Fire Emblem Fates
Chapter 13: Ambush
The group was gathered in the mess hall, ready to jump into their next mission. Corrin took this opportunity to give an announcement to the group, and he stood on top of one of the tables, so as to garner everyone's attention and proceeded to say his announcement. The group noticed Corrin standing on the table and proceeded to sit down.
"So, as most of you are aware, we were ambushed by a group of unknown assailants last night. The rod and weapon shops were damaged in the group also suffered a lot of injuries and we almost lost one of our princesses due to the fact that we lost track of her and believed she was alright when in fact she was in danger. This situation has led me to take the hard decision that we must leave some of our troops here in order to have a smaller group. This will also allow us to be stealthier and not draw as much attention."
The room became an uproar, as some people disagreed, while others agreed. The retainers in particular, refused let their royal go into battle without them. Corrin attempted to call them down, to no avail. Azura noticed Corrin struggling to keep control of the group and decided to step onto the table to help him out. She spoke in her quiet yet powerful voice.
"Please, call down. We would only allow 2-3 people to stay behind. If you are uncomfortable with this, you will not be forced to stay here. However, both me and Corrin will both feel the safety the team will be better if we do leave a couple people behind."
Azura's voice resonated with the group and silenced them for a moment. Gunter rose up and declared that he will stay behind. He said that if Corrin wishes it, he will do it and he trusts Corrin will be fine with Felicia and Jakob with him.
"Alright well that leaves only one person left. On the other hand, we could just leave it at Gunter and take a group of 10." The crowd seemed to agree with the latter, and so Corrin and his group left the base.
As soon as they landed on the Hoshidan forest, Corrin took out his map and tried to find out where the route for Izumo was on his map. He found it and led his team onward. As they traveled, Elise was moving about, taking in all the wonderful nature she's never seen, while her retainers kept a close eye on her. Arthur and Effie gave each other a look and then a warm smile accompanied it afterward before they heard Subaki yell "Incoming ninja!" The retainers both were scouring for Elise, but she was nowhere in sight, and this began to worry them. Corrin instinctively took out his Yato blade and scanned his team for Elise, Azura and Sakura, as they were the ones he cared for the most and also the ones most in danger. He spotted Azura by Kaze, Sakura by Subaki and Hana but he soon realized Elise was nowhere to be found, her horse abandoned by a tree, clearly in distress. Effie and Arthur were scouring the forest with no luck, calling 'Elise, Elise!'
Ow! Let go of me you big thug!" Corrin instantly took of in the direction of the voice. He ran as fast as he could, until he found a cave of sorts. Corrin turned back to see everyone following him. Effie pointed at the cave and said,
"Do you think Elise is in there?" Corrin nodded and ventured onward. His path was interrupted by a shuriken inches away from cutting off his nose. Corrin turned right and saw nothing and turned left and again, nothing.
"Ha ha ha ha. Do you think I would let you uncover me that easily." The voice came from behind the group and before they knew it, they were surrounded by a group of ninjas. A man came out of the bushes, holding Elise harshly and dragging her out with him. He had brown facial hair as well as a ponytail. "Greetings. I am Kotaro, the daimyo of Mokushu." He bowed while still holding Elise in his right hand, as she was trying to break free.
"What do you want Kotaro!" Corrin yelled."
"My, my. Such rudeness. I guess King Garon did mention you were a passionate boy, also quite foolish. Wouldn't you agree Elise." He pulled Elise closer and with his free hand, grabbed Elise by the cheeks and forced her to nod yes.
"What do you mean King Garon?" Corrin asked, surprised to hear his name.
"King Garon and I do business. We are allies, business partners, if you will." Kotaro explained.
"So you are allies with my father?" Corrin asked, causing Kotaro to nod yes.
"My last meeting with King Garon and his lapdog, Iago, went a little more roughly than expected. He was furious and he demanded me to bring him back his children. Iago also mentioned something about a maid being left alone but I can't quite remember." Felicia immediately turned red, hoping Corrin didn't hear that. She was relieved to see that Corrin was too focused to notice the comment on her, but Azura remained curious as to why Iago was interested in her well being.
"Unhand Elise now! You vile wretch, before I slay you down like all who have come before you!" Arthur yelled heroically. Kotaro merely leaned forward, and spat in his direction. This was enough to send Arthur in a frenzy and he attempted to charge forward, only to be stopped by Effie.
"Stop Arthur, he wants us to engage him." Effie said, calming him down a little. Kotaro looked at Corrin and Azura, and then said,
"I believe I have what I came for, so I best be off. Catch you later!" As soon as he finished his sentence, the ninjas around the group threw smoke balls into the ground, covering it in smoke and allowing them to escape. Kotaro dashed onward, though Elise was resisting and dragging him down. He decided to hit her on the head with a rock, knocking her out and making her easier to carry. He looked back and noticed somebody following him. He stopped dead in his tracks and threw a quick shuriken out of his shirt. The assailant caught the shuriken and threw it onto the ground. He had long green hair and green apparel.
"My name is Kaze, a ninja who works for Corrin. Unhand the princess and his sister and I will go easy on you."
"You are in no position to give me any commands." Kotaro spat back, and then turned away and started running again. However, he couldn't shake the name of the man 'Kaze'. He felt like he has heard it somewhere before. Kotaro felt a shadow cast over him and looked above to see a pegasus flying high above him. A figure dropped in front of Kotaro and he was surprised to see a huge pink piece of armor standing in front of him. He turned around and saw that the ninja as well as the prince and the blond haired guy were waiting for him.
"Subaki, head back there and help Sakura and Azura! We'll handle this!" Corrin called out, causing the pegasus to head back to the initial confrontation. The enemy ninja scanned his surroundings, trying to find an exit route.
"You can't escape, I am the fastest ninja the Hoshidan army has ever seen. Now I will ask again, unhand the girl." Kaze said, though he was losing his temper. Effie was rearing to charge at any moment now, and Arthur was also eager to beat the crap out of Kotaro. Corrin stepped forward and attempted to reason with Kotaro,
"Look, Kotaro, I see you have also been subject to the lies and threats my father has created. We can help you. Unhand my little sister, you gain nothing by handing over Garon's child. He will merely imprison her and god knows what else he'll do to her." Corrin reasoned. Kotaro looked at the sleeping girl's face, then he looked back at Corrin and said,
"What does that have to do with me? You're gonna need something more than a speech to convince me handing over this girl is in my best interests?" Kotaro spat back.
"You want my father gone?" Corrin asked, earning a nod from Kotaro, with your help we can get my father off of the throne and bring order back to Nohr. But we need Elise here with us. Please let her go."
"I want something in return for this arrangement. You see I can handle Garon being on the throne, as he does not interfere with us as long as we don't with him. I want something offered that will give me the incentive to backstab my business partner." Kotaro said. Corrin thought about this for a while but found an answer that he believed would work well for him.
"There is a storm coming. Something far more powerful than anyone here can possibly comprehend. Dethroning my father would be the best way for us to prepare the world for this. Do you have a child, Kotaro?" He nodded slowly, and Corrin continued, "Then you would know that the best thing you can give your child is a good life. Right now is your chance to do that. Help us, Kotaro." Corrin offered as he reached out his hand. Kotaro thought it over, and eventually he let go of Elise, letting her drop to the floor and walked forward and grabbed Corrin's hand. "I'm very glad to have you on board with us." Kotaro scanned his surroundings once more, and once he once he was content, he looked at Corrin in the eyes and said,
"On second thought, nah." As he took out a shuriken quickly and stabbed Corrin in the chest, and then he threw Corrin at Kaze, knocking him off balance and causing him to fall to the floor. Arthur took a swing at Kotaro, but he dodged it with ease, and then stepped backward towards Effie. She swung her lance and tried to use her strength to hit the speedy master ninja. However, he proved too fast for her as well and he danced his way around both of them. Once he had his fun, he decided to get serious and he grabbed Arthur's swinging arm, twisted it hard to force him to drop his axe, and then delivered a swift kick to his stomach and knocking him back. Kotaro took the axe and swung it hard at Effie's leg armor. It cracked and Kotaro threw a shuriken at Effie. She was able to dodge the initial one, but the second one hit her right where her leg armor cracked. The shuriken stuck onto her and she dropped to her knees, gripping her leg injury. She crawled towards Elise, hoping to protect her from Kotaro, but he smiled and said,
"Relax, I don't want her." He turned towards the prince and the ninja. "You on the other hand, I can settle with." He walked towards the prince and slowly took out some form of concoction of sorts. He saw the prince gripping his chest where he was stabbed, and sprinkled the concoction onto both him and Kaze. They fell asleep and Kotaro picked up the prince and carried him away.
"Hey you. Get back here you piece of shit. Corrin offered you a damn good deal and you do this to him." Kotaro turned back to see Effie crawling towards him. Kotaro walked slowly walked towards Effie. He looked her in the eyes and said,
"Dirty Nohrian." And he stepped on her vulnerable head, knocking her out.
Hey guys, sorry for the long wait again. I'd love to see more reviews on the story to see any things I can improve on. Seeing reviews honestly makes my day and seeing the comments is really insightful and I want you guys to know I take all the requests seriously, though I can't promise they will make it onto the story.
Also, in order to see where my story left off, I read it again and noticed I had a lot of grammar errors. If you see any, don't be afraid to tell me. I really don't care and want to make sure my story looks polished!
See ya next time!