The Blue Camellia

Chapter 1

With one final slash, it all came to an end.

The last attack from the spear knocked Beruka off her wyvern, falling to the ground as her ax fell out of reach. As she shakily opened her eyes, she noticed her wyvern laying before her, exhausted and wounded. She tried to stand up, tried to continue on, but her body was too wounded and sore for her to even hold herself up. So, as much as she hated it, she gave up and allowed herself to fall limp.

"That's the end of the round," Alfonse spoke up, "Victory goes to Subaki!"

Loud cheers erupted, Sakura and Hana leading them, as the pegasus knight came back to the ground. He dismounted from his steed as he walked up to the fallen wyvern rider. She managed to open her eyes as his footsteps came closer and stopped in front of her. She looked up and saw him smiling, a hand extended out to her.

"I'd hate to leave a fellow hero lying in the dirt."

She managed to reach up and grab his hand, and he helped her to stand up, despite her aching body, and watched as the pegasus helped her wyvern to pick itself up.

"Subaki!" Sakura ran up to them, Hana right behind her, "Y-You did amazing!"

"I gotta admit, I'm impressed," Hana said, her arms crossed but a genuine smile on her face.

"Beruka!" Camilla and Selena ran up to them, the princess taking her wounded retainer in her arms, "Are you alright, darling?"

"My wounds will fade. But my failure won't," Her monotone voice did well to hide her disappointment.

"Don't be silly, sweetie," Camilla hugged her close, easing her grip to avoid causing her pain, "You did fantastic."

"You both were impressive," Alfonse spoke as he walked up to the small group, "Now, by all means, relax and take some time to heal. The next round won't start for a while."

"I still can't believe you actually beat Beruka," Sakura said as focused her staff's magic on her retainers wounds, "I-I was really s-scared for a bit."

"I didn't think you had it in you," Hana said, a slight mocking tone.

"I'll take that as a compliment," He said, fueling his rivals fury.

"I'd prefer you not speak of your victory while around me." Beruka sat next to the group, Camilla and Selena tending to her wounds, "You kept your promise of victory to your lady, but I couldn't keep mines."

"Beruka," Camilla cooed as she held her retainer close, "I already told you you did a fantastic job. I don't care that you didn't win, I'm just glad that you're okay."

"Besides, you put up a hell of a fight. Be thankful for that, at the very least," Selena spoke as she finished wrapping the gauze around Beruka's right wrist.

She hesitated for a moment before she spoke, "Very well."

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Beruka," Subaki reassured her, "I'm grateful for my victory, but I will not deny that you were quite the opponent."

"I did believe that I almost had you for a moment," She paused before she continued, "Next time, I will be the one to succeed."

"I'm looking forward to it."

Camilla let out a small chuckle before she grabbed her two retainers hands, "Come on, girls. The next round will be starting soon and I'm up first. I'm sure you want to watch, especially you Beruka. You missed out on the last one."

"Yeah, you should have seen it," Selena smirked, "She practically wiped the floor with Hinoka! Speaking of which, who are fighting this round?"

"Alfonse said I'll be facing a pegasus knight named Cordelia."

"Oh..."

Camilla noted the red heads sudden sullen look, "Hmm? Something wrong, sweetie?"

"N-Nothing. Just be careful out there! And... try not to be too harsh on her."

Camilla gave another chuckle, "No need to worry. It's all for fun and games." With that, she and her two retainers left the infirmary.

Sakura looked back to her own retainer, "You won't be going up until after Camilla. Want to come watch?"

"I appreciate the offer, but I think I'll stay here for now. I want to make sure I'm in perfect form for my next round."

"Suit yourself," Hana shrugged and walked towards the door, "Let's go, Sakura."

"O-Okay. See you there, Subaki!"

Sakura and Hana left the room, leaving him alone. Now in privacy, he allowed himself to let out a sigh and lean back to lay on the infirmary bed, closing his eyes as he tried to relax. He would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous about his next battle. He felt his nerves standing and his heartbeat quicken at the though of it. A part of him was dreading to think about him coming out with a victory only to be taken down the next round. But another part of him was lucky that he was able to make it this far into the gauntlet, especially since he hadn't anticipated even being entered in the first place given the other pegasus knights he's come to befriend in this world.

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he hadn't taken notice of the door to the infirmary opening and closing until he heard a familiar voice.

"Hey. Congrats on that last round."

His eyes opened as he looked towards the door, finding Hinata coming towards him, "Thank you."

The samurai stopped in front of him, "I just ran into Sakura. She said you were going to be staying here until you're up. You sure you don't wanna watch Camilla? Her fight with Hinoka was pretty insane."

"I'm sure I'll manage," He sat up and patted the space next to him, motioning for the samurai to sit down, "But what about you? Her next round is starting soon, yet here you are with me rather than out there."

"I was planning on going, but then I heard you were here rather than out there," Hinata paused, gazing down, before he continued, "I'll be honest, I'm worried about you. What if you're next round doesn't go that smooth?"

"My, thanks for the support," Subaki teasingly mocked.

"I'm being serious! I mean... Beruka was simple. We used to train with her all the time, you know exactly how she fights. But, we hardly know a thing about this Minerva you're facing next. I mean, what if-"

"Hinata." Subaki interrupted him, placing a finger on his lips, "I'll be fine. Even if I don't come out of this next round successful, I'm just glad I was able to even have a chance at this. Just think, did you even believe that I would even be accepted into this gauntlet?"

"Usually, I would say "not really", but I'm really glad you did. You're a lot stronger than people think you are, Subaki."

The pegasus knight smiled, "Thank you," He grabbed the samurai's face, "Try to stay like that during my next round. Rather than worrying sick about me, wish me the best of luck, okay?"

Hinata sighed before he answered with a smile, "Alright."

"That's better," He gave the samurai a quick peck on the lips, something that made the other's face flare up.

"I-I-If you're gonna do that, at least let me know ahead of time!"

Subaki chuckled at his demeanor, "Sorry, it'll just ruin the fun."

"Yeah, you're definitely doing fine," Hinata stood up from the bed, "Well, guess I'll see you when you're up."

Subaki gave him a wink, "Count on it."