Crossing over into Nohr had been just as bad as she had expected…and far worse.
The eternal gloom set her on edge and she saw Takumi slowly fall apart.
Like him, she could feel the poison that flowed through the land as he had taught her to use magic like he did. Of course, she didn't have a natural aptitude he did, so her powers were minimal, but she was connected enough she knew why he was so sick. She knew why Prince Ryoma had taken him off battles, but it didn't make it any easier to watch him suffer.
But then they started spending time together.
A freak encounter caused them to start to get along and he slipped through her fingers like water.
She had known that somebody else would capture his heart for a long time and that he would capture theirs. HIs gentle compassion and uncanny perceptions made him easy to fall in love with. She could still recall the endless nights they'd sat talking up until entering Nohr. Now, night sat empty with silence as her only companion.
At least until her own freak encounter.
She sat in the mess tent, reading a scroll as she drank a bit of sake to take off the edge. She'd tried to sleep, but without Takumi by her side, she didn't feel safe. She was rarely one to turn to alcohol, but in this case, it was her only companion. He was off doing only gods knew what in the forest, so this was all she could do in that moment.
She heard a chair clatter next to her and glared when she saw him.
"What do you want, you damn Nohrian?" Oboro knew that treating every Nohrian as if they were a murder was wrong, but with the eternal gloom, it was even harder than normal to be objective.
Isaiah just rolled his eyes before shaking his head. "It's a good thing I'm not Nohrian then." What in the Dawn Dragon's name? What was that accent? He normally had a Nohrian one, but now, it was one she couldn't identify. He claimed to be nothing but pure Nohrian as far as she knew but now…
"What are you doing up so late, Akiba-san?" And now he slipped into Hoshidan? Just who was this man?
"Considering you're up at this hour, I think you know perfectly well. Don't think I haven't seen you, Suzuki-san, and Ludel-san awake since the start of the campaign." Oboro sighed and let the rage boil away as she sat her cup down. She really didn't feel like being angry at the moment.
Isaiah just sighed and nodded as he leaned one elbow on the table, resting a cheek in his hand. "I shouldn't be surprised you picked up on it with how observant you are especially to Takumi-sama's needs." Oboro raised an eyebrow as she looked at him. Had he been observing her? But why? He seemed so solely dedicated to Prince Xander and his siblings that it didn't make sense. Sure, they both barely slept but…
He picked up the second glass she hadn't used and poured himself a small portion before downing it, an unreadable smile on his face. "Let's just say I'm used to reading a lot of people even if I don't mean to…especially at night." Well, that wasn't cryptic or anything.
"So I've heard you're one of Hoshido's best seamstresses, Akiba-san." That got her to perk up and look over at him. The genuine warmth made a little heat rise in her cheeks, but she nodded. Where was this coming from?
"I am. Before Mikoto-sama recruited me as Takumi-sama's retainer, I was focused solely on becoming the best seamstress I could." She had been decent, but her skills hadn't been up to the part she'd wanted at the time. Being brought on as Takumi's retainer had helped her skills increase exponentially. He sure loved his clothes, so she was constantly busy with little choice but to improve. The royal tailors had taught her so much over the past seven years. It brought a small smile to her face and she tucked some hair behind her ear. "Why do you ask?"
"With the way Princess Camilla and Ryoma-sama are talking, they're thinking of sending Prince Xander to live in Castle Shirasagi after the war's over. It…would do him a lot of good mentally. We're both going to need a trustworthy tailor that won't judge us. Ryoma-sama suggested you when I brought the topic up."
Oboro pursed her lips as she considered the offer. It made sense on Xander's end. If he had suffered like Cami had, then he certainly wouldn't want anybody seeing his scars. But Ryoma had suggested her? Her face burned and she kept her gaze glued to the table. Of course, she didn't give away any client information or judge somebody's scarring. But why Isaiah…?
As if sensing her unspoken question, he rolled up his sleeve on the edge of her vision and her eyes snapped up to him. Dear gods, what had happened to him? She saw scars from a whip, but she'd been fighting long enough to recognise those caused by weapons. And they were old, having been sustained over a long period of time. There was only one other person she knew with scarring like this…
"Are you from the same nation Mikoto-sama was?" There was no other explanation. He'd been fighting since he was a child just like her former queen. Ceaseless, brutal combat that kept them awake all day and night, fearing for each moment, wondering if they'd see the next dawn.
His nightmares made sense now.
But he shook his head to her surprise.
"No, but the situation was similar enough." He pressed his lips together and rolled his sleeve down. She nodded and couldn't blame him for not extrapolating. It was something she wouldn't like to talk about either, so she just left it at that.
"Well, if Ryoma-sama referred you, then I can't say no." Even if she wanted nothing to do with Nohrians, her professional side told her not to turn down a client, let alone ones of their standing.
"Since both of us have nothing to do at the moment, perhaps we can get my measurements out of the way now?" Again came that smile and she could help but return it as she nodded. He stood up and put one arm behind his back, offering her his free hand. She took it and stood up, grinning at him.
"My, my, quite the gentleman, are we?" Normally she wouldn't tease someone she'd just really met, but apparently, the alcohol was loosening her inhibitions a little.
Isaiah just smiled at her and nodded. "Nothing but the best to bring out a lady's smile." Despite how they could come across, Oboro could sense the sincerity and honesty behind them. It only made her smile more and she nodded as he dropped her hand and she led him to her tent.
He hesitated a little before going down to his smallclothes and she pulled out her supplies. She could sense his discomfort and thought for a moment before nodding to herself. "I've noticed your movements in general tend to be quite graceful in general. Are you a dancer?" Between Ryoma and Reiko, she'd long ago learned how to identify a dancer's movements no matter how well they tried to hide it.
"I—uh… Well… I knew you were observant but… Gods, yes." Oboro laugh a little bit as she knocked the normally suave man off center. "I've danced since I was a child." His voice dropped to a whisper and she winced when she realised she'd hit a sensitive topic. She hadn't meant to cause him upset, just distract him from the discomfort.
"Durand-san, I—"
"Don't worry about it, Akiba-san; it's not fault of yours. You're just trying to distract me." She glanced up at him and he smiled. How was this man so understand despite how she'd treated him earlier?
"My mother taught me to dance and I've learned many styles over the years. From ones of my birth homeland, to my adoptive homeland, to Nohrian, Nestran, Hoshidan, and others over the past two years. I've even taken to studying kabuki, kyogen, and noh theaters.
"If you're interested in kabuki and noh, then you should talk to Ryoma-sama and Takumi-sama since they know about the respective types." Takumi wasn't much of a performer like Ryoma, but given how much concentration and understanding one had to have for noh, it made sense he'd pursue it. The slow, somber, minimalist atmosphere made for excellence focus practice in a way that not even ikebana, calligraphy, or tea ceremony could.
"What do you know about them?" She let out a small chuckle at her bad—albeit unintentional—pun and she head Isaiah do the same. From there, it devolved into a question-and-answer session about them. She was more knowledgeable about noh than kabuki, but she carried on where she could.
Afterward, Isaiah pulled his clothes back on and sat in a chair which made her blink. He rested his elbows on his legs, his gaze intent. "...Akiba-san, you're lonely without Takumi-sama to talk to at night, aren't you?" She froze but nodded slowly.
"We've spent nearly every night talking since I became his retainer." Tears misted over her eyes and he stood up, wrapping his arms around her and wiping her tears away.
"I can tell you feel deeply for him because of it, and now that another's captured his attention…" Oboro buried her face in Isaiah's chest, finding herself sobbing. Gods, it hurt. It hurt so much. She knew he'd never look at her like he did the other, but she'd wanted him to. She'd wanted that warmth, that care all to herself, but she'd always known. They were two halves of the same whole and they both knew it…but they weren't meant to be romantically.
How long she sobbed, she didn't know. All she knew was that Isaiah continued to hold her until she stopped. Somewhere, he'd sat down with her on the chair, rubbing her back and running a hand through her hair.
When she stopped, she looked up at him and he offered her that same, gentle smile. "...I know I'm no replacement, but if you ever want someone to talk to, then all you need to do is ask. I won't judge you. But, for now, get some rest."
"...Okay." Oboro gripped his shirt and closed her eyes, drifting into an uneasy slumber.
So if this seems a bit too vaguely worded to apply to Reflections specifically, that's because it is. Leokumi is not the default ship for my universe; it's actually Flora/Takumi. I was trying to keep both in mind so that, if I write anything relating to that ship in the future, this fic could still apply to that scenario too. Yes I love rarepairs and most of my "canon" Fates ships are just that with many of them as off the wall as this and Flora/Takumi.
I also hope the constant ups and downs are understandable. Oboro's absolutely heartbroken and struggling with her feelings. Isaiah's trying to cheer her up, but there's only so much you can do sometimes.
I'd love to expand this beyond a oneshot but I have a whole slew of other ones to write on top of Reflections.