Nobu gently laid the fish upon the pedestal. It had become something of a habit - not that he didn't enjoy caring for the dragon-woman who had done so much to protect him - but had never felt quite this painful.

This time, instead of the cheerful face of his bird-like companion, all Nobu saw was the blood-stained headpiece she used to wear. "Oh, Lilith…" he mumbled, choking back tears. Unable to stand it any longer, he briskly turned around and left the temple, failing to notice a small, blue light flicker as the fish slowly faded away.

Once he started walking, he didn't stop. He didn't have any goal in mind - he certainly wasn't planning on retiring to bed, if only to avoid the nightmares that had haunted him endlessly for the last several nights - but he kept walking, out of the castle and into the expanse of the astral plane. By this point, the tears were flowing as the memories replayed in his head…

His mother, impaled by the sword he had brought to her kingdom.

The village girl from what felt like so long ago now, crushed by the Faceless when he failed to help her.

Flora, lighting herself on fire out of the shame of betraying him.

Camilla, bruised, broken, and unconscious from the fight with him.

Lilith, a gash across her stomach from protecting him.

Elise, begging for the fighting to stop with her last breath.

And Xander, the denial of Elise's last wish, collapsed dead in his arms.

Even Leo's words echoed in his mind. At the time, the moody Nohrian prince had assured Nobu they were lies fed by anger, frustration, and a feeling of worthlessness. But now Nobu considered their truth.

Maybe he was a traitor. After all the pain he had caused for the people who cared for him so deeply, how could he consider himself anything but? And now, with the final battle against Garon looming over him, how could he be strong enough to save all of Hoshido and Nohr if he wasn't strong enough to save his family?

The dragon prince stumbled in his sprint, crashing into a puddle as the rain began to pour down. The abnormality of the poor weather in the astral plane was lost on him as he wiped the mud off his face.

"What am I even doing?" he asked in a whisper, then in a scream: "Why am I here?!"

As he collapsed into sobs, a gentle hand reached down to his shoulder, comfortingly rubbing it. "I'm so sorry," a soft voice whispered. Confused and a little shocked to hear someone else, Nobu turned to see the spirit of Queen Mikoto standing over him.

"Mother…?" he whispered softly, wondering if his eyes were tricking him.

"My beautiful son," she said, offering her hand to pull him to his feet. "I'm so proud of you."

"Mother… how can you be proud of me? I-I've failed you…"

Mikoto placed a finger to his lips. "Shh! Don't say that! You could never fail me. This isn't your fault."

Nobu's breathing began to steady, though the tears refused to stop. "What do you mean?"

"This goes so much deeper than you can ever know, my child. But you've been so strong… I am so sorry you have to carry the burden created by the actions of me and your father on your shoulders."

"King Sumeragi? What does he have to do with this?"

"I'm sorry I can't tell you more… But please know that I love you, no matter what. And I am always with you."

"N-No, don't go! Mother, I can't do this alone…"

Mikoto smiled gently. "Oh, Nobu. You're not alone. Please… tell your brothers and sisters… I miss them…" With these last words, Mikoto's spirit faded back into the stars.

"Nobu!" another voice called. Wiping his eyes and wondering if he his visit with Mikoto was all in his imagination, Nobu turned to see Rinkah approaching. He moved to meet her in the middle.

"What are you doing up?" he asked.

"You didn't come to bed," she replied. "I… assumed you might be out here somewhere."

It was now that Nobu realized this was the exact same spot where they had held Sakura's birthday celebration. "No wonder…"

"What?"

"Err… never mind. Why did you come looking for me?"

Rinkah smiled and took Nobu's hand. "Do you remember what you told me before we were married?" Nobu furrowed his brow, unsure which conversation she was referring to. "You said, 'We're at war. Nothing is certain. One day we celebrate, the next day we may be mourning. But I have to believe there's some kind of order to things.'"

Nobu nodded. "'And so I think we were fated to meet as we did, and that we should be grateful for it.' Yes, I remember that conversation."

"That was the moment I realized why I loved you," Rinkah said, bringing a blush to her husband's face. "Your ability to stay optimistic in the most painful circumstances… it's what keeps the army fighting. And it's very admirable." She planted a kiss on Nobu's hand. "But even you have your limits. These last few days have been painful. I needed to make sure you remember that you're not alone in this."

When Rinkah said these words, Nobu's breath caught. He looked up at the sky, where the constellation of Mikoto twinkled overhead. He could have sworn it even winked.

"Uh, Nobu?" Rinkah spoke, catching the prince's attention again.

"You're right, Rinkah," he said, releasing her hand and beginning to pace in circles. "We're not alone. Despite everything that's happened… we're here, together. And as long as that's true, we're unstoppable." He stopped and grinned. "Garon won't even know what hit him."

Rinkah smirked. "There he is. You know, you're pretty hot when you're confident."

Nobu blushed, though he was still grinning. "Coming from the daughter of the Flame Tribe's chief, that's high praise." He gently cupped his wife's face. "Have I told you how much I love you?" he asked before kissing her. When he pulled away, he turned and ran back to the castle. "I have to start working on battle plans!"

Rinkah smiled, a faint blush visible. "Go get 'em, Nobu."

…I will go down with this ship

I'm a little concerned Rinkah isn't quite in character, but she shows such a range of emotions in game… I don't know. What do you guys think?

Probably… one more chapter to get to the end! I'm actually going to play the final two chapters of Birthright to figure out exactly what I want to do, lol. In the author's note at the end of the next chapter, I'll let you know what my plans are for continuing this story!

Let me know what you think! Honestly, I get barely any reviews on my stories anymore. If you liked, hated, or vaguely tolerated this story, please let me know! It's very hard to keep writing when I don't get any feedback. Thanks!