AN: Sort of some more stuff happening? This is kind of the start of Takumi and Corrin's "relationship." I wanted to really capture why Takumi doesn't trust Corrin, since a majority of the people that play Conquest first seem to hate Takumi because of his distrust/hatred towards Corrin. So there's some stuff about his inferiority complex here, also the fact that she's from Nohr and he doesn't trust Nohrian scum. Enjoy!

Thunk!

The arrow hit the center of the red splotch in the middle of the target, and Takumi wiped the dripping sweat off if his chin. It was a hot day, but the anger and frustration that smoldered inside of Takumi burned even hotter.

"Corrin." The name felt like venom on his tongue. With her wide crimson eyes, long dark curls cascading down her back. Takumi remembered her name, of course. It was rarely mentioned around the castle. He remembered the one time he had asked about her at the dinner table one day. The faraway look that had come over his mother's eyes as they had teared up. The look of pain on his older brother's face. The angry tears that had pooled up in Hinoka's eyes as her fists clenched. Even though Sakura was in the same boat as him, she had teared up just because everyone else was.

He had later asked Saizo, the only person he knew for sure would tell it straight to him. Saizo explained that Corrin had been his older sister; Takumi was only about five when she was been kidnapped by Nohr, so he wouldn't have many solid memories of her. She was adored by everyone, just like his older siblings.

"Another shadow I would've stood in," Takumi thought. "None of them would've teared up like that for me." Except for Sakura, of course.

A part of Takumi knew this wasn't true. They would cry for him. They would be upset. Sometimes Takumi needed to remind himself that he wasn't alone. But right then, those emotions had been fueling his training session that day. And every ounce of desire to be recognized powered another arrow to go straight through a target.

Today, however, his feelings were fueled by Corrin's return. He had taken one look at his crying mother in the throne room and walked out, making his way back to the archery range at a brisk pace.

And Ryoma, taking Corrin out to fight another Faceless attack. Corrin. Takumi bit on his tongue, notching another arrow into his iron yumi. He acted as though she hadn't just spent most of her life in Nohr, in the enemy's castle. Taking her on a mission.

As far as Takumi knew, she was just as good as the rest of that Nohrian scum, maybe even worse. He readied his stance and loosed the arrow. It hit the very center of the target. He notched three more.

And yet, Ryoma acted as if it was normal. To take a Nohrian to fight against an attack. To fight against the very monsters they had created. Takumi hadn't even known about it until Ryoma was about ready to leave, with Corrin, Kaze and Rinkah at his side.

Ryoma trusted her. Takumi felt the metallic taste of blood in his mouth before he released the three arrows. The first two hit two adjacent targets, while the the third soared a little too high and went over the third target. "Damn." He still had to work on that technique.

Gods, it hurt.

By the time Takumi returned to the throne room, all of his siblings had returned. Corrin, it seemed, had been taken with Mikoto to see the rest of their home. Everyone was smiling and laughing.

"I still can't believe it," Hinoka was saying, "She's back!" She took Sakura's hand and spun her around, grinning. Sakura laughed, easily gliding along with Hinoka's smooth movements. Takumi grimaced, wondering if he should have even come back from practice at all.

Ryoma noticed him and nodded. "Takumi. We just got back from the village. There were no casualties thanks to Hinoka and Sakura evacuating the village. On top of that, Corrin managed to take out a whole lot of the Faceless!" Ryoma said proudly, and smile on his face. "Even if the way she holds a sword is distinctly Nohrian, if I teach her some Hoshidan techniques I think she'll fare incredibly!"

"Oh, that's great," Takumi said monotonously, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He really shouldn't have come back from practice. Ryoma frowned at him, but didn't say anything else. "Haven't you guys considered that Corrin just came back from a life in Nohr? Nohr, as in, the enemy?"

The room went silent, and Hinoka gave Takumi a look. "Takumi, she's our sister. Our long lost sister. We've fought for so long to get her back. You can't seriously expect us to throw her in prison just because she lived in Nohr for a few years."

"Grew up in Nohr," Takumi corrected her. "All I'm doing is exercising a healthy amount of caution. From what I know, she almost killed Rinkah and Kaze. Haven't any of you thought of that? She was following King Garon's orders. I'm assuming you all remember who King Garon is. But just in case you need a reminder, that's the King of Nohr." He crossed his arms. Sakura gave him a scared look, her eyes darting between him and their older siblings.

Hinoka walked up to him. "I'm well aware, little brother. But you should also think about the fact that she spared them. And that was her decision, not King Garon's." Her bright auburn eyes stared down his hazel ones, and Takumi didn't back down for a few moments. The room was silent. Eventually, he looked away. "Maybe I took it too far," He thought.

"I'm going to my room," he said, and Hinoka sighed. He turned to walk out but Hinoka put a hand on his shoulder.

"Takumi," she said, "We all know it's important to be cautious, but she's our sister. I watched her fight against those Faceless on the battlefield for us and I knew I could trust her. Please give her a chance."

"Yeah," he whispered, and gently moved her hand off his shoulder, walking away.

On the way to his quarters, Takumi noticed a door that was open that was usually never open. No one spoke of it, but they all knew it was Corrin's old room, left completely untouched.

"-I'm so sorry. Here you are, my real mother, and I just...I don't… I don't feel anything…" It was the same voice Takumi recognized from earlier, when he had met her. Corrin's voice. Her Nohrian accent was surprisingly light, and Takumi could hear the traces of Hoshido within it.

"Please. It makes sense. You spent your whole childhood in Nohr. I'm sure you were quite sheltered. You will need time to think all this through and search your soul... But I hope someday we can be a family again." His mother's voice was hopeful, but there was still sorrow. Corrin didn't say another word, and Takumi left before anything else was said. He didn't want to hear the pain in his mother's voice.

Takumi's eyes snapped open as he bolted up in a cold sweat, gasping for breath. The candle at his bedside glowed dully, the wax almost completely melted and the wick burned through. He took a moment to catch his breath, slowly sinking back into the covers. Her bright crimson eyes were burned into his mind, the shock in them as he loosed a bright arrow from Fujin Yumi. The thought of the arrow piercing her silver armor, tearing through her had somehow scared him to the very core. He sat up again, the image clear, and resolved to get some water, perhaps wash his face.

After washing his face in his bathroom, he walked through the dimly lit hallways to the kitchens. He wasn't expecting the two people that were already sitting there. Azura, her incredibly long aqua hair trailing down to the floor in messy waves, sat in a seat opposite to a face he wasn't happy to see right about then. Corrin stared at him with the same crimson eyes from his dream, and he had to close his eyes for a moment to shut out the image before looking at them again. Both young women were in night clothes, each with a cup of warm water.

He shook the surprise off and glared at them. "Planning a trip back to Nohr?" He said coldly. Neither replied, but a look of hurt seemed to pass over Corrin's features at his tone. Takumi ignored it, telling himself it was a trick of the light. "Don't get too comfortable here, sister," he continued, putting heavy emphasis on the word. "I don't trust you. You were raised in Nohr, which means you're just as good as the rest of them."

"Takumi-" Azura started, but Takumi cut her off.

"Who said you could call me by my name? You haven't earned that privilege either," he snapped at her, and Azura seemed to shrink back. However, a flash of anger seemed to pass through Corrin's eyes.

"That doesn't even make sense," she said, standing up from her seat and walking towards him.

"Excuse me?" he asked, forcing himself to not take a step back for every step that she took forward.

"Azura has been in Hoshido for as long as I've been gone. Shouldn't that be enough to consider her a part of the family?"

Takumi snorted, even though he knew some her words were right. When they were little him, Sakura and Azura had often played together by the lake. His mother had always told him to treat her just as he would any of his other siblings, but suddenly with Corrin here, it seemed like everything had changed.

"I don't care," he said defiantly, "I don't trust either of you. I just wanted to tell that to your face." He walked out of the kitchens without another word, and realized afterwards that he hadn't taken a cup of water. He decided not to, and went back to his bed. The rest of that night, his sleep was fitful, and he woke up the next morning feeling as if he hadn't slept at all.

AN: I also wanted to thank everyone for the kind reviews and support! They mean a lot to me because this is the first time I wrote something and posted it since... 3 years ago? It's been a while. After next chapter there will probably be a time skip to when Takumi's retainers show up, just because this fic is TakuKamu/Takurin based!