THE TACTICIANS' WISH

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem or anything associated with it.

This is my first fic...so... yeah...

A young boy, about five years of age with spiky jet black hair and dark crimson eyes is sitting under a tree with a girl about the same age. Her long black hair gently flows along with the wind and her sapphire eyes sparkle with joy, yet had a trace of sorrow in them. The boy had the mark tears streaming down his face; obviously he was crying a short while ago, and the girl consoled him. He clutched a "Fimbulvetr" tome tightly to his chest, and smiled at the girl. The girl smiled back, and kissed him. Then she walked away. "I'll miss you," she said. After she was gone, he left, never to return to this place.

"YOU DEMON!" "FREAK OF NATURE!"

"HANG HIM!" "WHO WANTS TO HANG OUT WITH YOU!"

" (whisper) look at his eyes..." "...the devil's child"

People and other children said and yelled at him as he walked through the market towards the Daisuke magic school for prodigies. Though boy didn't pay any attention to this, some of the insults still stung him. He was used to this torture since the beginning of the school year, but still...

'I'll make it through, just one more day and it's all over...' The boy tightly clutched his beloved Fimbulvetr tome, his 5th birthday gift, from his tutor Doctor De Jesua, an old priest from a foreign land who died a few weeks ago. His parents, his nanny, and the good doctor were the only friends he had because of his red eyes. Red eyes in the continent of Chija were believed to be signs of terrible luck; a bad omen, or even that the child is a demon with untapped powers. Unfortunately for our boy, the people that go to his school or live nearby all think the latter because of his great skill with magic, and therefore shunned him out of society. Life was horrible for him, until the day he met her.

The memory goes through his mind; this only happened 2 months ago. He was walking through the market, crying after a few bullies just stole his lunch money. He didn't live with a very wealthy family; in fact, his parents had trouble paying for his tuition at the magic school. With his already meager lunch money taken away from him by force, he cried because he'd not eat lunch again for the 10th day in a row. Then he walked into another bully's posse. When they found out someone else already took his money, the leader punched him and took the boy's Fimbulvetr tome away. "GIVE IT BACK!" the boy cried. This, of course, only fueled the bullies' fervor of harassing him, and they played Piggy in the Middle with it. "STOP IT!" he cried, and of course, to no avail. He slumped down in defeat.

Then, in midair, a big hand caught the tomb. The bullies looked to see its owner, and saw Lord Kyoshiro of Castle Nagasaki, clad in his usual blue and green plated armor and blue cape, with a Silver Katana on his waist. "That's not very nice kids. Leave him alone alright?" The bullies left the young boy. "Hey, you alright kid?"

The boy nodded slowly; his neck hurt a lot after getting punched there by the first group of bullies. He said in his very quiet and timid voice, "...thank you, milord..."

"Don't mention it. Hey, you're Sasuke's son, right? I've heard about you, and man, I feel sorry for you. If I can help you in any way, I'll do my best to do so." The boy's face lit up, and his red eyes, now dried from his tears, sparkled with joy.

"Really?"

"Of course. Come on, get up. Hmm... I've seen you around before, but when I do, I always see you alone. You got any friends?"

The boy shook his head slowly, his neck still hurting.

"NO?...oh...right..." Kyoshiro grins sheepishly. "Well, why don't you come over to the castle after school today? I'll let you meet my sister. She's really shy, like you so she doesn't have many friends her age."

Again the boy said "Really?"

"(laughs) You don't seem to have a big vocabulary either. Of course (how many times have I said this during this conversation?). I'll see you later, alright? Oh, and when you talk to the gatekeeper, show him this." Kyoshiro gives him a small gold necklace with a ruby pendant. "See ya!" And with that, the boy walked towards the magic school.

After school ended, the boy zoomed right out of the classroom, surprising his teacher since he was always the last to leave, always looking down and dreading the walk home through the market. He ran through the market, and ran through the West Passage and straight to the castle. In his rush of adrenaline, he failed to see the big knight in front of him when he was looking up, awestruck at the awsomeness (is that even a word?) of the castle in front of him. BAM! CRASH!

"Owww..."

"(laughs in a booming voice) Haha! You should watch where you're going! You must be Mr. Sasuke's son! Come in, Lord Kyo already informed me about your visiting us. Welcome to Castle Nagasaki, I'm Eiji the gatekeeper!"

"...hello sir..." squeaked the boy, scared by the gatekeeper's loud voice and Steel Lance.

"The princess is in the courtyard right now. She looked really anxious to meet you."

"...thank you sir..." and he ran into the courtyard...

The courtyard was a lovely place, filled with many exotic plants and animals of foreign lands. The master of the castle, Master Yamato, is a collector of these things and loves nothing more than to spend time in his courtyard admiring his collection with his friends...that is, other than alcohol.

Anyways, there was a big old tree in the middle, called the "Lifestream tree." It's called that because the only river that gives water to the town is right beside the big tree. So the boy walked towards it when he saw a slight movement of something that seemed unnatural in a garden: a lock of black hair.

When he reached its location, he saw, sitting on one of the giant tree's roots, the most beautiful view he ever saw. She was sitting there, one leg on top of the other, crossed, with long black hair, and sparkling blue eyes which were filled with loneliness, but also full of curiosity of the figure that stood before her. She's a noble, and therefore, wore expensive noble clothing the boy's mother could only dream of getting unless she won the lottery. She wore a pink ribbon, which looked like it was made of silk, on the back of her head. She wore a small pink skirt and long blue red stockings. Her pink shirt had those shoulder fluff things that made her look really cute.

The boy, on the other hand, wore a simple shirt and pants, and an old black cloak. Yet the girl stared mesmerized at him as he did with her. This was the thought on both children's heads 'I think I'm dreaming...is that an angel I see before me?' and they both walked closer. When they snapped back to reality, both blushed, realizing that he/she was staring at the other. Then, awkward silence. Finally, the girl stood up and held out her hand.

"...hi," she squeaked in a small, quiet voice, yet it's a voice that had the sound of a song only the choir can sing at the church, and this choir is one of the best on the continent. "...I'm princess Mitsuna Yamato...what's your name?"

"...um...um...it's Hiro Sasuke..." He then put up his hand to shake hers, and they shook. Hiro thought, 'Wow, it's smooth as silk, it doesn't have any roughness on it! I really am meeting an angel.'

Mitsuna thought, 'Lord brother was right...poor boy, I can feel the scars on his hands. They must be from helping his father run the farm...'

They talked and talked for hours, both happy that they found a new friend they can relate with, although one is just a farmer's son and the other is a princess. Soon, after a few visits to the courtyard, Hiro became really familiar with the castle and its inhabitants, and they were very friendly towards him knowing that he's just a harmless child, and as nobles don't believe in superstitious things that the peasants believe in.

However, one night, when everyone was sleeping soundly, a bandit raid broke out, and most of the farms were burnt down. Hiro's was one of those farms. During the raid, he woke up to find a giant hole in his parents' room's wall, and his parents being brutally sliced and diced in their room by a large bandit wielding a bloody Killer Axe. The bandit then spotted him, and when Hiro realized that, he bolted down the stairs of his house. The bandit grunted and chased after him, but not before lighting the house with a torch. As Hiro ran out the door, he tripped and fell. As he got up, he saw his house was covered in flames and that the bandit is giving chase. He knew he couldn't outrun the bandit, so he took out his fire tome, and started chanting...

Another bandit, walking nearby after looting a neighboring house, called his friends over after seeing the barbequed corpse of the bandit that attacked Hiro's parents. In his rage, he chased down the crying young boy that sat on the side of the road. He followed the boy through the market, and unknowingly through the West Passage and towards the castle. Running through the open gates, not thinking about why it was open, being blinded by rage over his fried comrade, he was impaled by Eiji's trusty Steel Lance. "Take that!"

As the other bandits arrived on the scene, they were made short work by Eiji's lance and Hiro's fire. However, one of them managed to get around the duo, and snuck up behind Hiro. Hiro turned just in time to see the bandit, and jumped to the side, but the bandit was able to make a small cut on his arm. He winced in pain. During that split second, the bandit sliced the tome in half. Defenseless, Hiro ran. The bandit ran after him, only to be sliced in half by Kyoshiro's Silver Katana. "GO KID! RUN TO THE COURTYARD! BANDITS HAVE MITSUNA AND MY FATHER SURROUNDED!"

'Mitsuna,' Hiro thought, as he received an Elfire tome from one of Kyoshiro's mages. He ran as fast as his little legs could carry him to the courtyard. King Yamato was doing well against the bandits, killing a few here and there with his Aura tome. However, he was soon shot down by a stray arrow. Mitsuna was near his father's corpse, wielding an Iron Sword, and would have been sliced in half by a Myrmidon had Hiro not burned him with a well aimed Fire. In this moment of desperation, Mitsuna was hit by an arrow on her arm, and the guards around them fell down one by one...it seemed hopeless.

'NO! NOT NOW! I CAN'T DIE NOW!' Hiro's head screamed...'...I'll protect Mitsuna with my life...I can't let her die...not now...' The necklace that Kyoshiro gave him suddenly shined a bright crimson light, and a ruby appeared on its center. Then time seemed to stop around Hiro. A voice boomed "You wish to protect the ones you love most, yet you do not have the power to. I shall help you, little one. My sword shall be given to those of good heart in desperate need of it. Together we shall slay our enemies to protect those that we love!"

Time then started running again. However, instead of a Fire tome, in his hand, Hiro had a long, evil looking katana, with an intricate pattern, painted black on its sharp blade, which looked menacing as it is colored a dark crimson color, just like blood. Its hilt was smooth, colored black, with the symbol of a devil and angel's wing on a sword at the point where the hilt touches the blade, and somehow fit perfectly in Hiro's small hands. Surprisingly, it was light considering its huge size.

A voice rang in Hiro's head. "Together we shall lay our enemies to protect those that we love! The Muramasa is now yours!" 'Muramasa,' he thought. Then Hiro seemed to go into a berserker rage, eyes glowing bright red in the darkness of the night, and sliced any bandits coming towards him and Mitsuna with precision and fury, as he danced a dance of death. After sometime, he and his sword were covered in blood, with the bodies of the bandits all around him, and then he passed out.

"DEVIL'S CHILD!", they called him though he protected the princess, even staking his own life to do it. Then the townspeople banished him after hearing of his fighting abilities when he was protecting the princess.

"Mitsuna..."

"Hiro..." Both cried after Hiro told Mitsuna of his banishment from the town.

"No Hiro, please don't leave me...who will I talk to when I'm sad and lonely...who will I talk to when I want to have fun..."

"Mitsuna...I'm sorry..."

The timid young boy is now a...slightly less shy person, but is now far better at talking. "Mitsuna, I'll miss you. I'm glad that we were able to live through that night. I'll be leaving in a few days, after the school year is over. ...I...should have told you this earlier..." Hiro looked toward the ground, swallowed, and hoped for the best...

"...I...I love you, Mitsuna." Then, awkward silence took its place, like the first time the two met. Hiro expected rejection. After all, he is the 'Devil's Child.' However, what broke the silence was completely unexpected. The young princess kissed him and held him tightly.

"Please don't leave me Hiro. I love you too."

Back to the beginning:

Hiro went on a trade ship that went to Elibe. He decided to stay as far away from home as possible.

Upon arriving, he walked to the nearby village, a Sacaean village. There, he arrived exhausted and out of breath. A kind young woman archer, seeing the poor boy collapse at the gates of the village, took him in and decided to raise him. Her name was Ayla, and she took care of him until he was 13. There, the Sacaean swordmaster inspected the Muramasa. Yuan, which was his name, was very curious about it. He asked Hiro why he has the Muramasa, and Hiro's answer would always be a gift from a good friend. He trained Hiro in the arts of the sword, seeing the boy's potential after seeing him use it.

Being a mage as well, Hiro was able to multitask during battle with his mighty sword and his Fimbulvetr tome. Life was perfect here, and Hiro wanted nothing more than to stay here forever. However, one day, BANDIT RAID! His village was burnt down, with only Yuan, Ayla, and him as the survivors.

"DAMMIT!" cried Yuan, angered that all his friends were dead.

"Calm down Yuan...you're not the only one that lost friends..."said Ayla.

"I know...and I shall avenge the lives lost today. But that was the Black Fang. I thought they only attacked the rich."

Ayla replied, "Do you remember of that man that came to stay here? That fat lord? Well, he's the master of a nearby castle and has been oppressing his people, so I think the black fang attacked us because we were providing him cover or something like that..."

"DAMMIT! CURSE THOSE NOBLES! ALWAYS USING THEIR POWER TO DO SOMETHING STUPID, AND WE GET TO SUFFER BECAUSE OF THEM!" Hiro just stayed silent, his heart aching as Yuan's words reminded him of Mitsuna. "Hiro, I think you should go to the tactician's guild nearby. Yuan and I will hunt down the leader of this little pack to avenge our fallen comrades."

4 years later:

"And the winner of this year's fighting tournament is, HIRO SASUKE!" said the announcer. Hiro walked down the stairs off the arena towards his friends. That's right, friends. Hiro changed over the last four years. After having his life destroyed by bandits twice, he went to the tactician's guild to join up and be able to use his skills to help others in need. He became a seasoned Swordmagi and was the top swordsman at the guild, not to mention a worthy tactician as well. He usually wore his dark blue Sacaean shirt and pants, with his necklace safely tucked under his shirt. On his leather belt he had a sword cover to hold his Muramasa. He sometimes wears a black cloak. His slight yet still muscular build attracted many girls at the guild, and he has a small scar on the middle of his face. His short spiky hair, however, is his trademark. In simpler terms, the Sacaean Badass.

"GOOD JOB BUDDY!" His best friend, fellow tactician and a mercenary, Jack, jumped him and hugged him. Now, Jack is a big jock, with a football player's build. Guess what that hug did to Hiro's ribs. "...ribs...(cough)...breaking...(hack)...seeing...life...flash...(cough)...before...my...eyes(hack)."

"Sorry."

Ian, a myrmidon, slapped him hard on the back.

"(cough)"

"YEAH! TONIGHT WE GET DRUNK!"

Hiro meekly said thanks and then regained his badass aura, which was totally ruined a few seconds ago by Jack's hug. His other friends, Kassar, Louie, and Mark nodded to Ian's remark and walked with Hiro and Jack.

"Hiro, I'm pleased to say that you, and your friends, Ian, Jack, Kassar, Louie, and Mark have earned the right to finally set out into the world to help with your tactician skills," said Mua, the leader of the tactician's guild. Hiro and Kassar, the quiet ones, smiled with glee and high fived while the other guys hooted like maniacs.

Ian, as usual, said "YEAH! TONIGHT WE GET DRUNK!"

"Now before you leave boys, I want to congratulate you by telling the whole tactician's school about your extraordinary abilities, as well as show you to some of the new students."

Later, on the way to the assembly room:

As Hiro walked down a hallway towards the back of the stage to prepare for the assembly, he felt strange. He smelled something very familiar, but couldn't remember what it was. As he walked towards the end of the corridor and to turn at the corner...

BAM!

He crashed into another person, apparently a girl tactician, who was also turning the corner...and landed in the most awkward position, with his torso between the girl's legs and his face in the girl's...um...yeah, you know...Hiro immediately got up and apologized like a squirrel on crack. The girl's face turned red as a tomato when he saw the cute guy in front of her, and got up to say it's her fault. Then she saw the Muramasa. When Hiro stopped apologizing, he looked at her and...awkward silence took its cue.

In front of him was a black haired girl with sapphire eyes that sparkled with loneliness and curiosity (sound familiar?), and a face still red as a tomato. She wore a short red skirt with a shiny crimson breastplate, red stockings and boots, and a small red cape. He also noticed that this girl was HAWT. I mean, curves and all.

On Hiro's mind, 'DAYUM! This is my lucky day! Okay, Hiro, get it together, don't just stare at her, say something studly like you always do...come on, dammit, say something!' Hiro's tounge wouldn't make a sound.

The girl's mind was going '...Hiro?' as she looked at his menacing yet mesmerizing blood red eyes.

Then Mark walked by. "Hey! I've been looking all over for you! Oh? Chilling with this damn fine lady I see. Yo, we gotta get on the stage man!" Hiro snapped out of his trance.

"Oh...right...sorry...uh...see ya." He said to the girl. 'She seems so familiar, with all that red and...black hair...and blue eyes...and...is...is it really her?'

All right people, the end of the prologue. You should know who the mystery chick is.

Uh...R&R PEOPLE! Flames are accepted, but not too harsh, okay? Please?

R&R! You know you want to.