Could it be? Another update, so soon?
I actually have one more chapter ready, too… so I'll probably upload it sometime tomorrow (well, today in my time zone, lol.)
Just for clarity, Minori is an Einherjar Shrine Maiden - she was mentioned back in chapters 3 and 4, but she has a slightly bigger role this time. I know Einherjar are supposed to be, like, zombified reincarnations or something like that, but I liked the idea of having my generic characters actually be characters for the sake of this story. I don't know if the others will come up anytime soon, but we'll see.
"Hi, Subaki!" Kana greeted cheerfully as she stepped into the stables. The redhead was kneeling to groom a child pegasus but stood when he saw the princess.
"Lady Kana," Subaki greeted. "How are you? Do you need something?"
"Great!" she replied. "And no, I don't need anything. Buuuut I do want to talk to you!"
"Is that so?" replied the retainer. "Well, I would be honored. What exactly do you desire to talk about?"
"Wellllll," Kana began to explain, pulling out a notepad, "I've been wanting to help out more around the castle but I don't really know what to do. So papa suggested that I go around and talk with some other people to see what they do and maybe I'll like it, too! And you're first on the list!"
"I see!" Subaki remarked, gently petting the child pegasus as it nuzzled his leg. "It would be my pleasure to assist you. Which of my many talents would you like to know about?"
Kana thought about this. "I don't know. What are your talents?"
Subaki scoffed playfully and adjusted his hair. "Perhaps it would be easier to list what I am not talented at. No, I'm sorry, that's inaccurate - it would not be easier because that list does not exist."
Kana blinked. "Okay. Well, what are you doing right now?"
"Grooming the steeds." Kana blinked again. "The horses, pegasi, and kinshi. Oh, and Scarlet's wyvern."
"Oh! I love steeds! I want to help with that!"
Subaki smiled. "How about you start with this little one here?"
"Okay!" Kana agreed eagerly.
"Now, before you can groom a steed, they must learn to trust you, so you have to approach them very slow-" Subaki quickly realized Kana had already run up and was now trying to hug the terrified pegasus, who had backed himself into the corner of his stall.
"I don't think he likes me," Kana remarked, pouting. Subaki laughed nervously.
"Yes, errr… this one is a bit shy," he bluffed. "Let's try another one. But first, you must remember to - Kana, where are you going? Wait, no!" Subaki dove as Kana moved to pet a horse which was not facing her, scooping her up before she could inevitably startle it and spinning around before placing her back on the ground. "You can't sneak up on a horse from behind like that, or they'll kick."
"Oh, okay," Kana replied. "Do they kick if you stand behind them and yell?"
"Well, of course they do," Subaki replied. "Why?"
Kana pointed at the horse. Before Subaki could turn to look at it, he received two hooves straight to the gut.
…
"U-Um… Subaki, are you alright?" Sakura asked anxiously as she was brought into the room by Minori.
"Just perfect, milady," Subaki replied through the pain. "However… I am a bit concerned about the status of the internal organs. Would you mind checking on them for me?"
"How did this even happen?" Minori asked Kana, who was sitting, worriedly, nearby.
"He yelled behind a horse," she replied simply. "Is he gonna be okay?"
"I think so," Sakura replied. "S-Subaki, why would you yell behind a h-horse?"
Subaki shook his head. "I'd rather not explain in detail. But I was trying to teach Miss Kana here what it takes to work in a stable."
"I don't think that's a good job for me," Kana mumbled, clearly upset. "I'll have to try a different job."
"You're looking for a job you can do?" Minori asked. "What about healer?"
Kana's eyes lit up. "Do you think I could be a healer?"
"Um… Sure," Sakura said, as eagerly as she could muster.
Minori grinned. "You've trained with staves before, right?"
"Not a lot…" Kana replied, jumping out of the chair to walk over to the two Shrine Maidens.
"Here, why don't you try to heal Subaki's wounds?" Minori suggested. "They aren't too bad."
Kana grinned as Minori handed her the staff. "Wow! This staff is so pretty!"
"J-Just be careful with it," Sakura warned. "They break easily."
Kana nodded. "I promise I will! Okay, so now I wave it, right?" Without waiting for a response, she swung it into the air… and right into Subaki's head, snapping the staff in two with a horrifying crack.
"Subaki!" Sakura shouted, frightened.
"Don't worry, Lady Sakura," Subaki said, forcing a smile. "That cracking sound probably wasn't my neck."
…
"I hear you had some issues working with Lady Sakura and Minori."
Kana nodded at her new teacher: Azama. "They thought I might be better off here where there aren't any patients I might hurt." She thought about this. "Am I a bad healer if I hurt people?"
"Why, certainly!" Azama replied bluntly.
"Oh."
"You'll need quite a bit of training to overcome such a hurdle. It may take months, even years to change… if you change at all!"
"…Oh."
"Such is the way of life. Sometimes you can do things, and other times not."
"Um…" Kana said, "I think I'm gonna find another job to learn about."
"Well, if you insist. Farewell."
"Um… yeah. Okay."
…
"You want to be a maid?" Felicia asked eagerly.
"Sure! It sounds like fun!" Kana replied. "I like to help people."
Felicia smiled broadly. "Well, that's great! That's the first step! See, you're already learning so much!"
"I am?" Kana asked. "That's good! I don't want to wait years."
Nearby, Jakob rolled his eyes. "Pathetic, Felicia. I knew you were a horrid maid, but a terrible trainer, too?"
Felicia crossed her arms and pouted. "You don't have to be mean. I'm trying to be encouraging. Surely you can appreciate that."
Jakob scoffed. "Encouragement isn't the only ingredient to a successful lesson! If I had relied only upon Lord Nobu's encouragement, I never would have become the accomplished butler I am today. You see, it took not only Lord Nobu's kind words, but also the strict and intimidating hand of Gunter."
"But she's Lord Nobu's daughter. You can't be mean to her."
Kana jumped in between them. "No! I don't want to be treated special!" she insisted. "Do your worst, Jakob!"
…
Jakob hurried out of the kitchen to handle the flaming pot of boiling water properly.
"I don't think I'm cut out to be a maid," Kana remarked, removing the scorched apron.
"M-Maybe not," Felicia agreed as she rocked back and forth in the corner.
…
"You desire to learn more about what I do?" Reina asked. "Well, I would be delighted to teach you, Lady Kana. You see, my favorite hobby… is killing. Some call it a necessity of war, but I appreciate it for what it is: an art. There are many ways to kill someone. Slitting their throat. Stabbing their heart. Puncturing their lungs. One of the most enjoyable is to chop them into bits. But it's only truly pleasurable if you hear their blood-curdling scream as they feel the cold metal of your weapon slice through their skin like a knife through butter. And not a hot knife - that wouldn't be painful enough. Ah, that reminds me: you may want to try killing someone by coating them in boiling liquid. It is not practical in battle, but it is quite gratifying whenever you get the chance! Now, I believe we have a Nohrian prisoner in need of executing… Would you like to assist me?"
Kana's jaw dangled open.
…
"I know you've had a hard time with your other career choices, my dear Kana," Orochi remarked as she sat in front of her crystal ball and deck of cards, "but I assure you, there can be no harm in divination! Now, let's find out if you have the gift."
Kana's eyes went wide. "I didn't know I had to bring you a gift! I'm sorry!"
Orochi laughed. "Not that kind of gift. The gift of foresight!"
"Oh, okay. How do I know if I have the gift?"
"Just stare into the crystal ball… ask it your question… read the cards… and close your eyes," Orochi demonstrated as she spoke. "Then, you will receive your answer."
Kana nodded eagerly and proceeded to stare at the crystal ball, glanced at the cards, and shut her eyes tight. "I… I see something! Orochi, I really see something!"
"That's wonderful!" Orochi cheered. "Describe it to me!"
"I see… Someone sitting in front of me… um, they have purple hair… Oh! It's you, Orochi! I see you sitting across from me!" Kana popped her eyes open. Orochi looked unimpressed. "Wow! My vision came true! I really do have the gift!"
…
Kana pouted as she sat at the table. Her cousins, Midori and Kiragi, and their friend, Sophie, sat nearby, chattering.
"…and because Subaki was so badly injured, I get to run the stable on my own tonight!" Sophie was saying. Kana grimaced.
"Do you want my help?" Kiragi asked. Sophie blushed. They had been going steady for a little less than a week now and were still pretty uncomfortable together in public.
"If you don't mind," she replied.
"I wonder if I can whip up some medicine to help Subaki," Midori mused. "Speaking of which, how did your hunt for a job go, Kana?"
"Not good," Kana replied, still pouting. "I got Subaki kicked by a horse, broke one of Minori's staves, set a pot of water on fire, and Orochi says I don't have 'the gift'. And that's not even mentioning what Azama and Reina did to me."
"How did you set a pot of water on fire?" Kiragi asked. Kana threw her hands up.
"Well, maybe you don't need a specific job," Sophie offered.
Kana shook her head. "Of course I do! You all have your things. Kiragi's a hunter, Midori's an apothecary, and Sophie works in the stable. But all I can do is turn into a dragon."
"Well, you haven't tried everything yet," Midori said. "Let's think of the other jobs. You could be the princess of Hoshido!"
Kana shook her head again. "I'd have to wait forever for that. Ryoma, Hinoka, papa, Azura, Takumi, Sakura, Shiro, and Caeldori are all ahead of me in line for the throne, I think."
"Can you sing like Azura?" Sophie asked.
"I don't know," Kana replied, then opened her mouth to try. Midori and Kiragi quickly put their hands over her mouth.
"She can't," they interrupted. Kana returned to pouting and pulled out her notepad again, scribbling on it.
"What are you drawing?" Kiragi questioned.
"Oh, just random sketches," Kana replied. Sophie, Kiragi, and Midori moved to look over her shoulder.
"It looks like a grid," Midori remarked.
"Are those the army members?" Sophie asked.
Kana nodded. "It's an idea for what we could do in a battle. I'm thinking, if we have this group go over here, the enemies won't see us coming."
Kiragi observed the paper. "Huh… you're probably right. Wait, how do you know how to do this?"
Kana shrugged. "It's kind of a math thing. And I like math."
Midori, Sophie, and Kiragi's eyes lit up. "Kana! There you have it!" Midori announced.
"Have what?"
"You're a tactician!"
Now Kana's eyes lit up, too. "That's a thing?"
"Sure!" Kiragi agreed. "Robin's a tactician. And so is Yukimura!"
"Wow! So I had something I could do all along!" Kana grabbed her notepad and pocketed it. "I gotta go talk to Robin right away and learn more!"
Midori, Kiragi, and Sophie watched as she ran off. "Do you think she's gonna spill something on the battle plan, break Robin's pen, or set his robe on fire?" Sophie asked.
"All of the above," Midori and Kiragi replied.
clumsy Kana is the best Kana
even though there's literally no canon reason to believe she's clumsy
…and there's actually quite a bit of canon evidence that she is not
who asked you guys anyway
Uh, anyway
If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a review! And if you didn't, let me know why! Thanks, guys!
