Valla's History

A girl with blue hair and blue dress stood before them at the end of the table. She glowed in the shadow of the second floor.

Azura's eyes widen, "You're that child."

"What?" Takumi frowned, "Wait! She's the girl you and Kamui went running after?"

The girl looked to Azura before turning around and running to the door.

"Ah, hey!" Takumi jumped to his feet, "Hold it!"

However, the girl had already pushed open the door and shut it behind her. By the time he pushed open the door, the girl was gone. Takumi and the others exited to the opened bridge that was linked to the other buildings.

"She's gone…" Elise said in awe, "Was that a ghost?"

"As if." Leo grumbled.

Kamui nodded and looked to the unconscious esper, "For now, let's follow her words and hide him. I hope this won't affect the past as much."

"But, where?" Camilla frowned, "Every other place is inhabitated."

Corrin looked around, "Well, what if we hide him in the library? The esper don't use it as often, right?"

Leo nodded, "That's… true…"

Hinoka thought aloud, "Perhaps, we can borrow a futon from one of the espers' quarters?"

Leo sighed, "That just might work. Let's see… I can bring the futon from Senri's quarters."

"No way!" Elise frowned, "That's your bed! I know! Senri has an extra one. I sure he wouldn't mind since he doesn't use it anyway. He's got a bed after all."

"That's great! Thanks, Elise!" Corrin smiled.

Her little sister giggled with a thumbs up, "Just leave it to me!"

"Milord." Kaze approached them, "All of the retainers and soldiers claimed to have yet to seen the girl enter or leave the estate."

"That's weird…" Xander frowned, "Moreover, ghosts don't exists."

Ryoma nodded, "Perhaps, the young man would know."

"In the meantime, I'd like to speak with Orochi and see if we can get through to Nyx and the others." Leo replied, "It's farfetched, but I'd like to see what we are able to do in our current state."

Kamui frowned, "All right. It's true that we're now stuck in an unusual position at the moment."

"Getting hungry and tired…" Takumi sighed, "If this is a dream, why are we able to go through these things?"

Corrin nodded, "Now that Leo is here, maybe we'll get further than what we already have."

Kamui looked around, "For now, let's put Kakeru on a bench. Elise, you and Effie go get a futon. Kaze, we need to see the effect of Kakeru's absence to their past."

"Wait." Corrin frowned, "But, Elise is the only healer we currently have."

The young princess smiled, "If it's a healer, you can just have Felicia stay with him. Kaden should be enough to watch over Toya, right?"

"She's right." Camilla smiled, "Let's see… How about I go by the cafeteria and grab some food? Keaton can help me check on Kagami in my stead."

Hinoka sighed, "I wonder what is it that I can do."

"Why not help me in the cafeteria?" Camilla smiled.

"W-Well…" she grimaced.

However, the Nohrian princess nodded, "It'll only be for some simple meal. Personally, I'd like to see the kinds of Hoshidan foods you use for people who are ill."

"W-Well…" Hinoka muttered, "All right… I am curious as well."

"Yeah!" Elise cheered, "Let's get to work and help out, then!"

As Kamui and the others gone to help Kakeru, Xander watched the group, "Hoshido and Nohr, huh?"

"I never thought that it would work this well myself." Ryoma nodded with a chuckle, "In time, I'm certain that people will follow our families' example. Kamui and Corrin, especially. Had it not been for them, I doubt we'd still be standing here working together like this."

"True." Xander said as he watched the twins help Elise carry the patient to a nearby bench with narrow eyes, "Still, I wonder what the man brought up. I have yet to understand… What exactly was the purpose of their journey?"

Ryoma frowned, "He also mentioned that the ship exploded and crashed. With the current situation, I wonder what exactly happened before they arrived in our world. And, what gave the excuse to bring them into ours. The espers shown no behavior depicting that they have been in a world of constant war before. To throw them into ours in the midst of a war is dangerous."

"I hope this Kakeru has the answer we need…" Xander noted as he watched his siblings leave the building.

Having made their way back to the building, Corrin helped her siblings prepare the bedding as Kamui returned from the cafeteria. When they were done, Kakeru was now sleeping in the corner of the library by the time Niles returned with a smirk, "Lord Leo, I brought back a message from our ninja friend."

As he presented the paper to his liege, Leo took it and read it before he hummed to himself, "It seems that someone has decided to create an illusion of our friend here. Currently, he's taken the place of the esper."

"Seriously?" Takumi frowned in disbelief.

Kamui nodded, "I didn't think that this would happen."

Leo sighed, "As for my report, it seems that Orochi and I might be able to pull off a communication with the real world, but it'll take a while."

Corrin smiled, "That's fine. Looks like we were right that having an experience mage, like Leo, work with Orochi would do the trick."

Takumi grumbled, "Yeah. Well, I'll go check on Ron, then."

"Ah, Takumi!" Kamui called out to him, "Actually, I need your help with something first."

The archer turned to them, "What?"

When they were done with further plans, Kamui and Corrin remained by Kakeru's side while some returned to the esper's side. Now, only them, the crown princes, Azura and Camilla remained in the library looking for any clues. As he was finally able to move one of the books, Kamui took it out of its shelf and opened it up. As he began reading the contents, he murmured quietly, "In fifth to 15h century, the Middle Ages began after the fall of the Roman Empire… It's era being given a few names, two being, the Medieval period or notoriously known as the… Dark Ages…"

He frowned as he flipped to the next pictures of familiar images, "These… look like iron and bronze swords!"

"Really now?" Camilla looked over his shoulder, "My… those do look like the weapons our soldiers use in the arena back in the real world."

Kamui frowned, "If that's true… Then, could it be that these kids came from a world a thousand years or so from ours?"

"It's a good guess, but that can't be true, Kamui." Camilla frowned, "You see, our world has magic and theirs doesn't. No Pegasus and wyverns. Look over here."

Camilla opened one of the books to him with the image of a painting of a pegasus and a dragon.

"Apparently, our lovely friends are just fairytales in their world!" Camilla sighed, "Oh… I just can't imagine a world without my dear Marzia. It must be so awfully dull to be in such a world without my cute Marzia."

Kamui nodded, "But how could a world without magic or our mounts have powers like the espers?"

As he said this, he felt a small rumble as he blushed slightly, "S-Sorry, Camilla. It looks like all the searching is making me hungry…"

The Wyvern Lord smirked, "Oh, it's perfectly fine, Kamui. In fact, Princess Hinoka and I had some fun making sandwiches for us all while we were preparing some food for our little guest."

Kamui flinched as he heard this, "U-Uh… Okay?"

Camilla chuckled, "Now, let's not be rude. You're no longer a little boy, Kamui. Even us woman have to start somewhere. In fact, I used to learn cooking and be my own taster for a while before I could allow my beloved siblings even touch my food."

"Yes, ma'am." Kamui joked lightly as he nodded before looking to the nearby window, "It's really starting to get dark, huh?"

"Yes." Camilla nodded, "I bet everyone is starting to get ready to turn in for the day and having supper."

"Orochi and Mozu won't be back till sometime in the evening." Kamui noted as he recalled their plans, "I hope nothing happens on the surface."

As they returned to the corner of the library where the others were, Kamui was having his sandwich when he noticed some muffled noise. He spun around and saw Kakeru slowly sat up from his makeshift bed. Kamui nearly dropped his sandwich as his sister saw this as well and gasped, "Kakeru!"

She hurried and helped the man sit up while the others hurried over. Camilla brought over her meals of porridge and soup kept in a warm container, "How are you feeling?"

"A-All right…" the patient strained a smile, "Did I…"

"You collapsed during the meeting." Kamui answered anxiously, "My apologies. We neglected your health."

"No." he shook his head, "I'm the one who kept going. It's not your fault."

Corrin frowned, "Still-"

Camilla patted their shoulders, "Now, let's put this aside for now. Kakeru, are you able to have some food at the moment?"

"I-I guess…" the esper replied with slight surprise, "Thank you very much…"

As Camilla and Felicia began prepping the food, Kamui nodded, "We can talk about the rest after you finish."

The esper nodded. As they resumed their meal, Kamui couldn't help but take small glances at the new esper. It was unusual to see the once mischievous man suddenly became serious and quiet like this. Perhaps, this just goes to show the true side of the man. After what seemed like half an hour had passed, Leo suddenly returned with with news of an established connection with Nyx once again. Though it relieved them of the thought of help being on the way, Leo also decided to stay to listen to what the esper had to say for the night, so he went to bring Takumi back with him. Finally, once they were done, Kamui began, "Well, what should we start with first?"

"There's somethings we wanted to ask about." Xander began, "Kakeru, you stated that there was the purpose of the journey. I recall that the other espers believed the purpose was to reach the organization that you call 'The World'. What was the importance of all this?"

Kakeru frowned hesitantly, but nodded, "To be honest, we didn't have any clue during our travels to The World. That was till Mikoto returned to Norn with Natsuhiko."

There was a bit of confusion before Kakeru began, "Well…let me start with this. What abilities do you know currently?"

Azura answered, "We know that Kagami can use dreams and Heishi can communicate with a wide range of people. Then… there's Nanami's ability."

Ryoma nodded, "We have water. Then, Nijou can also tell the future and Toya can look into the past with his left hand."

"There's also Kuga's barriers." Corrin added.

Kamui frowned, "Kakeru… there's been something on my mind…"

Everyone looked to him as he continue, "This world has no magic or 'magical' beasts like our world, yet you and your friends all have powers and are gathered together with a device. I don't mean to sound rude in any sense, but I find it odd that, in a world like this, there would still be people with abilities such as yours all in one era when your history doesn't state of any incidents like this."

Kakeru nodded, "There's a reason for this. Our powers was given to us. That's why."

"What?!" Xander's eyes narrowed as he watched the man in bewilderment.

"There was a purpose for each of us to have the ability, you see." Kakeru replied with a grimace, "When we reached The World, we were told our abilities in this form. That the ability to spread communications can also be used to amplify the abilities of others. There is also the ability to erase the memories of the people in our world to a clean slate. Barriers to protect them from harm. Fire to erase all life and civilization. Water to replenish the world and my ability to revive the lands. There was also the power of dreams that would also give the people the knowledge of any false past and dreams of the future."

"What are you trying to say?" Camilla frowned, "To erase everyone's memories and using fire to destroy everything then to bring it all back?"

Corrin's eyes widen, "It's like-"

Kakeru nodded with a grimace, "Our abilities… was key to a processes called 'The Reset'."

"The Reset?" Takumi's eyes widened in horror, "Reset, as in-"

"Our abilities was created in the age where technology and civilization was at its peak, according to The World." Kakeru replied, "They were created… For the purpose of erasing all progress made in the world and starting from a clean slate. A reset of the world…"

"You can't be serious…" Leo grimaced, "They were keys to starting a restart of your world?"

Amongst the stir of bewilderment and uncertainty, Ryoma said, "Was there a reason for all this?"

Kakeru sighed, "Apparently, the guns in our world became so advance during the era the World was created that it was no longer safe for anyone in the world. According to them, even children were made to carry one with them for precautionary measures. This led to those people to create this insane process."

Corrin frowned, "You said that there was such a way to start this Reset, but you also mentioned that Norn collapsed."

Kakeru nodded, "Norn was one of the mechanism to performing the function. This was why Natsuhiko was intent of destroying it. Being from the organization, he already knew about the truth and was against it. I was told that he ran away from the island they were raised on to stop the organization from performing the Reset. But, somewhere along the way, he also decided that it would be difficult to persuade us and decided to just go straight into trying to kill one of us if he had to."

"He sounded rather desperate." Kamui noted with a grimace, "Though I assume this was before he befriended Kuga…"

Kakeru sighed, "If not for Mikoto, I doubt we'd all still be here or probably have changed what we were doing. But, Natsuhiko wasn't the one who brought down Norn."

"It wasn't him?" Leo frowned, "Who was it?"

Kakeru was hesitant before he continued, "To perform the Reset, it seems that we all have to be in an agreement to perform the Reset. According to The World, we were to judge that from our experience in our world. If not, the function won't even start and we'd forfeit our abilities to them… But, to finalize this, it seems that we were each given a trial by The World that would test our resolve."

Kamui nodded, "I see. So, it wasn't as simple as it sounds."

"That's a relief." Takumi sighed in relief.

"…One of us rejected it." Kakeru continued with a frown catching their attention, "Their feeling were so strong that it broke the mechanism to start the function… That's what Natsuhiko and Mikoto told me. However, because of that, Norn's engine seemed to have… erupted or something like that. Because we were all on it, we had to evacuate the ship. Koharu and I were the last to hear of it and the ship was already coming apart by then."

After some silence, Kamui spoke, "Then, the Reset…"

Kakeru shook his head, "That time was suppose to be the last Reset. Rather we chose for it or not, it didn't change the fact that it would be the last chance the entire world gets to perform it. The machine was already starting to fail because of it."

"Hold on!" Takumi interjected, "The last Reset? How many was there?"

Kakeru thought as he answered, "According to The World, there has been around five or six Resets. I think we were the sixth, though."

The news brought the siblings to look between them in bewilderment and concern. He turned to them, "When Sorata said that he came from the future, the truth was that he came from the past before one of the Resets."

"What?!" Corrin gasped, "But, how is that possible?"

Kakeru shook his head and carefully chose his words again, "I'm not too clear. But, with the technology from The World, they were able to temporarily stop his time for many years or so. I also don't know why they would do it either. Maybe they believe that he would become capable of fixing their machine? We were told that it was originally only capable of three Resets, not six."

As the esper cleared his throat, Takumi sighed as he took a seat on the bench, "This is all crazy… But, it really happened, huh."

Kakeru nodded, "I was separated from Koharu during the explosion. It wasn't till a few months later that I found her again on what's left of the ship. It had crashed into a lake and remained there. According to her, she stayed with Akito and Nanami on an estate next to the lake. She only came back recently to take care of the peach tree we grew together."

"The peach tree…" Leo hummed as he recalled the peach he had eaten, "Could that symbol be…"

"However…" Kakeru began solemnly, "A few months after, there was some strange occurrences."

"Strange occurrences?" Ryoma narrowed his eyes.

Kakeru nodded, "The abilities, that we thought had been taken from us during the trials, returned to us. Masamune had thought about speaking with the organization, but we decided to keep quiet about it or The World could make us go through it again. Then, a week later, I woke up and found myself in Valla."

"Now, we're back to where you started with…" Camilla said with a frown.

Kakeru nodded, "Like I said, I don't know what happened to me after that for a while, but I do know now that I'm no longer in control of my own body anymore. But, I know I'm not… well, dead."

Leo grumbled, "Ah, so we just have to knock some sense into you, then?"

As the esper flinched, Camilla waved her hand, "Just a jest, right Leo?"

"Of course." He replied, "So, how are we going to get you back, then?"

"Normally, the person in charge would have the control of espers like me, but the real person in charge of me is a woman with short blue hair and uses magic. I don't know her name or what she does, but she currently has control over me... At least, I hope it's her and not the bad guy."

"They're both bad guys." Takumi muttered with a sigh.

"Right. Well, that's all I can assume." Kakeru said, "I'm no magician."

Kamui nodded, "Thank you for helping us, though."

Corrin looked to him, "We'll do our best to save you."

The esper struggle a small smile before he coughed, "Damn this dream… I had no idea it'd affect me this much."

Leo sighed, "Don't think that just because all of this is a dream of the past that you won't be affected by it. This is our dream, you know."

"Right…" he nodded before he hesitated, "Is… Is Koharu and the others all right?"

Kamui smiled, "Yes, it took a while, but all of your friends is safe with us. Our siblings and our allies came across them while we were trying to get to… Valla."

Kakeru nodded, "That's good. I was worried that they were in the same situation as me."

"Rest assured. They're all safe." Xander said with a nod.

"At least, after we get them out of this situation." Takumi added with a sigh before handing the patient a glass of water from the table, "So, what do we do now?"

"Let's see…" Corrin frowned, "Even if we know everything here, it won't be much help if we're not awake. Also, the espers here are also in trouble."

"There should be someone who's willing to help you."

They looked to Kakeru holding the empty cup in his hands. Leo raised a brow, "Here? Someone else?"

Kakeru nodded, "That man in a hood?"

Leo's eyes widen as he sighed, "That's right. You protected him that time."

"Haha… My bad." Kakeru struggled a chuckle, "The thing is, he was the first one who reached out to me when I found myself here."

"That guy?" Kamui frowned, "But, didn't he pushed Kaden down the tower?"

The esper shook his head, "Of course not. I saw it myself. One of the shadows slipped on board. It had gotten on the ship when we went to pick up Koharu."

He coughed a bit before he continued, "Sorry. Also, I saw it happened and tried to save him that time. But, when I couldn't grab him, I used my vines. Then, I called out to him, so I could chase after the shadow. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding."

"So, that's why he was in the area." Corrin said, "It's starting to make sense now."

Kakeru nodded, "Since it's just me on the ship in reality, I try to keep everyone safe here."

"Hence the lack of shadows…" Ryoma frowned.

"Even if that guy was innocent," Takumi frowned, "he still ran from us and he always have his hood on. Isn't that just calling to be suspicious?"

Kakeru sighed, "That guy… well, let's just say that he will have some trouble and feels uncomfortable, I sure, due to his past. I can try to convince him to talk with you, but I can't guarantee that he'll speak with you."

"That's unusual coming from you." Hinoka raised a brow.

Kakeru strained a smile, "Well, to be honest, there are people who I can't convince that exists. But that doesn't mean I won't try…"

As he wobbled, Azura stepped in and caught him, "I'm afraid not right now. You're ill at the moment."

As Kakeru groaned, Hinoka nodded, "I'll go call in Felicia, then."

As they left the esper to rest, they made their way down to the center of the library. Takumi sighed, "That was really weird. His words just went against everything that Kuga and the others told us."

Kamui nodded with a frown, "I got a feeling that something isn't right, either. Not just what he or the other espers told us, but…"

Corrin frowned, "You don't think Anankos had something to do with this, right?"

"I certainly hope not." Camilla replied as she walked over to them.

"Camilla…" Corrin nodded.

Kamui frowned, "I wonder who exactly is this hooded man, though."

"How about we just catch him instead?" Takumi suggested with a sigh, "We need to protect Kuga and the others too. Doing both is too much."

"I'm going to have to agree with this." Leo shrugged, "But, I think we should let Kakeru talk to him."

"Seriously?" Takumi frowned, "What if he decides not to show up?"

"Let's give him a chance." Corrin said looking to her twin, "Right, Kamui?"

The brother nodded, "I agree. If he's confident, then we should give him a chance."

Takumi sighed, "Fine. But, Sakura still isn't here with us."

"She is with Natsuhiko, right?" Camilla said, "Then, when he joins them, she will be here with us. We should ask the young man when that happens. She doesn't have her retainers with her either, if I remember correctly…"

"She doesn't" Ryoma frowned, "At least none that she knows of…"

"I thought so."Kamui sighed, "You had your retainer follow her, right?"

"Seriously?!" Takumi's eyes widen in surprise before heaving a breath of relief, "That's good news. I thought she was here by herself the entire time."

Kamui gave a small smile, "She was very insistent on helping Kuga and Natsuhiko by herself."

"It was certainly a surprise." Corrin nodded, "We've never seen her act that way before."

"Perhaps trying to leave her cozy nest early." Camilla said with a small smile, "Regardless, she's safe. But, why didn't you tell this to your siblings? You seem to have gotten them really worried, especially Corrin and Kamui."

The man was silent as Kamui spoke, "Well, at least Sakura is all right, but-"

Suddenly, they both heard the door open and looked to the front entrance to see the head of a gray hooded man with blue hair sticking out of the shade of his hood as it covers his eyes.

There was a stunned silence when Takumi shouted, "Is that-?!"

Suddenly, the hood winced and ducked behind the doors once more.

"Ah, hold it!" the archer suddenly gave chase.

"Takumi, wait!" Kamui shouted as he ran after him out the door.

Upon standing before the doors, he had grabbed a hold of his younger brother before he could run out to the road and saw that both the Kaden and Effie, whom they had guard the doors, had fallen asleep on the ground. Despite the glare he got, Kamui gestured to them. Takumi saw this and grimaced, "What the…"

Looking between the Kitsune and the retainer, Takumi grumbled and gave one more glance to the outside where the man had already disappeared upon their chase. He looked back and walked over to Kaden before shaking his shoulder awake, "Hey! Hey, Kaden! Wake up!"

"…Hrmg?" The Kitsune gave him a weak one eye glance before moving into his usual napping position as if he was still in his fox-form, "Just five more minutes…"

"Hey! Weren't you suppose to be on guard?" Takumi shook his shoulder harder just as the others were coming out to see the commotion.

"What the…"

"Oh, right!" Kaden's eyes shot wide open now as he jumped to his feet.

He looked around as he grumbled, "What happened?"

Kamui, who had awaken the knight, frowned and looked to Effie, "Effie, what happened?"

"M-My apologies…" Effie grimaced, "I'm not too certain what happened. We were ready to greet Lady Azura, but..."

"That can't be…" Camilla frowned, "Azura have never left the library. She's been helping us watch over Kakeru. Did you see if it was her?"

"No." Effie replied as she thought hard, "But… That's right! There was the song!"

"A song?" Kamui hummed.

Kaden nodded with a big smile, "Oh, yeah! She must've been really happy or something, if she was singing. But, her voice sounded weird."

"A song that puts them to sleep?" Leo raised a brow.

"But, she doesn't usually sings songs in public…" Corrin thought carefully, "More importantly, she never left the library. I can go check with Hinoka and Felicia. She's still with them."

"She never left the library?" Kaden frowned, "Then, how…"

Takumi sighed, "How should I know? Maybe it was that man? That sounds very likely. It has to be it."

"Perhaps it wasn't really her voice?" Effie said with a grimace, "Perhaps, it was a man's voice…"

Takumi nodded. Kamui sighed, "Well, I'm surprised that he could do something like this. Just who is he? And, can't we just catch him?! What if he does more than just this?"

Kamui nodded, "Let's talk about this a little later, Takumi. We need to make sure that everyone else is all right."

After returning to their work, Kamui and the others returned to the building as Leo frowned, "A magic that puts others to sleep through song."

Takumi grumbed, "We should've at least sent a search."

"I'm afraid we don't have enough people to do that…" Corrin replied.

Ryom nodded, "Orochi and Mozu is with Nijou and Kuga."

"Without Kakeru's power, it would be difficult for them to watch over every esper. We're lucky that Hayato went with Sorata and Toya down to the surface. But we're still low on men here." Kamui shook his head, "I'd prefer that we don't bring everyone to the dream world either. That'd be too much. Then, what should we do…"

"Kamui. Corrin."

It was far into the night when Kakeru came to again. He was in his makeshift room in the library when he looked up and saw the shadow above him. His eyes widen as he immediately to the source to find the hooded man before him. He winced as the man sighed, "I'd warned you before that this dream would still impact you because it is tied to your past. How are you feeling?"

"Better." Kakeru strained a smile.

The man smiled "Well, just don't strain yourself too much. This fever took a huge toll on you. Is your mind still a little muddle?"

"No." he replied scratching the back of his head with a weak chuckle.

The man sighed, "Well, all right…"

Kakeru hesitated, "Uh… I was wondering if I should ask you this, but…"

The man sighed, "I know you mean well, Kakeru, but no. I'm not going to meet them. I've made up my mind. If they draw too close to me, they'll learn the truth of their heritage. Then, the Silent Dragon will start to become more desperate…"

Kakeru couldn't see under the hood of the man, but his voice made it all too clear that he was hesitating.

"Anyway… here." He said as he placed a vial on the table, "It should dull the headache for a bit. I'll bring more next time."

"This?" Kakeru picked it up and swirled the clear liquid in it.

"It doesn't contain my powers so he shouldn't be able to sense your presence, but I used my powers to make it." The man sighed as he sat down on the bench in silence.

Kakeru looked at the vial again in confusion and unplugged the cork before taking a small whiff of it. Before he could take it, however, the man spoke, "How… How are they?"

"Who?" Kakeru looked up at him in confusion, "If you mean those people, then…"

The man shook his head, "The children… No, the royal families. The High prince of Hoshido and the Crown prince of Nohr."

Kakeru was quiet as he answered, "The Red Samurai and the black knight?"

The man nodded, "I haven't seen them since the birth of the second princes of each kingdom… Just curious…"

"I believe it's… Leo and that archer?" Kakeru raised a brow with a small cough.

The man nodded with grimace, "If only I hadn't given King Garon the statue as a gift, then he'd still be himself."

"Statue?" Kakeru raised a brow and shook his head, "Sorry… I'm getting a bit of a headache."

"Ah. My deepest apologies…" the man winced, "I shouldn't have pushed the load on you like that."

"I-It's fine." The esper responded, "Still, I think I've heard of Nohr's king. But, I'm curious. I've never heard about Valla or Hoshido as much…"

"Their rulers…" the man was quiet before he nodded, "The Former ruler of Hoshido also had close ties with Valla. In fact, I was the one who created and gifted them their throne with Valla's king."

"A throne?" Kakeru raised a brow, "That's all?"

The man frowned, "It held the power to reveal the true nature and form of those who sits on it. That's Hoshido's throne. It was a gift for the establishment of their kingdom from me and Cadros. It was created to protect the nation from tyrants. Also, if Nohr's king were to seek assistance, I would offer some form of wisdom… but…"

He groaned, "It all went wrong… Though Hoshido is safe, the Silent Dragon used the statue and manipulated their king…"

Kakeru grimaced, "I had no idea it was this bad… Then, you were always here?"

"I don't have a choice." The man sighed, "The dragon form had… Wait, didn't I told you about this before? Agh!"

Suddenly, he was taken aback as a shadow surrounded him before he found himself face down with his face to the ground. When he struggled, he saw the bindings tied around him and grimaced, "Brynhildr…"

"I see you're more knowledgeable than he told us."

The man looked up to see Leo walking out of the shadows of the shelves. Followed behind him was the two first princes.

"I'd like answers…" Takumi said as he stepped out of the shadows with a sharp glare.

The man grimaced, "The High Prince and the Crown Prince… Kakeru is…"

Kamui and Corrin stepped out as she spoke softly, "Kakeru is sleeping soundly in the otherside of the library with our sisters. After what had happened this afternoon, we had changed Kakeru's spot and had Kaze disguise himself as Kakeru. So, you fell into our trap."

"You had a lot to say, didn't you?" Takumi narrowed his eyes as he glared at the man.

Finally, Kamui patted on his shoulder and looked up to the Kakeru before them. Leo sighed and snapped his finger dispersing mist around the man to reveal the green ninja as Leo grumbled, "This is the last time I'm using abilities like this. Remember our promise."

"We know. I won't tell anyone that you used an ability like Iago's." Corrin smiled, "Thank you very much for going along with this for us, though."

The mage grumbled and stared at the man firmly, "You certainly gave us all a lot of trouble trying to catch you, so you better start spilling everything."

"Kaze." Kamui called out to his retainer, "Please help him sit up right, at least."

"Kamui." Takumi spoke up with suspicion, "What if he tries something while he does that?"

"Relax, Takumi." Ryoma glanced over to him, "I don't believe much would occur if he isn't on the enemies' side. His words proved as much."

Kamui nodded with a reassuring smile to his younger brother, "It'll be fine Takumi."

He gave his retainer a nod as the ninja helped set the man seated on the bench.

"What's your name?" Xander questioned firmly.

The man was hesitant before he muttered, "...R-Reflet…"

Kamui nodded, "Reflet, who are you?"

There was some silence that weighed them before Leo's cough interrupted that. The man looked up to him with startling red eyes peering from under his gray hood, "I am… I was the tactician of the militia directly under the royal family and the right hand man of the former king of Valla"

"What?!" Corrin's eyes widen before glancing over to her siblings to see similar expressions.

"There no way I can believe this." Takumi replied curtly with a frown.

"A right hand man of the former king of Valla?" Xander raised a brow.

"Former." Reflet grimaced, "I was unable to prevent the deaths of the king and his army against the Silent Dragon's forces."

"But out here?"

Azura walked up to him in disbelief. The man's jaw fell as he saw her.

"You're-! C-Can it be?" Reflet muttered in confusion before shaking his head, "Queen Arete-?... No, Azura! Princess Azura!"

The songstress stepped back in surprise, "Y-yes? You know my mother?"

The man bowed his head and said, "I was there during the celebration of your birth with the other soldiers of the king's army! My deepest apologies. So, you grew up safely in Nohr."

Azura frowned, "Nohr?"

Reflet nodded, "After being unable to protect the capital, I helped Queen Arete and her family flee the kingdom to the other two kingdoms. You were only a toddler during then, so I don't know if you remember much."

"Fine! Well, how did you get here, then?" Takumi frowned, "If you really were the tactician, you shouldn't have left the battlefield from the start."

"It was the former King's last wish…" Reflet responded, "So, I granted his wish and helped them flee the kingdom before I returned to find a way to stop the Silent Dragon."

"By yourself?" Leo raised a brow, "I doubt that you'd live from that."

"No. You're correct. I'd be a fool to do so on my own." Reflet responded cautiously, "With my knowledge in magic, I used a time and space spell to search for heroes who have had some experience in wars against god-like dragons."

Leo frowned, "Really? How?"

Reflet nodded, "I came from a lineage of worshippers of the Silent Dragon when he was still referred to as a good god. So, I have some connection he gifted my family with… However, that backfired when he used that to catch whiff of my plans. I was killed in an ambush and I salvaged my soul to find help from another god dragon, Moro."

"The same dragon that helped Lilith…" Kamui's eyes narrowed, "So, he helped you?"

"Yes," he replied, "He brought me to this realm and told me to wait here."

After a short silence, Kamui spoke, "Well, I'd like to have his help in this place. We're in a realm we're not as familiar with and there's strange occurrences going on."

As he said this, Takumi frowned, "Are you really going to take his words?"

Kamui shook his head, "Well, no… However, I feel that he's on our side."

Corrin nodded, "He already told us that he is against the Silent Dragon. He also showed no harm to us, if he wasn't the one that pushed Kaden off the top floor. Also, Kakeru is not in the best condition to help us. We need something to stop anymore of these monsters from getting to Heishi and the others."

However, this decision doesn't sit well with some as Leo said, "If we let him go now, he could escape."

"I know." Kamui replied, "But, I feel like we can believe in him."

"Of course, he's not out of suspicions." Corrin replied, "But if he's willing to help us, then we can have someone stay by him."

She turned to the man, "Reflet, can we ask if you would be willing to help us stop the Silent Dragon, then?"

The man was quiet looking to the ground in confusion before he looked back up to them and nodded, "All right. However, Let me warn you first. Since I lost my body in your realm, I will be unable to return. If you need aid or information, I can only give it to you from this realm. Will that suffice?"

The news was not as pleasant, but the results was still positive. Kamui nodded, "I understand. Thank you, Reflet."

There was some unrest as brothers and allies looked to each other before the decision was finalized.

"All right." Xander nodded firmly.

Takumi grumbled, "He better not try something or I will shoot him down."

As the archer glared at the tactician, Reflet shuddered and nodded, "O-Of course. I understand the situation."

"Speaking of situation." Leo sighed, "What is exactly is going on here? The current situation is really bizzare."

"That's… Well, it's actually my fault…" Reflet spoke up sheepishly earning their attention, "You see, when I got here, my po- magic got in the way with the flow of the spell. In a sense you're living in a dream now because of it. There's little I can do here without the Astral Dragon, though. My apologies..."

"Well, an apology isn't going to fix things." Takumi grumbled.

"Uh… Leo?" Corrin called out to her little brother, "Can you release Reflet now?"

The mage looked to the man and sighed, "Might as well."

He cracked open his tome as light shined from the tome while he whispers some words. In time, the vines fell as the man sighed in relief. Azura finally walked up to him, "Reflet? I'd like to ask you something."

He nodded.

"That girl I saw you with her. Can you please tell me who she is?" Azura questioned getting their surprise.

Reflet nodded, "She is also from the same world as Kakeru. I'm afraid I don't know as much about her as you do. But, what I do know is that she's taken custody by the Silent Dragon against her will. Moro, then, helped bring her here."

"The Silent Dragon took her?!" Corrin gasped.

Reflet nodded, "I tried speaking with her, but the girl wouldn't say a word to me. The most she's ever done was sing the same song repeatedly. So, I try to watch over her, but…"

The silence was evident of the problem as Azura frowned, "She keeps straying away?"

Reflet nodded, "She does listen to whatever you tell her, but she has a mind of her own sometimes and would wonder off constantly."

"Her name, then?" Xander questioned.

Reflet shook his head, "She never told me her name before."

"Where is she now?" Corrin asked.

"Do we really have to ask?" Takumi muttered, "She's probably with the enemy in the castle."

"Probably. Her body could be there." The man frowned, "I don't know much, I'm afraid."

There was a moment of silence before Ryoma spoke up, "What does the silent Dragon want from her? Is she an esper as well?"

"That can't be." Leo answered, "Kakeru said that there was only ten of them."

They looked to Reflet who answered, "I had told her to remain in the storage room with me. I just hope she didn't leave again."

Kamui nodded, "Can you take us there tomorrow, then?"

"I understand." Reflet nodded.

"Thank you." Corrin smiled, "You can go rest for tonight."

Reflet nodded again, but remained hesitant.

"What's the matter?" Kamui raised a brow, "Is there something else you wish to tell us?"

Reflet was quiet before he spoke, "You're… Kamui and Corrin… of Hoshido?"

Kamui nodded, "Yes."

The man was quietly looking at them before he nodded, "I see…"

Kamui frowned in confusion. Corrin asked, "Is something wr-"

"Corrin, Kamui." Ryoma interrupted quickly, "It's gotten late."

He picked up the bottle of the medicine and handed it over to his sister, "Can you hand this over to that man?"

Corrin looked to him in confusion before she nodded, "Well, all right?"

The confusion still remained before Kamui raised a brow and nodded, "Well, we have to check in on Heishi and the others."

After hearing this, the others nodded.

"I'd like see how Nanami is doing right now." Azura spoke up, "Right now a majority of the espers are with very little protection too."

Takumi pointed to the man, "And him? There's no way we're leaving him to roam over the place on his own."

The man jumped. Kamui looked to Reflet thoughtfully, "Well… I'd have Kaze keep an eye on him now that Kakeru is with us recovering."

"That'd be the best choice." Leo replied with a sigh as they all agreed, "Reflet. Don't try anything weird or we will be forced to go with another method than this. So, be sure to be here in the morning."

"I understand, milord." Reflet gave them a deep bow.

It was the next morning when Leo came into the library. It didn't take him long to find Kakeru now up in bed while speaking with Reflet. Felicia was there as well while Azura and Kaze was present.

"So you're well enough to sit up on your own." Leo noted with a curt nod.

Kakeru nodded, "Yes. Thank you very much, especially after all that trouble."

Leo shook his head as he grumbled, "Consider yourself lucky. If it were for me to decide, I would have placed you into a hash interrogation. Only Kamui and Corrin would believe the two of you as you are right now."

"I understand, milord." Reflet nodded.

Leo sighed, "So, when are you going to reveal yourself? You're not going to earn any kind of trust amongst us that way. Especially, with Hoshido's second prince."

The man hesitated before Azura spoke up, "Leo, it seems Ron decided to make his first step last night and stole Kakeru's ear cuff."

Leo raised a brow, "Again?"

"It's fine." Kakeru replied with a strained smile, "There was a good reason why he did that. You see, the ear cuff was a tracking device so Natsuhiko ordered Ron to take it away from me. I didn't even know about that till I heard about it."

"Okay…" Leo sighed, "I'm glad that you got that taken care of, then."

Leo turned to Azura, "Weren't we suppose to learn more about the situation? Where's Kamui and Corrin?"

"Corrin's awake and Kamui is checking on Ron." Azura replied.

Leo nodded, "They did find it hard to believe that Ron did all of this before he started working with us."

"Yeah…" Kakeru struggled a small chuckle, "It's still surprising to hear that, but we never really know what he's thinking anyway."

"Sorry!"

Kamui rushed up to the group trying to catch his breath, "I had some things to do and Corrin decided to watch over Nanami."

"Are you all right?" Azura asked.

"Yeah." Kamui smiled.

Leo raised a brow, "And the morning has only started."

"Please don't push yourself." Reflet replied.

Kamui nodded, "Right. Let's start with a few questions, then. Reflet, you said that you went through another time and space to search for help. Can you tell us what happened?"

"Of course." Reflet nodded, "I searched for a world that had experience in slaying god-like dragons with my magic and found a world where a ruler and his soldiers had successfully done so. They were under a special condition, though."

"A special condition?" Kamui raised a brow.

"Yes," he continued, "For you see, they had help from people who were from their future that was doomed by the dragon. Time travelers, you can say. They returned to their parents' time to warn them of their dragon's plan because it had turned them into the sole surviving humans of their world."

"Sole surviving humans?" Azura frowned.

Reflet nodded, "Those people used the power of a divine being and traveled to the past. A taboo that even I can't push away completely. However, she was successful and pulled more than ten into the past. A very powerful feat for one people claims as a goddess. I took this as a sign and searched for anyone amongst them for help. I was in a rush, you see, and had to find those strong enough to help me stop the Silent Dragon."

Leo nodded, "So, what happened? You told me that there was an ambush…"

Reflet grimaced, "I successfully found a few willing to give me the aid I needed and together we pushed through the army. But I underestimated him and we failed to put an end to the dragon. We were forced to flee from the castle, but an ambush caught us off guard. I died in the battle that day, but Moro was merciful and granted me the powers to come here. However, the power influenced those who come here to retain their senses as if they were living amongst this dream."

"So, that's what you mean…" Leo sighed, "So it failed."

Azura nodded, "Reflet, I do have one question though. How much do you know about the Silent Dragon and Valla? I only know that they once worshipped the Silent Dragon and had good relations with Nohr and Hoshido. Also, King Garon is currently his puppet."

Reflet frowned, "That's true. There's more to it, though. During the founding days of Valla, the Silent Dragon was once known as the Wise Dragon and was close friends with the royal family of Valla, especially their First King. However, during the reign of the Second King, the Dragon had discovered that there was an uncontrollable power within him and feared that he would lose his sanity to it one day. So, he took his dragonstone and created Princess Azura's pendant accompanied with a song. The song would help keep the dragon sane as long as it is sung from those blessed with his powers and blood, such as milady, and that the pendant is present. However, it wasn't enough and, one day, reports came in that he had destroyed an entire forest."

"I knew that the Silent Dragon and my father was friends, but that's what happened?" Azura said in surprise as she touched her pendant carefully.

He nodded, "Though there was no casualty, it was enough to frighten the people and cursed him as a monster. No one, but the royal family believed in him and they tried to help him earn the people's trust. However, he too lost his trust in mankind and retreated into a cave in solitude cursing the humans as well. The King and his family tried to help their friend, but, one day, it all fell apart in the one moment of insanity. He killed his best friend. That act ended up crossing the line and he completely lost it after. Even now, he still seeks the annihilation of mankind."

"That's why we must stop him." Kamui replied before turning to Reflet, "But, Reflet, is there really no other way to bring his sanity back if he was once good?"

"No." he grimaced, "If there was any way, the former king would've done so. There's nothing to help bring back his sanity now. The only way to stop him now is to put an end to him."

Kamui frowned, "I guess, but…"

Leo grumbled, "Kamui. I agree with him. As much of the good he had done in the past, it won't work now if he killed the king. The Former King was the only one capable of bringing him back. Now that he's dead, there's nothing we can do, but put him down as well."

Kamui was quiet with uncertainty as he thought carefully. Azura was silent as well. The couple was no longer certain of what to do in the situation. It only seemed that the possible solution to all of this is to defeat the Silent Dragon. Kakeru looked to the man with a frown before he sighed, "Well, that's everything, I guess."

Kamui looked to the former tactician, "Reflet, is there really no other way for us to find help? Perhaps any survivors from the volunteering army that you've once found?"

Reflet grimaced, "I don't know. The ones I've brought with me survived that day of the ambush."

Leo grinned, "Then-!"

Reflet nodded, "That day was also the day I learned of a kidnapping that occurred between Hoshido and Nohr. When I heard about this, I immediately helped the them escape in search of the children who had been kidnapped."

"D-Did you just say," Kamui hesitated, "'kidnapped' between Hoshido and Nohr?"

Kamui looked to his wife who also shared his glance. Leo sighed, "Sir, would you happen to mean my step-sister?"

"Step-sister? Princess Azura…" Reflet frowned quietly before he continued, "Well… Perhaps. You see, Princess Azura had some relatives aside from her and Queen Arete."

"I… have blood relatives?" Azura's eyes widen as she stood there in stupor.

The tactician nodded, "Yes. I don't know if they all survived, but I hope they are alive at least."

"I have blood relatives…" Azura whispered quietly.

Leo nodded with a smile and chuckled, "You're no longer the sole survivor, Sister. How do we find them or those soldiers you brought with you, Reflet?"

Reflet smiled, "I've sent the soldiers in search of the kidnapped children and, aside from Princess Azura, the others should be in Hoshido…"

"They were all in Hoshido this whole time?" Azura gasped, "But, I spent the rest of my days in Hoshido after I was taken from Nohr?"

"That would be dangerous." Reflet shook his head, "If a person from Hoshido showed that they have affiliation with someone from Nohr, it would endanger themselves as well."

Leo nodded, "I hate to say it, but Reflet is correct. It would've been the same in Nohr as well. If someone from outside came in looking for Kamui and Corrin as even their distant friends, it would've caused great suspicion. Especially, if they were a resident of Nohr."

Kamui frowned, "I get it now. Then, I'll speak with Ryoma and see if we can find them. The problem is that Yukimura would be busy guarding the castle from King Garon's forces."

"Um…" Reflet faltered, "The soldiers aren't in Hoshido, though. At least, I didn't send them there."

Kamui looked to him in confusion, "Then…"

Reflet grimaced, "I… accidentally… sent them to Nohr…"

"What?" Leo's eyes widen as he grimaced, "It would be difficult to send a force back home, though! How are we going to-… Reflet…"

"Yes, Prince Leo?" Reflet looked to him.

"How many soldiers did you send?"

"Three, sir." He replied, "I gave them a mission to look for the kidnapped children amongst the royal family and insure their safety. They should be or trying to become a retainer of the royal family… well, if they got the wrong message, the Nohrian royal family."

Leo sighed and sat back down into a bench. Kamui raised a brow, "Leo? You know them?"

"Why wouldn't I…?" Leo mumbled as he got back up and turned to Reflet, "They've done their mission, Reflet. They may have mistaken Kamui and Corrin for Azura, though. They were fortunate Father didn't choose to place them under him on a whim instead."

"So you do know them…" Kamui smiled before he mumbled to himself, "But retainers who came looking for me and Corrin instead? Leo, who are they? Arthur?"

"As if." Leo sighed, "Just don't worry about it, all right? I'll let you know when it's necessary. At least, now we know what they were up to this entire time."

Azura nodded, "Then, I just need to find my relatives in Hoshido…"

Kamui smiled, "Yes. I hope Ryoma would be able to shed some light. The news might not be too happy with him, but it should be fine if he heard about the reason. He already knows a part of Valla's situation and history like us. Don't worry, Azura. We'll find them. Maybe, they would know more about the situation too."

Hearing this, Azura smiled and nodded, "Yes. Thank you, Kamui, Leo, and Reflet!"

It's… so dark… So very dark…

There was a sigh as she opened her eyes and saw the sleeping body of the two eye patched archers. The same… Again, she saw nothing amongst the dreams. Though Kagami was there in the same room as her, she could see nothing. Worried, she wonder what may have been the problem. She was losing contact with Kagami as soon as she could no longer hear the thoughts of the communicative esper. Her hand trembled slightly as she watched them. She had been afraid of this. She even saw it coming, but… but what made her follow through with it all was-

"Oh Dark One!"

She looked up in alarm upon the familiar words and saw Odin burst through the door to the quarter. Nyx's heart skipped momentarily as she nearly jumped out of pure surprise. She groaned and mumbled, "What is it, Odin?"

"M-Milord has spoken from the mind!" The mage blurted aloud.

"What are you trying to say?" Nyx raise a brow.

Laslow rushed in as he replied, "What he's saying is that we've finally gotten in contact with Prince Leo through Heishi's ability!"

Nyx's eyes widen as she jumped to her feet, "I need someone to stay here. Odin, quickly bring me there."

As she took a step outside and left Selena and Laslow behind, they heard some grumbles and turned to see Shura outside grabbing the young newcomer by the collar.

"I was just looking for some food!" the boy shouted.

"Yeah? Well, the exit isn't this way, kid." The thief grumbled, "Come on. We're going back to the room."

As he walked off with the boy hanging from his collar in hand, Nyx quietly sighed in relief under her breath. Finally, they hurried down the corridors.

When Kamui opened his eyes again, he was met with the familiar sight of a tree branch. As he got up he saw that his wife was awake as well.

"Azura." Kamui said in surprise, "Did we…"

Azura nodded, "Hopefully…"

He strained a smile, "This may sound weird, but it's great to be back."

"I agree." Azura giggled, "And to think we spent a few hours in that time. It certainly felt like days."

"Yes." Kamui nodded, "Anyway, we should get up. I bet everyone else is waiting for us."

"Wonder what kind of realm Lilith would be taking us to?" Azura wondered curiously.

"We're just going to have to see and find out." Kamui grinned as he said this, "I'll need to check on the reports of what's going on at the surface first. If need be, I'll send out another squad."

"All right." She nodded.

It didn't take long when she reached the lake that she saw Mikoto and Nanami talking with Koharu. It was unusual to see the three after all that had happened, but she could see that the girls will always be close friends.

"Ah, Princess Azura!" Koharu called out to her with a bright smile and waved to her, "G-Good morning!"

"Good morning." She smiled as she approached the three, "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better!" Koharu smiled and showed her her hands, "Look. I'm not fading anymore."

"That's great." Azura smiled, "I see that it has solved the problem."

Mikoto nodded, "But… well, it seems that some of us still retained some bit of memories of what you all did for us. Thank you again."

"Really?" Azura said with a confused look, "Well, it's fine, but I'm a bit surprised. I was told that you won't remember much of what we would do in your past."

"Are you all right?" Nanami asked her with slight concern.

Azura nodded, "Yes. I'm fine. Has everyone else woke up?"

Koharu nodded, "Well, It would seem that Prince Leo and Princess Elise are awake. I think their big brother and sister are up too."

Mikoto sighed, "I didn't see if Prince Takumi is up, but Mozu told me that she saw him today. I did see Princess Sakura this morning in the Mess Hall."

Azura smiled, "I see."

"Are we going to be marching out again?" Nanami asked.

"I believe that we'll be leaving for another world in the Deep realms." Azura replied, "I'll need a place to stay at for a while first. Kamui and Corrin said that they would keep on the look out for those invisible soldiers and faceless for a while. It should only take a day or two here. According to Lilith, time flows faster in that realm."

Koharu frowned, "But… Will you be all right? Is Prince Kamui and Princess Corrin going to be there too?"

She nodded, "That's right. Our other sibling will be here, though. You'll be all right with everyone here. It'll only be a few months on my side, so it'll be all right."

Mikoto thought for a bit before she asked with concerned look, "Then, your child will be there by themselves?"

Azura hesitated before she nodded again, "I'm afraid so. Though he would be raised by his caretakers and the village, I'm afraid it would be a while before he gets to see us again. Time flows fast in that world and he could grow up to be an adult before it's safe enough for him to return here with us. But, it's safer there than here…"

It was decided, after all. Their child would be born and raised in one of the Deep realms of the astral plane…

"But, what of the enemy? Should we go at them?" Mikoto questioned in confusion, "It would be difficult to go at them at this time."

"Which is why we'll keep a close eye on the situation."

Azura turned around and saw Kamui approach with a small smile.

"We have everything planned out here." Kamui said, "Takumi and Camilla will help us get to the village. During that time, everyone else will stay here and watch over the surface above. Kaze and Felicia will be here too."

"I see…" Mikoto nodded.

Azura looked to Kamui, "Still, I'm afraid that we won't be the only ones doing this…"

"What do you mean?" Koharu asked in confusion.

Kamui looked to Azura before he sighed, "Well, Hayato and Hana had to leave for one of the deep realms early this morning. They weren't in the Mess Hall this morning, after all, and Sakura received a temporary leave of absence from Hana."

"What?"

After helping the princess move her belongings to a wagon, Nanami looked to the open portal where Lilith waited floating in mid-air.

"Nanami!"

She turned around and saw Azura walk over to her.

"I want you to have something." Azura said and handed her a fire cracker, "Do you know what this is?"

Nanami nodded, "A signal light."

Azura smiled, "That's right. If something happened and you're in danger, just set it off. Kaze and the others will come to your aid. Since, I won't be there to help you and you can't remain in the castle everytime, I need you to hold onto this. Kaze and our siblings will all be here to help you."

Nanami was hesitant, but nodded. Azura smiled wider, "I really hope to show you the child eventually."

Nanami wasn't certain how to respond to this. It was the first time she had heard something like this just as this was the first time someone close to her would come to have such an important even coming up. What was she suppose to say?

After seeing the two leave the astral plane, everything went well for a while. Of course, another attack in a village occurred, but that would be easily dealt with as Corrin had sent her siblings to the area as she personally went to the other. Nanami had followed Hinoka's group to the surface since she thought it would be best if she had gone outside for a bit. Of course, Akito ended up coming with her, though she had little to complain about it. It was unusual to be back together again in an unusual place such as an army. Though there was usually a good and a bad cause in both, there was hardly any now. Two kingdoms weren't against each other so it would be a good enough excuse to follow Kamui and Corrin's army. Of course, Akito wasn't too happy to hear that she had helped the others in battle. So, she was given the task to help Akito with the meals. Koharu was assigned to help them as well. For some reason, the Nohrian princes were insisting that she would help with the cooking or care for Mozu's crops instead, which seemed alright with her. Though they would still be staying at the castle, they would still have to travel back and forth from where they teleported from. So, they were now traveling back to the surface through a strange portal that Azura said would be at. It had been a while since they were on the surface. It would be an interesting perspective with the two kingdoms now working with one another. The only problem now is that, even with the sibling's aid, the kingdom itself won't be welcoming to them with the current king still under control of it. She didn't know much of what had occurred, but she was told that the people would be safe regardless. It was a day full of travels before they found themselves in what Hinoka called the Wind tribe, where Hayato and Kagami was found. As she reached the top of the stairs, Akito was nearly out of breath as he grumbled, "So many stairs…"

"Are you all right, Shukuri?" Nanami asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied curtly and straightened himself up, "So, are we here now?"

As they looked around, they could only see a large dessert plain with few houses. As the wind blew carrying the sand across, Nanami shielded herself before being pulled back to Akito's side. He frowned, "They're here…"

As he said this, a nearby house started falling apart while the resident rushed outside. As they ran, Akito narrowed his eyes before summoning a stream of water behind the people. At that instance, four figures appeared completely soaked from the water he created. Quickly, Nanami threw some shurikens at them. Though one of them blocked it with a katana, others stuck out from them. Taking this chance, the battle began. Amongst them, Akito became the eyes they needed to catch remnants that was about to flee the place and Nanami marked them with her shurikens. It would've been a task too much for her if Kagero wasn't willing to offer her a hand. During the course of time, she had gotten rather close with the other ninjas. Well, as close as she was allowed to get, especially with Saizo. Even with her affiliation given, it seems that he wasn't as interested as getting to know them as he would keeping an eye on them. It was reasonable as they were espers with abilities, after all. It would've been fine with her if he hated them too and, to her, it was just as convenient. After flinging another shuriken at another enemy ninja and Xander quickly bringing it down, there was a clap of applause as she spun around in shock. Before her stood a bald headed samurai. He was buff and shirtless with a strangely large necklace of beads around his neck and a Katana around his waist. The man laughed, "That was well done!"

Nanami could only raise a brow as she saw him with great bewilderment. How long has he been there?!

"We're done here!"

She returned to the scene and saw Hinoka and Xander approach them. She could only give her a look of confusion which they understood rather instantly and looked to him. Hinoka smiled, "Ah, that's right. You two have never met each other before. Chief Fuga, this is one of the espers my siblings have told you about. Nanami Shiranui. Nanami, this is Chief Fuga. He's the chief of the Wind Tribe."

"Nanami, huh?" Fuga chuckled, "Ah, I see now. Greetings. Kagami had once told me that there was a young friend of his who was a ninja. You did well marking that assassin, young lady! Princess Hinoka, you have my gratitude for helping us defeat those beings. Please extend my gratitude to your siblings as well. Speaking of which, where is the wielder of the legendary Yato and his twin? I find it hard to believe that they'd choose not to help out on the battlefield."

Nanami was surprised to hear that her friend had spoken about her. As for Kamui and Corrin, Nanami looked to the princess in confusion. Hinoka nodded, "Of course not, Chief. You know them. Corrin is currently with Ryoma in Cyrkensia. As for Kamui…"

She smiled, "He has some personal business to take care of first and won't be back in the next couple of days."

"Really now?" Fuga raised a brow.

Hinoka nodded again, "Yup!"

The chief laughed, "Well, it must be of great importance, if he were to choose to leave the front temporarily. Good news of some sort, perhaps?"

Hinoka raised a brow as Xander chuckled, "Your expression gave it away."

"Oh…" Hinoka slightly blushed, "Sorry about that…"

The chief turned to the Nohrian prince and narrowed his eyes, "A Nohrian soldier?"

"My apologies for not introducing myself, Chief Fuga." Xander nodded firmly, "I'm Prince Xander of Nohr."

"The crown prince?" Fuga stared at him with suspicion, "This far into Hoshido and with Kamui's and Corrin's militia?"

Hinoka nodded with a grimace, "We have some news regarding the current situation in Nohr as well. We also want to warn you to be cautious of King Garon's movements."

"The king, is it?" Fuga frowned and looked to Xander.

Xander responded, "My father… is not himself, I'm afraid. The last my brother and I was with him, he had told us his goal to destroy both Hoshido and Nohr."

Fuga frowned, "Nohr as well?"

"Yes." Xander nodded, "I've followed my siblings because they had known of this beforehand and warned us. They told us that they would tell us who was the one controlling him."

"Who was it?" Fuga raised a brow.

"The ones controlling these enemies." Hinoka responded hesitantly.

"That unspeakable mastermind Kamui and Corrin spoke about in their letters?" Fuga said.

Hinoka nodded eagerly. There was a tense silence as Nanami looked between the three nervously. Though it would be easy if the chief would just believe in them, there was a great chance that he wouldn't and try to issue the capture of the prince at the moment. After seeing the first great battle between Nohr and Hoshido, she could tell that the two kingdoms had a great feud between them. There would be a great shock if news that the two ruling families had chosen to put it aside for the sake of the third party that they have very vague explanation of. Finally, the chief spoke, "I would ask for a match, but, hearing what you have to say, I assume that you don't have much time or energy to spare?"

Hinoka frowned, "You're correct, Chief Fuga. I understand we were suppose to earn it, but…"

Fuga shook his head, "If all decision were made from a fight, our tribe won't be standing where it is. All right, I shall join you on your quest."

"What?!" Hinoka's eyes widen, "But, what about your tribe? Also, the Wind tribe is neutral to the war, right?"

The suggestion surprised Nanami as well. Though she had heard of a tribe taking neutral sides, she had never heard of them, much less their Chief, to break it or take part in the front lines. Fuga smiled, "It's true that I didn't plan on helping anyone from Hoshido or Nohr, but… I find your siblings' desire to save both by the choice of neither very noble. Also, Knowing our true enemy is out there, I can't stay on the sidelines any longer. All of Hoshido would be in danger as well."

"I see…" Hinoka nodded, "Well, I'm sure Corrin and Kamui would be overjoyed that you'd help us with their cause."

And, that's how it went. After some planning, they were on the move once more with a new recruit and his followers. Nanami didn't want to stay by him as close and chose to remain by Akito and Koharu. Not wanting to waste the time to teleport between realms, Xander and Hinoka decided to camp for the night. Something she hadn't done for a long time. With Akito's help, she and Koharu successfully pitched their tent. The girl's would spend the night in one tent while Akito would sleep share one with Laslow. After cleaning up after the meals with Koharu, the two were about to return to their tent when Xander and Hinoka came by and called out to Koharu. Without her friend, Nanami decided to return to their tent by herself. At least, she would help get ready to go to the ravines tomorrow.

Koharu nervously followed the two royals to a large tent that they had used to speak with some of the soldiers. Confused, they followed the two inside while Laslow and Setsuna stood on duty.

"Please have a seat." Hinoka said gesturing to the wooden table and chairs in the center of the warmly lit tent.

Koharu nodded and took a seat. Once they seated, Xander pulled out what looked like a bunch of dry grass tied together with a string and said, "We were able to get these from Chief Fuga earlier in his village. Whatever happens make sure to keep these on you, understood?"

Koharu nodded hesitantly and took it in hand, "Um…"

Hinoka smiled, "They're grass that gives out colored smoke if you light it on fire."

Koharu's eyes widen in surprise as she looked back up to them. However, Xander nodded, "We won't always be there with you and we can't keep you or your friends in the castle forever. So, if you're out of the castle with us and in trouble by yourself, remember to light them on fire and help will arrive."

Koharu was still confused and looked to them, "U-uh… W-why…!"

Suddenly, the thought came to her as her eyes widen. Xander raised a brow, "Or you can do it that way. Don't you carry a fire kit with you?"

Koharu nodded, "Y-yes! But… You're not going to…?"

Xander frowned, "You're an adult in your own right. I know you have no intention for such acts for a whim. So, should anything happen, we'll all be there to help."

"That's right." Hinoka grinned, "We're all allies here. If you need help, you can always count on us!"

Xander nodded, "We don't know much about the enemies' lands, so you will have to keep those on you, if you're in danger, don't hesitate to burn those grass."

Hinoka nodded, "It's an old tactic of communication in the past, but Takumi was impressed by it when we were children. I talked with Fuga about it earlier and he was able to get us some."

Koharu was speechless as she stared down at the bundle of grass in her hands. Should she be upset or afraid? She knew of the consequences when she allowed the princes to save her past, but would it really be as safe as it had been on the Norn? But, the people here are kind and thoughtful of her and her friends, especially the royal families. And, it… it looks like that they've accepted her and her abilities… Or was it all just wishful thinking? But, maybe… just maybe…

Finally, Koharu gave a curt bow, "Th-thank you very much!"

By the time, they've returned to the castle, Kamui and Azura was already there waiting for them. As Kamui greeted the Wind Tribe's chief, Nanami greeted Azura who was seated on a bench by the entrance under a Sakura tree, "Princess Azura. Welcome back!"

She tried her best to sound cheerful mimicking something Koharu would probably do. Azura smiled softly, "Thank you, Nanami. It's good to see everyone again."

Those words confused Nanami a bit before Azura smiled, "It's actually been a few months since I last saw you. I've only had Shigure a couple weeks ago in the Deep realm."

The words surprised her. She had never thought that it'd be that long since she had been there withing the last two days. Azura smiled, "Kamui and I have already planned to visit Shigure in a week time. Though, he may already be a toddler by then…"

"Shigure?" Nanami said in confusion, "So, it's a boy?"

Azura nodded, "Yes. He was so small. I only wished that you and Sakura and Elise had been there to see him. He is such a quiet infant too. He gave me and Mozu a scare when we didn't hear him cry."

"Are we talking about Shigure already?"

Kamui and the others had already approached them with smiles of their own. Fuga smiled, "Ah, so this was what was keeping you from the front lines."

"My apologies, Chief Fuga." Kamui bowed, "We couldn't let the enemy know that there would be a fragile situation during our travels, so we had to keep things quiet from outside. I understand that personal matter like this are-"

"It's all right, Kamui." Fuga nodded, "During an era such as now, it would be a danger to the mother and the child if the enemy hears of this. You kept a close eye on the situation and kept everyone safe."

After the chieftain left the group, Nanami watched as the siblings interacted. It was unusual to be around people of royalty, but the lively atmosphere around them weren't as unfamiliar to her. In fact, it reminded her of those days on the Norn. It was… nostalgic. She looked up and saw Koharu retreat from the group. A thought came to mind when she watched her leave. She was most likely thinking about him…

Another day came and went before they began their march once more. Everyone followed the young squire, Anthony, through the ruins till they came upon carious floating islands and what looked to be a city ruin.

"We'll have to get past this area in order to reach Gyges." He said.

However, they were all more surprised of something else as Elise exclaimed, "Hang on a second! Where are there floating islands?!"

"You just noticed this?" Koharu heard Senri grumbled under his breath.

"My, now that is interesting…" Camilla noted clearly impressed, "I'm guessing that we can use those bridges to cross between the floating islands."

As she pointed out to the nearby bridges made of what looked to be wooden bricks, Sakura ssaid nervously, "Those bridges look pretty old, though… You don't think they'll… break… do you?"

"No." Anthony replied, "This is the direction I came. We'll be all right! Probably."

"Porbably?" Hinoka frowned, "Probably isn't very encouraging. It looks like there are enemies stationed in our way, too…"

"But if this is the only path, we'll have to move forward." Takumi said.

"If it will reassure you all, I'll cross this bridge first!" Anthony said, "I know it's safe, but I'll prove it to you!"

"What? Hey!" Takumi called out to him, "Get back here! Don't run off!"

However, the boy was already out of reach and had dashed across the bridge. He turned around and smiled, "Look, everyone! It's fine! Follow me!"

"Oh?" Ron chuckled as he saw this.

"Hmm…" Leo nodded, "I suppose it looks all right. Let's go."

"Right." Kamui nodded.

Kamui and Corrin was the first to step onto the bridge, then Azura and the esper girls. One by one, they began to cautiously cross the bridge as it creaks. Koharu held onto the rope rails nervously as it swayed back and forth. Finally, Leo walked on the bridge with Takumi coming in last behind him. Suddenly, Xander froze, "Wait… The bridge is collapsing! We have to go!"

"Everyone, cross quickly!" Ryoma shouted.

Quickly, Nanami and Mikoto was pulled along as they ran across the bridge. Koharu ran across the bride as Takumi shouted, "Hurry!"

Just as Koharu was reaching the end, she saw in horror as the tied end of the bridge snapped.

"Prince Takumi, Koharu, take my hands!" Leo shouted.

They reached out just as the last of the bridge fell apart. Koharu reached out for one of his hands just as the floor beneath her gave way. She was falling!

"Koharu!"

She heard a scream. Was it her own though? She couldn't quite tell since all she could barely understand was that she couldn't grab onto their hands. Suddenly, something grabbed a hold of her. As she looked up, she saw the sparkling vines wrapped and entwined around her arm.

"Koharu?!" Corrin called over the ledge.

Seeing her, Koharu breathed in relief and shouted, "I-I'm all right!"

"Hang on! We're going to pull you up!" Toya's voice called out to her.

She felt a tug as the the vines began to be pulled up higher and higher. Finally, it wasn't long before she could see the bewildered and relieved looks of everyone. Finally back on land, Nanami and Mikoto rushed up to her.

"Are you all right?" Mikoto asked.

"Y-yes, I'm all right." She replied.

She looked around but was disheartened when she saw that Leo had his book out instead.

"Thank you for saving me…" she gave them a deep bow.

"Yes." Takumi nodded, "Thank you, Prince Leo."

The prince replied with just a smile and a nod.

"Wow," Anthony noted with a grimace, "that would have been a long drop…"

"That's what you say? How are you so calm after what just happened?" Xander scolded then frowned, "Anthony, we need to talk. Right now."

"Hang on, Xander." Azura called out to him, "The enemy is approaching."

They looked around and saw the moving figures of invisible soldiers mobilizing from surround forts.

"This is bad." Corrin noted.

Kamui nodded, "We have to fight back. It's the only way."

As he said this, everyone was already on their way to their station as Kamui assigned each with a partner. Koharu and a majority of the espers were kept to the back as Camilla called out to them, "I see some dragon veins within the forts. Perhaps, we can use that to our advantage."

As she said this, Leo nodded and entered one of the closest forts with Sakura hurrying after him anxiously carrying her bow and arrows. Finally, the broken bricks appeared in from one of the broken bridges, but at the same time the other next to them had fallen. Kamui frowned in deep thoughts, "So, it's one or the other, huh?"

"It could be the only choice we have, though." Corrin reasoned.

Kamui nodded, "Then, we'll keep going like this. Just make sure that no ones left behind when we set of the Dragon Veins."

As the battle went, Koharu remained by Laslow helplessly as she followed after him. Still, the mercenary was kind and patient enough for her to catch up despite his strange use of words. Just as she had arrived one the third island, she felt a tug on her arm and turned to see Anthony said with a frown, "You're going to slow us down. Just hide here and we'll be back."

Koharu looked at him in confusion as the words also struck her. It was true that she was bringing down the entire army, bu-

"It'll be fine." Laslow looked to her with a wink, "I'll stay by her throughout the battle. Also, we're not that far behind. She's not pulling the army back. If she had Lord Kamui and Lady Corrin would've placed her with one of the royal families, who have mounts."

"That's… true." Anthony said with a grimace.

Laslow nodded, "Also, that was rather impolite thing to say to a lady, young man."

The boy huffed angrily and rushed off, "Don't blame me if you're the last to arrive."

"Yes, yes." Laslow sighed.

Once gone, Koharu looked around and saw that they were in the back of the battle field.

"Don't take his words to heart, Miss." Laslow smirked, "I know for certain that you're not pulling anyone down. Now, let's hurry. We can't stay here for long."

"O-okay!" She nodded and ran after him.

There was a few times when she thought the bridge under her would give way again, but it hadn't. She watched as Nanami and Mikoto aid the armies from afar all the while the boy's words continue to come to her mind. Was she really pulling everyone back? Was she a… hindrance?

Having made it to across the bridges, Koharu finally realized what was strange about the fields around them. There was no people. No dead bodies that she had once witnessed in Cyrkensia. Probably because the enemies could fade to dust, there was no remains of a battlefield that she had once witnessed. Was it because that there was no residents left that this happened?

"Koharu! Over here!"

She turned around and saw Heishi waving his arms with the other espers around with soldiers of the army. It was an unusual sight seeing their group in their current state, but the feeling was the same as it had been on the Norn. She smiled and rushed over to them, "C-Coming!"

YueTian: Hey, guys! OMG! What just happened to the entire plot?! Half of it have gone missing! What happened after they met Reflet? And, Azura's missing family tree!

Takumi: Stop whinning! You're the writer here. We should be asking you that! You just thrown your readers from one plot into another! We were suppose to be in a dream and you threw us back into reality! Just what are you-

Kamui: Calm down, Takumi. I'm sure she has a good reason for all of this. Or she can always go back to fix it all.

Takumi: I hope you're right…

YueTian: Yeah, well. I'll do my best. My apologies if that threw you all for a loop. I'll get it sorted out eventually.