AUTHOR'S NOTES: While most of these earlier chapters (1, 2, & 3, to be exact) will focus mostly on Kamui in Nohr, there will be a few chapters, such as this one, where we get to see the Hoshidans' point of view a bit. For example, how did Kaze and Rinkah get captured? This particular chapter actually addresses exactly that, and in my fanfic twist, we get to see our friends Lon'qu and Olivia (err, Roku and Zenzi, that is...) interact with their now-fellow Hoshidans.
On the note of Hoshido, the balance between Corrin's screentime and Kamui's screentime will begin to equalize around the equivalent of the game's Chapter 4 (so a few chapters away for me). I plan to make a lot of things happen between Kamui's first visit to Hoshido and the grim reunion where the twins choose a side. But in the meantime, here's the here and now. Let me know what you think of the characters so far, be it Roku and Zenzi, or any of the other cast. I do know that Rinkah and the Flame Tribe are going to get fleshed out a bit more in this series, and so any feedback about her as well as the guest Shepherds would be highly appreciated.
Happy Reading!
CHAPTER 9: Captives From Hoshido
Sing with me a song of Captives and Shame…
While Kamui was fighting her older brother and sister in an attempt to earn her freedom from the Northern Fortress, the siblings of Hoshido were on a battlefield of their own, protecting their borders from Nohrian monsters that marauded across their lands. Queen Mikoto's magical barrier across her country's border kept most other soldiers out, but the Faceless monsters, who had no emotions or feelings to turn from warmongering to peace, were still able to rampage across Hoshido and attack rural villages and communities with near impunity.
Hinoka was one of the first responders to any and all of these attacks any time news of them was brought to her attention. A warrior at heart, she also served as a powerful Hoshidan military commander, joining her soldiers at the front lines. They had anticipated it to be a fairly small skirmish,and so while Corrin, Ryoma, Takumi, and Sakura would remain at the Capitol, one of Sakura's retainers as well as both of Takumi's retainers joined the fight alongside the wacky monk/archer duo that comprised Hinoka's her choices were easily the most questioned of the group, both Azama and Setsuna performed like experts in combat, leaving little doubt to their capabilities.
"Are you sure you don't want to go along, Corrin?" Hinoka asked as she and her small band made preparations to engage the most recent of these Faceless attacks, "You'll have Kaze with you as well-and the Flame Tribe is providing a few soldiers to help repel these Nohrian monsters too."
"She is right, Lord Corrin," Kaze explained, "Furthermore, these are little more than ruthless monsters. Killing them is the only way to ensure peace."
Even then, Corrin had never been one for warfare. He underwent daily training just like the rest of his siblings, but like his mother and most of Hoshido as a whole, he sought peace and tranquility above all else, which made his decision-making in this regard a bit more complicated.
"Even if you do not go into battle, Lord Corrin, Zenzi and I wish to do so." Roku, one of Corrin's retainers, spoke up. "When we said we would protect you with our lives, we meant it."
"Awww yeah, we've got swordmasters for days out here!" Hinata grinned, having just heard the news. "C'mon, Lord Corrin! We've all got your back!"
"All we'd need for the party to be complete is Lord Ryoma to come!" Hinata grinned.
"We've got a large enough party without him though," Hinoka pointed out, "even with or without Corrin-although you're invited to help lend Hoshido a hand if you want." she extended her own hand towards Corrin, who actually took it. Hinata, Oboro, and Hana cheered, while Kaze, Zenzi, and Roku all gave satisfied smiles.
"That's the brother I know and love," Hinoka grinned, "we shouldn't be gone long; it's just a small contingent on the border."
The group made the appropriate preparations before trekking out to the western border, where they met up with a small group of Flame Tribe warriors. The leader, Rinkah, approached Hinoka with the status of the situation.
"We've picked off a small number of the stragglers," she pointed out, "but there's a much greater number out there than we thought."
"How are you and your soldiers?" Hinoka's concern was for others first, and herself after.
"Never been better," Rinkah smirked, "we're lucky those monsters didn't attack us in full force, but with your reinforcements, we should do just fine."
Hinoka had a few dozen soldiers with her as well as Corrin and the other retainers, and had assumed that it would be enough to stop the waves of Faceless crawling into the country. As they prepared for battle, some of these monsters began appearing in view, barrelling towards the Hoshidans and fixed on slaughtering them.
"Looks like we've got ourselves a party!" Hinata cracked his knuckles. "You down for a game, Hana?"
"Hinata, this isn't a game when lives are on the line!" The short, brown-haired samurai frowned.
"No, no…" Hinata shook his head, "I just mean we should make it a competition-whoever can kill more of these monsters before we rout the enemy wins! We keep Hoshido safe AND we become stronger. Everyone wins!"
"Hmm…" Hana considered it for a moment before beaming. "I can get behind that!"
"I think all of us can." Corrin nodded in agreement as he drew his weapon-the golden Yato. "Let's end this threat before it terrorizes more of our country."
"Right beside ya," Hinoka smirked, "FOR HOSHIDO!"
The Hoshidans and the Flame Tribe warriors met with the Faceless and clashed with them at every turn. While the monsters were strong and enormous, with enough girth to easily crush bones, they were slow compared to the lightning-swift Hoshidan swordmasters and samurai. Roku and Zenzi had no trouble fighting off these monsters, which were highly reminiscent of some of the Risen creatures they had fought back in their own homeland.
Hinata lunged right into the fray and swung his katana around so fiercely that he cut down two of the monsters without trouble.
"Ha! Two already!" he chuckled. Setsuna overheard him and raised her eyebrow as she nocked another arrow."
"2? I'm at 17…" She quipped.
"What!?" Hinata gawked, "I ain't about to let an archer outscore me!"
The Hoshidan forces began pushing the Faceless back, but they appeared to be an endless tide crawling out from the darkness of the wilderness leading to the Bottomless Canyon. What did they want with this part of the country? Corrin wasn't aware of any villages or towns in this area. Maybe this was just them opening the floodgates.
He was snapped out of his thoughts as he clashed with a Faceless, only to spot the most unusual thing he had seen all afternoon. One of the monsters had somehow launched itself into the air, swinging its enormous fist and smacking Hinoka cleanly off her mount.
"Sister!" Corrin gasped, racing towards the fallen woman. Even Setsuna and Azama, who were both normally off in their own little worlds, took notice of this attack. Hinoka was clearly dizzy as she recovered, but otherwise looked unfazed, if not a bit bruised.
"Don't worry about me," she clutched her head, "protect the others!"
The throngs of Faceless continued their assault, but didn't seem entirely unintelligent. While several members of Rinkah's Flame Tribe contingent were killed, she herself was spared, although both she and Kaze vanished from the fight without anyone noticing. Too much was happening around them for even the keen-eyed Zenzi to notice until it was too late. Corrin and Azama helped ensure Hinoka's safety, while Setsuna returned to her game of casually beating both Hana and Hinata in body counts ("fifty-six... fifty-seven…"), and it was only after the Faceless began retreating that Corrin and the others realized something was wrong.
"Rinkah is missing!" he shouted, in warning to the others, "and so is Kaze! Has anyone found them yet?" There were plenty of dead (fortunately most of which were Faceless), but none of the Hoshidan ninjas or Flame Tribe Warriors were Kaze and Rinkah.
Hinoka cursed her misfortune as well. Sure they had driven the Faceless back across the border, but at what cost?"
Zenzi and Oboro returned from the woods leading towards the Bottomless Canyon with the grim news of their discovery.
"Lady Hinoka! Lord Corrin!" With how shy Zenzi was, it was not surprising that Oboro was doing the talking, "those Nohrian bastards dragged Kaze and Rinkah across the border. They took some of our other soldiers as well!"
"W-we tried to go after them!" Zenzi reasoned, "but that's not an easy place to traverse!"
"Those damn monsters broke the bridges after them," Oboro growled, her left eye twitching, "and even if they hadn't, there had to be hundreds of those things along the rim of the canyon."
"So they're coordinated then?" Corrin tilted his head.
"That's what I don't get," Oboro narrowed her eyes (her left eye still twitching), "Those things have never been very coordinated in their reckless rampages across our country."
"Th-there was someone standing among them," Zenzi piped up, "I couldn't see who though… they were hard to actually see, and were shrouded in pink flames."
"Pink Flames…" Roku muttered, "Bottomless Canyon…" He was about to mention Valla, but remembered Anankos' warning about the curse. He and Zenzi had been trusted on Hinoka (and later Corrin's) good instinct, and so to suggest an "invisible enemy" to Hoshido right now would not likely sit well. While it was true that neither one of them wished to war with Nohr (especially not with Arozza there), they knew that trying to sympathize with the invading country would probably get them labelled as spies or traitors and neither one wanted that.
"Final count… 42." Hana declared proudly. Neither one of them had heard the news of Rinkah and Kaze yet, and so they were celebrating.
"42!" Hinata grinned. Well that's pretty respectable if you ask me, and definitely not bad for a prodigious samurai like yourself!" Hana's eyes narrowed, gaining a shrewd suspicion that she was not going to like what she was about to hear.
"Of course," Hinata continued, "I happen to be sitting pretty on forty-*three*…"
"You cheated!" Hana gawked.
"How could I cheat?" Hinata was actually telling the truth, although before the two could escalate their argument much further, Corrin and Hinoka interrupted them with the news.
"What!?" The two samurai chanted almost in unison. "Which way did they go? We'll find 'em and take 'em down!"
"Competitive to no end…" Hinoka shook her head, "last we saw, they were taken as the rest of the Faceless retreated over the Bottomless Canyon."
"Oh!" Hana exclaimed, "well that… ohhhh…"
That explained suddenly why the monsters had retreated. Even the most reckless and competitive warriors among the survivors knew that they wouldn't stand a chance once they infiltrated Nohrian territory. The only thing they could do now was turn back around and report to Mikoto and Ryoma about the incident and their losses.
=Krakenburg Dungeons, sometime later…=
Kaze gradually returned to consciousness to the sound of loud banging, a woman yelling, and an occasional orange lighting. Blinking a few times to regain his focus, he saw Rinkah practically throwing herself at the large metal door of their prison cell, occasionally spewing flames against it as well. Clearly there was an enchantment of sorts against it, for the door did not waver in the slightest. She stopped as she noticed Kaze moving out of the corner of her eye.
"Oh, you're awake!" her breathing was a little heavy but she seemed otherwise okay at first glance. "C'mere and help me with this door?"
"How long have you been at it?" Kaze didn't want to shut down her idea too swiftly even if he knew it was futile, "Have you made any progress?"
"No, and I'm fucking pissed!" Rinkah yelled, flames swirling around her fist as she slammed her knuckles against the metal door. "I can't even dent this thing!"
"I don't think our capture was by mere chance," Kaze warned her, "I think they know exactly who we are and plan to make an example of us."
"No shit, huh?" Rinkah stepped back before jump-kicking the door before launching a barrage of fiery punches at it as if it were a foe. "Why do you think I'm trying to hard to bust the hell out of here? Which reminds me-you gonna help?"
"It's a trap," Kaze warned again, frowning. "King Garon is making escape look easy so you'll wear yourself out. The door's clearly fireproof and stronger than any amount of power we can use against it."
"What, are you suddenly my caretaker now?" Rinkah slammed her right fist against the door so fiercely this time that Kaze was fairly certain he heard knuckles crack.
"No, although I see no reason to neglect the well-being of my friends and allies." Kaze reasoned, "Your forehead is still bleeding, you're walking with a slight limp in your left leg, and based on the color of your right hand, you've probably broken something.
Rinkah paused to listen to Kaze's words before sinking into a sitting position against the wall in defeat, a heavily distraught sigh escaping her lips.
"Perhaps death is my best option then," she groaned, "I'm too weak to take down a metal door."
"...A metal door deliberately designed to contain a warrior as fierce as you," Kaze corrected her, "come here. You're not going to be of much use if you're a bloody pulp against the wall."
"I can't just give up!" Rinkah shook her head vigorously, "that… it goes against everything I've ever stood for; everything I've ever been taught."
"We're not giving up." Kaze pulled out some bandaging from his attire, "we're preserving our energy for the right moment. We might still be able to fight our way out of this situation if we wait for the right time. Meanwhile, give me your hand-that definitely can't be normal."
Rinkah's right hand was swollen and purple, with flecks and lines of red from her blood. Kaze wrapped it up and eventually got Rinkah to calm down, where he rubbed a little of the stress from her shoulders.
"Hey," she mentioned after a while, "if anyone ever asks… none of this ever happened."
Shaking his head at how she just wasn't getting it, Kaze smiled. "Not a word, Rinkah." he promised. "Not a word…"