Message from the author. Sorry for the late upload. It's finals season nw so I have less time and energy to write. Good news is next week is the last chapter of Volume 4. Volume 5 is when the real stuff happens so get excited! I will still try to keep the chapters uploading. Thoug I was thinking of doing a one-shot between books 1 and 2 for something different(I'll still be doing this obviously. Also, to that guy who wants more Hinoka, you will get more in the chapters to come. Please wait.
Chapter 9: Life in Hoshido
I awake in my room, surrounded by my retainers, mother, and my Hoshidan siblings, including Azura. Some of the retainers were there outside, but it was so crowded I couldn't tell.
My stomach growls, and my throat dried; like I haven't eaten after walking through a desert Thankfully, they prepared plenty of food, and beverages to satisfy my surprisingly massive appetite. I was even shocked at much I consumed. It's as if I devoured an entire cow!
After I finished, Mother explains what happened:, when I asked Orochi to peak into my mind, it sent a calling card to the dragon inside me, making it ready to respond at the next trigger. When Mother brought up my Azura's past, it caused me to take in a lot of emotions at once. I can't blame myself for being an empath, but hearing her story made me want to save her so badly, it made me reach an emotional level which the dragon seized as an opportunity to take hold.
Though it wasn't a complete hold and was more like when I fought Kaze, Rinkah, and Saizo, then Azura and I fought the bath, ending me with saying some sort of message I can't remember, then I passed out.
Then they told me I was out for an entire week!
And I was like "Again? How do I sleep for this long twice?"
Then mother explains she figured out the issue with the dragon part. Of course, it does. It always has to do with something the dragon.
I sometimes get sick of hearing about how I'm am an awesome, ancient, first-in-million-years legendary creature. It's the cons. As mother was saying; the ritual was successful, and my two halves have finally synced, or whatever. This is why I am a terrible mage.
How does Leo understand all this crap? And he's like two years younger than me! Wait a minute, Elise is even younger! I remember all the times we practiced the "Fire" spell the first time together. I can still feel the burn marks on my bum to this day.
Darn it. I'm on a tangent. But there is just so much going on around me I feel this's what'll turn me into a crazy dragon, instead of something like a parent dying-nope, not going that route. I finally reunited with my birth mother after all these years, and my real dad's consciousness died in front of me, leaving his dragon half terrorizing some other dimension that will kill me if I talk about it.
A familiar voice suddenly echoes through my mind
"Corrin? Are you, all right? You've been spacing out for quite a while."
"Azura?! How'd you get in here? This is my mind!"
"Firstly, I've been here before."
"That was when I in that Cognitive Plain, thing, right? But I didn't hear you singing."
"Well, back when we fought, there was a moment where your sword struck with me some strange magical energy, and our souls linked.
"You're making less sense than usual Azura."
"Short answer: our minds are now permanently connected. Confirmed by divination."
"Sooooooooo, we can read each other's minds?"
"I suppose. It is more like telepathic communication within a specific radius. Like right now I am at your bedside."
"You've better not peaked into private territory."
"Trust me; I've peaked enough; my hip measurement is larger than yours," she taunts in a childish tone.
"That's it! You can't invade my mind and say you're more attractive than ME! Now I'm gonna invade your mind!"
"Not happening!"
"Hey! No fair! Using locks and chains."
"There were no rules to this anyways. Besides what can you do with your level magic?"
"I am so going to tickle you till you say mercy."
"Only way to do that is to come back to reality."
"Fine."
I zone back in from my tangent. I see Lilith, Felicia, Jakob, mother, Ryoma, Hinoka, Sakura, Takumi brooding in the corner-pretending he's objecting; adorable, and Azura chuckling into her mouth. Perfect.
"Oh my goodness! Look, everyone! Azura is laughing and smiling!"All eyes turn to Azura's flushed face.
"You did this on purpose, didn't you," she says to my mind. So, I respond with a "Yeah. What are you gonna do about it."
Azura runs out of the room, slams the door behind her. Everyone looks at me weird.
I can tell she's still outside, or she wouldn't have shut it.
"Curse you, Corrin," she tells me telepathically.
I don't need to respond once I've already won. Besides, she's happy for a change. I should re-engage with everyone here.
Fortunately, time speeds up again real fast. Mother explains my body needed rest to become accustomed to my new dragon physiology. It is also reacting to extreme emotion so I should refrain from conversations and topics that would push me to the point of berserk. Thankfully, a Dragonstone would remove the inhibitions which currently plague me.
Though Ryoma suspects that Kirin, my magic rod which contains the stone I'm linked to is closer by, though Hinoka even
on her pegasus couldn't find it. Guess the Silver Knight is a lot better at stealth than I thought.
For now, I need to merely practice controlling both my urges and being accustomed to live here.
Another week goes by as I get accustomed to life under the sun, and outside. I train every morning with Hinoka, then bathe quickly. I change into my kimono and attend Sakura's sermons, as well as watching Azura perform during them. I eat breakfast with everyone; then we mostly go our separate ways. Sakura and Takumi are still teenagers and are in the study most of the day. Ryoma is busy concerning the war as he is both High-Prince and general of the Hoshidan Army. Hinoka is similar in Ryoma's case as she is the commander of the sky knights, which are an essential part of the Hoshidan army. They are said to be amazing.
I spend most of the day practicing controlling my dragon powers, as well as Azura occasionally helping me practice my water magic. Especially after my retainers were finally allowed to roam among the palace, Azura frequently hung around us. It became rare not to see her all the time. Sometimes I would get upset, but that's natural for siblings to do, and I'm glad she is finally coming out of her shell.
We were also frequently joined by Orochi and Kaze; the latter often guided me around parts of the Isogashi Ninja Clan because he knew I was interested. I was enlightened by their principles and wowed by their skills.
Then nights were dinner, bath, then bed. Though, I would sometimes sneak out with Azura to go to her secret coral fort. Now with Lilith's ability to house other in my cognitive castle, we can be joined by others. We often play games underneath the water, watching as our cards or dice float before us.
Day after day, I practiced summoning parts of my dragon form as manaketes apparently can do. But even after a week I still can't summon more than the scale mail or the belt.
However, Mother gifted me white and blue plate-mail armor to with scale mail. it's not too different from my Nohr Noble outfit, but it's more modest and ornate. She told me she chose this design because she wanted to allow me to keep my style, but also to add some modesty. Well, I was walking around with my inner thighs exposed a lot.
But one day she told me not to use the belt no matter what. I tried to get more information out of her as I did regarding my father, but nothing came of it. She did promise that she would tell me everything if she could have. So is she being blackmailed? A curse? I end up giving up and moving on.
After training every morning with Hinoka for over a week, I asked to spend time with her. She says she is busy, but that doesn't work on me, and got her to take me with her to work one day. She allowed me to come with her that day and I got to meet a whole bunch of people, including a man named Subaki. A handsome devil with dark red hair tied in a small till like Jakob, and blue-white robes. He also happens to be one of Sakura's retainers and friend of Hinoka.
He ended up being my guide through the day. Hinoka is very well respected by her soldiers; who display excellent work ethic and devotion. Sadly, I didn't end up spending a lot of time with Hinoka, but I enjoyed it, and she thanked me for the day after.
In fact: Ryoma got jealous and offered to see how the samurai trained. I, of course, agreed. I do enjoy exploring Hoshido and its various locations and cultures. I've gotten used to Hoshidan suffixes, and now sound like the prefixes used in Nohr, which I prefer.
But I want to spend more time with Takumi and Sakura. Unfortunately, it's quite difficult since Sakura is incredibly shy, and always stays in her room when not busy, and Takumi is a bit of jerk.
After some help from Ryoma, and my retainers, I finally must up the courage to talk with him. I am now standing right in front of the door to his room. Lilith is currently inside me with Jakob, Felicia, and Orochi chilling in my castle. Azura is waiting outside since apparently linking our minds causes her to be unable to enter my castle. This is all in-case I begin to lose control.
Beneath my right arm is a box containing a strategy game called shogi; a tabletop strategy game similar to chess in Nohr, only more complicated.
The plan is to say hi, then coax him into playing since he enjoys this game. Then play several rounds with him.
Ryoma's idea better work.
I summon all my courage and raise my hand to the door.
knock knock
"I'm busy. Please leave me alone."
He doesn't want to see me.
"Try again by using your name," Azura says to my mind. Getting used to telepathy is going to be difficult.
"It's me, Kamui, your big sister. I wanted... to know if you had some free time?"
I hear his footsteps as he comes to the door. It opens.
"Oh, my bad, big sis Kamui. I thought you were Ryoma, or
someone else who is annoying."
"Yeah...I'm pretty sure I'm not one of those guys." He is a lot nicer than I thought.
"Yeah. Just tell me why you're here. I was in the middle of studying strategy."
"Well then, why don't put your studies to the test: I challenge you to a strategy game."
"Is that why you have a Shogi set under your arm?"
"Yeah. I know you weren't very accepting of me when I first arrived. So, I thought we could spend some time together, and hopefully get to know each other better. Besides, if anyone asks, you can say "I was studying with my big sister Kamui."
"You have a good point. And I can use the break too. Have you ever played shogi before?"
"No, but I have read about it, and played several other types of strategy games."
"No problem. I'll teach you the basics. Just be warned, big sis Kamui, I'm the best shogi player in the family."
"Sounds like fun."
"Come in then. Also, big sis Azura, how long are you going to stand there."
"My apologies, brother. Mother has commanded me to keep constant watch over Kamui, as my magic can suppress her violent urges that have been plaguing her as of late."
"Heard about those. In that case, you're welcome to join, big sis Azura. Better than sitting out here in the hallway."
"I accept your offer. However, I will simply sit in the corner while you engage in activities with Kamui."
"Suit yourself."
Azura and I enter Takumi's room, who closes his door behind him. There are several bookshelves filled with old books and worn scrolls from overuse. There is a desk with paper and pen on it, as well as one of those books open on the upper corner. To my left is a closet containing many lovely kimonos for males. On the other side is a rack holding the bow I've seen in my dreams, as well as a sheathed Kodachi, and one-eyed oni mask. They're all just like in my dream.
There is also a dartboard with a picture of the Nohrian Flag pinned in the center. It's filled with holes and punctured with several darts. Most of them have landed in the bullseye, or around it.
"Sorry if it's a bit of a mess. I wasn't expecting you."
"Don't feel bad, we came without warning as well."
"Alright then." Takumi leans to the side slightly. "You going to be okay over there, Big sis Azura? Don't you want something to do? You may be here awhile."
I turn to see Azura sitting in the corner.
"I'll be fine. Though since you're offering, do you mind if I take a look at one of those books over there."
"They're mostly history and battle-strategy guides."
"I don't care. I'm quite interested in Hoshidan history at the moment."
"Be my guest then. Try the one on the third shelf, all the way to the right. It's one of my favorites."
"I'm shocked, Takumi. You're so kind to both me and Kamui."
"Well, after our incident a few days ago, I started thinking back on how awful I've treated you. So, I decided to trust you both, and accept you as a member of our family. But just so we're clear; the thing I hate the most in the world, are traitors. Besides, if you're coming to spend time with me when you are... ill like you are, I can believe you."
Takumi and I begin playing shogi while Azura reads quietly in the corner. Takumi did not lie about his skill. He decimates my board the first few games with ease. I got more used to the game after the 5th or 6th round. I won my 8th, though he admitted he wasn't taking me seriously, he was probably butthurt considering his reaction.
SO Adorable! I don't even notice how much time passed by the time we finished.
"Aw! Come on! I had you there!" I say.
"No, you were mine a few turns ago, when you recklessly sacrificed your piece."
"Wow. You weren't kidding about your skill in this game."
"Don't underestimate yourself. You beat me three times legitimately on your first day."
"And the other times?"
"I made a dumb decision in those rounds."
"Dumb decisions on the battlefield still happen," Azura remarks.
"I see your point. I'll give you those few extra wins. Even with those, however, my win count still outweighs yours."
"Yep. There's still that."
The door suddenly opens, and two people walk into the room. Both look around our age. One is a young male samurai, with toned, tan skin, and short spiky brown hair, tied into a knot at one point, with the rest floating past his neck. He is wearing a blue tunic with blue and gold plate armor on his chest, white pants, and a belt that has a katana in a red sheath attached to the side.
The other is a young woman in her late teens who has pale skin (though not as much as mine), dark pink eyes, and dark blue hair tied in a ponytail which extends to her back. Her outfit is made of a dark blue tunic, with an orange kimono with white on the underside. She wears dark blue stockings with the blue and gold combat boots to go with her chest guard with the same color palette.
"Yo! Lord Takumi! I didn't know you had a lover are-Ow!" the man yells at the girl pinches his cheek."
"Sorry about Hinata's behavior Lord Takumi. He's a bit drunk."
"Can't be a kid forever, am I right? Ow. hic"
"Enough. Both of you. I'm sorry big sis Kamui. These are my retainer. The drunk man is Hinata, and the other is Oboro. She's also the one who made your kimono you're currently wearing."
Hinata bows on the floor before me. "Please forgive me, Princess Kamui. I mistook you for someone of a lesser class. I will accept any punishment."
"Eh, okay, um."
"Please leave my retainers to me, big sis Kamui."
"Please do."
Oboro walks over to me. "So, you must be Lord Takumi's elder sister who recently returned from Nohr." Oboro's face suddenly becomes this horrific scowl on her face. Is she a demon?
"Oh, sorry Princess Kamui. I have a bad history with them. But, not to worry; you're not on my kill list."
This woman is scary!
"Yeah let's celebrate Princess Kamui's return with some miso!" Hinata pulls some plants out of a bag he was carrying.
"Hinata, don't tell me you bought those from another girl who conned you."
"Yeah, but she was cute and stuff. Besides, she gave me this free sake with it. Now if I can only find my wallet."
What a weirdo. He ain't no Arthur, but he may as well be trying to stop him.
Oboro continues to scan my body with her eyes. Does she know how awkward she's right now? Have to flip the table.
"So, Oboro. You jealous!?"
"I'm not jealous of women with better curves, no!" she yells.
"Really Corrin?" Azura says telepathically.
"Big sister, please don't offend Oboro. She is very quick to anger."
"I'm sorry, Oboro."
"It's fine. I was the one being weird. I wanted to see how well the kimono I made for you fits."
"And I assume all the ones in my brother's closet are also your handiwork?"
"Yes! Lord Takumi always wears one of my new designs for every event. Always, despite not seeing you first I think this one fits rather well."
"Yeah I like it."
"Great! I'll spin some new ones. Would you also like to try some other designs I made?"
"Oboro, please don't overwhelm my sister, and start explaining why you and Hinata are here?"
"Well it's almost sundown, and dinner called, so we came to get you," Hinata says. What high alcohol tolerance, or maybe sheer stupidity.
"It's that late already?"
"Sorry Lord Takumi, we found Nohrian scum scavenging through the nearby lands on our way back. It turns out one of their horrible commanders is nearby. Leo, the Black Lion of Nohr. I saw him butcher innocents for a dark ritual of his-"
"Enough! Leo would never do something like that! You're a woman full of lies!" I snap. I couldn't help but let my anger explode at that moment.
"I knew it!" Oboro announces, with her face back to its demonic look. I kind preferred it over dealing with the dragon anyway. "You're still brainwashed and align with the Nohrian flag!"
"No... I don't."
I can hear Azura, Hinata, and Takumi trying to calm us down, but Oboro's already taken out her hidden Kodachi. I must defend myself.
"I will not let you harm Lord Takumi!" She leaps forward, drawing the silver razor from the hilt. I strike back with a punch as the scales mail forms around me. I hear Oboro's scream and a loud crash.
When I re-focus, I see I sent Oboro flying through the wall and into the one across the hall. The sight terrifies me. I look at my hand. And it;s the hand of the dragon-a monster!
"I can't! I can't take it anymore!" I yell through my tears. I throw Lilith from my mind and run, run, and run away to the one place I know I can be alone!
To be continued…
