She tried.
She tried being his friend, as the likelihood of him accepting her as a sister was a beyond laughable concept. And to no avail, she was unable to befriend her brother as she did her siblings.
And yet, as they failed to see eye to eye, they had almost a respect, a mutual understanding of each other.
Through passings in the hall, to tolerable rare occasions where they spoke, they created their own language, a code unique to only them.
A passing in the hall with a simple hello would suffice enough to keep them at a distance, in which they comfortably stayed. As they had lived a majority of their life apart, they intended to keep it that way.
However, that code they usually worked so hard to maintain could be broken, if only briefly.
The homelands in which they were raised proved to be ever apparent at times, as when the code would break, tensions would rise between the two, making the air in the room they were in at the time heavy enough to allow a knife to cut through it with the tensions running so high.
The war room at times could contain more animosity between the brother and sister than out on the battlefield against enemies. It was the differences that one failed to understand in the other that created the power struggle between the two, as they could not be more unalike.
However, no matter what he said to her, she did not yell, and never once retorted anything snide back to him. It was not in her nature to do so, and that was one of the many things that drove him up the wall.
That laid minor on the list of things that drove him crazy though. It was in Takumi's astounding lack of trust in Corrin or her ability to lead a war, that made Corrin's trusting nature that was on the top of the list.
He hated her blind trust and how close the entire army had scraped to death due to her trust. He mistook her trust for stupidity, whilst she mistook his guarded nature for cowardice, as he was afraid to trust anything that was unknown to him.
However, what puzzled Takumi the most was the acceptance his siblings offered to her,as Corrin had done little to earn it.
It was Corrin who had abandoned Hoshido in their time of need, as per usual, sticking to her impudent flighty behavior after refusing a side, which would have led her redemption to Takumi if she returned home.
The betrayal of her words rang in his ears, and nagged at his thoughts whenever they spoke, with Queen Mikito pulling at his heart. For nights, the death of his mother plagued his sleep with questions of 'what if'. What if Corrin was never born? What if she never returned? The war laid in front of his sister as something she recklessly created, and she claimed no alliance but allegedly claiming she knew how to fix it.
Takumi thirsted for a land outside Valla and the place they resided.
He wished for the light on his face from the Hoshidan sun, as he hunted game native to his land. He was sick of residing in a place that seemingly became smaller each growing day, and closed off interaction from the life he had once known and loved.
But yet, he remained, for his siblings and for his honour. Even as Corrin took him to be cowardly in some aspects, he was bold, and brave in others, as he fought in battle without hesitation, and defended heroically. She admired that in her brother although he found so little in her to be admirable, and aspired to inherit the qualities in him that touched her.
As they spent time together on the rare occasion in which they would train, the realization quickly set in that there would never be a friendship or kinship amongst the two, and yet, through archery and sparring, Corrin felt herself seeking further and further for merely acceptance from Takumi. If not only as a sister, but as a leader. She was determined to seek something Takumi would not give, whilst maintaining the careful dance in which the spoke. She realized fully that only on one occasion would the code be digressed and that was when they would argue in the way the war was to be handled.
When they spoke past a mere greeting in the hall, it often was whilst the trained together.
And even in their code did it grow ever more apparent as Takumi callously reminded her that they were raised worlds apart. Shared causes were thrown to the side when he spoke to her, as Takumi stood on guard for Corrin's betrayal.
It would be easy enough, they were alone, and although he would struggle to admit, she was capable. At times while taking a break to drink water, he'd watch Corrin train and marvel at her figure and how it somehow managed to work.
For the most part, she was as average as any woman may come, with a growing athleticism that was taking form on her body.
But what continuously caught Takumi's attention time and time again was her small bare feet.Often, the woman would almost glide on her toes, putting a heavy reliance and weight on them. It was almost remarkable how strong and sturdy her feet must have been to carry her time and time again without failure.
Trailing up, he would find strong thighs, and above those thighs, petite small hips.
They were repulsive. Corrin was not small in stature, neither too tall, and her hips weren't disproportionate to her body yet, Takumi couldn't help but think how any suitor could find her desirable with hips like that.
He assumed any admirer of Corrin's must be shallow enough to only want her roysl title, or the possibility of dragon kin, which Takumi failed to see as possible, as she had the worst child bearing hips he had ever witnessed.
It was almost a wonder if she could even produce a child with them.
To Takumi, it was as if Corrin continued more and more to lack purpose in the world to him, as he came to the dawning revelation that she was unlikely to be able to continue the royal bloodline, and in fact would be very unlikely to marry.
Yet, she had suitors.
This was beyond Takumi, as the men in camp grew closer to Corrin, although not close enough to yet be lovers.
Perhaps it was for a lack of making their feeling blatantly obvious to Corrin, as he was sure she was too daft to understand other wise.
However in truth , Corrin wasn't ready or willing to have a relationship. She wasn't ready for the possibility of commitment and marriage when she was unsure of what the future held.
Perhaps after the war, she would find the crushes that flew across camp would progress into something more, but for the time being, she stayed content by her lonesome, with the company of her comrades. Oddly enough, Takumi being one of them.
In her time spent training with him, he pushed her to her limits, making her train harder then ever before, as she could never become good enough, which was apparent through his scrutinizing words and gaze.
It was as if she returned to being a scared child infront of Garon again, when she felt herself under Takumi's gaze.
At the moment she could feel it on her right now. A bead of sweat ran down her neck, as Takumi coolly observed her whilst leaning against the wall of the arena. Perking up on her toes, she danced around the dummy before slashing, and then, like an eager puppy, looking to it's owner for encouragement to Takumi.
"Sloppy." He scoffed, a lame bored expression playing plainly on his face.
Corrin's heart sank into her stomach, as she inhaled deeply through her nose. She could smell her sweat, and the dirt that laid on her skin that she she had kicked up from underneath her while running.
"How," Takumi began while sauntering over "Do you expect an entire army to trust you, when I can't trust you to hit a dummy?" He inquired with a raised eyebrow as they locked eyes for a second before she broke the gaze.
"I..."She began breathlessly. Corrin licked her lips while searching for words. They were salty and dry.
"Remember what I said when I agreed to train you on the bow? If you slow me down, I'm outta here." He reminded her whilst closing the small gap between the two.
Corrin's stomach flipped in a panic. This was her one chance. This was how she was supposed to gain his trust.. She couldn't blow it
. Not after she was starting to become close to reaching acceptance. She doubted he would let her have another shot at this, and at the very least, she wanted to find more of an ally within her brother. She wanted to impress him, show him what she could do.
"Well?" Takumi impatiently chimed as he flicked her forehead with considerable force. He stared down at her with the expression that a tired parent might use on a small child.
"I knew it. You weren't ready for this type of thing." He sighed and slung the bow across his back. No big loss to him truly. She wasn't incapable of being his partner, and she wasn't as seemingly hopeless as he made her out to be, however she was proving to not be worth his time, and he had warned her beforehand that this would happen if she couldn't keep up. It couldn't be helped. Years locked away in a tower had stifled her progression.
"Wait!" She yelled upon deaf ears, hoping her brother would turn to face her. He continued to walk towards the exit, carelessly thinking about going on a hunt not far away with Ryoma as protection.
Without a thought and blood pounding, Corrin grabbed the bow her and Takumi had been practicing shooting with earlier and shot, just close enough to miss and get his attention.
He was all too familiar with that sound.
He knew that Corrin was an idiot, he knew that as soon as he met her, but this took the cake. Never would he had imagined her to make a move this moronic, and actually fire at him with a bow. The very same bow he taught her with.
The arrow plunged into the ground three feet ahead, in which Takumi recognized one of the arrows he had fashioned for her. He knew it. The snake of a girl was NOT to be trusted, and she had shown her true colors, if only to him. His head snapped to face her, eyes narrowing as he fumed with rage.
Corrin met his gaze head on and slowly lowered the bow, as the fear set in her stomach. All hopes of acceptance were gone at this point, and were replaced with the hope by the grace of Naga, Takumi would let Corrin leave the arena with her life.
"Don't...just tell me you did what I think you did."He growled through a clenched jaw.
"I said wait." Corrin answered firmly and slowly approached him. Lowering the bow to her side.
How dare she.
Perhaps she wasn't the fool at all in this situation.
Rather it was him for allowing the enemy such a clear opportunity to kill him. He felt pathetic to have even let his guard down for a second. She gave him absolutely no reason to trust her, and yet, he agreed to her arrangement for training. Perhaps she was indeed clever, and attempting to destroy his life from the inside.
It seemed like she enjoyed stripping Takumi from any pleasure he had come into contact with.
Takumi marched over hotly, ripping the bow out of Corrin's hands before grabbing a hold of her face with one hand and bringing it to his own. Their noses touched and his breath felt unbearably hot against her skin, as she winced for what was to come.
"Listen, 'sister'. I don't like you. I didn't like you the first time I laid eyes on you, and I never will like you. I think you're a devious traitor and the next thing closest to scum. We will NEVER be anything more than allies for the time being." He released her and took a step back "Even then, I'm ashamed to call you that. Know that when we're out their fighting, you're on your can perish for all I care." He finished before resuming making an exit.
Corrin took as deep of a breath as her lungs would allow before slowly sitting on the ground, knowing her legs would fail her otherwise.
Her mind went blank attempting to process her actions and what was said. A part of her failed to believe she'd act so brashly in an attempt to gain her brother's attention. At this point, she wondered if there was even a purpose to attempting to amend what had just happened. She needed her brother on the field. He was incredibly skilled, and to loose him as an ally would be a tremendous loss. For the sake of her life, she had to restore the small amount of trust her brother had in her.
A resounding sigh echoed throughout the arena as she ran her fingers through her sweaty matted hair.
How could she restore his trust?
She considered the possibility of trying to talk it out with Takumi, but attempting a civil conversation with Takumi at that point would be like talking to a wall.
He would most likely never forgive her for what happened, and she would be lucky if he even looked at her again.
Would bribery help?
In theory yes...but what could a prince possibly want? He had everything.
And even if she did attempt to try and bribe him with a present, he would most likely not accept it, thinking her to be shallow and stupid, and increasing his distrust of her. He was a man easily moved by emotions and actions, not presents.
If only Corrin could be Takumi for a day, get in his head; understand his emotions and how he works. What he felt or what he was thinking.
There was such a graceful carefulness to everything he did, be it archery or even something as simple as kitchen duty.
Corrin remembered the time she watched him and Sakura so carefully make mochi, as she observed the careful gracefulness that laid within Takumi's hands. Whatever they were doing, it had so much incredible purpose if only in his fingertips. And that was just making his favorite snack.
That was it! Mochi!
Surely he could see the effort and work in a present like that and forgive her!
Dusting herself off, Corrin stood up with a new determination and prepared to set off to create the treat which would earn her redemption. She considered asking for help, but asking for help would require an explanation regarding how she came into the position of asking for help. Besides, Sakura and Takumi made it seem so simple.
MADE it seem simple really. It wasn't. It was hard, and Corrin's hands cut and blistered, but it was worth it. Once Takumi caught a sight of Corrin's homemade mochi, he'd simply know just how hard she had tried, and forgive her based on efforts alone.
Now finding Takumi was a different story. He was obviously avoiding Corrin, and it wouldn't be an easy task coming into contact with him.
Corrin stared up at the dusk that was beginning to dust the sky, it had been roughly eight hours since Takumi and Corrin had their last spat. Dinner must have been half way through at this point, with Takumi undoubtedly in the mess hall.
She couldn't approach him there, he'd simply brush her off as she hopelessly followed him to try and gain his attention. But if she waited by his room, he would be returning from supper any second.
Perhaps he would even be more lethargic and calm from the meal, and Corrin could talk to him.
She didn't want his acceptance anymore, their relationship was way too far gone for that. What she wanted to apologize. And mean it.
Feasibly, he'd listen if by contingent, he'd listen, perhaps if she deprecated herself and actions, in which he could agree and chastise her for her stupidity.
With a heavy heart and a small tin full of something that vaguely resembled mochi, Corrin began to walk to his tent. Like it or not, he had to trust her. Eventually.
"You." Takumi hissed, snapping Corrin awake. He had taken much longer than she had presumed he would and dozed off infront of his tent. The tin laid on her lap, eagerly waiting to be opened.
She blinked innocently at Takumi with a strained hopeful smile, and extended the container to him, in which he scrunched his nose as a reaction.
"Don't tell me...you think I'm stupid enough to eat whatever you have in there after you tried to kill me." He scoffed and began to enter his tent.
"N-no! Takumi, I'm sorry!"She gaped before rushing after him, grabbing a hold onto the back of his shirt.
"Don't touch me!" He hissed before turning to face her, resisting the urge to hit. She really was too stupid thinking he would ever trust her again after what happened. But the way her eyes implored him to just try what she made...if she could prove herself, show him she could be trusted, he might not have to treat her so harshly.
"If you want me to eat whatever you have in there...you need to try it first." He crossed his arms carefully watching. She couldn't be innocent, her charade would crumble.
She slowly opened the container revealing the mochi to him. It was worse than he thought. It even looked and smelt suspicious.
Tentatively, she raised the mochi to her mouth a bit down. Her eyes watered. It was salty. And chewy, but not the right kind of chewy. Her teeth ground like she was eating sand as she slowly chewed and chewed until finally she was able to swallow it.
Takumi watched with a growing smirk. So it wasn't poisoned...and the act was oddly sincere. She had tried, that much was clear, but she had also failed, that was also clear. He inspected the mochi, guessing from the appearance, she had attempted to make the sakura leaf mochi he and his sister had made in front of Corrin, yet, something was off.
"Corrin," He inquisitively began while taking the container to inspect it. "How long did you soak the rice?"
"Six hours. Why?" She croaked out, the tast still lingering in the back of her throat.
Takumi attempted to stifle his laughter before he erupted. He expected her to screw up, but not this badly. Finally, after moments of laughter, Takumi wiped his tears and was able to speak.
"You're supposed to soak it over night! Man, that must be gross!" He was finally able to get out before returning to his laughter.
She had never seen him laugh before. It was strange. In fact, this was the longest she had ever seen him smile. She knew it was possible for him to do so, but she had only caught glimpses before.
She liked his laugh.