AUTHOR'S NOTES: Sorry for the slightly late chapter, folks. Here we go with getting things moving again. There's some character development from several ends, and a touch more on the elusive and mysterious Azura, who has been mostly absent from the spotlight until now. To Corrin fans, rest easy, knowing that he appears for a mucyh more significant part of the story than his sister this time. Kamui's great at being one of those people where there's never a dull moment with her; but she's not the only one with excitement in her life. Then we get into plot advancement and the likes, so strap in. This one's a wild ride.
Happy Reading!
CHAPTER 47: An Evening of Thought
Sing with me a song of Calms and Concerns...
Finding Roku and Zenzi was easy enough for Corrin. Dinner came and went, and they were not too hard to single out afterwards, even despite the the sheer size of the castle at New Kamui. Roku was the first to heed Corrin's call, and he led her to Zenzi.
"Out of curiosity, my liege," Roku grunted, "is this task you wish to assign something you deem me incapable of performing?"
"Umm…" Corrin scratched his head, "Kiiiind of. Hana's sparring with my sister and she's probably going to return to the bathhouse once she's done. I'm pretty sure she'd be a lot more open with Zenzi, especially there… and I know your discomfort around women besides her."
"That…" Roku's face flushed only slightly. "...That makes sense. Thank you for, um, choosing Zenzi for this line of work, Lord Corrin."
"I know you well enough to know what you excel at and what Zenzi excels at," Corrin pointed out, "and I feel like people are at their best when they do what they're good at."
"Right then," Roku nodded, "let me find Zenzi for you."
It took him only a couple of minutes before Zenzi returned, looking a little sweaty and red in the face. She had clearly been training.
"Roku told me some of what you were looking for, Lord Corrin," she began.
"It's an issue that we really shouldn't have to deal with," Corrin nodded, "but I feel like Hana needs someone that understands her. You're a fellow master of the katana, and you're basically impossible not to like. She opens up to you, right?"
"Well yeah…" Zenzi played with her fingers, "but I… I don't think I should go around spilling all of her secrets, you know?"
"I'm not asking you to," Corrin clarified, "I just think that she needs someone that she can open up to without being super harsh and abrasive to them. That's not bad, is it?"
"No… not at all." Zenzi agreed, "And I think it might do some good for her."
"Excellent," Corrin smiled, "No pressure though, Zenzi. Just see if you can find a time to talk to her when she's in less of a mood."
Zenzi knew Hana well enough that it did not take her long to find Kazahana when she wasn't wound up so tightly. She joined her friend in the bathhouse, knowing that that was one of the few times when Hana let loose and refused to get wound up—most of the time.
"Zenzi," Obviously Hana looked up when she heard someone coming. It wouldn't be the first time someone walked in on someone else when they shouldn't have. "The water's great today! C'mon in!"
Zenzi did exactly that, having disrobed in preparation for the very thing. "Oh, you're right…" she exclaimed with a delightful shudder, "The water's wonderful…"
"So what brings you here?" Hana asked out of curiosity, "Usually you wait till everyone else has cleared out."
"W-well…" Zenzi stuttered a little, "I was actually kind of looking for you."
"For what?" Hana looked curious, "are you serving as Corrin's messenger for Kamui or something? Because that'd just be ridiculous."
"Nothing that fancy!" Zenzi squeaked, "I actually just wanted to ask why you were so tense all the time… even now your shoulders tightened up when I asked you that question."
"I train hard," Hana's statement wasn't an explicit lie; just an omission of the truth. "I stay tense and wary to prevent being surprised or ambushed. Here in New Kamui I just stay tense and on edge in case someone like Oboro or Kamui challenges me to a spar or something."
"But why are you so tense in here?" Zenzi looked genuinely confused, "I-I don't think anyone's about to come charging in and spar with you in your smallclothes."
Hana glanced around as if trying to see if someone was spying on them before drifting towards Zenzi and lowering her voice.
"Why do you want to know?" She shot Zenzi an accusing glare.
"It doesn't explicitly involve me…" Zenzi stammered, "But it concerns me nonetheless. You act so abrasive towards certain people and it makes me sad. I know I'm not your mother or your liege, but that's how I see your behaviour."
"This is about Subaki, isn't it?" Hana gritted her teeth, her eyes flaring.
"Well, yes and no," Zenzi's face reddened more than it normally did despite the steamy water, "I'm just a curious 3rd party, Hana. Why do you hate him?"
"I don't hate him," Hana shook her head, "but he's always sooooo perfect and does everything so amazingly that sometimes it makes me wonder if Lady Sakura even needs me. Heck, why doesn't he just become everyone's retainer so he can do everything perfect for everyone? Everyone wins!"
"Hana…" Zenzi frowned, "You know as well as I do that that's not true. You know what I think it is that's gripping you?"
Hana said nothing, but raised an eyebrow as if daring Zenzi to say it.
"You downgrade your skills," Zenzi put her hands under Hana's jaw, "I-I would know all about that. I used to do it all the time."
"Are you serious right now?" Hana actually gawked, "you, Zenzi? I've seen you on the battlefield. You somehow incorporate dancing into your combat and you wield your katana with the elegance that only a masterful dancer could. I looked up to you and now you're telling me you've done the same thing I did? What's up with that?"
"Kazahana…" Zenzi gave her friend a very sheepish but very Zenzi-esque smile. "You should really talk with Lord Corrin about it. He and I had a discussion about it too, and I think it would be good for you. Do you realize how much he's helped me become more confident in myself and my abilities? When Roku and I first signed on with him, I was a stuttering mess that couldn't glance at someone for more than a few seconds without needing to use the ladies' room. N-now here I am talking with you face to face without shying away. That took a lot of effort on my part."
Truly, Zenzi was breathing heavily, and while Hana could still tell that she was nervous, Zenzi's words were also very genuine and heartfelt.
"Anyone else…" Hana nodded, "and I might have told them to bugger off. For you, Zenzi… you couldn't tell a lie even if you wanted to. I trust you."
"I-I couldn't…" Zenzi stammered, "you're right. I can't bring myself to lie. You know that I'm only trying to help you, right?"
"I do," Hana agreed, "that's why I allow you to call me by my full name. I might be petty about it, but it drives me crazy that Subaki can get showered with praise just for being good-looking and talented, but when people like you or me work for our talent, we're just your everyday mid-tier schmucks that get no recognition."
Zenzi nodded. "This is why I think you should talk to Lord Corrin about it," she suggested, "He is very level-headed and tries to be fair in his judgments. Lady Kamui might be stronger and fiercer on the battlefield, but you should never underestimate the power of a good tactician."
"Heh, that's a fair point," Hana conceded, "But for now… I need to relax…"
Incidentally, Corrin was unawares that Zenzi planned to have Hana speak to him, and so instead he was just wandering the grounds of New Kamui. He knew that at some point they would have to start finding ways to bring in rank-and-file soldiers to handle some of the larger skirmishes they would face along the way, and hoped that Anna and Kaze would be able to help with that in Hoshido while they were there.
Sure there were a few disputes here and there as was normal and expected, but most of them got along swimmingly—even Kamui. She kept to herself a lot, although Gunter and Jakob remained in her service; and she sparred a lot, usually with Hana, Oboro, Zenzi, or Roku. This particular evening, however, he was walking along the walls of New Kamui when he spotted a slouched figure with something in her left hand. Upon further investigation, he was no longer alarmed, realizing that it was just a heavily inebriated Kamui, her eyes glazed and rolled back, and several empty bottles around her.
"Sister!" he exclaimed, "are you seriously getting drunk just to get drunk?!"
"I'm fiiiine…" Kamui hiccuped, "a little buzzed maybe, but remember—we Nohrians can handle our whiskey. Just because you pass out after half a shot of watered-down piss-beer doesn't mean we all do."
"What are you doing up here?" Corrin shook his head as he put a palm to his forehead. He ignored his sister's scathing remark about his (supposedly) low alcohol tolerance.
"Drinking, of course!" Kamui laughed, "well, and Oboro threw me out after I broke a bottle on the floor she was mopping. Then I'm pretty sure I accidentally pulled Felicia's skirt off and made her trip, and everything went south from there after the fire started."
Corrin stared at Kamui with an utterly dumbfounded expression.
"I'm shitting you!" Kamui laughed as she watched her brother's visage contort, "well, sort of. I did spill the beer and Oboro did get a little moody, but Felicia's fine, and the fire was small and extinguished easily. Entirely my fault, but everything's better now."
She paused, emptying the contents of the bottle, which, based on the number around her, appeared to be her 4th. "By the way," she belched, "You told me to keep an eye out for Azura, didn't you? Well, I saw her just a few minutes ago, heading north. She might still be there."
Corrin hesitated for a second, only because he wasn't sure if Kamui should be left unattended like this. However, after a moment of pondering, he realized that she was not hurting anyone, and nothing seemed to be in danger of her misdeeds, and so he flicked his hands in a farewell as he raced after Azura's trail.
Despite her obvious inebriation, Kamui's tip had been accurate. Azura was sitting atop one of the highest walls of the castle's fortress, her legs dangling over the edge, looking almost as if she was about to spring from the walls and plunge hundreds of feet to her death. Instead, she was gazing off into the evening sky, her eyes transfixed by the large moon rising up from behind the mountains. The Astral Plane was weird like that, and seeing the empty landscape around them made him wonder what was out there.
"Azura," he spoke softly as not to startle her.
"Hmm?" She didn't turn her head, but her remark was an indication that Corrin had her attention.
"Even now there are things about you that make me wonder," he pointed out, seating himself on the wall next to her, "you're off on your own more than Kamui. Why is that?"
"I get lost in my thoughts a lot," Azura admitted openly, "and when that happens it's nice to be alone so I can help sort them out. There is so much about the place we went to that I wish I could share with everyone without simply disappearing… but this is an army that you are building based on trust, Corrin. This is why you are a leader and I am not."
"And so you trust your fate in the hands of a man who has never really left Shirasagi Castle Town until now?" Corrin raised an eyebrow.
"Would you rather I put my life in the hands of your bull-headed twin sister?" Azura quipped, the corner of her lip curling upwards. Corrin actually stifled a laugh.
"When you put it that way, no." he replied, "but Kamui's got her merits. Don't be too hard on her."
"Kamui's an interesting person," Azura smiled. "For someone so distant much like myself, she seems to make friends easier than she expected. I've noticed she likes to keep her distance though, much like I do."
"So what do you think of all this then?" Corrin asked, "I mean… we're basically trying to do the impossible… bringing Hoshido and Nohr together, only to have them fight an unseen foe?"
"It's doable," Azura assured him, "but now it's my turn to ask you something. What's on your mind, Corrin? You always become so inquisitive when something's buzzing around in your head like this."
"It's…" Corrin sighed, "It's Kagero, actually. Obviously Ryoma, Hinoka, and them are still possessed, but we know what happened to them, and we know that whoever is using them isn't about to just make them magically disappear. Zola impersonated Kagero though, and there's been no word or sign of her since then."
"You're worried for her," Azura whispered, "She's important to you then…"
"Well of course," Corrin stammered, "but… I mean, not like that, it's just…"
"Corrin, do you really see me as someone to go around spurting secrets?" Azura mused.
"N-No…" Corrin knew she had a point. "Still, I…"
He was interrupted though as a red-haired woman literally warped right in next to him. Before he needed to take the defensive, Corrin realized that it was Anna.
"Sorry to interrupt;" she apologized, "I hope I didn't just break in on something romantic or anything… but Kaze and I are back—and we've got some leads."
Corrin turned to Azura and she nodded understandingly. Their conversation would have to wait. It was time to start strategizing.