Ryoma stands up and begins pacing around the room. He doesn't do it with the steady, confident rhythm as before, but in a manner that's uneven, speeding up then slowing down. Everyone remains silent for a few tense moments.
"Brother," Takumi starts. "You heard what they said, right? They were confirming what I've been telling you-"
Ryoma stops pacing and sighs loudly, interrupting him. "You couldn't wait five minutes before bringing this up, could you?" Silence once again hangs in the air. "This is going to be the last time I entertain your antics, Takumi. You don't trust Azura or Corrin, but you've known Azura for years, and Corrin is your sister by blood. There is no reason to doubt either of them."
Takumi stands up. "Fine, let's say I did trust my 'sisters.' What about him?" He points to me, and I feel all the eyes in the room turn to me.
"For fuck's sake," I mutter.
Ryoma looks at me hesitantly, then turns back to Takumi. "Harrison's story may be more difficult to confirm, that is true. But he has physical evidence of his story, and he has fought alongside us several times for Hoshido. I believe he has shown himself to be honest, if nothing else." Thank you, Ryoma. I'm starting to understand his position on me a bit better now - sure, I might be incompetent as fuck, but at least I'm not a liar.
Takumi says nothing, and Ryoma continues. "I know this won't convince you, but you need to stop doing this. You are causing senseless divisions in our family, and there is no worse time to do that than when the country could split in two in a matter of days. Part of being a leader is putting aside your personal feelings for the common good. I'm not asking you to trust Harrison, but I'm asking you to be civil. Can you do that?"
Takumi pauses and looks at me. We make eye contact for a tense moment, and I break it, looking at Sakura, who is also staring back at me.
"I'll try," he says, abruptly. Chance of this being legit? Zero.
"And Harrison, you will likewise be civil to Takumi?"
"Yes, sir."
"Excellent. I hope this puts the issue to rest for the foreseeable future," Ryoma sighs. "At least you didn't pull this when the daimyo were here."
Yukimura steps forward. "Lord Ryoma, I have a report from our pegasus scouts," he says. "I didn't get the chance to bring it up at the council, but I suppose that may be for the best."
"What is it?"
"A sizeable Nohrian force is moving towards the Bottomless Canyon. They appear to be led by the crown prince himself." Ryoma's brow furrows, and Corrin's mouth is agape. She and I make eye contact and I give her a few short nods.
"How long until they'll cross the border?"
"A few days to a week, they estimate."
Ryoma says nothing for a moment. "How are we going to fight them without soldiers of our own? Losing Toyoshima and the others…"
"If I may, milord, I have an idea," Yukimura announces, pushing up his glasses. "We can ride out to meet them with our own divisions. We don't need to win outright, but if we can convince Lord Toyoshima and his friends that the royal family is determined to defend our land, we may just be able to win back their support." That's a fair point, actually. If Ryoma shows that he is quite literally at the helm of the defense of Hoshido, the daimyos' argument that Ryoma can't do it is pretty much moot.
"That's not a bad idea," Ryoma says, putting his hand on his chin. "We'd have to leave by tomorrow morning, I presume."
Yukimura nods. "Yes. I will begin the preparations at once, if you give the order."
Ryoma looks around the room. "Does anyone object to this course of action?" No response. "Then we leave tomorrow morning for the Bottomless Canyon. Everyone, get some rest. We're going to have several long days ahead of us."
The group begins to break apart, as the retainers file out of the room. Corrin, the other royal siblings, and Yukimura remain at the table. Judging by everyone else leaving the room, I guess I should as well.
Outside the room, the crowd quickly dissipates, as everyone leaves. They're probably preparing to move out tomorrow - I should do that as well. I look back at the meeting room just as a blue-and-white figure emerges - Azura.
Azura walks forward, staring straight ahead, as if transfixed on something off in the distance. I give her a friendly smile and wave. "Lady Azura," I call out to her. "Are you alright?"
She hesitates for a moment. "I'm fine."
"Did Lord Takumi… well, you know," I ask. Azura says nothing, which I take as confirmation that I'm correct. "I don't know why he does this. Haven't you two known each other since you were children? I wonder why he's decided to question you all of a sudden." I don't remember when exactly he became possessed, but that's eventually got something to do with it. Either way, I can't outright say that. I don't remember, does Azura actually know about his possession? Whenever it comes to pass, she'll put two and two together and figure it out.
"It's strange…" she says, her voice trailing off. "But what about you?"
"It makes sense for me to be a target. I'm the least believable of anyone," I answer. "If the daimyo want to use my existence as an excuse for their political games, then, well, fuck them." I laugh quietly. Azura smiles. "But seriously, Lord Ryoma has had many opportunities to just get rid of me and end the issue completely. But he hasn't. I'm not worried about a few rogue nobles or even Lord Takumi. Well, maybe he worries me a little."
"In any case, we find ourselves going to meet the Nohrian army," she says, her smile from before fading into a much more somber expression.
"That's right." I exhale. "You're from Nohr, so you knew some of the Nohrian royal siblings, right?"
She nods. Well, I know she's not technically from Nohr, but for all intents and purposes at this time, she is. "Xander, Camilla, and Leo… were there others?" she says.
"Well, Lady Elise is there as well," I add.
"I only remember her as a baby," she remarks. "Is that it?"
"Yes?" I tilt my head. What is she getting at? Are there more Nohrian siblings that I don't know about?
"When I was there, there were… others. Josephine, for one," she says with a tremendous, strained effort, as if saying the name is painful.
"Who's Josephine?"
"One of King Garon's daughters with his mistresses. She was a friend of mine when we were young…" She pauses and looks down. "But then that didn't end well."
"I'm sorry, Lady Azura, I didn't mean to bring up painful memories."
"It's all right. Even besides her, I could swear there were others… I wonder where they are now." Well, if it's the same Nohr I know, probably dead. Especially if there were other children of Garon's mistresses that just aren't around anymore. Why would Camilla, Leo, and Elise be there, but not the others, unless they literally outlived their half-siblings? It's a disturbing thought, but I don't bring it up. From the hesitation in her voice and how quickly she's looking away, I can sense I've already broached a touchy subject.
"On the bright side, you'll finally see Lord Xander and the others after so many years."
"I suppose that's true," she sighs. "I wish it could have been under better circumstances." Under better circumstances… I've heard that a lot here. Not just in Hoshido, but in Nohr, too. Xander said it, I said it. It just seems like everything is not working out ideally. But even if it's not ideal, it's still far better than it could be. Sometimes, it really hits me how lucky I've gotten so far, despite everything. "When we get there, Corrin's going to have to make a choice, between the family that raised her and the family that she was born into," Azura says. "Are you going to follow her?"
"Am I going to follow her…" I repeat, staring a hole into a specific point on the wall. Well, am I? If Corrin didn't pick Revelations, could I follow her into Conquest? Fight against Sakura, Hana, Hinoka, and the others? And eventually have to kill Takumi and Ryoma? And how does Mikoto being alive impact that?
Or could I follow her into Birthright? Fight against Xander - raise my sword to strike the man who gave me it. Camilla and Leo, too, and… Elise and Xander would have to die. That's what happens.
"Isn't there a third option?" I ask Azura. I know very well there is, and she should, because she brings it up to Corrin in Revelations, if I'm remembering correctly.
Azura says nothing for a moment. "How can there be a third option when both sides hate each other so much?"
"That's a good point." I shrug. "Still, Lady Mikoto survived an attack that should've killed her. Anything's possible," I reply.
"I suppose that's correct." Footsteps and voices are growing louder from the direction of the room. The royal family must finally be leaving.
"I should probably go… I don't mean to run so quickly, but I'd rather not give Lord Takumi any funny ideas by hanging around."
"Certainly. Take care, Harrison," she says.
"You too, Lady Azura."
I manage to get away without Takumi or anyone else giving me a hard time. As I walk back to my room, I'm starting to think about what Azura said once again. In a few days, Corrin and I are really going to have to make those tough decisions. Corrin's choice, as strange as it sounds, is very easy, and I'm not even talking about the best case scenario in which she just chooses Revelations. Even if she picks Hoshido or Nohr, she's guaranteed to live and have a family of some kind that loves her. Sure, Mikoto's alive now, but that can't change the overall plot too much, can it? Some details might shift, sure.
My situation is much, much more precarious. If I go back to Nohr, I risk being killed in my sleep by Iago or Hans or any one of their underlings. Come to think of it, would Xander even have me again? I've fought alongside the enemy, after all - only against Faceless, though. Xander fought them when he rescued me, so it can't be that big of a deal. And I've stood by Corrin the entire time. In the end, I'm not too worried about him being angry with me.
But if I stay in Hoshido, the risk factor is Takumi. Especially since Ryoma isn't going to hear his concerns anymore, all that pressure that was previously being released slowly is going to go somewhere. He's either going to just go off on me every other day, or explode and actually attack me again. He's done it before, I'm sure he can do it again.
I just hope Corrin chooses Revelations. I've talked to her about bridging the gap, and she knows what I mean. She trusts me. I hope she this means she'll make the right choice.
But I've still got to prepare for the eventuality that she does not, and that we end up on opposite sides of the conflict. Thanks to Mikoto, I now know that I can change things and influence events. This means that I can stop other people from dying as they would in the game. Honestly, it's more like I can't let them die. I can't let Xander and Elise die - or Ryoma and Takumi. Even though Takumi's a dick with a capital D, I won't let him die if I can help it. How can I communicate this all to Corrin if we're on opposite sides, though?
The answer becomes obvious: a letter. I write a letter to Corrin. If Corrin picks something I know I can't deal with - say she sides with Nohr, and I know I can't return there because it's too risky - I'd pass it along directly to her, or someone I know will understand, like Elise. To minimize the chance of confusion, of screwing up, and of giving away my knowledge of the game, I'll write a general letter that could be applied to either scenario. Still, my fingers are crossed for her going Revelations, and me following suit. In that case, I can just burn the letter later or something, and it'll be like it never was a possibility. Or maybe that's just me being paranoid.
This seems like an ideal solution to the problem. The only issue is, I need to find a writing implement and paper. Oh man, they probably don't even have anything close to a pen here. At least in Nohr they might have quill pens or something, but in Hoshido? The best we've got is probably something like a calligraphy brush. I don't know if I'd be able to use it legibly, at all. I'll need someone to help me.
One of the few people who I know would willingly do this is Sakura. Plus, being a princess, she's also well-educated and knows how this stuff works. Thanks to my earlier learning of the castle's layout, I know where her room is situated, right near the other royal siblings' rooms, and head over there. I knock on the wall outside the sliding door.
"Lady Sakura?"
A few moments later, the door slides open, and Sakura is there. Good thing I got it right - that'd be awkward if I didn't. "Harrison? Is something wrong?"
"Oh, nothing really. I was just wondering if you had some time to help me with something?"
"I was just getting ready for when we leave t-tomorrow, but I think I can help you," she says. "What is it?"
"So, this is probably going to sound kind of strange…" My voice trails off as I figure out a way to explain this. The best way is probably to just be direct. "I need to write a letter, and first of all, I don't know where to find paper or something to write with. But second, I probably won't know how to use whatever writing tools you have here in Hoshido. So I was thinking maybe you could show me or give me some tips or something?"
"I can do that," she says. "We can do it r-right here, if you want. I have a calligraphy set," she says.
She goes back into the room, and I take that as my cue to enter. Probably a bad idea to enter a princess's room without explicit permission, but I don't think Sakura will be too upset about it either way. I close the sliding door behind me as well. If Takumi sees us… well, I don't really want to think about what would happen.
They say someone's room tells you a lot about who they are. Sakura is no exception. The whole place looks clean and orderly. There are a futon and several fine-looking mats on the floor. There are also two low wooden tables, one with a tea set and several books. A rod - a festal, they called them in the game, I think? - is mounted on the wall, with a small picture below it. I can't quite make it out, but it seems to be a drawing of something pink. Maybe they're cherry blossoms, like her namesake… is that too cliche?
Sakura walks over to the cleared table and puts down a small wooden box, kneeling on the mat beside it. "I brought it out. C-come over here," she says. I do as she says and take my place at a right angle from her. Kneeling on the mat is a bit awkward, but it's not difficult. Sakura opens the lid of the box and removes a few cylindrical brushes, a glass inkwell, and some paper. "Wait… you know how to write, right?" she asks.
"Yes. Well, not the 'old language' you told me about," I clarify. "But I just need to write in English."
Sakura looks at me blankly. "English?"
"Oh man," I mutter. Of course, I forgot that English isn't a thing here. "Er, the common language? A-B-C-D-E-F-G? You know, that one."
She nods, then looks down. "Y-you know, these brushes aren't really the best for that. They're a lot b-better for the Old Language." She sighs. "It might be hard for you to write with them."
"I'm not worried about that. I just need to write this letter and have it be decently legible."
"Okay," Sakura says. "Let's start with this. Hold the brush like this." She takes one into her hand and demonstrates the grip. I imitate it as best as I can with another brush. "You're using your l-left hand?" she asks.
"Yeah, that's how I've always written things. You end up with a lot of ink on here, though," I say, indicating the side of my left hand with my right.
Sakura smiles and dips her brush into the inkwell. "Okay. So you want to move the brush g-gently across the page." She draws what appear to be Japanese characters with practiced, elegant sweeping motions. Then she writes the word sun in English at the bottom of the page. "Try it yourself." She gives me a blank page.
I'm going to screw this up in a colossal way, I just know it. But nevertheless, I dip my brush in the inkwell and try. As soon as I connect the brush to the page, the ink splatters everywhere. "Dammit!"
"It's o-okay," she says. "Your grip is a little off." She once again shows me the correct way to do it, and this time I'm actually able to write out a letter before screwing up: a capital T. Fast forward several more attempts and Sakura coaching me, and I'm able to finish out the entire sentence: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Sure, it's covered in occasional splotches and scratches, but it's legible.
"Beautiful. True art, right there," I joke.
Sakura giggles. "That's an odd thing to write."
"It's a pangram. It's got all the letters in one sentence."
She looks over the sentence and then back at me. "You're right!"
I remember how much she seemed interested in the germ theory experiment. I think we can have some more fun with this. "Now, watch this." I immediately start doing what I know I can do best - draw out structural formulas. I'll draw some that she'll probably know or at least, understand, once I explain them: water is easy enough, an O connected to 2 H's. Ethanol, two C's surrounded by three and two H's, the latter also having an OH. And lastly, just for fun, I draw a hexagon with a circle inside, connected to a COOH and OH.
Sakura tilts her head as she examines the structures. "What are those?"
"Molecules!" I shake the brush for dramatic effect, flinging a drop of ink onto the paper. "On the left, we have water: oxygen, bonded to two hydrogens. Next to it, ethanol. You probably know it as the thing that's in sake," I explain. "And lastly, salicylic acid. That's a compound you can extract from willow bark, and it works pretty well for relieving pain."
"Wow…" She looks across the lineup over and over again. "That's more of your s-science stuff, right?"
"You know it. Uh, I guess I can try actually writing the letter now?"
Sakura nods. "I'm just wondering, who are you writing the letter to, anyway?" Sakura looks at me again, and I say nothing for a moment. "Um, if i-it isn't a secret or something."
I can tell Sakura the plan. Besides, if Corrin sides with Hoshido and I don't, Sakura's the person to give the letter to anyway. She might as well know.
"Lady Corrin," I admit. "When we go to the Bottomless Canyon, I'm sure the Nohrians are going to try to get her back to their side. And maybe even me, too. Although I'm not that important…" My voice trails off. "Anyway, she and I are going to have to make some tough decisions. And if when the dust settles, we don't end up on the same side, I want to make it clear that I don't want to fight her if it comes to that. The best way to do that is with a letter that I give to someone I trust to pass it on to her." Sakura remains silent for a moment. "And if Lady Corrin goes with Hoshido and I don't, I'm pretty sure you would be that someone, Lady Sakura."
"You think Corrin might l-leave Hoshido? And you, too?" she asks, frowning.
"I don't know what's going to happen when we get to the Bottomless Canyon. Even without King Garon, she's got a family in Nohr that loves her and wants her back, too. And she has you all and your mother, of course. It's a tough situation for her. I don't know what she's going to do."
"But what about you, H-harrison?
"Well… Lord Xander was the first person I met in this world. He saved me from the Faceless and the Nohrian royal family took me in. I can't go back to Nohr because the king's underlings think I'm a spy, but despite that, Lord Xander was still kind to me. I could never fight him, or Lady Camilla, or Lord Leo or Lady Elise. But I couldn't fight you or your siblings either," I sigh. "Honestly, sometimes Lord Takumi makes me want to give him a good punch, but I couldn't turn on Hoshido after all you've done for me, too."
Sakura remains silent for a moment, her eyes flitting from me to the table and back to me.
"Are you… can you p-promise that you'll stay with Hoshido?"
I blink and swallow hard. I want to say yes. I so want to say yes. Looking at Sakura's distressed face… I'd do anything to make her happy right now. But I can't say yes, because that's not true. I can't make a promise I don't know if I can keep.
"Lady Sakura… nobody can say anything is for certain until we go to the Bottomless Canyon and meet the Nohrians face to face."
Sakura says nothing, her eyes bearing down on me intently. I take a fresh piece of paper, dip my brush in the inkwell, and begin writing.
A/N: And in this chapter, we have our first instance of adding some worldbuilding from The Apocryphal One! Josephine or "Josie" as she's also called is an OC that you can see in The Lost King, an incredible story, do check it out. Didn't realize it was going to come up on us so quickly!
Also, 25 chapters, wow! That's a quarter of the way to 100. Taking any and all guesses for what Corrin and Harrison's decisions are going to be - it might happen next chapter, or the chapter after, but it'll be coming soon!