The Hoshidan Prince

by HeroxPartnerfan96

Kamui has enjoyed a life of peace in his home of Hoshido alongside his family. However, after witnessing his father's death at the hands of the Nohrian King Garon, Kamui enters a self-imposed exile and sets off to find a way to bring down Garon and save Hoshido. However, it soon becomes apparent that things aren't as simple as they may seem… Fates AU

The Hoshidan Prince

Chapter 1: Prologue: A Fated Future

Greetings, one and all. Allow me to share with you a story, one that is well-known to those who have heard of it, and fondly remembered by all who have experienced it first-hand and have seen the hardships and trails that were endured in the midst of it all.

In this world, there exists two kingdoms located on complete opposite sides of the continent that they resided, those being Nohr, located on the western half and Hoshido which could be found on the eastern half, with both of these kingdoms being polar opposites of one another, almost as if they each inhabited two sides of one coin.

Nohr was known as being a barren, blighted land with skies that were deeply overcast and stormy, with what little sunlight they had being surrounded by the deeply covered skies and being ruled with an iron fist by its glory-seeking monarchs, while Hoshido was a land with an abundance of sunlight and plentiful supplies, almost being enough to provide for both nations, with its monarchs holding a fair and just rule and were loved immensely by their people as a result. On top of this, Nohr was founded by people who were loyal to the Dusk Dragon while Hoshido was founded by those who were loyal to the Dawn Dragon, two of the ancient gods of the land, the First Dragons.

While these respective kingdoms have lived in peace for many years, in recent times, there have been steadily increasing tension between them with various scuffles and battles taking place which rarely resulted in anything greater coming out of them, with Nohr fighting for survival in their time of crisis and Hoshido refusing to allow anything that could change their way of life. This continued until finally, the growing tension exploded into an all-out war, with both sides being in deep conflict with each other to claim victory as their own and bring the opposite kingdom down as a result.

In the midst of this intense conflict, there stands one individual: a young man who stays true to his honour as a member of the Hoshidan royal family, but also stands for peace and searching for answers to the questions that no one will ask, and little does he know of the impact he will have on the war's outcome, and the events that will occur in the wake of the decisions he will have to make…

This is where his story begins. The story… of the Hoshidan Prince.

The battle taking place on the battlefield that stood on the border between the two kingdoms, appropriately painted under a bright orange and purple sky with several clouds drifting by as the evening sun hung high over the horizon, was a sight that couldn't be described in only a few words. The minor conflicts between Nohr and Hoshido had finally escalated into an all-out war, with both sides bringing out their strongest forces for this battle and neither side willing to back down. On a small south-eastern corner of the raging battlefield stood a young man who looked to be no older than nineteen years of age. The young man was seen to have short silver-coloured hair, crimson red eyes and was covered from neck to toe in armour that was light silver in colour, with the inclusion of white patches on his shoulder areas, the collar around his neck which also had two golden markings in the form of flower-like symbols with a small emerald gem in the centre of each of them, his lower chest and lower region areas, small patches covering his knees and the lowest part covering his bare feet. His armour also sported deep silver and gold markings around the arm and legs areas, all complete with a sky-blue cape strapped around his waist and held in place with a golden buckle that resembled the symbol to represent his home nation; the same nation he was born into and had lived in his whole life.

His name… was Kamui, third eldest child of the Hoshidan royal family and second prince of Hoshido.

At that very moment, Kamui stood fearlessly on the battlefield with his katana, which was bronze in colour but still strong and sturdy in structure, in hand and glaring at his opponent standing before him: a fighter brandishing a silver axe and covered in armour to protect himself; judging from the design of the armour, the fact that he stood for Nohr was slowly made all the more apparent. However, as Kamui watched the fighter charge towards him, he showed an expression of surprise as something didn't seem to be quite right what was occurring in front of him; he had never taken place in a full-on battle in his life up until now, and the sudden instance of this fact returning to him seemed to take his mind out of focus of his current predicament. Unfortunately, this small bout of distraction proved to be a foolish mistake on his part, as the fighter raised his axe over his head before bringing it down, striking the prince near the chest part of his armour.

"Aaah!" Letting out a cry of pain at the sudden strike, Kamui stumbled backwards and collapsed on one knee as he raised a hand towards the part of his body where he had been struck, checking for any fatal injuries. Thankfully, the attack he had received seemed to only leave a dent in his armour, prompting Kamui to breathe a quiet sigh of relief that his injuries weren't too severe. Managing to regain his balance, Kamui turned his attention back towards the soldier glaring at him, feeling the fearless expression of determination starting to return to his face. "You may have caught me off-guard that time, but I won't let that stop me. I'll show you what happens when you and your army try to launch an attack on our home like this!" Kamui firmly stated. His words only seemed to fuel his drive further, as he rushed towards the soldier before slashing at him with his sword, hitting him directly before sending him flying backwards and colliding hard with the ground, evidently knocked out. Taking notice of this, Kamui showed a confident smile before placing a hand on his hip. "Ah… it looks like that went better than I expected."

"Kamui! Hey, Kamui!"

At the sound of that voice, Kamui turned his head back and forth with an expression of surprise as he was starting to try and figure out what the source of that voice could be. After a few seconds passed, this call was quickly followed up by the sound of flapping wings and Kamui turned his head to look skywards and notice the source of both of those sounds he had just heard: there in the sky, flying just over the location that he was standing in was a white Pegasus sporting a small bright red banner with the golden Hoshidan symbol on its chest held in place by bright red and blue straps along with a dark brown saddle on its back. However, this wasn't what caught Kamui's attention; it was the person riding the winged horse.

The person in question was a young woman at the age of twenty-one, only two years older than Kamui, and she was seen to have short dark red hair, deep amber coloured eyes, and she was wearing a long white neck-cover that also hung in front of her chest as well as amour that consisted of a sleeveless dress-like shirt that was white at the front and sported the Hoshidan symbol near the bottom, bright red around the remaining areas and had four small light blue bows on the top and bottom, along with a white and deep red strap holding in place, and she also had long white sleeves that had armour pads on top which were being held there with sky blue straps, with the area covering her hands being deep red, and deep red long boots with white straps holding them in place on her knees along with white markings on the area covering her feet and two light blue bands tied around the top, and she was brandishing a long naginata with a sharp silver blade on the end in hand: her name was Hinoka, second eldest member of the royal family and first princess of Hoshido. As her Pegasus touched down on the ground, Hinoka leapt off his back and rushed over to where Kamui was standing, with an expression of concern showing on her face.

"Kamui, are you all right? I've been calling you for a while now! Getting a little distracted, are we?" she asked.

Kamui showed an expression of surprise at this question, and he turned his glance down in uncertainty as he was still trying to make sense of what was going on around him. None of this seemed to feel real to him, yet at the same time it felt like it really was happening. Taking notice of his lack of a response, Hinoka showed a reassuring smile. "If you're feeling worried, there's no need to be. We're all right here beside you. If we work together, there's no way we can lose to these Nohrian troops!" Hinoka explained, placing a hand on Kamui's shoulder with a confident smile on her face to show her certainty that they would be able to win this battle and defend their home from their enemy.

Kamui turned his head up to look at his older sister upon hearing her confident statement and his glance fell downwards once again as everything was slowly starting to fall into place in his head: here he was, standing alongside his beloved siblings and valued allies on the battlefield and helping them fight for Hoshido. This was something he had dreamed of for as long as he could remember, yet he never felt certain that it would become a reality. But now it was, and for him, that was the only evidence he needed to know that this was all a reality. So with this in mind, Kamui felt a confident smile cross his face and he turned his head up to Hinoka before nodding in agreement, with a lit fire starting to burn in his heart without him realising it as he spoke. "You're right, Hinoka. So long as we stand together, we'll never fall to the Nohrians!"

Hinoka let out a laugh upon seeing Kamui's boost of confidence, as it was clear to her that he was starting to get back into the swing of things. "Now that's more like it! I doubt we'd expect to hear anything less from you." she agreed. With this, she was quick to hold up her naginata while Kamui took a step back out of caution; he always knew that Hinoka was someone to be feared with that weapon in hand, but he didn't want to end up being on the receiving end. "Come on, what do you say we go help Takumi and Sakura out? I'll bet they could use our backup right about now." Hinoka then suggested, seemingly not taking notice of her brother's minor display of caution at the sight of her with her weapon in hand.

Having made sure that he was placing a reasonable distance between himself and Hinoka's weapon, Kamui showed a firm expression before nodding in agreement. "That sounds like a plan to me." So without a moment to spare, the two made their way over to where Hinoka's Pegasus was standing idly and climbed onto his back before the winged horse took to the air and soared off to find where the other two of their siblings could be located.

As this was happening, a battle of a different kind was taking place in the heart of the battlefield, as two men, evidently the leaders of their respective armies, stood to face each other in a duel, both of them being at the age of twenty-seven. One was them was dressed in red, white and golden samurai armour complete with a red head mask around his face to hold his long, spiked dark brown hair in place. His name was Ryoma, eldest of the royal siblings and high prince of Hoshido. "Prince of Nohr! I demand to know why you and the rest of your army are invading Hoshido! Was that cowardly attack against my family your doing as well?" Ryoma ordered, a glare visible on his face as he was brandishing a katana with the tip of its blade pulsing with static electric energy; it was none other than his weapon, the Raijinto.

His opponent simply watched with a matching firm expression on his face as he was saddled on top of his horse and holding his sword, which was glowing a bright red all around the blade. The man in question had short blonde coloured hair, a black hairpiece around the top of his head and he was dressed in armour that was black, gold and deep purple, complete with a small deep purple cape and a white collar at the front. His name was Xander, crown prince of Nohr. "I have nothing to say to you. Surrender now. If you refuse…" Xander's glare narrowed as he finished. "You die here!" With this, he charged forward and slashed forward at Ryoma with his sword, but Ryoma was quick to leap out of the way before striking back, landing multiple strikes on the latter in the process before stopping, allowing the two to resume their glaring, neither of them willing to give up.

Back with Kamui and Hinoka, the two were soaring through the skies on the back of the Pegasus, keeping a lookout for any sign of their other siblings, with Hinoka obviously taking the charge of riding while Kamui sat right behind her and scanning the area of the battlefield. "Can you see any sign of them yet, Kamui?" Hinoka asked, turning her glance to behind her as she was wondering how Kamui's lookout was coming along. After a few more seconds of searching, Kamui lifted his head up to her before shaking it in response.

"No, I can't see them anywhere." Kamui replied. Hinoka let out a sigh of dismay at this reply before turning her head down to have a look around for herself.

"I don't get it. How hard could it be to find them in a field as large as this? Honestly, even if we split up, you'd think they would let us know if they went anywhere by themselves…" As Hinoka kept her attention on scanning the field to look out for where her siblings could be, her glance fell on something down on the ground and she let out a gasp of alarm at the sight. "Kamui! Look at that!" she gasped, pointing down to the field below.

"What is it?" Kamui asked, showing an expression of concern as he was starting to wonder what could be causing his sister so much worry all of a sudden. He looked down in the direction Hinoka was pointing in and he felt an expression of alarm cross his face along with a gasp of horror escaping his lips: down on the ground were Takumi and Sakura, with a circle of Nohrian soldiers surrounding them. Once he caught notice of the unfair assault, Kamui turned his head up to Hinoka as he was now aware that they had to do something before their younger siblings were attacked and possibly killed by the large force. "They're completely surrounded! We have to get down there and give them help fast!" Kamui exclaimed.

Luckily, Hinoka didn't need to told twice as she showed a firm expression before nodding in understanding. "You got it! Hold on tight, Kamui. We're going in for a dive!" Kamui nodded in understanding before reaching over to place his hands tightly on Hinoka's shoulders so he wouldn't be sent flying off. After this was done, Hinoka turned her head back to her Pegasus. "All right, let's get down there!" Without a moment to spare, the Pegasus started to zoom down towards the ground with Hinoka and Kamui holding on tight and ready to give their youngest siblings some assistance.

Down on the ground, Takumi and Sakura were looking around anxiously at the circle of Nohrian soldiers that were slowly starting to surround them. Takumi was a young man who looked like he was seventeen years old with long dark silver-coloured hair tied behind his head with a long dark red string at the top and a small hair strap around the bottom half, bright amber eyes and he was wearing a top that had dark blue sleeves, brown straps that were held in place with dark red string, and the gloves covering his hands were deep blue, the middle area being white with two small red bows tied on either side along with a deep blue scarf wrapped around his neck. He also had a light grey fluffy, cut at the front skirt-like outfit with a deep blue buckle tied around his waist with a dark red ribbon in the form of a bow covering his lower back, deep blue armour plates covering his lower areas, dark brown heavy pants and long deep blue shoes that were light black at the bottom half that included a sharp white top and stitched together with dark red string along with some extra red string tied around the top in bows. As the second youngest member of the royal family and second prince of Hoshido looked around at the forces surrounding him and his little sister, he felt an expression of worry show on his face as he held his bow, the Fujin Yumi, tightly in hand.

"It's an ambush!" Takumi gasped; he honestly had no idea how he couldn't have seen this coming, but now it looked like he didn't really have any way to get him and Sakura out of this situation. Showing no hesitance on his part, he turned his head to Sakura before holding his arm out in front of her. "Stay behind me, Sakura. These guys aren't going to get to you on my watch." Takumi firmly said, an expression of determination showing on his face as he was ready to protect his little sister, even if it cost him his life in the process.

Sakura nervously nodded in understanding before walking over to grab hold of Takumi's arm. Sakura seemed like she was no older than fourteen years old, making her the youngest member of the royal family, and she had short pink hair accompanied with a small white hairband with a gold star on the side and a long string at the back, matching bright pink eyes and she was wearing a long dress-like outfit that was white at the top half with a small white veil around her shoulders that happened to be bright red on the inside along with two small gold buttons and two small red bows on either side, and she also had a sky blue ribboned belt tied around her waist, while the red of her outfit was bright red on the bottom half along with a white apron-like veil hanging down the middle, long white leggings with dark red along the top and small pink sandals, and she also happened to have a Bloom Festal staff on hand to take care of any injuries done to her allies during the battle. As she kept close to Takumi, she felt an expression of worry show on her face. "Takumi… they're all around us! W-what do we do?" she worriedly asked.

Takumi turned his head towards his little sister upon hearing this before looking down with an expression of uncertainty showing on his face, since he didn't really have a way to answer her question. "I wish I knew… but there's one thing I know for certain. If there is where I have to fall, then I don't plan on doing so without a fight!" Takumi stated, feeling an expression of determination start to show on his face as he held his Fujin Yumi close since he was ready; he was going to take out as many of these guys as he could so Sakura could have a chance to escape. He didn't care if he ended up surrounded by these soldiers, because the only thing that mattered to him for the time being was ensuring his little sister's safety.

"Not if we have anything to say about it!"

Takumi and Sakura both showed matching expressions of surprise at the sound of that voice and started to turn their heads back and forth as they were trying to figure out who had shouted that. "What was that? Who was that just now?" Takumi asked, turning his head to Sakura as he was wondering what was going on.

"I don't know. I don't see anyone here besides us…" Sakura replied, giving a shrug in response since she was feeling just as clueless as her brother. After a few seconds, another voice suddenly rang out.

"Up here, you two!" Takumi and Sakura turned their heads up to the sky to spot a Pegasus flying over to where they and the Nohrian forces were standing, but what caught their attention was who was riding the winged horse: there sitting on the saddle were Kamui and Hinoka, with Hinoka having been the one to alert the two to look up and Kamui having been the one to give out that first yell. "Need a hand down there?" Hinoka then asked. Upon seeing her older siblings, Sakura quickly started to show a big smile of joy.

"Takumi, look! It's Kamui and Hinoka! They're here!" Sakura cheered, before she started waving rapidly to let the two know where she and Takumi were. Takumi stared in surprise for a few moments at the sight of Kamui and Hinoka having arrived on the scene at a time like this, before he showed a smile of relief that they were here.

"Thank the gods… We could really use some help down here!" Takumi called. Thankfully, this didn't seem to go unheard by Kamui and Hinoka, as the former was quick to grab out his sword before leaping off the Pegasus's back and land on the ground in front of Takumi and Sakura, much to the shock of the group of soldiers. As Kamui stood upright, he held his sword out towards the soldiers with a fearless expression showing on his face.

"Trying to plan an unfair attack on our allies, are you? Well, how about I even the odds out a little?" Kamui suggested, looking ready to take out these guys and help make things more fair for Takumi and Sakura. Upon catching sight of their brother standing alongside them, Takumi and Sakura showed matching smiles of relief.

"You picked a good time to show up, Kamui. I was starting to worry that I would have to deal with these guys myself." Takumi commented. Kamui turned his head to Takumi in surprise at this statement, but judging from that smile he was showing, he could tell that the archer was genuinely relieved to see his brother, and he showed a smile in return. It seemed that he wasn't the only one, as Sakura rushed over to Kamui before throwing her arms around him.

"Kamui, you made it! I'm so glad to see you…" Sakura said. Kamui kept his attention on Sakura in surprise for a few moments upon seeing how happy she was that he had arrived, before he showed a bright smile and nodded, placing a hand on top of her head.

"Of course, Sakura. I'd never turn my back on my siblings when they need me most." Kamui softly stated. As Sakura felt her smile quickly grow at this simple yet sincere assertion, the two's attention was caught when Takumi suddenly spoke up.

"I hate to be the one to interrupt, but… we still have a group of soldiers surrounding us!" Takumi called. Kamui lifted his head up upon realising that he was getting distracted once again, yet another foolish mistake on his part, and then he showed an expression of determination as he took a few steps backwards so he was standing side by side with Takumi as the latter turned his head to him. "All right, Kamui. Looks like we're going to have to work together if we want to take these guys out." Takumi stated.

Kamui simply nodded in agreement, turning his glance to Takumi. "Yeah, it seems that way. I hope it's not an issue for you that you're getting some extra help." Kamui commented, showing a smile of amusement while he said this; he was always aware of how Takumi preferred to show what he was capable of on his own, so the occurrence of him having assistance from others was few and far between.

Takumi was silent for a few moments at this statement, before he shook his head with a grateful smile crossing his face. "Of course not. If I'm being honest, I could really use the backup right now… and I'm glad that it's with you, Brother." Kamui felt his smile grow in response; he always liked it when he heard Takumi call him that. While this was happening, Sakura showed an expression of concern upon realising that it was just the two of them against these forces.

"B-be careful, you two!" Sakura warned. As Kamui and Takumi nodded in understanding, something happened to catch Takumi's eye outside of the group of soldiers he and his brother were currently facing: a small pack of archers were making their way over to the area he and the others were located, and as they stopped and pointed their bows up to the sky, Takumi turned his head up in the direction they were facing and he let out a gasp of horror once it clicked in his mind: the direction they were pointing their arrows in… was aiming towards Hinoka, and she didn't even notice it! Without a moment of hesitance, Takumi knew exactly what he needed to do.

"Hinoka, watch out! Archers are coming our way and they have you as their target!" Takumi warned, cupping his hand around his mouth to increase the volume of his voice so Hinoka would hear him.

"Huh?" Upon hearing Takumi calling her, Hinoka turned her attention down to the ground and she let out a gasp of alarm as she could see that he was right: there was a group of archers having arrived on the scene, and they were aiming their bows towards her, adjusting their position before letting loose of their arrows. "Waah!" Hinoka cried, immediately taking action to get out of the way so her Pegasus wouldn't get struck down. As she was trying to get out of range, she looked down at Kamui, Takumi and Sakura as they were watching in shock. "I've got to get these guys off my tail! Kamui, Takumi, I'm counting on you two to defeat those soldiers!" Hinoka yelled. Kamui and Takumi showed matching firm expressions before nodding in agreement.

"Got it!" The two called in unison. With this, Hinoka turned her Pegasus and started to fly away from the scene to find a way to get away from the archers before they shot her out of the sky. Once she was gone, Kamui and Takumi turned their attention back to the Nohrian soldiers surrounding them.

"Okay, Kamui. If you have any ideas, let me know. I don't think I want to end up being outmatched by these jerks." Takumi commented. Kamui turned his glance down to think for a few moments about what they should do, before an idea came to him: thanks to Takumi's weapon of choice, he could only attack from a distance. Luckily, recognising this only seemed to help make things easier for Kamui, since he had a feeling that he knew exactly what to do. With a nod of confirmation, Kamui turned his glance over to Takumi.

"Takumi, I think I have a plan. But I'm going to need your co-operation if we want this to work." Kamui said. Takumi listened in silence before nodding in agreement. "Of course. If it'll give us an advantage, then I'm all ears." Takumi replied. Showing a grateful smile at this statement, Kamui leaned over to Takumi and began to whisper his idea into his ear so the soldiers wouldn't hear them. After hearing Kamui's idea out, Takumi nodded in understanding.

"You got it." Takumi stated, feeling ready to pull this off.

As the circle of Nohrian soldiers continued to advance closer towards the three, Sakura let out a gasp of worry. "Oh no, they're coming closer! Kamui, Takumi, look out!" she warned. The two in question turned their heads to notice that she was right, before looking back at each other. There was no time for them to waste; they had only one shot of making this idea work, and they had to get it right.

"Ready, Takumi?" Kamui asked. Takumi showed an expression of determination before nodding in agreement.

"I'm ready when you are." Takumi simply replied. Showing a smile at this reply, Kamui cupped his hands together and bent down to provide a footing for Takumi, to which the latter placed one foot down and once they were certain that the distance between them and the soldiers was narrow enough, Takumi leapt up into the air above the soldiers' heads as they could only stare in alarm.

"What…?! Are you seeing this?" One of the soldiers could only ask, pointing up in disbelief at the sight of Takumi flying over their heads. Another could only slowly nod in confirmation as he asked "Who are we dealing with here?" As Takumi landed feet-first on the ground in front of them, he held his bow up in front of him with a fearless glare in his eyes as he started to charge up an arrow and aimed it towards the soldiers.

"You're dealing with someone you shouldn't have crossed paths with: a Prince of Hoshido!" Takumi sharply stated, before releasing the arrow and sending it flying towards the soldiers, striking one of them directly and leaving a small opening in the circle that had been surrounding him and his siblings. "Kamui! Sakura! Now's your chance!" Takumi called.

Giving a nod in understanding, Kamui turned his head to Sakura. "Come on, Sakura, this way!" Kamui stated. Sakura nodded in understanding before following her brother as the two ran away from the soldiers while they could only stare in alarm.

"Stop them! Don't let them escape!" One of the soldiers ordered. As Kamui and Sakura made their way to where Takumi was standing, the three turned their attention to find that the soldiers were now coming their way, with Sakura letting out a gasp of alarm.

"Here they come!" she gasped, tightening her grip on her staff as she could only stare in worry. However, it seemed that Kamui and Takumi were prepared for this as they held their weapons close as they turned their heads to each other, showing matching fearless glares in the face of danger.

"You ready for this, Kamui?" Takumi asked. Feeling his determination starting to shoot skywards, Kamui nodded in agreement.

"I've been ready for a long time." Kamui stated. Without a moment to spare, the two started to charge forward, ready for battle. As Takumi stopped in his tracks to start shooting arrows, Kamui kept going forward, striking at the soldiers directly with his katana, effectively taking them out after the arrows weakened them for starters. Seemingly taking notice of their steadily decreasing odds against the two princes, the soldiers could only stare in alarm.

"Who are they? They're… not human! What kind of person is that strong?!" One of the soldiers exclaimed, showing an expression of disbelief at the sight of Kamui and Takumi effortlessly taking them out one by one. However, he was met with a bigger shock as he turned his head up to see Kamui glaring at him, causing a shiver to start crawling up his spine. "Who… who are you?!"

Kamui's determined glare didn't seem to fade, as he pointed his sword towards the soldier, to which the latter could only stare in fear. "I am Kamui, proud prince of Hoshido, and I have only one thing to say to you and the leader of this army: anyone who dares try to attack my family or my home will not be given any mercy. We will never surrender to the likes of you, and we will never allow you to claim Hoshido as your own!"

As Kamui said this, he could feel a surge of power spread through him; he didn't know how to properly describe it, but it felt as though the power of the Dawn Dragon was surrounding him, providing him with the strength to claim victory for him and his home. "And as long as I stand with my allies and my family by my side, I will ensure that we never fall to the Nohrians!" With this, Kamui spun the sword rapidly in his hand before he started to charge towards the soldier. "For Hoshido!" At this proclamation, Kamui leapt up into the air, spinning rapidly as he did so before slamming his sword against the soldier, effectively taking him out in one shot. As he started to stand upright, Kamui turned his head to see that all of the soldiers were down for the count, and he let out a quiet sigh of relief that this battle was won. Just then, he heard a voice from behind him.

"Kamui! That was amazing!" Showing a small smile, Kamui turned around to see that Sakura and Takumi were making their way over to where he was standing, with Sakura running as she had been the one to call that out to him. As she stopped in front of him, Kamui looked down at his little sister to see her smile of awe at his display of strength. "I had no idea that you'd be so strong!" Sakura cheered.

Kamui felt a nervous smile show on his face, since he was just as clueless over how that had been possible for him. Takumi showed a smile of relief upon seeing that all of the soldiers had been taken out before turning his attention to Kamui. "Well, that went well. And that's probably because SOMEONE gave you good advice." Takumi commented, walking over to Kamui while the latter stared at him in surprise. After a few seconds, Takumi let out a laugh since he knew he couldn't take all the credit. "In all seriousness, that was a pretty impressive idea you had there." he then added. Kamui showed a bright smile and he started to laugh for a few seconds before calming down.

"Thanks, Takumi. But if I'm being honest, I couldn't have pulled it off without your help." Kamui replied, walking over to Takumi before placing a hand on his shoulder with a grateful smile. Takumi stared in surprise for a few moments before he felt the smile return to his face and he nodded in agreement; if they kept working together like this, he felt certain that they would be able to win this war. Just then, they and Sakura suddenly heard a voice over their heads.

"Hey, guys! Are you okay?" The three looked over at each other in surprise, wondering who that could be, before they turned their heads up to the sky to see that it was Hinoka, making her way over to where they were standing on her Pegasus; from the looks of it, it seemed that she managed to evade the archers without much trouble. As the Pegasus touched down on the ground, Hinoka leapt off his back before running over to her siblings. "Looks like I finally got those archers off my tail. Is everyone alright?" Hinoka asked, showing an expression of concern as she wanted to know what had happened after she took off.

"Y-yes. We're okay, Hinoka. You should have seen Kamui and Takumi; they managed to defeat all of the soldiers together!" Sakura replied, nodding in confirmation before showing a smile of excitement as she was saying that last statement. Hinoka stared in amazement for a few moments before turning her head to the two to find out if this was true, to which Kamui and Takumi nodded.

"Yeah, I guess that's true. Though to be honest, Kamui really caught me off guard. He managed to take out one of them in one strike!" Takumi replied. Kamui simply nodded in confirmation, even if he still wasn't sure of how he managed to do something like that. Hinoka felt her mouth open in shock upon hearing Takumi say that, before she showed a big smile of amazement.

"Woah… that's amazing, Kamui! I guess there really is a chance for us to win this war…" Hinoka commented. She then showed a firm expression as there was something she had nearly forgotten about. "Come on! Let's hurry back and see how Ryoma's holding up." Kamui, Takumi and Sakura stared in surprise for a few moments before nodding in agreement; they remembered that he had taken charge of the battle and was currently going blade-to-blade with the one leading the Nohrian army. So without a moment to spare, Hinoka rushed back over to her Pegasus and climbed on to take to the skies, while Kamui, Takumi and Sakura followed behind her.

Luckily, it didn't take very long for the four to arrive at the heart of the battlefield, where they could see Ryoma as he turned his head to notice the rest of his siblings making their way over to his side. "Ryoma, are you all right?" Hinoka asked, jumping off her Pegasus as he touched down on the ground with an expression of concern, while the other three made their way over to where she was. Much to their relief, Ryoma gave a nod in confirmation.

"I'll be fine. I'm glad to see that you're all safe." Ryoma replied, showing a smile of relief that everyone else was unharmed. As the remaining siblings started to show bright smiles at the fact that Ryoma was okay, the group of five could suddenly hear something out in the distance and turned their heads in surprise.

"What's going on now?" Hinoka asked. Takumi took a few steps forward and placed a hand against his forehead to get a closer look: just out in the distance making a charge towards the battlefield was a new group of Nohrian soldiers, and they seemed to be more strongly armed than the last, if the fact that they were now wielding axes was any indicator. Upon taking notice of this, Takumi let out a silent gasp of alarm before turning his glance to the others.

"It looks like reinforcements are headed our way." Takumi replied. Kamui and Hinoka could only stare in alarm at the news that they had more Nohrian soldiers to deal with, while Sakura showed an expression of worry as it seemed like this battle wasn't going to end anytime soon. Ryoma seemed to take notice of this as well, as he turned his attention to his siblings.

"Kamui, Hinoka, Takumi, I'll leave them to you. Make sure Sakura stays by your side too." Ryoma stated. The three nodded in understanding and started to make their way to meet with their new battle, with Sakura following not too far behind them. However, as Kamui was about to start following after his siblings, Ryoma was quick to stop him in his tracks. "Kamui?"

Kamui stopped right in place and turned his head up to his older brother with an expression of surprise, wondering what else he had to say. "Yes?"

Ryoma was silent for a few moments before he finally spoke. "I'm counting on you to keep Hinoka and everyone else safe." Kamui stared in surprise for a few moments before he showed an expression of determination and nodded in understanding.

"I will, Ryoma. That's something I promised myself I'd do from the moment I stepped out here." Kamui firmly stated. Without a moment to spare, he started to make his way to meet up with his other siblings so they'd be ready to face the reinforcement coming their way together. As Ryoma watched Kamui leave, he was silent for what seemed like a few minutes before he felt a proud smile show on his face.

"It's incredible… this is the first time that Kamui's out on the battlefield, yet it feels like he's been doing this for as long as the rest of us have." Ryoma commented to himself; it honestly amazed him just how strong and capable Kamui was proving himself to be. It was a clear sign to him that he was ready to stand alongside everyone.

Back with Kamui, he was continuing his way to catch up with Hinoka, Takumi and Sakura. As he was running, he couldn't help but feel his thoughts start to wander. 'I honestly don't believe this is happening. This is only the first time I'm stepping out onto the battlefield with Ryoma and the rest of my siblings, and look at how well I've been doing! Even better yet, this is actually really happening! I'm fighting alongside my siblings and helping them defend Hoshido against the Nohrians. This almost feels like a dream…'

Almost immediately at the sound of that thought ringing in his head, that all of this felt like a dream, Kamui stopped in his tracks as he could suddenly hear the sound of his heartbeat in his mind, and he quickly lost grip of his sword as he grasped his head tightly in his hands; it felt as if there was a pain he couldn't describe building in his head and he didn't know how to make it go away. As this was happening, he could suddenly hear a voice calling his name.

"Kamui? Kamui!"

Struggling to keep his eyes open, Kamui lifted his head up to see that Hinoka, Takumi and Sakura were making their way back to his side upon realising that he was no longer following him, with Hinoka having been the one to call his name. "Kamui? Are you alright?" she then asked, with her and the others looking at him in concern.

"What's wrong?" Takumi asked. Kamui found that he couldn't give a response as the pain building in his head only seemed to increase in intensity, and it was making it very hard for him to think straight. Taking notice of the fact that something was seriously wrong, Takumi rushed over to Kamui before placing both hands on his shoulders. "Brother? Can you hear us?" Takumi worriedly asked, wondering what had gotten into Kamui all of a sudden.

"T-Takumi…" Struggling to keep his focus on his siblings, Kamui found that his vision was starting to become blurry and hazy, and nothing was starting to look as clear and vibrant as it used to. After a few seconds, Kamui lowered his hands from his head as he started to collapse to the ground, only managing to avoid hitting the ground directly as he felt Takumi catch him in his arms. "Wh-what's… happening…?" Kamui was barely able to ask, placing a hand against his head as he was struggling to make sense of what was going on.

"No… Big Brother…" He was able to hear Sakura worriedly say as she was starting to worry over what was happening to him, but after that, Kamui was starting to find that the rest of their voices were slowly becoming distant and he could no longer hear what they were saying. Not only that, but his vision was now starting to fade to black, with the faces of his siblings becoming hazier by the second. After a few moments, everything slowly faded to black completely…

After what felt like minutes, Kamui finally slowly managed to open his eyes. But as he did so, he found that he was standing in what seemed to be some kind of infinite black void; there was no sign of the field he had once been standing in, nor could he see any of his siblings anywhere. "What…? Where am I?" Kamui quietly asked, turning his head in confusion as he was struggling to register where he was now, and just what was going on. "Hinoka? Takumi? Sakura?! Where are you all?" Kamui called. He was met with nothing but the sound of his voice echoing in the empty silence, and he felt an expression of worry cross his face as he looked around rapidly.

"Where am I? What's going on here? Answer me!" Kamui yelled. Once again, he was met with only the sound of his own voice. As he turned his glance at the emptiness surrounding him, a voice he didn't recognise suddenly began to ring in his ears.

You are the ocean's gray waves, destined to seek

Life beyond the shore, just out of reach

Kamui felt an expression of surprise cross his face at the sound of that voice; judging from the tone, it almost sounded like that of a young woman and the sound of her singing seemed to resonate all around the silence of the void, making it all the easier to hear it. Kamui felt a smile of awe cross his face upon hearing it. "Wow… that's such a beautiful voice. But… where could it be coming from?" Kamui wondered to himself, turning his head in confusion as it seemed that there was no one here but him.

Just then, a white light started to shine brightly in a corner of the void, with the brightness being so intense that Kamui had to shield his eyes as he raised both hands over his face. Thankfully, after a few moments, the brightness faded and Kamui slowly lowered his hands from his face and opened his eyes in amazement. "What is that?" As Kamui stared at the light in awe, he was met with a surprise as the blackness of the void around him started to change into a deep blue, almost matching that of a lake, and he slowly turned his head in all directions in disbelief upon taking notice of his surroundings. "What the…? What is happening here?" Kamui wondered to himself. Almost as if it was answering his question, the sound of the singing returned.

Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time

As Kamui could hear the singing once again, he slowly started to make his way over to where the light was shining just in front of him. However, once he got close enough, the light suddenly increased in intensity again, prompting Kamui to cover his eyes with both hands as the light started to shine through all of his surroundings, with the last thing he could hear being that mysterious voice once again.

The path is yours to climb…

As the light started to surround even Kamui, he kept his hands in front of his face to shield his eyes, as he could suddenly hear a voice he recognised calling him.

Kamui… Wake up…

Little did he realise that this was no dream he was familiar with; this was only the start of a great change coming in his direction, one that would affect him and the ones he held close and dearest to him. And he would be the one leading the charge; the decisions he would make would affect not only them, but also others around him, for better and for worse…