AUTHOR'S NOTES: Our sojourn in Hoshido continues, as Kamui gets a glimpse of most of her siblings on the other side of the Bottomless Canyon. Even after all this time, it should be noted that Roku and Zenzi have not forgotten their friend Arozza lost in Nohr, but that's another story arc that will be resolved in the future. In the meantime, it's time for a lot of people to adjust to Kamui's presence in Hoshido.
Happy Reading!

CHAPTER 19: Siblings Reuinted

Sing with me a song of Patience and Love…

Sakura was at the forefront of the three approaching siblings, and she was the first to approach Kamui in turn. "Th-thank you so much for rescuing us!" she explained, "Those monsters would have terrorized the area and caused much more damage were it not for you and the others."

"I was just helping out," Kamui shrugged, "And sorry for that whole "glory of Nohr" bit earlier. Old habits kind of die hard, and it just slipped, and then…"

"I thought little of it," Sakura admitted, "but it does make me need to ask-who are you again?"

"Oh, I thought I mentioned it," Kamui shrugged, "I'm-"

"Her name is Kamui." Hinoka cut her off, stepping forward, pausing to take in Kamui's form as if trying to memorize every detail of this woman.

"Err, yeah. That." Kamui fidgeted slightly, tugging her collar, "umm… did I do something bad?"

"Hinoka?" Even Sakura looked concerned for her sister, "is everything okay?"

"Finally…" Hinoka was trembling slightly, her hands suddenly reaching out and seizing Kamui's shoulders. "After all these years…"

Kamui's head slanted at a slighter version of the angle she usually did when she was confused or curious. She was not very good at eye contact, but it was clear that this slightly taller woman had her eyes fixated on Kamui's, and that this was a very emotional moment for her.

"Mm?" Kamui muttered as if to verify that she was still paying attention.

"I've missed you… so much." She yanked Kamui into a firm embrace, and for a moment, actually sobbed into Kamui's shoulder and hair. Kamui didn't want to come off as indifferent or rude, but she was still not quite sure what was going on here. She assumed that these were more of her siblings that Mikoto spoke of, but like a child being adopted into an already close-knit family at a late age, she felt like a fish out of water.

"Sorry…" she stuttered, pulling away and wiping her face with her left arm, "I… got a little ahead of myself there…"

"Hinoka was very attached to you when you were little, Kamui." Ryoma stepped up to help clarify the situation, "You always had a fighting spirit, and so did she, and I think the two of you bonded pretty strongly over that among other things. When you were taken from us, she cried for months. One day, she simply stopped crying and picked up her naginata again."

"Oh?" Kamui raised an eyebrow.

"All I'll say," Ryoma gave Kamui an amused smile, "is that if you ever find yourself facing the business end of her weapon, you'll soon be filled with major regrets about your life decisions."

"Ha!" Kamui actually returned a similar amused smirk, "I like that."

"Hinoka vowed to bring you back to us someday," Ryoma concluded, "and now here you are."

"I owe a lot of it to Saizo, Kaze, and Rinkah," Hinoka admitted, "but I'm kind of beside myself here. Sorry if I came off as too forward. I'm just so happy to have you back. Take that, Nohrian scumbags! We win! You lose!"

Kamui opened her mouth as if to speak, but no words came out. She didn't want everyone to put knives to her throat by admitting that if her Nohrian family came right now she would elect to return with them simply out of what she knew and what she was comfortable with. It was certainly not to say that she'd never be able to support Hoshido, but if pitted against Nohr, the land with the family that had raised her for the last memorable 15 years of her life, she would unlikely be able to be swayed to go against her family.

"The idea of pitting myself against the likes of Xander, Camilla, Leo, and even Elise is basically a death wish anyways," she thought in her head, "Elise would break my heart, Xander is daunting enough as things are, Leo knows how to really mess with someone's mind; but really it's Camilla that would terrify me the most. I've fought her enough to know how deadly she is, and the idea of me stabbing her in the back would mean nothing short of a long, painful, and very drawn-out death at her hands. I wonder what she'd do if she saw me now..."

Thankfully Sakura snapped Kamui out of her trancelike thought, and helped divert the subject down more sociable routes.

"So this is really Kamui?" she asked. She had been a small toddler when Kamui was taken and so her memories of her purple-haired sister were much vaguer than Hinoka or Ryoma's.

"Yes," Corrin announced, "I know it's big news, and Ryoma and I will fill you in on the whole story when we get back to the castle."

The small army prepared to return to the castle, and since the march was not terribly eventful, a few parties got involved in a bit of conversation.

"Lady Kamui," Zenzi spoke up, "I… I feel the need to ask. While you were in Nohr, did you come across a woman named Arozza?"

"Sure did," Kamui found the coincidence interesting. "She said that if I ever found a man and a woman named Roku and Zenzi, to tell them she said hello and that she's alright. Do you know of anyone by those names?"

"That's us!" Zenzi gasped, "I'm Zenzi, and this is Roku. She's okay then?"

"Never been better," Kamui chuckled, "Nohr's a scary place, but I don't think it's quite as scary as Hoshido makes it out to be."

"Well, those Faceless are a regular threat around certain parts of the country," Corrin pointed out, "They're the only things Nohr can throw at us as long as the barrier stands."

"Barrier?" Kamui tilted her head.

"Queen Mikoto erected a magical barrier around the kingdom that removes the will to fight of anyone who crosses it." Hinoka explained, "As long as she lives, that barrier will stand, and Nohr cannot invade Hoshido."

"Ah." Kamui noted, although this put her mind deeper into thought as she contemplated this.

"That's some high-level trickery right there. Is that why I harbor no animosity towards these people? I'd like to think not; and that my notion of treating people the way they treat me is what drives me to respect them. But even then… I always knew that Hoshidans had some demon-level trickery up their sleeves. Perhaps Xander was right about being wary. Hopefully not though. As much as I enjoy combat, I don't think that busting out into all-out war just to see whose metaphorical muscles are bigger is that good of an idea."

"So is that why Nohr sends those things?" Kamui asked. Perhaps her wariness of King Garon was justified. She couldn't really imagine this to be the work of Xander or Camilla-not even to try and get her back.

"That's exactly why Nohr sends those things," Ryoma frowned, "King Garon has been trying to provoke Hoshido to war since the day you were kidnapped and our father-your father, Sumeragi was murdered in cold blood."

"So you're telling me that Garon and Mikoto didn't have a secret affair then." Kamui blurted out. The expressions of horror, embarrassment, and awkwardness forced the slightly rash princess to bite her gums before continuing. "I didn't figure as much, really. Although… I've had reservations about Garon for a while anyways. This just seems to verify it."

"Of course it does!" Hinoka barked, as if the very idea made her seethe, "King Garon and Nohr are pure evil. The mages that create those things don't even care if they themselves become casualties in the war. As long as they can take others down with them, they've succeeded as far as they care. I'll never forgive them for that… or for stealing you away…"

"So regardless of whether I live in Hoshido or Nohr, I'm going to have an emotionally-attached and protective older sister…" Kamui mused. "Good to know."

Kamui nodded but otherwise remained silent as they finished their march back to Shirasagi. Kamui barely managed to avoid a big social gathering and a get-to-know-me sort of event, by personally requesting a bit of alone time with Mikoto and a room for her to rest and recharge in. Incidentally, Mikoto seemed to know just the place, and led Kamui to a deserted room full of old toys and drawings, a few things still untouched on the floor from years ago.

"This is your old room," Mikoto explained, "you were always such a diligent little artist as a child." Her eyes followed Mikoto's towards an image attached to the wall. Eight childishly drawn stick figures were present there, and with the color choices, Kamui was fairly certain it was Sumeragi, Mikoto, Corrin, herself, and the siblings of Hoshido. She was willing to believe that this was in fact where she came from, but her lack of memories and thus attachment to this place was what still had her on the fence about it all. She explained all of this to Mikoto, trying to be as polite as possible about it but at the same time expressing her concerns.

"It makes sense, sweetheart." Mikoto sighed, "you spent almost your whole life in Nohr, in much harsher conditions than these. You will need plenty of time to think all of this through and to search your soul for what you believe is right, be it here in Hoshido or back in Nohr. For now, however, make yourself comfortable and at home. The castle and the grounds are free reign-you will certainly be safe here. There is no need to hurry your decision, although I do hope that we can be a family again someday…"

Kamui nodded. "Thank you, mother." the door closed behind Mikoto as she left, and Kamui took a little time to organize her things. She glanced around at her childhood toys, drawings, and other personal effects. She would definitely need to get some weapons and training dummies in this room, but after the battle with all the Faceless, she was a little "combatted out" for the moment. She decided to draw a bath, used that time to think and ponder.

Incidentally, she managed to come to several conclusions, although none of them were about where she should stay and what family she should live with. However, experiencing Hoshido firsthand gave her more ideas for one of the books she had wanted to write, and so after she was clean, she went back to writing-coupled with a little bit of illustrating. After all, apart from being a fighter, Kamui had also proven herself to be a fairly proficient writer and artist. She was by no means a jack of all trades, but she was certainly talented.

Incidentally, Corrin and the Hoshidan siblings were discussing that very thing about her: her talents.

"She's talented; make no mistake about it." Hinoka admitted, "I'm still a little confused as to where her loyalties lie, but maybe that's just me."

"Try to look at it from her perspective though." Corrin explained, "She's in an unfamiliar land surrounded by unfamiliar faces. If Rinkah's opened up to her that means Kamui has an introverted personality that would cause her to prefer her alone time." Corrin might not have been as battle-hardened as his sister, but he tried to be understanding towards people when he could.

"I do think we should watch her though, but more for her sake rather than ours. I am pretty sure she realizes that she's outnumbered."

"She better not try anything like that," Hinoka clenched a knife that she usually carried with her, "but I wouldn't put it above Nohr to try and condition her that way."

"If that's truly the case," Ryoma explained, "then we work to uncondition her hostility. Mother is right about Kamui requiring our patience above all else."

"I understand," Hinoka's grip loosened, "I just don't want to lose her again."

"Neither do we, Hinoka." Corrin nodded in agreement. "Neither do we."