Hana woke the next morning refreshed and feeling better; the headache had seemed to wear away overnight. By the sounds of snoring, most everyone in the village was still asleep. She changed into her uniform and mulled over the past day's events.
I should check on Lady Sakura, then see if Lord Corrin is up to anything. She gathered her belongings and exited the medical tent, scanning for Sakura's tent. She found the young princess sleeping peacefully, and she closed the tent flap gently.
Now to find what the turncoat is doing while he thinks everyone is sleeping…
She found him sitting at the edge of a cliff, legs dangling over to the side. She crawled behind a rock to observe, hand on her katana hilt to be safe. Hana heard someone approaching, and saw Azura's familiar white robes.
"Corrin, what are you doing up so early?"
"Oh, hey, Azura. Just, you know. Taking in the sunrise. When I lived in my tower at Nohr, I had a perfect view of the sunrise and sunset. I used to get up early to see it, then go back to bed, which is part of why they had such a difficult time waking me up."
"I see. Well, I just woke up and was wondering where you were. Don't get back to camp too late," Azura said as she waved. Corrin nodded, then turned his attention back to the view in front of him. Hana continued to watch him, and she saw him sneak a glance at the direction that Azura had gone, as if making sure she was gone.
Suspicious...she turned her focus completely onto the young prince.
He has to be up to something.
He seemed to check a couple more times to see if she was gone, when he suddenly fell to the ground.
Huh?
His shoulders suddenly began heaving, and he pounded his fists against the ground, bursting out into uncontrolled sobs. He stayed in that position, hunched over and pounding the ground, and Hana could see the puddles forming from his tears pooling on the dirt floor.
She felt bad for watching; it was clear that if he didn't want Azura seeing, he probably didn't want anyone seeing.
But..I can't just leave him here like this. Hana sighed. Sakura definitely wouldn't leave him here. What did Father used to say? Her mind flashed back to a memory of a lesson before he left.
Our job states that as a retainer, we must protect our employers. But we are also an extension of them; we must offer our aid when necessary and able.
She took a deep breath before crawling out from behind the rock.
"Um...Lord Corrin? Are you, um...okay?"
"W-what? Oh, gods," he wiped his nose on his sleeve and quickly rubbed his eyes before turning to face her, although it didn't do much. His eyes were bloodshot and puffy, and the tear tracks were fresh down his cheeks. "I didn't think anyone was there after Azura left. Did she send you to check on me?"
"What? Um," Hana exhaled deeply.
Well, he knows I don't trust him already anyways.
"Not exactly. I was just checking on what you were up to. I did say yesterday I'd be keeping a close eye on you, remember."
Corrin shook his head.
"Look, Hana, I understand why you wouldn't trust me. There's no reason for you to, and if everyone listened to reason, they'd be like you and Saizo, and still doubting me. So I won't ask you to trust me; I just want you to leave me alone for now, though."
"I can't do that. If I leave you alone, you might be contacting Nohr." Hana pointed at him accusingly.
"Are you serious? Look at me right now," Corrin shot back incredulously. "Do I look like I'm plotting something?"
"I dunno, you could have known I was watching and been acting this whole time." Hana refused to relent, the memory of the surprise attack still fresh in her mind.
"..." Corrin could only shake his head. Hana noticed his eyes still watering, and he turned away.
If he is acting...he's doing a damn good job.
"Alright, fine. If you can tell me what's bugging you, I might believe you," Hana said. She carefully placed her katana on the ground as a sign of peace.
Corrin faced her again, fresh tears trickling down your face. He took a deep breath before the words began to burst out.
"Sakura told me to be careful mentioning your father around you, due to how much his loss pains you. So I don't need to tell you what it's like to lose a family member." Hana nodded. "But do you know what it's like to be there when it happens? To be the one actually causing it, and to be able to do nothing to stop it?" Corrin paused as the trickle down his face became a stream. "Do you know what it's like to hold your parent's body as their life ebbs away in your arms?" Hana shook her head, taking a step back at the vigor in Corrin's voice.
This is definitely not acting, even I can tell.
"In just two days, my entire world has fallen apart. I was living happily, isolated in my tower with people who cared about me. Then, I saw one of them murdered, was told the family I grew up with was not my real family, then I killed my own mother. Now, two of my blood siblings have been kidnapped, presumably by my adopted family, and knowing the Nohrian way, I'll probably have to kill whichever of my adopted siblings is present at Cheve. Even worse, after deciding to betray the family I grew up with my whole life, the kingdom I chose to side with still brands me a traitor and does not trust me. Also, I just met everyone here, except Felicia. I don't have anyone in the camp I can talk or cry to, so excuse me if I just want some time to cry alone." Corrin's hands had clenched into fists, and he pounded the ground again in frustration. Hana was shocked; Corrin had always seemed so measured, she hadn't expected such an explosion from him.
Gently, she patted his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Lord Corrin. I…" she sighed. "I know what it's like to be alone, and with no one to understand your plight. I was the only girl training to be a samurai, and they only took me in because of my father's reputation. Everyone looked down on me, and that's why I became so attached to Sakura. I didn't even know she was part of the royal family when we met, we were so small back then. We used to explore Hoshido together, and she was always there to support me when I doubted myself."
"Yeah, well, hard to do that when the person I'm talking to right now doubts me," Corrin quipped.
"...Alright, you got me. But you yourself said I had no reason to trust you."
"Did Sakura have any reason to trust you?"
"..."
Well, I can see where this is going. Hana remembered Sakura's decision, and the reasons she gave.
"Lady Sakura, are you sure of this decision? We have many qualified samurai who would gladly serve you for the rest of their lives. Not only that, they are of the best quality we can offer." The court officials glanced nervously at each other; they hadn't prepared for Sakura to choose the girl to be her retainer.
"I am s-sure."
"But, Lady Sakura-"
"I d-don't doubt you. But...I j-just know she's the right choice."
Hana could only sigh in resignation.
"Fine. I'll trust you. If," Hana's face brightened into a grin, "you can last for two minutes in a practice duel with me."
"...You're kidding me."
"Nope. I'll go fetch some practice blades."
"I don't need one, I'll just turn into-"
"You can't turn into a dragon."
"But-"
"Come on. A dragon against a pretty girl like me just isn't fair."
"..."
Hana was back within a few minutes with two dull wooden blades.
"Alright, you can count yourself lucky, there were only one minute hourglasses at the camp, so you only have to last one minute." She tossed one blade to Corrin, and the two assumed their ready stances.
Hana made the first move, a tentative stab at Corrin. He reflexively parried, and Hana withdrew, sword back in a guard position. She waited a few precious moments to see if Corrin would attack, but he seemed apprehensive.
Hm, defensive I see. Well, I can't just let him stand there for a minute. Let's see how those defenses hold up. She continued on the offensive, testing Corrin's range and instincts with exploratory jabs, stabs, and slashes. Corrin blocked each one, trying to find some sort of pattern to her attacks. Without warning, she unleashed a flurry of slashes. Corrin parried furiously, the dull thunk of wood smashing against wood waking up the camp and bringing a few onlookers over. Hana sensed that Corrin was having trouble keeping up with her onslaught, and grinned mentally. She found that she had an edge in agility, and managed to land a few resounding smacks before long. To add insult to injury, she purposely smacked him on the buttocks whenever she could.
After what had to be around the tenth slap, Corrin suddenly turned on the offensive, taking Hana aback. She went for a jab to force him back, but he merely sloughed the stab off to the side, using Hana's momentum to force her to overextend. As she did, he landed a resounding blow against her side.
Oops, Hana thought as she reeled from the strike. The two resumed their ready stances, and Hana went back on the offensive, hacking and slashing with renewed vigor. Hana realized that Corrin was occasionally using two hands to block her stronger blows, and thought of a plan. When their blades met, Hana continued to apply pressure, forcing Corrin to bring both arms up to push back against her. She suddenly let go, and Corrin fell forward at the sudden change in momentum. Hana deftly stepped aside, letting Corrin fall flat on his face, and put the point of her sword against his back. Checking the hourglass, she shrugged.
"Close enough. Well fought, Lord Corrin." The prince dusted himself and gingerly stood up.
"They weren't kidding when they said you were one of the best samurai, male or female," Corrin said as he rubbed his posterior. "If that were a real fight, I'd have been dead in seconds."
"You're always free to train with me. Mornings and evenings usually, and whenever I have free time." Hana offered a hand, which Corrin approached with trepidation.
"So...does this mean we're on good terms now?"
"For now."
Lot faster update this time! I'll try to be better about it. Sorry to those of you who wanted drama to drag on...I don't think I'm very good at writing drama and it's not really something that I want to focus on in this story. BUT, I guess there is some, so, yeah. There might be some later. Obviously, the storyline twists and turns and there's lots of opportunities to put in shady events. I thought this chapter was more closely in line w/ the game's (limited) portrayal of Hana, so if you guys felt she was OOC and it bugged you maybe this chapter will be one you like more.
Gallian Squad 7: I'm glad you're enjoying her! I wish they could have fleshed out more of the characters; I wouldn't have minded if they had less characters but each one had more personality, honestly. And congrats on your story! I'll try to check it out when I have time, I've just been swamped by so many things that I haven't really had time to critically read anything.
jin0uga: Haha, she'll figure it out sooner or later. xD this is a story with them getting together eventually, after all!
Aust Sakura Kyzor: I know she's SUPPOSED to be, but...she just doesn't look it. and it bugs me. to no end. yeah.
I hope i'll be able to update as soon as I can! As always, please R&R and enjoy :)