Title: The Love You Gave Me

A/N: For Another Turn, Vol 2! I wanted to write Shigure meeting all the Azura's, but Olivia took over the fic and gave me only enough room for 1.

Summary: Shigure was in another world. He had met alternate versions of his friends, and even himself. It shouldn't have surprised him that the Azura here wasn't his mom. Or that instead of a quiet young woman, she was a small, sad little girl.

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Shigure crossed his arms as he stood in the middle of a hallway. Askr's Castle of Heroes was a large building, with hundreds of rooms and twisting corridors. When he'd first arrived in this strange, new world, that had been a good thing—there were almost too many heroes in this castle, and it was reassuring to know that he had at least one place he was guaranteed to be alone.

That feeling had changed the second he'd found out his mother had been summoned. He'd heard the news too late and by the time he'd arrived at the summoning temple, Azura had been long gone. Now he had to search this sprawling castle. In two hours, he'd only checked three different hallways. It took far too much time to inspect every door. At this rate, it'd be a week before he found Azura.

Feeling fatigued, he hung his head slightly from the weight of it all. Maybe he should just wait till they were dragged into battle again. If he loitered at the entrance, she was bound to exit at some point. Or—

"Shigure!" A sing-song voice interrupted his thoughts and he turned to find a pink-haired woman approaching him. Her white clothes flowed around her gracefully, her every step as smooth as water, and even if he hadn't met her before, he would have known she was a dancer. Some skills were impossible to hide.

"Olivia," he greeted back. While there were far too many names and faces to remember here, he had memorized hers from the start. Her dancing was on par with his mother's, if not superior, and Shigure had immediately flagged her for future lessons.

And even if he hadn't, well, he'd seen at least three of her wandering around the castle, bumping into people and shyly running away. It left an impression that was impossible to forget.

"I-I'm sorry to bother you." Olivia laughed nervously, fiddling with her fingers. Somehow, none of the confidence she showed while dancing translated to when she spoke to others. It reminded him a little of his Aunt Sakura and left him with fond feelings.

Shigure glanced at the hallway once more, at the doors lining the walls endlessly. It wasn't like a few minutes would really change anything. Either way, it would take days. He turned back to her with a kind smile. "It's fine. What's the matter?"

"W-well…" Olivia tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and bit her lip. "A-are you looking for something? You've been wandering about—not that there is anything wrong with that, but…" Her skin flushed as she spoke and she started to resemble a boiled lobster. "I-if you're lost, I've gotten lost many times too."

"Lost?" Shigure stared at her blankly, just realizing how odd his movements must have seemed. To a stranger, he must have looked aimless as he wandered from door to door, corridor to corridor. "Oh, I guess it seems that way, huh?"

"Sorry if I got that wrong," she yelped, covering her face with her hands. Embarrassed, she turned around. "I'll just go back now—"

"It's fine!" Chuckling, he grabbed her shoulder, halting her escape. When she squeaked in surprise, he let go. Right, she didn't like direct contact. "Sorry—"

She turned around and cut him off. "No, I'm sorry—"

"I shouldn't have—"

"It's fine—"

They stared at each other for a long moment before breaking into laughter. At least her hands were off her face now, and while her skin was still pinkish, she looked more relaxed than before. Shigure ran a hand through his hair before answering, "I'm not lost. I was just looking for my mother. She got summoned recently, but I haven't been able to find her anywhere." He sighed. "You know how big the place is."

"Your mother?" Surprised, Olivia's lips formed a soft 'o'. "Wow, that's amazing. Even your mother's a hero?"

His ears burned; it was a little embarrassing to hear his mother praised like that. Yet, it was also gratifying. Back in Nohr and Hoshido, while his aunts and uncles recognized his mother's hard work, the citizens and other nobles hadn't.

No, it was worse than that. They had been ready to abandon her at any moment.

It might have taken another world yet finally she was being seen for all that she'd done. Shigure nodded happily. "It's impossible not to be, after what she's done."

"I guess heroism runs in the family then," Olivia complimented.

From anyone else, that would have sounded like an insult. From her, it sounded all too genuine and he shook his hands in front of him. "No, I'm not all that great."

"I've seen you in battle." She stood a little taller, looking a little more like the hero she was. Olivia tapped her chest. "When you perform, it all comes from here. People don't respond otherwise, and everyone loves your singing."

"That's…" Now it was his turn to blush. Part of him wanted to hide his face behind his hands. Honestly, he didn't deserve the praise, he hadn't done half the things his parents or even his aunts and uncles had done. Changing the topic, Shigure replied, "It runs in your family too, right? I've seen Inigo dance."

"That's—" Olivia gave a strangled cry, her skin turning beet red once more. "That's not…he's great, his father is too…that's where he gets it from…but I'm…"

"You're amazing too," Shigure replied gently.

"Nooo," she wailed.

Taking pity, he cleared his throat and changed the topic. "Have you seen my mother? She's about my age, with long blue hair. She's a singer too."

"Long blue hair?" Olivia peeked up at him.

Shigure nodded encouragingly. "Yeah, same colour as mine."

"Oh. Hmm." She stroked her chin softly as she mused. "And she's new…I think I saw a stranger like that in the rose garden."

"Rose garden?" Shigure hadn't expected a positive result this quickly—maybe he should have asked the others for help in the first place. Turning on his heel, he waved. "Thanks for the help!"

"Oh, sure!" Olivia waved back. "Oh, but…didn't you say she was your ag—"

Shigure didn't stop to hear the rest of her sentence, his thoughts already on his mother. Making his way through the main hallway, he made a beeline for the rose garden. Just like with any other castle, Askr's had dozens of royal gardens surrounding the tall building. It gave the heroes plenty of space and privacy during their downtime, though he had often wondered how they managed to maintain them all.

Well, how they managed to maintain them all before the heroes had arrived. There were more than a few heroes who had a green thumb and a special interest in plants and it wasn't uncommon to find them trimming and inspecting the various flowers.

He could tell he'd reached the garden the second he was surrounded by the roses' soft, cloying scents. The thorny plants lined the cobbled pathways as he hurried down them, a display of beauty with a warning not to touch. "Azura!" he called out.

There were a few heroes scattered through the garden—a seated Lorenz elegantly sipped tea as he admired the view. A boy with a pot on his head pulled weeds out, humming to himself the entire time. Next to him, a brown-haired girl energetically started to trim the flowers.

Yet, nowhere in sight was the woman he was looking for. He couldn't even hear her song. Shigure stopped at an intersection, not sure which path to go down next. Desperately, he shouted, "Azura!"

A small hand tugged on his robe. "Yes?"

"Mom?" He whirled around, but no one stood behind him.

Another tug directed his attention downward. A small child stood in front of him, giving him a confused look. "Mom?"

Shigure stared at the little girl. She couldn't be more than seven. He'd seen young heroes before, but never one as young as her. There was a reason his and his friends' parents had safely stashed them away in Deeprealms until they were old enough to protect themselves. Children shouldn't be on the battlefield.

Immediately, he crouched in front of her. Maybe he could ask the summoner to send her back later. Surely they didn't need help so badly as to rely on a child. "Sorry, didn't mean to confuse you." He smiled gently. Remembering Olivia's earlier words, he wondered if she was lost. "After I find Azura, I can take you back to the castle, if you want."

"That's not…" The girl bit her lip, still looking puzzled. Her hat draped around her like a cape, the cloth barely hiding her long blue hair. Blue ribbons criss-crossed her body and Shigure stared at her, transfixed. He knew those blue and white clothes. His gaze drifted up until he saw her face. He knew those golden eyes.

The girl took a deep breath. "That's me."

For a long moment, he just stared at her, unable to say a thing. He had never considered the possibility that the Azura summoned wouldn't be his mother. Despite seeing other versions of Olivia and even Corrin, the possibility hadn't once crossed his mind that anyone other than his mom would be summoned. Or that one of them would be her as a child.

"Hello?" she asked, looking at him with eyes that were far too old for someone her age.

"Oh, uh…" He stood up and stumbled over his words. What was the right thing to say here? How did one introduce themselves to their future mother? "You're Azura."

Shigure resisted the urge to hit himself for stating the obvious.

The little girl nodded, unfazed. "Yes."

"Um, that's…great." He smiled crookedly, not sure what else to say. Would it change the future to tell her the truth? Would they forget it all when they returned? Would it be helpful for her to know? What if he accidentally erased himself? "I'm sorry you're here. You're too young for all of this."

She shrugged and scuffed her foot against the ground. "It's fine. It's nicer here."

That thought that had never crossed his mind. As war torn as his homeland was, at least he wasn't fighting death itself there. "Oh. The food…is good."

They stood there awkwardly. Azura rubbed her arm and looked away. "Who are you?"

"I'm your son," he replied automatically. Immediately, he covered his mouth, but it was too late.

The truth was out. Azura turned to him, eyes wide. "My son?"

"Y-yes…" Flustered, he scratched the back of his neck and smiled lopsidedly. Well, if he didn't tell her who his dad was, and anything else for that matter, it shouldn't change much. "Not now, but…in the future…I'm your son."

Azura stepped forward quickly. Before he could react, she had grabbed his waist, her fingers digging into his skin as she stared up at him. "I have a family?"

For a second, he faltered, unable to look away. He'd never heard such desperation before, seen eyes so hungry for love. Despite growing up in a Deeprealm, despite only seeing his parents perhaps once a year, he had never doubted they'd loved him. Between his gentle caregivers and his energetic friends, he'd never starved for affection. It had been woven into his life.

For all of his mother's mysteries, for her sad smiles and awkward hugs, he'd never realized just how little she'd had as a child. His heart broke as he crouched and wrapped his arms tightly around this little Azura. "Yes. One day, you'll meet my father and fall in love, and then you'll have me."

"A family…" Azura's chubby fingers gripped his shirt tightly as she pressed her face into his chest. Hot tears soaked his thin shirt, but he didn't care.

"You'll have lots of friends and you won't be alone." Shigure stroked her back, soothing her as she sobbed. Softly, he started to sing a lullaby, the one his mother had taught him, and tried not to think too hard about the fact that no one had sung that to her in a long while.

But that was fine. He was here now. Shigure would sing to her and make her smile and maybe it would reach across all those years to his mom and give her a little comfort.

"You're not alone now."

He'd make sure of it.