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How much more pointless bloodshed can we endure… The army had not even reached Nohr yet, and many innocent lives had already been taken– some even by Kaze’s own hands. How cruel the Wolfskin’s fate had been; they had merely wanted to protect their most basic of possessions, the land they had been born and raised upon… Nonetheless, Corrin’s party had been left with no other option.
The army was exhausted, tired from the mental and physical strain of their last battle. The weight of their guilt weighed heavily upon the minds of all, but there was nothing they could do but push through the mountainous region. Within a day they would reach the land of Nohr, a country of which these Hoshidans had only heard harsh whispers and cruel rumors.
Kaze walked with his leader, moderately ahead of the group, doing his best to alleviate the strain on the Dragon Prince’s moral compass. Kaze knew that he could never carry this burden on Corrin’s shoulders, as much as he wished he could– the weight of so many deaths must be crushing for one who has only lived so shortly in the world of deceit and murder. He could understand why Corrin needed to be away from the others, and he hoped he was not unwanted in this period of mourning.
A short glance towards the heart of the army showed Kaze his family: Kaze’s wife cared for Midori’s emotional wounds. They were two more hearts he wished he could protect from the harshness that was a Ninja’s gory world. The women were too pure for this life of battle; they deserved better than the cycle of fighting Kaze could offer them. They deserved a quiet, normal life. Midori should have had an ordinary child’s life; she could have had her own friends and gone to school, she could have studied medicine to cure the sickly, not the wounded.
At times, Kaze regretted conceiving Midori; he should have never been so lucky to have such a shining example of a daughter. Not when everything he touched turned to ash and ruin. He dreamed of a commonplace life– perhaps he could give them that if this war were to pass.
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a sudden state of alertness— call it a sixth sense, call it intuition, something was wrong. An acute tremor in the earth– had anybody else noticed it? Could it be that he was overreacting? His gaze shifted towards Corrin, but there he found only pain.
「Landslide! Watch out!」 a familiar feminine voice echoed out behind them, accompanied by the roar of stones tumbling down the steep mountain’s wall. Kaze immediately grabbed Corrin’s arm and pulled him away from the edge, where they would be safest.
However, Fate would not agree with that plan. A rolling boulder caught Corrin, pushing him out over the edge with Kaze his only lifeline. Suspended under the edge with only Kaze’s grip keeping him from tumbling into the deep ravine, his words of protest were nearly drowned out by the thunder of rubble. “You have to let go of me! We'll both fall if you don't!”, the prince yelled– both knew that Kaze could not endure the torrent of stones for much longer. Kaze had to act quickly. 「Never! I couldn't live with myself... I already owe you my life.」
A flash of white feathers slid into Kaze’s field of vision– who dared to fly so close to the landslide? Hinoka announced herself with a panicked shout: 「Corrin! Kaze! Hold on!」
It was then that Kaze knew what he had to do. Finally, he could repay the debts he had dragged with him throughout his entire life… at last, his life’s mission could be fulfilled: he could atone for the sins he had committed.
Perhaps it was the resolve in Kaze’s eyes that had given him away; perhaps ithad caused Corrin to beg for him to stop. “Kaze, no! Don't do anything foolish!”
It would be the last order Kaze would ignore.
「It has been a pleasure serving you, Lord Corrin… Please forgive me– I am only doing what is necessary.」
In two swings, he gave Corrin enough momentum towards Hinoka, releasing the Prince at the prime of his arc. He watched as the Prince was caught, satisfied that his plan had worked: Corrin could finish this war in his place, giving Kaze’s family the bright new world they deserved… but they would have to live in it without him.
If only his legs had not been crushed by the landslide… It could be added to the long list of wishful thinking Kaze had been doing all his life.
The intensifying torrent took Kaze along with it, pushing him over the blackness of the void. As he fell, he attempted to turn his body so that he could perhaps see his darling daughter and lovely wife one last time…
But he was denied even that.
Midori… You deserved better than I could ever give you. I’m sorry.