How could rain be possible in such a place?

Sakura pondered the phenomenon as she peered out at the roiling sky from under the eaves of the Mess hall. The petals of her namesake that were usually floating in the wind were now pasted to the ground by the rain, becoming almost translucent as the rain continued on. Thunder rumbled in the distance and she withdrew back towards the building. Soft light shone out through the door and the windows, barely illuminating the trees and paths around her as evening quickly fell. Its reflection glimmered and shivered in puddles as drops continually hit their surface.

The princess internally chastised herself, both for doubting the limitations of the Astral Realm and for her cowardice towards the storm. The barracks were all the way across the grounds and she found herself reluctant to venture out towards them, though she would eventually need to do so. She couldn't stay at the Mess hall all night, could she?

Sakura was pondering whether the flour sacks in the larder would make suitable pillows when something brushed against her leg.

"Storms are such a drag," a voice echoed out. "They really mess up my fur between the humidity and the rain itself. Don't get me started on the time I got struck by lightning! What a bad fur day that was!"

Sakura peered down at the kitsune by her side. It was no longer a shock to see him in this form. When he wasn't by her side on the battlefield, he was curled up next to her under the sakura trees.

Kaden's fur was no longer the pure orange it had been when they first met, as his undercoat appeared to be turning white. His tail also appeared to be splitting into several new growths. She wondered if he was aware of the new developments and was simply ignoring them due to his own vanity.

Fox fire floated around his head lazily, until one leapt up and brushed against her cheek and she flinched.

"I-I'm not much of a fan either," she admitted. "You were struck...by lightning? How?"

The fox tossed his head back and laughed.

"It happened when I was just a kit," he said. "I looked like a dandelion fluff! It took forever for my mom to get my fur to lay down after that. All the other kits made fun of me and my fur was so dry and staticky instead of soft and silky for months afterwards. Oh yeah, it's a lot bigger deal to humans, isn't it? You're so fragile!"

"A much bigger deal," she mumbled and jumped as lightning flashed overhead. Kaden laughed again, presumably at her, and she couldn't help when her bottom lip stuck out in a pout. She quickly corrected her expression (pouting was unbecoming a princess, she told herself), but the fox had already seen it.

"Aww, I'm sorry Sakura," he whined, rubbing his head up against her leg. "I shouldn't laugh. Can I make it up to you? We can't nap under the trees together today, but maybe I can help you get back to the barracks without turning into a pink dandelion fluff."

She watched as he shook himself out, like a dog shaking off water. Before her eyes, Kaden was suddenly much bigger. He stepped out into the rain and looked back at her.

"Climb on my back!" Kaden called to her, crouching down until his belly brushed the wet stones of the road. The foxfires flickered and hissed as rain drops hit them. Sakura hesitated and he crawled towards her, nudging a wet nose under her chin. She giggled as his whiskers whispered against her neck and pushed his head away. "Come on, I promise you won't get fried too badly! We'll be there before you know it!"

"You better hope so, you silly fox," she scolded as she finally stepped out from under the eaves and climbed onto his damp back. "My siblings won't like it if I get struck by lightning, and you already know how Hinoka feels about you."

Kaden chuckled nervously at the thought of Hinoka as she threaded her fingers into the fur at his neck. She shivered slightly as the rain started to soak through her clothing. This couldn't be much different from riding a horse or a pegasus, right?

She quickly realized she had never been so wrong in her life.

Kaden whooped for joy and sprung out into the storm, sprinting across the castle grounds. Sakura shrieked and clung on for dear life as the kitsune sprinted and leaped, barely able to hold on. Lightning shattered the sky overhead and rain pounded down harshly against her back. Kaden held true to his word, though, and when they stopped all too suddenly, they were at the barracks.

Sakura slipped from his back and landed rather ungracefully in a puddle, shaking from the sheer adrenaline running through her veins. Her ears roared as Kaden nudged his head against her chest, before finally transforming back into his human form and shaking her shoulders lightly.

"...kura? Sa...ra? Sakura?" Slowly, the roaring in her ears died down and she could hear him calling her name. "Please answer me! Hinoka's looking this way and she has a naginata and she's going to slice me up if you don't stop her! Sakura?"

"I'm h-here," she gasped out and waved at Hinoka, who stood in the doorway of the barracks glaring at Kaden while leaning on her naginata. The older princess smiled faintly at her sister and retreated back inside, but not before shooting a glare at the kitsune.

"Oh thank goodness!" Kaden exclaimed. "I thought she was gonna skewer me for good that time! Oh, Sakura, you're shivering! I'm just not being a very good friend at all today, am I?"

He unwound his scarf and wrapped it around her neck, and started to remove his haori. Sakura flinched at the sight of his bare chest.

"N-no, Kaden, stop!" she wailed as her cheeks burned. She was sure she looked like a tomato. "I-I'm fine, really!"

His haori hung open as he studied her for a moment.

"You can't be fine!" he told her before picking her up from the puddle she sat in. Sakura felt as though her head was about to explode as he cradled her against his bare chest. If only Hinoka were still here, then maybe she could escape while she still had some dignity. "Your face is red, so you obviously have a fever! You're also shivering and wet still, and that's probably not helping one bit!"

This day could not get any worse, Sakura decided as Kaden triumphantly carried her inside. She had expected him to set her down in the common area but he casually strolled down the corridor that lead to her and her sibling's rooms. Oh no.

"Kaden, you can't just come into m-my r-room!" she cried and pushed against his chest. Some part of her noted gleefully that it was very warm despite the rain and she furiously stomped it back down into her subconscious.

Kaden gave her a confused look.

"Why not?" he asked. "We need to get you into warm, dry clothes and then I need to take care of you!"

"Y-you just can't!" she told him. "That's not how it works with humans!"

Sakura pushed against his chest again and he finally set her down as he approached her door. Kaden huffed and she could almost see his fur stand up in annoyance. She also noted a slight blush on his face, and wondered if he was embarrassed for not understanding a human custom. He hated being wrong.

"Fine then," he grumbled. "Go change. But I'm going to look after you! Not even your crazy naginata wielding sister can stop me!"

Sakura let out a quiet thank you and slipped into her room, suddenly feeling dizzy as she leaned back against the door. Maybe Kaden was right, and she was getting sick from the rain. Or maybe she just felt dizzy from blushing so long. Either way, Sakura carefully shed her wet clothes before putting on the most modest nightclothes she could find. She carefully removed her headband and patted her hair dry before noticing Kaden's scarf still wrapped around her neck.

It was still relatively dry, so she decided to leave it on as it practically radiated heat and she was still fairly cold. Or that's what she told herself, as she noticed it faintly smelled like cinnamon and tea, just like Kaden himself. It wouldn't hurt to keep it on for a while, right? He had loaned it to her to warm her up.

Now somewhat calmed down, Sakura carefully cracked open the door, expecting (and almost hoping) to find the kitsune gone because she had taken so long. Instead, he had transformed back into his fox form and lay pressed against her door. He looked up and over his shoulder at her, sleep clouding his eyes.

"Are you finally done?" he mumbled. Kaden stood up and pushed past her into the room where he promptly hopped onto the end of her bed. Sakura could feel her ears starting to burn again.

"K-Kaden, what are you doing?" she asked, voice almost coming out as a squeak. He turned several times before settling down.

"Napping," he said simply, like he wasn't just about to fall asleep on her bed. "You should too. You don't look good still."

"But…"

"Is this another one of those weird human hang ups?" he complained. "There's been a lot of those today."

"It is, I-"

"Nevermind, I just decided I don't care," Kaden announced. "Just come lay down. It'll be warmer with you here. Besides, how could pass up a nap with the warmest, most beautiful fox here?"

"You're the only fox here," Sakura pointed out as she hesitated once more, but after Kaden lifted his head from his paws to stare her down, she gave in. The fox scooted over to make room for her feet as she slipped under the covers and rolled so her back was to him.

"O-only just this once, okay?" she quietly told him. "Hinoka and Takumi will kill me if they find out about this."

Sakura felt the bed shift and a warm, soft weight settle against her back.

"I still don't see what's so upsetting," he said as she let her eyes close. "We nap all the time together under the trees outside, and I'm just looking after you. But if you insist."

As she felt herself drift off, contentedly warm now, she heard Kaden say one last thing.

"At least until the next rainstorm."