Chapter Text
"Emergency meeting," Camilla burst into the twins' room, still in her sleepwear, not even bothering to knock.
(Which, if anyone cared, thoroughly interrupted filming for the introduction of their split-screen parallel let's plays of Flame Sigil: Inheritance and Flame Sigil: Manifest .)
"Emergency meeting?" Kamui hit pause on the recording screen. "It's like... midnight, Camilla. And it's Friday."
Her brother Corrin cringed, "I thought for sure we could get a clean recording this time around."
"Sorry, darlings," their older sister sighed, looking greatly upset. Even at a glance, it was obvious something was wrong. "But I wouldn't call an emergency meeting unless it was a real emergency. Leo's already in the kitchen."
"We'll be there," Kam agreed decisively, cramming her feet into a pair of knit slippers.
"I'll meet you there, dears, after I get Elise," Camilla gave both heads of hair an affectionate ruffle before running off down the mansion's hallway, barefoot with her hair bounding behind her.
"Sounds serious," Cor confided as he took the back staircase two steps at a time-- what was the Servants' Staircase, in the ye olde days from when the house was built and still had servants. "I've never seen Camilla so... frazzled."
"Me neither... I really hope everything's okay," Kam gave pause for a moment. "Hey, Cor, you don't think it's father, do you? He's been acting... really, really distant lately."
"... maybe he's mad about Mokushu Corp. trying to buy him out?" Cor guessed, even though he'd only heard about the plans as a rumor on Yahoo News.
"Maybe," sighed Kam, at last reaching the stairs' end. She pushed open the door to find Leo already there, stirring a Nohr-family-sized cauldron of hot cocoa.
"Oh no," Cor breathed, eyeing the drink with alarm. "It really is an emergency."
Leo looked incredibly serious, even in an inside-out bathrobe and pajamas, "I don't know yet. Camilla just told me to get some ready. I... presume there is some upsetting news."
"Oh," Kam answered, collapsing into one of the kitchen barstools. Cor couldn't find any better word to express his sentiment, and so he let her speak for the both of them as he silently slid into the stool beside her.
"Okay, everyone," Camilla swept in through the door from the East Wing, lavender silk dressing-gown fluttering as Elise hurried inside past her. "Good, you all made it here."
"Where's Xander?" Corrin asked, noticing their older brother's absence.
"Still at work, I think," Elise yawned, clearly having just re-woken. She clambered into the next chair, her long nightgown tangling her clumsy legs. "He went in this morning and I haven't seen him since... I hope he at least finds a comfy sofa, if he doesn't make it back here tonight."
"He knows the news," Camilla made eye contact with Leo, and with a subtle nod of her head, the youngest brother began ladling hot cocoa into mugs. "He was the one who sent me this little tidbit, actually."
"What's the emergency?" Kam prodded, even as Leo slid the last of the cups in place and took his own seat.
"As you know, father has been pursuing the latest merger for... quite some time," Camilla replied carefully, taking a dainty sip and mulling it over. And they certainly did know-- you would have to live under a rock to be unaware of Garon Nohr's singleminded determination to buy Dawn Technologies Inc. "We... will be hosting a dinner party here, three days from now, and the owners of this corporation will be invited."
"Oh gods," Leo immediately went ashen, nearly dropping his mug.
"I don't understand, it's just a dinner party, right?" Elise looked confused.
"Elise, darling," Camilla set down her mug, reluctant to say more. "Dawn Technologies is owned by Sumeragi Hoshido ."
"Oh," answered Elise. Then, her eyes widened as the realization sunk in, " Ohhhhhhhh . Oh no."
"Hoshido?" Kam turned her head to the side, knitting her brows together. "That name sounds... familiar."
"What's so bad about that?" Cor wondered out loud. "I think I was friends with a Takumi Hoshido once at summer camp. Hey, Leo, do you remember--"
"Yes," Leo scowled, looking up from his hot cocoa. "I remember. The real question is whether you remember."
"Remember what, now?" Kam blinked absently.
"No, wait, I kind of remember this," Cor scoured his brain. "There was some... really big fight or something."
Nobody was willing to speak. Elise quietly sipped at her hot cocoa.
"Sweetie," Camilla said after a long silence, clearly troubled by digging up the past. "Ryoma Hoshido is Xander's ex-boyfriend."
There was another pause. Leo raised his hand.
"Yes, Leo?" Camilla sighed, even her youngest brother's adorable quirks unable to cheer her up.
"Ryoma Hoshido," he stated, as if he were answering a question asked by a teacher. "Is a lying asshole who blatantly cheated on our brother and then had the audacity to say that he did nothing wrong . They dated for two and a half years in high school. I'm sure you remember the break-up. It was messy."
"I remember big brother shouting something in the foyer. I think he was in high school, then," Kam nodded, the memory slowly returning to her. Mimicking his inflection, "Something like ' Char lotte is a LESbian!' But Xander was way more dramatic about it. Which was funny, because up til then I actually thought he and Charlotte were dating ."
"Oh yeah, I liked Charlotte! She was the best at shopping," Elise commented. "And Xander took her to all those dinner-type events he had to take a date for. Before he came out to dad, I mean. I still can't believe dad grounded him for a whole week for not saying anything sooner."
"Wait, no, he's not that guy?" Cor looked taken aback by this. "I remember Ryoma! He came to our tenth birthday party in a lobster suit and gave us all lobsterback rides!"
Leo tisked, "Well, people change. Everyone's friends... and family... took sides in the conflict, and it escalated very quickly. Actually, I'm fairly certain that even father took it personally. After all, he only started trying to acquire Dawn Tech after the ordeal between our brother and that Hoshidan scum."
"My poor, darling, mislead Hinoka," Camilla sighed. "How could she defend Ryoma after the despicable things he did, even if he was her brother? And I'm sure you recall when Beruka had to leave the anime club because she couldn't abide the smack talk about our dear Xander! I'll never forgive them. I can't. I'd sooner slay them than forgive them."
"I'm sure there was just a misunderstanding," Kam awkwardly patted her sister's shoulder. So she didn't exactly remember the guy, but she definitely remembered the lobsterback ride. Best birthday ever, if she had to be honest.
"Misunderstanding or not, he was super mean to Xander!" Elise burst out indignantly, slamming her empty mug on the table. "After big brother went through the whole ordeal of coming out to father, getting grounded for being too scared to say it before, and writing sorry notes to every girl dad ever set up on a date with him! Like, I didn't see him leave his room for a whole week , that's how hard he worked for that big meanyface lobsterpants! Locked up in his room, no phone, all alone--"
She was cut off by the sound of a door closing, so firmly that it was almost a slam. Xander's brow was creased in evident pain, "That's enough, Elise."
"But--" she clearly had more to say on the subject, upset that her brother was going to cut her off from defending him.
"Enough," Xander answered, firmly but not unkindly. "Camilla, I didn't tell you about the dinner party so you could discuss the sordid details of my past love life. Please tell me you at least managed to put a call through to the caterer, like I asked you to?"
"The caterer, the decorator, and the cleaner's," Camilla looked hurt, but unapologetic. "Xander, our siblings deserve to know when people they don't like are going to be coming into our home."
"That's right," Leo defended her, knowing how upset he'd have been if he'd been left in the dark. "I'd like to be... prepared... for any potential Hoshido conflict."
"There will be no conflict," Xander frowned. "What's in the past will remain in the past. This meeting is purely in the interests of Dusk Corporation, and I trust that as heirs to the company, none of us will allow our personal feelings interfere with our duty."
"You say that," Camilla sniffed, letting a slightly-teary Elise hug her for comfort. "But you still asked me to make sure that lobster tempura was on the menu."
"That," Xander straightened his back, looking extremely stern. "Was purely for business reasons. I have it from a... reliable source... that at least one major Dawn Tech leader is fond of the dish. It is imperative we keep them open to negotiations."
"Just answer me this," Camilla lifted her chin defiantly, not about to back down to her barely-older brother. Her scrutinizing eyes narrowed, "Is that 'reliable source' your first date?"
Tension hung in the air for a moment. Corrin and Kamui silently exchanged a look, agreeing to stay as far out of this battle as possible.
At last, both of the older siblings seemed to deflate, wilting in the face of a real argument.
"Sorry," Camilla exhaled, tension draining from her at the sight of her older sibling looking so defeated. "I shouldn't have opened old wounds."
"No, the fault is mine," Xander carefully tried to rub away a budding headache. "I came home irritated, and let my temper get the best of me. I'll reconvene with you all tomorrow at brunch. Corrin, Kamui... please try to wake up before noon."
"We'll... try," Cor smiled, joking weakly, too shaken to even remember to tell Leo that his bathrobe was inside-out.
Kam tugged his arm in the direction of the stairs, but in all honesty, neither of them cared quite as much about their Youtube recording as they had before.
"So," Kam said after laying in bed for about an hour, looking up at the ceiling of their shared bedroom/recording studio/sitting room. "You can't sleep either, huh?"
"I've never seen big brother like that before," Cor's eyes popped open as he gave up trying to squeeze them shut. "And I can't remember the last time Camilla fought with anyone in our family. At least, not like that."
"Me too," she turned over on her side, unable to get comfortable. "I just can't shake this feeling that there's something... missing. Some part of the story that I've forgotten, or something that I don't know yet..."
"I wish Azura were here," Cor sighed. "She'd know what was going on. Azura finds out everything ."
"If she were in a video game, she'd be the walking exposition character," Kam agreed. "But she's doing the whole world-tour-thing again. With that one rapper chick."
"Wait," Cor sat up abruptly. "Azura's in Melior right now, right?"
"Uh, she should be..." Kam sat up more slowly, rubbing her eyes. "Her concert's from eight to ten tonight and tomorrow. Or... was from eight to ten. I can never remember the time zones for these things."
Cor pulled up a time converter on his dawnPhone, "We have half an hour."
"Gods, are you calling her?" Kam clambered out of bed, turning on a lamp on her way over. "She's a pop star! Her concert starts in half an hour!"
"This is an emergency," Cor sulked, hitting the dial function regardless and putting her on speakerphone. Thank goodness the rooms on either side were unoccupied.
"Hello?" the singer's clear voice came through the phone. "Corrin? What are you doing still awake, is it not nearly two in the morning in Krakenburg?"
"We kind of have a problem," Kam answered, pointedly not informing their sister that, as college students and gamers, they had pulled much, much later nights.
"I can't talk long, I'm in dressing right now," Azura replied. A pause, and then a muffled, "Rinkah, please let costuming do their job, don't punch the makeup artist!"
"I only need fifteen minutes," Cor replied. "What do you know about Ryoma Hoshido?"
"Hm?" that certainly brought Azura's attention back to her phone. "You mean the heir to Dawn Tech? We've only spoken a few times, but he seemed quite respectable. Well-mannered."
"Hey, you talkin' about Ryoma Hoshido?" a muffled voice in the background. "I knew that guy! Second-best arm wrestler I ever met."
"Apparently he arm-wrestles excellently," Azura reported solemnly. "If I'm not mistaken, he and our eldest brother had a brief dalliance in high school. One that ended, as most high-school romances do."
"Yeah, but do you know what happened to them?" Kam prodded, one eye on the clock.
"Something, I believe, about Xander vanishing for a week or so, and refusing all of Ryoma's calls. I can't confirm its accuracy myself, since I think I was already in Shirasagi. The rumor I heard was that he'd eloped with the heiress to an oil baron's empire, though that was very clearly untrue," Azura answered. There were a few muffled noises and then, "Rinkah says she heard a rumor about Ryoma having engaged in... intimate behavior... with a girl from her school. What was her name again? Scarlet?"
"There was talk," some sounds that were muffled out of comprehension and then, "... we didn't interact with the rich kids' school much. I keep out of that rumor crap, so it probably got pretty big."
"There was a fairly prolific fight. I know that much for certain. Sakura called me in absolute tears," Azura answered after a moment. "I couldn't make out what she was saying, but I think the yelling frightened her. I'm afraid that's all I can say for now, I have to be on set in three minutes."
"You've helped us a lot, Azura, no need to worry," Cor assured her. "It all just sounds like a big misunderstanding to me."
"Let us pray that's all it is," she replied, sounding needlessly grave.
"It's all right, thanks again," Kam shook her head, mood lightened by Azura's excessive solemnity. "Break a leg!"
"Thank you," was her answer before the call ended, probably in favor of enchanting crowds of hundreds who'd shown up just to hear her perform.
"Okay," Cor said, putting his phone away. "How's that for exposition?"
"Useful. Ish," Kam replied, sighing and resting her head on her hand. "I mean, pretty clearly they wound up blaming each other for some pretty dumb rumors."
"... well," Cor hesitated.
"What? Those are equally stupid rumors, right?" Kam startled.
"I mean. We don't know Ryoma," Cor explained. "What if he really did cheat on big brother?"
"But what if it's just a rumor that spun completely out of control?" Kam gesticulated the motion with her arms. "Doesn't everyone deserve the benefit of the doubt?"
"Innocent until proven guilty," Cor pursed his lips. "I guess that's fair."
"And it's not like big brother didn't share at least a little blame..." Kam fiddled with her hair. "What kind of boyfriend doesn't call or text for a whole week?"
"One who's been grounded by King Dad," Cor winced, having been on the receiving end of more than one grounding during his childhood. "Mountains of paperwork or manual labor to fix whatever plans got messed up, surveillance to make sure you don't leave the house... and most importantly, no electronics until the assignment's finished."
"... being grounded is pretty bad," Kam made a sympathetic noise, having never been on that side of the spectrum herself.
"We have to at least help them not hate each other, now that we know the whole story," said Cor after a moment. "Now that I think about it... weren't all of our siblings pretty great friends with the Hoshidos?"
"Well, now that you mention it, I think I remember their youngest brother being the only one who could beat Leo at chess," Kam mused. "Okay, so what's the plan?"
"What plan?" asked Cor, taken aback.
"You're the big strategist here, Mr. I-Play-Lunatic-Classic-For-The-Tactics," she teased. "How are we going to help them to make up?"
"Honestly?" Cor tisked. "I'd leave them alone. It's been like eight years since they were in high school, and they're both almost-CEOs. I'm sure they'll just... not bring it up."
"And stew in quiet resentment forever?" Kam raised an eyebrow. "Besides, what if they never talk about anything that isn't business?"
"Well, what else are we supposed to do?" Cor looked personally offended by this. "Meddling goes wrong more often than not... lest I remind you of that time you tried to set up Felicia and Jakob?"
"I didn't know her sister had a crush on him," Kam defended. "To be honest, I'm just glad Flora forgave us in the end... that girl sure knows how to give someone the cold shoulder."
"At least Felicia had the sense to stop things before they got too out of hand," Cor conceded. "I think probably the most we can do is leave them alone and hope for the best."
"That's it?" Kam sounded almost disappointed, as if she were expecting some sort of elaborate set-up to follow. Like shoving them in a closet, or helping them take a romantic late-night stroll or something .
"The only other matchmaking I've ever done was by making people fight next to each other," Cor joked wryly, casting a glance towards his handheld gaming device. "Forgive me if it's not what you hoped for. We can just ask everyone to give them ample space to talk it out. They're reasonable adults, they can do it."
"It'll work," Kam nodded, reassuring herself with her words just as surely as she reassured her brother. "It has to."