"You know… after I moved to this village, I really didn't think too much about the outside world. Granted, things had been peaceful, but… I got this feeling, you know? This feeling of dread that made me wonder… just what was happening away from our mountain… and… would it stay away from us?"
Kitsune or not, Kagami held a lot of power in the clan due to her position as the clan leader's wife – or the Kitsune equivalent, at least – and while she didn't use it often, there were times when she didn't hesitate to pull rank when it concerned her loved ones.
Nishiki spent most of his time with her and Kinu - and she did appreciate it dearly knowing he was busy with clan duties on the side – but she'd noticed how he'd been home less and less, and the only reason she could think of would be something clan related.
And since she knew she couldn't force her cheeky fox to tell her what was plaguing his mind, she promptly requested a meeting with someone who could tell her, leaving her daughter with Yuuri, the kind woman who had provided her with a home once upon a time.
Nishiki's grandfather, and now by extent her own, looked as disgruntled as she felt, but managed a small twitch of the lips to show he was happy to see her. He did visit them – mostly to dote on Kinu, Kami knew she was spoiled by all the men in her life – but he was more often than not busy managing the village economy.
But Kagami knew he was well informed about more than the village.
"Ojii-sama, what is happening out there?" she mumbled softly, her gaze serious and questioning. She wasn't about to let even her respected grandfather to avoid her questions so easily. Baize, the esteemed ojii-sama, let out a sigh before shaking his head sadly.
"Many things, Kagami… Many things."
A frown settled on her lips, and she let out a sigh as well before steeling herself and meeting his gaze with determined eyes.
"What things, ojii-sama? I am not a child, so don't treat me like one."
"… A war is brewing, Kagami. Neither side appears to be moving, but… it is concerning."
She nodded, having reasoned it was a possibility. Peaceful times as they had been, even a remote village like her own was well aware of the animosity between Hoshido and its neighbor. But she wondered, why was everyone so hesitant to tell her this, when it was a thought she'd often entertained herself. Upon asking, the reply made things rather obvious.
"We suspect that it was troops from Nohr that destroyed the village your parents resided in."
She blinked, before nodding slowly.
"A possibility, yes. It would certainly make sense, considering my former village was… ideally placed, in regards to reaching the capital under the cover of trees… but, that was quite some time ago now…"
"There was an attack on the capital, or so I've heard, and a fight between the royal families, but apart from that, their actions make little sense, I agree."
By the time Kagami left the sun was ready to sleep and Kinu was delighted to babble on about her day at 'aunt' Yuuri. It was enough to bring the smile back on Kagami's face, but sadly did little to free her mind from the thoughts plaguing it.
Both kingdoms were acting oddly, and she wondered, was it going to hurt them… or not?
Spoilers for chapters 5-6 of FEF below
Because I was kinda vague in the chapter, I thought I'd specify now that the 'attack on the capital and the royal families fighting' references the infamous chapter 5 as well as the whole chapter 6 shebang, where Kamui/Corrin chose the Revelations route this time around. Kagami's village being attacked by Nohr for advantages will come into play later, perhaps not in the way you'll expect, but it will be further explained then.
So yes, we've reached the actual game now.
And because I haven't actually talked about this – Kinu isn't going into a baby dimension. It's just not happening. Not because it wouldn't be convenient, but because even if I entertain the ridiculous idea of the baby dimensions, I just couldn't see Kagami agreeing to it. Especially now that Kinu – who is a toddler and not a newborn – is already growing up as is, as Kagami and Nishiki had her before the war started and thus didn't need a baby dimension.
So yeah, that means Kinu won't be fighting in the war when we get there, sorry for those of you hoping she would be. I mean, I can make an AU chapter where it happens, but… apart from that, she's going to be the tiny terror for quite some time.
Baize is a kind of cloth, and also sounds a lot like the word for poop in Swedish, so have fun theorizing on why I chose that name for Nishiki's granddad~
~Iscanox
