Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem: Awakening/Kakusei

Author's Note: Here we go. Another chapter. As mentioned before, this story will be rather slow-paced. But bear with me. Once it gets there, you'll see. But anywho, thanks for reading my story guys. Leave a review or question or whatnot. It helps me help you. Well, I'm done talking. Here's the stuff you came for. Enjoy.

Much love,

~SAYONARA~

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"I understand that you needed Morgan..."

"..."

"But why am I out here?!"

Inigo ran his through his messy hair as beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks. The hot, bright sun beat down on his back and he could feel the back of his tunic dampening from sweat. He hated that feeling the most... Probably a little less than being jabbed by Kjelle... But no matter.

Morgan turned around, walking backwards, and faced Inigo. "Why? You don't want to be with me?"

"W-well..." Inigo stammered, averting his eyes from Morgan's. "I... Uh..."

"Tharja has told me that you regularly visit Southtown during evenings." Chrom said, jumping into the conversation. "From that information, I assume that you could guide us around town if need be."

Morgan looked at Inigo, eyes gleaming. "Yeah! That'll help a lot!... Because I don't know anything about Southtown..."

Inigo scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously. "I-I guess?"

"Why do you visit Southtown so much?" Morgan asked, clearly piqued with curiosity. "Don't you have other things you do?"

"I, uh..." Inigo said, his train of thought fleeting his mind. "I come to Southtown to see..."

"See what? Who?"

"...Girls."

"Girls."

"Yep."

"Why?" Morgan asked, intrigued. "Aren't the girls back at camp good enough?"

"Um." Inigo said his face turning beet-red. "Let me give you several reasons why..."

"Go on."

"Cynthia is klutz. I'll probably break every bone in my body before I actually went on a date with her."

"Kjelle is a demon. If looks could kill..."

"Nah is too uptight. She's no fun."

"Noire is too shy. She avoids me..."

"Severa is... Well, unapproachable..."

"And Lucina is taken..."

Morgan raised her eyebrow. "My mom?"

Chrom turned too. "My daughter?!"

"Well, yeah." Inigo said, rubbing the back of his head. "I've had a crush on her since I was young..."

"Really? My mom?" Morgan asked, somewhat intrigued.

"Really? My daughter?!" Chrom said, somewhat mortified.

"You forget that she and I are the same age Captain." Inigo muttered.

"Well so am I." Morgan pointed out.

"Huh... You're right." Inigo said. "Anyway, that's all I have to say about the girls at our camp..."

Inigo saw Morgan think for a moment. It was the usual face she made when she had more to say. Inigo wondered what she was going say next.

"What about me?"

"Huh?" Inigo blurted, confused. "What about you?"

"You were talking about the girls at camp..." Morgan began to say. "But you didn't say anything about me."

Inigo's face turned red yet again. "Oh, right..."

"So...?" Morgan said, grinning and her eyes beaming. "What about me?"

"Well... Uh..." Inigo said, many things swimming in his head. He didn't know what to say.

Well this is awkward...

"You're uh... Smart...?" Inigo managed to say.

"That's it?"

"Um..." Inigo sounded, trying to think of something clever to say. So many answers raced across in his mind. He didn't know what to say.

"Yeah?"

Morgan stuck out her lip and continued walking. "Oh."

Inigo felt as if he had been gut-punched and his brain snapped into two.

"Yes! I mean, no! I... Gods." Inigo stammered. "Look Morgan, you're Lucina's daughter. With that in mind and with the future age gap... it's just... I can't talk about you-"

Morgan shook her head and sighed. "It's fine. I get it... And I was starting to think that we had interesting guys back at camp... Oh well."

Great job Inigo. You blew it. You blew the first chance you had with a cute girl. You blew it. You blew it. You bl-

"If you two lovebirds are done back there," Chrom said, stopping and turning around. He looked incredibly annoyed. "We need to get moving. We need to at least get to Southtown before sundown and at the way you two are going, we aren't going to arrive until next week."

Both Inigo's and Morgan's face turned red. "S-sorry Captain."

"Come on. Let's get going."

Inigo sighed and shuffled his feet. He wondered what was wrong with himself lately. Normally, he'd be able to swoon the ladies as easily as Virion scared them away. Inigo would smile, introduce himself, and go from there. He didn't know why it was so difficult with Morgan... But then again, it was quite hard with her mother Lucina as well...

Lucina was just so... serious.

"Inigo?"

"Huh?"

He turned and saw that Morgan was walking next to him still.

"If you don't mind, could you tell me about Southtown a little bit? Like I said, I actually never ventured beyond camp with anyone before."

Inigo managed a small smirk. "Well. You've got a lot to learn."

Morgan grinned. "That's fine with me."

But at least Morgan smiles more.

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"This is it. Southtown."

Morgan could not believe her eyes.

Before her lay a massive town, inhabited by interesting people and equally interesting buildings. There was so much variety before, Morgan didn't know what to focus on at first. Various shops lined the streets, selling a surplus of supplies. Vendors advertised their goods to all passing onlookers. Blacksmiths showed off their wares with pride. A delicious scent had also managed its way into Morgan's senses.

This sure beats the camp's meat rations...

Morgan saw Chrom walk up to Inigo.

"Was Southtown like everywhere else in the future?" Morgan overheard.

Morgan saw Inigo stiffly nod his head. "The risen were relentless with their attacks. All villages in Ylisse were burnt to ground. Only Ylisstol stood out the many sieges but it too fell with Grima's rise."

"Well, we won't have to worry about that anymore..." Chrom said, looking around Southtown. "Not after..."

His voice trailed off. Morgan couldn't hear the rest of what Chrom had to say. She took one last view at the center plaza of the town.

"Well?" Morgan asked, walking over to Chrom and Inigo. "What are we suppose to do now?"

Chrom folded his arms. "Our purpose of being out here today is to recruit another Shepherd. Southtown is well known for its many taverns and pubs. Many adventurers and sellswords find rest here."

"And where do we find a good tavern?" Morgan asked. Her eyes darted around the many buildings. "What is a tavern anyway?"

Chrom rested his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about that. That's why we have him."

He pointed at Inigo.

"Ugh."

"What was that?"

"N-nothing!" Inigo said, forcing a smile. "I'm just excited!"

"Good. We'll start with all the pubs on the left lane."

"Ugh."

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MANY TAVERNS LATER...

"I don't know what we've been doing wrong, but I know that if we are already on our eleventh tavern, SOMETHING is wrong."

"Oh hush you."

"Says you! You keep beating everyone at chess!"

"Not my fault that they make the wrong moves."

The three had went through all the taverns on the entire south side of the town and were halfway through with the west district. The process was supposed to be simple. All taverns have a chessboard. Customers will usually play against someone, betting and such on money and other trinkets. And so far, everyone Morgan played against was a blunder after another. She had won so many times, she had forgotten how she had won each time. Inigo on the other hand kept a good tracking list of all the prizes Morgan had won.

Money here, several bullions there, an expensive ring there...

"This is the last pub on this side of the street." Chrom muttered, making his way to the counter. "I think I'm going to get a drink."

"Wait, hold on!" Inigo said to Chrom, grabbing his shoulder. "You can't get drunk on the job Captain!"

"Who says I can't?" Chrom said, shooting a sharp glance back at Inigo. "I'm the one giving orders here, not you pipsqueak."

"Well, I don't want to have to carry you back to camp." Inigo replied. "And besides, what will Lady Sumia and Sir Frederick think when they see you, the Exalt of Ylisse, coming back to Shepherds, drunk off his feet?"

"I won't get THAT drunk." Chrom said. Inigo saw that he sort of shuddered at the mention of Sumia. "I'll drink with moderation."

Inigo was about to say something else until he felt a tug on his sleeve. He turned and saw Morgan. Her face told Inigo not to press the matter any further.

"Once Captain sets his mind on something, there's no stopping him." Morgan whispered.

Inigo sighed and rolled his eyes. "Figures... He married Sumia during the first war against Plegia after all."

Morgan nodded.

"He's like your dad."

"Huh?"

"Chrom and your dad. The two have that same flame when they want to do something... albeit for different reasons..." Inigo said, looking at Chrom order a drink. Inigo looked back at Morgan and realized what he had just said. "Oh shoot! I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine..." Morgan said. "But do you really think so?"

"You kidding?! That IS so." Inigo said. "There's no denying Robin's- I mean your dad- ambitious personality... I mean, he won Lucina's heart..."

"Why? Are you jealous?"

"N-no!" Inigo stammered, his face reddening.. He quickly turned away and looked around the establishment. "Anyway, we're here because we have a task to do. C'mon!"

He walked around the pub. Morgan quickly followed after him.

"You know what Inigo?"

"What?"

"You're so cute when you are flustered."

"I'd rather be called cute over OTHER matters."

Morgan took a brief look around the pub. Not much was going on. Many seats were empty and the few that were occupied were taken by commoners, not battle folk. It seemed as if this pub was a bust too.

"Anything interesting?" Inigo asked Morgan.

"Not particularly, no..." Morgan said.

Until something caught her eye.

Over in the far corner of the pub, there were two individuals sitting at a table, huddled over the top. They seemed deeply focused on whatever was on the top the table. They didn't have a crowd around them like the matches in other taverns but Morgan was curious to see what was going on. She walked over to the table and sure enough, the two men were playing chess. And white was in trouble.

Black had just taken White's queen and he was left him only with his rook and bishop. Black had three pawns and a rook and had the White king pinned down on the left side of the board.

"Ya better give up and fork over ye bullion over to me." The player of black said, his face eager and intent of winning. He was a big fellow, cropped black hair and slight formation of wrinkles in his face. He looked like a weary traveler. He seemed to be the older one among the two.

"The battle isn't lost until you use up all of your options." The other man, the player of White, said. He had long silver hair that covered much of his face and he was wearing a black robe-like coat. Looking at his face closely, Morgan could see the faint edge of a scar that lined his cheek.

"Tell you what." Black said. "Give up now, and I'll only take half of your offer from earlier."

White looked at him, his face annoyed. "My stance won't change. I'm not giving up."

Black shrugged his shoulders. "Have it your way then. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Morgan took a close look at the board. Black did have a point. It would be rather difficult for White to win. Morgan had no idea how the game came to be like this. White's king was on A4, his bishop on H4, and his rook on G1.

Black's king was on B8, his rook on A7, one pawn on B7, another pawn on A6, and the last pawn on A5.

It was White's turn.

White moved his rook straight up to G8.

"Check." White said.

Black chuckled. "Scare tactics, eh? Ain't gonna work on me mate."

Black moved his king to C7.

Then, White moved his bishop to D8. Directly diagonal from the black king.

"Why did he just do that?" Inigo asked, whispering into Morgan's ear.

"Just like Black said. It's a scare tactic, but it's a clever one."

"How so? That bishop can be killed by the King."

Morgan shook her head. "Not so simple Inigo. Look over there."

"Huh?"

Inigo saw Morgan point at the rook on G8. "If the black king takes that bishop, that'll put him in the line of danger with that rook. Or in other words, that'll be putting himself in check and that would be an illegal move."

"So it's bait?"

"Not quite." Morgan said. "Bait is something used to lure an enemy into unknown danger. In this case, the danger is clearly visible. That bishop is protected by the rook. Black king can't take bishop with getting a check."

"So the black king can't take the bishop because of the rook... and he can't go back to where he moved from because the rook is there."

"Exactly. So the only logical option left is to evade the enemy." Morgan said.

And that was exactly what black did. Morgan had noticed a sharp distinction in Black's demeanor from earlier. The pompous confidence from before subsided. Morgan could see the anxiety spread over his face.

"Huh, I see that you are still persisting on those tactics." Black said. "No matter. The same tactic can be beaten by the same solution."

Black moved his king to C6.

Then white did something unthinkable.

He moved his bishop to B6. Right next to the black king.

"Why would he do that?" Inigo asked. "Why is he risking his bishop?"

Morgan couldn't understand him either. "I don't know either... Now that bishop is no longer protected by the rook."

Black saw the move and was filled with confidence again. "Something wrong with that head of yours? Or are you willing to lose to me?"

White didn't say anything.

"Well, I thank you for your bishop."

The black king took the bishop. Black king was now on B6.

White had two pieces left. Black didn't lose any.

"Your move white."

White moved his rook to C8.

"Now this is a tough spot." Morgan said.

"How so?" Inigo asked.

"White made his move. His rook is on C8."

"Yeah, I see that. But what's wrong?"

"What's wrong is the fact that black has to make a move."

"Huh?... Wait a minute."

Inigo took a look at the board. And Morgan was right.

The three pawns were still locked in their places at A6, A5, B7. They couldn't move backwards. The black king was B6. The white king was at A4. The black king couldn't move down because of the rule of chess. King have to a square apart from each other in all directions. The black king couldn't move right to C6 either. That put his king in danger. The only piece that was free was the black rook at A7.

And that was straight onto A8.

Right in the white rook's range.

Black reluctantly made the move to move his rook to A8 and as expected, the white rook took it.

"H-how... how did you..."

White didn't say another word. He stood up, took his winnings and left the table. The Black player looked at a loss of words.

"But that wasn't a checkmate..." Inigo said."

Morgan nodded. "It wasn't, it was a stalemate. But according to the worth of pieces, white wins."

"Huh?"

"Pawns equal one point each. Black has three points. Kings don't accumulate points."

"Uh huh."

"Rooks are worth five. White has one rook. And therefore, he wins by that standpoint."

Inigo rubbed the back of his head. "Darn... This whole chess thing is so overwhelming for me..."

"Yeah, yeah..." Morgan said, looking around. "That's because it's you, Inigo."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Never mind that." Morgan said. "Remember what Captain Chrom told us?"

"Huh?"

"He told us to bring the winner of a chess match to him." Morgan said, pacing her way across the sea of tables.

"Wait." Inigo said, following her. "That guy didn't even beat you! I don't know if that even qualifies!"

"Just shut up and help me look for him, alright?"

Inigo and Morgan ran out of the pub and took a quick look around. They looked for a man garbed in a black cloak with long silver hair. And no one on the street filled that description.

"Why do you want that guy so bad?" Inigo asked, his eyes scanning the street ahead of him. "His chess skill?"

"It's more than that..." Morgan said. "Gods, I don't even see him anymore."

Inigo sighed and rested his arm on Morgan's shoulder. "Either way, Chrom isn't going to be happy with this."

"I'm not going to be happy with what?"

Inigo and Morgan turned simultaneously. They saw Chrom walk out from the pub doors, wiping his mouth with his arm. There were no visible signs of drunkenness.

"Well, uh..." Inigo managed to say. "Did you get something to drink?"

Chrom shook his head. "Not my taste... And I don't want to smell like a bar when I see Sumia tonight..."

"I told you so..." Inigo said, rolling his eyes.

"We let the guy who won the chess match get away." Morgan blurted.

"Wha-?" Inigo was exasperated as he looked over at Morgan. "Why would you-?"

"You what?"

Oh boy...

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(A/N): Finally. I get to finally publish this.. Sorry for the late update. Hopefully you guys enjoyed it. I'll try to update more frequently. Leave a review or a comment! Thanks for reading!

Until Next Time,

~SAYONARA~