In which Anna is Team Mom and Kiran summons his Persona.

(I'm so sorry that the next chapter is taking so long. I've been out for nearly ten days with a ridiculous, awful cold, and I'm only now on the mend. Since the chapter was taking me so long, and my head felt like it was full of cotton, I wrote this little intermission to hopefully tide you guys over. Hope you like some plot with your porn...)

"Hello there, Summoner! Mind if I have a seat?"

Kiran glances up from the tome he's been poring over for the last hour. "Princess Sharena," he says, surprised he didn't hear her enter. "What can I do for you?"

Sharena makes a face, dropping backwards over the chair across the table from him and resting her chin on her folded hands. "You can begin by calling me Sharena-just Sharena, like I've told you before."

He smiles. "Then how about you call me Kiran-just Kiran, like I've told you before?"

Sharena chuckles. "Hey now, I'm trying to be more formal and princess-like, you know?" She lifts her head and pulls her cape out at the sides like a skirt, simulating a curtsy. "And, well... I suppose I shouldn't be getting too close to the heroes-including you, Kiran." She slumps back over her chair and starts picking at the wood of the backrest with her fingernail.

They're in the castle library, a large, circular room in the east tower with tall windows and taller bookshelves that line the walls and rise up to the domed ceiling in columns and rows. The space is inundated with old tomes and scrolls, some of which, including the one presently under Kiran's perusal, have not seen use in dozens, perhaps hundreds of years, if the rotting spines and thick casings of dust are anything to go by. It's a veritable garden of knowledge if one only has the patience to prune it.

That's proving to be more difficult a task than he originally anticipated, however. Like most writings not from the last hundred or so years, this book is transcribed in an ancient script of Askr that even Sharena has some difficulty translating. Kiran has a stack of reference books beside him, but despite his natural proficiency in languages, learning the script is slow-going, and he doesn't exactly have an abundance of time with which to do it. With a sigh, he snaps the book shut and pushes it aside, leaning back in his chair.

"You know I won't ever leave without telling you first," he says, stretching his arms over his head.

"I know," Sharena mumbles into her arm, flaking a bit of wood polish from the chair. "It's just, I worry. We've been abandoned before."

Kiran stands to stretch his legs as well-how long has he been cooped up here?-and casually lays a hand on the top of her head while he's at it, ruffling her hair. "Yeah," he says, "I get it-that constant fear of losing people. I wish I could promise to be here whenever you guys need me, but... I mean, I can't account for accidents happening in my world, either."

She lifts her head, inadvertently knocking away his hand. "Accidents?"

Kiran rubs at the back of his neck, regretting broaching the topic. "Well, you know," he says uncomfortably. "I could be hit by a car, or-"

"A car?"

"One of those horseless wagons I was telling you about."

In spite of herself, Sharena perks up. "Ah, yes. What a concept!" Her lightheartedness tapers out quickly, however, and she deflates. "I'm sorry. I understand you have other precious people in your life and obligations to them as well. And I know I'm probably being clingy..."

"No, not at all."

"It's just that I..." She stares at the floor, hair falling like curtains to shield her face. "I really miss him, you know? And I'm worried... This is the first time we've been apart, and to have it happen like this..."

Kiran slips his hand into the folds of his robes, feeling for the sleek outline of Breidablik. Just knowing it's there is something of a comfort; it's his only link home and, perhaps more importantly, his only way to help these people.

When did I get so invested, he can't help but wonder.

"We'll get him back," he says with such confidence that Sharena lifts her head to look up at him. "I won't stop looking for a way to bring him home. That, I can promise."

"Ah-that's-yes-th-thank you!" Sharena cries, her face dissolving into its first true smile in days. "I'm so sorry-I know I shouldn't be moping, not at a time like this."

"It's understandable," Kiran says, holding out his hand to help her up from her seat. "That you've managed to stay so focused on the mission in spite of all of this is truly impressive. You're very strong, Sharena."

She flushes at the praise. "Thank you for saying so," she says. "But I need to be stronger. I need to do everything I can to help my brother. So, please, tell me what I need to do."

Kiran heads off into the stacks to where he left the stepladder and beckons for her to follow. "I'm still looking into various types of magic we might be able to use to our advantage," he says, nudging the stepladder slightly to the side before mounting it. "These old books are full of strange curses and enchantments that fall outside the conventional offensive magic our soldiers use."

"Was there anything in that one?" Sharena asks, jabbing her thumb toward the tome left abandoned on the table.

"From what I could gather, it was a lot of dark magic that called for some... unscrupulous methods to get it to work," he responds, drawing a book from the shelf and leafing through it briefly before returning it to its spot. "And while I'm sure Henry and Tharja would have no qualms about that, I don't think Alfonse would appreciate us using such methods for his sake. That, and"-he slides out a dusty scroll sandwiched between two large books and unfurls it, taking care to hold it away from his face-"unless transmogrifying Veronica into a mindless dragon will benefit our cause, I don't think it would be of much help." He sneezes into the cloud of dust anyway, nearly toppling the stepladder before Sharena can rush to stabilize it. "Thanks."

"I believe in you," she says as he climbs back down with the scroll. "If anyone can help my brother, it's you."

"And all of you," Kiran reminds her. "After all, I'm only the tactician-I can't fight. That's why I rely on you and the others to do the heavy lifting for me."

Sharena beams. "Of course! As a matter of fact, I've just returned from running drills with the new recruits! Let's see... Navarre is a little bit scary, but he's second to none with the sword and is willing to fight for us. Princess Sakura needs some encouragement, but once she feels confident in her own abilities, she'll be great among our ranks of clerics."

"Good," Kiran says, returning to his seat and spreading out the scroll on the table before him. "No, excellent. We need all the help we can get, and your leadership skills are invaluable. Speaking of which, where is Commander Anna?"

"She's right here," says a voice from the doorway, and both Kiran and Sharena turn to find Anna there, still in full armor, her face smeared with dirt and sweat. In her folded arms, she's cradling four glassy spheres that pulse with a soft rainbow light.

"Welcome back," Kiran says as Sharena bounds up to her to take two of the orbs and ferry them over to the table. "How was the scouting mission?"

"We could only find these four, I'm afraid," she sighs, setting the remaining two orbs onto the table next to the others before dropping into a seat beside them. "There just aren't as many out here as there used to be."

"Anything helps," Kiran assures her, running his fingers over the cool surface of one of the spheres. "I only need three more now to conduct another summoning session. Thank you, Anna."

"No, thank you," she says, "for everything you're doing for us. I know I summoned you for that purpose and all, but you are still an outsider with your own life and responsibilities. There's nothing in it for you to help us, and yet here you are"-she gestures to the stack of reference books-"going so far as to even learn our ancient writing system for our cause."

"We truly are grateful to you," Sharena pipes up.

Embarrassed, Kiran pulls his hood up over his head and pretends to study the scroll. "You don't have to thank me," he says. "I'm not just doing this for you guys-I'm doing it for myself as well. I'm not an outsider anymore-this world, and all of you, mean something to me now. Mean a lot to me." He thinks of Alfonse then, and his cheeks redden.

"Kiran!" Sharena cries, folding her arms around his neck from behind and hugging him close. "You mean the world to us, too!"

"Alright, alright," Anna says with a laugh, and Sharena pulls away, looking slightly flustered. "Enough of the gooey sentimental stuff for now. It's time to talk business. Do we have any new leads?"

"Our main priority is still summoning enough heroes to overwhelm Embla by numbers alone," Kiran says. "That way, we have the manpower to deal with the consequences of breaking the contract. As well as researching military tactics, I've also been looking into other types of magic we could use offensively, particularly magic that can influence the mind. Princess Veronica and her masked knight are both talented mages, but if we can get into their heads and bend them to our will even just a little, I think we'll be able to procure a huge advantage over them. In other words"-he taps the side of his head-"we can wage a bit of psychological warfare."

Anna brings her hand to her chin, rubbing it thoughtfully. "It's not a bad plan," she says. "But in order for it to work, provided that we uncover such an enchantment at all, we would need a spy to slip into Emblian territory and cast it on Veronica or her knight. And of the spies we count among our ranks, I don't think any are proficient in magic."

"That is a fatal flaw," Kiran admits. "Second only to my inability to discover this theoretical mind-altering magic. But," he adds, gesturing to the scroll, "I think I might be getting close. I've noticed that the last few writings I've studied, all dated to roughly five hundred years ago, seem to focus on subtler forms of magic that are meant to avoid detection by the subject once cast. If I continue to study magical practices from this time period, I'm sure I'll be able to find something we can use."

Anna kicks up her leg and crosses it over her knee, leaning back in her chair as she does. "It may be a long shot," she says, "but it's better than a dead-end." She grins up at him. "I'm all for it! If we could pull something like this off, not only could we rescue Alfonse, we could also bring an end to this entire senseless war."

Sharena claps her hands together. "You have my support as well! Even if the chance is small, I'll do anything it takes to save my brother."

"I just hope it's not a fool's errand," Kiran sighs. "But I'll do my best. Anna, I'll need you to ask around to see if any of our thieves or ninja are proficient in magic. If, as I suspect, they are not, then please enlist the help of Cecilia to train any who show even the slightest magical inclination."

Anna hops to her feet with a hearty salute. "I'll do exactly that!" She makes for the door but pauses before leaving through it. "Dinner will be ready in about an hour, and I want to see both of you down there, no excuses. You need to eat well in order to keep up your strength-physical and mental. No more of this skipping meals nonsense!"

She looks particularly sharply at Sharena, then gives them both a cheeky wink, sticks out her tongue, and departs without waiting to hear their responses.

"She's like a bossy big sister sometimes!" Sharena laughs.

"She certainly is," Kiran agrees. "So I know she'll scold me for skipping dinner tonight."

Sharena starts. "Eh? You're leaving?"

He nods. "If I don't, I'll be missed-I've already been here too long. But don't worry about my stomach-I have a frozen pizza I was planning on heating up."

She gives him a quizzical look. "Pizza?"

"It's like a combination of bread and cheese and sauce." Just describing it is making him hungry. "It's a shame I have to miss the, ah, delicious mutton, but that's the way it goes. I'll have to make do with my own food tonight."

He'd gotten off easy, he supposes, with Anna mistakenly thinking he'd been forgoing food in Askr with studious intent.

"But I hope you haven't been skipping meals, Sharena," he adds, recalling Anna's pointed look in her direction.

She doesn't answer him, just wanders over to one of the windows silently, as if in a daze. Cautiously, he follows her.

"Do you think they're feeding him?" she asks at last, lowering herself down onto the sill.

Kiran stops, clenches his fists at his sides. "They have to," he says after a beat, "if they intend to keep him alive."

"I hope he's doing alright," she says, gazing out the window.

"He's strong. He knew what he was getting himself into."

Sharena nods slowly. "Yes, I know... It's just... He may not look it, but he gets lonely easily. He doesn't let himself get close to other people because of what happened in the past-he's afraid of being hurt again. And he's not even very popular with our people, you know."

That surprises Kiran. "He's not? But he's such a kind leader."

"Yes," Sharena says. "But he stands in our father's shadow. You see, our father was truly a phenomenal king-strong and kind, respected by everyone from aristocrats to commoners. And when he passed, my brother was suddenly forced to take on that role. But we were both so young-there was no way he could live up to the people's high expectations for him. He's done his best, but our father's legacy is a tough act to follow, and our people are jaded by war and low on empathy." She reaches out to touch the window, tracing a heart in the condensation with her pointer finger. "Even though he's a prince, my brother hasn't had it easy."

Kiran stays quiet, uncertain as to how to respond. He crosses his arms over his chest to drown out the silence with movement and watches as Sharena idly fills in the heart.

But," she continues after a moment, turning around to grin at him, "he seems a lot less lonely with you around. In fact, I'd say he's gotten pretty close to you, Kiran."

For some reason, her words-or perhaps it's her tone-make him blush. "I consider him a good friend as well," he says, shuffling his feet. "I'm glad that he's opened up to me."

"As am I," Sharena says, and then she frowns once more. "I just hope he isn't hurt. We've all seen how Princess Veronica treats heroes. What if she's-what if she's torturing him as we speak?"

The idea is horrifying, but Kiran tries to keep his face cool and relaxed for Sharena's sake. "Like I said, he's strong. And in adherence to the contract, she has to keep him alive, which should dissuade her from causing any serious harm to him." Sharena doesn't look particularly relieved, so he sits beside her on the windowsill, gently touches her knee. "We have to believe that he'll be okay and that we'll rescue him. And I swear on my life that I will do everything in my power to bring him back."

There are tears in her eyes now that she hastily swipes away. "I trust you," she says with a watery smile. "I trust you, Kiran."

He stands and helps her up with him. "Go find Anna," he tells her, releasing her hand. "I need to return to my world now, but she will stay beside you in my place."

"I know," Sharena says. "Everyone in the Order of Heroes is so wonderful. I'm so lucky to have everyone here!" She wipes her eyes again and laughs shakily. "Go on. Don't let me detain you any longer. When can we expect you back?"

"I'll be back tomorrow in the afternoon." He draws Breidablik from his robes, turns it over once in his hands. "Promise."

He outstretches his arm, offering her his pinky. She regards it curiously. "It's called a pinky promise where I'm from," he explains. "Lock your pinky finger with mine. It means I can't break my promise no matter what."

"How silly!" Sharena teases, but she curls her pinky around his anyways. "Then we'll see you tomorrow. That's a promise."

He nods once before releasing her finger. Then he raises Breidablik to his temple. "Go eat," he orders. "And get a good night's rest. I need you in top shape, understood?"

"Understood, sir," she says, much more cheerfully now. She pauses, then adds, "Take care, Kiran."

He closes his eyes, pulls the trigger, and is gone in a burst of iridescent light.

Sharena loves Kiran... like a brother. ;3 Also, I figure since Breidablik summons heroes by firing them out, then Kiran shooting himself with it would un-summon him... or something.

Thank you all for your patience. The good news is that the next chapter is well underway, and I've already got the whole story plotted out for the most part, barring, of course, any new and spontaneous ideas I may come up with in the interim. See you next chapter. :)