Chapter 4: Kaze Dies at the End

Corrin catapulted awake. "AAH, DAD, HANS, KILLING, NINJA, GUNTER, LILITH!"

Catching her breath, Corrin realized she was in an unfamiliar location. She slowly looked around and saw that she was in some small house, near a fire. Her only company was the proud Fire Tribe warrior, Rinkah. The Oni Savage smirked.

"The fire in your eyes has returned." Corrin blinked, and stared at Rinkah for a few seconds, a little nervously.

"…I think I remember you! You're the Fire Tribe warrior! Where are we?"

"Out of the frying pan, into the fire!"

The princess frowned. "Is that… just an idiom, or am I really in trouble?"

"You think I'm roasting ya?"

Corrin sighed.


The next morning, Rinkah was leading Corrin through some light snow, with Corrin grimacing the whole way.

"Cold, cold, cold, cold, cold, cold…!"

Kaze dropped from a tree branch to meet the two. "Lady… Corrin. It is good to see you again. I trust Rinkah has explained the situation?"

"N-No, not r-reall-ly," Corrin answered, shivering. "Sh-She just kept m-making fire jokes. M-My f-feet are f-freezing!"

Kaze looked and saw Corrin was not wearing shoes. He nodded and vanished in a cloud of smoke. He reappeared behind Corrin.

"I'm back."

"AAH!"

Kaze presented Corrin with some wooden sandals. "These are not suited for battle, but should at least help. It is unfortunate you lost your boots at the canyon."

Corrin awkwardly accepted the gift. "Heheh… yeah… at the canyon… definitely didn't leave them at the castle on purpose…" As she put on the sandals, Corrin tried to change the subject. "Where are we going?"

"Well," Kaze started, "Rinkah and I are taking you to the Hoshidan capital. There, you will meet the queen."

All the color drained from Corrin's face. "Oh… oh no… She's going to be mad about the unprovoked attack at the canyon!" Before Kaze could say anything, Corrin turned away from him and held her head in her arms. "Oh no, oh no! And I can't just blame it all on Hans, I fought some soldiers too! Unless… Well, she wasn't there, maybe she'd believe it? No, that angry ninja with the scar still saw me, and his lady friend…"

"Angry? With a scar?" Kaze asked. Then he shook his head. "Never mind. Lady... Corrin, I believe you have nothing to fear."

Corrin finally faced Kaze again. "How do you know? And why do you call me 'lady'? I am one, but not to your people."

"Oh we'll see about that…" Kaze thought aloud.

"Hm?"

"I said that we're wasting time. Let's go."


A day and a half of uneventful walking led Corrin, Kaze and Rinkah to Castle Shirasagi, the royal stronghold of the crown family of Hoshido. The only acknowledgement from the guards were a brief nod they gave Kaze, which the ninja returned. Observing this, Corrin felt safe. The trio walked past the courtyard of cherry blossom trees, through the foyer, and into the throne room. Corrin was taking in the sights, in awe the whole time.

"Wooow. This place is cool! It almost makes me forget how uncomfortable these sandals are!"

Then the travelers finally made it to the throne room, greeted by a man in red armor and a white coat. He had incredibly long, dark hair. This man was smiling. "Kaze, it is good to see you again."

He looks familiar… Kind of like Hans did. Hmm, I wonder what that dream is trying to tell me… Corrin did not hear what Kaze and the man, and even Rinkah were talking about to each other. She was lost in thoughts until she had finally noticed that the other three in the room were all watching her, not speaking anymore. "Uhh… uhh… Hi?"

The man folded his arms and nodded. Corrin tried to hide her face, and then the man spoke to her directly. "Do you know who I am?"

"Uhhh…" Corrin took a look at the man. Nothing about him seemed any different from when she had first seen him a moment ago. "You're… the executioner? Please don't execute me!" She fell to her knees, pleading to the man. "It was all Hans' fault! I-I mean I am a Nohrian royal, working for my father, but we weren't supposed to get into a fight, and now Gunter is dead and Jakob is missing and Lilith is a dragon and I just want to go ho-o-ooome!" she nearly sobbed.

"Whoa! No, I'm just the prince!" the armored one put up his hands. "Prince Ryoma!"

"You mean in Hoshido, the prince does the executions just like in Nohr?!" Corrin asked, still fearing for her life.

"NOBODY EXECUTE MY BABY!"

Everyone looked over and saw a woman in a white gown. She was powerwalking into the room, long ebony ponytail flapping behind her. The woman also held a cat under her arm. Ryoma decided to speak. "No Mother, nobody's executing, it was all a misunderstanding!"

Corrin gasped. "So you believe me about Hans?"

"I don't know who that is," answered Ryoma. "But that's not why this a misunderstanding. You see-"

The newcomer was right next to Corrin then, and hugged her tight. "My daughter! My precious daughter, you've come back to me! Oh how I've missed you! Naming a cat after you and treating it as if she were my child just isn't the same! Oh how I've missed you, Kamui!"

"MEOW!"

"Not now, Kamui!" the lady hissed. "I'm talking to Real Kamui! Oh how I've missed you!" she started crying into Corrin's shoulder. Corrin looked around awkwardly, not returning the hug. Her gaze went to Ryoma, who nodded, then back ahead of her.

"Um… What… What is going on?"

"Kamui it's me, your mother!" the affectionate woman clarified. "Your mother, Mikoto!"

Corrin did not feel better. "Uhh, I think you have me confused for someone else."

Mikoto immediately broke her hug and examined Corrin. "Hmm… White hair, red eyes, pointed ears-"

"Hey I'm sensitive about those! Wait, now what are you doi- Aaah! Khtah hih!" (Aaah! Stop it!)

She held Corrin's mouth open and looked at the girl's teeth. "You even have itty bitty fangs! That settles it, you're my precious Kamui!"

"MEOW!"

Mikoto turned back to the cat. "No, not you!"

Hugged again by the bizarre woman, Corrin began to look around. Ryoma and Kaze were smiling. Rinkah was looking at the cat as though it were edible. Corrin was alone in this. Oh no, I'm being hugged by a crazy cat lady. Hugs are nice, but aren't I in enemy territory? And why does she keep calling me 'Caw-mooey'? Do I really look like her daughter? And why do I get the feeling that cat hates me?

The older woman stopped hugging. "I… see you're not returning my embrace. Do you not remember me? I suppose you were rather young…" Corrin slowly nodded, so Mikoto cleared her throat. "Ahem… I am Queen Mikoto of Hoshido. You are my daughter, Kamui. Sixteen years ago, your father was killed and you were taken away from us to Nohr." The queen put her hands on her alleged daughter's shoulders. "But now you're back!"

"MEOW!"

"Oh and I adopted a cat and named it after you. But I already said that part."

"But… I'm Corrin." She gave a sympathetic smile. "You got the first consonant right, at least!"

"But she's right, you're her daughter. And I am your brother, Ryoma," explained the large man. "You and our father, King Sumeragi, went to the Nohrian city of Cheve to meet King Garon for a peace conference. But…" Ryoma looked away. "Our father was slain in cold blood, and you were the prisoner."

"I… don't believe you." The princess frowned. "But… I can kind of remember something. I've never left the Northern Fortress, but I remember a different place. And… someone falling down."

"MEOW!"

"Quiet Kamui, Kamui is trying to talk to us!" Mikoto scolded. The cat's namesake was about to speak again, when a samurai barged in.

"IT IS I, SAMURAI. FROM BOTTOMLESS CANYON."

Ryoma's eyebrows raised. "Ah, Samurai my favorite samurai. Where are Hinoka and Sakura already?"

"Princess and Princess are in a northern village evacuating the townspeople. It was attacked! They told Samurai to report to you! Samurai thought he could help them, but they said no!"

Ryoma turned to Corrin. "How about you come with me and see for yourself? Maybe seeing your sisters will remind you." Then the larger man turned to Kaze and Rinkah. "And you two?"

"Yeah okay."

"Flame on!"

Corrin gave Ryoma a weak smile. "Well… as long as I'm not getting executed…"


A red-haired woman in a red and white dress was flying on a Pegasus through some snow. She turned back. "Get the lead out, Sakura! Come on!"

A younger girl, a shrine maiden with pinkish hair was following slowly. "I-I'm trying Sister, but I sprained my ankle! Sorry!"

Hinoka sighed. "Great. Where's Azama when you finally, finally need him?" A large, muscular humanoid stomped over a nearby hill. It was wearing shackles and a metal mask, and it had a sickly green skin tone. The Sky Knight sighed again. "Just perfect…"

"URGH!" the beast moaned.


Further over the hills, Corrin, Ryoma, Kaze and Rinkah had shown up with Samurai the samurai.

"Samurai, go help clear that village. The rest of us will look for mine and Kamui's sisters."

Corrin frowned. "I'm not going to suddenly believe you just because you keep calling me that!"

"Samurai will go!" he declared. As the Samurai left, everyone else began making their way across the hills. Corrin spoke up again.

"Ah! I keep almost tripping. These sandals are coming off!"

"You're risking frostbite as it is. Stop being so childish," warned Kaze.

"Fine… Hey, Ryoma- er, Lord Ryoma, er… Ryoma? Whatever, how do you know which direction to go? There are so many hills!"

The large samurai kept his gaze on the task ahead of him, forcing Corrin to do the same. "Kamui, do you see all these beasts? They're all converging on one location. And since these beasts- the Faceless- fight for Nohr, I would not put it past them to target two princesses of Hoshido."

"Like a moth to a flame!" Rinkah said. Kaze rolled his eyes.

"They fight for Nohr? I've never seen them!" As the one she trusted most, Corrin turned to Kaze. "Is it true?"

The ninja nodded. "Queen Mikoto put up a convenient barrier that saps invaders of their will to fight. But since the Faceless don't have any will, Nohrian mages use them to infiltrate and destroy."

At this, Corrin had to stop and think. "Wait, a magical barrier that drains invaders of their will to fight? How does that work? Do even nonviolent guests find themselves incapable of fighting? Are they aware of it? What about friendly fights, like sparring? How does the barrier know who's who? Does it work on animals? How does the queen keep it going? I have several questions!"

But Ryoma and the others had already ran ahead. Corrin sighed and proceeded to tail them.


With Ryoma slaying Faceless from a distance with lightning, he was able to efficiently lead the troop through the woods. The team kept running, when Ryoma suddenly skidded to a stop. Corrin kept running and ran into Ryoma, falling onto her bum. "Ow! What's wrong, did you forget something?"

"Dragon's Vein," Ryoma answered. Right ahead of him was a glowing spot in the ground. Without a word, he ran over and plunged his electrified sword into the ground. "DRAGON'S VEIN, MELT THE SNOW!" cried Ryoma.

On command, the air began to get much hotter, and the snowy hills collapsed into steaming puddles. Kaze crossed his arms. "Must you shout so loudly every time you use a Dragon's Vein?"

"No. But even I need to have fun sometimes," explained the red-armored man. He cracked a smile. "Anyway, we can get through much quicker now. Let's go!"


On their own, Hinoka and Sakura have found a rhythm in fending off Faceless. It would start with Hinoka attacking.

"Take this!"

"RRRRAGH!"

"Ow!"

"Festal, heal her!"

"Thanks! Take this!"

"RRRRRAGH!"

"Ow!"

"Festal, heal her!"

This went on for about five minutes, before the Faceless was struck with lightning and slain. Hinoka frowned. "Aww! Kill-stealing, no fair!"

Ryoma ran up to his sisters, not even out of breath while the other three were a little more winded. "Hinoka, Sakura, it's good to know I'm on ti-"

"RRAAAAAH!" another Faceless roared.

Everyone then noticed that an entire squad of Faceless were still headed their way. Ryoma glared. "All right, talking later. Hinoka and I will take the ones on the left. The rest of you go for the ones on the right. Sakura… just stay outside of enemy range. Aaaand GO!"

Everyone ran to take on the Faceless. Corrin and Kaze took on a particularly nasty one, swinging its fists all over the place. Kaze stood in front of it, mindlessly throwing shurikens over and over.

"Kaze, move!"

"I'm weakening him. Just a few more ought to- Oh no." Kaze was punched in the gut and sent flying by the Faceless. "Wuuuuuaaaah!"

"KAZE!" Corrin cried out. She turned back to the Faceless and found herself next in line. Thinking fast, she jumped out of the way, but swung Ganglari at the same time. "Ha! I dodged and attacked at the same time!"

The Faceless ignored its slashed right arm and swept with it, hitting Corrin.

"Oof! You mean you didn't feel that?!"

Sakura called over to Corrin from her safe distance. "They're brainless! Th-they're monsters that can only attack! They don't feel pain!"

"Huh…" Then Corrin noticed the Faceless was about to attack again. She rolled out of the way, got back up, and swung Ganglari again. "HAAAAAA!"

"RRAAAAAA!"

The Faceless' right arm was severed, and Corrin proceeded to hack away at the rest of the monster.

"YOU'RE TOAST!" Rinkah ran up with a jump-smash, her club lit aflame. The beast's head was burning now.

"RRRRRRR!"

Corrin finished with a stab through the back, and the monster fell over, before disintegrating into purple fumes. "Phew… That guy was tough!"

Sakura ran up to Corrin as fast as one with a sprained ankle could. She then waved her festal in the swordfighter's general direction. "H-here, I'll heal you."

"Hey, thanks!"


"See your death, see your death, see your death…" Ryoma mumbled as he systematically destroyed the Faceless with lightning bolts.

Hinoka was finishing off a Faceless of her own, with a naginata. "You know… Sometimes I wish I had a special weapon like yours." Done with the Faceless, she turned her head back in Ryoma's direction. "Speaking of special weapons, that new recruit of yours has a pretty crazy sword! Who is she, anyway?"

Ryoma then killed the last Faceless. "Oh, her? She's Kamui."

Hinoka stopped dead in her tracks. She dropped her naginata and everything. "… What?!"

"Oh, uh, I probably shouldn't have said that so casually. But yes, it's truly he-"

Hinoka had already hopped off her horse and dashed past Ryoma. "KAMUI, I'M COMING!"


Sakura was talking to Corrin, Rinkah and a recovered Kaze. "O-oh you shouldn't be thanking me. You're the ones who saved me, i-it was the least I could do…"

"It's just a shame that Kaze had to die before we could save you…" Corrin stated, hanging her head. "He was a good man."

The ninja raised his eyebrow. "What are you talking about? I'm right here."

Rinkah sighed. "His flame went out too early."

"Guys, I'm standing right next to you." He picked up some snow and threw it. "Look, I even interacted with the environment, so you know I'm not a ghost."

Corrin gave Rinkah a sad smile. "You know, I can still hear his voice."

"Because I'm talking to you!"

Then out of nowhere, Hinoka stampeded up to Corrin and gave her a tight hug, lifting her in the air. "OhgodsKamuiIcan'tbelieveityou'rereallyhereI'vefinallyfoundyouaftersolong!"

"Uh?"

Ryoma strolled up, a big smile on his face. "Hahahaha! It seems you've been reacquainted with Hinoka, sister."

Sakura turned to Ryoma. "What do you mean? Of course I know Hinoka."

"Not you. Our other sister."

"You mean-!" Sakura gasped. Ryoma nodded his head.

"Can you… please put me down?" Corrin asked Hinoka.

"Never! I won't let you go ever again, Kamui! I'm so sorry I couldn't save you! I even became a Sky Knight so I could find a way to get you back! And now you're here! I won't ever fail you again!"

Corrin moaned a little. I really don't think two people would fake this much joy at the mere sight of me. But that doesn't mean I remember her as my sister, or Mikoto as my mother. Is there a way I can tell her without making her sad? Or without her using this chance to crush my spine?"

Ryoma broke the silence instead. "It was a good thing Kaze and Rinkah found you."

Hinoka frowned. "What? Rinkah, I wanted to do that! Oh well… At least Kaze can rest easy in the afterlife, knowing he reunited our family."

Kaze pinched the bridge of his nose.


Tonight on MTV Cribs: Hoshido Edition!

Corrin and Mikoto were back at the castle that evening, standing in a small room. There was a little cot in the center, while toys and sketches were scattered about. Mikoto was positively beaming. "This is your old bedroom! We didn't touch it at all since you were kidnapped."

"That explains the- the- ACHOO! … The dust."

"Do you remember now, Kamui?"

"MEOW!"

Mikoto and Corrin looked and saw the cat in the doorway. They stared awkwardly at the cat for about five seconds, before the cat lied down on its side. Corrin cleared her throat.

"Uh… No. I mean, I'm starting to think I could be, but I can't argue with my lack of memories. I think."

Mikoto smiled, but truly felt pained. "I wish you did remember, but I can't force it. Well, you can still stay here. Go take a walk around the castle if you'd like!"

Corrin nodded. "Okay. Is there a lot of gravel or any sharp sticks or anything?"

"No, why?" Mikoto asked, before Corrin automatically stepped out of her sandals and walked out of the room. Somewhere else, Jakob began to have an aneurism. But that was another story.


Taking Mikoto up on her offer, Corrin stood by a small grove. She was minding her own business, until suddenly she heard somebody singing. Or rather, Corrin thought it was singing. It was actually… rapping. She decided to head to the source of the voice and caught something peculiar.

A woman with long, blue hair and wearing a white dress was standing on a dock leading into a pond. She appeared oblivious to Corrin's presence.

"Captain Deadpool- nah, just Deadpool. Merc with the Mouth/I can't die/One foot in the grave, but I'm still alive/Try to kill me, I'll just revive-"

"Uh-"

That did it, the singer lost her concentration and turned around to face Corrin. "… Oh. Can I help you, or whatever?"

"Oh I was just listening to your… song?"

"Oh. Okay. Good. I guess. I'm Azura."

Corrin tensed up. "Shoot, I should've introduced myself first! I'm-"

"Kamui. The princess that used to live here, but then got taken to Nohr."

This did not help Corrin's tension. "How did you-"

"I know because the same thing happened to me, but in reverse. I was a princess of Nohr before I got counter-kidnapped by Hoshido."

"Are-"

"No I'm not psychic."

Corrin stood still for a moment. Azura smirked, seeming to enjoy staying a step ahead of Corrin. That was, until Corrin cleared her throat. "Ah, well… My name is actually Corrin. Everyone here calls me Caw-mooey though."

Azura nodded. "That's because it was your name when you lived here. I guess they called you something else when they took you away. For some reason." She turned back around. "As for me, like I said, I was counter-kidnapped. They tried to rescue you, but then somehow ended up taking me instead. But I like it better in Hoshido, so it's good."

"Oh…" Corrin looked around nervously. "Okay. … So… I'll just go do my own thi-"

"You can listen to me sing if you want."

"Thanks!"

To be continued.


Post-Script A/N:

So we finally meet more of the Hoshidans. And it turns out their queen is a little loopy.

I've seen other writers do this, the bit where Corrin's kidnappers gave them a different name to help make them forget Hoshido. I thought it was pretty cool, so I went with that as well. To try and preserve that for this chapter, I had no one refer to Corrin by name in her dream sequence during the very first chapter.

Kaze getting defeated is a reference to my save file. In my Birthright run, not only did he get defeated in this chapter, but he seemed to get defeated the most out of everyone, so that's his thing- everyone keeps thinking he's dead. Not that he's useless or too weak, just that he keeps "dying". Also, why is Rinkah still with everyone? That makes no sense.

This chapter was also the first time I'd written Azura. I don't hate her, but she's one of my least favorite characters. I'm sort of playing up her dry, blunt side for this story. I've written ahead, and she seems to be getting some good moments in later chapters.

So next time is Chapter 5, a turning point in Corrin's journey. If you still want to see how I handle the different routes, this would be the time to add me to author alert.