, "It's not a good idea to explain everything at once. You should come to our room for now."
"Thank you very much." Koharu bowed deeply.
"You look like you're about the same age as us, so no need to be so polite." Mikoto said.
"Um," Koharu looked to her in confusion, "How should I speak?"
Mikoto sighed as she stood up from her seat, "It's your choice."
As she walked away, Masamune sighed and got up as well, "Well, then. It's getting pretty late now. Nanami, we're entrusting the newcomer with you and Mikoto. I have to report the arrival of the newcomer to the World."
Nanami nodded and turned to her, "I'll show you the house."
"Thank you." Koharu responded.
As everyone began to take their leave, Kamui and the others began to gather.
"Effie, where's my sister?" Leo asked the retainer.
The knight bowed, "With Senri, Prince Leo. He's refusing to attend the meeting."
"Obviously." Takumi sighed.
"Akito didn't want to come here at all." Hinoka shook her head, "He's currently in the Mess Hall, which they call the cafeteria here."
"Ron is taking a nap as usual." Niles smirked, "Is what they think, but he's really investigating the structure."
Leo raised a brow. Kamui shook his head, "It turns out that, during this time, Natsuhiko wants to stop the espers' travels by destroying the ship. Ron is the spy on board. He's already helped him attack the ship once."
"So, he's a spy." Xander frowned.
Leo looked to Niles, "Then, it's a good thing you're keeping an eye one him."
As the archer gave a bow, Kamui shook his head, "This should solve itself since we get to meet them all in the present. More importantly, how is Koharu doing?"
Leo sighed, "She was almost kidnapped a few times. Those shadows were very persistent."
"I followed them once. They came from the forest." Xander replied with a frown.
Corrin grimaced, "A few came after Heishi once, but they never came after we dealt them some blows after.
Takumi sighed, "Well, isn't that nice. Those things came after Kuga and Nijo so many times. It was really annoying."
Orochi nodded, "It seems they want them dead, especially Kuga."
"I can see why." Ryoma nodded, "Very few came after Akito."
Effie nodded, "Senri has been kept safely under our protection, sir. There weren't many that came for him either."
Camilla nodded, "Only a couple came after Itsuki. It seems they weren't too interested in him or his ability."
Kaden smiled, "Masamune hasn't been attacked more than once."
Kamui frowned, "The inconsistency of attacks."
Azura nodded, "The Shadows came for her three times, but that was it."
Kamui nodded as well, "The enemy isn't just thinking of wiping them all at once."
Corrin frowned, "They're picking them off. Who ever gets in their way first, probably. But, Koharu was nearly kidnapped?"
Xander nodded, "It's due to the fact that her ability is an offensive ability."
"I bet they'd like to have her on their side…" Leo assumed with a frown.
"Seriously?" Takumi raised a brow, "That girl? Speaking of which, did she really forget her name?"
"Takumi." Hinoka grimaced.
Leo nodded, "Not surprised there. She lived by herself for years and the villagers refers to her by… title… than name while avoiding much contact with her since young."
"Seriously?" Hinoka grimaced, "But she's only a child."
Takumi shook hisi head, "There's still so many things that's unusual about her… And let's not forget about that missing esper, there."
"Kakeru." Kamui nodded, "He was here before Heishi and Ron."
Azura frowned, "Ever since we arrived, there's been very few attacks from the enemies and we stopped switching times. I'm worried about what this means…"
"Also," Corrin added, "Sorata and Hayato isn't here yet."
"Takumi grimaced, "You don't think…"
"No." Kamui shook his head, "He's a skilled fighter. He won't lose to some shadows. Also, Sorata is a child without abilities. It would be unusual for them to go after him."
There was some silence before Orochi nodded, "Prince Kamui is correct. Hayato is a skilled soldier for a child his age. He should have no problem taking down a few shadows."
Ryoma nodded as well, "More importantly we have other matters to discuss."
"Other matters?" Xander raised a brow.
Kamui nodded, "It's this 'ship', Xander. After we boarded this ship with the espers, time has been running normally for us. I don't know about outside in our reality, but we've been going through each day here as we would back in reality. We get hungry, tired and need rest. It's been like this ever since we arrived."
"Seriously?!" Leo grimaced, "But, Nyx said that we would only appear to where the enemies would try to make the changes on the espers! What's changing this now?"
As he said this, Corrin shook her head, "We don't know. But, what we do know is that we're now living under this place's time. Hopefully, it doesn't affect our reality."
Kamui sighed as he took a seat in the chair, "We can also interact with the objects around us and, even if we can't speak with the other espers, we can speak with the ones we're protecting. What bothers me is that there have been no shadows here. Even if that isn't a bad thing, I still find that rather troubling…"
Xander nodded as he touched the table realizing that his hand didn't go through it, "That's suspicious… perhaps something is influencing all this? Or is it something else?"
As he looked to Leo, the younger brother shook his head, "I'm afraid that I don't know either, Xander. I never really took the books about dreams as seriously. Thinking back, perhaps I should've looked more into it."
Takumi sighed, "Me either."
Orochi smiled, "True. You always handed them to me instead."
"Seriously?" He groaned as he heard his mother's retainer commented and Mozu stifle back a giggle.
Ryoma chuckled, "Well, shall we rest for the night. I believe our friends are doing the same as we speak at the moment."
Corrin looked up to the sky and nodded, "You're right, Ryoma… It's starting to get dark. But, where shall we bring Xander and Leo to?"
"So, there was guests, after all!"
They turned around and saw Heishi looking to them with a smile, "Hey! I haven't seen you or Kamui returned so I wondered if some of your friends showed up again! How many are there?"
Leo raised a brow and looked to Effie who shook her head, "Other espers aside from our own cannot see us, milords."
"I see…" Leo nodded quietly.
Regardless, Kamui smiled, "Two more, Heishi. One of our older brothers and younger brothers."
"Two?" Heishi sighed, "You know, we don't have as many spaces anymore. You know what? What if you do what the girls are doing and share a building? The Hiyoko's place should have some space."
"Hiyoko?" Leo raised a brow.
Felicia nodded, "They're machines created by Natsuhiko when Toya and him was younger. They're created to take care of the chores indoors and outdoors as well as many other tasks."
"You're kidding…" Takumi grimaced, "I always thought they were actually real."
Leo smirked, "So, you've been here this long and haven't heard."
Takumi glared at Leo in silence as Corrin giggled, "They get along well, huh?"
"It seems so." Camilla nodded.
"We don't!" the two snapped causing others to chuckle.
Kamui looked back to Heishi, "Sorry about this, Heishi. We'll try bringing them over to the Hiyoko's place for tonight. Then, we'll reorganize our places tomorrow morning."
Heishi nodded, "Well, all right. I'll go back to my place then. I'll see you guys there!"
As he left, Kamui turned to his siblings and allies as he spoke, "So, a majority of us are staying where the espers are. However…"
Leo frowned, "We can't stay in the girl's building, that's for certain."
Corrin nodded, "So far, only the girls are staying there, except for Effie since she stands guard at Senri's place."
Kamui nodded, "The Hiyoko's place is all right, but the space is rather small. Actually… You know, Senri's place has a lot of room the last time we went in, right?"
Felicia smiled, "I see. Yes, that's right. I can ask Toya for a spare key to the place if you want. Lately, he's been really worried about him too since he never comes out of his room."
Kaden nodded, "Yup! It'd be a relief if someone was in the place with him."
Leo frowned as he recalled that man who continued to hide underwater from him. Suddenly, a anxious look appeared on the maid, "But…"
They looked to her in confusion as Kaden nodded, "It could get really noisy in the morning."
"Noisy?" Xander raised a brow.
Felicia nodded, "You see… Because Mister Senri doesn't like to live his residence, Toya and Kakeru would try to come in and get him out respectfully, but, since Mister Senri never intends to come out…"
Kaden winced, "If they fail to coax him out, Kakeru starts to use brute force and talks about breaking the door open."
Leo could see Niles smirk as the prince sighed, "So that's it…"
Felicia nodded, "I don't understand why Kakeru keeps doing it, but the last time he used his vines to pull Mister Senri out."
Leo winced as he began to realize why his vines made the man go deeper underwater. He sighed, "So, that's it…"
Ryoma sighed, "It couldn't be helped, then…"
"Ryoma?" Takumi raised a brow.
"Oh, you weren't here when Akito came." Camilla nodded with a smile, "You see, Akito and Senri are actually brothers. They were separated at a young age."
"Brothers?" Takumi's eyes widened, "Those two?!"
Azura nodded, "Yes. When they were younger their village was under a crisis that required Senri's powers, but Akito was protective of him and it created a rift between him and the villagers. Eventually, they figured out a way to erase Senri's memories of Akito and the villagers chased him out, so they could have him use his abilities to survive."
"A village under a crisis?" Leo frowned, "To depend on a child could easily put strain on their mind… I see, so that's how it is."
Regardless, he still didn't like the esper even when he learned of this.
Hinoka nodded, "So, when Akito saw that Senri was on board, he asked Kakeru to watch over his younger brother for him. Hence dragging him out of his cabin with his vines or threatening to break the door."
"I still don't see how that would help him…" Felicia wondered quietly.
Hinoka nodded, "I agree. After all, he just became more stubborn to stay indoors afterwards. It's a pretty bad idea from my point of view."
As he heard this, Leo raised a brow and looked to Xander, "Xander, perhaps, Koharu might be able to help with this situation, even just a little."
Xander thought for a bit before he quietly nodded, "Perhaps you're right…"
"What do you mean?" Hinoka raised a brow.
Kamui noticed the light coming in from outside and raised a hand, "As much as I'd like to continue this conversation, it's getting dark. We best return to the cabins tonight and watch over the espers.
As the others sees this, they nodded. Orochi spoke up, "Then, why not let one of the princes stay in Sakuya's cabin tonight? As a woman, I'm unable to enter his cabin at night."
Kamui nodded, "Then, can you stay in Sakuya's cabin tonight, Xander?"
The Crown prince nodded, "All right."
"Then, I stay over at the other esper's place tonight." Leo replied with a nod.
Corrin nodded and looked over to the others, "Effie, Felicia, take my siblings to the cabins. It's best that we stay close in case something happens at night."
With that, Leo followed the two retainers off the gear land and onto the bridge. They gave them a quick tour of where each of the espers rest the night. They then notice Kakeru enter the girl's cabin in suspicions before Leo saw him leave after a while. After some time, they finally arrived at a large piece of land on the bottom floor where many buildings sat around a lake and a fountain. They first stopped by Sakuya's place where Orochi was found speaking with the man, who seemed perplexed at first by the self opened door, but later nodded in agreement as he heard their background as her last resort. According to her description of his build, he pulled out a futon and brought it down across from his sofa as he said with a smile, "I can't offer much room in mine, so you can have a large portion of the living room to yourself, sir."
As he said this, Orochi helped the man bring over some binds from the closets till there was a decent size room for him. Xander thanked him through writing before they moved onto the next cabin leaving the prince behind. Leo was then brought over to a two floor cabin much like Sakuya's by the lake. Effie knocked on the door before it opened revealing an overjoyed Elise jumping into his arms, "Leo! You're finally here! Yay!"
"Who is it this time…"
Leo looked up and saw the man he had seen back in camp with a grimace. However, Elise smiled, "It's my brother, Senri! His name is Leo, remember?"
Senri frowned, "I suppose…"
Effie walked up with a strained smile, "Senri, there's not enough space around the cabins and Lord Leo would be unable to sleep in the Hiyoko's place tonight, so can he take a small part of the living room tonight?"
Senri's eyes widen as he grimaced in silence before answering, "I don't really care much as long as he doesn't enter my room or bother me…"
With that, he returned to his room as they heard the lock turn behind it. Some way to make a new start, Leo thought grumpily. However, Elise smiled, "Don't worry about him, Leo! He's always worried whenever a new friend joins the group. Come on, Effie! Maybe, we can find Leo a place for tonight!"
So, the two got to work as Leo occasionally came to help. In time, they were able to clear a place for Leo in the corner of the living room using similar binds as the previous. As Elise walked upstairs for a futon, she found it on the rails of the hall. Leo raised a brow as he felt that perhaps things wasn't all that bad with the man.
Corrin was in the girl's cabin that night with the female espers when she saw Kakeru enter the room.
"It's late already." Mikoto spoke, "It better be something very important."
"Yeah," Kakeru replied with a smile and looked to Koharu standing before the entrance to the front, "very important. I had some business with you."
"Me?" Koharu questioned in surprise.
"If you don't mind, would you let me give you a tour of the ship?" Kakeru asked her.
Corrin watched the man in confusion as Orochi smirked, "Well, isn't this interesting."
Nanami walked over to Koharu as she spoke bluntly, "You're quick with the girls."
Under her glare, Kakeru took a step back with a forfeiting smile, "You've got the wrong idea! I just wanna be nice to the newcomer."
"I know what you're after." Mikoto spoke up with a sigh, "You want her on your team."
"Team?" Koharu looked to Mikoto in confusion.
"We're the only humans on this ship." Mikoto replied as a matter of fact as she leaned back against the wall next to a painting of a couple of cats, "So, we're devided in teams to do different tasks, like cooking and cleaning. It's not a political faction or anything, so it's up to you."
"You'll see if you come tomorrow." Kakeru responded with a smile.
Koharu smiled as she nodded, "Yes!"
As he got back out, Corrin looked to Azura who shook her head. Even after arriving on the ship with him, they knew very little of the missing esper's background and, with their policies, it made it even more difficult to learn of it. Thanks to everyone with the people here, they knew who to be wary of, such as Natsuhiko's place in this world. However, what confused them was the report Niles sent them, "Ron… I'm afraid he doesn't have any ability. So, I'm not certain how he was able to arrive on board in the first place…"
That alone was a suspicious as did Kakeru's arrival on board.
"We don't know him that much, but he does have this strange air around him…" Felicia had once told them.
"I don't know… He smelled of plants and all that. Nothing bad, but he looks a little… off?" Kaden had once told them.
Even if they were to tell their espers, they would forget shortly after. With this, Corrin planned to warn Xander and Leo of the situation before things go out of hand for the two.
It was early morning again when Leo got out of his futon. He made a quick note to Senri on the table as he wondered if the man would notice it before finding the tape his sister had used the night before and stuck it to the door just in time to see Effie arrive with Elise.
"Leo!" The girl ran up to him as she chirped, "Good morning!"
"Good morning, Elise." He smiled, "I need to go check on Koharu in a bit."
"Oh!" Elise gasped, "About that! It seems Kakeru is going to show her around the ship today, Leo. Corrin wanted to tell you about that. You should hurry!"
"What?!" Leo grimaced as he recalled the missing esper, "Thanks for the notice, Elise! I left a note on Senri's door. Whatever you do, don't remove it, okay?"
As he raced past the bridge and through the garden of flowers, he soon caught sight of the girl walking out of her cabin. Xander was there as well. Seeing his younger brother, the crown prince chuckled, "Good morning, Leo. I see the news reached you too."
"A-Are you all right?" Koharu asked them nervously.
"Y-yeah…" Leo responded as he tries to catch his breath, "What are you doing here? I though you went with Kakeru?"
"Well…" Koharu looked to the building with a smile as she clasped her hands together, "It's just… It's a little hard to believe that this is my new home…"
"Good morning!"
They turned and saw Kakeru standing on the bridge Leo had rushed across from.
"Good morning!" Koharu rushed over to him.
As the others followed her, Leo asked Xander, "Did she really forgot her name, brother?"
Xander shook his head, "I don't know, Leo, but let's watch. She must've remembered it somehow…"
"Come here. Look, we have a lake too." Koharu pointed out to them.
As they turned, they saw the aqueduct that flowed into the lake with a waterfall from above the floors. Leo hadn't noticed this before, but the way they see it now was rather breath taking. Perhaps if Nohr was just as abundant as Hoshido is in greenery and light, would this be what it looked like too?
"Wow." Koharu's voice snapped him back, "You're right. I never thought that such a beautiful place could exist on a ship."
"Did you sleep well last night?" Kakeru asked.
"Not so well, umm…" She hesitated.
"Just call me Kakeru, remember?" he replied.
Leo was nearly taken aback as he notice the esper's eyes seem like as if it was looking past Koharu.
"Well, then, Kakeru." Koharu said with a bright smile and a slight blush.
Despite this, Leo watched the esper as Kakeru turned around, "Ok, I'll show you around. Let's go see our friends."
"Yes." Koharu replied as they began their way.
"This place is maintained in a way so that we can live like we do on the surface. But, we have to be self-sufficient, so we have several teams to work on different things." Kakeru said as they made their way down to the dock where Toya and their allies were preparing the boat for the task. Seeing the two, Toya got up and walked over to him with a smile, "You really brought her."
"Thank you for having me." Koharu responded with a deep bow.
As Toya went to greet them, Kakeru said, "Masamune works hard and he's very thoughtful. He likes hardships, so he's very useful."
The last comment surprised Leo as Toya spoke up with a raised brow and an anxious look, "Is that a compliment, or…"
"A compliment, of course." Kakeru replied with a feigned innocent look.
Toya sighed and looked to him, "But is this okay…?"
Leo raised a brow as Toya continued, "You haven't talked to Senri, have you?"
"I'll take him out too, so I can introduce her to him." Kakeru responded confidently.
Toya groaned as he place his hands on his waist wearily, "It's not gonna be that easy."
"Um," Koharu spoke up, "What's the problem?"
"There's another member we want you to meet." Toya spoke with a strained smile.
"Oh…" Koharu nodded.
Leo sighed, "I hope he kept the door opened…"
As they made it back to the large cabin. Kakeru and Toya walked up to the front door.
"Senri. It's morning! Wake up!" Toya called out, "Senri!"
"Maybe he's not here." Koharu questioned.
Leo shook his head, "He was here this morning…"
"Really?" Koharu asked in confusion.
Kakeru looked to her, "He's always in his room. He even gets his meals delivered here."
As he said this, Kakeru walked up to the door and pounded on the door and grabbed the handle, "Senri! Should I break the door open?! I think you're better off without it anyway."
As Xander raised a brow, Toya spoke up, "Don't break the ship's property."
Kakeru looked to him, "But…"
Suddenly the door slightly opens ajar.
"Oh Senri!" Kakeru smiled.
"You're alive." Toya sighed in relief as he exaggerated.
"Yes, I'm alive." He responded.
"Come on." Kakeru said, "I have someone I want you to meet. Let's go to the top floor together."
"No thanks," Senri replied quickly, "I don't wanna deal with anyone."
His answer caught them off guard as he continued, "Leave me alone."
"Hey, Senri." Toya replied firmly.
However, the door closed shut. Leo grimaced as he realized why they kept mentioning about breaking the door. If he had to drag the man out, he'd most likely had to do the same. However, Kakeru walked up, "You make everyone worry if you don't show your face."
"Worry? That's a strange thing to say. There's no way anyone would be worried about me. Besides, we're all gonna be enemies eventually."
Those words surprised Leo as he looked up to Xander who narrowed his eyes in suspicion and looked to the espers. Koharu gasped, "Eh? What does that mean?"
"People with abilities, like us, will be dispatched to different nations once we arrive at our destination." Senri explained, "And we might become enemies."
As Leo hears this, he raised a brow. A tool for war. Is that what he meant? Suddenly, the conversation he had with everyone that night returned to him. The esper had been used for his abilities to help his village survive, but, after seeing him constantly in his room or struggling with the water can in reality came to mind, he wondered if there was something more going on than they had anticipated. Regardless, Kakeru and Toya led the group away from the cabin and to the tower as he could hear Elise scold the man from behind the walls. She was always the chipper one in the castle. Perhaps, she could help bring the man back to his sense for a bit. After entering, the door suddenly closed behind them.
"Enemies…"
Leo looked to see that Koharu seemed rather sullen as the thoughts must've been going through her mind. He wasn't certain what to say when he heard Toya spoke up, "But the World is moving forward so that it doesn't have to be that way."
Kakeru nodded as he leaned back against the moving glass pill transporter, "He must've been sleepy."
"Yes…" Koharu replied quietly.
After seeing them rise up to the next floor, Leo saw the machine stop as they arrived at another floor. The door opened as he saw flower petals drift from the skies. Kakeru was the first to leave as they others followed.
"This is the top floor." Kakeru said with a smile.
As he watched Koharu walk further, he noticed that the petals was from the cherry trees. It was a familiar sight as he recalled the lands of Hoshido. Koharu gasped as she saw the sight, "Sakuras! It's full bloom!"
The words caught him off guard as he soon recalled the Hoshidan princess. Kakeru smiled, "I wanted you to see this."
"They're still in buds on the surface." Koharu noted in surprise.
"This ship's climate is controlled throughout the year." Toya explained.
"Really?" Xander said as he looked to them impressed.
"Wow!" Koharu cupped one of the petals in her hands and did a small twirl.
Leo smiled with a nod. It's been a while since he had seen her this happy. Toya then spoke up, "You guys see the lower floors. I'll catch up with you later."
As Leo saw the long rows and columns of crops lined up, Kakeru responded, "Got it."
Kaden smiled, "Then, I'll stay with you guys! The guy can be rather reckless if you're not careful."
Xander nodded, "All right. But, what about Toya?"
"I'll stay with him, Prince Xander." Felicia gave a quick bow.
As they descended, Leo noticed Toya had a look of surprise before disappearing to the floor below. It was no surprise since the maid had just bluntly mentioned his brother's title. Still, they followed Kakeru and Koharu past the orchards of Cherry trees as Leo hurried up to her, "Wait. Are you sure you don't remember you name?"
Koharu looked to him in surprise and nodded bitterly, "Yes… I forgot. Sorry, Leo…"
Leo's eyes widened in surprise as he shook his head, "No… It's fine. I'm sure it'll come to you eventually."
"A-All right…" Koharu looked to him in confusion before hurrying after Kakeru.
Kaden looked to him in confusion, "Why not just tell her?"
Xander shook his head, "Even if we did, Koharu isn't her real name either…"
"Seriously?!" Kaden's eyes widened.
Leo nodded, "Yeah. It's the name the traveler called her by."
"No way…" Kaden grimaced, "I can't say Toya's life was that pleasant either."
"Really?" Xander raised a brow.
Kaden nodded, "His family was one of those that ran that 'World' government, you see. So, for one of them to be an esper is a difficult thing for him when they're suppose to be leading the espers. There was definitely family problems too, but I won't get into that."
Leo nodded quietly.
"My team's main job is to produce crops on the second floor." Kakeru spoke up as they entered the orchards of peach trees.
As the fragrance of the peach wafted by, Koharu stopped with a smile, "It smells wonderful."
"The peaches are ripe." Kakeru turned to them, "Oh?"
He then noticed Koharu looking off to a tree, "What's wrong?"
Koharu replied, "This tree… It doesn't seem well."
"Maybe it's not getting nutrients." Koharu assumed as he made his way over and touched the trunk of it.
They watched in surprise as the strange diagram appear before the man's chest and lines sprang around him. He then hovered his hand over the tree along the trunk as sparks of soft light rippled on the surface of it. As it vanished, Kakeru patted it with a grin and touched it with his cheek, "Here, get better."
As he said this, the low branches next to Koharu grew out with light shining from it. The drooping leaves perked up as fruits now hang from the strong branches.
"It's good now." The man smiled, "You'll be fine."
Xander smiled as he patted Leo's shoulder, "I'll go patrol the area with Kaden for a bit. Watch over Koharu while I'm gone."
Leo nodded, "I got it, brother."
As he left, Koharu asked with enthusiasm as she had shown once before during their journey to Bottomless Canyon, "Kakeru, is healing trees your ability? You can talk to trees?"
"Well, what do you think?" Kakeru responded with a smirk.
Leo dislike that attitude of his, but was quiet as Koharu responded, "That's very nice!"
Leo chuckled as he looked about.
"Healing and producing plants are great, but if you can talk to them, then you don't have to be alone."
Leo froze before taking another step away from the spot.
He turned to Koharu was a frown as he could assume why she said that. Kakeru was quiet as well before he chuckled, "I guess that's true. But to be honest with you, I can't speak with the plants. Sorry to disappoint you."
"D-Don't apologize." Koharu replied nervously, "I just jumped to a conclusion. But…"
She looked to the tree and continued, "When you healed this tree, I felt like the leaves waved and made gentle sounds. Maybe the tree was saying thank you."
Leo shook his head as he heard this, but, after she said all that aloud, he can't help but find it rather interesting about the girl.
"You're like a plant."
Kakeru's words surprised him as he looked to the esper.
"What?" Koharu looked to him in confusion.
"Very pure. So opposite from me that it surprises me." Kakeru responded.
His words caught Leo's attention as he listened.
"Opposite?" Koharu tilted her head.
The man looked away to the edge of the floor, "Maybe I can stay pure if I don't have to deal with people."
Leo stared at him as the man walked away. But, before he could respond, Koharu spoke up, "No, Kakeru! I have things I can't say even if it's on my mind. I probably have more secrets than what I can express."
Her words surprised Leo momentarily as he looked to her.
"I was waiting for this ship for a long time." She said, "I wasn't always alone. I used to live with my mother and father. But… I think something terrible happened, and we got separated. Eventually, I even forgot my name."
As he heard this, Leo frowned. He could already assume what the child was speaking of when he recalled the debris in the village and what the woman's ability is. An accident was all he could think of. A terrible accident that pushed her away from everyone… Just as the death of someone pushed his father away from them in the years that came after.
"I'm sorry if I'm not making any sense." Koharu finished quietly.
Leo wanted to pat the girl on the shoulder, but restricted himself from doing so as he knew she was no longer that child he had to help with her chores. But, Kakeru shook his head and plucked a peach from the tree, "No. I got to learn a little bit about you. Thank you."
Hearing this seemed to have brought a small relieved smile on her face as Leo saw him pull out a retractable knife and peeled the fruit before handing it to her.
"Here." He said, "It's sweet."
Leo sighed as Koharu took it and thanked the esper. As he looked elsewhere, he could hear Koharu agree ecstatically.
"Good." Kakeru grinned, "Then, let's get some more ripe ones at the top."
"Yes!" Koharu nodded.
His eyes widen as he turned around and saw Kakeru on the tree giving Koharu a hand as he asked, "You wanna climb too?"
"Wha-?!" Leo gasped and rushed forward, "Hold on! That's dangerous!"
However, Koharu was already brought up to the tree leaving Leo little choice but to follow after her. But, he didn't get far when he saw her next to the esper who instructed, "Good. Get that one. That one's perfectly ripe."
"Yes." Koharu nodded and inched forward on the branch.
Leo could hear a shout from afar as he screamed, "DON'T!"
However, it was too late. Just as she grabbed onto the fruit and plucked it, she lost her footing and slipped. Rather than falling onto the path, she had gone over the fence and rolled off the slant jutting out of it, probably for the rainwater.
"Damn it!" Leo grimaced and snapped open his tome, "Brynhildr!"
Vines shot out from the ground as he desperately tried to grab a hold of Koharu, but, as the vines slipped through her hand, he soon recalled what Nyx had warned them. He was unable to change what had already occurred in the real timeline. He clicked his tongue before he saw Kakeru had already jumped off the branch and over the fence. The crystal light formed around him once more as he slid down the slope. He took off from the platform and jumped as vines sprouted from the side of the fence. It wrapped around his arm as he grabbed hold of it changing his projectory towards the fainted Koharu. He then grabbed hold of her as they plummeted down to the bridge at frightening speed. He held his breath and did something he hadn't done in a long time. He quietly prayed to the dusk dragon as the vines snapped. The two dropped a yard from the air and barely missed the bridge as they dove into the waters. Quickly, Leo jumped from the branch and to the elevator before racing to the bridge where the two dropped by. He was soon joined by his allies and Toya as he searched for them. Xander asked, "What happened? No, this was part of their past, right?"
"What?" Kaden raised a brow.
Leo quickly explained, "My spell just passed through her."
Xander nodded, "Then she should be safe."
Just as he said this, the two emerged from the water as Koharu gasped for air.
"Are you alright?" Kakeru asked as the others hurried to the end of the bridge.
"Yes." She replied, "Thank you very much."
"Are you all right, Kakeru?!" Toya called out to them from a broken building.
Leo and the others were soon there as well while Kakeru responded with a thumbs up.
Leo watched in relief as Koharu brought out the peach from the water.
"Um," She began, "Do you think we can still eat this?"
"What?" Kakeru looked at it in surprise.
"Seriously?" Leo's eyes widen.
"It looked so delicious. I'd hate to see it go to waste." She explained.
There was a moment of silence before Kakeru laughed and, to be honest, smiled in amusement as Xander chuckled as well.
"What?" Koharu questioned nervously, "Why are you laughing?"
Leo shook his head as he finally collapsed back down onto the edge of the broken building. Kaden was laughing as well while Felicia seemed rather confused of the problem.
"Because you fell from so high, and you didn't let it go." Kakeru replied.
As Koharu looked hesitant, Leo saw him touch her shoulder, "You're great."
Leo sighed as the esper said, "Since we're already wet, let's swim to the shore."
Leo shook his head again and got up. Xander asked him, "What happened?"
"Kakeru got Koharu climb a tree with him to get some fruits on top." Leo frowned, "My apologies, Xander. I couldn't stop her in time, even knowing what might happen."
The elder prince shook his head, "It's fine since no one is hurt. But, next time be careful. Today, it's due to the fact that this was suppose to occur that I'll let it off, but, next time, try not to let her go through with it, Leo."
The prince nodded, "I understand, brother."
As he looked back, he noticed a familiar figure at the patio across the lake. His eyes widen as he recognize the small figure holding tightly to the rails with a young blond hair girl. It was his sister and Senri. As he saw the man sigh, Leo felt that perhaps, by some chance, the man does care about her. Perhaps he wasn't wrong when he said that Koharu might help with that.
As he saw them swam back, he soon realized that Koharu can't really swim as Kakeru helped lead her back to a debris. He and the others got closer to the water as Kakeru spoke, "If there's something you don't know, then just ask. If you don't understand, I'll stay with you until you do."
"Kakeru." Koharu said in surprise.
"He's right." Toya agreed as Kaden nodded, "There are ten more people here besides you. If you ask someone and they don't know, then you can ask someone else."
"I'll bring over a boat." Toya said as he made his way over to the white row boat.
Kakeru seemed to be in deep thoughts before she looked up slightly surprised once more.
"What's wrong?" Kakeru asked catching their attention.
"My name…"
Leo got to his feet as he heard those words.
"Your name?" Kakeru asked in confusion.
"I remembered it in the water." She replied.
"Really?!" Kakeru said in surprise as they all listened.
"Koharu…" she began, "My name is Koharu!"
Leo frowned as he heard this. He knew he had his hopes up, but he really should've known that she wouldn't recall her real name."
"Koharu…" Kakeru said in wonder.
"Yes." She nodded, "It's the name the traveler gave me a long time ago."
"It was given?" Kakeru asked in confusion, "You mean, it's not your real name?"
"I don't know." Koharu answered, "But, that's what I was called. So, I think it's my name."
After all that happened, Leo was no longer surprised by all this. He turned to Felicia, "Felicia, can you get us some towels?"
The maid shook her head, "My apologies, but I've done this before. It didn't work the last time, Toya got soaked once."
Xander nodded, "Then, we'll speak with her after she settles down again."
Seeing that they've made it back to the other side of the shore, the four made their way over there as Kakeru helped Koharu out of the boat. However, there was a loud explosion from the floor above them where they were as the ship suddenly shook! Leo's eyes widen as he saw this and they rushed over to the espers. Xander grimaced, "What's going on?!"
"It's another attack, milord!" Felicia responded, "Natsuhiko is attacking us!"
"The same Natsuhiko who helped Ron?" Leo's eyes widen in surprise.
"Yes!" Felicia replied, "During this time, he was strongly against the espers and wanted to stop their travels even if it meant the worst thing that could happen!"
"What is it?" Koharu asked nervously.
"It's not safe here!" Kakeru responded and held onto her, "Koharu, come this way!"
"Yes!" Koharu responded with fear in her eyes.
Toya looked around and saw Felicia as his eyes widen, "Felicia, Kaden, she has someone watching her, right?! Tell them to keep watch over her! I'm going to check on the situation!"
As he jumped out of the boat, she nodded, "Got it!"
YueTian: Hey, guys! I've just finished the lastest and final chapter of FE: Awakening with Blossoms tonight. For those waiting until the story is finished, the story is now completed! So, please check it out! Also, thank you for reading this chapter and I hope you enjoy what I have on here! I'm going to turn in for the night before I end up starting the next chapter while I'm still up. Yes, it's a bad thing for me. Since it's late, I won't ask for volunteers to speak up here till tomorrow. So, please wait till then. With FE: Awakening with Blossoms complete, I will now be putting more focus on this story and a bit on Fe Fates of the Sky. I hope you all like them!