AUTHOR'S NOTES: I had to at least drop a little line or two about what the heck happened to Jakob after the incident in the Bottomless Canyon, because his disappearance in-game (and then sudden reappearance in Chapter 6) made no sense. Also, this chapter is primarily focused on character interaction and relationships. Unlike the game, there will be a lot of chapters that deal with things like this, since it's more story-based rather than gameplay-based. That basically just means that character development will happen more naturally instead of trying to have it happen between battle 18 and battle 19 or whatever. So, as the chapter's title indicates, Kamui and Takumi sort a few things out, for better or for worse.
Happy Reading!

CHAPTER 20: Takumi's Discourse

Sing with me a song of skeptics and time...

Xander, Camilla, Leo, and Elise had all returned to Nohr, and all of them had considered Gunter dead, Kamui missing, and Jakob unsure, for neither of the three had returned. Unbeknownst to them, Kamui was safely in Hoshido, while Gunter was in a void that he was utterly unfamiliar with. As for Jakob, he had merely gotten lost due to the deception of the Hoshidans, and so was wandering through the hostile Nohrian woods, foraging for what he could in order to survive. His knives and healing staff kept him safe for the most part, but with the dark skies and no real landmarks to go off of apart from gnarled trees, he had difficulty tracking where exactly he was.

As such, he was rather surprised when he came across a rather large imposing gate seemingly out in the middle of nowhere.

"Of all the…" he stammered, before taking a look around. The ominous sky-blue glow coming from the largest door may have seemed inviting, but didn't exactly feel safe—not right now, anyways. Maybe he'd have to come back when he was more properly suited and prepared for this adventure. For now though, it helped collect his bearings, and if he ever got around to finding lady Kamui, he would be sure to let her know about this place. He hoped she had made it to safety. The only way to know for sure was to head back towards Windmire and pray for the best—for there was no way he would find her out here in this forsaken wilderness.

=Castle Shirasagi, around the same time…=

It was a good few hours before Kamui emerged from her room again to take a look around the place. A stack of scrolls and papers now littered her desk, covered with her writing or imagery. She'd let others in on her creative habits a bit later. For now it was time to look around.

The castle here was much brighter and more welcoming than Castle Krakenburg back in Nohr. There were a lot more reds and whites than blacks and violets like back home, but despite its welcoming appearance, Kamui still felt a little daunted. She pondered Garon's words from before the mission. She didn't know what "Dusk Dragon Incarnate" meant, but if that was truly what she was, then perhaps that explained why the light felt a little awkward for her. She figured there was more here at work than met her eye though. Hoshido wasn't exactly as straightforward as Nohr.

She wanted to meet the rest of her family—maybe get some one-on-one talk with each of them. She had spoken a little to Hinoka and Ryoma, and a bit to her mother, but she had only said a few things to Sakura, and Takumi she hadn't seen at all. These names and faces did make her dream from back in the Northern Fortress make a whole lot more sense though, so there was that going for her.

Of course, when she wasn't writing or drawing, she was usually out training or practicing. Surely despite their peaceful aura Hoshido had to have a place where people honed their combat skills. That fancy-looking sword Prince Ryoma wielded didn't look like it just magically granted him his skill or anything like that.

She wandered through the courtyards until she heard the familiar sounds of metal against metal, and of arrows against targets, and a myraid of other slightly different but still vastly familiar sounds that played music to Kamui's ears. She was slightly surprised when she found the archery range only occupied by one individual. With how fast and frequent the shots were hitting, she had assumed there would be at least two or three people out there.

The man with the bow was familiar though. The silvery-grey hair, the long, unusual ponytail, and the blues, reds, and whites that comprised most of his outfit—this had to be Takumi. She wasn't exactly sure how to approach him, but knew that she should probably be the one to break the ice or at least attempt to.

"Hello, Takumi." she spoke. The young man's arrow whistled through the air as it sunk into nearly the dead center of the target. Takumi's fist clenched, but he said nothing.

"Takumi?" Kamui repeated, "I said hello."

"Yeah, I heard you." his tone sounded dismissive, "what do you need?"

"Well, I guess I don't *need* anything in particular; I just wanted to chat or something? Maybe get to know you a little better so I can become better-acquainted with Hoshido and its royal family?"

"Yeah well, thing is, I'm practicing right now," Takumi nocked another arrow, "can't you tell?"

"Well of course I can see that," Kamui nodded, "I don't necessarily think you should be jumping for joy that your sister's home after 15 years… I just kind of thought at least a hello would be nice or something."

"Hello." Takumi shrugged a shoulder, "is that better?"

"I… take it you're not interested in even turning around to look me in the eye, let alone have us try and get to know each other better." Kamui frowned.

"Bingo," Takumi gave her a thumbs-up, although in his defense he did turn around, briefly glancing her over. "You just hit the nail right on the head. I mean, sure I guess I should trust you since we're siblings and you're Corrin's twin… but we were raised worlds apart. I don't imagine we have a whole lot in common."

"Other than sarcasm maybe," Kamui quipped, "but hey. Corrin and I don't have much in common either and he's my twin brother. That doesn't mean we can't get to know each other so we can at least understand each other's differences… right?"

"Well, I know you lost a lot of your memory, but you at least remember that you grew up with the enemy, don't you?"

"That's… complicated." Kamui stammered. She refused to view Nohr as her enemy. As Hoshido's enemy, perhaps; but she had always been on good terms with Nohr in general, and frankly, she wished to keep it that way if she could.

"Right, deciding whether you want to support your real family or the family that wants your real family dead is such a complicated choice."

"It's not that simple!" Kamui looked a little flustered, "Takumi… look. I'm not trying to get off on the wrong foot with you here, but please; just bear with me, okay?"

"Considering that you're the reason mother's suddenly thrilled to bits, I'll listen. Slow me down or give me any more reasons to be suspicious of you though, and I'm out of here." Despite being younger than Kamui, Takumi's expression remained rather stern.

"II understand that I've been conditioned one way or another," Kamui reasoned, "we all have. I'm not saying I'm right; I'm not saying I'm wrong. Just… I'm sorry I can't be everything Hoshido wants me to be in the first 48 hours of being here. I'm trying; I really am. That's really part of why I'm reaching out to you right now. If you're part of my real family, I want to get to know them better—to know you better. Right now I feel very out of place, but if this is where I belong, I want to fit in—or at least not feel like my own siblings are trying to alienate me."

"And so what happens when your Nohrian 'family' shows up?" He warned, "I mean, I don't exactly think they'd want their pretend sister to just leave them so easily. They spent 15 years holding you away from us. They're going to come back."

"It's…" Kamui gritted her teeth, "Takumi… please. "

"Please what? I'm sorry if I'm not suddenly swooning over your much-awaited return like you're some sort of Hero in Hoshido or something. Is it illegal in Nohr to be skeptical? I guess with a king like Garon it might actually be. It'd explain a lot of Nohr's thinking—or lack of it."

Kamui cringed. This man was good at hitting right where it hurt, and his attacks were on two of the things Kamui cherished—her country and her family. The attacks on her country held some logic, but it was mostly about things beyond anyone's (save Garon's) control. The attacks on her family—whom she was certain Takumi did not even know at all—were the ones that hurt. Normally she'd have lashed out against anyone offending her like that, but the precarious status of her relationship with Takumi right now made her not want to compromise what little they had accomplished by giving him more fuel for his arguments.

"It's not that! Just… listen. Not everyone in Nohr is like King Garon. Xander, Camilla, Leo, and Elise are not like that. You can talk trash about Nohr as much as you'd like, but please… at least for now, I would appreciate it if you did not talk ill of my family."

"Your real family, or the ones that took youfrom us?" Takumi frowned, "Kamui, I'll admit that I'm still a bit jaded about all of that. They stole you away… got their hands on you and did gods-know-what. Maybe it's my ignorance; maybe it's something else—but it rubs me the wrong way, and I'm not happy about it. Sorry if you don't like me expressing my concerns."

"Look…" Kamui sighed, "I'm sorry, okay? If I had known then what I do now, things might have been different. But maybe let's stop talking about that family and more about this one? You guys are my real family… so let's talk about them—about you guys. I honestly want to get to know you. I can love my siblings from Nohr without hating you guys."

"They'll still hate us though. And we'll still hate them."

"Has Corrin ever talked to you about peace? Is that such a foreign concept in a country that claims to seek peace and tranquility?"

"Foreign? No. A bit unrealistic? I'd personally think so. You probably haven't seen the atrocities that Nohr has committed against us, and the ones they'd love to if they were given the chance. Corrin's kind of a dreamer when it comes to all his talk about the end of the wars, but he's got his mind in the right place. But hey, if you want me to understand that you can't just magically accept your true family for what we are, then you have no right getting angry when we don't just magically decide to trust Nohr—or if I don't magically suddenly trust you."

"I understand," Kamui sighed, "I will do what I can to kindle that trust though, Takumi. Thank you for listening to me, even if we might not have accomplished much this time. I really do want to get acquainted with you, and with Hoshido as a whole. You need time and I need time though. We at least understand that about each other, right?"

"Yeah, sure." Takumi nodded, "I'll try and be fair with you, sister. But remember—you can't blame my skepticism if you don't want me blaming yours."

"Right," Kamui agreed, and she took her leave. It was definitely a colder welcome than she had expected, but at the same time, she understood that there was logic behind many of Takumi's arguments and that he thus had a point. The road to gaining Hoshido's trust was not an easy one, but Kamui hoped she would have enough time to bond with each of her siblings before her kin from Nohr returned. If Corring could dream of peace, Kamui could dream of fostering bonds with Hoshido and Nohr. Still… the whole encounter had gotten her tense, specifically with Takumi's jabs against her Nohrian family. Her shoulders and body were tense, and she needed to unwind. She wondered if Hoshido had hot springs the way Nohr did.

She now had a destination in mind as she explored the castle and grounds; and knew what she'd spend her time pondering when she got there.