"I should have drowned him."

Kamui leaned back against the large tree as she tugged at the grass, opening her hands and letting the gentle wind carry the torn blades off. Immediately the patch of dirt she had left was filled with brand new grass for her to pull out. The Astral Plane always seemed to have just the adequate amount of flora and regrew itself whenever it was removed, which was how they were able to keep the food supply so abundant.

Her army was to march early in the morning along with a handful of Hans' men, but she was not told the reason. The man insisted on keeping it a secret and Iago refused to let her ask her father, saying that he was tired and needed rest. She hated both of them with all of her being, but she knew that she could not invoke Garon's wrath by defying them.

At that moment, she was sitting on the grass with a few members of her army. Camilla sat next to her, running her fingers through Kamui's long hair. Elise sat next to Camilla, leaning on her shoulder with a downtrodden expression. Opposite them were Laslow, Selena, and Silas, none of which seeming to be in the best of moods. No one did—except for Peri, of course. Laslow had once told Kamui that Peri could have all of her limbs cut off and would die laughing as she bled out because she would think that she looked funny.

"Kamui…" Camilla sighed, slowly blinking. "You shouldn't say things like that."

"Why not? He made an assassination attempt on the king. The punishment for that is immediate execution. If it weren't for that wretched Iago, we would have had enough time to seize him."

Selena scoffed and moved one of her pigtails aside. "Oh please, don't try and pretend like you wouldn't do the same if it were Ryoma instead of Garon."

Kamui was taken aback, but recovered fast. "Of course I wouldn't! That kind of attack is dishonorable. I know that samurai follow a strict code of honor, and while I may want to win the war, I don't believe that I'm willing to break that. I'd have to face him in a one on one duel—a duel that I would surely win."

"Right, just like you won that duel with Corrin."

The princess squinted at Selena and leaned forward, baring her sharp fangs. "You certainly have a mouth on you, you know that? Gods…if only I hadn't been so reckless with my fire magic at the beginning. I could have maybe lured him into a fireball or impaled him on ice. Or maybe I would have been able to freeze his leg and then use my sword to—"

"Stop it…" Elise mumbled.

"Hm?" Kamui sat up and turned her head to her little sister. "What was that, Elise?"

"I said stop it!" Nohr's youngest princess suddenly shot up, standing on two feet with her fists balled. Her cheeks were inflated and her face was a bright red from anger. "Stop talking about him like your only goal is to kill him! So what if he's the enemy? He's our brother! Don't you remember that?!"

Kamui sat dumbfounded as tears filled Elise's eyes. She didn't think she had ever seen her angry before. The young girl was usually so bubbly, and if she wasn't bubbly, she was sad. Rage, however, was not an emotion that Kamui thought Elise was capable of.

"Ever since we separated, you've talked about him like he's just another Hoshidan for you to kill! It's like you don't even remember the years you spent with him! He's your twin brother, Kamui, shouldn't you be closer to him? You guys grew up practically isolated from the rest of the country, but…" Elise rubbed away the tears with the back of her hand, struggling to keep her voice steady. "You act like you never even knew him."

Kamui could feel five pairs of eyes judging her while she struggled to come up with a response. "Elise…he was going to murder Father right in front of us. Doesn't that make you feel even a little contempt for him?"

"No!" Elise shouted. "Yes! I mean…" she knelt back down and leaned against Camilla once more. "He just wants the war to be over. Is that so wrong?"

Before Kamui could respond and potentially upset Elise even more, Silas spoke up. "Look. We all have different feelings about…this situation, and that's fine. What's important is that we don't let it divide us. We can't start fighting over it."

"Yeah, it's pretty stupid to argue so much over something like that," Selena mumbled. "You guys already lost one member of your family, you don't want to lose another over petty disagreements."

Laslow sighed and leaned back on his hands, his legs stretched out. He gave Selena a telling look and she did the same in return before averting her eyes.

"She's right, you know. Family is an important thing. It's why you stayed with Nohr, isn't it, Kamui?"

"Of course," Kamui responded. "I could never betray those who have been with me for…for as long as I can remember."

"Right, right. You can't remember anything from before you were six. I forget that sometimes," Silas added.

Camilla pursed her lips and moved her eyes away from Kamui's when her sister turned her head to look at her. "Camilla, I've never asked anyone this, but…did something happen to Corrin and I that made us lose our memories? What were we like? How did you meet us?"

The eldest princess placed her hand on Elise's head and frowned, furrowing her brow. "Well…you two arrived when you were two, so I was four, Xander was five, and Leo had just been born. Admittedly, both Xander and I were apprehensive towards the idea of suddenly having three new children in our lives at first, especially since two of them weren't related to us by blood. It didn't help that we already barely talked to Azura, but we warmed up to you fast. Me quicker than Xander, of course. The two of you were just so cute!"

Kamui blushed and smiled, rubbing the back of her neck. "So you've always been this way, it seems."

"Indeed I have. Oh, the way you two would run around the castle and bump into the legs of the maids…Xander used to joke since that you did that so frequently, it was as if you were trying to take a peek up their dress! It's funny how that turned out, isn't it?"

Kamui stifled a laugh and covered her bright red face with her hands, the chuckles of Silas and Laslow threatening to push her over the edge and burst out into a laughing fit. To her knowledge, no one had told Camilla about her sapphic tendencies, but her older sister knew her so well and was perceptive enough that it came as no surprise that she came to the correct conclusion by herself.

"Now, you were both wonderful children, however…you tended to be quite rebellious. Not just you, but Corrin as well. You learned of your heritage quickly enough, mostly by listening to diplomatic officials and then asking Xander and I. The two of you were just so desperate to at the very least pay a visit to Hoshido and meet your real family." At this point, Camilla was frowning. Her lighthearted account of the twins' early years had turned to a melancholic recollection instead. "Xander and I supported you in this for a while, but we were told to never speak of Hoshido to either of you and discourage your aspirations to leave Nohr. One day, you threw a tantrum about the whole thing when you heard Iago mention the anniversary of Sumeragi's death, and…"

Camilla's words trailed off and she began to stroke Elise's hair with sorrow filled eyes. Kamui blinked slowly, staring at her. "Camilla, what is it?" she asked.

Grimacing, Camilla began to hum to herself, rocking side to side.

"Sister, whatever it is, you can tell me," Kamui said as she moved towards Camilla and placed her hands on her shoulders. "Are they making you uncomfortable? I can ask them to leave if you'd like."

"Gee, thanks…" Selena muttered with a roll of her eyes.

Camilla blinked away tears and stared down at Elise's bright blonde hair. "I'm so, so sorry Kamui. We're forbidden from telling you—from telling anyone, in fact, but I don't want to keep it from you any longer."

Finally, Camilla locked eyes with Kamui, biting her bottom lip before breaking her silence. "Iago proposed to Father that he have your memories altered, and Father told him to simply erase them. We tried to stop him, we truly did, but Father told us that we'd be punished harshly if we pursued it further. When it was over…all you could remember was your name, some of the knowledge you had picked up, and that we were your family."

By this point, Elise had raised her head and was now looking at both her sisters with a crushed expression. Camilla's face of intense guilt was contrasted with Kamui's look of shock, then despair, and finally a simple sadness.

"Kamui…"

"S-So that's what happened. That's why we don't remember those years." Kamui's hands weakly fell from Camilla's shoulders and she felt a lump rising in her throat. "I see. Thank you for telling me that. I'm glad I know now."

"After that…well, you know what happens next. You're sent to live with Gunter, Flora, Felicia and Jakob at the Northern Fortress, you're given strict limits regarding leaving the fortress after you sneak out with Silas…yes. Yes, you know."

"Man," Silas interjected. "So she and Corrin could have lived with you guys, huh? Maybe then she wouldn't have developed into such an ice queen." He said it as a jest, but recoiled when Kamui turned to look at him. She wasn't angry or offended, but her expression showed that she was not in a joking mood. "S-sorry."

"That must feel awful, Kamui. I'm truly sorry that that happened to you," Laslow said with sincerity in his voice. "I grew up in hard times as well, but I was surrounded by friends the whole way. I couldn't imagine being practically alone for the whole thing. I'm not sure if I would have survived."

Kamui wanted to tell him that the company of Corrin and her retainers was enough, but truthfully, it wasn't. She was never the most social child and practically shut everyone out when her childish crush on Flora was rejected. She had her fair share of sibling interactions with Corrin, but mostly she never conversed with anyone. A part of her blamed her social awkwardness on that.

No one spoke a word until Effie jogged up to them with Lilith floating at her side. Without her armor, she was actually a rather small woman, but anyone that saw the muscles on her legs and arms would never take her lightly.

"Dinner's ready," she said as she smiled at Lilith. "Lilith here tried her hand at cooking. From what I tasted, it's pretty good!"

Lilith smiled at the compliment and began to rock back and forth on her orb. "Thank you! I did try my best. The whole lack of arms things was an obstacle, but I made it work! Come on, let's eat!"

Effie beckoned for them to follow her as she and Lilith began heading back towards the mess hall. Selena was the first to stand, sighing and pulling on Laslow's sleeve. Camilla helped Elise to her feet and brushed off her dress, Kamui and Silas being the last to stand.

"Ah, make sure you eat a lot. We're all likely going to need the energy for whatever Father has planned for us soon," Kamui advised. Her companions nodded and began to walk behind her.

She hoped that they didn't notice her shudder.


The Hoshidan troops were met with open arms and cheers.

Corrin was initially hesitant when he saw the armored soldiers standing guard on the perimeter of the area in which he was told Scarlet resided, but the moment they saw Hinoka's face, they dropped their weapons and burst into a cheer.

Takumi, Sakura, and Hinoka greeted several of the soldiers with whom they were apparently acquainted with large smiles on their faces. A handful of them gave their congratulations upon hearing of Sakura and Subaki's engagement and a smaller amount asked Hinoka when she was going to get married, to which she responded by shoving one of them forward. Most of her life up until now had been dedicated to getting Corrin and Kamui back. Now that she had one of them, maybe she could find someone to settle down with. However, they were at war, and the warrior princess of a superpower like Hoshido couldn't afford to focus on things like that.

The friendly aura was replaced with one of urgency when one of the Chevois soldiers sprinted up to the group and told them the news.

"Scarlet just had the baby!"

Takumi's eyes widened and the color drained from Corrin's face. Some of his companions gasped while others bore wide smiles.

"She WHAT?! You mean to tell me that this entire time we've been talking, she's been in labor? And none of you felt the need to tell any of us this?!"

"Peace, Takumi." Azura put a hand on his shoulder with a smile. "All that matters is that both she and the child are safe. Tanaka was your name, yes?" She gestured to a blonde soldier whom Sakura had been speaking to who nodded his head. "Is Ryoma here?"

"Yes, Princess! He should be with Scarlet right now. Would you like me to show you the way?"

"Yes, that would be ideal." Corrin turned to face his army and scratched at the back of his neck. "Um…we probably shouldn't all go. We wouldn't want to overwhelm them. I'd say that the first to see him should be his siblings and his retainers. The rest of you can go right after us, though!"

They all nodded among each other and Hinata gave a hearty thumbs up. "That's fine by us! It took a long time for us to get here, so you bet we want to see the baby, but we can wait just a little longer."

The man named Tanaka began to lead Azura, Hinoka, Corrin, Takumi, Sakura, Saizo, and Kagero to the building in which Ryoma and Scarlet were located. He walked slowly at first, but began a light jog when Takumi demanded he pick up the pace.

The building they arrived at was a humble one. It was about the size of a schoolhouse classroom, with enough space to move around freely but not enough to fit a large number of people. The windows on the front and sides had the curtains drawn and the oaken door was shut, but Corrin could hear laughing coming from the inside. He hadn't seen Ryoma since he renounced Nohr weeks ago, so his heart was pounding in his chest. However, he had no time to think about what he would say to him before Takumi opened the door and walked straight in.

Lying down in a large bed and holding a bundle of blankets in her arms was the woman whom Corrin assumed was Scarlet. The laborious process of giving birth had drained the color from her freckled face, though her nose and the tips of her ears were still red as if she had a cold. Her blonde hair that was even shorter than Hinoka's stuck out in various directions. Despite her current state, Corrin thought that she was quite pretty.

Standing next to her was Ryoma and Corrin couldn't help but smile. The man's long brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail larger and of greater length than Takumi's and he wore clothes that no one would ever expect to see the future king wear, simple brown trousers and a red tunic. He smiled warmly when he spotted his siblings and retainers in the doorway, raising his finger to his lips.

"Shh. He's asleep now."

With tears welling in his eyes, Takumi slowly approached the bed and the other six followed behind him. Saizo and Kagero gave their liege an affirming nod that he quickly returned. They all gathered around the bedside to get a good look at the newborn prince of Hoshido.

The sleeping baby was incredibly small, smaller than Corrin had expected. He had never seen a newborn child before nor had he seen a depiction of one, so he was surprised at just how tiny the boy was. He had a bright red face and while they were faint, his mother's freckles were present on his face. His short brown hair had been dried but still stuck to his tiny forehead. In his sleep, the baby's breathing was soft and gentle, the quiet sounds of his breath soothing Corrin's nerves.

"I'm glad you could all make it," Ryoma began. "I apologize for leaving so suddenly, but I had to set out as soon as I could if I wanted to make it to Scarlet within a safe enough time frame. Takumi offered to come along and I obliged. Thank the gods that you found each other."

"We had a run in with Mokushu, but it all worked out in the end," Takumi informed him. "Something other stuff went down, but we'll tell you about that later." The boy leaned in closer to the baby in Scarlet's arms and smiled, gently placing his hand on the baby's head. "What's his name?"

"Shiro Sumeragi Asuka," Scarlet responded, speaking for the first time since Corrin and company entered. "Wait, wouldn't it be…Asuka Shiro Sumeragi? Does Hoshidan even do middle names?"

Ryoma chuckled and shook his head. "It doesn't, but it's fine. He's half Chevois anyway. He'll be called Shiro Sumeragi of House Asuka."

Asuka? Corrin thought. He didn't know that the Hoshidan royal family even had a last name. Historically, the house that Garon descended from was called House Disendra, though the other houses had long since been dissolved. Corrin supposed that Disendra would technically be his surname, but he chose to embrace his true heritage. He smiled at the name "Corrin Asuka".

The young prince took a small step back when Scarlet looked directly at him, something that made her laugh. "I don't bite, don't worry. 'S not like I can do much to you like this." She chuckled again and adjusted herself in bed, leaning back against the large pillow behind her. "You're Corrin, huh? It's nice to meet you, I'm Scarlet."

She extended her hand and Corrin took it without much hesitation, shaking it softly. "It's nice to meet you, too. I haven't heard much about you really, but if Ryoma loves you enough to marry you, then I'm sure you're wonderful."

Scarlet snorted, snickering to herself. "Tell that to the rest of Hoshido. When they found out he was marrying someone without noble blood—and a Nohrian no less—let's just say that they weren't too enthusiastic. It was even worse when I announced that I was pregnant. But eh, to hell with 'em." She ran her hand across her child's head with a warm smile. "I swear, if any one of them slanders him for not being a full-blooded Hoshidan, they can talk to the business end of my lance."

Scarlet seemed to be the type of woman who would scare Corrin as a child. She wasn't particularly ladylike, which he figured to be one of the reasons Ryoma fell in love with her. He was a strong man with a passion for fighting and she seemed to compliment that rather well.

"Scarlet helped me a lot when I was learning how to fight," Hinoka explained. "She's not much older than me, but her dad taught her how to handle a weapon when she was young just in case. Tensions between Cheve and the rest of Nohr have been high for a while, you know. It looks like it paid off in the end, huh? Now she's the leader of a whole damn rebellion!"

The young woman waved the compliment off with a modest expression. "Eh, we don't do much. It's mostly just ambushing Nohrian officials who come by and training for the eventual uprising. I don't know when it'll happen, but it's coming for sure."

"Let's leave the war talk for later," Ryoma suggested. "Now, let us celebrate new life."

Hearts filled with warmth as they witnessed a father holding his child for the first time, Ryoma gently scooping Shiro from Scarlet's arms and looking down lovingly at his son's sleeping face. Corrin was so overwhelmed by the sentimentality of it all that he failed to notice Kagero subconsciously taking his hand into hers.

For three weeks after, the Hoshidans remained in Cheve with Scarlet and Ryoma. The prince had wanted them to return to Shirasagi, but Corrin insisted that they stay with them for safety's sake. They kept a low profile, not wanting to draw too much attention to themselves. A messenger was sent back to Hoshido to spread the message that they were not far from home, which Corrin said would dissuade any attackers from marching on Hoshido. It apparently worked, as no battles were fought for that time.

For the rest of his life, Corrin would hold his time spent in Cheve close to his heart. Without having to concern himself with marching to the next destination or fighting enemies, he had time to truly get to know his companions. For instance, after spending nearly five hours desperately searching all around the area for his Yato, he discovered that Orochi was quite the prankster. Sakura's hidden sweet tooth also was brought to his attention after she apparently ate an entire box of something called red bean mochi that Kaden had made for her and Hayato.

In addition to getting to know his companions a little more, Corrin also bore witness to romance blossoming among them. Hinata and Hana had actually made an impulse decision to get married right there in Cheve. The wedding was of course small. Neither parties were too concerned about traditionalism, the one regret of Hinata's being that his parents were not there to see it.

On top of that, Corrin began to notice Kaze and Azura spending more time together than usual. One afternoon he spotted her with her face in his chest and on the verge of tears. He wanted to ask her what that was about, but felt that it was not his place. Then there was Rinkah and Hayato. This one he felt was slightly off putting, as he did not know what Hayato's actual age was. Corrin had long since taken note that Rinkah was always slightly more harsh on Hayato than she was to anyone else, but recently he had noticed that she had a harder time keeping her signature no-nonsense expression around him.

And then there was Setsuna.

"It's fine," she said as she skipped a stone across the surface of a small pond one day. The sun was setting in the sky, casting an orange hue on her small smile. The stone skipped once—twice—before sinking slowly down to the bottom of the pond.

"Is it?" Corrin asked. It had been a week since he had shouted at her and probably would have just avoided speaking to her if it had not been for Kagero's insistence on constantly reminding him to talk to her. He had finally worked up the courage to do so and had asked her to talk with him in private, and she suggested that they stand by the pond that she had taken a liking to.

The archer nodded, picking up another stone from the pond's edge. "Yeah, really. Corrin, I think that you're the type of person that needs to let his emotions out from time to time, and I'm not the type that can deal with that." She snapped her wrist as she threw the stone and this time it skipped three times. When Corrin did not respond, she turned to him and put her hand on her hip. "Let me put it this way. I think…you need a lightning rod to vent to, and I'm made of wood."

"What?" Corrin asked, blinking. "Setsuna, you're confusing me."

"What I'm saying is that we're just not compatible." She turned back around and picked up one last stone, moving her arm back in preparation to throw it. "I like you a lot, and it's cool if you like me a lot, too, but us being together just won't work out in the end." She stuck her tongue out and gave a final throw. The stone skipped across the pond's surface a total of six times, much to her satisfaction. "You need someone that compliments your personality better."

With a somewhat perplexed expression, Corrin ran his fingers through his hair and stared at Setsuna. For someone so airheaded, she could be strangely introspective.

"Azama didn't tell you all that, did he?"

"Nope, that's just what I think. I could be wrong." Setsuna took a deep breath and smiled before sitting on the soft grass, then leaning back so that she was lying down and staring at the clouds overhead. "I think that you should be with…Kagero."

Corrin nearly choked on air, surprised at Setsuna's sudden proposal. "W-what?!"

"I would say Azura, since you two seem pretty close, but it looks like her and Kaze are about to become a thing." Setsuna closed her eyes and deeply inhaled once again. "You and Kagero get along really well and she's a super good listener. You were with me, so you're definitely into weird girls, and she's kind of socially awkward. There's no reason not to at least try."

"Setsuna, she's my brother's retainer! It'd be inappropriate!"

"I'm your sister's retainer."

Corrin immediately pressed his lips together. Truthfully, he had forgotten about that. Kagero was extremely dedicated to Ryoma and would lay down her life for him. Setsuna on the other hand…well, she did not seem to do a lot of retaining. It wasn't a surprise that her position would slip Corrin's mind.

"Either way," he began, "I don't feel that way about her and I'm sure the feeling is mutual. On top of that, if we're being honest…after you, I'm not really sure that I should be pursuing things like that right now. Not until everything's settled down between us and Nohr."

"Excuses excuses," Setsuna said with a giggle. "You'd better make your move soon before some other handsome prince comes along and steals her away. You've got a good fish on your hook, Cooorriiin. Don't let it go, now."

From then on, Corrin would think of Setsuna's words whenever Kagero approached him to make conversation. When they would eat their meals together, her words would fade to white noise as Corrin focused on the little things about her. A stray rice grain that stuck to her bottom lip, maybe, or how she would sometimes have to move her hair out of her face in order to see properly. Whenever she was embarrassed, she would make the cute gesture of hiding her face behind the bright yellow scarf she always wore around her neck. Azura had even commented on how the two were spending more time together than ever, but Corrin just rebutted that she had been doing the same with Kaze. That comment silenced her as well as brought a red tint to her cheeks.

Corrin also got to know Scarlet, much to his satisfaction. She was out of bed not long after giving birth to Shiro and had a spear back in her hand within a few days.

"So, this is one of the Yato blades!" Scarlet shouted as she spun her lance around, swinging it hard at Corrin's head. He blocked the attack with the Yato's flat end and forced the lance away, shoving Scarlet back in the process.

She was the one who challenged him to a quick little sparring match, though Ryoma would only allow them to fight if he were to supervise. From off to the side, he intently watched the two go at each other, making sure that neither one truly hurt the other.

Corrin was finding it difficult to avoid Scarlet's jabs, as the blade of her lance was nearly the length of his forearm. The slashing he could deal with, but he had already taken several blows to the abdomen due to her frequent jabbing. He was impressed by the way she used her weapon as an extension of herself and flawlessly handled it.

It had only been a minute since the match began and Corrin was already laid out on the ground. Scarlet had slammed the blunt end of her lance into his chest and knocked the wind out of him, sending him sliding across the dirt.

The blonde woman snickered, approaching Corrin before extending her hand. "Man, you're pretty good. If this were a real fight, I'm not sure I would have been able to beat you!"

Corrin awkwardly smiled as she pulled him to his feet. He was sure that she could take his head off with ease if she truly wanted to, but he thought it best not to tell her that.

"Thank you. I've trained a lot for pretty much all my life, so I would hope that I'd be at least a little skilled."

"You're more than just 'a little skilled'," Ryoma said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Corrin was slightly startled by the sudden weight upon him, but Ryoma's grip was firm yet gentle. It was comforting. "You're a natural at this, Corrin. It looks like those Nohrians trained you well."

Corrin chuckled. "Maybe I'll be better than even you one day?"

"Well, I didn't say all of that. "

The three of them joined together in laughter with not a care in the world, fully focused on simply enjoying the time they had together now. Ryoma had planned for all of them to return to Shirasagi in a week's time and take Shiro with them, leaving Scarlet to continue her work as the leader of the Chevois rebellion. It would be a long journey back, but Ryoma had told the same messenger who had gone to Hoshido to send several caravans to Cheve. With that, they all would be able to return home safely and with haste.

Little did any of them know, however, that very messenger had been captured and interrogated just days after he departed.

He let out a blood curdling scream as Niles twisted the knife in his kneecap, looking at him with disappointment. "Come on, now. This would all be much, much easier if you would just give in."

He was a young man of maybe twenty years or so and his age certainly showed. He lacked any sort of battle scars or markings to indicate that he had experienced war in all of its horror and glory. Silas had suggested that this was the reason why he was sent as a messenger—he was disposable.

Despite his youth, the boy showed a resilience that Odin found to be admirable. Niles found it annoying. The boy breathed heavily through his grit teeth, saliva and blood falling from his mouth with every breath. Rough bark from the tree he was tightly tied to was certainly digging into his back, and yet he did not squirm. His bound fists were clenched tightly and his eyes were blindfolded with a black piece of fabric that Jakob had on him. The dagger Niles was using also happened to belong to the butler.

Niles drew the sharp blade across the boy's face and made him scream again. His cuts were agonizingly slow and placed in a way where the pain wouldn't blend together. Instead, the boy felt each and every cut across his face individually. Kamui found it difficult to watch, but she knew that this was war, and there was no room for weakness.

"Come on," Niles said, raising the boy's chin with his finger and giving him a sly smile. "Just be a good boy and give up their location. We aren't going to do anything bad to your friends, honest. All we want to do is reunite a girl with her brothers and sisters—is that so wrong?"

The boy gave a staggered breath and shook his head, lunging forward in an attempt to headbutt Niles. He was bound to the large tree much too tightly, though, so all he succeeded in doing was hurting his wrists even more.

"F-Fuck…you…"

"Ooh, such vulgar language. That's alright. I can be vulgar, too."

Laslow winced as Niles placed the dagger's tip on the middle of the boy's chest, lightly tracing down, down, down…

"STOP!" The boy pleaded. "No no no no, please! I-I'll tell you! I swear, I'll tell you!"

And with that, his resilience was shattered.

Niles gave a satisfied smirk and spun the dagger around before tossing it back to Jakob, who snatched it from the air and began to clean it with a handkerchief. "Now that's what I want to hear. Go on, spill it."

"Ch-Cheve," the boy choked out. He let out a heavy breath the instant the word escaped past his lips, filled with regret. "They're in Cheve. All of the princes and princesses as well as their retainers. They're supposed to leave in two week's time."

The archer gave his companions a smile before taking his bow off his back and docking an arrow in it. "Cheve, huh? That's good, we were already going there. Looks like the gods have smiled on us today. Hey, why don't you go on and tell us what your name is?"

Kamui was glad that not everyone was currently present. She had intentionally left Elise with her retainers in the Astral Plane, along with a few others. Her eyes thinned as Niles drew back his bow and aimed at the young man.

"It's…It's Hiroshi," he said, tears of guilt streaming down his blood covered face. "My name is Hiroshi."

"Hiroshi," Niles parroted with a slow nod. "That's a nice name. Thanks for the information, Hiroshi."

The next moment, Hiroshi's head was pinned to the thick tree trunk with an arrow. His mouth was wide open and his tongue was lolling out. The grotesque and horrific sight was almost comical looking. Garon gave a satisfied nod and turned to Kamui.

"It's a shame that Leo couldn't be here to see his retainer do quite the job. Now we know that the Hoshidans are in the exact place we were going to in the first place." A smile crept across the king's face—a smile that his daughter did not like. It had a sinister nature to it, as if Garon were taking some sort of sick pleasure in his plans to raze that one small area in Cheve to the ground. Kamui admittedly felt a little nauseous. She was fine with doing another simple rebellion suppression job, but everyone was going to be there? She felt a small amount of relief that she was going to see Ryoma again, but under these circumstances…

Hans gave a hearty laugh and rested his ax over his shoulder, eager to get to Cheve as fast as possible. "Well then, what's the hold up? Kamui, open up that portal of yours so we can get in, then you can get a move on!"

Kamui's expression soured. Hans, Iago, and her father hadn't done one bit of marching the whole way. Once she told them about the ability to access the Astral Plane that she possessed, Iago gave some speech about how a king's feet should never ache and insisted that they rest in leisure while Kamui and a few others marched along.

"Yes…" Kamui turned to the side and moved her hand in a circular motion, the doorway to the Astral Plane opening up at once. Iago entered first, then Hans. Garon took a few steps forward before placing his large hand on Kamui's head and rubbing it, looking down on her with a smile. He did not say a word, instead silently entering the other dimension.

The princess felt a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach, but quickly pushed it aside when she reminded herself of the two scoundrels who were invading her personal area for her and her friends alone. She pulled Camilla aside and spoke to her once Garon was out of earshot.

"I want you to watch them closely. If either one of those two so much as look at Elise wrong, I need you to immediately let Lilith know so that she can come and get me. Just call her name and she'll hear you. Can you do that for me, Sister?"

Camilla gave her a loving smile before nodding her head. "Oh, my baby sister is so grown up now…of course. I'll put my ax where the sun doesn't shine if I have to, darling. Stay safe!" She placed a kiss on Kamui's forehead before turning around and following her father. Kamui closed the portal and sighed.

Silas approached her with a frown and sympathetic eyes. She could tell he wanted to talk about what they were setting out to do, but she ignored him. "Jakob," she began. "Lead the way to Cheve."


On the hill overlooking the Chevois village, Kagero sat down on a simple wooden chair that she had borrowed from the dinning hall. The pointed legs dug into the dirt in such a way that she was sitting slightly uneven, but she did not mind. Her easel and canvas were perfectly upright, and that was all that mattered. The setting sun sat on the horizon and cast a warm glow on the village, something that Kagero was attempting to replicate with her painting.

"Do you think he has feelings for you?" Orochi asked, her fingers dancing through Kagero's hair as she braided it. "I mean, he's kind of easy to read, so it shouldn't be hard to tell."

"I don't know, Orochi," Kagero answered as she gently placed the very tip of her brush on the canvas. The red she was currently using was going to be used for painting the armory, though she truly felt that it was far too bright. It was all she had to work with, however. "You can ask him if you would like, but I'm not going to try."

"Whyyy?" The diviner whined. "Think about it! He's pretty cute, well mannered, kind, and he's Ryoma's brother! You marrying him would be perfect."

"I've known him for barely over a month. You don't take me for a fast woman, do you?"

"No no, of course not! All I'm saying is that if the chemistry is there, then there's no point in rejecting it!"

Kagero was glad that Orochi was facing her back, otherwise she'd see that her face was the same shade of paint that she was using. She half regretted bringing it up in the first place; she should have known that Orochi would become the biggest supporter of the idea immediately. She was always playing matchmaker when they were younger, so it came as no surprise that she was now trying to get Kagero to confess her feelings to the young prince.

She was not entirely opposed to the idea, but the problem was that she was not sure what her feelings even were. She was very comfortable around Corrin and could talk to him about essentially anything, but did that mean that she was in love with him? Kagero did not know. Her only previous experience with romance had been with Saizo, and even then she was unsure about her feelings for him. In the end, the two broke up due to their differences in work philosophy. Saizo was willing to lay down his life for Ryoma under any circumstances, Kagero was not.

She wasn't opposed to the idea of spending the rest of her life with Corrin. Once the war concluded, she wanted to settle down and start a family, though at the same time wished to continue her duties as Ryoma's retainer. She was sure that Corrin would make a good husband and perhaps even a competent father, but ultimately, it all came down to how he felt.

Minutes had passed before Orochi spoke, sitting up and squinting into the distance. "Um…Kagero? Iss the rebellion supposed to be getting another batch of troops about now?"

Kagero shook her head, far too distracted by her painting. "No, not that I know of. I haven't heard anything from Scarlet, at the very least."

The diviner rose to her feet and her heart began to pound in her chest as the dozen or so soldiers marched forward, steadily approaching Cheve from the rear. "Then I think we're about to be under attack."

It took two minutes for Kagero to run down the hill and spread the message. It only took one for everyone to be armed and ready.

Kamui and her soldiers were nearing their destination when Iago stopped to conjure up what he called "assurance". Dozens of Faceless appeared from out of nowhere and marched alongside them. Kamui's first instinct was to attack immediately, but Garon assured her that they were on their side. Elise cowered behind Camilla, whimpering any time one of the beasts so much as glanced in her general direction.

This was quite startling to the lookout that Scarlet sent to the watchtower at once, who saw a sudden sea of green and black surrounding the previously small group that he had been monitoring. Now, the Chevois were outnumbered.

Corrin's heart went from frantically pounding to gently beating in his chest when Scarlet handed Shiro to him. He had known her for barely three weeks, but the trust that she must have put in him at the time was astronomically large.

"Put him in that pocket dimension thing that you have. You have someone there to watch over him, right? Make sure that he's safe."

When Corrin nodded in confirmation, Scarlet gave him a big grin and patted him on the shoulder. "I knew I could count on you. Don't let me down, Corrin!" She jogged off at once towards Ryoma, who was shouting commands at the Chevois soldiers standing at attention.

With haste, Corrin entered the Astral Plane and gave Lilith a summary of the situation, then asking her if she would take care of Shiro. She was shocked that she was being asked to look after a child, but accepted her task without any complaint. Corrin trusted her with his life, so he thought it would be appropriate to trust her with the life of another.

Once Corrin reemerged back in the material plane, he spotted the first Faceless to come forth from the surrounding woods and step foot in the village. It was dispatched promptly by a Chevois archer, but was almost immediately replaced with another. More and more came through, eventually toppling many of the tall trees that made up the woods' edge.

"Everyone!" he heard Ryoma call out. He could not see where his brother was, but Corrin was suddenly met with dozens of Chevois rebels charging forward at the monstrous menace. One after the other the beasts fell, being taken down by bow and blade alike.

"Hey!" Corrin felt a rushed tapping on his shoulder and quickly turned around. Standing before him were several of his companions, all with their weapons in hand. Sakura stood between Takumi and Hinoka, both of whom had determined expressions on their faces. Kagero stood right in front of them, holstering several throwing knives in her belt. The one who had called him had been Oboro, who was not bearing her typical scowl. Instead, she looked at Corrin with trust in her eyes, almost as if she were relying on him. "We're with you—everyone else is with either Ryoma or Azura. You got this?"

While he was thrown off guard, Corrin quickly nodded and turned his head towards the enemy. He was a leader. He knew that he had to keep a level head no matter how hectic the situation got.

"Oboro, Takumi, you two take the left side. Hinoka and Sakura, I want you to fly to the back and flank them from there. If you're at all in trouble, get out of there as soon as you can. Kagero, follow my lead. Understood?"

Goosebumps made their way across Corrin's skin as his subordinates all nodded in understanding, his brother and his brother's retainer taking off in one direction while his sisters took to the sky. He was left alone with Kagero, who held in her hand a small sword.

"What are your orders?" she asked.

He swallowed before simply gesturing forward, then taking off with Kagero following behind him.

On Kamui's end, things were far less frantic. As far as she knew, the Faceless were making progress just as they planned, but she could not help but feel as if the frontline was getting thinner and thinner by the minute. When Camilla swooped down atop her giant violet wyvern, her suspicions were confirmed.

"The Chevois are dealing with the Faceless we sent rather smoothly…Beruka also spotted what appear to be some of the Hoshidans we fought a couple of weeks ago, so we've all but confirmed Corrin's presence." She turned to face her father and bit her lip. "Father, if we are to be victorious, what shall we do with Corrin? We just left him last time we fought."

"That is because it was a fight we did not win," Garon put bluntly. "This time, we will crush them. Once they are all defeated, we will take Corrin back to Windmire and he will be dealt with there."

Camilla hesitated to ask him to define dealt with and ultimately decided to hold her tongue, instead looking to Kamui with a warm smile. "Stay close to me, Kamui. If anyone dares lay a finger on you, I'll be sure to have Hela here rip them to shreds," she said, rubbing her wyvern's neck with affection.

Kamui smiled. While Camilla could be a bit morbid at times, at least she knew that she cared. "I appreciate that, sister. Be sure to watch for arrows and any sort of projectile magic, alright? One hit in the wrong place and you come crashing down."

With an affirmative nod, Camilla once again took off, soaring through the air with Beruka. Kamui took a deep breath. She was used to fighting with only those with whom she knew personally, so being surrounded by all of these monsters made her a little anxious. She knew that they were on her side, but she could not help but feel that one of them might turn on her and knock her head off with a single punch at any given moment. She did not like the menacing aura that they gave off at all.

Kamui took a quick glance back at her Father before returning her eyes forward. He did not have a weapon of any sort in his hand and they were nearing the battlefield, so she could only assume that he would not be fighting. Garon was strong, but he was old. If he were to be put at a disadvantage in a fight, Kamui figured that he just might die.

"Eyes up," Silas said to Kamui as he flicked her ear to get her attention. A shudder ran down her spine and she looked at him with angry eyes.

"Do not touch my ears," she demanded. Silas simply jabbed his thumb forward and Kamui looked ahead, realizing that they were now out of the woods. At this point, the Faceless had broken formation and were recklessly attacking any Chevois that entered their cone of vision. She winced as she witnessed one of the beasts tear off the arm of a large and burly man before she quickly turned around, meeting the gaze of the soldiers she had amassed over the past months.

Iago faced her with her arms crossed and a sinister grin on his face, like a child who had trapped an animal in a pit and was waiting to see what it did. Hans on the other hand just looked bloodthirsty, his hairy knuckles white from gripping the handle of his ax so tightly.

"Alright, everyone…" Kamui began with an exhale. "Not counting Elise, Silas and Peri are our only cavalry units. I want each of you to have one healer with you, so Jakob and Elise. Arthur, you stay with Elise. Odin, Selena—you two are with Peri. Niles, you're with Silas. Effie, make sure no one on Silas' squad takes too much damage. Mozu, I want you to stay next to Jakob. Can you do that?"

Mozu nodded with determination in her eyes, drawing her steel sword from its sheath. She had come a long way from being just a simple farm girl whose family had been killed; Kamui couldn't help but feel a sense of pride for her.

"What about you?" Peri asked with a frown.

Flourishing the Yato, Kamui only gave a confident smirk in return. "Peri's squad take the left, Silas' the right." She looked at Iago, who was circling one hand around the other as he prepared a destructive spell. He seemed preoccupied with his magic, but Kamui couldn't be too careful. She leaned in and whispered to her friends "try not to kill too many people, okay?"

Laslow made a joke about how difficult that would be for Peri and received a shove in response. "Break!" Kamui called. The squads took off in either direction, leaving the path down the middle for Kamui. She prepared to run off before Garon put his hand on her shoulder and smiled at her.

"It seems like only yesterday I brought you home when you were just a small child. Now look at you. You've grown into such a strong young woman." A grin crept across his face. Kamui felt that it was supposed to be endearing, but only came off as sinister. "Go on and make your father proud, my daughter."

Kamui bit her bottom lip and gave Garon a tentative nod before taking off straight ahead. Never before in her life had she gotten any sort of affection from him, so the fact that he had been much more loving towards her recently boggled her mind. She thought it was likely because she was proving herself to be a formidable leader and a competent fighter. Garon respected those traits, and as such, he now respected her.

The first person to attack Kamui was a young Chevois spearman with dark brown hair. She admired his bravery, for he undoubtedly could recognize exactly who she was by her distinct appearance—vibrant red eyes, pointed ears, a legendary sword—and yet still thought it to be a fine idea to raise his spear at her. He let out a battle cry that was quickly cut short as Kamui rammed into him with her shoulder, knocking him to the ground. She might have been small, but she could certainly hit hard. Kamui raised her foot high and stomped onto the hand the man was holding the spear with, crushing his fingers beneath her boot. She heard him scream in pain as she continued pushing through the battlefield.

From what Beruka had surveyed initially, the area that they were fighting in was quite large. On one end was the woods that they had emerged from and on the other was a large lake which wrapped around the left side, leaving the only retreat option for the Hoshidans and Chevois being the right path that led further into Cheve. If they could block off that side, then they would have the enemy surrounded and victory would be theirs. Of course, this was all assuming that Azura would not just clear the water from the lake and have her friends retreat into it whilst flooding her enemies. Kamui was not sure exactly what Azura could do with that ability of hers, but she was not eager to find out.

Unfortunately for her, she did not have a choice. A silver dagger flew by her head and into the skull of a Faceless behind her, causing it to drop down dead. Blood began to trickle from Kamui's ear and she turned around to face her adversaries. She recognized Azura, Kaze, and Rinkah and felt as if she had seen the large golden-furred fox the last time she fought Hoshido, but she could not specifically recall.

"Ready for round two, ninja?" she asked, twirling the Yato in her hand before assuming a fighting stance. "As for you, girl, I'll beat you in a way my brother never could."

"Kamui," Azura said firmly. "Think about this. It's four on one. Do you really believe that you can take us all on?"

The princess did not respond, instead opting to start off the fight on her terms. She swept her arm in front of her and fired off a crescent of fire that her enemies all dove to the side to avoid. Rinkah kicked off of the dirt and raised her club in the air, though her attack was cut short by Kamui slamming the side of the Yato into her abdomen and grounding her. Kamui winced in pain as a dagger sank into her thigh. She did not dwell on it, however. She quickly grabbed the handle and drew it from her body, tossing it aside just in time to raise her leg and bend it, interrupting Kaze's dash and causing his face to crash directly into her knee.

Kamui jumped back and avoided the jaws of the kitsune attacking her, then bringing the Yato's hilt down on his skull and forcing him into the ground. Finally, Azura jabbed forward with her lance and just barely managed to graze Kamui's cheek, making a cut a centimeter deep.

"I don't want to fight you!" she shouted, blocking Kamui's attacks with the handle of her weapon while at the same time being forced to back up with every step Kamui took forward.

"That makes one of us!" Kamui punched forward and shot a fireball from her fist, the flames singeing Azura's dress as well as her skin. The songstress cried out in pain and stumbled back, giving Kamui the opportunity to lunge forward and wrap her fingers tightly around Azura's delicate neck.

Azura tried to force herself away by scraping her feet on the dirt, but Kamui simply walked forward with her sword raised in one hand and a fire in her eyes. She was fully prepared to plant the blade firmly in Azura's stomach before she was suddenly struck in the head by something hard and moving at an incredibly fast speed.

The next moment, Kamui was laid out on the ground and her vision was clouded by darkness. She was only barely able to make out Azura climbing atop a pegasus ridden by a man with long red hair and then taking off. Once her sight cleared up, Kamui rose to her feet and put her hand to her head, then looking at the blood that now stained her palm.

"J-Jakob!" she shouted, stumbling forward in a daze. She cursed herself under her breath before falling to one knee. She should not have gone off alone. Jakob and Elise were the only healers among her group and neither of them were anywhere near her. If anyone noticed her attempting to hide behind a tall tree with dense leaves, they would have been able to kill her with ease.

As she steadied her breathing, Kamui suddenly stood up in surprise when she felt the pain in her head subside and the wound began to heal. Did one of her healers find her? She looked around expecting to see her sister or her retainer, but was instead met with the face of a made a few yards away, tentatively holding a short healing staff in her hand.

"You can't die here, Kamui!" she called, looking behind her before taking several steps back.

"Felicia…?" Kamui whispered to herself. "Felicia!" She began to run towards her, but the girl had disappeared among the Chevois soldiers marching forward. Frustrated, she gave a shout and shoved her arm forward, a wave of ice creeping over the men and women. Many of them were fully encased in the ice and would be dead in due time, but the majority only had parts of their bodies trapped. Just like that, Kamui had taken out dozens of soldiers in only one move.

A ways away, Corrin suddenly turned his attention from the Faceless he had just defeated to a bolt of lightning striking down from the sky. He was grateful that he could have a good idea of where Ryoma would be at any given time, but his positive thoughts turned dark when he spotted Camilla hurling spheres of flames down on the Chevois. He prayed she wouldn't notice him from up there and quickly began to run forward toward another Faceless, only to be stopped by Kagero grabbing him by the shoulder and pulling him back. A small tomahawk whizzed past him and lodged itself in a tree; he would have been struck directly if he had not been stopped.

"Rats!" Peri snapped her fingers in frustration and raised her lance in the air, prepared to gallop towards the Hoshidans before her and strike. Selena held her sword before Kamui—the horse—to stop her.

"Don't just rush in, gods. You'll get yourself killed that way," she said as she slowly lowered her arm.

Corrin shielded his face while Kagero drew a sword. The instant he saw Elise's expression, he felt compelled to hide his own. He did not wish to face her after nearly murdering her father in front of her in cold blood. Kagero however showed no qualms, pointing her sharp blade at the princess.

Arthur assumed a fighting stance and Odin flipped over to the middle of the tome he was holding, imbuing his fingertips with arcane energy. "Heinous fiends! Surrender at once, or face the wrath of Odin Dark!"

"Cut the theatrics, Odin," Selena demanded. She scowled at Corrin and Kagero, then lowering her sword. "Look, I want you two to think about this. It's five on two. You don't have a healer, two of us are on horses, and one of us has magic. Are you really sure that this is a fight you want to take?"

Corrin briefly locked eyes with his companion before looking back to his opponents. A million things ran through his head at once. If they could isolate Elise from the rest of them and get Peri off of her horse, then they stood a chance. But how would they go about doing that? Kagero had virtually no armor, so she could not take hits, meaning that fighting multiple people at once was not the best plan for her.

"Corrin," Selena said, roughly pulling him out of his own head. "What's it going to be?"

Moments passed before anyone made a move, but just when it seemed like he was going to yield, Corrin struck. Hard scales spiraled down his arm as it transformed into a long lance and he struck Selena in the center of the chest, knocking her back. Before anyone could react, Kagero took hold of a shuriken and threw it in one swift motion. The projectile lodged itself in the back of Odin's hand, making him shout out in pain and drop his tome.

Arthur drew his ax back and prepared to swing it forward, but Corrin lunged forward and slammed the butt of the Yato into his nose. He stumbled back with his head low, allowing Corrin to raise his sword and once again slam the hilt into his head.

"Arthur!" Elise cried, her horse stumbling back. She instinctively moved forward a little with the intent to heal him, but froze. She did not want to approach her older brother, especially when he held a weapon in his hands.

Peri showed no restraint, charging forth with her lance at the ready. Kagero swiftly jumped to the side to avoid a stab, swinging at the horse's leg but missing by just a hair. The next instant, a hoof slammed into her forehead and split it open, blood pouring from the wound as she lay on the ground. She was dazed, but she knew that she could not let herself fall. Peri stabbed down and Kagero rolled out of the way, springing to her feet. Metal clashed against metal before Kagero's blade cut dragged across Peri's cheek and came away covered in blood. The girl screamed in pain and thrashed about, falling from her horse and rolling around frantically with her hands pressed against her face.

Kagero had managed to cut right through Peri's cheek, her sword having pierced the flesh. The wound nearly ran to the corner of her mouth, but luckily for her, Kagero had drawn back before she got that far. It did not seem like Peri was going to get back anytime soon, so Kagero took a moment to take a breath and recollect herself.

Meanwhile, Corrin knelt down a few meters ahead, his knee pressed into Arthur's back to keep him down. His eyes were locked with Elise's and his expression was hardened and steadfast. Elise however bore a frown, concern in her eyes as she frequently looked passed her brother and her comrades.

"Corrin, I n-need to heal them."

There they were, the first words that she had spoken to him since he abandoned Nohr. The hurt in her voice sent a shudder down Corrin's spine, but he remained where he was.

"They're fine, Elise." Corrin glanced behind him to get a look at Elise's allies. Peri was on the ground, Odin was unable to channel magic due to his hand injury, and Selena was in the process of fighting Kagero. "Their wounds aren't fatal; they'll live."

"But they're hurt," Elise pointed out in a small voice. "They're in pain. I have to…heal them…"

Corrin did not respond, leaving Elise to pathetically hold her staff at her side while Cottonbelle traced her hoof across the dirt. Corrin bided himself right in that spot, listening to the sounds of war around him. Metal clangs, cackling fire and lightning from the mages' tomes, screams of pain and anguish. He held his breath for what felt like forever until Kagero arrived at his side and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Fiends," Arthur grunted, his face pressed into the dirt by Kagero's foot. "You've betrayed not only your country, but your family. What do you have to say for yourself, villain?"

"Silence, or I'll cut your tongue out myself," Kagero threatened. Arthur stopped speaking at once.

"W-what, are you just going to let them lay there suffering? What if one of your soldiers comes by to finish them off? Are you just going to let that happen?" Elise asked. Before Corrin could answer, her lip started to quiver as her voice wavered. "I know you don't know them, but they're my friends. Don't you care about me?"

Corrin grit his teeth and looked away. He hated seeing Elise cry. Kamui would always call her a crybaby due to how prone she was to bursting into tears as a child, and every time she did, Corrin was the one consoling and comforting her. He hadn't seen her cry in almost a year and he did not want the first time since then to be while facing her on a battlefield.

"Of course I care about you, little sister. I love you. I would never hurt you. But you must understand that the cause you are fighting for is not just." Corrin deeply inhaled and gave Kagero a look. She nodded and scanned the area with her eyes, a dagger in her hand. Anyone that dare come near would surely have to answer to her. "King Garon is an evil, vicious, cruel man. He takes and takes and when he doesn't get what he desires, he destroys. Elise, Nohr is—"

"So what?!" Elise shouted, balling her fists as tears began to roll down her face. "You think I don't know that? Don't talk to me like I'm a little kid, Corrin! I know more than you think, but I don't care about any of that! He's our father! Leo and Xander, they're your brothers! Me, Camilla, Kamui, we're your sisters! Not these strangers that you don't even know!"

"They're my birth family…"

"They don't know you, damn it!" Elise grit her teeth and slammed her staff into the dirt with wide eyes. "It's bonds, not blood, that make a family. Xander told me that."

Corrin's breath halted when Elise said those words. He was shocked. His happy, innocent little sister was now talking to him…just like Kamui would. Elise's voice caught in her throat as she continued.

"Please, come back to us. We promise that we'll do everything we can to make Father not punish you too harshly. If he tries to kill you, we can fight him ourselves. We can end the war peacefully from one side, Corrin, can't you see that?"

"I can't," Corrin said through his teeth. "I can't abandon everyone like that. I can't leave Hoshido, not now. I can't let everyone down and I can't betray my convictions. I'm sorry, Elise. I just can't."

Elise knelt forward and draped her arms around Cottonbelle's neck, resting her head on the horse with her eyes half shut and her tears still flowing. She sniffled and shook her head, her horse taking a couple of small steps back.

"All I want is for us to be a family again."

Suddenly, Corrin was hit with the force of a falling boulder and immediately ended up sprawled out on the ground a ways away from where he originally was. Kagero raised her sword to retaliate, but the thick, club-like tail of Hela the wyvern slammed into her chest and knocked her to the dirt. Arthur, now free, sprung to his feet and put his fists on his hips.

"Lady Camilla!" he wheezed, attempting to hide his struggling to catch his breath. "You have come to our rescue! Oh, glory be to you!"

Once again Arthur was ignored, Camilla instead opting to slide down off of her mount's back and pull her little sister into a hug. "Come on," she said. "We're getting you away from here."

"I have to heal everyone!" Elise responded, immediately bounding off towards Odin. Kagero began to stand in an effort to give pursuit, but a fireball crashed into the ground directly in front of her and scorched the earth. Camilla stood with her hand engulfed in flames which burned almost as hot as the fire in her eyes.

"Don't. You. Dare."

Corrin knew how strong Camilla was. She was no Xander, but when it came to defending those close to her, she was like a bear protecting her cubs. She showed no mercy and no regard for anything but the safety of her companions. He shook his head at Kagero to signal to her not to pursue Elise and she began to back up towards her commander.

"Oh, my poor baby brother. Won't you come back to us?" Camilla asked in a doting tone. "We all love you so much; it would be a shame if we never got to be together again." Even as she said those tender and loving words, she slowly walked towards the two, dragging her large ax behind her as Arthur followed.

This was bad. Even with both Corrin and Kagero's skills put together, he knew that there was little chance that they could stand up to Camilla. Before she could get too close, he quickly slung Kagero's arm over his shoulder and sprouted his wings, giving one powerful flap to take to the air. He ascended as high as he thought was appropriate—which was the height at which he could no longer make out faces out a glance—before folding his wings and diving down. He extended them once more when he was low enough, gliding over the dozens of Chevois soldiers and Faceless monsters. He soared quickly past everyone below him, the wind rushing through his hair and making his eyes water. When he arrived at a small cave carved into the side of a large hill, he leaned back and slowly came to a halt, his feet digging into the dirt before he rested Kagero on the cave wall, his hand cupping her face.

"Gods, your head is bleeding badly. Are you dizzy? Are you hurt anywhere else?"

Kagero coughed, wincing each time from the pain in her chest. "It's possible that I have a few cracked ribs, but I'm otherwise fine. You don't need to concern yourself with me."

"Oh my."

Both parties quickly turned their heads to the caves entrance where Azama stood with a smile on his face, Felicia at his side. Despite the sage's typical gleeful expression, the two of them were covered from head to toe in blood. Before Corrin could ask, Felicia answered.

"U-uh…one of the monsters ripped off someone's head. Th-the blood spray…" The maid shuddered. Her eyes were filled with horror as she blankly stared ahead. Corrin could tell that she was on the verge of vomiting.

"I'll help with that," Azama said. He walked over to Kagero and knelt down, the orb on his staff glowing in congruence with his hand. He placed his palm over the wound on Kagero's forehead and hummed as it closed itself, the only evidence of its existence being the blood covering half of her face. "I eased some of the pain, too, but I can tell at a glance that your ribs are indeed cracked. That's going to take more healing than I can do at the moment, I'm sorry. At least you're alive."

"Yes, thank you." Kagero grunted as she stood, Corrin's hand falling weakly from her cheek. "Felicia, could you heal Corrin now?"

"What?" Corrin asked. He shook his head at his retainer. "I don't need any healing. I'm fine."

"Your finger…" Felicia said, gesturing to his hand. Corrin looked down at his left hand and made a sour expression. His middle finger was very apparently broken, having been bent back at a gruesome angle. That was when he started to feel the pain slowly making itself known. He drew in a sharp breath, wrapping his other hand around his broken finger and squeezing.

"It must have bent when Hela crashed into me. Felicia, could you?"

The ice tribe princess nodded. Her small staff glowed white in tandem with her hand as she took hold of Corrin's finger. The young prince momentarily winced, though the pain soon subsided when his finger was fully healed. He opened and closed his fist a few times before smiling.

"Thank you."

"We shouldn't linger any longer," Kagero pointed out, rising to her feet and walking over to the mouth of the cave. "With you two here, Sakura is our only healer. Corrin and I should also be out there fighting."

"You're right," Corrin responded. "We've no time to waste. Let's—"

Just then, a gust of air with the force of a hurricane rushed into the cave and flung everyone in it back against the wall. Corrin had the wind knocked out of him and fell flat on his face while everyone else managed to stay on their feet. The young prince got on all fours before rising to his feet, immediately gagging when a horrible odor entered his nose.

"Gods, what is that?" Felicia asked, pinching her nose as her eyes began to water. Kagero grimaced.

"It's sulfur…"

The grass directly before them was not scorched too badly, but they could still hear the smoldering flames dancing across the dried blades. What they also heard were groaning and cries of pain being abruptly cut out. Even Azama appeared to be unnerved by these sounds. Corrin glanced back at his companions before bolting straight out of the cave. He did not care what could be waiting for him outside, he had to see what had happened.

The prince nearly stumbled to the ground upon realizing what had occurred. His eyes wide and his pupils small, he stared at the decimated land before him in horror. Smoke and ash floated through the air and the field was littered with scorched bodies of fallen Chevois soldiers, some of their weapons permanently burned into the flesh of their hands. Several of them were still crawling around, begging for their lives before being finished off by the few remaining Faceless. Trees and buildings alike were burning and it appeared that even the lake itself was on fire.

"S-Sakura?" Corrin choked out, forcing his legs to move him forward. He began to run through the burning field, calling out any name he could think of. "Ryoma! Hinoka! Setsuna! Takumi! Hana, Oboro, anyone! AZURA!"

"Corrin!"

Subaki touched down roughly on his pegasus next to Corrin, breathing heavily and coughing from breathing in the smoke. His face was covered in dried blood, cuts and bruises, and ash that had been caked onto his skin. The usually beautiful man now looked like a proper soldier.

"Subaki! Where is—"

"No time, we have to go!" Before Corrin could protest, Subaki grabbed him by the arm and hoisted him onto his mount with surprising might.

"What?!" Corrin grabbed onto Subaki's waist as the pegasus suddenly took off, gaining altitude quickly. "No no no, we can't go! There are still three people in a cave down there!"

"We'll send someone to retrieve them, then! As long as they stay put, they'll be fine!"

Corrin bit down on his dry tongue and stared down onto the Cheve village. The place he had grown to know over the past few weeks was completely and utterly destroyed. What hadn't been obliterated in the initial explosion—wherever it came from—was being consumed by flames.

"What happened…?" Corrin whispered.

"From what I could see from above, one mage cast a spell that did all of this. I've only been able to locate a few of us. The rest…all we can do is hope."

Corrin sat silent for a minute or two, choosing instead to simply stare at the ground. It was outstanding just how far the destruction stretched—it seemed to never end. Finally, Subaki dived down into a section of forest that had managed to escape the explosion. Trembling, Corrin slipped off of the pegasus and onto the grass, only to be immediately tackled into a hug by Azura.

"Thank the gods you're alright," she said, tightly embracing him. Hinoka descended the next moment with Kaze and Setsuna on her mount. When Azura pulled away from the hug, Corrin made note of who was currently present. There was him, Azura, Subaki and Hinoka, Setsuna, Kaze, Hinata, Oboro, Takumi, Ryoma, Sakura and Kaden. The kitsune appeared to be devastated due to his now scorched clothes and singed hair, making desperate attempts to mend his tunic by stretching the fabric to no avail.

"We're still missing Kagero, Saizo, Hana, Azama, Orochi, Hayato, Rinkah, Scarlet, and Felicia. Corrin told me the location of the three of them, so I'll go get Felicia, Azama, and Kagero. Hinoka, find as many others as you can, alright?"

When he received a nod from the princess, Subaki once again took off into the air. Hinoka looked to Hinata and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll find her. I promise."

"Y-yeah." The swordsman swallowed and rubbed his arm, his eyes trained on the ground. Hinoka briefly hugged Corrin, looking him directly in the eye when she stepped back.

"Don't worry, Subaki's good at search and rescue. I'm sure that he'll get Kagero back in one piece. Felicia, too. I know that you're close to them."

Under normal circumstances, Corrin would have denied what Hinoka was suggesting, but this time he simply nodded, biting his lip. "I know. I have faith in him. I have faith in you, too. Good luck out there, Sister."

When Hinoka took off, Corrin turned his attention to his eldest brother. Ryoma sat atop a large rock, his eyes facing the clouds. Before he could ask, Azura answered his question for him.

"He's watching the skies, waiting."

"Waiting?" Corrin asked. "For what?"

Azura looked at him with a frown. Corrin was smart, but this time he could not come to his own conclusion.

"No one's seen Scarlet since the explosion."


It was over.

Silas was exhausted. Sweat was soaking into the soles of his armored shoes and his limbs were sore, rubbed raw from all of the running and fighting. His groin also ached, as Agro's saddle had come undone early in the battle and he had to ride his horse bareback for its remainder.

The knight was however relieved that the fighting had ceased. Once Iago cast his spell, Ginnungagap , it was all downhill from there for the Chevois and Hoshidans. While they were going around and finishing off anyone that had managed to survive, they hadn't been able to find anyone Hoshidan, much to Hans' displeasure. He chose to express his anger and frustration through brutality, and…Silas did not want to think about it.

To his knowledge, almost everyone had reconveined with Hans and Iago a ways away from the village's armory. All he was doing was making one last round around the area and checking for any lingering Chevois, anyone that may have been hiding or just hadn't succumbed to their injuries yet.

The knight came to a sudden stop upon spotting a familiar figure standing a few yards away. She was completely and perfectly still, her arms at her side and her sword held loosely in her fingers. Squinting, Silas casually jogged up to her.

"Hey, Kamui. We're done, you know." Silas exhaled and chuckled, giving his friend a smile. "That was a hard fight, huh? It's a good thing we had Iago here. I know that you don't like him, but you have to admit that he's pretty useful in battle, right?"

Kamui did not respond. Her expression was blank and unchanging, her gaze staring out to a place where no man could reach. Her mouth was open slightly, but Silas couldn't tell if she was even breathing. Still smiling, he raised an eyebrow.

"Kamui? You okay?"

Silence.

Now with the corners of his mouth turned down, Silas began to move closer to her. "Hey, Kamui? You're kind of freaking me—" He stopped his walking upon the tip of his boot making contact with something. It wasn't stationery, as Silas could hear it roll away a moment later. Without giving a second thought, he looked down at the dirt only for his breath to be caught in his throat.

Of course. This very spot is where he had seen it happen not fifteen minutes ago. Standing before Kamui, Hans had given a speech about the glory of Nohr and the thrill of war to the few remaining Chevois soldiers, all while holding a short haired blonde woman up by her hair. She was shouting profanities and struggling against him the entire time. From where he had been sitting atop Agro, Silas could tell that Kamui had wanted to say something, but held her tongue. She had a habit of doing that. Finally, at the end of his speech, Hans had raised his ax with one hand and done the unthinkable.

Looking up at Kamui, that was when he noticed the streak of crimson on her pale white face. Her red eyes seemed darker somehow. Darker and empty. Silas forced his breakfast to stay down and shook his head, moving in front of Kamui.

"Kamui…come on, say something," he said in a breath.

The silence was eerie.

"Kamui," he repeated, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Kamui. You're scaring me."

Despite Silas' efforts, her expression was unchanging. She did not say a word. She did not move a muscle. Closing his eyes, Silas sighed before taking a deep breath and staring into hers.

"I understand. I know that this a lot, trust me. Some people handle it better than others; it affects people at different levels. It doesn't phase Peri, it gets to Laslow pretty bad, and even I'm not completely used to it yet. I've been a soldier for five years at this point and I still find it difficult to take a life. Sometimes I lie awake at night, haunted by the things I've done. I get it, Kamui, I really do. But…you can't shut down like this. You're our leader, and not only that, it's not healthy. You can't hold it all in like you do. So…come on. Let it out. It's just you and me."

Silas noticed the slightest twitch of Kamui's ears. Even in this shell shocked state, she was beautiful. As the seconds ticked by, the color returned to her eyes. Her lip began to quiver. Her body began to tremble and she started to breathe audibly again, though it was sporadic. All of these signs brought relief to Silas for a brief moment, only until he saw her make the face she always made when she was about to cry. He was used to it when they were kids, but had not seen it in years. Her pupils seemed to enlarge, her mouth shifted into a deep frown, and heavy tears filled her eyes.

"A-ah…ah…"

"Kamui?"

There was a moment of silence before the princess stumbled forward and grabbed onto her night, the dam within her finally exploding and allowing the torrent to surge free.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

Kamui began to bawl, tears endlessly flowing down her face as she wrapped her arms around Silas and pressed her face into his chestplate. The metal was warm. Silas noticed that her feet were slipping, so he tightly hugged her back and held her up.

"It's okay," he said, though his words were drowned out by her heavy crying. He doubted that her initial wail was heard by anyone but him due to their distance from everyone else, so he was perfectly content with her weeping as loud as she wanted. She needed it. She deserved it. "It's okay, it's okay…"

Neither of them can remember how long they stood together.


A/N: War is fun, isn't it?