Synopsis:

When Hinoka enlists in the army disguised as a boy, her plan was to get revenge against all Nohrians. What she didn't plan on, however, was to find a Nohrian boy so freaking charming. [ Corrin x Hinoka ]

Inspired slightly by Mulan.

** SIBLING CHANGES **

Ryoma and Sakura are related to each other.

Hinoka and Takumi are related, but not to Ryoma and Sakura (also meaning not related to Sumeragi and Mikoto.)

Same with Xander/Elise and Leo/Corrin.

Camilla is an only child.

Xander/Ryoma are princes, but not Takumi/Leo/Corrin.

The village was asleep.

Stars tinted the night like freckles in the sky as the young Hoshidan stood in her room. A torch near the wall gave the space copious illumination. Though the air was still, she could hear the wind calling her to her fate.

It was official. Hoshido and Nohr were at war with each other.

The mailboys have been spreading news trying to enkindle courage into the hearts of young men in hopes that they'd enroll into the army, and to be quite frank, Hoshido could really use the help.

This is what Hinoka has devoted her entire life to. While other little girls were taught house chores and given dolls for their birthday, Hinoka has been taught combat alongside her brother Takumi and given small naginata reference books for her birthday.

"This is bad," said her father one day at the dinner table. "Looks like Nohr's planning an attack on Hoshido soon. Man, I'd lend a hand if I could but I'm no longer an eligible soldier."

Her father lost a leg in an incident when she was only 5 years old. He was a soldier at the time, and was bested in battle against a Nohrian. Ever since then, Hinoka's wanted to carry on his legacy.

There was only one problem.

Hoshido's emergency recruit wasn't accepting women. A woman's life was to be preserved, holding more value than a man's since birth rates were beginning to fall. But that sure wasn't about to stop Hinoka.

She knew her family wouldn't like the idea, which was why tonight was a special night. It was the night when she would sneak out and enroll into the army — disguised as a boy.

She could feel her blood pumping from her heart at a faster rate as she observed her appearance in the mirror. She stood tall, only dressed in black boyshorts and white bandages wrapped around her chest. She's always been a tomboy, but tonight in particular Hinoka was immensely grateful for her rather androgynous features. It also helps that she's already been mistaken for both genders before in her lifetime - which was something she wasn't necessarily proud of, but she usually rejects the idea of acting ladylike anyway.

The only person she's told about all this was her brother. Growing up with one constantly by the other's side, it was only natural that Takumi and Hinoka not only acknowledge the fact that they're siblings, but they also consider each other best friends. Since Takumi has always supported Hinoka's dream, he left her a change of clothes from his own wardrobe - something Hinoka could use to appear more masculine.

After changing into Takumi's clothes, Hinoka inspected her reflection in the mirror once again, her jaw dropping as she let out a low gasp. She barely recognized herself. The clothes fit her perfectly and she pulls off the look well. She can do this. She can pass off as a boy. It got her blood pumping with excitement and anticipation.

Hinoka then quietly made her way outside, making sure to leave the letter she wrote to her parents - saying where she's going and not to worry - and snuck into her dad's weaponry room. Although her weapon of choice as a Sky Knight are naginatas, she took one of the old katanas she remembers practicing with. Besides, it'd seem more natural to walk around with a sheathed sword than a large lance, right?

Hinoka nodded to herself and secured the scabbard on her waist before setting out into town. The moon was out, and the streets were quiet. She kept her head low and her hands lazily stuffed in her pockets. She remembered Takumi saying she'd look more masculine if she furrowed her eyebrows a certain way and puffed out her chest, establishing dominance in her own personal space. She had failed to find the accuracy of the advice and thought it was stupid to think a certain crease in the brow resulted in a more masculine or feminine look, but tonight she found herself contorting her facial features in ways she thought would give her a manly vibe.

After minutes of walking, Hinoka looked up to see a group of soldiers gathered near the gate to the capital. On the walls were the recruitment flyers, and she figured she'd just try out her luck.

"Excuse me," her voice didn't come out as husky as she tried to make it sound. "Is this group recruiting soldiers?"

"Sorry, man, you'd have to ask our Captain Tsubaki over there." The soldier pointed to a man dressed in fancy, Hoshidan attire. His hair was long and a darker shade than Hinoka's blood red color.

"Thanks," she gave a slight nod in gratitude and proceeded to stride towards the higher ranking soldier. She was relieved to hear she was addressed as 'man' in that sentence, confirming her disguise was working perfectly.

She approached Captain Tsubaki about joining the group on whatever mission was set for them. "It'd probably be best to recruit at the Capital," he said, "but since we can take all the men we can get, I'll take responsibility for you." He smiled at her. "Welcome to the crew."

"Thank you so much, sir. I hope to be of help," Hinoka bowed respectfully.

"No problem, um…" he trailed off as a request for her name.

"Hi—"

She instantly stopped herself. It would be smart to go by an alias, rather than her real name. Besides, Hinoka is a rather feminine name, and the last thing she wanted was for them to be suspicious of her gender.

She cleared her throat. "Hiroki."

"Ah, Hiroki. Lovely to have you. Do you have a preferred weapon?" Tsubaki glanced at her scabbard.

"Naginatas, sir. Though I'm quite skilled with a sword as well," she said.

"Naginatas, huh? You interested in being a Sky Knight?"

Tsubaki was sure he saw her eyes sparkle. "Very much so."

"You'll be just like me, then," he grinned.

Tsubaki's troops wasted no time in the march to Nohr. The plan was to meet up with an anti-Nohr Resistance group in Cheve, which meant they had to travel by sea as well. There was a limited amount of horses the group could extract, so most of the army was on foot, and Hinoka was one of them.

Better to build up some stamina and prove yourself to be one of the tougher, more dependable ones, right? Hinoka's mind was wandering. She was lucky enough to make it this far, and she had more fighting spirit in her than even her own family thought possible.

"So this mission of ours is to gather information from the resistance group in Nohr?"

Hinoka looked up at the sound of a voice next to her to find a man with wild hair and a staff strapped on his waist.

"U-Uh.. Yes," she answered, not expecting to find someone to speak with so soon. She was immersed in her thoughts and battle strategies that she hasn't taken the time to really look at her comrades.

"And, what, we are tasked with the mission of rescuing a few careless retainers?"Hinoka's eyes widened slightly, though she tried not to let the fact that his words had surprised her show in the furrow of her brows.

"You've got guts to talk about the royal family that way," she uttered.

"Well let's face it - they're the royal family's retainers, there's a difference."

"Captain Tsubaki's one, so I'd suggest you keep your voice down," Hinoka skimmed the area around them, even though she knew the captain was far in the front, riding his pegasus by foot.

"Right, but he's not one of the careless ones," the man said, a visible grin on his face. "I'm not sure why the Prince and Princess don't just get new retainers as replacements."

"They would never do that," Hinoka rolled her eyes. "Besides, were you even paying attention to Captain Tsubaki's orders?"

"If I was, I wouldn't have asked for clarification about what the mission was," he retorted. "I'm afraid I hadn't gotten much sleep last night thanks to my good friend, so no one would kill me if I dozed off a bit, right?" Hinoka merely shrugged, amused by the man's demeanor though still not quite sure how to deal with it. Was he always this carefree? "I'm Azama, by the way."

"I'm… Hiroki." It'd be a while before she was actually used to that.

"So very, very lovely to make your acquaintance, my good sir, Hiroki," Azama cried out in a fancy voice. "Are you aware, sir, that your name means 'large brightness'? Are you the light that will guide us through success during our mission?"

Hinoka cracked a smile. He sure knew how to take minds off of the fact that they could engage combat at any minute.

She decided to humor him a bit. "Actually, you have the wrong spelling. My name is written with the characters meaning 'spacious woods'," she corrected.

"Ah! So you are the woods itself. How lovely to become part of the terrain you trek upon." Azama then suddenly lowered his voice, a hint of teasing emphasized in his words. "Though I'm still a bigger fan of 'large brightness'."

"Say what you must to keep you sleeping at night," Hinoka bumped her arm into his - something she did often with Takumi. She wasn't quite sure what it was about Azama, but she already felt at ease. Like she had someone she could trust.

Before Hinoka knew it, they had traveled far from the Plains of Hoshido and Tsubaki ordered the troops to take a break and set up camp for the night. They had a lot of hours of marching ahead of them, as well as a very formidable boat ride across the Hoshidan and Nohrian sea.

A young woman with short, blonde hair and appealing freckles greeted the troops at Port Town of Dia - and since it was Nohrian territory, the Hoshidans didn't waste any time in fleeing to the woods to have a better chance at being hidden from Nohrian soldiers. After long days of marching and getting sea sick, Cheve seemed just around the corner, and Hinoka can feel her entire body tensing.

The air smelled different, the skies were darker, and the scenery around her seemed to lack saturation. Hinoka has never stepped foot into Nohrian territory before, but none of what she has now seen of it surprised her.

As the army advanced to meet up with the rest of the Resistance, Hinoka finally had a turn at riding a horse. Though she would never admit it, her feet were killing her, and no matter how invincible she tried to appear on the outside, she has never hiked this much before in her lifetime.

"Man! Must be so nice to have a break from walking," Hinata let out with a big, dramatic sigh.

Hinoka and Azama met him the very first night, when they had to share a tent with him. Hinoka's first impression of Hinata was the 'real cool and laid back swordsman.' She was also a bit too impressed by the scar across his left cheek. She made up many stories in her head about how he could've possibly gotten it - like an intense one-on-one sword fight with a big burly guy - even though in reality, the scar was small enough to even be called a cooking accident.

"If you switch with me, I'll share half my food portions with you," Azama attempted a futile bribe.

Hinoka looked at him as if eggs were popping out of his ears. "You kidding? You were the last one of us on a horse!"

Azama mumbled a few complaints and Hinoka ignored them, looking up at the sunset in front of her. She thought about her mom and dad, and Takumi. Were they okay? Were they worried about her? Were they mad that she took off to do such a dangerous thing without telling them?

She barely had time to ponder these thoughts before a man's scream infiltrated everyone's attentive ears. The army stopped simultaneously, looking around until Hinoka then spotted one of their troops on the grass, blood spluttering from his left shoulder.

"He's been hit!" someone shouted.

"Someone get a medic!"

Hinoka quickly unmounted from the horse, giving Azama a shove. "Move! That man needs your help!"

Azama sighed. "Do I really have to?"

"GO!"

Both Hinata and Hinoka dragged the lazy monk towards the man on the ground. As they got closer, they saw he had been struck with a bow.

"It seems we're under attack," Tsubaki said, loud enough so that the men could hear him. "Everyone be careful. Watch the trees for Nohrians, and help your comrades."

Just as he finished his sentence, another yell came from a different guy, who's heart was pierced with the same kind of bow.

There was a wave of frantic muttering as everyone pulled out their weapons and checked their surroundings. Hinoka's hand found itself gripping the new steel naginata she was given to use at any moment. She then caught a glimpse of brown hair hiding in the trees, and she wasted no time to act on it.

"Over there!" she yelled, dashing straight towards the hidden shadow. Her yell triggered battle cries and soon, Nohrian soldiers emerged from behind different trees and a battle broke out. Hinoka chased the archer until she was close enough where she knew she could make the shot. Angling her naginata, she waited for the right moment and took a chance, swinging it towards the fleeing man's direction and piercing his chest.

The Nohrian archer's body fell to the ground and Hinoka removed her Hoshidan spear from the dead man. She felt herself panting as a wave of guilt rushed through her. Though she held righteous hatred for these people, a life is still a life.

Though this is just the beginning.

Hinoka let out a shaky breath before hearing a sudden rustle among the bushes. Her head was quick to raise and she scanned the area for the source of the sound. It wasn't long until someone emerged from the bushes and darted head on for an attack. Hinoka blocked the sword aimed at her with the top of her naginata.

"Filthy Hoshidan," muttered the boy, struggling to break through Hinoka's block. "Why must you come here?"

Hinoka took a few seconds to really look at the boy. His hair was as white as a lily's petal and he had dark blood red eyes that could've been all the more intimidating if Hinoka didn't find herself so mesmerized just gazing at them. She noticed his ears were slightly pointy, making her wonder if he was some kind of manakete, and the grass were his only shoes.

She hated to admit it — this guy was extremely attractive. But the words he had just mumbled towards her told her he was Nohrian, and she never thought in a million years she'd almost blush at the presence of a Nohrian scum.

His attire screamed Nohrian. But his footwear - or rather, lack of footwear - told her otherwise. Not to mention his extremely appealing foreign qualities adorning his facial features. His eyebrows were a pretty, gray color, and they creased in frustration as he glared at her. There was a drop of sweat slowly gliding down his temple, and his teeth clenched, almost in a growl.

With a quick grunt, Hinoka pulled back from the block and pointed the spear threateningly at the alluring boy in front of her.

"I'm here to kill your people."