Here it is, the last segment of this story. And yes, Edward/Ilyana. I'm not a hardcore shipper of those two but I found it cute. :)

Enjoy!

—x-x-x—

"Hey Ryu, are you in here?"

The blue-haired swordsman looked up from where he was sitting on the cot that acted as bedding inside the tent he shared with Leonardo, Teepo, Edward and Volug. Though, said wolf laguz preferred staying outside the tent. He had been randomly smoothing out the kinks of his undershirt, being bare-chested at the moment, as well as cleaning his sword. The one who called him entered into said tent, and it turned out to be the archer. Ryu shared a fair smile with Leonardo as he stopped what he was doing to give his friend his undivided attention. "Sorry. Well, that was a rather silly question, wasn't it?" Leonardo chuckled as he asked.

"Yeah," Ryu laughed a bit. "Anyway, what can I help you with?"

"And you seem to be some sort of mind reader," the archer pause a quick second to ensure he had everything he needed to ask down mentally. "Well, Edward seems to be all jumpy yesterday evening, I'm not sure why. I understand it's a very important day today, however, usually he's not as, well, 'excited' as he is now. It caught my suspicious eye." Ryu stared at his bow wielding friend, not perplexed but amused a bit. Nothing seems to pass the skeptical and calculating eyes of Leonardo, and that apparently included the cheery myrmidon's behavior. He knew why Edward was acting the way he was. Not a lovesick boy, but one that wanted to get that schoolhouse crush out of the way, explore it a little.

"Judging by how you're looking at me, you seem to know," Leonardo went on. Well, shoot, no point in keeping it secret. Not like Ryu was going to but…For Edward's sanity sake, and if said brunet promised him not to tell—which he didn't—he may have.

"Let's just say he has a crush on a certain mage," Ryu offered, a teasing but honest grin replacing his amused expression moments ago. When Leonardo gave him a questioning gaze, believing his best friend liked their silver-haired friend, but then came to slow realizations, his own blue eyes widened.

"No way…"

"Yes way."

"Edward is really…?"

"Yep."

"…Stop lying."

"I'm telling the truth, Leo."

Leonardo smacked his forehead, bewildered. Not that Ilyana was that bad looking or anything like that. She was a fine lass with a beautiful dome of lavender hair, though her insatiable, voracious appetite was something to compete with. Rather, combat against. "I better go help him or talk something with him…" Leonardo finally deduced, turning to leave the tent.

"Don't go hard on him, Leo," Ryu said after.

"It'll be tempting not to, you know," The blue-clad archer called back, fully outside now. Ryu chuckled a little then sighed. He had a bit of a problem himself. The problem? Him telling Micaiah he did like her. It wasn't exactly a crush like what Edward had with Ilyana. This was like some strong admiration for the Light mage. Ryu is a smart young gentleman, and does know the concept of love. True, it was one of the most complex emotions out there and everyone feels it in a different way. One thing was certain in every love life relationship: the pair of partners all had common admiration and adoration for the other.

He went down his mental checklist earlier when he had spoken to Edward about this particular subject. Did he like Micaiah? Yes. Did he want to protect her? Of course. Did he look at her differently now than when they first met? Oh, you bet. Did he form a bond with her? Yes, yes he did. Now, the only thing left was to understand if he LOVED her. Ryu couldn't shake that maybe he did love her but at the same time, not yet. It was complex at this stage.

Ryu sighed again. He'd better stop thinking all these crazy thoughts before—

"Hello? Ryu, are you in here?"

A very familiar female voice was just outside the tent. Ryu could see the outline shape of who it was and did his best to NOT fidget. He took a deep breath; inhale, exhale. He repeated that a few more times before feeling calmer. "Yeah? I'm in here, but…" He trailed and figured it'd be best to put his shirt on. No need to look indecent, despite said person having seen him bare back before. "Hold on." He put his undershirt back on in record time. "All right, it's fine to come in."

Entering was Micaiah, her silver hair sparkling as usual, even without the sun'd light. She didn't have Sothe with her, which was odd, nor Yune, he took notice. Before he could have a chance to say anything, the Light mage spoke up first. "Are you all right?"

Well, that was an odd question and peculiar way to start a conversation. Nonetheless, he would answer it. "I'm quite all right, thank you for asking. How about you?" He asked, almost lamely. Almost.

"I'm fine," she responded, feeling a little better about her question being asked, but not entirely convinced. "I was just a little worried about you."

Ryu blinked. Worried? Sure, he's a friend, and friends worry about their friends. But nothing bad was happening to him, at least nothing that he couldn't control. "May I inquire about why? If it's not…too much?"

"Not at all," the Light mage began, walking forward a little, her pale gold eyes staring deeply into his blue orbs. "Ryu, for…some reason, I felt you were having trouble…dealing with something. I don't know what it is." He didn't dare flinch at what she said because for all he knew, Micaiah probably had another vision with her farsight. And the goddess knows how often those happen. "I just wanted to check up on you and see if I could help."

'Well, aside the fact I want to tell you something…' he wanted to say but didn't. It wasn't at the right time. "No, everything's fine. Just thinking too much on remembering things." He answered, which was partially a truth. He didn't—ironically—forget to keep struggling to remember his memories. They were coming at a slow rate, and he wanted to claim them all as much as possible. Of course, patience was key and virtue to this success. "I'm sorry for worrying you."

"I see," Micaiah still stared at him, though now her expression lit up more. Her questions were sated at the moment. "Well, if you ever need to talk, we'll be there. I'll be there to help you. You're not alone, okay?"

Ryu smiled earnestly at that. "Yeah, thanks Micaiah."

She returned the gesture, then began looking away a bit before finding his gaze. Huh, odd. "Also, this might sound strange, but do you know what today is?"

The azurelite blinked again, and the clear message of what Edward spoke to him about, including his recent conversation with Leonardo prior, it clicked. "Today's that…Spirit Valentine Day thing?" He said, though somewhat voiced it like a question.

"Yes, it is! Prince Pelleas even wishes everyone to have a little time to celebrate the together time that we can muster," the silverette explained cheerily. "It's quite significant to the entire world."

"Right. Edward told me about that yesterday a little." He confessed. Ryu found his thoughts surfacing again. Should he come out and say what was on his mind? He was a little afraid of her reaction. The worse she could do was to decline it. A little heartbreak wouldn't hurt him. Well, to most men, to be rejected by the girl you really loved was terrible. But! Since Ryu didn't like Micaiah in that way—he kept telling himself—then it would be okay if she…didn't accept his feelings.

Even if she were a reasonable young woman, she could only give her heart to one man anyway. "Listen, Micaiah…" Ryu started. He met her gaze, and was about to speak again when his heart just suddenly clinched and felt like it was twisting in a knot. His words fell off his tongue, so bizarre. When did it get so hot again?

"Um, yes, Ryu?"

"…Uh well, it's pretty…odd to say this. But I—"

"Micaiah?"

Uh-oh, that was Sothe! Aforementioned Light mage gasped a little when she overheard the distant call of her name coming from her proclaimed "brother." Looking for her, she assumed. "Sorry Ryu," Micaiah apologized, "I have to see what Sothe wants, but I'll come back to hear what you needed to tell me. Okay?" Feeling at a loss for words, the azure-haired swordsman just nodded to confirm, and the girl left the tent.

Ryu sighed again for the third or fourth time today. This was getting weird. Did he just clam up that quick? He had been composed and sure. Maybe he wasn't ready? No, that couldn't be it. Spirit Valentine Day or whatever it was called was a day to confess, wasn't it? He was brave enough to strike down any enemy that came near him but when it came to speaking about love to the girl who merged into his life, he became a coward.

For whatever reason, he felt stupid. Someone would be chastising him about fooling around with this. He didn't know why, but the thought of a man with a striped tail, mashed together in blurs upon blurs, flashed through his mind's eye. Huh, that was odd.

"Finding yourself in a loophole?"

Ryu stood up and once again found himself in more company. This turned out to be the lavender-haired swordsman that recently joined them. What was his name again? Oh right, Teepo! Boy that name really hit home, but Ryu shrugged it off for now. His focus tuned onto the other male, whom pierced his red gaze on Ryu's person. "You have feelings for that girl, it appears."

Well, thanks for pointing out the obvious. "Yeah, I do." Ryu confirmed, not having a reason to hide it. "Wait, how'd you figure that?"

Teepo didn't answer right away but smirked just a little. "For some reason, it's easy to tell, coming from you." He said, crossing his arms as he stepped away from the tent's entryway flap. "Also, you aren't exactly hiding that fact, either. You're readable like an open book."

"Teepo…what are you getting at?"

"What I'm getting at, is if you like her like your emotions speak, then you should go tell her."

Ryu resisted the urge to facepalm. "Easier said than done." Wow, déjà vu.

Teepo shook his head when he heard the response. "No, it's not easy. Nobody said it would be. But you either tell her or someone else will snag her heart."

"But…"

"It'd be best to tell her after the feast is finished." Teepo finished, almost cryptically, and left the tent he shared with his fellow swordsmen. Ryu stared blankly at where he had been and really thought. Who else would snag Micaiah's heart? There wasn't anyone else who—Sothe. He forgot about Sothe. Those two had a longer history and chemistry together, years even. And what did he have? Only a few weeks, a month or so at most. How could he compete with that?

"No. I can't think so negatively," Ryu scolded himself. He would have to go forth and confess. Sooner or later. Accept rejection or maybe accept being accepted. Who knew how this would turn out anyway? He didn't. While he was thinking, Ryu sheathed his sword, fastening it to his belt and grabbed his coat and swung it on, exiting the tent. It was time to find a certain Light mage.

The feast hadn't started yet, thankfully, though the Liberation Camp was busy. A little chatter between the members of the growing army could be heard here and there. The twins, Daniel and Jorge were in charge of the meal this time, having given Ryu a much deserved break as said male was busy fighting for Daein's freedom. The azure haired male found a very happy Ilyana sitting on a stool with the plates full of food that he had prepared for Edward much earlier this morning. Said brunet was grinning and standing nearby and Leonardo watched in fascination—more like amazement—at how fast the Thunder mage ate her food. That girl was serious about her food. Ryu smiled at them, even if they didn't see it, and continued looking for his own target. Would he be too late? Oh, he hoped not! While working up the courage during his search, he found Micaiah. Yes!

'There she is.' He grinned in triumph. Now all he had to do was…

Wait, Sothe was there. When did he get there? What were they doing? Ryu stopped walking towards them, observing. They weren't exactly in the open but could be seen though. Sothe seemed to have said something to her, causing her to blush. Well, even if his heart clenched as it did, Ryu still stepped forward towards them. Perhaps he still had time?

"Oh, Ryu!" Micaiah was the first to notice him. Sothe turned around to face the swordsman. His usual demeanor was placed on. However, his eyes seemed to soften and look…sad?

"I apologize if I'm interrupting something. I'll come back later."

"No, no it's okay," the silver haired mage insisted. "Did you remember what you wanted to tell me?"

Staring at her, then to Sothe, then back at her, Ryu nodded. "Yes, I did."

"It's personal, isn't it?" Sothe asked bluntly. When he didn't get a quick enough response, he simple allowed them space, but didn't leave.

"Yes, it is." He took a deep breath again. Even though Sothe was there, perhaps it was best. Then it wouldn't be a secret. 'Just tell her, just tell her…'

"Ryu?" She wondered, getting curious.

They waited there for a few moments, in silence, before the words finally slipped out. "This might sound…awkward to you both. I recognize that you and Sothe have something going on. But I feel I have to tell you now before I lose my chance forever." Ryu's expression sculpted itself boldly, but internally, he was still shaken up. The image of that blonde haired, winged woman surfaced again and then Micaiah's image blurred in with it, nearly taking it over and replacing it again.

"Micaiah, I will admit… that I do…have feelings for you. Whatever they may be, I don't regret if you reject or accept them. It's a fondness and admiration of you and your presence," Ryu felt like jelly there, and couldn't believe himself. Words just poured out of his heart. "And, just as Sothe, I will continue being your shield." Cheesy line could score him some points there. His eyes dared to glance at Sothe, who was relatively in shock as the girl mage. Except she was blushing!

Now that he looked at her, HE was blushing. That was seriously contagious.

"R-Ryu, I…don't know what to say…"

"Just say 'yes' and I'll stop."

She smiled, her blush intensifying. "Yes." Ryu's heart felt like tons of butterflies. Weird, wasn't that how the stomach was suppose to feel like? Oh well.

Sothe, still bewildered, finally shook from his stunned trance and stared at Ryu. This guy was bold, and the only other one besides his male friends that he'd let near Micaiah. Instead of getting mad like a jealous rogue he was, he smirked. This was going to be very, very interesting.

He had competition.

—x-x-x—

Haha, loved how I ended it. Sorry for cheesiness and stuff. I really tried.

Happy V-day! :)