I wrote this for AO3 at first, but honestly the site was messing up my formatting so I gave up and started it over here instead. TakuObo fic, revolves around Oboro's childhood / perspective mainly, the theme for this story is "what would have happened if Oboro confessed and Takumi didn't reciprocate". Other characters and pairs may occasionally appear.

Game spoilers and my grammar is terrible, you have been warned.

[ FIVE ]

"You must be Oboro." The navy-haired girl, an orphan at only five years old, gazed sadly at the loving face in front of her. Her eyes welled with tears at the thought of her own mother, gone forever at the hands of a Nohrian assassin. They hadn't even done anything wrong -they were good people, so why them? Why her? The woman gave her a soft smile, stroking her tears away with gentle fingers. "Such a pretty name for a pretty girl. You mustn't let sadness overcome you -but right now, it's alright to cry if you feel pain."

Oboro spent a good half hour sobbing in the woman's arms, oblivious to the protests of the servants and soldiers around them. She cried until she felt even her parents from the heavens had heard her, until she felt there wasn't an ounce of liquid left inside her body. Once she stopped, she backed away shyly, missing the already familiar warmth of the woman's arms.

"Do you feel better now?" The woman asked, running her fingers through the girl's long, unruly hair softly. Oboro nodded, bashful all of the sudden. The woman stood up, holding her hand carefully in her own delicate ones. "You must have been so lonely, so scared." She said sadly, gazing into the distance longingly, "I know how it feels to lose a loved one."

Oboro peered at her curiously, wondering if she had also lost her parents. Her own parents had a kimono shop and catered towards much of the residents of Hoshido before they had been...gone. They were brilliant at what they did, famous, almost. They had even received requests from the royal family at times to personally tailor their clothes for them.

Oboro and her parents had been traveling in a wagon the night her parents were assassinated -they had gotten a request from a Nohrian living by the border, who coaxed them into going to hostile territory with beautiful woven words of praise and admiration. With knowledge of the still ongoing war, Oboro's parents had been slightly hesitant, even asking the royal family for permission before venturing across the border. The three had been on their way, about a day's worth of travel inside Nohr when they had been attacked. Oboro was quickly hidden behind rolls of handwoven fabric by her mother, before she witnessed the woman being struck down by a dark soldier on a midnight horse. Oboro had been struck with such fear, she hid in the wagon for nearly two entire days until royal Hoshidan guards had found her and brought her to the palace.

"I'm Mikoto, by the way." The woman suddenly said as they were walking, grinning down at her, "If you ever need anything, please just ask for me. I'll come running." She said, looking into the younger girl's eyes sincerely. Oboro turned her head away, nodding quickly to indicate that she had at least heard her words. She had to be a bit cautious around her -she would never again bring herself to easily trust as her parents had. How could she? And Oboro still had no idea who this woman was -the minute soldiers had brought her to the palace, she had been greeted by Mikoto without any other sort of introduction. "I have an older daughter, but now she's too old to want to be showered with girly gifts by her mother." The woman continued, brushing off Oboro's silence and laughing at a fond memory. "You should have seen her face when I tried getting her to wear a dress!" She exclaimed, holding a hand to cover her lips demurely. "But my younger daughter, she's so quiet and obedient. You remind me a bit of her."

Oboro blinked silently, gripping the woman's hand a bit tighter. Was she being kidnapped? Why was this woman telling her all these things? Her anxiousness only increased as they walked deeper into the labyrinthine place. She had long forgotten which building they had come from and at that point lost all hope of ever finding her way out alone. "I have a son who's closer in age to you though." Mikoto continued, taking a sharp turn and gently herding the young girl with her. Oboro's eyes widened as she was led out of a dark room, her vision overwhelmed with the bright sun and the beautiful gardens that surrounded a sparkling pond full of lively koi fish. "He's a bit quiet and stubborn -but I think you two will get along." Mikoto stopped in front of a screen door, tapping twice before sliding it open.

"Takumi, are you busy?" She called in a singsong voice, leading the reluctant girl in. "There's someone I want you to meet." Oboro planted her feet at the edge of the room, nervously looking around. It was extremely dark and silent again -a single tatami mat lay in the middle, blankets unkept and messy. Various toy weapons and figures were strewn across the floor, evoking tsks from Mikoto as she stepped over them. "Takumi, did you hear me?" She called again, still not a hint of irritation in her calm disposition.

"I'm busy!" A boyish voice called from the corner, grunting. Oboro felt herself allow Mikoto to pull her across the room, closer towards the source of the sound. She stared silently beside the older woman as she found herself looking at the back of a small figure. The person had the messiest hair yet whitest hair she had ever seen, tucked hazardously tucked into a bun at the back of his head. The boy heaved as he tugged at a figure in his hands, pulling at an object with both his hands while using his feet to kick at the other end.

"Takumi, did you try shooting arrows again?!" Mikoto exclaimed, kneeling down behind the boy in a hurry. "What did I tell you? You almost shot Ryouma last time you were playing with them!"

"Just...a...second!" Takumi yelped, suddenly falling over on his back as the arrow was yanked out of his hands and went flying. Oboro let out a cry of surprise and fell backwards as she felt it hit above her shoulder, burrowing deep into her hair. She made small helpless noises as she attempted to get it out, small tears springing to her eyes. "I-I'm sorry!" The boy yelled, running over to her immediately and looking her over with a face full of genuine concern. "I'll get it out right away." He said, red tinging his cheeks as he tried gently untangling the arrow from her hair.

Oboro blushed, biting her lip as she stayed still obediently while the boy was worked hard at his task. Now that he was close up, she was able make out his features that had been hidden by the darkness of the room; he was tall, much taller than herself, with beautiful chatoyant amber eyes. He looked away from Oboro's hair briefly as he noticed the young girl staring at him, shooting her a mischievous grin. Oboro turned several shades brighter -she had never seen anyone as handsome as him before, and she could feel herself quickly losing her wits.

"All better." Takumi finally said, holding the arrow up triumphantly and tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "That's why I keep my hair up." He said humorously, pointing to his messy updo.

"Takumi." The boy suddenly paled as Mikoto stood up behind him, a broken figure in hand. "Isn't this the present Hinoka received for her seventh birthday?" She said accusingly, giving him a hard stare.

"U-uh, no...I don't think so..." Takumi said, standing up and slowly backing away. He looked around desperately for an exit, eyes lighting up as he spotted the screen door that Mikoto hadn't closed on her way in. "Run!" He yelled, grabbing Oboro's hand and tearing out of the room with her in tow. Oboro allowed herself to be led by him mostly out of shock, not fully understanding what was happening at the moment. But then, Takumi turned his head, laughing wholeheartedly before speeding up. Oboro felt her own smile grow as she felt the wind on her sides as they ran, the two giggling to each other as they slid down wooden floors, jumped from tiled cobblestones that emerged from the midst the ponds, and hid behind colorful rhododendron bushes.

"Oh, I'm Takumi by the way." The young boy said sheepishly as they ducked behind the leaves once they could no longer stand up straight anymore. "I'm sorry about that earlier. I want to be a great archer like mother some day." He exclaimed, closing an eye and shooting from an imaginary bow at a maid who passed by them with an armload of laundry in her hands. "What's your name?" He asked, peering into the girl's eyes curiously, "You have really pretty eyes. They remind me of plums."

Oboro reddened from the compliment, directing her gaze to the ground, "O-oboro." She said quietly, playing with her hair.

"Here, let me." The young boy shifted so that he was standing behind her, untying something from his hair and dangling it in front of her face. It was a dark blue braided string, messily woven and a bit worn out. "You can have this, I made it myself." He said, using it to gently tie her hair into a similar fashion as his own. "It might look a bit strange, but it keeps your hair up!" Takumi scratched his head, smiling proudly. He pointed to himself somewhat triumphantly, "Now we match." Oboro smiled back, feeling her heart lighten for the first time that week.

This couple seriously needs more attention.