Chapter 9.5: Moments In Between

Also known as: Have-another-side-chapter


The blanket of night had long since fallen over the Astral Realm as Corrin walked through the courtyard. The rigid silence unsettled her when she had attempted to sleep. It was quiet. Too quiet, too empty of noise for to feel calm. She longed for the clashing of steel, of soldiers training through the night. She missed Nohr. That's why she couldn't sleep.

And then there were the nightmares.

A steady thwack sounded in the air, and Corrin found herself turning to the noise. She followed it, and the others that came in a slow succession, until she ended up by the archery range. A lone figure stood inside, drawing back an arrow, his eyes met with deep concentration.

Corrin was mesmerised. Stilled by the way he drew back the arrow with ease, the way the moonlight kissed his silver hair. The strong lines of his arms, his stance, his concentration. The arrow hit its mark.

Of course.

He was talented. No, more than that. He was…

Takumi glanced at her, finally noticing Corrin in the corner of his vision. His hazel eyes widened fractionally, not expecting to see her so late in the night.

Corrin gave him a soft smile, not moving from her position by the door. Would he ask her to leave? They'd finally gotten less… antagonistic with each other, but that didn't mean he would be comfortable in her presence.

She waited, and he notched another arrow.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" A simple question. There was no hint of pique in his voice, no annoyance at her presence.

She took a step forward. "I could ask you the same."

He loosed the arrow. It whizzed through the air and sank into the target. She didn't need to look to know that it'd hit the centre. He didn't look at her.

"I'm training."

Not that he needed to. "I couldn't sleep," she said. Corrin stepped inside the archery range and leant against the nearby wall, so she could watch him side-on. Mesmerising. It truly was. The power he held, the concentration in his movements. He took another arrow from his quiver. It was…

"Amazing…" Corrin breathed, a simple sigh of words. "You're amazing."

Takumi's fingers stiffened. He dropped his stance, loosening the bow. His brow twitched, as if unsure whether to frown or raise an eyebrow. Instead, he stared.

"You're incredibly skilled," Corrin said, as if she had the sudden need to clarify herself.

Takumi turned back to the targets and lifted his bow. "Of course. Who do you think you're talking to?"

She didn't miss the way his lips pressed together, firmly fighting back the desire to pull up into a smile. She wasn't going to say anything until she spotted an undeniable brush of crimson on his cheeks. "Are… are you blushing?"

The arrow loosed awkwardly and smacked into the wall beside the target. Takumi shot his head to her, wide eyed and mouth agape. "No!"

Now she laughed. "Oh, my gods, you are." Her words, and bright, bubbly laughter, only made the blood surge painfully across his face. Her laughter cut through the night, soft and full of life. Something he hadn't heard before.

It made him pause.

That is, until she said, "you're so cute."

A scowl wrote across his face. "What? I am not!" His defiance only made her laugh harder. "That's not something you're meant to call a man!"

"I can if he's my little brother," Corrin chimed.

Takumi huffed and clicked his tongue, snatching another arrow from his quiver. He turned away from her, brow taught as if annoyed, but she knew better.

And it made her smile.

They settled into a gentle silence, broken periodically by the straining of the bow, the thwack of arrows. It made Corrin think of Xander, training through the night. The comparison drew tears to her eyes and she blinked them away before they could form.

She sank down the wall, sitting on the cold ground and drew her legs to her chest. She wrapped her arms around them, creating a nest of warmth with her cloak. Finally, she placed her head on her knees and watched.

He was so skilled at archery. Even without his divine bow, the Fujin Yumi. He was able to hold his own in battle, able to keep his cool under pressure. Under the stress and strain of being looked up to, of being depended upon. She was in awe of his skill. Of his confidence, faked or not.

She was glad, truly, that she was able to talk to him like this.

That he didn't know what she'd done.

Further tears stung her eyes. She fought them away and sucked in a deep breath of the cool, nightly air.

Takumi continued to train as if she wasn't there.

Eventually, she asked, "why the bow?"

Takumi stilled, glancing at her with a raised eyebrow, before readying an arrow. "What?"

Corrin shrugged. She didn't know why she was even asking. "Just wondering why you took up the bow. Ryoma uses a katana and Hinoka's a pegasus knight. What made you choose the bow?"

Takumi paused. His eyes fell to the ground. A moment passed before he fired, the arrow hitting just off-centre. "Mother taught me," he said quietly.

Corrin straightened, lifting her head off her knees.

Mother…

"What was she like?"

Silence. Takumi kept his eyes ahead, staring across the open space towards the targets littered with arrows like needles in pincushions.

"Kind," he said. His voice was soft, a fragile note above the silence. "She was wise, and gentle, and always thought of others before herself. She loved her people like her own family."

Corrin listened, thinking of the warm smile her mother – their mother – always wore.

"She didn't deserve that."

Corrin knew what he was talking about. She clenched her hands, pulling her arms tighter around herself as her stomach sunk painfully. "I'm sorry…"

Takumi's shoulders dropped. He spun an arrow between his fingers, looking down at it as if it held all the answers in the world. "It wasn't your fault."

"Wasn't it? If I hadn't brought that sword… if I hadn't been there–"

"Don't say that!" The force of his words, the suddenness of it all, made Corrin jump. Takumi stared right at her, pain and hurt blending in his eyes. There was a flash of teeth as he clenched his jaw. His expression, and eyes, dropped. "Don't you know how happy you made her? I hadn't seen mother smile like that in years… no matter what we did."

"Takumi…"

"So don't talk about what would've been. She wouldn't want you to blame yourself over what happened." He lifted his eyes, still spinning the arrow. "We don't want you to blame yourself either…" That last part was barely a whisper, barely a breath, but in the silence of night she heard it all.

She nodded, as no words would form on her lips. She let what he said sink in, let a gentle silence take hold. Neither said anything for a moment. Takumi twirled the arrow in his hands, studied the bow for a while, before taking it up again.

Corrin waited until he loosed the arrow before speaking. "She was very good at archery, then?"

Takumi snorted. "Incredible, you mean?"

"Coming from you?"

"She'd been years ahead of me. Made me feel useless at it."

"Oh, I think you're pretty decent."

Takumi rolled his eyes, a smile tweaking his lips. "Mother was talented at many things. She even sowed these clothes for me."

"Really?"

Takumi nodded. He was really smiling now, hazel eyes sparkling in the moonlight. He fought the smile back until it was only slight, and concentrated on his archery again.

Corrin sighed whimsically. "I wish I could've gotten to know her better…"

Takumi watched her out of the corner of his eyes. "She would've liked you."

"Really?"

"You're both as nosy as each other. She had her premonitions, you stalk people in the middle of the night…"

"Hey!"

Takumi snorted, bursting into a short laugh. Corrin pouted at his words but the sound of his laughter, so rare and fleeting, made a fountain of joy bubble in her stomach.

Corrin rested her chin on her knees, fighting the burning flush on her cheeks. "That's mean," she whined.

"That's payback for calling me 'cute' earlier."

"You're a horrible brother."

He didn't respond to that jibe and took up his bow again. Corrin yawned, only now feeling the effects of little sleep. Her shoulders felt heavy, though Takumi's laughter had shocked her enough that she wasn't desperately about to drop to sleep.

A soft smile settled on her face as she watched him train again. "I'm truly glad I can talk to you like this." The words spilled from her lips, such an honest, personal thought that it shocked her to hear it from her mouth.

Takumi stilled, fingers winding tightly around his bow. There was no way he knew the deeper meaning of her words, but the silence was deafening and her heart thundered loudly in her chest. She wished he would say something, anything, to end the trepidation hanging over her.

"… I am, too…" he said, having turned his head away from her. She looked up at him, honestly wishing she could see what expression he wore that he held out of sight from her. He rubbed the back of his neck, knuckles brushing the long strands of his hair.

"I know… you've been trying. I get it." Again he fiddled with an arrow. "Even though I haven't been the easiest to get along with."

That's an understatement.

An unbidden smile crept up on Corrin's face.

"At first, I didn't trust you, but now…" he shook his head, drawing his bow quickly and firing, the arrow sinking into the target. "N-Never mind."

Corrin giggled, muffling the sound as her face pressed into her knees.

Takumi heard her anyway. "Wh-What?"

"Never mind," she sang, voice bubbling with laughter.

Takumi grumbled, a scowl on his face that didn't match the blush on his cheeks. He forced himself to concentrate on training, though it was hard to ignore the giggling Princess watching him. After a few arrows, he was met with silence, and after even more he was able to will himself to glance at her.

She'd fallen asleep. Her cheek pressed against her shoulder, lips slightly parted, a deep breath spilling from her.

Takumi sighed, deciding to let her sleep. He knew how much she needed to. The dark bags under her eyes, the way her shoulders slumped, the redness in her eyes, none of it was a secret to him or anyone else who saw her.

And so she slept, Takumi watching over her, until the early hours of the morning as the first light spread across the realm.


Takumi barely noticed when Oboro and Hinata came into the archery range before dawn.

"Hey, Lord Takumi!" Hinata called, too cheerful for how early it was, making Takumi flinch. He glanced nervously to Corrin where she slept, a thick blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

Takumi wouldn't admit to finding that for her.

"Shut up!" Oboro hissed, whacking Hinata's shoulder. "Can't you see Lady Corrin's sleeping?"

"Oh, shoot!" He blanched, shrinking apologetically. "Sorry."

"It's fine, as long as you're quiet," Takumi said. "You finished patrolling?" He began to pack up his bow and arrows as his two retainers went to retrieve the arrows he'd fired during the night.

"Yup! Passed over to Hana and Subaki," Hinata said.

Oboro snickered, yanking arrows from the target.

Takumi frowned, watching the two exchange giddy looks. "What is it?"

Oboro stiffened and quickly straightened. "Nothing, Lord Takumi."

That obviously wasn't true, but Takumi didn't press. They quickly tidied up the archery range, finishing just as the sun poked over the horizon. Corrin continued to sleep away, unbothered by the busy trotting of people around her.

Soon enough, Jakob stepped into the archery range, as poised as ever despite the early hour. "Lord Takumi, have you perhaps seen Lady Corrin anywhere–" his voice caught as he spotted her sleeping beside the door. He stilled, blinking at the sight of his master sleeping in the archery range. On the floor.

His voice dropped, expression remaining as calm and collected as ever, though he laced his words with threat. "Is there any particular reason why Lady Corrin is asleep on the floor?"

Hinata and Oboro made scarce work of themselves, not wanting to be the object of the butler's fury. They lingered nearby, cleaning bows and arrows, not straying close enough to be in the conversation but near enough to eavesdrop.

"She fell asleep." Takumi ignored the poison in Jakob's tone and continued tending to his bow.

Jakob studied the Prince for a slight moment, not a single aspect of his calm mask fading. He then knelt beside Corrin and spoke in a gentle tone only reserved for her, so soft that Takumi couldn't hear.

Not that he'd wanted to, anyway.

Corrin woke up sloppily, dragging the blanket closer to her, mumbling words of protest, before realising where it was she was sleeping. She shot up in fright, staring wildly at her audience. She hadn't remembered falling asleep.

"I can't believe I fell asleep," Corrin yawned, getting to her feet with help from the wall. She stretched, arms raised high over her head. "I think that's the best I've slept in a while, actually."

"I would prefer if you prioritised sleeping in your bed, Lady Corrin," Jakob said. "It cannot be good for your health, sleeping in such places."

Takumi didn't miss that subtle cue in his words.

"Mm…" Corrin sighed, still half asleep. She shrugged and headed for the door, giving Takumi and his retainers a lazy wave. She struggled to keep her eyes from fluttering shut.

The air held a frosty chill and Corrin shivered in the breeze, pulling her cloak around her. Her breath plumed in the air.

"I will have a warm bath prepared for you right away, milady," Jakob said. They headed for her treehouse, though Corrin was barely listening.

"Mm…" She chewed her lip listlessly, blinking away the cold air, as she drove her frosted fingers into her pockets. Her empty pockets. Corrin's heart stopped, blood running cold. She yanked out the pockets, tugged at the seams, the fabric. Gone. It was gone.

Jakob watched her curiously. "Have you misplaced something?"

Her mouth was dry. No words made it past her throat, panic surging through her veins. She whirled on her feet and bolted back to the archery range. She skidded through the door and fell to her knees where she'd slept, the sight of her feeling across the floor causing Takumi, Oboro and Hinata to stop what they were doing and stare.

"No…" Corrin sucked in tight breathes, hands again finding themselves in her pockets. "No, no, no!"

"Corrin? What's wrong?" Takumi asked, putting down his bow.

Whether she heard him or not, she glanced hurriedly around the room, across the floor, before hastily getting to her feet. Jakob appeared by the door, confusion and concern breaking through his mask of calm.

"Milady, whatever is the matter?" Jakob asked. "If it is something I can assist you with–"

"It's gone!" the words burst from her chest as tears filled her eyes. They cut down her cheeks, fuelled by panic, as she gulped a breath.

"Hey, calm down, Corrin," Takumi said. "What's gone missing?" The sight of tears, of such fear in her eyes, twisted something deep in his chest.

"My Dragonstone!" Corrin sobbed. "I can't find it!"

Takumi stopped, brow furrowing. Her Dragonstone? That's what she was upset about?

"I am sure it will turn up," Jakob said, tone soothing and calm, but Corrin shook her head.

They didn't understand. Didn't know what it was like to give in to that beast, that ancient dragon. To have so much power, so much rage, burning through you and not have any control–

She shot out of the archery range, leaving Jakob's protests to the wind, and burst up the steps to her treehouse. She bolted the door, clicking the latch shut, and turned everything over in her room in a flurry. Her bed covers she threw to the floor, her drawers she tugged open and dug through them, tossing clothes left and right. She sank to the ground, searching beneath her bed, lifting her mattress, the rug, the curtains.

Gone. It was gone.

A stiff knock sounded on the door. The handle rattled, door sealed shut. For their safety. If she changed, if it happened and she couldn't control it–

"Milady, are you all right?" Jakob's voice sounded muffled through the door. "If you let me in, I can assist you in searching for it."

Corrin staggered back from the door, from his voice, his offer of help.

No. He couldn't be here. Not now, not if– if–

She shook her head. Hot tears spilled from her eyes. "No." She stepped back, calves colliding with the edge of her bed. "No. Leave me– please." Her plea must've had some affect, as by the time she'd bundled herself up in blankets on her bed, Jakob's protests of help had ceased.

She curled up in the darkness, her darkness, and sobbed. Breaths tore from her lungs, uneven and broken with sobs. She was scared. So scared, so frightened she'd change and hurt them– they were so fragile, so soft, and all she could see was Jakob's arm and the wound he'd sustained protecting her. If she did that to him – to any of them…

It'd be so easy. Too easy.


She didn't let anyone close. Even when Sakura and Hinoka came by her door, asking for her to let them in, she refused. Stayed silent, save for the sobs she couldn't withhold. Her throat burned from her wailing, eyes ached from her tears. Hands wound tightly into the blankets, drawing them around her, closer, closer, closer, until that was all she could feel.

A cold breeze fluttered through her window. Corrin shot up, tearing out of her blankets, to see a hand holding her Dragonstone, outstretched towards her. She snatched it up, cradling the tiny stone to her chest, fear shattering, relief dowsing her panic. She raised her eyes to see red, red hair, red clothing and that scar – cut over one eye, the other trained on her.

Saizo.

Her thanks died in her throat, shock and awe filled her as she stared back. Her mouth dropped agape, closing and opening as she tried to find any words to say. "You… you found it…?"

"Don't look so surprised," Saizo said, folding his arms. "I have one eye and it stays fixed directly on you. Misplacing something so precious to you is foolish."

He moved to leave, climbing through her window before she could blink. "W-Wait!" He paused, not glancing back to her. "Thank you."

Finally, he turned back, only to say, "it was one thing I couldn't simply overlook, that's all," before vanishing into the morning air. She stared at her open window, before looking down at the stone held tightly in her hands.

He'd found it for her.

Maybe Saizo wasn't so bad after all.

Corrin sheepishly opened her door after that, only to be swamped by Hinoka and Sakura in tight hugs. Jakob expressed his relief, and then shock, as she told them exactly who had found her Dragonstone. Hinoka and Sakura both vouched for Saizo, saying that he just looked intimidating, and that Ryoma wouldn't have him as his retainer if he didn't have a good heart.

Corrin definitely believed that now.

The day crept on slowly though Corrin was already drained from this morning's antics. She kept finding her hands in her pockets, feeling for her Dragonstone, regardless of where she was or what she was doing. She kept in nearby, even when she soaked in a steamy bath, making sure she could see it at all times.

She didn't want to lose it again.

It was just hours after when Oboro approached her at the mess hall. "Lady Corrin? I have something for you."

Corrin blinked at her. To say it was unexpected would be an understatement. "Really?"

Oboro held out her hand, a silver chain inside with an ornate cage hanging from it, about the size of a coin, with a hinged clasp that lay open. It was stylish and finely crafted, woven from silver. Corrin took it and studied it closely.

"What is it?" she asked, palming the chain in her hands.

"It's a necklace to hold your Dragonstone in," Oboro explained, pointing to the little holder attached. "So you don't misplace it again."

Corrin brightened, a bubble of joy making her suck in a breath. She unclasped the necklace and put it on, before fitting her Dragonstone in the cage. It fit perfectly, and rested over her heart.

"Oh, Oboro, thank you so much!" Corrin beamed, studying the necklace now that she wore it. "It's beautiful."

"No problem," Oboro said, grinning. "I made it myself. Lord Takumi asked me to do it," she added with a wink. "He didn't want me to tell you but I thought you should know."

"Takumi did?" Corrin stared down at the necklace. It was something so simple yet so elegant, something so small that gave her such a peace of mind. And it had been Takumi's idea.

Corrin smiled gently and excused herself from the mess hall, on a mission to find her younger brother. She trekked the courtyard, first heading for the archery range, only to find Setsuna in there, staring up into nothing with a dazed look in her eyes. It was then Corrin realised she didn't know where to look for him. What else did he do besides archery?

The mess hall had emptied since breakfast and neither Hinata nor Oboro knew where he was. For all Corrin knew, he could've been in the hot springs, but didn't dare go to find out. She wandered the outskirts of their Astral Realm, skirting the edges of the castle wall, before coming up to a large tree soaking up the warm sun. It was some type of Hoshidan tree, planted by itself beside the wall. Corrin walked around its large trunk, following a nagging instinct, to find Takumi resting beneath its shade.

He lay back on the grass, eyes shut, chest rising and falling softly. His long, silver hair fanned out in its tie on the green grass and Corrin deposited herself next to him silently. She studied his face, the curvature of his nose and jaw, the length of his eyelashes. The calmness of his face as he slept.

He looked gentle. Serene, even. His hands rested on his stomach, barely rising as he breathed. Corrin reached out, ever-so-gently, and took hold of a lock of his hair on the grass. It was soft between her fingers. She trailed them through it, careful not to wake him. He didn't stir from her touch and she grew bolder with every passing minute. Her hands drifted higher in his hair before she gave in and brushed the soft strands of his fringe off his brow. It was the softest ministration, barely a whisper of her fingers against his skin, but his eyes fluttered open.

She stared into those hazel eyes of his and smiled. "Good morning, sleepyhead," she said, making sure her voice was gentle, not wanting to startle him.

It didn't work. He shot up in a hurry, recoiling away from her. "Wh-What? I wasn't sleeping!" His cheeks turned pink, a faint dusting across his face.

She laughed and he grumbled, a frown cutting across his brow. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

He huffed, a heavy sigh, more at himself than her. "I shouldn't have fallen asleep, anyway."

Corrin shook her head at that. "Sure, sure. I just wanted to thank you for this." She lifted up the necklace Oboro had given her, Dragonstone snug inside. "It means a lot to me."

Takumi's face flushed darker and he shot his eyes away from her. He rubbed the back of his neck and she could tell he was going to make some excuse about it.

"Oboro told me you asked her to make it," Corrin said. Takumi's head dropped, hiding his expression, though his ears showed that tell-tale red that spread across his face. She reached out and took his hand, his fingers cold against hers. He shot his head to her, mouth dropping open, before it clamped shut.

Corrin met his eyes, looking deeply at him, and smiled. "Thank you, Takumi."

He shrugged, though his voice wavered. "It's nothing."

It wasn't nothing. It was so much more than that. Despite what he said, despite his words and nonchalant attitude, she knew otherwise. She knew he cared.

And now, she had proof of that.

And it meant the world.


Next Chapter: KADEN. Gotta love that adorable fox.

Thank you so much for your reviews, Dragonna and werehogdog!

I'll try to work on the next chapter when I have time, as Uni is pretty hectic.

See you next chapter!