Two men fought in a closed space, blades clashing loudly. One was fitted in full Samurai armor, a hoshidan staple, while the other wore lighter, somewhat more form-fitting Nohrian armor. The first swung his katana in quick, precise strikes, leaving a trail of lightning whenever he did so, while his opponent used more acrobatic moves, using his exquisite, saw-like blade alongside his limbs, which changed shape as he wished, courtesy of his dragon blood.
The younger one, which, in some other Worlds, would likely be called a Manakete, found himself closer and closer to a wall.
"A shame we have to do this again, brother. You die, now!"
"... Forgive me."
The boy manifested his wings, using them for a high jump over the samurai, which was now right next to the wall.
In range of the enemy's magic, blue blades dug into him from above.
"Bwahahaha! As expected, the enemy was no match for my Eldritch Smackdown! Kiran, surely you've seen how outrageously awesome I am, right?"
Odin had been summoned roughly one day before the mission, and was adamant on going to the World of Birthright with them. The Summoner was actually rather happy to see another Hero appear, but she couldn't resist teasing him a bit.
"Oh, I don't know, Odin. I think Nino's magical abilities are far cooler than yours, you know?"
"Ah! You wound me such, Kiran! But that comparison is unfair, isn't it?"
The girl was about to keep their banter, when she saw Corrin looking intently at his sword.
"Sorry Ow-Odin, but I have some other stuff to look after. I'll talk to you more later, ok?"
"Very well, then. I suppose I take my battle with evil somewhere else. Farewell!"
The Dark Mage went to Lissa's side, and started (rather loudly) chatting with her. That being solved, Kiran went to look at the Vallite's state.
"Hey there, Corrin. Are you ok? I don't think that today has been very pleasant for you."
The Vallite was startled upon hearing his name, as if doing so brought him back from a far off place. However, a soft smile quickly appeared in his face.
"Don't worry Kiran, I'm just... Collecting my thoughts." The boy said, calmly, although his voice still sounded somewhat tired. "I'll be fine."
"... Very well. Just call me if you need anything, ok? I'll be going around to check the rest of the army." Before she could properly leave, he called her back.
"Oh, wait! There is something I wanted to give you!" Corrin turnt around, and grabbed something that he had let behind him, handing it to Kiran. It was a Rod, which, for some reason or another, gave off a spring-like vibe. "It's a Bloom Festal. Sakura was quite fond of these, and you're training on Staffs, so I tought you'd- Uh, everything's fine, Kiran?"
The girl was already thinking of some possibilities regarding the Staff, and decided to take a risk. "I'm great Corrin. Come on, we are going to the Summoning Grounds ASAP!"
"ASAP? What does that- Kiran, you don't have to drag me!"
By the Summoning Grounds' Altar, was the Bloom Festal, and a handful of cherries Kiran had hastily grabbed on the kitchen. She stood, and fired her gun.
Smoke came from the Altar, followed by a blinding light. When it subsided, a young girl wearing clothes common for Hoshidan Shrine Maidens, on her early teens at worst, stood with a Staff in hand. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves, and said:
"I'm a princess from the Kingdom of Hoshido. But, please, call me Sakura. I'm delighted to help- Um... A-are you alright, miss? Oh, big brother! You're here too!"
Looking at the newcomer, were a Summoner with a stupidly big smile on her face, and a King with an even more heartfelt, but not nearly as creepy, smile on his.
After their introductions, where Sakura found out the girl, who left to take care of some other stuff, was a far kinder person than she first thought, she found out it was Corrin who would act weirdly attached to her. However, he was quickly shooed away too, as Hana and Subaki appeared, having been warned by Kiran of their Lady's appearance.
Feeling much better with such familiar and loved faces nearby, Sakura let them guide her through the Castle, cheerfully watching the two occasionally bicker, just like they always did. Going from the Garden, to the Main Hall, the Training Grounds and the Mess Hall, where she grabbed some sweets, in spite of her lack of hunger, she then arrived on her room, which was next to her retainers'. Asking them for a moment for herself, the two left her be.
The room was slightly bigger than most, due to the Princess' status, not that she cared for such a thing. She couldn't help but feel a bit homesick since the room, and the Castle as a whole, was far more alike Nohr than her Country. However, she knew this wasn't the kind of thing one could change, and found comfort in the fact she could still get some furniture and other stuff to remember her home by. Most of her siblings weren't here, but her retainers, her brother, and many others were.
And so, the shy Princess thought.
What was she going to do?
Having decided that it would be for the best that she kept her skills honed, Sakura went to the Askran Library to brush up her knowledge of herbs and medicine. Hayato, Orochi, and the other Hoshidans with some specialization in that area would say that she was already good enough at that, but she wouldn't accept that compliment at face value, not when she felt she could improve. Surely, this land had some knowledge non-existent in Hoshido.
After properly registering herself at the Library, which had sped up the process considerably once the Heroes started arriving, Sakura found her search for the subject didn't take nearly as much as she expected, since the army's resident potion maker, Wrys, was already there, and his kind behavior made the usually timid Princess a lot more comfortable than she usually was around new faces. Listening to his recommendations with attention, Sakura found herself a handful of books and tome to study.
Learning about how the Summoner was also learning about Staffs, Sakura decided to ask her about it later. Now, it was time to study!
"Um, excuse me, Lady... Sakura, was it? You've been here for two hours by now. It's nearly dinnertime, you know?"
Sakura suddenly snapped into attention as the librarian warned her. Suddenly, her stomach agreed that she had spent too much time there.
"O-oh! Thank you, miss. I-I'll be leaving now, but could I please take this book? If it's not much trouble, that is."
Having stopped by her room to put the book she borrowed, Sakura set off to the Mess Hall. Doing so, she found a problem.
She was utterly lost.
She had went through every important place in the Castle on her introductory tour, but one wrong turn was all it took for her to have no idea of what she was going to do.
The Princess was resigning herself to possibly missing dinner, when a green-haired mage appeared and noticed the despairing priestess. And so, said mage suddenly decided to cheer up the girl.
"Hey there!" She said, so suddenly that Sakura replaced her self-pity with complete surprise. "My name is Nino! You're that new Priestess, right? From Hoshido? Your clothes are so cool! How have you been doing here so far?"
Feeling overwhelmed with the whirlpool of questions Nino was throwing her into, Sakura nonetheless tried to keep up, "Uh... I-I'm Sakura. Yes, I'm a Priestess from Hoshido, and I've be-"
"Whoa, cool!" Nino interrupted the other girl, not out of rudeness, but due to a bad case of over-enthusiasm. "Hey, have you ate something today? You don't seen very well."
"Ah. Th-that's because... I've yet to have dinner. I'm completely lost."
"Oh, don't worry! I'm going to the Mess Hall right now myself!" Nino grabbed Sakura by the arm and started walking forward, almost dragging the Hoshidan with her. "Come on, you gotta meet my friends! I know a Pegasus Rider I think you'll get along with greatly! Do you like Pegasus? I think the way they fly is so cool and..."
Barely keeping up, both mentally and physically, with Nino, Sakura had the dessert's sweets as her main source of energy to keep walking.
Nino took Sakura alongside her to the table some of the other Elibeans were already at. There, she met Florina and Sophia, alongside Clarine and Cecilia, who were mostly in their own conversation. Upon noticing their liege, Hana and Subaki hopped over to their table too, with Corrin hopping in soonly after, and dinner went rather smoothly after that, even if the Priestess felt weird with how close her sibling had been getting to her. She recognized Florina as being the Pegasus Knight that Nino had told her about, and indeed found herself becoming fast friends with her and the similarly quiet Knight, and the shaman.
"Well then. I see you've been adapting well, Sakura."
The Priestess turned to the voice's source and found Kiran looking at her with a warm smile. The Summoner had exchanged her usual coat for a simple white shirt and brown pants, alongside boots of the same color.
"Oh, Kiran! Are you eating with us today?"
"Thanks Nino, but I've already had my share alongside Alfonse and the others." She explained politely. "I was just passing by to check on Sakura. If you excuse me, I'll be going to my room already. See you guys tomorrow!"
"Ah, Kiran, wait!" Sakura said, leaving the table for a while in order to talk to Kiran. She then looked if Corrin was hearing, and asked quietly, "I've been meaning to ask you, has something happened to my brother? Because, he has been acting a lot more... Clingy around me lately. It's kinda weird, actually."
The Summoner's face turned a bit more somber for a split second, before saying. "I honestly don't think enter in details regarding what happened. That is for Corrin to decide whether to tell you or not. What matters is that he got some Memories that he has been struggling a bit with dealing. Sooner or later, you'll understand what I'm talking about." She said, perhaps a bit more cryptically than she planned. "Do, however, talk to him about how you're feeling. Otherwise, he'll just keep clinging to you. It will end up better for both of you, I believe."
Although she didn't quite understand it all, she still got the important parts. Politely thanking Kiran for the advice, she went back to her dinner.
Only later did she notice she forgot to ask about her Staff training.
Going back to her room after dinner, Corrin insisted on taking her there, specially since she had gotten lost previously. It was close to his room anyway.
"Are you ok, Sakura? Anything else you want? I could tell you a story if you want! Or maybe show you around town, tomorrow! What do you think?"
Taking in a deep breath, the Hoshidan Princess decided to put Kiran's advice to use. "Actually, big brother, I'd love to go around the Castle Town with you but... Could you stop clinging around me so much? I'm not that frail, you know."
Corrin's face immediately turned into one of confusion. "You... Think I've been clinging to you?"
Sakura nodded, "It's... kinda like how Lady Camilla treats me, actually."
The Vallite shivered upon hearing that. "Very well. Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable, Sakura. I'll try to give you more space, then. Have a goodnight!"
And so, to sleep they went.
The next day, the two of then went to Castle Town, as agreed, with some of their new and old friends going alongside then.
That day, Sakura felt happiness of a level she rarely reached before.
Author Notes: Hello everyone! Thanks for waiting, and here is another chapter! C
Please, leave a review if you want! I'm always open to criticism! Now, see you soon!