4) Return
The others returned late at night, long after I fell asleep. The fire was out when I woke up in the morning. I was one of the first to arise out of bed. I awoke curled up in a pile of worn out, smelly, blankets. Everyone fell asleep in the same room, although, Takumi was nowhere to be seen. My breathing quickened. A mini trauma attack in the morning was not what I signed up for.
Niles snored loudly, interrupting my thoughts. Maybe Takumi just left becuase the noise was bothering him. I got up curiously, thinking I'd have to look all around for Takumi. The fort was so big, I thought it'd take me years. Honestly, I thought Leo would watch him like a hawk, but he was fast asleep.
There was always the possibility he ran away, but that seemed very out of character. Maybe someone took him. Or maybe I shouldn't think about it too hard…
I stopped to breath, then tiptoeing into the next room. To my surprise, Takumi was at the end of the room, staring out the window. I smiled in relief. He was fiddling with something, clearly lost in thought. He looked worried, sad, and confused all at the same time. He ran his fingers through his own hair, careful not to mess up the style it was in. He seemed nervous; but the sun shining on his face made him look hopeful.
"Good morning." I greeted him.
He turned around frantically, meeting my eyes. "You scared me."
I chuckled, "You scared me first. What are you doing in here?"
Takumi seemed flustered. "You said you wanted help with your hair, right?"
I nodded carefully.
"Well, I used to cut Sakura's hair, I thought I could do it to yours too. I mean, if you want."
"That'd be nice, thank you, Takumi. But, there's one problem…" I observed.
"No scissors," He finished. "Yeah. I couldn't find scissors, but I found a dagger. The place is full of them, if you look hard enough."
I stared at Takumi in surprise. To think he went through all that trouble, just to cut my hair. It was awfully nice of him to do. I knew the others would freak out over Takumi having a dagger, but I knew he meant no harm with it. I knew for certain he wasn't going to hurt me, not now, at least.
I easily trusted Takumi, even though he didn't trust me yet.
"Um…" Takumi trailed off. "If you want to sit down on the crate, I can start…"
"Thank you." I repeated in advance, sitting down where he patted on the crate.
He ran his fingers through my cream blonde hair. With a quick movement he took off my headband. His hands were gentle, careful not to pull or tug on my hair. He breathed in through his nose before starting to cut it. I wasn't sure how well he'd do with a dagger, but I trusted him to return it to looking okay (at the least).
"Your hair is very b- pretty." He said nervously. "You sure you want to cut it off? It'll be way shorter than it is now."
"Whatever you think is best, Takumi." I smirked.
With that, Takumi continued to run his fingers through my hair. Only then did I realize how uncared for it was. I haven't had time to brush or wash it for the last couple days. Back in Nohr, we were very pampered, but not since we left. Although, no matter how messy my hair was, Takumi continued to compliment it under his breath.
Bit by bit, clumps of hair started falling off. The hair fell swiftly onto the stone floor. The snoring from the other room filled the cracks of silence. For using a dagger, Takumi was doing surprisingly good, I expected him to have stabbed me in the ear at least five times by now. Maybe a few time on the neck.
Takumi didn't take much time with my hair, but I could tell he put in a lot of effort. After he'd finished, my clothes were covered in little hairs he'd cut off. He dusted them off my back, and swept them off his hands. He turned to face me, and I tilted his head for him to see. He held my face, then taking another lock of hair. He made a few corrections before nodding in approval. He smiled for a few seconds, seeming happy with himself. I smiled back at him, thanking him once more.
"I couldn't find a mirror for you to look in, but I'm sure you can see your reflection in one of the windows, or something." Takumi admitted, suddenly, I felt like he was starting to warm up to me.
I felt my hair, having it short felt good. It was like less weight to was on your back, (which was probably a good thing considering you already held a gigantic sword). He did a good job of evening it out, and I was surprised. It seemed he ran his fingers through them so much, all the tangles were out. He must've been a miracle maker.
"Sakura was sure to been lucky, having you as her barber." I giggled.
"Well, then I guess I'll have to make a return if I was 'so good'." Takumi joked.
"We'll both return soon, and then we'll all work together. I'm sure everyone, including Sakura, misses you."
"Right." Takumi nodded shyly.
The snoring had ceased in the other room, which meant Niles was awake. If he was awake, then it had to be sure the others were starting to rise too. You enjoyed the few seconds of seeing Takumi smile, and let him enjoy the thought of returning. You felt there was no need to clean up the hair Takumi had cut off, and moved towards the door.
"I'm sure the others are waking up, we should go back."
Takumi silently agreed, letting me walk through the door first. Elise was the first to greet me. She jumped to her feet and ran to my side. She stood on her tiptoes to feel my hair, looking in awe.
"You're hair looks so nice! I kinda miss it being long… but this looks cute!" Elise squealed.
Niles nodded in agreement.
"I have some extra bows and flowers we could put in! We could style it!"
Camilla fixed her own hair before walking up to me. "Oh, sweetie, who did your hair? It looks divine."
I took a glance at Takumi, scared if I admitted he did it, he'd get in trouble.
"Um…" I trailed off.
Takumi raised his hand innocently, pointing to himself. "I did it."
Right as Takumi said that, Leo had arised. Leo's eyes widened as he looked at Takumi and I. His eyes scanned Takumi's face, then glancing at my hair. It was hard not to laugh at Leo with his collar up, not to mention, his major bed head. His dark brown eyes peered over us with questioning. His eyebrows suddenly twitching, looking more annoyed than ever.
Leo pointed to Takumi. "He did your hair?"
Camilla put her arm around Takumi, "You have to admit, he did a very good job with it."
Takumi's face went red. He ducked out of Camilla's grasp awkwardly. She shrugged, and moved on to hugging Elise.
"Corrin," Leo started. "Did you want this scum to cut your hair? If you really wanted, you should've told me, and I would've openly done it."
I huffed up my chest, letting out a quick sigh. "Takumi offered very politely, and I took up the offer."
Elise and Camilla watched, afraid of where the conversation would go.
"Well, I could've done it. You know, I would've been open to doing it. You didn't need some filthy scum like him to do it."
"She wanted me to do it," Takumi butt in. "And I'm not a scum, so stop calling me that." Takumi said quieter
"Leo-" I bursted out, only to be stopped.
"Scum." Leo muttered.
Takumi took a step closer to Leo, as if ready to engage in a fist fight. But we weren't each other's enemies, they had to understand that. Takumi's pale white fingers dug into his skin, his fist clenched. Leo grinded his teeth in return. Clearly, having them in the same room was not a good idea (alongside putting them on the same horse).
Takumi whinned, "You're the scum, a true Norhian scum!"
Elise gasped. Niles avoiding any contact with the argument.
"Boys!" Camilla and I called in synch, only to be ignored.
"Why don't you go return to your scared Hoshido family? Or did they leave you behind? Are you left behind, Hoshido scum?"
"Leo, enough," Camilla declared as she scooped him up in her arms. "I think you and Takumi need some time away from each other. Corrin?"
I nodded an "okay". Takumi, without a word, stormed outside. I followed him out, the brightness of the sun blinding me for a few second. It was a lot different than how it was yesterday. The sun felt warm, and the black in my armor absorbed it quickly. It was different than how it was inside the castle, that's for sure. It made me never want to return.
The tension of before slowly fades, Takumi taking his time to calm down.
Takumi continued walking, not caring, or waiting for me to catch up. The grass felt good against my bare feet. Some of it was still damp from last night's downpour. It felt nice compared to the beating sun. Takumi must've felt hot too. I mean, with the thick armor, it was only expected. Takumi moved towards a forest of trees, leaving the field of green.
"Takumi," I hollered at him.
He stopped, turning towards me. Sorrow hid behind his eyes.
"We shouldn't go too far," I concluded.
Takumi hesitated. "There is a lake near by, maybe you can see your reflection in it."
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Have you been here before?"
"Who do you think inhabited this place?"
The Hoshidans.
Takumi continued into the forest of trees. Leaves fell occasionally due to the soft breeze. You could tell by the blooming flowers spring was on its way. Sooner or later, we saw a sparkle of water through the trees. I ran ahead, staring in awe at the lake. It's bright blue color was almost blinding against the sunshine. The lake reflected the entire sky, and as I looked in, I felt like I was flying.
Takumi leaned against a tree, feeling proud of himself. He approached me carefully, patting my back. He knelt down, his shoes getting covered in mud. He looked into the water, then turning my own head to look in. He was right, I could see my reflection. I was defiantly pleased with how my hair turned out. I looked from a few different angles before grinning at Takumi. He smiled back sweetly. I felt a bit more confident which short hair, more or less, cuter.
Takumi's smile quickly faded.
"I'm sorry about Leo…" I finally said. "He defiantly went too far."
Takumi snorted, "No need to ruin the moment, sister."
"I promise, we'll both return to Hoshido in time."
Takumi made ripples in the water, looking up to the other side of the lake. A tall, beautiful woman stood on the other side. Takumi and I shot up in synch, startled. I squinted my eyes to catch the girl's eyes. She started back at me, her bright blue hair swaying with the breeze.
"Azura?" I questioned to myself.
"Azura!" Takumi shouted across the way, obviously recognizing her from Hoshido.
"Lady Corrin, Takumi. You have to leave! She-" Azura started, her voice echoing through the meadow.
With that, a blur of red ran from the other side of the woods. Soldiers followed close behind the leader. Most on horses, each equipped with bows and swords. I looked at Takumi, but his eyes wouldn't leave Azura or the soldiers. By their armor, you could tell they were Hoshidons.
"I thought I saw Nohrians here, but I didn't expect- brother, sister- You've come to return!"
