Chapter Text
For the third time this week, Ryoma and Corrin were arguing. The War Council had been summoned only moments ago, Corrin calling them in to discuss an unexpected development in Southern Macarath, but everyone knew full well there wasn’t going to be much discussion as there would be discourse. Takumi sat in the corner of the ornate room, the polished wood glistening in the lamplight of Kamui's lantern, his arms crossed over his chest.
“If an attack hits the city there will be no survivors Ryoma, and you know that!”
“We don’t have time to intrude on another battle between Nohrians. We can hardly hold our own troops together let alone theirs' as well.”
“If Leon and the army is headed for the city, we can’t just do nothing! We’d be no better than the people slaughtering them!”
Kamui was bent over the map on the table, every move they made casting shadows across the room, the lantern shaking in their clutch. Sakura sat next to them, her rob against her chest, her eyes darting between the two generals. Every so often, it looked like she was going to say something, her mouth opening, but then quickly shutting once they started yelling again. On the other side of the room sat Hinoka, staring at the map at Ryoma's side, her face bent in concentration as scanned it. Takumi sat at the front of the table, glaring at the two of them. He’d been called out of practice to come here, and he’d rather be standing out there being used as a target than sitting in this room. Everyone knew better than to intrude on Kamui and Ryoma’s arguments, knowing it would only lead to more issues being brought up, more reasons for their voices to echo around the midnight colored tiles of the war room.
“If we slaughter our own men we won’t be able to be better than them,” Ryoma said, his face as solid as stone. He hadn't flinch when Kamui had yelled, standing over the table on the other side of them, his shoulders high and tense, the way he always got when he was bent on standing his ground. Takumi couldn’t help but roll his eyes, hoping that he might notice, but his gaze was fixed on Kamui.
“Then- Then we have to find some way to stop them!” Kamui said, in a fit of frustration slamming the lantern back onto the table. Sakura jumped, retreating into the back of her hood.
“We’ve already seen Leon’s power. There would be a struggle involved. Our men could be killed just as easily as the other Nohrians. If you can find a way to stop him, I may reconsider my statement of neutrality, but if you cannot, then we have no reason to discuss this further,” Ryoma said.
Takumi was feeling more sick to his stomach with each passing second. This was how it always was. Ever since Kamui had made their grand return from Nohr, the great royal finally come back to their homeland, Takumi had hardly been looked at twice, let alone been part of the war effort. He used to be the one arguing with Ryoma, making the plans, his voice the loudest in the room. He used to be the one at the front of the map, the one leading the fight, the one people looked up to. The strong one in the family. Things were different now. Now Hinoka listened when Kamui went on and on about the kindness of the Nohrians, letting the lance she'd used to kill hundreds of them fall to her side. Sakura asked them if they could teach her how to hold a sword, wanting to fight just as much as the other soldiers did. Ryoma looked to them as his second in command, telling Takumi to go practice his archery whenever he spoke up. That’s where he was needed most.
That’s only where he was needed.
The more they talked, the more he wanted to shout, anger starting to bubble in his chest, stemming from what felt like black fire in his heart. The world was turned upside down, this Nohrian advocating for a cause they’d never even been a part of. And now this Prince had the audacity to show up and destroy more towns, only giving Kamui more chances to shine like the diamond everyone saw them as. Before he knew what he was doing, he was opening his mouth, the first thing springing to his mind tumbling from his throat like over boiled kettle water.
“We could use the Adder Stone.”
Those words alone seemed to freeze the room, the tension suddenly snapping to a knot, a tight wire hanging between his lips and the rest of them. Everyone turned to look at him, silence engulfing Kamui's rebuttal. Takumi didn’t take his eyes off the table, but the feeling of the gazes upon him made his hair stand on end.
“Takumi, are you insane?” Hinoka said after a moment. He shot her a look. The mention of the insanity was enough to make him shutter, that word only bringing up memories of the fight in the village, but he held his stare, his mouth feeling dry.
“No. In case you haven’t noticed, there’s no purple smoke coming out of my ears anymore,’ Takumi snapped, “Is it really such a shock to voice my opinion now?’
Hinoka’s eyes flitting over his face, trying to read him as if he were that map in front of her, figuring out the best course of action to deal with him. A problem that had to be solved. Takumi’s chest felt tight, but she sat back, sighing under her breath.
“…I didn’t mean it like that,’ she said.
“Of course you didn’t,” Hs said, more venom in his words then he had intended.
“Watch your tone, baby brother,” Hinoka said.
“Back off, Princess," Takumi growled.
“Knock it off you two,” Ryoma said, the harshness of his words making them both shut up. Takumi turned to snap something at him, but immediately stopped when he saw the look in his face.
“Under no circumstances are we to use the Adder Stone, unless under extreme conditions. You know that, Takumi," Ryoma said.
“This situation seems pretty extreme to me,” Takumi said, “That bastard of a Prince has been on a rampage ever since Kamui came here. We have to take him out sooner or later.”
“Not with the Stone.”
‘But it’s the easiest way!” Takumi shouted, “It will minimize the causalities of both sides! All we have to do is-“
“Not. With. The Stone.”
Takumi bit down on his lip, his hands clenching in his lap.
“Wait- Wait-,” Kamui stuttered, stopping their conversation, “What’s ‘the Adder Stone’?”
“It’s nothing,” Ryoma said, dismissing the question, “We shouldn’t even be discussing the possibility of using it.”
“No, I want to know,” Kamui straightened themselves, looking at him, “I’m part of your family now. You can share things like this with me. I won’t go running back to Prince Xander to spill your secrets.”
Ryoma pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing, but before he could say anything Hinoka spoke up, turning in her chair to face them.
“It’s a magical artifact that we found in on one of our scouting missions,” She said, “Yukimara identified it as having a strong resistance to magic. So strong that if it came in in contact with any sort of mage, it could be used to-“
“Exorcise,” Takumi finished.
“We are not going to use that on anyone right now,” Ryoma said, “It is kept safe from the wrong hands in our custody, only to be used absolutely necessary. This is far from necessary.”
“And what? We’re going to let that Prince just destroy another village?” Takumi said, his voice rising, “We know magic is his biggest weapon. If we could get rid of that we could-“
‘It’s inhumane,” Ryoma said, “And we cannot show it’s existence that easily. Not on a Prince even you yourself look down upon. It would be like using gunpowder on a cockroach.”
“Perfect,” Takumi sneered, crossing his arms to match Ryoma’s pose, “I say we do it. Leaving him as a threat will only put us at a disadvantage. You’ve seen what his kind has done to us. To Kamui! We have to take out as many of them as possible before it comes back to bite us!”
“Silence,” Ryoma shouted, “This is not your decision. Neither is it mine. Kamui knows Prince Leon better than anyone. Kamui knows Prince Leon better than anyone here. If you really think that this is an option, Kamui can decide what to do with him. He was their brother at a time. I do not wish to make decisions against her family without their willing consent.”
Kamui looked pale, standing against the quiet that drifted over the room. Despite the stares that met their eyes, Kamui remained calm, their jaw set. Takumi looked at them with pleading eyes. Please let him do this. Please let him use it please let him prove that he could do something-
“…Will it kill him?” Kamui said after a long pause.
“…No, but the pain inflicted on him will be as worse as death.” Ryoma said.
Kamui shut their eyes, sighing through their nose.
“That doesn’t matter,” Takumi growled, frustration building in his chest.
“Of course it matters,” Ryoma said, “Nohrian or not that boy is still human.”
“Well the Nohrians obviously didn’t share that humanitarian mentality when they killed our mother.”
He hadn’t meant it to come out that way. The wound of their mother’s death was still new, and the mention of it caused to Hinoka snap around in her chair. Sakura made a small sound, tears brimming in her eyes, clutching her rod tighter to his chest, and that was the last straw for Ryoma. His brother took a step towards him, glaring down at him the way he used to when they were kids, a burning kind of anger flickering in his eyes.
“Leave Takumi.” He hissed.
“Ryoma-“
“Take a walk and cool your head!” Ryoma said, “I've had enough of your nonsense. Whatever magic possessed you must have also clouded your judgement."
"Brother-"
"Leave. That's an order as your commander."
Takumi felt cold, a horrible sense of shame and anger clutching at his heart, flushing into his face. He opened his mouth to say something else, but the look in Ryoma’s eyes told him not to dare speak another word. He let in a shaking breath, putting up his chin before turning on his heel, storming out into the downpour outside, the shadows swallowing up his form, the tent wall flapping behind him.
_______________________
The whole camp was either asleep or sheltering from the rain; Takumi walking passed empty shops and buildings, only candlelight visible within the frost-covered windows. The magical dimension Lilith had created was built to resemble Hoshido down to the smallest detail, but never felt like home to him. The castle around him felt trapping, especially now, the once rolling planes replaced with swirling clouds of dust and stars beyond the bricks, the town seeming artificial, as if he were surrounded by the plastered walls of a dollhouse. He pushed his wet bangs out of his eyes, not sure where he was going, just knowing that he had to get as far away from the war room as possible. The news of his outburst would probably reach the camp by morning, the story of Prince Takumi’s deranged mind making figurative headlines in the mess hall. He didn’t want to be stared at again.
The target range was still open, left unattended by those who had fled from the sudden storm, some of the bows still lying strewn around the wooden floor. Takumi swore under his breath, cursing their stupidity, picking up a few off the floor and setting them up on the wall again. Some of these soldiers had no respect for the bow. The wind cut through the long grass in front of him, the gale catching in his ponytail and pulling his ribbon free from his hair. It flew across the field, hooking onto one of the nails sticking out of the targets. Takumi mumbled to himself, feeling no urge to go and get it, his unkempt hair whipping around his face. Instead, he plucked an arrow from a quiver next to him, twirling it in his hand to occupy himself.
The red circle painted on the target was dripping down the white canvas, the paint still fresh, drops rolling down into the grass, and an image briefly flashed through his head of blood gushing from a man’s shoulder. The memory of a nightmare he'd had a night ago. Men lying dead in the square, buildings crumbled around him, the statues in the courtyard strewn about the ground, and lying in the center of it all was his mother, blood pooling in a circle around her, the same blood staining the mouth of a giant dragon he once was told to call his family.
Without hesitation, Takumi took a bow off the rack, stringing an arrow into it in a flash, sending it flying into the target in front of him.
THUNK.
It hit his mark, trembling from the force of the shot. Takumi set his jaw, grabbing another and sending it off.
THUNK.
It landed mere millimeters away from the first arrow, the two close enough to touch, but not enough to send it right down the middle of the stem.
Not good enough.
He grit his teeth, about to sling another arrow into the bow, but the wood snapped as soon as he pulled it back, the head of the arrow coming off and falling to the ground, bouncing on the floor. Damn flimsy pieces of shit. He had the irrational urge to pick it up and throw it as far as he could; anger boiling in his stomach, left over from moments before, but something stopped him. The Adder Stone idea was still lingering in the back of his head, and something about the small arrowhead made him hesitate, slowly leaning down to pick it up pick it up, staring at it.
In order for the Adder Stone’s effects to be implemented, it had to come in contact with a person’s body. It was told that in ancient times, a war king used the material of the stone to craft a sword, one that he used against the mages of the neighboring kingdom, stealing their only offense with just a swipe of his blade. The torment the mages went through was what led to the coining of the term ‘exorcism’ in the first place. The stone had been seen has a threat to the existence of mages, but even with all the kingdom's efforts to keep it secret, the type of stone was found in many other lands, a rarity among rarities, appearing in legends and stories of old before Takumi had been born. The Hoshido scouting regiment had stumbled upon it many years before, and his mother, instead of using it as a weapon, instructed the kingdom to keep it locked away, safe under their guard. Ryoma took that to heart, apparently more than Takumi knew, in charge of keeping it safe with him under his care.
Ryoma would never let him get close enough to use it on the Nohrian Prince, Takumi knowing full well he couldn’t craft a sword out of its magic without being noticed, let alone wield it properly, but as his eyes trailed over the arrow head, he began to wonder if he could possibly…
He reached for the rack of bows next to him, this time taking the Fujin Yumi from its mount on the wall, wisps of green light flowing from it as soon as his fingers wrapped around the hilt. He concentrated, willing an arrow to appear on the string as he always did, but stopping the green tendrils of light just before they created the tip. Taking the broken arrowhead, he placed it on the top of half crafted arrow, willing it to move as he wanted it to. The tendrils shifted for a moment, Takumi’s head throbbing a little as they adjusted, but eventually they complied, instead creating a sharp point at the end of the arrow as it always did, the green wisps wrapping around the end of the broken arrowhead, securing it on the front of the stem.
Once he was convinced the arrowhead was attached, he slowly lifted his arm, rain and green smoke clouding his eyes, before letting it loose.
THWACK!
It went straight through the arrow already embedded in the center of the target, the wood of the thin stem splitting it in half as easily as if it were a knife through butter, the Fujin's arrow immediately dissipating into green ribbons again, leaving only the arrowhead on its place.
A grin spread onto Takumi’s face, lowering the bow to his side. The idea that had been forming in his mind was already starting to solidify, the genius of it making his heart pound. He turned around, squinting through the trees to see the Records Hall, lighting cracking as it lit up the front of it. The place where the stone was kept.
This was his chance to be good enough.