A/N: 3 Years. 1 Month. ~28 days. By all means, this should have been done by now. Hell, all of the Unfinished Fics should've been done by now, but I hit that block and it killed the progress on all of the fics.
But, I think I'm finally ready to re-enter the world of Fanfics.
Enjoy.
Vallite: Purotekutā no Kyōdaiai(Protector of Sibling Love) [Corrin's Naginata] Hoshizora Seiza(Starry Constellation) [Lilith's Mother] Jiyū(Freedom) [Lathna's F!Pegasus] Kanpeki(Perfection) [Subaki's M!Pegasus] Shi no Mirai(Tides of the Future) [Izana's Crystal Ball] Kuronikurā(Chronicler) [Forgotten Dragon God of Records/Time-Keeping] Fuka-sa No Kage(Depths of Shadow) [Afterlife for the Damned] Todoku No Hikari(Reaches of Light) [Afterlife for the Blessed] Mizumare(Waterborn) Wasure rareta kuni(Land of the Forgotten) [The Void. The place where only Shattered Spirits and Fractured Souls go to]
Hoshidan:Baranotsubomi(Rosebud) [Elise's Mare]
Nohrian:Katáktisi(Conquest) [Xander's Stallion] Ouranós Trómos(Skyterror) [Camilla's M!Wyvern] Μαύροάλογο/Alastor(Dark Horse) [Leo's Stallion]
Common:Firechaser[Hinoka's F!Pegasus] Lavender[Silas's Mare]
Part of me felt damaged. Hinoka has went to such great lengths to bond with me. A sister rejoicing that her long-lost sibling was finally returned, a sister who wanted to make up for lost time... a Sister who used her seniority to denounce me as Commander. As a sister, that hurt, it hurt so much. As a tactician, I understood. I understand. But the wound is still fresh, and the emotion of hurt lingers, and fresh emotion overrides reason.
Which is why I chose to have Jakob brew me a tea while I took a moment to cool my head. It doesn't help that I know now that my retainers are being held hostage. Hinoka is going over the battle plan with Azura, and whatever that plan may be, I will need to show that I am apt for combat. Another slip up like the previous fight and I will be feared. I know what I am capable of, and if they saw it firsthand?
"Your tea, milady." Jakob snaps me from my thoughts.
"Do you fear me?" I smell the tea, keen draconic instincts honing in. It soothes me before I even get to the point where I consume it. I recognize the blend. It isn't as strong as he normally blends it. We got a battle ahead, after all. I need to be cooled, not sedated.
He scoffs, and I swear I can hear a suppressed laugh. "Absolutely not! Pardon my tone, but what kind of absurd question is that?!"
"The type of question I am seriously considering for everyone." Jakob hands the tea over, giving me a concerned look. "I scared her. Hinoka. My own sister. When we were teleported, that is. That other realm. I..." I look down at the blend, swirling it, breathing it in. I take a sip. It travels down so warmly, like the loving embrace of... "Xander always pushed me to be my best." My voice turns somber. "His training sessions were the most intense I had. He insisted that I was not drawing out all the capabilities of my Royal Blood." I pause, then gulp, not Tea, but saliva. "I fear he hasn't the fraction of an idea of how much power I actually have."
"I am aware of the power of Royal Blood. It has been hundreds of Generations since the Dawn and Dusk Dragons bestowed their blessing, but even with all of the dilution, Royals remain immeasurably powerful." Jakob affirms me. Yeah, the lineage of the blessed. The Royals. But I'm not them. I don't have a few drops that has remained in the line of hundreds of Great-great-great grandparents, but half. Half of my blood is Mortal, the other is Goddess. "You are simply lucky in that aspect."
Am I? It is hard to restrain myself so much. I take another gulp like a drunkard on Happy Hour. Still warm, still delightful to taste, it does little to soothe my nerves. Jakob, you might not fear me now, but if you could see what I could do, you'd tremble. Everyone would. I'd be labeled a Monster. I've seen the fear in Hinoka's eyes and that alone scared me.
Jakob says he doesn't fear me. But I fear myself. I exhale a sigh, down the rest of the tea. "Thank you."
"Anytime, milady." He takes the glass from my offered hand, offering me a reassuring smile. "Allow a few minutes for the herbs to calm you, then you may join us."
"...Of course. You may depart." I nod, forcing a smile. He notices, of course, he knows me. I can't hide behind any mask from him. Of course, except for the mask that I'm not even Hoshidan in the first place. I'm not Nohrian. I'm Vallite. The only people who can see through that mask are the other Vallites.
And Leo isn't one of them. Damn whoever is keeping this Vallite Curse up. When I find them...
"Alright! Listen up!" Hinoka's voice booms through the camp. Azura stands by her side. We're lined up. There is no map. Mokushu officially remains uncharted, as part of the Ninja's pact of Neutrality. We're going to trek into miles of forest with no clear route. "My reports have came in, and we're dealing with a hostage situation from Ninjas who are assumed to have strayed from their Pact of Neutrality! Kaze, Mizumare, Orochi, and another Unknown Ninja are being held captive. Imprisoning Retainers is a Crime is a Crime against the Royals themselves, and there are three of them!"
"Three?" I find myself asking.
"...Orochi is was, M-Mother's..." Sakura whispers.
"All Mokushu's Ninjas are considered to be Threats. Tread lightly, and keep your eyes peeled! These are NOT your typical warriors. Ninjas fight alone from the shadows, in the brushes, through traps, with poisons. There is no code of 'Honor' aside from protecting your own! If you think you killed one, assume there is a post-death trap on them! If they surrender, do NOT accept! Ninjas will do ANYTHING to win a battle, a war, a fight for their lives, and their mission."
I feel the urge to retort, but...
"What do you mean we have nothing on Hoshidan Ninjas?" I asked Leo during one of our Tactical Book sessions.
"Nothing important." He clarifies, I roll my eyes, he scoffs. "They are agile, they use Shurikens, poisons, traps, and that they are capable of short distance non-magical teleportation, but that's it. Mokushu, the largest of the Ninja settlements, is voluntarily Neutral, cut off from the rest of the world. Officially, they do not exist. They subsist on their own, and every Ninja that decides to depart has some level of Code that prevents them from sharing their secrets. We have nothing that can be used against them. You can learn to fight against almost any force, except a Mokushan Ninja."
"And nobody who fought them has written? Surely there must be..."
Leo raises his finger to his lips, shushing me. "You were not listening." He brings his voice down to a whisper, reaching into his 'Reading Robe', a gift that Camilla and I put together. Brynhildr is on the front, splayed open, but instead of magical runes that summon trees when magic is channeled, it has our family on top of its pages. By Camilla's suggestion, Elise and I are in the exact center. She said we are the two that bring everyone together. I also wondered why, granted this was before I learned about the Concubine Wars. I understood then. Elise is the Sunshine of Nohr, too young to remember the horrors.
She also admitted that I was adopted. Knowing this now, she took a huge risk, but it was worth it. She assured me I was still family. That's part of the reason why I'm fighting so hard to keep my Nohrian Family.
The book was titled... "Tomato Recipes?" I ask, confused. "Brother, we have got to talk about this..."
It's his turn to roll his eyes. "Read it when you get the chance, but speak not of it."
I raise my eyebrow, intrigued. "Illegal information? I didn't realize you were a bad influence." I tease with a grin.
He flushes. "Must you be so..."
"So what?" I press. Ever since Camilla told me, I... looked into his eyes. He looked uncomfortable, he fidgets and he opens his mouth to speak...
"And that leads to Corrin's Squad." Azura says.
...My squad?! Hinoka levels The Look at me. Not an aggressive one, but... concerned yet reprimanding. She wants to believe in me. She wants to give me a chance. She and I both know she's not fit for Commanding, but we also both know she took control because I was losing it. The army cannot falter.
"We have decided that Corrin's... unusual levels of perception would be best to lead the Leading Squad, whilst the rest have your assigned directions of attack."
"We believe that she is our best on-foot in-fight scout." Hinoka follows up. "Recent events aside, she is also one of our strongest."
My ears twitch as I pick up some... unpleasant comments. "She's only getting a second chance because she's family." "The Nohrians did something to her." "Hinoka is one of the most fearless soldiers I know, but I saw the Fear." "She ain't right."
"Hey, HEY!" Hinoka silences the army. "If you're going to mutter, it better be something you can say TO MY FACE!" ...Still defending me, even after I caused her to be afraid. This... is sibling love. My heart beats in agreement.
This is why I fight so hard to keep my Hoshidan Family together.
She is confident that this was a slip-up, an act of emotion. Hinoka didn't train and wait for over a decade just to lose me again, she's willing to fight tooth and nail to keep me. "That's what I thought." She says after a moment of silence.
Azura clears her throat. "We are at war." She bluntly points out the obvious, but then adds, "And war is something that can change a person. I know not what Lady Corrin and Lady Hinoka experienced, but it's clear that whatever happened triggered a traumatic response. It is our duty as a unit to not ostracize her, but to understand. Understand that during War, we will be pushed to the limits. That we face our Breaking Points again and again. That the enemy will try and exploit us in any way possible. We almost must know that we have each other's backs. We need trust."
As opposed to Hinoka's boisterous commanding, Azura's soothing voice turns the Complaints into Agreement. Mutters of approval spread. A smile breaks through on the otherwise stone-faced Singer.
"She's right." Hana speaks up. "Look guys, Lady Corrin has had a rough childhood." Well that's a... mostly a lie. "The late Sumeragi was ambushed, Lady Corrin was taken away and locked away. She's with her family now, and I'm sure she's terrified of losing them. Terror can make us do irrational things." For a half-second, I notice Azura's smile flip, before she seems to notice herself and fixes it. "I can't count the number of nights I consoled Lady Sakura, nor the nights that I had to reassure her that..."
Sakura squeaks. "H-Hana! You don't need to share that! I think they get the picture!" Her face turns beet-red.
"Apologies, Lady Sakura." Hana backs down, a flush on her own face, embarrassed.. ashamed?
Subaki steps forward. "I believe what Lady Azura is getting at is: We need to understand that this is a one-time event with Lady Corrin. We need not to worry it repeating, as long as we avoid whatever she was triggered by. Speaking of... if you are comfortable sharing?" He turns his gaze to me. "If we know, we can avoid... but pardon me if I am speaking out of turn."
And I feel the weight of the army on me with held breath? It feels like time stopped just for me. Jakob steps near me, and I know he was about to have Subaki's tongue for putting me on the spot like that, but a single raised arm from me stops him. He tilts his head. I nod. He backs off.
"What I fear more than anything..." I speak up. Vividly recalling the vision that Izana had allowed me to see. Elise, slashed across her chest, dying in the arms of a silhouette I couldn't identify. "Is losing my family. I was imprisoned, locked away from them." I keep 'Nohr' and 'Hoshido' out of this. They are ALL my family, blood or not. "And ever since I was freed, I wanted nothing more than to have them all together, but now there is a war. And in war..." I choke on a breath, Elise's death replays in my head again, the next words dry my mouth almost instantly. "Anyone can die. It's what keeps me up at night. Did I plan right? Do I need to move people around? What can I do to protect them? It scares me that my siblings are on the front lines, but I also know the power of Royal Blood. And... it's not just them. I care about them, so I care about the people they care about. And now I got the entire Army... the entire Country to worry about. It's just... so much stress." I look at Azura. "And I can't burden it alone." And then I look at Hinoka. "So, thank you. I was getting overburdened. The relief from leadership is probably just what I need to recover."
More approval, I hear a few re-adjusting their opinion of me. Not a Monster consumed by power, but a Royal with too much weight on them. ...Well, most have approval. Azura has that half-second frown again. What game is she playing? Jakob pats my shoulder, I see pride in his eyes. "Well-spoken, Milady. I'm certain the rest of your family would be thrilled to hear this."
Hinoka allows the approval to tide over a few more times before she speaks up. "We have our assigned positions. Gear up, and we're moving out!"
-
Kaze grunts as consciousness returns. He keeps his eyes closed, but a few details point to exactly the position he is on. Grogginess, slightly ill. He was poisoned by a strong sedative. Parts of his body are sore, he feels bruises, he was dragged. Wrists and ankles are wrapped. He's a prisoner. How did he miss it? He's a Ninja. Yet he never noticed the attack. He should have, he's a retainer. If he was outplayed then...
His captor is a Master Ninja.
He hears the sound of a Whetstone grinding out the impurities of a Shuriken. He knows it's a Shuriken, it's different from a sword or an axe. Quick, successive strokes... and the slight smell of a Toxin as the remainder gets rubbed off. That's one of the many lessons he learned. Never keep a toxin on your Shuriken for too long, many of the formulas corrode the weapon. What non-Ninjas don't know is that the lifespan of a Shuriken is incredibly short. Most assume that a Shuriken is small to allow for easy surprise attacks, and while that is true, that is only half correct.
"You are awake." A deep gruff voice says. The man's back is to him. "I heard your breath-rate change. Can't say the same for your buddy." Kaze looks to his side. Mizumare still seems to be unconscious. His body then tenses as he sees a cage across from him, in front of his captor. Orochi! "I meant your Ninja friend, but I suppose she warrants concern as well. The Queen's Retainer, if I remember the reports correctly."
Orochi is awake, tied as he is, but in a calm that matches a Ninja's training. If anything, she playfully smiles. "The cards..."
"Are a damn lie." He cuts her off. "You've been here for weeks, dedicated to a dead queen." Kaze's eyes dart around the room, the cave. Another cage, but it's at such an angle that he can't deduce who is inside, if anyone.
"Sorry to reunite like this, Kaze." Orochi calls over. "Who's your girl? She's pretty cute. Don't worry, I won't tell S..."
"Sh!" Kaze hisses. "Never reveal..."
"Saizo." The man growls. "Saizo the worthless Fourth and his one-eyed heir." He flings his recently sharpened Shuriken to a cave wall. It sticks the landing and even cracks it. "He was a humiliation to the Mokushan Ninjas."
"He knows, in case you can't tell." Orochi keeps her grin on, and he knows that if her hands were free, she'd be curling her hair right now in that mischievous way. "Don't bother hiding, he knows everything, like a stalker."
"Like a Ninja." The man corrects her.
"Whatever floats your boat." She giggles.
"You know me. But I do not know you." Kaze speaks.
The man finally turns around, and Kaze resists the urge to gasp. No, he does not know him from a glance, but he does recognize the wound on his left arm. A very specific burn mark that only one Ninja in the entirety of Hoshido is capable of accomplishing. It's a technique that only the Saizo's know. Any other Ninja that attempts to replicate the move just ends up setting themselves on fire. "Right right, you didn't have a death wish, but your brother did. It was cute, honestly, the way Saizo attempted to assassinate me. I do wish I could experience it again though, just to hear him scream in rage as he lost eyesight." He sadistically grins.
Kotaru. "The man who murdered my father. No, I know you now. Saizo warned me to never pursue you."
He claps, then laughs. "So he did learn! He does care! But yes, I did! He was a coward, a disgrace!"
"He was a hero, an inspiration!"
Something in Kotaru snaps, the laughter fades, he marches up, his rough hands grappling Kaze by the neck and lifting him into the air. Kaze gasps, chokes for air. "Your fool of a father almost cost Mokushu it's PACT OF NEUTRALITY!" He roars out, before dropping Kaze to the floor. "Not one, but TWO of his children went to Hoshido to serve as Retainers!" He kicks Kaze's chest, sending him to his side as he gasps for air. "The idiot!" Another. "You call that a role model? A hero?" Another and Kaze spits up blood, his vision distorts.
Orochi's smile has faded. "And maybe he was, but at least he was a fool with a code, instead of a Beast without a Leash."
A pang of hurt hit Kaze's cold, Ninja heart, but in that moment he knew exactly what game Orochi was playing.
Kotaru may be a Master Ninja, but it's clear his emotions are winning. He storms a few steps away from Kaze. Not so clouded by emotions to stay within Kaze's reach. "Silence, bitch!" He throws a shuriken, so blinded by rage, so clouded by hate that... it perfectly cuts through Orochi's bun and causes her to lose over half of her hair.
"Geez, thanks. It was getting a bit too oily, this will cut down on the cost of shampoo." She manages to joke. "It's really mucky in here, maybe you could..." Orochi gasps as he produces a syringe, throwing it with deadly precision. This one makes it mark in her side. "You could... you..." she repeats, her eyes glazing over as she swiftly slumbers.
"My own recipe." He says after taking a breath. From within his armor he produces another one. This one, unlike so many other toxins, is not green, but... purple? "Just like this one..." He approaches Kaze, grabbing him by the neck once more, but not to raise him, to hold him down. His face approaches Kaze's. "A new formula. The idea hit me one day, but... I haven't had a good time to test it." His fingers raise to grip Kaze's cheeks, and the Retainer grits his teeth. "Let's see what you're afraid of, hm?"
The syringe is injected and despite the Ninja's training against toxins, does nothing for this one. It is new, unfamiliar. In the moments before his vision distorted, he understood how Kotaru's Sleeping Toxin had such great effect on him.
His vision distorts, the cave fades to a grass field, like many of the large-scale battles are taken on... like the one where Hoshido and Nohr first clashed after the Queen's death. Kotaru, Mizumare, Orochi, and even that Mystery Prisoner all fade away. It takes only seconds for this mysterious toxin to take hold, and when it does...
"KAZE!" He hears the voice of Lady Corrin. As he blinks his eyes, she's bleeding out from that damnable Wyrmslayer wound. Sakura is standing over her, healing magic doing nothing.
"SHE TRUSTED YOU!" Sakura screams. Tears streaming as the otherwise gentle princess glares at her with a level of despise that could not be matched. "You let her down!"
Kaze flinches. All of those years of training... for nothing? He had waited, being told that Corrin would never come back from Nohr, that he was wasting his time.
"I KNEW we should have left her with Jakob. He may be a Nohrian, but at least he knows her." Hinoka appears from nowhere, but in Kaze's distorted and toxin-ridden body, she was always there. "I can't believe you manage to con her into taking you in!"
"I..." Kaze chokes on his words, emotion rising up.
"OUT!" Sakura's raised voice turns her beet-red, not from embarrassment like usual, but anger.
"I told you." Jakob is now by Corrin's side. He looks at Kaze with disappoint... and pride. "I am the superior Retainer, you are a fake."
"This isn't real, this can't be..." Kaze's heart rate skyrockets. Details aren't adding up.
"Denying it will make it worse. Just accept it. You failed." Jakob continues with his cold, cutting words. "You are a failure, to both the status of a Retainer, and as a Ninja."
"I didn't..." Hinoka and Sakura fade away.
Jakob stoops down, getting blood on his pristine white gloves. Corrin's blood. She's bled out within seconds. Wyrmslayers are lethal, it attacks the Draconic Scales, severing them easier than a hot knife through butter, and it prevents the wound from healing properly. He knows this, he's applied that ointment to Lady Corrin. "You did this." He removes his glove and throws it at Kaze. It's steeped in her blood.
"You disgraced the Saizo name." Saizo appears now, replacing Jakob. "Be glad I was born first, or I would have you commit Seppuku on the spot. As it stands, you are not my brother anymore. Get out of my sight." Kaze, for the first time for a long time, gives into his emotions. He screams, tears stream down his face. He... failed. He failed. He failed. The thought screams in his head. HE FAILED!
Rinkah growls as she pushed back another branch. "I swear, if we were trying to sneak, I'd burn these branches!" She hisses.
I raise a finger. "Try to avoid them." I whisper.
Which only serves to ignite the Fire Tribe more. "Being sneaky isn't my thing. Should've been put on reserve."
"Well, you're here." I wave her off.
"...So, you're gonna show me sometime, right?" Rinkah changes the topic.
"Show you what?"
"The power that made your sister piss her pants?" I turn to her in disbelief. She smirks. Right right, Fire Tribe values Strength above everything... even family? Society's opinion? Would she sacrifice relations for another pound of muscle?
"...If I did, you'd fear me, too." I shake my head.
"Fear you? Please." Rinkah scoffs, but doesn't press it.
Groups of two. I can understand, but we're both primarily Melee fighters. Ninjas are not. If a group targets us, we'd be lucky to kill them without suffering a high dose of whatever the Daily Special of Toxins is... or Rinkah will. I hear a ruffle of leaves and my eyes dart to the side. Rinkah reaches for her club but I wave her off. "Rabbit." I mention. I can smell it, hear the little hops. It soothes me.
If the forest animals aren't bothered, then there isn't much movement near here. Ninjas are great at sneaking, but it's rare for them to not bother forest animals. ...Master Ninjas, on the other hand. I shake my head free of that thought. The last thing I need is to get pulled into another Lesson From Leo. I need to remain alert. We move forward again, but I soon stop us. A hair-thin wire, the leaves ahead are just a tint too green. Trap. I guide us around it. Ninjas may be skilled, but I'm both a Royal and Half-Dragon Goddess. My senses are beyond theirs, maybe on a Master Ninja level?
Rinkah dutifully follows me as I effortlessly guide us through the traps. The silence broken only by the occasional bird chirp or grazing from a deer. It feels too easy, we should've been ambushed... something is wrong. But I can't back down. We can't. There are hostages, so if we are walking straight into a trap, we know it's a trap, the element of surprise is lost. They will think us surrounded, but they are the ones that will be surrounded.
It's a pretty basic strategy. The enemy thinks it's an easy win, they will let their guard down. Your hidden groups attack, they are demoralized and become desperate. Desperation leads to unwise decisions.
Then you crush them.
I grin, my blood gets excited. I frown, I can't go down that path again.
Avoiding trap after trap, we end up at the central village where the gates are wide open, as if welcoming visitors... but I know that's not the case, and I also know that the others are further behind. Maybe they encountered a trap? Maybe Ninjas were ambushing them? Maybe... "Maybe you will see me unleash it." I say.
Rinkah chuckles, her Fire Tribe fiery hot breath hitting my skin. "Looking forward to it. So, we walking straight into this?"
"Yes." We enter.
I hear nothing moving but Rinkah and me... but I can smell them. Their leather, the wood of their Yumis, the toxins that are being knocked, the metal of their Shurikens. "Half a dozen." I whisper. I smell their sweat, anticipation. They should have attacked, but they wait. Why? There's no way they know I can smell them.
Then I do hear a shout from further in. "NO! I FAILED YOU!" Kaze!
"I'm assuming your sharp ears could actually make that out?" Rinkah asks.
I nod. "It's Kaze, but we can't just..."
Thunk. I just barely turned my head, but it was enough for a sound I could not place, nor a scent I could pick up. An arrow embeds itself into one of the weaker flexible joints of my breast-armor. I curse myself for not being born a man. I'm not even one-tenth as endowed as Camilla, and even with the wrap, adjustments had to be made.
It pisses me off, honestly. Rinkah draws her throwing club and immediately tosses it at the direction of my attacker. It catches fire mid-flight and shakes the building when it hits.
"Welcome." A voice speaks in the direction of Rinkah's throw. The man brazingly stands atop a roof, his Yumi Quiver empty. Cocky, bold, truimphant.
"Lotta bravado for a man who didn't go for a killing blow!" Rinkah exclaims.
My breathing sharpens. Eyes narrow to slits. I feel the change, unbidden by me. I shake, I sweat, adrenaline pushes in. I try to push it towards Flight, Flight. If I Fight I...
Rinkah notices. "Damn it, a Toxin, of course."
The man does not order his Ninjas to attack. I try to wrack my mind together, but as an intense feeling grips me, I begin to understand why he doesn't. "Get out of my sight, Rinkah!" I desperately yell.
"Hell no!" She pulls out an Anti-Toxin, grips me by the face and attempts to push the solution down my mouth.
With the last strand of willpower I gulp it down. It's sickening, it's thick, it's gross and...
"Won't work." The man grins. "See, I'd knew you would carry that on you, which is why I used my own home-grown herbs. I have selectively bred them for years to carry traits unlike any other. But you're Fire Tribe, so I guess that's too complicated for you."
Rinkah scowls. "And what kind of toxin? HUH!? You think you're so tough? I actually think you're pretty stupid, showing yourself like that, as soon as..."
The man laughs, but it fades to nothing. I growl, more Draconic than before.
Rinkah fades, I know I'm poisoned, but it's not enough to know. My mind is screwed to take whatever hallucinogen this man put it in and it... it...
The vision returns. The one of Elise. Or it was. It's no longer a sword that kills her, but a club... held by Rinkah. "You." I snarl. I know Rinkah. Raw power won't win. I partially shift, armor, helm, sword. I need my speed.
Rinkah grips her swinging club. "This isn't the idea I had in mind when you said you were gonna go all out! C'mon, snap out of it!" She shouts.
My heart is hammering, senses are at an all-time high. Rinkah killed Elise?! I got no words for this, vengeance is all that's on my mind. The Sunshine of Nohr snuffed out by a Fire Tribe. I swing my sword, hoping for a quick kill, but as I should have predicted, she stops the blade with ease. Smoke emanates from her club. "SNAP OUT OF IT!" She roars again.
"Kill her." I faintly hear as more of Rinkah's allies emerge from the shadows.
Not only does she kill Elise, but now she has troops in hiding?! Arrows and Shurikens fly in my direction, most bounce off of my scales, only a few hit. I slide my sword down and push her away. I lack ranged capabilities, but that doesn't mean I can't close the gap. I leap, a single flap of my wings is enough to get me higher. I need to take out her allies, but I also need to keep my distance from Rinkah.
A single swipe from my blade is enough to bisect one, yet before he hits the ground I grab his severed parts and use them as makeshift projectiles. One misses, but the other slams into a target enough to knock him off the platform.
I smell it in the air. Blood? Of course, but also fear. A Shuriken misses me, despite the man having a clear line of sight on me. I'd be scared too, if my specialized weapon did nothing, and then my target proceeded to throw bits of my comrades at me.
The fear in my toxin-ridden mind combines with the lust for battle, the Draconic need for dominance. Elise is gone in my mind. I need to fight. I need to revel. My hand thrusts forward into the house next to me, I break through with ease, splinters falling off of my scaled hand. I grip it as a makeshift spear and throw it at the fool who missed me. I see the fear in his eyes as his body locks up. Through the chest and pinned to the wall behind him.
Shouting from below, it's the Strong One. Did she kill Elise? I do not know, but my body senses her as a threat, and I don't take threats. I glare at her from above, measuring her from afar.
Why does she seem familiar?
I shake my head, I don't care. She has a weapon, she's pointing at me, and she's yelling. It's clear she wants a fight.
[Tidal wave.] I say as a watery barrier forms around me. I simply drop from the raised house and land with a crash. A wave of water erupts from my position, knocking the supports of the building next to me, causing it to crumble like a stack of improperly laid bricks.
The Threat raises her club and somehow manages to block it... no, evaporate it. She yells again and I see that she is visibly steaming. She yells again, sounding... desperate?
I charge her, and she swears. Our weapons meet again. The club haft suffers some damage, but remains strong in the hands of this Fiery Threat. She points away from me, towards to some spot, but I do not fall for it. I pull my sword back and attempt to slam her with a formed-mace. She dodges and clubs me across the side. The side that is always weak, the side that...
Takes the hit as well as my other. I feel an aura overcome me. Power, power, power! The outcome catches The Fiery Threat off guard. She swears again.
I pull back my mace and attempt for an unorthodox leg sweep, something she falls for, literally. Her back hits the ground and I thrust my sword down, but she rolls and sweeps her mace at my legs. I almost dodged, but she shifts it upward with a show of strength and it hits my ankle. Caught mid-air, I take longer to fall down. She rolls again and grips my arms.
"FIGHT IT!" With her so close, she screams into my face, I can hear what she is actually saying.
Fight it? What? Her? I AM! "I AM!" I roar back.
"NOT ME YOU IDIOT! YOU'RE..." An arrow protrudes itself from her side. "No no no." She pauses. "HINOKA! ST-STAY AWAY!" She lets me go. "Coward, fricken coward!" She lets go of me and grips her head.
I take advantage of this shift and get up, looking to make a decisive...
I am pushed back by a burst of flame from her position. The Fiery Threat sets herself on fire, her skin turning a vibrant red, but not burning off. Her nails sharpen and she roars. She drops her club.
Slitted eyes.
I knew she was a threat. I'm not backing down, not even from a Draconic one. I charge with a slash, but she catches my blade with nothing but her own hand, a weak fleshy...
Scaled hand.
She bares her teeth, fangs, and lifts me up with my own shifted blade, before slamming me into the ground. It knocks the wind out of me. I shift my hand into an axe and it cuts into her hand thanks to her intense grip, but she still does not let go. She attempts to stomp me, but I raise my other arm and form a sword. Her momentum provides more than enough force for my sword plunge upwards. She roars again before letting go of my axe-hand and pulling my sword-hand out from her foot. She steps back.
Both on our feet, we restart our attacks. Nimbleness versus raw strength, each empowered by an incredible adrenaline rush from fear.
Aware of the level of The Fiery Threat, I keep my attacks quick, precise. I score small cuts for my efforts. Yet for every several I land, she returns a singular hit that equals or exceeds mine.
I hear a laugh...
and a voice from within. "Not like me. Do NOT turn out like me!" A voice I know all too well, yet cannot place. "If you turn out like me, I can't live with myself!"
Shut up, shut up! I can't afford distractions! Yet the hesitation was already punished. The Fiery Threat slams a fist in my chest, knocking the wind out of me again. She lifts me up by my waist and bear-hugs me.
"You are NOT a Mortal! You can break through this! LISTEN TO ME!"
I'm... not? I'm not. I'm... I feel my body giving way to this Threats crushing grip. I grit my teeth, pull back my leg and kick her. She lets go as she stumbles backwards.
"We are GODS! We don't play by the same rules as Mortals do! MY YASEI! Listen to me!"
I grip my head as the voice inside grows louder. I am a Demi-Goddess... I am, I am...
"Whatever it is you wish, you can will it. You need not Magic, no vial, no prayer. It is your Divine Right. Just will it into existence! This is a power you have always had."
Then... I am not poisoned. "I am... not..." I grunt, the haze begins to lift, but... The Threat rises again, charging me. Well, I know I sure as hell can't focus my willpower with the Threat around. I glare at her, but I begin to recognize her... dark-skinned, fiery temper. What was her name? She looks angry, but beyond that... afraid.
She attempts to slash me open with those clawed hands, but I step back. I need to get away, buy some time to focus. I'm not her, I can't just hold her down. I form my wings and leap back, another jump and... a rock she picked up is thrown at me with such force that it catches fire, it clips one of my wings and I fall, slamming into the ground.
I can't get away from her, not when she can turn basic objects into lethal projectiles.
"We're..." I hear another shout.
No. They, who? Can't see this, they...
The Fiery Threat turns around.
NO! If I can barely hold my own, they'll get slaughtered! Fear re-emerges, but it's natural, my own. My heart pounds faster, harder, as if it's about to burst out.
I raise up. "Not poisoned. I'm not poisoned." I reiterate. The haze lifts further. "Rinkah..." I warn her. The Threat turns to me again, probably deciding who's generating more fear. She approaches me. "Look, we can spar later... no holding back. I swear, just use your thick-head and THINK!" She doesn't stop. She swings her fist, I duck, retorting with a punch which is stopped by her scaled-abs. She grabs my hand, then my other. Her grip is unrelenting.
"I... am... not... weak." She says slowly.
That's her fear? "Never said you were."
"But you thought it." I feel bones creaking as her grip tightens. "You all did. All this talk about Royal Blood and you push the common folk to the side." She brings my hands down, until I end up kneeling. "See how it feels?"
"Rinkah..." I repeat. Her grip is now burning my scales, past my natural defenses. "You are acting pretty stupid right now. All brawn and no brains."
"I'll take stupidity." She grins. She lifts me up, spins me once and sends me straight towards the man that shot me and Rinkah. "But at least I got battle experience, unlike your unwise hide!" She shouts.
...Did she fake it? No, I... I don't know. But what I do know is that I'm now on the same cliffside as this Master Ninja. I know that I pushed the toxin out with my own Divinity. Fear? Gone. All that's left is a sincerely pissed off Half-Dragon Demi-Goddess. Yet, he does not flinch. How?
And then I learn. One moment, he's standing a ten-second walk from me. The next, he's behind me and slashes my back. I never seen a Master Ninja fight, and even the unofficial documents from Leo had nothing specific about Master Ninjas, only regular Ninjas. By the time I turn around, he's on my backside again and slashes my arm. The slashes cut deeper than the Ninja's Shurikens, even though he's attacking as swiftly.
He's too fast. It's the reverse of my situation with Rinkah. I'm the strong one now, he's the fast one.
"I must admit, you are quite the test subject. Tell me, how did you detox yourself?" He asks. "It must be this... Dragon in you."
"Where's Kaze?" I retort, attempting another failed slash. He's too fast.
"Screaming like a baby... like you should be doing!" He snarls with anger and...
...Wait, Ninjas aren't supposed to be in tune with their emotions. "I'll admit it, your dose would've worked, if you were the Master Ninja you claimed to be." He slashes out of anger, I dodge and land my first hit, clean across his arm.
He takes a breath as he steps back and is now... almost thirty yards from me. "Not gonna work, Princess. Waited too long to bring your treasonous ass to the Nohrians. Crown Prince Xander is paying a huge bounty for you."
"What?"
"Aw, didn't he tell you?" He raises his arms up. "Fifty-Thousand Gold for the person who brings in the Hoshidan Princess, Corrin. It's double if you're brought in alive, but..." He shrugs.
"...You're lying." I seethe. Xander? No! I refuse!
"Am I?" He procures a paper from his armor. Folded, he throws it to me as expertly as he did his Shurikens. It lands its mark, in front of my feet. He raises his hands and grins, silently assuring me he won't attack if I go to grab it.
I slowly lower myself, keeping my eyes on him. Grabbing the paper, I straighten it out...
Wanted:
Princess Corrin of Hoshido
Crime: High Treason, Insubordination of Nohrian Royalty, Ushering a Revolution, and countless smaller crimes.
Reward: 100,000 gold alive
50,000 dead
Along with an accurate drawing of my face, and why a Princess of 'Hoshido' is charged with High Treason to 'Nohr'. At the bottom is a signature. Not King Garon's... but Crown Prince Xander.
Anger returns in full force. Disowning me as a Sister is one thing, but this?!
And then I recall his letter. No. This is real. In his letter he called me out for Treason, but to actually assign a Bounty?
"Aw, are your feelings hurt?" He scoffs from his high perch. "Get used to it, Sheltered Bitch, this is War. And you picked the wrong side." He draws his Shurikens again, but as he goes to throw one...
It flies from his hand to the wall behind him. An ethereal arrow perfectly going into one of the finger-holes of the Shuriken. But as soon as the Arrow lands, it vanishes.
I recognize that description from the Legendary Weapons. The Fujin Yumi and that's being wielded by...
"Back off from my SISTER!" Takumi. He draws the magical string again and another arrow forms from nothing. A second shot, but it misses as the Master Ninja vanishes. The next moment he's over fifty yards and entering the cave. He's going to get one of the hostages. Why? He's cornering himself, or is he so insane that he thinks he'll make it out of this alive? No, a third thought enters...
The entire cave is trapped and he knows the only way out. I shake it off. If there's a chance that I can walk with all of my allies alive, I will. "Thanks brother!" I shout as I chase the mad Master Ninja.
Inside the cave is the exact situation I assumed... mostly. Kaze is being held with a Shuriken to his neck. "Ah, Lady Corrin. A shame we had to meet under..." A voice I do not remember, but one that seems unnaturally calm.
"SHUT UP!" He's unstable.
There is also a palpable source of raw hatred.
Mizumare is unconscious... still. No, I can sense that she is conscious, yet she is somehow presenting herself as incapacitated. Strange. Her form seems to glimmer.
I focus on the current threat. The Master Ninja who is ready and willing to kill one of my Retainers. "Kotaru, you cornered yourself. I have an army closing in. The entire perimeter is secured."
He sneers. "That's what I was hoping for." With his other arm he pulls out an etched Shuriken. "You know, they say when you fail to use the Saizo's Special Technique correctly, you..." He fails to finish his statement as a blur seemingly appears behind him. Two Shurikens embedded into the Mad-Man's neck, perfectly across from each side, each slicing into one of the largest arteries in there.
"Piece of filth." As Kotaru falls, another Master Ninja stands. Sure, he may not have his proper gear on, but the way he executed Kotaru... "Death is too good for you."
Kaze gasps for air, I rush to him. "Kaze..."
"...I failed you. I failed you." He mutters again and again. He's... shaking. Terrified. His pupils are dilated, his eyes are wide.
"Kaze, I'm here, you didn't..."
"I FAILED YOU!" The ninja training he underwent cracks and fails. I never felt so hopeless.
"Forget it, girl." The other Master Ninja said. His face is hardened, worn. He wasn't saying that to be a prick, he sounds like, "Kotaru was a piece of shit, but he was the smartest Master Ninja that specialized in Toxins. It'd going to be hours before it wears off."
Hours... hours of Kaze screaming, trembling. "Thank you." Screaming, but alive. "I'd rather have him alive."
"Your benefits from this are nothing but a side-effect." He brushes me off. "My clan has been avenged." He turns to leave.
"Wait, we could use your skills in the war." Yes, another Ninja. Another Shuriken user, but he's also a Master Ninja his skills could...
He scoffs. "Your war."
What? "You are in it now, you killed the man who threatened not one, but three retainers."
"...Retainers. You are Royalty?" He turns to look at me.
"Yes, I..."
"Piss off." The look he gives me, I feel as much hatred as he had at Kotaru, but unlike the latter, he doesn't try to kill me. And like the Master Ninja he is, he is gone before I can even muster the anger to shout back.
"...I was going to save you, Kaze. I sensed the perfect opportunity, but he reacted before I could." Mizumare says, opening her eyes. She sounds... disappointed with herself.
"Yoohoo! Mind helping the other prisoner? The one who's kinda been here for like, twice as long?" The other voice says. Must be Orochi. For someone who has been a prisoner for a while, she still smiles. "By the Dawn Dragon himself, you look so much like your Mother! You must be Princess Corrin!" She grins. I'm a bit unsettled by her chirpiness.
I look at her cage, locked. Kotaru has the key, not that I need it. I look at Kaze once more, still trembling. I gently set him down. "Try and relax." My words fall on deaf ears as he continues to whimper about His Failure. "Stand back." I warn her.
"I appreciate the concern, but I'm in a pickle. Can't move." She smiles
"Then duck."
"Can do!" She lowers herself to the ground, I summon my sword arm and...
Remembered how good it felt to fight Rinkah without holding back. Embracing the fear, giving into the adrenaline, she has more strength than she knows and... I slash whilst lost in the memory. The shockwave that comes from it slices clean through the stone behind Orochi for several feet.
I still have more strength than I know.
Orochi shudders, "I felt that." She rises up as the bars in front of her just fall down. The only thing keeping her from leaving is a small, half-foot hurdle. She steps over it. "Mmm, I think I'll ask Kaze to get my binds. Don't want a magical shockwave tearing these beauties off." She laughs.
I focus on her, expecting to feel some level of fear... but there is none. She is stress-free, carefree. How?
Fear. I am afraid. How much of the battle between a Fear-Driven Rinkah and I was seen? How did Rinkah overcome the Toxin? Was she even affected, or was she imitating me? No, none of those can compare to the one question.
If the army is aware of what I did, will they Fear me? I have a pit in my stomach about the post-battle meeting.