"Kamui, you're not good enough to roam around yet."

Kamui scowled slightly as Sakura gently prodded at her abdomen, wincing when she hit a sore spot.

"But I've been resting for almost six days straight!" Kamui protested, though she couldn't help but agree... internally. "I've been so bored."

Sakura bit her lip, grabbing a container of salve, rubbing it onto her biggest injury - a huge scrape covering the entirety of her left leg. The familiar scent of mint filled her senses, sending a lurch throughout her stomach. Mint had gradually become a associated with pain for most war veterans, as the herbs contained in both kingdoms all mixed together to make the fresh scent.

"I mean, you know I don't like the idea of you suffering..." Sakura said softly, wrapping a long bandage around her leg. "And I guess it might be good for you to test out your functions..."

Kamui grinned, slipping herself off of the table, putting her wait on her healthy leg. "So... does that mean I can go outside?"

Sakura gripped her staff, face going red. "I-I can't let you do that!"

Her joy faded away slightly. Please don't let her put me on bedrest, please don't let her put me on bedrest... She repeated in her head, staring down at her little sister, who was now blushing. "Well, how am I going to excercise my leg, then?"

Sakura quirked her mouth to the side. "Well, I may not be able to let you run about outside, but... you can walk around the palace. I know that you didn't have a lot of time for that during the war, so..."

Kamui smiled. "I guess I can make my peace with that." She pushed down her aggravation, though she knew she would probably wind up taking it out on the sassy maid who brought her food. Sakura did not deserve her pissy attitude - she was just trying to help, and it was just her methods that got Kamui's nerves.

Sakura gave her a sweet smile, bowing down. "I hope you don't get angry - this is for your health! I would really hate it if you got hurt anymore than you already are."

"I'll be alright, I've just been going crazy cooped up in that room all day with nothing to do." Kamui began limping over to the door, hand reaching out to grab the wall. Before she opened the sickbay door, she paused and turned around.

"Say, Sakura, do you have a library?"

Kamui yawned, curling up under her wool blanket. Hoshido did not have the same plush armchairs found in Nohrian libraries, so she had grabbed a cushion and wrapped a baby blanket around herself, dropping into the corner with a book borrowed from Leo.

Though Hoshido had no armchairs (those beautiful, plush, cushioned armchairs) their library was her favorite room so far - the shelves were stacked with delicate paper scrolls, (that Kamui could not read correctly) and though they were all shoved together, everything was positioned in a way that kept the room peaceful and aired out. Each corner of the perfectly square room had a stand set up with burning incense - it smelled like the campfire treat Camilla used to make her.

Either way, Kamui had found a spot surrounded completely by both bookshelves and the walls - complete isolation. What she found interesting was that the corner had obviously been formed by someone dragging the bookshelves around a spot just small enough for two people. Not that she was complaining, as this particular book had always been a favourite of hers, and she would prefer if no one interrupted her just when she had gotten into the story.

The sound of a door opening, however, brought her out of her daze, and she internally groaned. The one time she actually wants to be alone, and someone has to interrupt it...

"Shut up, okay?" A voice giggled out.

Wait, was that Takumi?

Kamui frowned. That would be ridiculous because Takumi didn't giggle. He barely smiled if he didn't trust you, and he very rarely trusted anyone. The only person who he trusted besides his family was...

Wait, was he with Oboro?

She couldn't help but squeal internally, because even when the war had been going on, she had always thought her crush on him was adorable, and that they would be so cute. Snapping the book shut, she creeped over to peer at them through the crack between bookcases.

She had been right - that was Takumi, looking a little worn out, but he had a grin on his face, and he looked well-bathed and fed. His hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, and he was wearing a very simple shirt-and-trousers set. However, it seemed that Oboro wasn't the one hovering over her baby brother right now, making him laugh like Elise.

No, it was her other baby brother. You know, the one she grew up with, whom she presumed did not get along with her birth brother at all.

Well, apparently she was very, very wrong.

Leo was hovering close to Takumi, (too close, TOO CLOSE) as the boy was shuffling through the shelves, obviously looking for something specific. Leo was studying the long-haired boy, staring as if he was something cute and precious.

(Yes, Takumi was adorable, but that was besides the point! He was too young for a relationship - especially with Leo of all people!)

"Do you need help?" Leo chuckled, grabbing Takumi and tugging him up. Takumi gave a very kind smile and resting a hand on Leo's uninjured forearm. The moment was very lovey-dovey, screaming "romance" in Kamui's over-protective mama bear mind.

This felt like the perfect moment for her to jump out from behind the bookshelf, knocking it over in her haste. It went down with a large BANG, scrolls rolling all over the wooden floors.

"OH, HELLO BROTHER! HOW ARE YOU?" Kamui shouted, grabbing Takumi by the shoulders as the bookshelf crumbled down behind her. "OH WOW, I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU IN SO LONG!"

"Kamui, are you okay?" Takumi asked, eyes wide in panic. "Did you hit your head?"

"What?" Kamui frowned. "No, not at all." She turned to Leo, faking a gasp at the sight of her brother's pink face. "Oh, Leo, what are you doing here? I didn't know you and Takumi were friends!"

"Sure." Leo glared, though he was still very pink. "You know, I'm sure your leg must be hurting... why don't you go sit down? In your room... not in here."

"No, I should probably clean this up." Kamui smiled as innocently as she could, tipping her head to the side. "You two continue on with whatever it was you were doing!"

She bent down, pushing the bookshelf back up, and proceeded to put every scroll away as slowly as she could.

Behind her, Leo sighed. "Alright, fine. Takumi, what was it you wanted to show me?"

Takumi's mumbled words of, "I'll need to look again" Were the last things she heard before they began to speak in whispers - Leo did that on purpose, she could tell. Well, joke was on him. He couldn't make her leave... ever.

Nope, she would never leave.

She would not allow them to do anything romantic with each other - Takumi was under the protection of both herself and Camilla. They had agreed that the adorable little prince was not allowed to have a relationship of romantic nature until he was at least twenty-five.

I mean, sure, I love Leo. He's my baby brother. But he will not corrupt Takumi's innocence. I know about his thing with Niles - Niles is a dirty, dirty man. Nobody escapes from that without being a whole lot nastier.

When she had finished cleaning up, she rose to check on her brothers, before realizing that neither of them was in the library anymore.

DAMN IT!

"Big sister!"

Kamui giggled as Elise bound up the steps, before wrapping the girl in a hug. "Elise! How are you?"

"I'm great! I'm just glad you're feeling better!" Her blonde pigtails bounced up and down as she poked her sister's stomach. "Did that big gash on your stomach heal up?"

Kamui winced, but laughed despite the ache. "Mostly - Sakura has been very demanding about me getting better."

"Aw, thank you Sakura!" Elise launched herself next to the Hoshidian healer. "You took care of our sister! Now, let's go catch up! I brought back some mini-cakes from Nohr!"

Sakura gave a bow to their siblings standing by gate, before grabbing Elise's outstretched hand and running back with her. The two were laughing as they sprinted back to the palace.

"Little Princess, are you alright?" Xander said, stepping forward to rest a heavy hand on Kamui's shoulder. "I heard from Ryoma that you've been allowed to roam the palace freely. Are you sure that's wise?"

"Sakura was hesitant, but she decided it was best that I get to stretch out my legs." Kamui had to crane her neck to meet her brother's gaze - though not as much as she used to. Xander was no surprise to see, though he definitely looked tired - his usually pristine appearance was smudged with dirt and he had circles under his eyes. Honestly, from the looks of it, he was doing more than scouting.

Did Ryoma lie to her?

"Well said." Xander chuckled, ruffling her hair. "After all, I can't imagine it's easy to heal when you're cooped up in one place for days on end."

She nodded. "At least you understand. Besides, that way I can keep an eye on Leo. After all, Camilla is apparently too busy scouting to do it herself, so the duty falls to me." She smirked at Leo, who had turned a soft shade of pink. "Who knows what kind of company he keeps?"

"Don't you have something more productive to do than gossip about me to my face?" He snarked, frowning at the pair of them. "I mean, surely-"

"Ah, Xander!"

Kamui giggled as Ryoma cut Leo off, pushing gently past the blonde boy in order to address the king of Nohr. "I can't help but notice the absence of Lady Elise, is she alright - I heard you were ambushed by Ylisseans."

Ah, that explained his baggy eyes.

Xander smiled, (though to Kamui it seemed a tad forced) "I can assure you that the two of us are perfectly alright. The Ylisseans are powerful, but, alas, they were no match for Nohrian steel."

Kamui shuddered, though she wasn't sure if it was from a sudden cold breeze, or from the remembrance of her Nohrian siblings' cruelty on the battlefield. (Something she had been forced to deal with when they demanded they fight her themselves.)

"But where is Elise, if you don't mind me asking?" Ryoma glanced about the bright green fields, (always vivid in colour) as if Elise was hiding about.

"Ah, she grabbed Sakura and ran off about two seconds after seeing her again." Xander chuckled. "At this rate, any possibility of war will not be started due to conflict between our families ever again."

Ryoma nodded. "Hear, hear." Placing a hand on Xander's shoulder, he began to lead him back to the palace. "Would you come to my quarters, I need to discuss some... important matters with you."

From the back of her head, Kamui registered the words. Or, rather, how they been phrased. Maybe Leo and Takumi weren't the only ones who needed to be watched over...

Speaking of those two, where the heck did they go?

Yet again, Kamui felt very exasperated - some big sister she was...

How she had been roped into this, Kamui had no idea.

One minute, she had been curled up in one of the kitchen pantries, a book, blanket and rice crackers in hand, and the next she was sitting on the ground in between the legs of her little sister as she braided her hair.

"Oh, Kamui, you're so pretty when your hair's like this!" Elise cheered, tugging on a stubborn strand. "But then again, you're always pretty."

"I disagree with that statement, but thanks all the same." Kamui retorted, resisting the urge to pull the braids in her hair loose.

"No, it's very true!" Sakura chimed in softly. "You're very pretty. I mean, your skin is clear, and your hair is such a lovely colour..." As if she had just registered her words, the redhead (though many would argue her hair was pink) flushed and ducked her head down to avoid the gaze of the other two.

"I guess I see the skin thing, but my hair and eyes have always seemed a little... freakish." Kamui gave a nervous laugh she didn't know she was capable of.

Honestly, Kamui had never loved her appearance - growing up in Nohr, all of her siblings had soft, neat of hair the colour of butter, glowing in the moonlight, (Except, of course, Camilla, who had unnatural purple locks down to her hips.) and she had always been jealous of both Leo and Xander's eyes - they were the nicest shade of dark brown, like the polished wood of Hoshidian homes. And Elise had unique dark blue eyes, that shined purple in certain lights. Kamui also had blonde hair - but it was very, very pale. So pale that she had thought it was white for the longest time, until she came to Hoshido and the sunlight revealed the blonde highlights running through the locks. Normally, that would be fine, but her eyes were the strangest of all - bright, ruby red with a slit for her pupils. They hadn't made sense until she knew of her stronger-than-average dragon blood. But that didn't help her at all. She was a combination of strange - white hair, red eyes, pale skin, and dragon powers. Her one attractive quality was her smile - her mouth was a nice red, and when she gave a smile, her eyes lit up, her pearly white teeth shining in contrast. At least she had that.

"But I love your hair!" Elise frowned, brushing the winding braid down so it rested over one of Kamui's shoulders. "It makes you look all cool and mystical. Like a witch or-"

"A dragon?" Kamui chuckled, standing up and patting Elise on the head. "I appreciate it, but I'm going to go talk to Takumi about doing some archery lessons for my arm." She held up a hand when Sakura tried to protest. "Sister, I assure you that Xander said it would be best for me to keep it strong while it heals. If I have to train my sword arm to be strong again, I won't be able to aid in the battle against Ylisse." She considered tugging the ribbon from her hair, but chose not to. Might as well keep it held back for now.

"Well, if Xander says..." Sakura bit her lip, hesitant.

Elise seemed to understand, as always. "Sakura, Xander has hurt his arm really, really badly before too. Even worse than big sister." She puffed out one of her cheeks, turning her lips into a little pout. "I think you should trust his input."

"Thank you, Elise." Kamui breathed out, relieved.

"Of course! Plus, I'm a healer too!" Elise beamed at the two girls. "You always seem to forget that."

Sakura ducked her head down, looking immensely guilty. "I'm sorry, Elise, you know that I respect you as both a person and a healer."

Kamui, unbeknownst to them, had begun backing out of the guest room. She paused when she got to the door, waiting for Elise's response.

"That's all I needed to hear!" Elise grinned, wrapping her arms around Sakura. "You're a great friend!"

Smiling softly, Kamui turned and began making her way back to her room - she would need a change of clothes if she was going to train, she decided.

(In the back of her mind, she patted herself on the back for not tripping over anything on the way out.)

"No."

"Takumi, come on!" Kamui whined, grabbing his arm with her good one. "Sakura said it might be a good idea!"

"I don't care what Sakura said!" Takumi scowled. "You've been stalking me and Leo, watching everything we do - I can't encourage that behavior!"

"But it's okay when Camilla does it?" Kamui snorted, unladylike even in recovery. "Do you have a Nohrian fetish?"

Takumi turned red, sputtering. "I- oh, of course not! They're a-all s-scum! Scum! Every last one of them!"

"Really?" Kamui smiled as he began to get more and more worked up.

"Yes! I don't like any of them! They're all scum!" Takumi shot a bull's eye into one of the targets. (Imagining it was his sister's face, no doubt.)

"Who's scum?"

"Oh, hello Leo." Kamui said, grinning deviously.

"Sister." Leo acknowledged, turning to the long-haired archer. "Who are you calling scum, anyway? It's too early to be this worked up."

"Nohrians! Nohrians are scum!" Takumi shouted, pointing at the mage. "The-they're..." He trailed off, unsure.

"Nohrian scum?" Kamui chimed in.

"Not helping." Leo scowled.

"Not trying to." She giggled.

"NOHRIAN SCUM!" Takumi shouted, throwing his practice bow to the ground and waving his fist angrily as he ran from the practice range. "ALL OF THEM! EVERY LAST ONE!"

Cackling, Kamui bent down and picked up the iron bow he had been using. "You know, I'm lucky he doesn't practice with Fujin Yumi. I can't figure that thing out." She notched an arrow and pulled it back, wincing as her shoulder began to ache.

"You're evil." Leo noted.

"Anything new?" Kamui let the arrow loose and... it bounced off of the corner of the stand, and onto the mat underneath.

"Yeah, notch the point outwards, you idiot." He scowled, weakly smacking her right arm with his left one.

"Whatever, go follow your boyfriend." Kamui snickered, grateful he couldn't reach her worst injuries.

"Shut up." He grumbled, stalking away angrily.

"YOUR COLLAR'S INSIDE OUT!" She shouted after the blonde, and waited a beat before an exasperated "Damn it!" resounded through the range in response.

Shaking her head, Kamui walked forward, placing the arrow back into place. She had also realized that Leo looked very tired - now that she thought about it, so did the rest of her siblings. The way that they treated her lately, it was almost as if they were hiding something.

A warm summer breeze swept through, sending her loosely braided hair into a frenzy. Kamui brushed her bangs back, releasing the arrow. This time, it stuck to the very corner of the target.

It wasn't as if they had anything to hide - the problem with Azura had been taking care of. She had, in fact, been informed that Jakob had left Hoshido just two days ago and...

Her mind clicked just as the second arrow hit close to the centre of a target (it was two feet away from her own target, but she would take it.), letting out a THWACK as it collided.

Those liars.

She had been thumping her fist into the wall for easily ten minutes, stopping only to shout out Ryoma's name through the thin wood panelling.

It all made way to much sense now, and she felt like an idiot - as soon as Jakob volunteered to bring Azura back, he and Ryoma had talked for hours. When she tried to see him off, and even once to go with him, she had been held back by Felicia - who, despite her thin frame and shaky voice, was very strong - and brought in to bathe and get her wounds re-bandaged. She had not seen either of her older sisters (though Hinoka's absence was explained by Sakura as another scouting mission) and it was plain weird for Camilla not to visit her at least ten times a day when she was on bedrest - typically giving her gifts and kisses, and threatening violence against anyone who had harmed her.

Naga, why am I an idiot? Why did you curse me so? I thought Takumi and I were supposed to be related at some point - he's very smart. I grew up next to Leo, why do I not have his knowledge? Seriously, Naga, get your godly life together.

"Ryoma! I know you're in there!" She shouted, stamping her foot into the ground. "I can see the outline of your lobster hair!"

A sigh echoed from the other room, making her fury rise like wood being thrown on a campfire.

"Don't you sigh! I should be sighing! You lied to me - if anyone gets to sigh, it is me right now, feeling the sting of your betrayal, you thick-shelled lobster bastard!" She hammered her fist into the wall on her left, not wanting to break his door.

Finally, the door was pushed aside. Ryoma ran a hand over his brow. "Forgive me, sister, I was sleeping and had to make myself look decent. What are you wearing anyway?"

Kamui flushed a little. She had rushed over here from the archery range, wearing little more than a pair of small trousers and a thin shirt. Shaking her head, she held up the bow, and pushed past her brother into his room.

"Don't change the subject, lobster man." She growled, sinking onto a cushion as he slowly shut the door.

"What is it with you and the Nohrians and your lobster imagery?" He groaned, rubbing his eyes.

Kamui grabbed one of his chopsticks, brandishing it and imagining it was her Yato. "Repent, and confess."

"You know that those essentially mean the same thing, right?" Ryoma chuckled, pushing the tool away and looking very amused. "Besides, I don't know what I should be confessing to."

Kamui scowled, setting the chopstick down and staring up at the ceiling. "Naga, doth thou hateth me? Cursing me with this stupidity of his blood?"

"You're not allowed to read poetry anymore." Ryoma smiled, eyes full of affection for the younger girl.

"Shut it, I'm praying." Kamui growled, staring at the wooden ceiling. "Naga, will thou remove thy deception? Lend me thy strength to beat my brother's butt into thou plentiful Hoshidian soil? Through the blood of my winged ancestors, please lendeth thy power to boil the lobster lord."

"Kamui, please-"

"Sh! Have some respect!" Kamui shushed, scowling at the king. "I'm beseeching my ancestors."

"Oh dear gods." Ryoma groaned.

"While thou is at it, pleaseth telleth me the secrets to the lovely ceiling of this palace." Kamui bowed respectfully, placing her chopsticks into her tea (apparently her brother had poured a cup as she prayed). "Take my sacrifice and alloweth me to do some butt kicking, okay?"

Calmly, she poured herself a new cup, taking a sip. As slowly as possible, she placed it down and met Ryoma's eyes. "Brother, where is Jakob really?"

The brown-haired man tensed up right away, any amusement from Kamui's antics fading away with her words. He knew Kamui was clever, but had assumed her injuries would keep her from prying.

Oh, right, wrong person. That would have been Takumi. The two could be so very alike sometimes.

Either way, he saw no point in hiding it anymore. "Kamui, Jakob is not going out to get Azura."

"I figured as much." Kamui scowled, taking another sip of tea. "Naga and I have been conversing."

He choose to ignore that.

Smart man. Kamui thought. But not smart enough.

Her antics had been enough for him to let his guard down - if she had come in her, guns blazing (which is what she had begun to do, before realizing she needed something more subtle) he would have dismissed her as immature, lying yet again. This sarcastic, joking persona not only made her feel really, really cool, but also lowered the guard of others. After all, he had a soft spot for her younger Nohrian siblings, so why not draw inspiration from them.

W.W.L.B.L.D.?

What would Lil Bro Leo do?

Her new motto.

"Well, I may have... held back some information." Ryoma grimaced, as if the words pained him to say. "You see, when Azura was taken, I immediately asked Hinoka to go and get her. I'm very fond of her, and I know you would be outraged if I chose not to. I figured that Hinoka, being the most capable in Hoshido, would be able to do it."

"Well, then where is she?" Kamui frowned, setting her cup onto the table. A cold chill ran down her spine. "There's no way that Ylisse could stand a chance against Hinoka's skill."

Ryoma closed his eyes. "They have a tactician."

"What?" Kamui's red eyes widened. "How did we not know about this?"

"You and I may not have known, but Camilla apparently did." He let out a long breath. "She went in, unbeknownst to us, and managed to get through most of the ranks before she was captured. This tactician was smart - that's partly why Xander and I have been pushing both Leo and Takumi so hard. The two have so much potential - potential we need turning into talent right now." He slumped slightly, looking more exhausted than ever. "I'm very sorry for not telling you, sister, but Sakura said the stress of the situation would be too much, especially given your injuries. And I have to agree. What would you have done if you had heard this news as soon as you woke up?"

Kamui bit her lip, considering. "I would have demanded I go on a mission to get them myself."

"Exactly." Ryoma gave her a smile. "You're strong, sister, but you can be foolish. That would have done more harm than good for a queen of the Invisible Kingdom to throw herself into danger like that."

"I don't consider myself a queen." Kamui said softly. "Nor am I so high up in rank that I neglect my loved ones."

"And that's why you are both perfectly fit and and a horrible choice for a throne." A new voice said. Kamui turned slightly, though she didn't need to.

"Xander, what do you-"

"Little Princess, you are certainly capable of many things." Xander stood, arms crossed, as opposed to sitting down. "But if you were to rule any land other than V- I mean, the Invisible Kingdom, you would be overthrown in a week."

Kamui frowned up at the Nohrian King. "Brother, I hardly count caring about the lives of others a weakness."

"Neither do I." Xander remarked. "But you would risk the lives of hundreds just to save your loved ones - a trait the new Ylissean tactician will surely take advantage of. You should be spending time learning the political sides of things, as opposed to rushing into battle to save Azura."

"And Hinoka." Kamui said, standing up. "And Camilla, Xander. Our sister."

"Please, little princess, consider this carefully." He placed a warm hand on her shoulder. "We will be negotiating their release. Our kingdoms are supposed to be in an age of peace, something that I recall you fighting for nail and teeth." His eyes softened, mouth turning more into an amused smile instead of the frown he had been giving her. "I understand that you stand for peace above all else, and you haven't been instructed on cause and effect in this kingdom. Despite them being captured, rushing in now and invading the kingdom would just create a domino - a domino that will knock down many more, until we are in full-fledged war."

Kamui stared at her bare feet - they were suddenly so interesting. How did she not notice how weird her pinkie toe looks? They weren't supposed to be this long, right?

"Kamui, sister, please." Ryoma said, standing as well and staring her down sternly. "Focus on getting better. Train with your siblings, study with them, bond with them. Let them instruct you the best they can."

"But what about-"

"You are not allowed to leave Hoshido until you are fully recovered. That's an order." Xander said, looking amused.

"That's kidnapping." She grumbled.

"No, that's called having brothers who care." Xander laughed, hugging her.

Kamui nuzzled her nose into his shoulder, returning the embrace. "Alright, I won't get involved."

"Thank you." Ryoma said softly.

"You seem unsure." Kamui pulled out of Xander's arms. "Would you like me to commune with Naga for you again?"

He was not amused.

"Leave."

"Ryoma, I was joking-"

"No. Leave this room before I throw tea on you."

"Ryoma, what is she talking about?"

"Did I not tell you Xander, I can commune with the gods now - AH! Ryoma, that was a sacrifice to Naga herself, now you've made her angry! Repent for your sins and I may have mercy!"

"KAMUI I SWEAR TO THE GODS IF YOU DO NOT LEAVE NOW..."

Oh, how she loves family meetings.

A/N: Hahahaha, Kamui you little punk.

This chapter is pure crack.

You see, a lot of fantasy stories like to focus on the war - what about the aftermath?

If you were looking for legit fight scenes, too bad. You're only going to get a couple. And romance. And Kamui being super sassy to her siblings while she communes with Naga.

Please enjoy this stupid chapter. (*cough* Leokumi *cough*)

And I have changed Kamui from her original persona - I think that she has more experience in the world and can now channel it into being an asshole.

Until next time... I have to go to a birthday for my best friend's little sister. Yay. I'll probably bring a notebook and write a bunch, though, so you get to look forward to more and more chapters.

Kidspawn02 -