"Zen? What's wrong you seem down?" Shirayuki asked me worriedly. How I hated to concern her, but this is about my brother "Is it about the coronation? Are you by any chance nervous?".

"It's not that... well, at least not completely" I replied absentmindedly, my concentration still in the memories of a time were my brother was truly happy "It's about his engagement to Haki" I confessed solemnly.

"It was a surprise, wasn't it? But I am so happy, Haki is such an amazing person!" Shirayuki exclaimed excitedly, even Obi was nodding his head in accordance. Mitsuhide and Kiki were the only ones who seem to catch my bad mood about the topic.

"She might be the best person of the world, but still he have to break the engagement" everyone looked at me shocked, they would have started protesting if it wasn't by the raw determination they saw in my eyes "Do you want to know the true reason why he trained so much? Why he did his best effort to be the perfect prince and future king? So no one would be able to protest or pester him about choosing a wife who isn't royalty. And that wife he dreamed every night about for years, and still waits for, isn't Haki" I could see that their anger at my statement before was gone, seeing that it wasn't something I had against Haki but me fighting for the true love of my aniki "Since he was a kid he had a pen pal from another country, the letter had gotten to our chamber by mistake. It was meant for a lord who had recently deceased. However, to know this he had to open the letter and read it. Izana-nisama was impressed by it, that as crystal clear. So, he write a reply and even if he didn't admit it I knew that he expected excitedly a letter back from that person. I still remember the day he got a reply as if it was yesterday, ever since the queen had to leave the palace a black cloud of depression seem to follow both of us. However, that those clouds dispersed an a bright sun seem to emerge from between them. My brother smiled so brightly and wide that I thought it might break his face from the effort of maintaining such a big smile. I knew, even if he never said it, that he fell in love with his pen pal. At the beginning it might have been only a very good friendship, knowing that he wasn't alone in this world. But then it became love" I punched the wall in frustration and looked down so my bangs would hide my tears eyes.

"Zero" Shirayuki murmured softly, she stepped closer, surely to comfort me, but I wave her away. I took a deep breath and straightened before continuing.

"My brother adored his Bloody Princess, and worried for her every day as her country was in war at the beginning of their letter exchange. He loved her so much, that he lowered his shields a bit letting me catch glimpse of the little kid he had to hid so he could protect me. The hurry he always had to finish his obligations so he would get to his chamber rapidly and find a new letter. The excitement was clear when you saw his eyes lit as shining stars. He even spent years and a lot of money in remodelling a section of the east tower for her... as a wedding present" I almost whispered the last part, sadly for my heartbroken brother "However, one day a couple of years back the clouds came back and his shields went up, this time higher than the last time. I never saw his lit as they did before, or write a letter to someone that wasn't for work... His Bloody Princess had entered a convent to worship the Gods she so much loved, however being a priest meant that she had to give up men from her life".

"Poor Izana" Shirayuki commented sadly, at the edge of tears.

"Wait a moment, does this girl by any chance be from the Japan country?" Obi asked me nervously, he seemed on edge.

"Yes, why?" I questioned confused at how he knew that.

Obi threw his head backwards and laughed... relieved? Everyone looked at him as if he had lost his head.

"Then you have nothing to worry, as soon as you give your brother this news he will break his engagement to Haki as soon as you can saw Clarines" he assured me "The Bloody Princess as you and your brother know her as, is known worldwide as the Princess Sakura from the Japan country who had at a young age had escaped the palace to go to the borders and fight with the peasants. Her training, strategy and wickedness with a whip was what lead Japan to a victory in the most ruthless war Japan had ever gone through".

"Wait, she is a princess?!" Everyone, I as well, exclaimed surprised.

"Your brother didn't tell her that he was a prince, did he?" Obi asked me, but it was almost a statement more than a question as if he just needed my answer to confirm something not to know something.

"Yes, why?" I replied.

"Well, your master. You are lucky cause I was one of those peasants she so trained" my shock was clearly visible in my face, cause Obi chuckled when he gazed towards me "I am originally from Japan, but during the war i lost my whole family and saw a lot of horrible things... had to do a lot of horrible things in the name of Sakura-hime. So I left, but never forgot about her or about how the best part of her day was to come to the shelter and find a letter. She confessed to me that she never told the other person about her origins because she didn't want to be treated as a princess, but as an equal. She loves your brother as much as you say he loves her".

"Then why did she chose to be a priest?!" Everyone froze at that unexpected voice... the voice of my aniki. We looked towards the origin of the sound and found my brother heading towards us in a fast pace, with lord Haruka and Haki closely behind him. Haki looked as if she was going to throw up, on that moment I felt bad for her but I remembered that my brother's happiness comes first than a strange woman's one "Answer me?!" He demanded to know, anger and desperation clear in his eyes.

I almost sighed relieved when I noticed that momently his shields were down again, it was what I needed to know that his heartbreak didn't break him completely. That there was still a chance to save him from the darkness of his clouds.

"You never told her that you were a prince, your highness" my eyes widened at Obi's tone. It was full of spite and hate... maybe because brother made his ex-mistress sad? "She loved you so much that she didn't want to spend the rest of her life next to anyone else but you. There was no way that ot... the king would have let her marry someone who wasn't royalty after the war, since they needed as much alliances as they could. Even now, years after the war Japan still needs the assurance of having alliances with countries that have money and armies to help them just in case. Sakura-sama knew that her father would have made her marry someone, so she hided in the convent".

"She gave up to the chance of having a family for me?" Aniki murmured, both in sadness and awe "Being a mother was her dream...".

So that's why not marrying was such a big deal... wow, she loved brother so much that she gave up her dream for him. I can't begin to imagine what happiness my brother should be feeling right now. But at least the sun is coming out, little by little, but coming out at least. I thought happily.

"What she had always desired was a family, but not with anyone... her dream was a family with you" Obi confessed, the declaration and the meaning of those words weren't lost to anyone.

"Could she stop being a priest?" Surprisingly it was lord Haruka the one who made that question.

"If a priest goes back on her words, they will be buried alive and sentence to an eternity in hell" I couldn't stop myself from gasping, but what totally broke me was how pale and heartbroken my brother looked.

"Then there is nothing we can do, there is no way I will sentence my Bloody Princess to that" my brother stated.

"But for that she should be a priest" everyone froze one again and looked at Obi as if he had grown a second head "You see, as I said before the king needs as much alliances as he can. He has two daughter and one son, two of them were married to a princess and second prince from already allied countries. That was done so they wouldn't think of taking their support to Japan away. So the king forbade Sakura-ama to became a priest, she had been dodging proposal after proposal fro two years. And what's worse was that she didn't have you to support her... that broke her".

"She is not a priest... she loves me... and her father wants her to marry a prince with money, power and army..." aniki said, the same bright and big smile I saw that fateful day was back "Which means she can..."

"Be your wife" Haki ended the phrase for him. Everyone shut up and looked at her, their expression differed from pity to concern and worry.

"Haki..." my brother started, guilt clear on his voice.

"It's ok Izana, I always knew that your heart was never mine... I just let myself dream for way too long" I could see the unshed tears in her eyes "Go, prepare everything for her, I'll be ok... just make sure to gain her 'yes'".

"Obi is Sakura-hime coming to the coronation?" I demanded to know.

"Yes, she is arriving in two days" I replied.

"A week early?" Kiki asked.

"Yes, how do you think that she won a war so young? She is coming early to make a strategy and know the unknown territory that this castle is. During gatherings is when it's easier to make an attack, and a coronation where royalty from different countries come... let's just say you are an easier target. That's why in case anything happens, she will have a back up plan or an escape route" Obi explained.

I was in awe at how prepared Sakura-hime was. No wonder why my brother fell for her, they were made for each other. Both were calculative, strategists and intelligent. If I ever needed any reassurance about my brother's feelings for Sakura-hime it was given to me when I saw the smile full of pride and adoration my brother flashed for a second when he heard Obi's answer.

Well, bad habits die hard. I thought when I saw my brother's shields building up again. But at least this time was reassured that Sakura-hime will be of help.

"It seems that you'll have a new friend Kiki" Mitsuhide commented, chuckling at the awe expression in Kiki's face "Auch!" He exclaimed when Kiki elbowed him, this time my friends and I were the ones chuckling while Mitsuhide rubbed his ribs.

"Obi I order you to help my brother with everything he needs with his preparations to make sure Sakura-hime accepts his marriage proposal. After all, with the exception of my brother you are the one who knows her the best" I ordered him.

He looked shock for a second before smirking at me and saying "What you wish master".

I turned my gaze towards the sun and smiled, for the first time in forever things seem to look up.