Work Text:
One.
The first time hurts.
Leo is left alone in a massive, echoing castle, forced to marinate in his thoughts and questions and what-ifs. Niles stays. Camilla tries, but chaining her to tortured memories is far too cruel. Leo humors Corrin’s attempts at reconciliation; he understands, objectively, that the ends were worth the means, but…
But…
He can’t help but believe there may have been a better way.
“Milord,” Niles’s voice interrupts his thoughts. He jolts upright. “A, ah, representative from Hoshido is here.”
Niles stands in the backlit doorway to his study. He doesn’t look pleased. Leo doesn’t feel pleased. He sighs.
“Send them in.”
Niles disappears. Moments later a different silhouette takes his place, Leo’s brain piecing together the pieces of what he sees on a slight delay. A ponytail, an impatient scowl, a bow…
Leo takes a moment to entertain the mental image of Niles wearing Prince Takumi’s clothes as some sort of joke. He thinks if he so much as mentions the idea that Niles may do it.
“King Leo,” Prince Takumi says stiffly.
“Prince Takumi,” Leo returns.
They stare at each other in silence. Fury statics between them. After a pause, Prince Takumi closes his eyes and sighs.
“Corrin made me come,” he admits.“I don’t wanna be here anymore than you want me here.”
Of course. Leo grunts his understanding.
“I don’t get it, either.”
“Just another means to an end,” Leo says. He returns his attention to the papers strewn about his desk. “Stay out of my way and I’ll stay out of yours. We can play nice when Corrin’s present. The sooner they think we’re friends, the better.”
“Works for me,” Takumi says. The door slams shut and Leo doesn’t bother looking up.
Xander’s and Elise’s graves stand tall, proud, shiny white stone with their names and legacies engraved. It’s supposed to be symbolic of hope. Leo thinks it’s macabre. They should have been black.
He visits their graves at least once a week, early in the morning before the ever-cloudy sky begins to lighten. There are always fresh flowers, explosive in color, adding life to the sterile leftovers of their legends: red, yellow, orange, white.
Leo places a small bouquet of black and purple roses at Xander’s grave, and a similar small bouquet of black and pink roses at Elise’s. He thinks they would have liked them.
He can hear footsteps behind him. He doesn’t move.
“King Leo.” Ah, Takumi.
Leo hums his greeting.
Takumi takes this as permission and stands next to him in front of the graves. Leo doesn’t look over, but he does notice Takumi came empty-handed. He wonders if, after only a few days in Windmire, Takumi would even know where to buy flowers. He wonders if he knows about the underground.
Elise would have shown him the underground, he thinks bitterly.
“When mother died,” Takumi says, yanking Leo from his thoughts, “I refused to visit her grave. I thought it was a waste of time. Instead, I trained until my fingers bled and I couldn’t hold a bow.”
Right, Leo thinks, They lost family, too.
“I blamed Corrin for a long time,” Takumi continues, “I thought if they’d never come to Hoshido, that mother never would have died. Ryoma wouldn’t have to be king so soon. I…”
Takumi’s voice becomes choked and he stops speaking. Leo can feel the tension coming off his shoulders, he can hear his shaky breathing.
“I don’t blame Corrin,” Leo says, “It’s not their fault.”
“Well, aren’t you little King Reasonable Genius,” Takumi snaps.
Leo turns his head and looks at Takumi. Really looks. Takumi is determinedly staring ahead, his eyes locked on the ground between the graves. A plethora of emotions color his face pink: fury, regret, embarrassment, grief.
Well, Leo never claimed to be a good person.
“Surely, you must have known,” Leo says, a little smug, “Corrin is naive, not malicious. I bet you were too busy being selfish in your own sorrow to notice the pain of others around you.”
“Shut up,” Takumi spits. He crosses his arms tightly. “You wouldn’t know what it’s like to lose parents who love you.”
“No, I wouldn’t.” Leo is playing a dangerous game, a careful balancing act between arrogant and icy. “I would only know what it’s like to have my siblings murdered as a means to an end.”
“You just said you don’t blame Corrin,” Takumi points out.
“I don’t,” Leo says.
“Then what are you saying? Spit it out.”
Leo smirks. “I blame the oafs that Corrin put their trust into.”
And, oh, when Takumi punches him in the side of his head, he can’t help but admire the stars that erupt in his vision.
It becomes a game. A mean-spirited game, but a game nonetheless.
“I could coach you in the art of devastation if you’d like,” Niles offers one afternoon. He’s sitting with his back to the window and his hair up, enjoying the rare sunshine on the back of his neck.
Leo leans back in his chair in front of his desk. “I don’t care for your taste,” he retorts.
Niles laughs. “If you ever change your mind, you know where to find me.”
“In my shadow,” Leo grumbles, “Watching my every move.”
“You know me so well.”
Niles skulks off to do whatever Niles does when Leo’s not watching and, in the privacy of his own office, Leo allows himself to buckle under the pressure. He doesn’t know how much longer he can deal with this. The country’s in shambles, rebuilding will take decades, Corrin sent some other little brother to stick his nose in his business, and now…
There’s a knock. Leo wonders how long Niles was even gone.
“What?” he snaps at the door.
The door opens, and in walks Takumi, scowling and carrying two bowls. Leo is suddenly very aware if the heat on his face and the swelling in his eyes. It’s obvious he’s been crying.
“Great,” Leo forces out, his voice choked, “Exactly who I wanted to see at this very moment.”
“Don’t blame me,” Takumi grunts, “Blame your retainer. What’s his deal, anyway?”
“He’s just like that,” Leo says. Takumi must register the rawness in Leo’s voice because he freezes and looks at him with uncharacteristic concern.
“What’s wrong with you?” Takumi asks.
Leo can’t stop himself; Takumi’s genuine concern combined with the clumsy, aggressive phrasing is too much. He snorts a laugh and, within moments, he’s overcome with what can only be described as giggles.
“What’s wrong with me,” he forces out between laughs, “Gods, what’s your problem?”
“I don’t have a problem!” Takumi snaps, “I’m just trying to help!”
“Help?!” Leo grips his stomach from laughing so hard.
“Yeah! You wouldn’t know anything about it!”
No, Takumi wouldn’t know about all that Leo did, quietly and behind the scenes. He wouldn’t know that Leo protected Elise long enough for her to help Corrin and the Hoshidan army invade the castle. He wouldn’t know that Leo went behind Garon and Iago’s backs to make sure Corrin survived, even after deserting Nohr. He wouldn’t know, because Leo never told anybody aside from Niles and Odin, and Odin’s, well, he’s gone. He fled as soon as the dust cleared with Selena and, he suspects, Laslow’s ashes.
Leo’s laughter dies down, and he must have been quiet for a long time because Takumi speaks again.
“Sorry,” he says, voice small, “I didn’t mean…”
“Play a game of chess with me,” Leo says, cutting him off.
Takumi’s face screws up in confusion. “That’s Nohrian shogi, isn’t it?”
“...What?” Leo stares. “Nohrian what?”
“You don’t know…” Takumi’s voice trails off. “How about this, I teach you shogi and you teach me Nohrian shogi?”
Leo decides to disregard that. “Fine. Why not?”
This fills Takumi with a confidence he hasn’t seen before. “I bet you suck shit at strategy.”
Leo smirks. “Fuck you.”
“I could wipe the floor with you.”
“You absolutely could not.”
“Oh? You wanna try, little crybaby man?” Takumi’s expression turns gleeful and dark, “Little genius, soooo smart little baby king?”
“Those are some big words for a loser,” Leo returns, “You gonna cry to Corrin when you lose? Beg to go home?”
“Ha! Even if you could beat me, losing only makes me stronger,” Takumi says.
It becomes a habit.
Perhaps a good habit.
“You’re doing it all wrong,” Takumi points at the pot of broth Leo’s standing over, “It’s, Gods, have you never cooked before?”
Leo frowns. “Have you?”
“Yes, obviously,” Takumi scoffs. He pushes Leo out of the way and takes the wooden spoon from him. “You’d think you Nohrians were raised in the woods.”
“Perhaps we were,” Leo says, “Perhaps that’s why we’re all so smart.”
“Smart enough to stir broth?”
“Some skills may have been left out.” Leo takes a step away and leans against the counter on the other side of the aisle. The kitchens are empty this late at night, so they have the whole room to themselves. “Or perhaps I was too smart and they decided to skip that lesson.”
“Whatever you need to tell themselves,” Takumi says. He spoons some of the soup into two separate cups and hands one to Leo. “There, try it.”
Leo looks at the rich broth and takes a sip.
He waits a moment.
“Salty,” is all he can say.
“You have no tastebuds,” Takumi says.
“I lost them in the woods.”
“Whatever you say,” Takumi rolls his eyes and strolls away, back toward the entrance to the kitchen, outside of which Niles has taken up post. Leo follows and Niles follows a ways behind them, offering them privacy as they walk through the nighttime halls.
“It’s good, though,” Leo admits. He doesn’t know what else to say.
Takumi turns and grins. Leo’s heart skips a beat. Did it always do that? Is he dying?
“I know,” Takumi says.
Leo tries to put his thoughts in order but he’s at a standstill; he’s frozen in time, processing whatever the hell his body just did. Is it supposed to do that? Did he like it?
And why is Takumi staring at him like that?
And what’s that rustling sound?
“Lord Leo!” Leo barely turns in time to see Niles nocking an arrow, “Get down!”
And then, because good things are never meant to last and happy endings were never something Leo was allowed, it comes to an unceremonious end.
A sharp pain. Then, searing fire erupting under his skin.
He can’t scream.
There’s screaming around him; voices he thinks he recognizes, but it’s impossible to place a face to the sound. The world fades in and out, his surroundings dappled in darkness as his vision fails.
I’m dying, he realizes.
He’s moved by something he can’t quite see. He sees the ceiling, now, and the familiar silhouette of Takumi crouching over him while who he assumes is Niles stands tall and shoots arrow after arrow.
Takumi says something. A question? He doesn’t know.
The pain fades with his vision. The last thing he hears is pained screaming.
Leo dies to a poison-tipped dagger on the floor of Castle Krakenburg.
Two.
It’s not until Corrin chooses to side with Nohr that Leo realizes it wasn’t all a very, very bad dream.
War is hell. He knows this, staring down the Hoshidan army that killed his siblings, and yet he knows it wasn’t their fault. It wasn’t Corrin’s fault.
The way Takumi glares like he wants him dead isn’t Takumi’s fault, either.
Leo’s still in a daze by all this; there’s no evidence to support reincarnation, resurrection, or time travel, and yet he’s fairly certain he’s remembering a past life with the same clarity he remembers the week prior.
This time, though, Corrin is on his side. Elise won’t die saving Xander, and Xander won’t die in a final show of false loyalty to their father. With Corrin close by, he can keep tabs on their decisions and advise them on safer alternatives.
His first mistake is believing he has any control.
It all slips through his fingers. Every step ahead is sabotaged by his father and Iago, soldiers Corrin spares are slaughtered the moment his back is turned. He tries desperately to hold onto every life he can, but one by one they fall to hell like he put them there, himself.
He punches the ground in his tent over and over again until his knuckles are torn and bloody. He thinks of Takumi tearing his fingertips open on a training bow after the death of Queen Mikoto. He thinks of a poison-tipped dagger slipping underneath his ribs. He thinks of death, of Elise and Xander’s endless love for their family, of King Garon’s final destiny.
Then, when he can’t feel his hand anymore, he pulls his gauntlet over his fingers and prepares for sleep.
“Leo,” Corrin says, “I need you to take your retainers and a small group of soldiers directly to the gate. If we can seize that gate then we can get through, can you do that?”
Leo can’t help but roll his eyes. “Of course I can do that,” he says, “Who do you think I am?”
Corrin grins gratefully before their face turns serious. “I need you to promise me something,” they say, “Please, Leo. Don’t kill anyone, and if one of my siblings is in front of that gate…”
His stomach lurches. “I will attempt to reason with them,” he confirms, “But I make no promises. You know this.”
“That’s all I ask.”
Well, Leo thinks, It was only a matter of time.
Leo looks down his nose at Takumi and hopes he’s putting on a convincing show of contempt. Takumi wipes something — blood — from the corner of his mouth. Niles and Odin stand on either side of him. They’re all dwarfed by his place atop his horse, and yet Leo feels small.
“Stand down,” Leo commands, “Corrin has ordered me to attempt reasoning with you, but I don’t have high expectations.”
“You’re scum,” Takumi spits, his voice cold in a painfully familiar way, “I know better than to reason with a snake.”
“Just as I anticipated,” Leo sighs and raises his hand, ready to unleash Brynhildr, “Oh, well. You won’t be a difficult opponent.”
Takumi screams and lunges forward. Excellent, his goading worked. He signals to Niles to run ahead. Leo and Odin set off a flurry of spells, a dazzling display of lightning and greenery, intended more to distract than to injure. Takumi shoots. His arrow lands true, piercing through Leo’s armor and underneath his ribs in the same spot where he was assassinated in a past life. It’s almost nostalgic.
And then Hoshido’s flag falls and Nohr’s is raised. Niles made it through the gate. Odin cheers, Leo sighs in relief, Takumi shouts.
“Scum!” he screams, “You’re all scum!”
“Too bad you weren’t open to conversation,” Leo says to him.
The glare Takumi returns is poison, fire, almost inhuman.
When they next see Takumi, Leo wishes for death.
He was alive, Leo thinks, He left the battlefield alive. Garon is dead. Why did he come back here?!
Leo is frozen in shock. His siblings scream at him to move, his retainers grab him by the shoulders and pull him back.
Something — his own stubbornness, perhaps, or maybe destiny — keeps him rooted to the spot. Instinct takes over. Leo drops Brynhildr and opens his arms and Takumi’s cold, icy stare drills holes through his body moments before his arrows strike him again. And again. And again.
Distantly, Leo can hear screaming, begging. Distantly, too, he can see something akin to recognition in Takumi’s eyes before he’s slain by none other than Corrin.
It’s all so distant.
Gods, this hurts, too.
He closes his eyes.
Three.
Leo thinks he can do it this time.
Leo does not anticipate Corrin.
Corrin chooses Hoshido again. This time, when Leo manages to track down their army in the Woods of the Forlorn, he gives Niles and Odin specific instructions.
“Fight hard enough so they think you gave your all,” he tells them, “And then flee. The moment they’re convinced, feign injury and flee.”
And thank the Gods they do. Takumi lands a solid shot in Leo’s shoulder and Leo has to physically pull Niles back, but a single hushed reminder returns him to their mission and the three of them run after exchanging a few brief words. Leo’s shoulder is treated, and they return to the castle.
“Milord,” Odin says when they’re alone, “You know something.”
Was he so obvious?
“I know my sibling is a traitor,” Leo responds, contempt dripping from his voice, “I know they must pay.”
Odin frowns. “Is that all, milord?”
Leo’s eyes narrow. Despite his earnest nature, Odin can be difficult to read at times. His past is shrouded in mystery, his knowledge of Nohr spotty yet sometimes scarily insightful. He remembers another life, where he assured Odin his past didn’t matter, and requested that he keep his title of retainer if he ever were to leave. He remembers Odin leaving in his first life.
He wonders how much he should push.
“Why?” Leo’s voice comes out more demanding than he intended. “What do you know?”
Odin hesitates. “More than I can say,” he confesses.
A pause.
“Do you know what happens next?” Leo asks, voice small.
Odin takes a sharp inhale. “No, milord,” he says. His voice has lost all extravagance, dropping into something more discrete. “Do you?”
He considers Odin. Secretive, mysterious Odin. He trusts him. He’s trusted him across three lifetimes, and he’s never been let down. He trusts Niles, too, but somehow thinks telling him now is a bad idea.
“Yes,” he forces the word out, “I do.”
Odin pulls him into a hug, taking Leo by surprise and knocking the breath from his chest. Leo fights. Odin holds tighter.
“There is,” Odin whispers, “Something I shouldn’t tell you, but I think I must.”
Leo freezes. “What?”
“There is a reason there is no trace of me to be found in this world.”
World. Ugh. He doesn’t have time for this.
“Just… what do I need to know?” Leo breathes.
Odin pushes him back, holding him by the shoulders and looking seriously into his eyes. He’s still frowning. The bright life that typically erupts from him has evolved into a low, determined fire.
“There are times where you will not change destiny,” Odin says. His grip on Leo’s shoulders tightens. “Rather, that you will only delay it. The river of time will always fight its way back to its original course. That is not failure, milord, that is only life.”
Hopeless.
Leo can’t help it; a small sob forces its way up through his throat, and soon he’s spilling three lifetimes worth of tears into Odin’s shoulder while Odin whispers soothing encouragement.
“They can’t die again,” he cries. Odin holds him tighter. “I can’t be alone again. I can’t — I can’t watch them die, I can’t —“
Another hand on his shoulder. Leo jolts.
“It’s just me, milord,” Niles says. Leo wonders how long he’s been here. “Now, what’s this about dying again..?”
Leo breaks down completely. His retainers gently bring him to his bed and seat him on the edge, each seated on one side, and through his tears he confesses everything.
Elise.
Xander.
Corrin.
Takumi.
Two and a half lives and this one’s on track to end just like the first.
“That’s a lot to take in,” Niles mumbles.
A shocked laugh erupts out of Leo. Niles looks alarmed, but somehow that single stupid comment feels like the dawn of a new day, or perhaps it feels like the sun is finally setting and he can draw plans in the constellations of the night sky.
“You have an excellent memory, milord,” Odin says, “Armed with this knowledge, we may be able to change the course of fate!”
They don’t change anything. Leo tries to keep Elise in the castle, he tries to stop Xander himself, but they both fall and they both have massive white graves built for all to see. They still make Leo sick.
Odin doesn’t leave this time. Selena disappears, along with Laslow’s ashes, but Odin stays.
“This is not our final destiny,” Odin tells him one particularly difficult day in the privacy of his study, “I apologize, I am unable to elaborate more. But milord, trust me when I say your legend has only begun.”
“It sure has,” Niles says dryly. He leans against the doorway into Leo’s study and regards the two. He smirks. “You have a visitor, milord.”
Of course he does. He nods and Niles waves him in.
Prince Takumi stands awkwardly behind Niles in the doorway. Niles grabs his shoulder and shoves him into the room. It’s rude, a bit threatening. Leo doesn’t acknowledge it.
“King Leo,” Prince Takumi says stiffly.
“Prince Takumi,” Leo returns.
They stare at each other in silence. The contempt is familiar. He remembers their first meeting like this fondly.
“If there’s anything I can do to make you more comfortable during your stay,” Leo says, “Please don’t hesitate to let me know.”
Takumi gawks. “What, just like that? You’re not even going to ask why I’m here?”
“Corrin sent you,” Leo says. Takumi’s indignant stare feels nostalgic in a way. Comforting. “There’s no need to explain.”
Takumi huffs. “Well, then, perfect. Great. Uh, thanks.”
It ends the same way as the first. After all, the river of time will always fight back to its original course, but this time Leo knows there is at least one fork in its path.
Takumi screams over him. Niles shoots arrow after arrow. Odin fights to breathe on the ground beside him, badly burned but likely to survive. Leo takes comfort in the knowledge that Niles won’t be alone.
His vision fades. He waits for his next chance.
Four.
Again.
Xander trains with Corrin. Leo waits until he’s supposed to enter and say his lines, and when it’s his turn he does so flawlessly. Camilla and Elise come exactly on cue.
His plan is precise. He’s leaving the fewest variables up to chance.
When Corrin leaves to pack their things, Leo follows.
“Corrin,” he says. A pause. “Do you know what happens next?”
Corrin looks at him, puzzled. “What?”
So, that’s how it must be.
“Nevermind,” he sighs, “Forget I said anything.”
In private, with only his trusted retainers as company, he breaks down again. This time, when he tells them the truth, the memories rush back to them and Niles punches Leo for dying on him. They put their knowledge together, including what Niles and Odin were able to learn after fleeing to Hoshido with Takumi.
They learned Azura disappeared. They learned King Shirasagi was not Corrin’s birth father, and that Queen Mikoto was only Corrin’s birth mother.
It’s not a lot to go off of.
They try anyway.
It doesn’t matter. Corrin sides with Nohr. Leo watches Takumi march over the edge of a cliff, and later he faces the thing parading as Takumi. He dies. He fails that time, too.
Five.
The moment Leo has both Niles and Odin as his retainers he sits them down and tells them the truth. It gets easier each time; he’s figuring out what the trigger words are and what events bring back their memories.
This time, though, Odin tells them more.
“There will be parts of this story that must remain blank,” he prefaces, “There are magical forces at play that bind my tongue. I do not wish to keep secrets, but alas, it is not up to me.”
“Magical forces?” Leo asks, “Like, a spell?”
Odin opens his mouth and closes it again. “I — yes, but I cannot offer more detail.”
Leo sighs. “I’ll take what I can get at this point.”
And so Odin explains. His story is confusing, littered with holes and impossible claims: a hidden enemy controlling the two countries, Corrin’s mysterious true destiny, his quest to lead Corrin to this enemy and bring lasting peace to this land, a curse that will kill him if he reveals too much.
“That,” Niles says after what feels like hours, “Is a lot.”
“You have no idea,” Odin mutters.
“You knew all of this,” Leo says, “This whole time?”
Odin shifts on his feet, obviously uncomfortable. “Yes,” he says, “I apologize; I was forbidden from speaking on this, and I’m not only endangering myself by breaking that promise.”
“Selena and Laslow, as well,” Leo confirms. Odin nods. “Should we loop them in..?”
“The less people here to act as wildcards, the better,” Niles says.
“Niles is right,” Odin says, though he looks disappointed, “This is only, what, our third attempt?”
“Fifth,” Leo corrects.
Odin grimaces. “Right, you didn’t tell us immediately.”
“How could I have?” Leo snaps, “The first time was the first time, and the second time wasn’t any easier.”
“I did not mean to throw around accusations,” Odin says, throwing his hands up in defense, “I was simply stating a fact.”
Leo inhales, holds, and exhales. His thoughts can hardly line up. “Right,” he sighs, “Sorry. I’m exhausted.”
“And you just got here,” Niles points out, gesturing towards Odin.
“Yes, well, I also just got a silencing spell placed on me,” Odin quips back.
“Sounds challenging,” Niles says.
“It’s nothing a hero cannot handle.”
“I have to ask,” Leo says, cutting off their banter, “Is there a way I can get you here sooner? Any possible way?”
Odin considers his question with a frown. “No, I don’t think so,” he says after a few minutes. Then, with dread, “How many times has my mom died..?”
Right. Once upon a time, Leo antagonized Takumi for ignoring the grief and pain of those around him, for centering everything around himself, but Odin just told them about his parents dying to save him, about fighting to survive in a war torn world, of eating bugs to survive. Niles has had his eye ripped out in every life, gone hungry and fought to survive.
“Gods,” Leo mutters to himself as the gravity settles itself on his shoulders. Gods.
Corrin, to Leo’s disappointment, chooses Hoshido once again.
Why can’t he save everybody? Why does he have to choose?
Six.
By Leo’s calculations, he’s been alive for approximately 162 years.
He’s so exhausted. He just wants to fix this.
Unfortunately, 162 years worth of experience isn’t much help when it’s still being processed by a preteen’s brain, so when he seeks out Niles in the streets of Windmire and tells him immediately, and Niles doesn’t remember as expected, things don’t turn out how he’d optimistically hoped.
Leo dies long before Corrin is ever released from the Northern Fortress.
Seven.
“Oh, sweetheart,” Camilla coos, stroking young Leo’s soft hair while he speaks animatedly in her lap, “You have such a lovely imagination. I love hearing your stories.”
Leo huffs and crosses his tiny arms. He may only be six, but he’s positive this isn’t his imagination. He doesn’t understand what it is, he doesn’t understand the concept of past lives and reincarnation and heaven and hell. He understands memories: what he had for breakfast, when his mother promised to take him to town and didn’t follow through, when his friend Takumi came to visit, but Camilla asks to be introduced to Takumi like he’s hiding just around the corner and Leo doesn’t know how to explain this was a very, very long time ago.
Camilla begins setting an extra seat at their tea parties for his friend Takumi. She asks if Takumi’s there when the seat is clearly empty, asks if Takumi likes to read or draw, or maybe he likes to run and play?
Xander doesn’t say much about his stories, but he always patiently listens.
Leo doesn’t remember his other siblings very well. One by one they disappear, and one by one they’re forgotten again.
When baby Elise is brought into the castle Leo finds himself protective of her. He tells her all his stories even though she’s just a baby and doesn’t understand. He knows she wants to. At least she doesn’t try and talk to a boy that’s not there.
Leo is eleven when he realizes what he’s remembering is another life.
Corrin is brought to the Northern Fortress and he’s brought to meet them shortly after. He doesn’t mention his friend Takumi, nor any of his old friends or adventures. Instead, he insists they read strategy books and play chess. He pushes Corrin to train, to study, to think and fight.
What else can he do?
“Well,” Niles says, “That’s always an unpleasant experience, isn’t it?”
Leo, now a teenager, leans back in his chair and runs his temples. “You don’t even know,” he mutters, “I learned the hard way if I try and awaken your memories before I have you both that it doesn’t work.”
Odin frowns. “That must be unimaginably lonely.”
Leo doesn’t bother answering. “I’m tired,” he confesses, “I’m tired of living like this, of waiting to grow up before I even understand why I have these memories. Camilla thought Takumi was my imaginary friend.”
Niles laughs. “Of course she did.”
“You don’t deserve this, either. Something has to give,” Leo says, ignoring Niles, “Something needs to change and I can’t figure out what the missing link is.”
Corrin refuses to pick a side. Leo could cry for joy.
“The dawn of something new,” Odin says, “Could this be the first step on the path toward salvation?”
“Gods, I hope so,” Leo mutters. He glances over his notes again before continuing, “I have no idea what will happen next. You said Corrin disappeared? Azura and Jakob as well?”
“Yes,” Niles confirms, “There was no trace of them anywhere.”
“Strange.” Leo leans his chin on his hand and considers his next move.
After much deliberation, Leo decides to watch Corrin’s moves from a distance. He doesn’t know how many times this will repeat, he doesn’t know whether he’ll be forced to watch this hundreds of times, but if he stays far away then maybe he’ll be able to approach it objectively the next time they make this choice. The more data he gathers while he can, the more likely it is he’ll succeed the next time.
He can, however, remove some of the more annoying pests.
“Zola’s dead,” Leo confirms when he meets Odin and Niles in the forest outside Castle Izana. “One less idiot to worry about.”
“Takumi joined Corrin,” Niles says, “He should be protected.”
Leo nods. “Let’s return, then.”
Avoiding suspicion while under Garon’s thumb proves to be a more difficult task than in earlier lives, but he narrowly avoids Iago’s questions and keeps his nose down until he can’t ignore it anymore. When Xander returns from Cyrkensia, and Leo shows him Garon’s descent, it’s with great relief that he agrees to meet Corrin at the Bottomless Canyon.
The night before they meet Leo takes Xander aside, away from the fire to speak privately.
“What is it?” Xander asks.
Leo squares his shoulders. “Do you remember when I was a child and I had an imaginary friend? Takumi?”
Xander frowns. “Yes, that became a problem when we learned there was a Hoshidan prince by the same name.”
“He wasn’t my imaginary friend,” Leo says, choosing the most direct path, “I’ve met him before. Many times.”
Xander’s frown deepens. “How?” he asks, “Your mother?”
“No, Xander.” Leo glances over his shoulder and confirms their retainers are still by the fire; Niles and Odin may know, but Peri and Laslow don’t. “I’ve lived this life before.”
A pause.
“You’ve what?” Xander asks, voice flat.
“I realize this sounds ridiculous,” Leo continues, trying to keep his voice level while his heart is racing, “But please, trust me. This is the seventh time I’ve lived this life, and this is the first time it’s unfolded like this.”
Xander, to his credit, is an excellent listener. He has a lifetime of experience listening between the lines, putting pieces together, playing a game of social strategy Leo can only imagine. Leo shares the full story, from Elise sacrificing her life to save Corrin and Xander and their countries to Leo dying an early death in an attempt to stop everything before it started, and Xander soaks in every word like it’s gospel.
“And you’ve been doing this by yourself?” Xander asks when Leo’s finished.
Leo frowns. “No,” he says, confused as to why this is the most important part, “The third time I told Odin and Niles, and ever since then they remember when I have them both and I can tell them together. I’m alone until then, though.”
Xander nods thoughtfully. “And you knew that at the end of all this, father would be dead?”
A dangerous question. Leo sighs.
“I knew he was already dead, and has been for a long, long time.”
“You understand what that sounds like, right?”
Treason.
“You understand why I’ve never told you or Camilla, then.”
Impossibly, Xander’s lips curl into a small smile. “That was a smart choice.”
Leo grins in return. “Obviously.”
Xander mulls this over for a moment and asks, “Does Corrin know?”
Leo shakes his head. “I tried talking to them once, but it didn’t go anywhere.”
“And Corrin is always at the center.”
“Yes.”
“I wonder why that is,” Xander mutters, “There must be a piece we’re missing; that must be why Father kidnapped them.”
“Odin has some insight on this,” Leo admits, to Xander’s surprise. “Actually, Laslow knows as well, but they’re unable to speak freely due to some type of spell.”
“It must be the same magic that stopped Corrin from sharing exactly where the’re taking us,” Xander says.
“Yes, it’s likely.”
Another pause.
“Is Laslow aware?” Xander asks.
Leo remembers a time when they considered looping in Laslow as well as Selena. “No,” he says.
“We need to tell him, then,” Xander says. He glances back toward the fire where their retainers still sit. “We should tell Peri, as well.”
Leo grimaces. “Is that the best idea?”
“I realize she’s… eccentric,” Xander says, grinning something mischievous that looks out of place on his face, “But she’s trustworthy.”
Social strategy.
“Okay,” Leo acquiesces, and Xander strides past him back toward the campfire.
Xander wastes no time debriefing his retainers. Leo glances toward Niles and Odin throughout the story, but they each seem to be studying Xander, Laslow, and Peri.
Finally, at the end Laslow says, “And you couldn’t say anything, Odin?”
Odin’s hands shoot up in defense. “I’m sorry!”
“Selena’s gonna kill you.”
Odin swallows. “We could, ah, treat his as a covert mission?”
“Selena is trustworthy,” Xander says, his authority ending the discussion, “As is Camilla and Beruka, but we should keep this as small as possible. This is a lot of knowledge.”
“Yes,” Leo says, “And Camilla is very protective.”
Niles snickers.
Xander sighs. “I must admit, I’m rather nervous about going into this with so much knowledge and no plan whatsoever.”
“That is the plan,” Leo points out, “We’re here to collect knowledge for the next time.”
“But,” Odin says in an impossibly optimistic tone, “If victory is within our grasp, we will, uh, grasp it!”
“And I’ll stab it!” Peri announces.
“Please don’t stab victory,” Laslow says, “We need that.”
Peri pouts. “Fine, but I’ll stab everybody else.”
“Okay,” Laslow grins, “Have fun!”
Valla, as far as Leo is concerned, is lovely. With Iago and Hans both dead, and his siblings and Takumi and everybody he’s fought so hard to save standing strong around him, he could be in paradise.
“They keep saying we’re the same,” Takumi mutters bitterly as he considers his next move over a chess board. “But we’re not. I’m nothing like you.”
No, Leo thinks as he watches Takumi make a fatal mistake, You’re not. You’re everything I’m not.
Leo moves his piece.
“Checkmate,” he says.
Takumi pounds a fist on the table, knocking over several pieces. “Again,” he demands.
Leo silently sets the board up again. And again.
When Queen Mikoto falls again, Leo is reminded that he’s not the only one suffering.
Hinoka takes Takumi under her arm and they lean on one another, sobbing over her lifeless body. She’s smiling, even in death. It’s serene. It makes Leo sick.
He knows Corrin’s giving out instructions but he finds himself not listening. His eyes are glued to Takumi’s back, his shaking shoulders, his feet dragging in the grass as he returns to the astral plane.
Leo stopped grieving for his father many lifetimes ago. Is he even still human? Has this broken him?
That night, after Niles and Odin have gone to their tent and the camp is quiet, Leo makes his way to the training grounds. Takumi’s there, as expected, shooting arrow after arrow, blood from his fingertips flecking across his cheek as he shoots again and again and again. Leo is careful to kick some dirt around, make some noise to announce his presence, but he leaves Takumi alone. Instead, he takes a seat on the floor near the edge of the training grounds and sets out a shogi board and a cup of soup.
Leo doesn’t know how much time passes. He doesn’t know how many arrows Takumi shoots. He does know Takumi’s losing patience.
“What the hell are you doing?” Takumi forces out, not bothering to turn to face Leo.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Leo asks.
Takumi spins on his heel and glares at Leo, his eyes wild. “It looks like you’re pissing me off!”
That was his intention. “That’s fair.”
“Are you here to laugh at me?” Takumi screams, his voice raw, “Huh?!”
“No.”
“THEN WHAT ARE YOU HERE FOR?!”
Leo waits a beat before answering. One. Two.
“I know what it’s like to lose a mother,” Leo admits, his voice low, “Not one who loved me like yours did, but a mother just the same.”
Elise’s and Xander’s massive, hulking graves tower over him in memory. He decides not to share that part.
“Right,” Takumi’s voice goes soft, “Your mother’s dead.”
Leo nods. “Yes.”
Takumi stands where he was for another minute more before he throws his entire training bow and quiver at the target, scattering everything around the floor and kicking up a cloud of dust. When he finally turns to regard Leo it’s with a guarded expression, as if he’s waiting for an attack. He must decide nothing’s coming, because he stomps over, throws himself on the ground across the board from Leo, and throws the soup in his mouth with practiced skill.
“Is it good?” Leo asks, barely containing his amusement.
Takumi lowers the cup. “...Yes,” he answers after a pause, “Thanks.”
“Of course,” Leo says. He refuses to allow an awkward silence to settle. “A friend taught me how to make it once, a long time ago.”
“Sounds like a good friend,” Takumi says.
Leo doesn’t bother to hide a soft smile. The first Takumi he knew had long healed from his mother’s death and readily laughed at Leo when he fumbled the ingredients. He can see that Takumi in the Takumi sitting across from him and, for the first time, he thinks this is a timeline worth fighting for.
“That’s true.”
Corrin’s sword slices through Anankos’s jaw and into his skull. For a single, silent moment, the world is still. Then cheers erupt throughout the chamber and rise in volume as Anankos’s body dissolves into sparks and dust.
Xander glances at Leo and nods. They did it. They did it.
Odin and Niles engulf Leo and Leo cries for joy.
“I see what you mean,” Leo admits through a haze of alcohol to Niles’s great pleasure, “This is… nice.”
“Told you he’d like it,” Niles gloats to Odin.
Odin’s entire face is flushed bright red from the alcohol, his eyes half closed and unfocused. “I must admit,” he says, his words surprisingly clear after a bottle of wine, “I was under the impression our beloved Lord would prefer sobriety, but I suppose this is a celebration of epic proportions, one that will —”
“Yeah, we get it,” Niles says, “You don’t need to —”
A knock. Niles shuts his mouth abruptly and Odin’s eyes drift toward the solid wood door separating the room Leo has taken in Castle Valla from the dusty hall. Leo clears his throat.
“Come in,” he calls.
The door creaks on its hinges as it cracks open. Dim candlelight spills through and illuminates the worn rug near the entrance. Takumi’s top half squeezes through, as if he’s scared of intruding or taking up too much space, and he looks between the three of them and the two empty wine bottles on the floor.
Takumi clears his throat. “Are, uh, are you okay?”
Leo lowers his glass, half full of a deep red wine. “Yes,” he says, “Would you like to join us?”
Takumi hesitates just long enough for Niles to interject.
“Actually, I dunno,” he says, stretching his arms above his head, “I’m kinda tired.”
Odin scoffs. “You? Tired? Niles of the night? The one of us who never sleeps —”
Niles lightly smacks Odin on his exposed stomach. “You’re also tired.”
“Sleep will never take me.”
“Oh no, how unfortunate,” Niles groans, exaggerating every word. He stumbles to his feet and grabs Odin by the collar, dragging him along, “We are both so very tired. I certainly hope nothing inappropriate or sexual happens in this room while we —”
“Niles,” Leo interrupts.
“— go and find somewhere to sleep. In a non-sexual way. As two men do. Goodnight.”
Niles yanks the door open and staggers out of the room, Odin in tow, and once he’s past the threshold he kicks backwards at Takumi, forcing him all the way in the room.
Then he slams the door.
“Forgive them,” Leo says before the silence can grow awkward, “They’re weird.”
Takumi nods. The faint sound of singing fades down the hall as Niles and Odin go wherever the hell they’re going.
“My retainers are the same,” Takumi says after the song fades.
“Ah yes, of course,” Leo says, thinking about Niles’s arguments with Oboro and Odin’s magic lessons with Hinata. “Truth be told, I’m worried about them getting into more trouble during peacetime; I’m not sure I’ll have enough for them to do.”
“I’ve told Oboro she can leave to start her clothing store,” Takumi says. He seems to be getting more comfortable. “I’ll back her fully if she does. She seems excited.”
Leo feels his face soften. “That’s very kind of you.”
It’s hard to tell in the low light, but Leo thinks Takumi’s face goes pink. “Yeah, well…”
Leo takes a sip of wine from his glass and continues, “Odin has considered returning home, but he and Niles have gotten quite close as I’m sure you’ve noticed, I doubt that’s still a consideration.”
Takumi takes a hesitant step forward. Leo waits and, when he doesn’t object, Takumi continues. He sits down beside him on the floor.
“Home, huh?” Takumi asks, “It’s weird to think about.”
Leo nods. “It is.”
There’s a pause while the thought sinks in. Home. Does he have a home anymore, even after all these years?
“But seriously, though,” Takumi interrupts his thoughts, “Are you okay?”
Leo hums. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I mean,” Takumi says, “We just killed your father.”
Leo scoffs. “That thing was no longer my father.”
“So?”
Leo looks directly at Takumi. He’s wound up, ready for a challenge. He wonders what that challenge is.
“So I’m okay,” Leo says at last, “My father was long dead, and that beast was nothing but a demon looking to torture us all. My father was a kind but stern man; I believe he would be happy knowing we destroyed what remained of his body so our country can live in prosperity.”
Takumi looks thoughtful. Leo waits for a response.
Suddenly, “Come back to Hoshido with me.”
Not quite what he was expecting.
“Hm?” Leo asks.
Oh, dear. If Takumi was blushing before, his skin must be roasting now. “I — I just… I mean…”
“My, Takumi,” Leo grins and leans closer, “That’s very forward of you.”
Takumi scrambles back. “You can say no!”
“No,” Leo narrows his eyes, taking in Takumi’s awkward position on the floor in front of him. His eyes are wide, his chest rising and falling rapidly. “I don’t think I’ll do that.”
“Great, thanks,” Takumi forces out, his voice tight with fury and embarrassment, “That’s all I needed to hear —”
“You misunderstand me, Takumi.” Leo leans back to his original position, sitting straight up with his legs crossed on the floor. He’s done playing games. Done chasing a destiny that sits in front of him. “I will not be saying no.”
Takumi blinks.
“Take me to Hoshido,” Leo continues, “And later I’ll take you to Nohr.”
“W-what?”
Leo extends his arm and offers what’s left of his drink to Takumi. Takumi blinks back.
“Take me to Hoshido,” Leo says.
He didn’t realize how late it had gotten; the sky begins to show signs of light, tinting the minimal amount of light coming in through the window a warm shade of magenta. It catches on Takumi’s silvery hair, haloing him in ethereal colors, and Leo wonders if he feels as warm as he looks.
Takumi swallows.
“Okay.”