Chapter Two

"Kill me if you want," Azura chokes out, wrapping her hands around the dragon arm pinning her to the ground, "but… do it as yourself."

For the first time, Corrin has enough rage in him to kill her.

He just wants it all to stop. There is always so much pain when he first turns into a dragon. There is always so much pain when he turns back. He will have to take the stupid Yato and then he will have to make a choice and it's going to kill him no matter what he chooses.

He wants the Hoshido siblings to stop looking at him like they are now. He can see Ryoma, hand on his sword, Raijinto, looking conflicted and betrayed. All Corrin sees when looking the eldest Hoshido is Raijinto being stabbed through Ryoma's chest. Sakura stares at Corrin with watery eyes, but all the dragon can see is her starving herself in a dirty cell.

He wants them all to stop, because he couldn't do anything. He can't do anything, over and over again. It's not his fault – even if it feels like it is – and he wishes they could believe him. He wants to shout, stop looking at me.

And Azura – stupid, f******, Azura – keeps her grip relaxed and face blank as she waits. All Corrin can see is her reaching for him, begging him to smile for her one last time before she disappears. Azura, who has done nothing – absolutely nothing – to help him besides giving him a stone he can buy at a shop. The one woman with all the answers, the woman with sometimes horrible ideas, and the woman who never sings anything but a song that slowly kills her.

Corrin wants them all to stop looking at him.

Not for the first time, he wishes he isn't the main character.

All these people watching him have done nothing to earn his anger. So, he turns it away from them. Corrin releases the blue haired woman, and steps back. His scream is a roar, mixing pain and rage as he transitions back into a human.

(As he crouches on the ground, he is grateful it isn't like the first time (oh, G**, the first time).)

Corrin doesn't want to go through all of this again.

It's the inhuman part of him that forces the man to continue with the chapter.

It's the human part of him that can't meet the others' eyes when they all go through the motions.

;;;

()

Queen Mikoto is a woman Corrin would love to call mother.

Camilla has been the leading, lady figure in his life, but she is his older sister and rarely around the castle he called home. All his maids are younger than him, and are closer to best friends than role models. Growing up in this world, he never had anything close to a mother.

It is strange, watching the queen of the rivaling land welcome him with open arms.

That's why it hurts all the more, watching her jump in front of a blow meant for him.

Corrin screams and a part of him breaks at watching the woman die in his arms. He doesn't even realize the plot is forcing him to continue until it all rushes on him.

There is so much – pain, anger, fear, shame, tearing apart – forced upon him that it takes him a better half of the massacre he's delivering to realize he is a dragon. Even then, he continues. The first woman to treat him like a son, not an object or friend or sibling, needs to be avenged.

When all the enemies are dead, Corrin stands on all fours as a dragon and tries to get his head around everything that has just happened. Then Azura walks up and attacks him with her song.

With more pain and less sanity, Corrin grabs her and slams her to the ground. He just wants her to stop because he needs to think. He needs time to process, and everything is moving too fast and it all hurts.

"Kill me if you want," Azura chokes out, wrapping her hands around the arm that pins her to the ground, "but… do it as yourself."

Corrin freezes, feeling everything but the pain leave his mind. The world is suddenly a lot clearer, and he moves back. The young man catches a glimpse of the eldest and youngest Hoshido siblings before the pain overtakes him.

When the pain is gone, Corrin is on all fours as a human. He's reliving the first memory he has of this world, and watches the man who fathered the Hoshido siblings die in front of him.

;;;

()

Corrin jerks back in his seat, almost falling out of it.

He blinks lazily, his mind hazy from resetting for the first time since coming to this world. He can tell he is still in Hoshido, the air feels cleaner and lighter. How far back in the story he is, is uncertain.

Gathering his bearings, Corrin looks down at the scroll that lies in front of him. Last time he read it, it told of his imminent reset. He unrolls it, eyes widening as it has a full script written onto it. A simple note on the bottom is from his boss. He reads the whole thing, and then puts the scroll down without a word. Corrin runs his hands through his hair, and squeezes his eyes shut. He wants to pretend that the words written on the scroll aren't there. Too bad; he knows better than to ignore his boss.

Queen Mikoto must die, and he must watch her die in his arms once again.