"Setty!" I called out as her body became as limp as a rag doll. "Setty!" I ran over to Nori and Ximena. "Help Setty!"
Ximena came closer and covered Setsuko in a green glow.
"Hyo," Lady Miyuki cried out as she picked up her son. "Hyo!"
"Big brother," Kohri said, eyes wide. He turned to look at the princess in my arms. "Setty..."
"No," Rosa said, shaking her head as she staggered forward. "Their life force is small. Normal healing won't work." She moved her seven drones. Three of them went over to Setty and four to Hyosetsu.
"She's right," Ximena said as she backed away from the crown princess. "My healing, it's not working."
Nori closed his teary eyes. "No!" he cried out.
Rosa took another step forward. She still seemed drained from her battle with Maki.
"Wait," Tetsuya yelled.
"I know what you're going to say, but what else can I do?" Rosa snapped, glaring at him. "I have to save Setty and Hyo! This is the only way I can do so!"
"She's right," I said, grimacing. "Though let us help you, Rosa!"
"I wasn't going to stop you this time. I've learned that it's useless," Tetsu said, sighing. He stretched his hand out to her. "Here, use my life force."
I did the same.
Rosa smiled. "Thanks, you two."
"Nori too!" Nori said, stretching his hand out.
"Make it fast, Rosa," King Osamu said as he stared at his unconscious daughter. "Your sister doesn't have much time. A few minutes at most. Likewise, for Hyosetsu."
Lady Saya flew over to us from the opposite side of the broken rings. "Allow me, everyone." She pointing her hands which were glowing with a mix of prana and mana toward the two. Golden spheres of energy formed around Setty and Hyosetsu, healing their wounds.
"Their life energy, it's not replenishing fast enough," Rosa said, gasping for air.
Tetsu placed his hands over her shoulders. "Calm down, panicking won't help during times like these. We'll just have to go along with our original plan if it doesn't go up soon."
She nodded. "Y-yeah."
"Use my life force too if you must!" Lady Miyuki said, rushing over to us with Hyosetsu in her arms. "You have to save my son, Rosa." Her face was streaked with tears.
"I will," Rosa said, nodding her head. She lowered her gaze to Hyosetsu once more. She smiled. "Though perhaps, I won't need to. His life force and that of my sister's are starting to return to normal."
Saya sighed as energy continued to flow out of her hands and into the golden spheres. She looked over her shoulder. "Those two really went all out."
"Y-yeah, they sure did," Ayumi said, pushing herself up as she stood on the opposite end of the crater.
"Don't push yourself," Zyuuni said as he helped her stand.
The red-haired girl nodded her head.
Zyuuni smiled and slowly escorted her to her tent.
"We should all rest," King Osamu said, sighing as he turned his back to all of us. Suddenly, a ringing sound erupted from underneath the purple cape he wore. He took out a black phone. "Hello, Prime Minister. I take it that you've confronted the abyssmals?" He frowned. "They killed all the guards?" He gasped. "That's... so it appears that their earlier calls for peace were but a farce after all, as if there were any doubt."
"The guards died?" I asked.
"Wait, that means that..." Rosa said, covering her mouth with both hands.
"Eita, Borasco" Eiichi said, eyes wide.
"Your brother and cousin are safe. They were ordered to stay in Makkuroyama along with Naoru. Likewise, the remaining members of your old team and those of the others were sent there," Eiko said, putting a hand on her oldest son's shoulder.
Eiji smiled. "So, it seems that you do care for your little brother and cousin after all," the Lightning King said, chuckling.
Eiichi turned away. "O-of course I do. I'm not the monster that you take me for, Father."
"Hey, I didn't mean it like that. I don't think that you're a mon-"
"I'm going to go train. Call me once the ring is fixed," he said, taking flight. "Come, Sabine!"
"No need to tell me, I'm right behind you!" Sabine said, grinning.
Eiji sighed. "That kid."
"Seems that we all struggle with unruly kids," Tekeshi said, patting him on the back.
"Don't compare me to him. Plus, at least I have a reason for treating you the way I do," Tetsu said, glaring at his father.
"Stop arguing," the king demanded. "Setsuko and Hyosetsu need to rest. If you want to argue go to the mountains."
"Father is right," Rosa said.
Tetsu glared at king Osamu. "I'm going to go do some training of my own," he said as he turned away.
"Master isn't going to eat?" Yuko asked, tilting her head at him.
"I'll just grab an apple on the way to the mountains," he responded as he marched on toward the forest.
Yuko chased after him. "Alright!"
I sighed. "It's going to take a while for him to forgive you, uncle."
Uncle Tekeshi adjusted his mask. "Seems like it. Not that I expected him to forgive me right away."
"Tekeshi, I need to speak to you and the others about something that Prime Minister Itou mentioned," the king said as he tucked his phone away back into his cape.
"What is it?" he asked.
Uncle Osamu glanced at me. "It's best that I tell you in secret. I rather keep the young knights' focused on their training."
"Let me put Hyo to bed then we can talk," Lady Miyuki said.
"Fine," he said as he stared at the crown princess. "Serrano, take good care of your future wife. I'll like to speak to you once the training camp has come to an end."
"Speak to me? About what? Is it connected to what the prime minister said?"
He closed his eyes. "Sort of. It's best not to ask questions right now. Focus on taking care of Setsuko and your own training."
I stared at my fiancée and smiled. She was sleeping as soundly as a baby. "I understand, your highness. There really is no need to tell me to take care of her, I had planned to do so from the start."
"You're a good kid, Serrano," the king said as he kept his head low.
I gasped. It was unusual for him to compliment anyone, even me.
*Hyosetsu*
[Hours Later]
I opened my eyes and found myself inside a yellow tent. Seated next to me was the second princess, busily peeling away apples with a knife.
I tried to raise my upper body when a pain surged across my stomach. I laid my head back on my pillow and grimaced. Setsuko hit as hard as I remembered.
"Don't try to push yourself," Rosalba said as she put down the apple and knife in her hands on a white towel. "Your body might be healed but it has residual pain from the match. You likely won't be able to stand up for a good while."
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
She looked down. "You don't want me to be here?"
"I would've thought that you would be watching over Setsuko or following that peasant lover of yours around."
Rosa's face reddened. "I would've, but Setsuko was injured."
"So, why aren't you with her now?"
"She's already up and about, well kind of. She's in a wheelchair, but she should be fine by tomorrow too. Serra is watching over her." She snickered. "I would've stayed back, but don't want to be a third wheel between them."
I sighed. "Always the romantic, aren't you?"
She grumbled. "And what's wrong with that?"
"Y-" I cut myself short. "I rather not waste more of my breath lecturing you. Though, it's nice to hear that Setsuko is fine." I snickered. "Despite winning, I suddenly feel as if I lost. Then again, she's always been one with a lot of energy. No matter how much she fell, she would always get up quickly."
I narrowed my eyes at the princess as she stared at me with wide eyes.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
She averted her gaze. "You're smiling."
I scoffed and turned away. "What about it? This isn't the first time that I've smiled in front of you, or have you not noticed?"
She giggled. "I mean a genuine smile. I noticed that you were also smiling like that after you battle with Setsuko. It's a really pretty smile. Wish I could see it more often."
I felt my face heat up. "Pretty?"
"Yeah. It makes you look more handsome!"
I grumbled. "Yeah, well it's probably nothing like that peasant's."
"Tetsu? Why are you comparing yourself to him?" she asked.
This girl sure was oblivious.
"I'm... not sure," I said, glancing at the ceiling of the yellow tent. I closed my eyes. "Anyway, go back to him. He probably missing his little princess, even though he has that tanuki girl."
Rosa grumbled. "If you want me to leave so badly then I'll do so, but only once Kohri or auntie Miyuki return."
"Kohri and my mom?" I asked, opening my eyes.
"Yeah. Kohri was helping me watch over you. He's actually the one who brought you here. He went to go help make food."
"Food? It isn't his group's turn to do so."
"Yeah, but he decided to fill in for you."
I pushed myself up a little. "He did that?"
She snickered. "Believe it or not, Kohri genuinely cares for you. Back when he was studying in the capital, he told me that his living hero was you."
"Me?" I asked, gasping. I scoffed. "He must've been lying. Kohri hasn't seen me in such light in years. Not since I first yelled at him for stealing the throne from me."
"I think it's the opposite. You're the one who hasn't seen Kohri in a positive light since then."
Was that true?
"What do you know?" I asked, flinching.
"You've called me 'naive' and 'blind' before, but I think that you aren't too far behind. You're also naive and blind when it comes to certain things. Especially, how your family feels about you."
"Hey, lunch is ready!" Kohri whispered as he opened the tent door. He smiled as soon as he saw me. "You're awake! Want to join us? We made tamales. There's beef with red sauce, chicken with green sauce, pork with red sauce, and several others."
"You went ahead and made them?" I asked.
Kohri snickered and nodded. "Yeah, but they likely pale in comparison to father's and yours."
"You cook?" Rosa asked.
I narrowed my eyes at her. "Yeah. Did you think that I was going to be doing the chopping?"
"Well, you are great at slicing things, so I figured..."
Kohri snickered. "He's a man of many talents, many of which he keeps hidden."
"Hey, do you have any leftover dough?" I asked.
My brother scratched his face and nodded. "Yeah, we got some, but it's very soft. They might come out soggy. We're out of maize to make more."
"I see. Though perhaps we can find some maize around here. They surely must grow it in these parts."
"Maize?" Rosa asked.
"That's another name for corn. One of Valencia's titles was 'Giver of Maize' as she is said to be the one who created the fruit," a voice called out.
I narrowed my eyes at the new arrival. He was accompanied by Yuko.
"Tetsu, you're back!" Rosa said, smiling. "Uh, though why are you here?"
"Surely for you," I said.
The shield knight blushed. "I was looking for you, so that we could eat together," he said, looking away.
"That sounds good! Hyo-"
"Go. Kohri's here, anyway."
"Hmm, are you jealous?" Kohri said, chuckling.
If I wasn't bedridden, I would've jabbed my sword through the stomach.
"Not that again," I said, rolling my eyes.
Rosalba grumbled. "Uh, anyway, I was hoping that you would join us, Hyo. Uh, is that fine with you, Tetsu?"
"Not really, but it's your choice," he said.
I looked over at him. "My, how honest of you."
Tetsuya put a hand on his hips and smiled. "Well, I want you to get better soon."
"Oh? How come? Surely it's not for my own well-being."
"I want you to be well for our battle. I'll defeat Eiichi later today and then we'll face off tomorrow!"
I snickered. "That's rather optimistic of you. You, Hideo, and I couldn't defeat Eiichi last time we battled, though mine was technically a tie. While you have grown, I doubt that you can defeat him. Setsuko and I stand the best chance against him out of us four."
"I hate to say it, but Hideo is sort of a non-factor," Kohri said, chuckling nervously.
"Indeed. He's the weak link."
The peasant nodded. "We'll need to get him up to speed."
A smirk plastered my face. "First, you should catch up to Setsuko, Eiichi, and I, then you can worry about Hideo."
"Sir Hideo is working hard, though," Yuko said. "On the way back, Yuko spotted him training with Koukyuu, Zydeco, and Sonata. Sir Hideo also seemed to be wearing some thin metal weights on his hands. He must be working hard to save his little brother."
"Yeah. He seems to be taking a page from my training book," the peasant said, smiling. He furrowed his brow. "Perhaps, it's high time that we start working as a team, rather than arguing all the time. At least for Dan's sake and that of Zionia."
"You are right, but while we might work together, do not expect us to become friends," I said, trying to get up again.
"Brother, don't push yourself," Kohri whispered as he knelt down next to me.
"I've already said that I doubt that'll ever happen," Tetsuya said. "You are the sword and I am the shield. We are opposites. Same with Eiichi and I."
"Though, the sword and shield are supposed to work hand-in-hand," Rosa said, standing up. "Likewise, for the spear and shield."
"Uh, does that mean that Sir Hideo and Setty are to do their own thing?" Yuko asked, tilting her head at her.
Tetsuya ruffled her hair. "Think that you're over-thinking things there, Yu."
"Hmm, that might not be a bad idea. Hideo's weapon is a far range one, much like a bow. Archers have tended to stay in the back, aiming their arrows from afar. Sometimes even in hiding. Donato's normal form is meant for sniping," I said, looking down at the floor. "As for Setsuko's, it can be used in both ways. While, ours have a mostly close-range purpose."
"Are you suggesting that Eiichi, you, and I become a trio in battle?" the peasant asked, scowling.
I scoffed. "I am not fond of the idea either, but it's something to consider, yes?"
He nodded.
"The three who hate each other fighting alongside one another, that sounds dangerous and comedic at the same time," Kohri said, snickering.
"Anyway, we can save the strategy talk for later. It'll help to discuss it with the others," I said. "Now, do you happen to know where I can find some maize?"
Tetsuya smiled. "Yeah, I do."
**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter ^_^! Thoughts? Predictions?**