Saizo and Gaius - Candy From a Ninja
"Hey, Smokey!"
"..."
"...Utility Belt?"
"..."
"Hothead?"
"..."
"Ah, I know! Eyeline-"
"What do you want, thief?"
Gaius grinned in triumph before casually getting off from his recline on the wall, no trace of candy on his person.
"...I'm just thinking of a clever nickname for you. All the cool kids have one. King Ryoma's 'Lobster,' Xander is 'Goldilocks,' y'know-"
"I could care less what you call me. But I will ask you treat Lord Ryoma with respect-"
"Hey, I called him King, didn't I?" Gaius smirked, eyes darting from Saizo's legs to his cape, but not finding what he was looking for. He had to distract him a little longer...
"...I suppose that's ample amounts, coming from you," the ninja admitted. "Very well. But as I said, my 'nickname,' as you put it is of little consequence to me. Do as you will."
"Well, what do you suppose I'll call you?" The Hoshidan scoffed once more, not too keen on attending to the Ylissean's game.
"How about Saizo, the title I was given? After all, most of your army has no conflict with that."
"Psh," Gaius laughed, "you're stuck in this army too. And besides, Saizo is such a boring name. We need something that accentuates your character! See, Sumia stumbles a bunch, so that's her name! Chrom has blue hair, Hanna and Yanna have red hair, and guess what their nicknames are?"
"Exalt Chrom, Anna of Hoshido, and Anna of Ylisse," Saizo replied, sinking Gaius' dreams. "Are we done here? Do not hope that I am standing here for your amusement, thief."
"You're one to talk," Gaius frowned, darkening slightly. "Where'd you put the goods?"
"The goods?"
"My cache, you nitwit! You're the only one besides your brother who could've broken into my secret chest and plundered my booty!" Gaius whined.
"Putting a coat over a box hardly makes it a 'cache,'" Saizo clarified. Gaius lit up at the ninja's self-incrimination.
"Aha! So you did take it!"
"Have I offered any evidence to the contrary? Of course I took it."
"...But... why?"
"Why, you ask?" Saizo scoffed, adjusting his mask before putting it back onto his jaw. "There is hardly a substance on this planet that is more... crippling than sweets. At the rate you consume them, you will die of a clogged heart by the end of the year."
"Hardly," Gaius frowned, "I eat my veggies, run away from the authorities, and get a good night's sleep every day! Hardly a dull life. Candy is just my sweet reward."
"And here we are, staring at a sweet-obsessed thief and a sub par soldier." Gaius didn't take this very lightly and took a step forward.
"Oh? You're calling me out now, huh? Is that how you wanna play this game, eyeliner?"
"What does that even... -Yes. If you find it within you to take offense to my claim, then you know how to fix that problem."
"Yeah," Gaius began, drawing his sword slowly. "I think I do..."
"Entertain me, thief," Saizo replied, solemnly drawing his father's katana in a similar motion. "Let's fix our problems, one by one."
Chrom stirred from his nap, a loud noise near startling him awake if it weren't for blast of heat that also accompanied it.
"W-was that... an explosion?"
In the bottom of a newly formed crater, Gaius and Saizo lay groaning on either side of the hole, smoke and flames rising in comedic amounts around them.
"Ow..."
"Y-you... fool..."
"Me?! What kind of idiot keeps bombs on him?"
"...A well... p-prepared... ninja..." Saizo slumped to the ground, breathing in deeply even as the grass around him burned to a crisp. Gaius wasn't faring any better. His hair was disheveled and blasted with smoke, while the tip of his scarf was still ablaze. Putting it out lazily, he rolled to his back and laughed.
"W-well, if that's the case... G-good fight then... Barbecue..."
"I-is that... your new name for me?" Saizo wheezed, holding his ribs where the explosion bruised him the worst.
"Y-yeah... I t...think it works," Gaius offered. "Eyeliner was too obvious... the others were too gimmicky... b-but Barbecue... that's clever. S-short... C-concise... W-witty..."
"Y-you're a child," Saizo retorted, finally catching his breath. "I-I'm surprised... you p-put up a fight."
"Heh..." Gaius chuckled, "So... where's my candy?"
"No."
"Must you follow me every where I go?" Saizo scorned, seeing the shadow of the Ylissean thief behind him. "I don't have your poisons."
His cover blown, Gaius stepped into the light with a visible frown. Saizo mirrored it underneath his mask, keeping his gaze in an awkward stare before Gaius halted the silence.
"I know. But soon, you'll run into someone who does! He or she will give you that knowing look, and then I'll know who else is conspiring with your schemes."
"Perhaps if you weren't focusing on hiding yourself, you would've seen her thrice in the last thirty minutes." Gaius immediately gasped, stepping an inch closer, as if he could smell the BS coming from Saizo's seemingly false ruse.
"Aha! So it's a woman!"
"So you can derive gender from pronouns," Saizo wondered in mock awe. "What else are you capable of, I wonder?"
"Do you wanna fight! Cuz that's how you get in a fight, Barbecue."
"You say you can fight, yet evidence proves otherwise."
"Oh yeah? You had to blow yourself up to knock me down! Hardly a fair battle."
"Ninja do not fight fair, thief."
"Well neither do I! If you're going to be all secretive and mysterious with my treasures, then I'll just have to put on my big-boy pants and match you move for move!"
"I'm hardly assured you would fit in 'little-boy' pants," Saizo retorted.
"Oh that's it!"
"...t-two... out of three?"
Saizo was none too pleased at having his torso set on fire for the second time today. This time, the explosion that ensued had got the attention of Robin himself, who had peered over the crater's lip and stared at the two below.
"This is new," the tactician remarked, gazing into the flaming hole. Saizo immediately snapped to attention, wincing visibly as the burns on his chest just got agitated by the sudden movement.
"Commander Robin! I apologize-"
"Ah relax, Bubbles," Gaius intervened, limping out of the hole and pulling himself only to roll on the grass once he was out. "J-just some old-fashioned fun."
"I'm an old-fashioned guy," Robin droned, "and I babysit Lissa on occasion. I'd hardly call this fun. You are burning up my grass, sending smoke flying for the entire Valmese and Nohrian army to see, not to mention ruining my quality time with my daughter and son. Didn't I say that we had the day off? What's going on?"
"It is my fault, Commander-"
"I know it is both of your faults," Robin interrupted. "Gaius... with me. And Saizo?"
"Yes, Commander?"
"Thanks for the candy," Robin finished, causing both Gaius and Saizo to jolt.
"What."
"What?!"
Robin laughed at both of their surprise, not anticipating the latter to be so in shock.
"After our ninja friend handed it to Princess Sakura, who in turn gave some to Ricken, I helped myself to your little cache, Gaius. Quite the assortment of flavors you got."
"But how-"
"How..."
"I'm a tactician, remember?" Robin smirked, gazing at the two knowingly. "All I need is patience and time and I can figure out the wonderful mysteries of the universe. Considering it's nearly sunset, I had plenty of both. Oh, and candy. Plenty of that..."
"Where is it now?!" Gaius whined, causing Robin to raise his hands in surrender.
"Don't you worry, my orange-haired crook. Saizo, you're free to go. Gaius, come with me." With a nod, Saizo disembarked only for Gaius to pounce on Robin angrily once he was out of view.
"B-bubbles, you know how much those things mean to me..."
"Candy is candy," Robin dismissed. "But enough of that. Let's get inside my tent and we can talk more important things than your sweets." Gaius scowled but nodded.
"You know those things are the most valuable possessions I own..."
"First off," Robin announced, gesturing Gaius to his seat before taking one across from him on the other side of his desk, "Are you okay?"
"What, after a scuffle like that? Psh, that old coot couldn't land a solid hit on me until he blew us both up."
"Twice."
"Yeah... twice."
"So..." Robin began, looking at his notebook in contemplation, "Did you think you'd see him again?"
Gaius froze.
"What?"
"The fifth Saizo," Robin read, not even looking at the book but staring into Gaius' soul. "Quite the title..."
"B-bubbles, what are you getting at..."
"You told me, back in Plegia... that we were your family now. You almost forgot about your old family. Almost."
Robin almost smirked at the sight of Gaius shrinking in his chair.
"W-who told you all this stuff?"
"You did, of course," Robin replied. "Don't tell me you forgot our heartfelt conversation on your criminal record."
"Of course not," Gaius admitted, "But why are you bringing this up, especially now?"
"Let's say," Robin paused for a brief moment, looking outside before nodding again, "that a certain songstress here knows quite a bit of trivia knowledge... Even more than I do."
"Azura?"
"Shh... don't want to shift the status quo now, do we?" Robin urged, smiling slightly. "But, it begs a question..."
"You learned an awful amount about me just by talking to her? What..."
"Azura has her secrets, as do I. Now, just as before, I'll tell you what I know, and I want answers."
"B-bubbles, you're getting weird." Gaius made an attempt to get out of his chair, but was met by an overwhelming shift in gravity as Robin near pinned him to the seat with a spell. "-oookay I'll talk I'll talk!"
"How long have you lived in Ylisse?"
"What kind of question is that-"
"Just answer it!" Robin yipped back, the displeased look on his face doing little to hide his impatience.
"Almost 10 years now..."
"Plenty of time for a thief to earn his name, huh?" Robin goaded, "A couple years in the brick house, swindle a noble or two... we got the makings of a fine Ylissean scoundrel."
"So?"
"But you're, what... 24? 25?"
"25," Gaius admitted. "What of it?"
"That's 15 years you spent away from here. Quite... a bit of time."
"W-what did Azura tell you?"
"I believe the question," Robin continued fluidly, "is why Azura even knows anything about you at all."
"T-that's also a good question."
"And here's the answer, Gaius." Turning his book around, Gaius saw that Robin had filled the page with nothing but anagrams of his own name.
Gasui.
Ugisa.
Agsiu.
Isuga.
"Look familiar?"
"Not really," Gaius answered slowly, paling. "I didn't realize five letters could be arranged so many different ways." Robin waved it off and continued on.
"Patience... and time. You can give a monkey or a tactician a bunch of random pieces of a grand puzzle, Gaius... but until you give them the big picture... the tactician's just as clueless as the monkey."
"And you found your big picture from Azura, then?"
"Almost. But, I do aim on holding up my end of the deal," Robin promised. "Just answer one more question."
"What?"
"Which one is it?" Robin asked, pointing at the anagrams of Gaius' name.
Gaius gulped, already knowing his cover was blown.
Asugi
"Father, I do not want to become the next Saizo!"
"This is not about want, my son... this is about honor!"
"Honor be damned! Wasn't losing the war enough? Hoshido doesn't need a Saizo! Why cant they have me just for who I am?"
"...You will understand in time. Whether or not you accept that mantle... you are still my son. It... disappoints me to think you are rejecting the honor that I, your uncle, and our father have all shared. Perhaps when you mature further..."
"You left me in that deep realm while you were fighting a war! I had plenty of time to mature."
"You are fifteen, Saizo!"
"I am no Saizo!"
"And somehow, you found yourself here," Robin replied softly, scribbling in his notebook a little.
"Hey, I have my secrets... you have yours. And Azura... well, she knows quite a bit," Gaius meandered back and forth in his chair, thinking of all these rapid developments that Robin had to be processing.
"Very well, I will not pry, even though I have so many questions," Robin sighed. "But... Ylisse... was that your goal, all this time?"
"I didn't find myself here..." Gaius admitted. "I was sent here. But I cannot say by whom-"
"I'll figure that out soon enough, trust me. Now, run along now."
"W-wait," Gaius interrupted, not leaving, "This doesn't change anything, okay? I'm only trying to do what's right." Robin smiled back and nodded in kind honesty.
"To think you were a Hoshidan this whole time... I think I'm finally piecing together Caeldori's story as well, if you two came from the same thread."
"Her, I'm not so sure, but Tharja may or may not know something..." Gaius admitted. "But... if you have any questions, you know where to find me."
"Of course," Robin scoffed, "Sulking in your father's shadow. Haha, Gaius, noble thief of Ylisse, and the sixth Saizo... Small world, isn't it?"
"I didn't think I'd hear those words again..."
"Well," Robin grinned, "Consider them your sneak-peak into what happens after Grima is done for. After all, our world is half the battle, right?"
For once in his life, Gaius remained silent.
Just how much does Robin know?
"Are you ready to go? Asugi, Caeldori, Rhajat?"
"Of course... uh... whoever you are."
"Just Morgan will do. Very well then... let us go."
Gaius rested against the wall as he watched the Hoshidans and Nohrians interact with each other, the occasional Ylissean crossing his periphery every now and then.
"So... Bubbles found out our story? Maybe... I should tell him everything? But... I'll die if I do..."
Reaching into his pocket only to find it decidedly empty, Gaius rose off his perch to find... his father.
"I'm... no Saizo..."
The words didn't sound right coming from Gaius' mouth. They never did. Not as a child, living in a peaceful Hoshido, and certainly not as a man.
"I could never amount to the things you've done, pops..."
"Where are you going?"
Saizo and his wife looked at the young boy in angst as they prepared to step through the portal back to reality.
"I have a war to win, my son. I can't have you in harm's way."
"W-when will it be over?"
The ninja frowned, shaking his head.
"When it's over."
"Y-you'll come back, right?"
"Of course. You know what... here." Saizo reached into his bag and pulled out a smaller knapsack filled with unknown items. "These... were for Lady Sakura; she enjoys these... but I think you'd like them better... against my judgement."
"W-what is it? What are these?" Saizo took off his mask and the boy could see the smile that was hidden underneath.
"They're called candies. Horrible for your health and body... but you may like the taste. When you are feeling lonely, and the bitterness stays in your mouth... think of us, and sweeter memories. I'll return, I promise."
"At least he kept the promise," Gaius laughed, cleaning off his clothes were the blast from Saizo's explosion near tore apart the thread. Even if...
Hoshido had lost the war against Nohr, at a severe cost. Saizo never smiled much after. Considering the fact that his liege, Ryoma, had died, while he, his retainer, lived, Saizo dimmed to a glimmer as a result. He remembered the day he came back, worn out and weary. That was the last time he saw him smile.
"Father, you're back!"
"H... Yes. I am," Saizo whispered, holding the boy in his arms. He was almost at his shoulders now, a strong child at 14 years.
"So the war..."
"The war is over. Hoshido... The world is at peace."
"Y-you don't look too happy at that."
"My emotions are irrelevant," Saizo muttered. "What is important is that you are safe and ready to come home with us. Pack your things... we're going home."
He found Saizo training with his Lord, the clang of their katana a familiar sound for a while now.
"Impressive form, Saizo. You are matching me in swordsmanship."
"I-it helps to have a peerless mentor, Lord Ryoma," the ninja acknowledged, sheathing his blade and bowing to the Hoshidan Emperor. Spotting a flicker of orange, Saizo scowled when he saw Gaius relaxing against a tree.
"Don't tell me you're here for a third round," the ninja challenged. Gaius rose with a smile, bowing to Ryoma before picking a blade from the rack.
"I think I'll indulge myself in something sweeter than sweets today," the thief chuckled. "I'm gonna knock your socks off."
Ylissean blades, he passed.
Nohrian broadswords, he passed.
His hands stopped on the vaguely familiar hilt of a Hoshidan katana, worn from use but still bearing a keen edge. Almost reverently, Gaius picked up the Hoshidan sword and drew it in a graceful, fluid motion.
"Was that supposed to impress me?" Saizo wondered.
"Not quite..." Gaius replied, assuming the stance of a Hoshidan master.
Of a Saizo.
"My father is alone! My country is in shambles! Why do we have to fight another battle?" Caeldori asked. "Why do I have to go?"
"This is not a war you are fighting," Morgan answered, her voice solemn with distaste. "This is a world I am trying to save. I need your help."
"But-"
"We'll do it."
"Asugi?"
"I said we'll do it! Or... I'll do it. I don't know about you two. But this place... Hoshido... it's not for me. I've been training for so long... and yet my father..."
"Then you're on your own." Caeldori replied. "I won't leave Hoshido." With that, Caeldori walked off, never to be seen again...
"Nothing is stopping you, friends," Morgan assured, looking at the remaining two Hoshidans.
"Ah, I suppose I'll join in on this adventure," Rhajat chuckled. "But only because life in Hoshido is so bland..."
Morgan smiled a little, gazing upon the continent beyond the seas. "You are the ocean's gray waves," she hummed, "Destined to seek life beyond foreign shores..."
"That's a pretty song," Asugi remarked. Morgan nodded and whispered to herself this time.
"It has been a while since we bared fangs at each other, Grima ... I wonder, what became of thee? Is this the world you tasked me to save?"
For the first time in a long while, Gaius enjoyed the feel of a katana in his hands as he matched his father's blade blow for blow.
"T-that technique..." Saizo remarked... "It is Hoshidan?"
"Well, a guy has to learn somewhere doesn't he?"
Saizo had the strange ability of telling of one's origins by he way they held their blade, not to mention the way they fought with it. The first time Gaius remembered hearing about this was when he read one of Corrin's reports from the old war, after Nohr surrendered. Saizo wrote of one of the men he killed, 'bearing a technique neither Hoshidan nor Nohrian, but instead rearing from a land and place unknown.' When asked for the man's name, he simply coughed out... 'Lazward.'
It all makes sense now...
His father, in the timeline he was from, had killed Inigo, who was, now that he knew, from a different timeline also.
Just how many worlds are there?
"You handle your katana like a Hoshidan master..." Ryoma acknowledged, impressed truly by how Gaius was holding his defenses. "Did you learn from one, too?"
"He wasn't that good," Gaius chuckled, "He just had an eager student."
"That's enough," Saizo said suddenly, withdrawing his engage and backing off. "You have a lot to explain. All your techniques... they are methods taught only by the Saizo clan and the house of Lord Ryoma!"
"Oh, come on," Gaius reasoned, "There's only so many ways one can swing a sword. You can't invent a school of katana slashing... I think."
"All this time you've been fighting with an Ylissean sword, reverse grip, with a similar combat style to that Yanna. Now all of a sudden you are matching me, the head of a ninja clan, in my own sword-form. That boggles the mind."
"I thought you had pride in your form, Barbecue."
"Barbecue?" Ryoma asked, but Saizo ignored it.
"I know when something is off. And something is off. There is no place in pride when I should have beaten you on my first strike. How is a simple Ylissean brigand so well-versed in Hoshidan sword kata?"
"Give me my candy and then we'll talk."
"Thank you, friends..." Morgan laughed, even as her body was being consumed by Grima's power. "I'm using the last of my strength... to get you out of here. Please, do not stop our quest... until Grima is dead!"
"Morgan!"
"I need to erase your memories of this place. I can't have Grima follow you-"
"Don't take my memories. Don't take away my Hoshidan roots... Please." Asugi pleaded.
"Are you sure? As long as Grima's essence is in your memories, his wrath will haunt you for the rest of your life."
"I've handled worse enemies than a dragon." This was of course, a lie. But Asugi needed bravado if only to reassure himself.
"So... be it."
Morgan nodded and with a blink of energy, Asugi and Rhajat disappeared.
"So much green," Tharja hissed, looking behind her to where deserts and sand lay in abundance. "I think I'll head that way. I'm sensing a great deal of power... something so similar to that figure... Morgan's..."
"Another dragon?" Gaius asked.
"No... I can almost hear a name on the dunes though..." she hummed, smiling at the sound.
"I don't hear a thing."
"Hush..." Tharja spat, "Oh, what a beautiful sound it is... Robin..." she added with a whisper, unheard to Gaius.
"Jeez, you're a weird one. Even after all this."
"Will you follow me, ninja? Or do you prefer greener pastures?" Gaius looked upon Ylisse, seeing her capitol in the distance.
"I think this place is perfect for a guy with my skills. Will I see you again?"
"If fate allows," Tharja giggled. "But do not expect that. You heard the mystery woman though. Before she disappeared, she told us to kill Grima. If we meet again, it will likely be on that course."
"So be it," Gaius sighed, walking the other way. "If fate allows."
"I don't believe his story one bit," Saizo admitted, looking at the triumphant Gaius who was eating his newly-reacquired candies on the training field. Ryoma stood next to the ninja, sharing his sentiments. "It reeks of lies," the retainer remarked.
"To be trained by a Saizo is a high tale indeed. For an Ylissean to travel from his home to ours... only to return... that is not possible."
"Not to mention that the thief has years of experience... matching my own. He may be even better with the katana than I."
"Truly this brings up questions," Ryoma sighed. "I will speak with Robin about the matter. He may have something relating to the thief that we may not know from the roster."
"I can hear you guys, y'know," Gaius called out, a lollipop in his mouth. "If you wanted to know more about me, why not ask more?"
"YOU REEK OF LIES YOU THIEF," Saizo retorted, causing the thief to nod in agreement.
"Guy's gotta have his secrets, right?"
"Infuriating brat..." Saizo cursed, looking away in frustration. Gaius laughed and excused himself as he held his bag of candy over his shoulder.
Don't worry Dad... that brat was trained to be a Saizo.
