A Comforting Talk
A new day was arriving over the Kingdom of Askr, with the Order of Heroes busily preparing themselves to head off to their next world to help them defend their kingdom against the Emblian Empire. Amongst the group that were currently rallied in the Order of Heroes, two members in particular stood out: Sakura and Hinoka. The two had recently found themselves transported into this world from their kingdom of Hoshido and were still taking some time to adjust to their new surroundings as well as the fact that they were now accompanied by quite a few unfamiliar faces, so they had a feeling that this wouldn't be easy for them, but they were certain that they would manage as long as they worked together.
At the moment, Sakura was standing just outside the castle where the group had organised to stay during their moments of brief silence in between battles, and she let out a quiet sigh as she turned her glance up to look towards the sky; aside from a few stray clouds drifting overhead, she could see that it was mostly clear with the morning sun shining brightly over the horizon. Taking notice, Sakura slowly felt a bright smile show on her face, knowing that this was the start of a new day, and she was certain that she could have a few moments to rest and prepare herself, even though she also felt certain that the next battle wasn't too far away.
"Sakura! Hey, Sakura, where are you?" Sakura's ears seemed to perk up in surprise at the sound of that voice calling her, and she turned her head to look behind her and notice that it was the sound of her big sister looking for her, only made clearer by the fact that Hinoka was standing nearby and looking around in concern as she was wondering where her little sister could have disappeared to. Sakura quickly showed a bright smile before she started to run over to where Hinoka was standing.
"Here I am, Hinoka!" Sakura cheerfully replied. Hinoka turned her head upon hearing that voice and felt a smile of relief show on her face when she spotted Sakura making her way over to where she was, making it visible to her that she hadn't wandered off too far. Once she got close to where Hinoka was standing, Sakura stopped in her tracks and turned her glance up to her big sister, making the shy smile on her face apparent to see. "Good morning." Sakura greeted. Hinoka let out a giggle to herself before looking down at Sakura.
"Morning. What were you doing out here by yourself?" Hinoka asked, wanting to know the reason for her little sister being up and ready to go this early in the day, especially since it seemed that the group didn't have to go anywhere yet, as far as she knew. Sakura's smile suddenly seemed to slowly fade from her face, which already proved as a warning sign for Hinoka as she quickly showed an expression of concern before kneeling down to get closer to Sakura's height. "What's the matter?" Hinoka gently asked. Sakura let out a quiet sigh in response before she turned around to look up at the morning sky, while Hinoka watched in silence as she was starting to wonder what her little sister had been thinking about. Her silent questions were then answered a few moments later as Sakura suddenly spoke up.
"Well… it's just…" Sakura let out another quiet sigh before he was able to continue. "I've been wondering how everyone else in Hoshido is managing without us there. It's been such a while ever since the war and it's been up to us to help Hoshido recover from Nohr's attack." Sakura quietly explained. Hinoka could only stare in alarm as she understood exactly what Sakura was talking about: it had been quite some time ever since the ongoing war between Nohr and Hoshido, in which Nohr managed to prove victorious. This also happened to be the world the two were originally from, where of the four Hoshidan royal siblings, consisting of themselves and their two brothers, Ryoma and Takumi, they were the only ones to survive. It hadn't been easy for either of them to manage without their brothers, but as long as they had each other to support, they felt certain that they would be able to continue supporting Hoshido together. As all of these heavy memories were circulating in Hinoka's head, they were suddenly halted in their tracks as she heard Sakura continue. "And sometimes when I think about all of that… I keep thinking about Ryoma and Takumi, and how everything seemed to be less difficult when all four of us were together…"
This simple response was enough to stun Hinoka into complete silence, and she slowly turned her glance down to the ground as she was starting to realise; all of this had been so hard on Sakura ever since the aftermath of the war, especially with the loss of their brothers. She could still remember just how devastated the young princess was when she learnt about the fate of her brothers from Corrin, as well as how silent she had been for a while after learning about the truth. Hinoka could still remember just how much Sakura admired Ryoma and Takumi and wanted to be able to stand on her own two feet and fight alongside them, especially Takumi. She was also fully aware of just how close Sakura and Takumi were; she remembered how Sakura considered Takumi her favourite older sibling, and how much the two would spend time together when they were young. So needless to say, it was evident that all of the events that occurred during the war, as well as its aftermath, had left quite an impact on Sakura, one that Hinoka believed that she would never have to experience at her young age. She was quickly brought back into reality when she heard the sound of sniffling and turned her head up to find that it was coming from Sakura, as she was struggling not to cry now that she had remembered that her brothers weren't with them anymore.
"I… I miss them… I miss them so much…" Sakura was only able to say before her voice became stifled with sobs as she started to feel tears freely streaming down her face. Hinoka turned her glance down in shame, as she had been so involved with her new responsibilities as Queen of Hoshido that she hadn't stopped to consider just how Sakura had been handling these changes. And judging from the sound of her crying, it didn't seem like she was taking it well at all. Hinoka remained silent for a few moments before slowly walking over to Sakura as the latter was trying to brush her tears away, and she turned her head to see Hinoka standing beside her with a soft expression of concern on her face, clearly aware of the reason for her sister's sadness.
"I know… I miss them too. I don't think a day goes by where I don't think about them." Hinoka quietly replied. She then turned her glance down slowly to think about how she reacted when she learnt the truth of her brothers' fate. At first, she didn't know how to respond to the realization that it was just now her and Sakura, but when she heard about how hard Sakura was taking it, that was when she knew that she couldn't hide her feelings any longer. Even now, seeing how Sakura was still saddened by the knowledge that Ryoma and Takumi were no longer with them, it reminded her of how she would only ever show her true feelings when she was alone, when in reality, she had no reason to do so, that she didn't have to be ashamed to show her true feelings in front of others. She did know that she would have a while to go before that lesson actually sunk in, but she was certain that she would be able to get there eventually. However, her thoughts were halted when Sakura turned to her, with tears built up in her eyes and also streaming down her face.
"I-I'm sorry… I know… I should be strong… for the good of Hoshido. I know I shouldn't be… crying like this… but…" Sakura soon found that she was unable to continue as her voice was starting to break before she buried her face in her hands as the rest of her sentence came out in broken, despair-filled sobs. "I just don't know what to do, Hinoka! Everyone wants me… to be strong for them… to support them and help them in any way I can, but…" After letting out a few more sobs, Sakura lifted her head up and ran towards Hinoka before throwing her arms around her big sister tightly, with tear stains on her face as the reflections of her sadness and despair continued to flow down her face as she was starting to let out all of the sadness she had tried to keep contained for so long, but now she could no longer do so. "I can't do it on my own! I can't do this alone, Hinoka!" Sakura sobbed, before burying her face in her sister's chest as she resumed crying.
Hinoka could only stare in stunned silence before she let out a quiet sigh, seeing that her little sister was finally letting out all of the sadness, despair and uncertainty she had been holding inside herself ever since the end of the war, feelings that she couldn't keep inside any longer and now they were finally being revealed in front of her. Hinoka watched in silence for a few moments before she knelt down to Sakura's height and placed her hands on Sakura's shoulders… before pulling her to hold her close to her, while the young princess could only stare in amazement at what she was seeing. "Sakura… I know how hard it is to deal with everything you've had to go through, things that I promised you'd never have to go through. But there is something that I want you to know." Hinoka stated.
Sakura let out a few sniffles before she was finally able to speak. "Wh-what's that, big sister?" she softly asked. Hinoka was silent for a few moments before she closed her eyes and continued, refusing to loosen her grip on Sakura as she did so.
"You're not alone. You'll never be alone. I'm always here beside you, and Hana and Subaki will never leave your side. They'll do everything they can to help you and be there for you when you're feeling like this. I know it's far from easy, but it's something I want you to remember, for times when you feel the way you do now." Hinoka stated. Sakura could only stare in amazement for a few moments before she felt a small smile of gratitude show on her face, and while her tears didn't look like they would go away anytime soon, they were now of relief as she knew that Hinoka was right; while this was far from easy, they would always stay by each other's side and support each other through all of this, no matter how difficult it would be for them.
"T-thank you, Hinoka. You're right. I-I'll do my best to remember what you said." Sakura softly replied. Hinoka felt a small smile cross her face upon hearing that her little sister understood what she was trying to tell her, and after a few more moments passed, Sakura let go of Hinoka so she could wipe the tears out of her eyes. "I'm sorry… I had to make you see me like this…" Sakura quietly added, feeling ashamed of herself for allowing Hinoka to see her this upset. Hinoka simply stared in surprise before she showed a comforting smile.
"It's okay. I understand completely why you're feeling like this. I still have a long way to go with all of this myself. But I'm sure we'll be able to get through this together." Hinoka gently explained, placing her hands on Sakura's shoulders during this last statement, causing the latter to turn her head up to her with a smile of relief that she wasn't upset with her for showing her feelings on everything that had been going on. Silence then filled the air between the two for a few seconds before Hinoka spoke again. "Come on, we should probably head back now. I wouldn't want for Alfonse and Sharena to start worrying and come looking for us."
Sakura felt a bright smile show on her face, the first that she had shown all morning since she came out here, and nodded in agreement. "Yes. That sounds good to me." So with this, the two turned and started to make their way back towards the castle, where they were certain that everyone was waiting up on them.