Much to Mikoto's surprise, her next vision came only a few days after her encounter with Saizou and Kagerou. Normally, they were infrequent, with at least a few weeks separating each occurrence. So when the Hoshidan queen felt herself slipping into that unusual trance during archery practice, she was utterly confused and unsure of what to do but let it take her where it would…

Sakura was moving about in what appeared to be a general goods store, but the main stock consisted of batons, vulneraries, and the like. The pink-haired princess was tidying everything up, making sure everything was in its proper place. From the back, Saizou carried crates of what were most likely more vulneraries, which were on the low side compared to everything else. After setting the last crate down, he sighed heavily and pulled his mask down around his neck, concern furrowing his brow.

"Alright, so we've restocked the vulneraries," Sakura stated, nodding at the crates the ninja had brought in before turning her back to him. "No one's batons were used up in that last fight, and- Meep!" The princess squeaked in surprise as Saizou wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, kissing the top of her head so gently it looked like he was just resting his head on her. "S-S-Saizou? Um… y-you scared me…"

The ninja didn't say anything for a moment, just nuzzling her hair affectionately. Sakura hesitantly rested her hands over his, and that seemed to prompt him to speak. "I… was worried…" he said, voice far softer than usual. "That last battle… you vanished from my side. I thought… you were…"

Saizou's voice was muffled by her hair, but she could clearly hear his voice beginning to crack on those last words. Sakura raised one hand to pat his head, and the ninja let out a shaky breath. "Takumi was injured. I… I needed to help." She turned her head so she was partially looking him in the eye. "I'm sorry I scared you. I'll… um… I'll let you know… i-if that ever happens again." The princess stood on her toes to give Saizou a quick kiss on the lips. "I love you."

The ninja once again buried his face in her hair, a blush spreading over his entire face, mumbling something that sounded a lot like "I love you, too"...

The sound of something snapping caused Mikoto to come back from that vision. Glancing down, she saw her hand clenched into a fist, with the arrow she'd been holding broken between her fingers. The Hoshidan queen wasn't against Sakura falling in love - part of her actively hoped for it - but that premonition made her feel a righteous fury she didn't even know she possessed. Sakura clearly wasn't done growing, not even in the vision she just had, while she knew that Saizou was easily ten years her senior. Age normally didn't matter to Mikoto, but this was Sumeragi's youngest child. She wasn't about to just let that brutish ninja get so close to the youngest princess.

Grabbing another arrow, the Hoshidan queen walked out of the archery range quickly but calmly. Every purpose-laden stride took her closer to where Ryoma was most likely training that day. And where he was, his retainers were sure to be close by.

Sure enough, as the crown prince was swinging his bokken at straw, practice dummies, Saizou was standing by in the shadows. He was making no effort to hide himself since they were well inside the castle, and he made for an intimidating figure for any passersby, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and his single eye surveying the entirety of the training grounds. Mikoto was sure the ninja was aware of her but made no moves as he came fully into her line of sight. He had no reason to fear her or think that she would cause harm to his chosen lord.

This all made drawing the bow on him very easy.

Teeth clenched in anger at what he would eventually do to her daughter, she aimed at Saizou's chest and loosed her arrow. Mikoto wasn't sure if he caught a glimpse of what she was doing or if his reflexes were just that good, but the ninja ducked out of the way at the last second, and the arrow buried itself in the wall beside him with a resounding "Thwack!"

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Saizou cursed, staring at the arrow before looking to Mikoto, eyes wide in utter confusion. He wasn't even attempting to keep his injured eye shut, and she could see the milky white of the dead eye he normally kept hidden. "Y-your Majesty?! D-did I do something?!" Off in the training yard, Ryoma paused his assault on the dummies to look at what had caused his retainer such distress.

Mikoto blinked, the absurdity of her actions finally sinking in as she felt Ryoma's gaze settle on her. What was she even trying to accomplish here? She obviously wasn't trying to kill Saizou - she would've brought more arrows if she was - but she had no hesitation firing what might've been a killshot had it hit her intended target. Was she just trying to scare the ninja? He didn't even know why she was angry at him, and Mikoto couldn't tell him that it was because she saw a vision of him together with Sakura.

Put on the spot, the Hoshidan queen gave the first explanation that popped into her head. "Ah, no. I was just… testing your reflexes," Mikoto tried to smile, but it came out odd, and her cheeks were beginning to flush from the embarrassment. "I can't have a sub-par ninja protecting my son, now, can I? Anyway, you're as sharp as ever, Saizou, so I'll leave you to your day."

It took all of her willpower not to run as she turned away from the stunned men and retreated to her room. For months thereafter, the royals' retainers would flinch whenever they saw Mikoto outside the archery range with her bow.