A/N: So, which sibling will Corrin interact with in this chapter? Sakura? Takumi? Hinoka? Ryoma? Or maybe… none of them? What will happen next, dear Yasei?

Consort: All true, though perhaps her senses have also sharpened due to the transformation? She didn't like asparagus before, but the addition of heightened senses causes the distaste to grow. Regardless, the drink was disgusting and Corrin probably will never want another glass.

Oh, it was quite nice! Working on some backstory for the Hoshidan Royal family. Also, this is something I will answer out-of-story right now… yes. To which question? Yes. Just, yes.

Antex: *nods* Kaze is going to have a greater presence in Corrin's life. He wants to be a retainer, he's gonna have to spend a fair amount of time with her. Besides, I think Kaze provides a good shoulder to lean on, he's caring and sympathetic, willing to lend an ear. Heh, yep. Everyone knows that a commonly dressed and identical soldier has nothing on a soldier with fancy looking equipment. To be fair… Kaze was the one giving his opinion, maybe if Corrin asked Sakura? Camilla?

Guest (Ch. 3, 1/21/2020 7:46 AM): Yeah, I normally take the Alpha approach, but I'm willing to do it in a more familial sense this time. But… actions speak louder than words, yeah? So, if you're still doubtful, I won't keep bringing it up.

Other than that… hope you are enjoying the read!

Day three of being in recovery, and the Shrine Maiden has spoken to me the words that every patient wants to hear… You're allowed to move freely. Granted, there was the unspoken part of don't push yourself, but still… I can do things! So, what would I do on my first free day off? Simple, my body is slightly sore, aching… and I have an urge to spar. I got to make sure all of that work with Xander isn't lost, so I need to get myself back into training. Even if it's just something simple, I want to do something.

The Shrine Maiden has also given Kaze a sizable jar of the specialized ointment she used on me. After yesterday's… surprise with Kaze catching sight of my water magic, as well as him just watching over me, I'm… actually content with him near me. I'm still not quite ready to ask for him to be one of my retainers, but I can definitely see him as being one of them, just a bit longer, perhaps?

"Kaze? Would you mind leading me to the training grounds?" I gently ask, feeling more than a figurative itch to get moving.

Dutifully as ever, he appears from his stealthed state, though I get a brief glance of concern, "I will need to apply some ointment before we leave, Lady Corrin."

I stretch my left side some, before slipping a hand under my dress, then apply the smallest amount of… "Eep!" Noticeable, painful, but not agonizing… that said, the wound has a very unnerving 'squishy' feeling, slightly wet. I nod, "Good thinking… I don't think I can safely swing a sword like this."

He nods, pulls out the jar from… a pocket inside his garb. "One moment, if I may?"

I flush a bit, but I also nod. I raise my dress some, and breath in, "R-Ready." Several seconds pass, then another five… "Kaze?"

"I've finished, milady."

I blink my eyes, "Huh? You…" The jar he was holding is gone… I look down and see a freshly applied layer of ointment. "Wha-? I… didn't even hear you, or feel you!" It takes me another half minute before I lower my dress, then proceed to walk.

Kaze follows as he replies with, "I've trained my entire life… there are few things I won't be able to do for you, milady."

Really? But… what would Jakob think of that? "Absolutely not! I alone handle my liege's laundry!' I can imagine Jakob scolding Kaze. 'And her tea, her…'

"Uh… you won't have to worry about doing everything…"

'Dear, you can sit back and relax… I will dispatch of my dear Corrin's enemies.' And now I can imagine Camilla stepping up.

"Milady? Are you well?" Kaze's voice sounds out.

''No w-way! I got this… er, her!' And now Felicia is visualized getting like that… wait, would she? I furrow my eyebrows, well… she isn't exactly favored with the people in the Northern Castle, big brother did ask why I kept her, Leo made a few snide remarks mainly about her progress… or lack thereof.

I nod, "Yeah, just thought of a few things." I end up answering, "You… won't have to worry about handling everything."

"I… don't understand?"

I open my mouth for the full explanation, but… "I have one Butler and three Maids assigned to me from Nohr." The third 'Maid' is actually Camilla, but I'm not about to go into all that. Well that, and I'm also not going to divulge in Jakob actually being one of my retainers.

"...understood." Blank face, Kaze shows nothing. Afterwards, I keep my own silence… to the training grounds, then.

The groundwork on the stones in the Castle is well-done, the white brick feels a bit warm, but more importantly, it's smooth. Unlike literally everyone I ever knew… I'm the only one who doesn't wear shoes. The lack of footwear never bothered me, and I rarely encountered rough stones that hurt. Wait, I… actually do know someone else who did the same.

Lilith, that stable maid. She was always rather pretty, in a… rough sort of way? She was also really good with magic.

"Good morning, Lady Corrin." She once greeted me, as Camilla wanted to take me for a small trip out of the Northern Castle, "You as well, Lady Camilla."

"Ah, good morning, Lilith." Camilla returned with a smile, "My wyvern?"

"Prepped and ready to fly, he's been very responsible." Lilith bowed.

"You always have such a way with even the most… vicious of beasts." She continued to compliment, "Franz never enjoyed someone else's company so much… aside from my own, of course."

"You are looking radiant today, Lilith!" I finally got my chance to speak.

She flushed, "You are too kind, both of you."

"I would like if you were able to join us, Lilith. You always have such an interesting perspective." I continued to speak.

"Oh, you know I can't… I am but a stablehand. Being with royalty? I couldn't." She gently declined.

"Nonsense! My darling Corrin has taken such a liking to you… please, join us for a day!" Camilla, however, wasn't having that kind of 'defiance'.

"I… can't just abandon my duties, Lady Camilla." She bowed.

"Dear…" Camilla then proceeded to give her 'the look', the kind where she's making very sure that the other knows that she will not take 'no' for an answer.

And as such, Lilith relents, "Very well, Lady Camilla… Lady Corrin. I will gladly join you both today."

"Lady Corrin?" Kaze asks, startling me out of my memories. "Apologies… we're here." However, before I could possibly respond, "Are you well? You have been… lost in your memories, milady."

"A lot has happened recently, Kaze… there's just a lot to think about." I quietly admit. "I'll be fine."

"As you say, Lady Corrin." He drops the topic right there, and I proceed to enter the training room. It's morning...ish. Well, more like midday. There are a fair amount of guards training, though when I enter and am noticed, pretty much all of them take a moment to bow and/or salute to me. A resounding 'Princess/Lady Corrin' echoes through the room. I give a simple wave and greeting in return. Afterwards, I go over and grab…

Kaze offers me a katana. "Kaze, please… you don't have to do everything." Regardless, I accept the katana. Ugh, not to complain, but it feels a bit too light. I'm so used to Nohrian Swords by now that holding this feels wrong. "Thank you, though."

"At your beck and call, milady." Woosh, and he vanishes. I hold the practice Katana in hand, then proceed to the training circle. I take several moments to do some light stretches, being extra careful when stretching the muscles and skin around my Wound. Once that is done, I take my stance. Left arm up across my chest, right arm holding the sw… erm, katana. I breathe in, slightly lower my form, and go for a single slash. The wind is sliced by… and I feel a distinct burn on my side.

Great, I won't even be able to get some decent practice hits in without agitating my Wound.

Shaking it off, I direct my attention towards the closest training dummy, lunge, and score a weak hit on its side. Some of the wood chips off, but the dummy remains strong. I frown, then strike again, a larger chip is slashed off, my side pulses a bit more, I…

"Milady." Kaze gently interrupts.

"What?" My response is snappy and with far more bite than I anticipated...

However, if it bothered him, then he manages to expertly hide it, "This is a practice katana." He states the bleeding obvious, "Katanas are meant to be wielded with speed and precision, not brute force." He, oh…

Oh. "Then I want a practice sword." I firmly state, "I was raised with swords, and I want to stick with swords."

"I will gladly have one commissioned for you, milady." He replies with a swift nod. "Is there anything else?"

I glance down at the 'graceful' practice katana, "No, not right now, Kaze." Poof, he vanishes once more. 'It is getting kind of annoying, having you vanish in and out of sight like that.' I refrain from rolling my eyes. Instead, I ready another strike, fueled by my partial aggravation of having being told that I'm not holding a Nohrian sword. I lunge, strike diagonally… and feel absolutely no resistance. "Huh?" I look up to the dummy, where there lacks any signs of being hit, my swo… katana is at the end of the path, almost touching the ground. I blink my eyes, did I… miss? I raise up and just poke the dummy.

…

The upper diagonal half slides off.

It was then that I noticed that there is a small sheen of water at the point where my practice katana apparently made contact. "Gods, that was… amazing!" A guard praises me. "The power of a Royal!" "I've seen Lord Ryoma strength once, but…" "Great job, Lady Corrin!"

'Did I…?'

"My Yasei." Pride. I can feel the pride from his mental message, and that pride hits me so hard.

Why is my heart swelling up with so much gratification? 'Who… are you? Just hearing that, 'My Yasei', it felt like it meant so much and…'

"In due time."

Those three words are enough, at least for now. 'I'll… hold you up to that.' I feel a smile form on my face, though for all intents and purposes, the others think I'm smiling due to the feat of what I just did, and the ensuing praise that followed. That's fine, I'll let them think that.

Within a few minutes of the initial act, however, the praise ends, the guards resume their training, and I'm left with a dummy that is only half of its former self. I look at the training katana… just how did I slice this in half with a blade made of wood? It wasn't 'normal', either… the cut is perfect, no bumps or dips. I shake my head, maybe I'll figure it out later? For now, I will focus on some strikes with this other dummy. Taking a breath, I ready a swing, then proceed to go for a simple horizontal movement. The side isn't even chipped, and my arm is left with the vibrations of a failed hit. More specifically, my Wound is left feeling those vibrations. At least it's not painful.

I narrow my eyes, crouch down, and go for a helm strike. Ding! I can see my practice katana make a sizable dent out of the dummy's head. Step back, move forward, slash sideways. "Haa…" Whew, being in bed-rest for even a few days is apparently a killer on my muscles. I'm going to have to focus more on stretching and exercises… like when I first started getting into swordplay.

I really would like to have a sword again, too. Nothing against the katanas, but since I spent so many years with a sword, I'd like to stick with a sword.

I hold the practice katana back, then proceed to gently lie… "Ow… ow! K-Kaze!" Aw, c'mon! How was that too much?!

"Milady." Less than a second later, I can feel his hand slip under my dress, and apply another dose of that ointment.

"Tch… haah…" It takes a few moments, but it soon works, and the burning subsides. I'm… going to need something that lasts longer than that, or maybe I shouldn't have struck the dummy so hard? "Thank you, Kaze."

"My pleasure, Lady Corrin." He places the container away in his outfit.

Right… Katanas are made more for speed… "Kaze? Do you know how to wield a katana?"

"I'm afraid my experience in katanas is minimal, milady. I use shurikens."

How about… "Daggers?"

"That's a Nohrian weapon, Lady Corrin. I have no experience in them."

"You… don't have self-defence daggers here?" I continue.

"Ah, we do have those… I assumed you meant the ones also forged to throw."

Well, duh… "I did. Why is there a difference?"

"If a Ninja wished to throw a simple metal object, we use Shurikens." I mean, he's being honest…

But that honesty feels more like he's talking to a child, rather than a fully-grown adult. "Well, I didn't know that." I point out, what should be, the obvious.

"My apologies, I didn't mean to sound patronizing, Lady Corrin. I only wished to inform you."

Right, of course. I sigh. "No, this is on me, I'm not used to Hoshidan weapons… yet I'm Hoshidan Royalty." I still don't want to use a Katana.

"You were also taken from us…" Pain. Kaze finally lets an intense amount of emotion bleed into his speech.

However, "Only place that blame on Garon and Iago, Kaze." I tell him. "Don't put all of the Nohrians into that accusation. Especially the Royals."

"I sho…" He stops himself, clears his throat, and resumes, "I will do as you suggest, Lady Corrin."

No, there was something else. I give his expression a more acute observation, but he's already switched back to that 'unreadable' state. However, after a moment of looking, I decide to let the matter drop. He's almost as stone-like as big brother can get… at least I know how to get Xander to crack a smile. Kaze is a complete mystery to me.

Then an idea crosses my mind. "Kaze? Is there some sort of…" Oh, what would be the Hoshidan equivalent? "A memorial site dedicated to the best?"

For a moment, he looks confused, "There is a burial site for Royals, there is also a collection of great warriors allocated into a Legacy book."

"Um, then… statues, then?" There are a lot of those in Krakenburg, notable figures who made great strides in…

Recognition settles into his expression, "Hoshido doesn't have as much raw ore to spare as Nohr, milady. Our statues are few and far between. There… was a grand one of the Dawn Dragon, in the town square. Solid marble mixed with gold and silver."

'Was'. Oh… that's where… mother died. "Are there… any other statues?"

"There are, but they are relatively small and have higher amounts of rock composite in them. There is one dedicated to the Fire Tribe, it contains a large amount of granite. One for the Wind Tribe, accompanied with sandstones that the Wind Tribe gifted to help make it. I believe Izumo had one built for us, their leader at the time said it was to 'promote peace', it has several small blocks of Emerald, Ruby, and Sapphire in it."

"But… none of the best, say… Samurais? Ninjas?"

He shakes his head, "Hoshido holds relations to neighbouring tribes and cities higher than the individuals. As I stated, we lack the higher amount of quality ore that Nohr has. It's also why armor from Nohr tends to be denser, while Hoshidan armor might have more cured leather or chain link." He continues to explain.

Well, Xander's teaching tends to lean towards more brute force… I nod. "Swordplay and strength were the top two things big brother taught me."

"Your… big brother?" He echoes, and then I realized I referred to Xander as big brother… he's thinking of, "Lord Ryoma teaches speed and precision."

I form a thin line with my mouth, "I'm speaking of Xander." A soldier happens to hear that, going by how he almost dropped his own training weapon. "I still view them as family, Kaze." I lower my voice.

He takes nearly a minute to respond, no doubt choosing his next words very carefully. "Milady, with all due respect, you do realize that with Her Highness's abrupt departure, that war will be waged, correct?" His tone drops to a whisper.

Had it crossed my mind? Yes. "How soon? Maybe I can…"

"We are well past negotiating. Yukimaru has already organized the defenses and offenses. Reina is leading a hybrid scout/strike team. The rest of the army is preparing for the First Conflict, which is why there are so many soldiers in the training grounds."

Yukimaru? Reina? Those names feel familiar, but I can't recall why. "Kaze, how soon?"

"...Yukimaru expects an attack within the next week, ten days at the most… depending on Reina's report." He informs me. I drop my katana and start walking to… "Milady?"

"I need to move, Kaze. I can't just laze around…" That is almost funny, considering I was close to injuring myself while training. "I can, I can maybe…" Maybe I can, what? I don't believe that we are 'past negotiations'. I know I can contribute something, my Nohrian family will listen to me, I know they will!

Elise will definitely hear me out, Camilla is just as certain. Leo might resist, but I know he'll at least take my words into consideration… Xander will be tough, I know how patriotic he is about Nohr. We don't need to go to war! "Lady Cor…"

"I will do something, Kaze!" I snap back, strangely causing a small amount of water to pool up around my feet. I also feel a distant roar, so familiar and comforting. "I can at least make things easier." I then take a breath and bring up… "You want to be my retainer, correct? So, you'll stand by me with this? You trust me, right?" While the snappiness has faded and the roaring has died down, the water remains.

His expression turns 'Ninja-like' once more, and with one simple, but stern nod, he speaks… "I've seeked to serve you for many years, Lady Corrin. I may have not swore my oath, but I will act as if I had… where you lead, I will follow."

I relax my muscles and smile, "Then please, take me to… Yukimaru, was it?" I ask, "And… would you also please remind me of anyone else important?"

He begins leading the way, while also talking, "I gladly serve you, Lady Corrin." He first says, followed by, "Yukimaru is the Royal Tactician, he…" I listen intently, noting the ways he mirrors Jakob…

"Absolutely not! I know the exact method milady prefers her tea!" I smile and shake my head at the inevitable clash between Jakob and Kaze over 'who does what'.

A/N: Alright, now that Kaze practically had an entire chapter dedicated to him making talks with Corrin… I'll start exploring other characters… that aren't just the Royals! That's right! Corrin will be primarily talking to the 'side' characters. Though, she will still need to make some firm bonds with her 'birth' family, right? It sounds like she holds the Nohrian Royals in higher regard… however! She seems more than willing to the 'Revelations' route at this point in time. That sounds pretty good, right? Maybe getting something done earlier will let her ease things in later?

I also increased the amount of time it will take the 'First Contact' battle to start, so that I can have more time detailing this world and characters!

Frankly, I was going to add Hinoka in, but I decided against it. With all due respect, the Royals get enough screen time, so let's put more focus on the 'smaller' guys. Also, whoo! Fleshing out Hoshido and Nohr! I hope y'all enjoyed all the juicy lore bits!