"Tell us all about it! And don't leave out any details," Sakura said, grinning ear to ear. The other girls nodded in agreement, all eyes turned towards Hana.
"C'mon, we all knew you two were going to get together, but none of us knew it'd be this soon!" Oboro grinned.
Hana sighed, knowing there was no way out of this.
"Do not worry. I will keep watch for any eavesdroppers," Kagero said, positioning herself by the door with a serious look.
"Well, I guess it started back when-" Hana was interrupted by a knock and yelped, covering her mouth. Kagero's eyes narrowed at the door.
"Who goes there," she said. "This is a meeting of utmost privacy."
"Ah, my apologies. Was this not where we were invited to hear of the love story?" Azura's familiar dreamy voice wafted in, and Kagero relaxed, unlocking the door.
"Wait, how many people did you guys invite?!"
To Hana's relief, only Orochi was added to the initial group of retainers. Of course, it was Orochi who was needling her the most as well.
"You actually said that? Wow, you already sound like one of those cheap romance novels they have the kids read," she said, as the other girls followed her snickering.
"Well, I couldn't think of anything else to say! He took me completely by surprise!"
"Oh come on, he was giving you signs for days, Hana. I was about to go slap some sense into you if you didn't start getting it soon," Hinoka said. "So did you guys smooch yet?"
"H-Hinoka!" Hana stammered. "It's been, what, two days!"
"Judging by your face, though, you'd like to, wouldn't you?" Sakura added with a giggle that was shared by the group as they all figured out how they could poke fun at her.
Hana groaned.
It's going to be a long night.
"Ugh." Hana turned over and drew the covers over her head. The interrogation had lasted deep into the night, and she'd slept well past when she usually arose.
Father probably would have scolded me for skipping training today, she thought as she reluctantly swung her legs out of bed and onto the floor. She walked to the calendar and marked an X on her map, looking back for the last day she had missed. She sighed.
"Damn, almost hit 100 days in a row," she muttered. She turned on the shower and brushed her teeth as she waited for the water to warm.
I wonder if I'll have any time to spend with Corrin before we head out on the march, she thought with a grin. Ooh, he doesn't know anywhere around here, so I'll have to show him around. She excitedly began planning, forgetting that she'd left the water on until the mirror began to fog in front of her.
"Woops," she said, quickly rinsing her mouth and stepping into steaming water.
Hmm, maybe we could grab breakfast? And we could eat out by the trees, like I used to with Father, she thought, her mind made up. Quickly drying herself, she instinctively reached for her uniform.
Hm, maybe I should wear something nicer if I'm going to be taking him out? She blushed as she reached into her wardrobe, having forgotten most of the other clothes she had in there.
"This won't do…" she realized all her nicer clothes were well too small; she hadn't needed to purchase any for years since as a retainer, even when attending royal affairs she was in uniform and on guard.
I hope he likes me in uniform then…
She sighed and pulled it on when a knock resonated from her door.
"Who is it?"
"H-hana! We're supposed to b-be marching to the C-canyon soon!"
"Wah! So early?" Hana pouted a bit. "Alright, I'm coming, Lady Sakura."
"W-what's with the pout? W-were you going to spend time with Corrin?"
Hana's reply was to jut her lower lip a bit further.
Of all the times to fall in love, I had to choose the middle of a stupid war.
The trip to the Bottomless Canyon was largely uneventful; marches were steady and scouts had nothing to report ahead.
Although they had little time to chat during marches, Hana was eager to learn more about Corrin. She asked Felicia for stories from Corrin's past, even developing a rapport with the young maid as they talked about their experiences serving retainers. Hana felt a bit guilty as Felicia seemed to be quite attached to Corrin, but she didn't notice any obvious resentment from her.
But what Hana looked forward to were the nights, once marching had been called off and the tents were pitched. That was when she could spend time with Corrin, swapping stories from their past and learning more about each other. Hana also enjoyed revealing some of the embarrassing stories that Felicia told her, like when he'd walked into the wrong bathroom the first time they took him to a public outing. She told him of growing up in the samurai dojo, and how she first met Sakura and how they became such good friends. He told her of his upbringing in the castle, sheltered and hidden away, but quite privileged. She found herself enamored by his innocence, which reminded her of the days when she would run around the grove of cherry blossoms without a fear.
But tonight was different. Both were all business, as they would reach the Bottomless Canyon the next day, and after that, no one knew what to expect. Azura had stuck to her guns, flatly refusing any more detail.
"You still don't find it even a little bit sketchy?" Hana asked, incredulous.
"No," Corrin answered flatly. "Anyways, we're already all the way out here. Might as well try it out."
"Yeah," Hana grunted, "unless she tells us to jump into the canyon, right?" Hana chuckled but noticed that Corrin's face had turned paper white. "Corrin...we're not jumping into that canyon, are we?"
"Er…she may have mentioned something about that?"
Hana sighed.
Of course she did.
Day had barely broken when Hana was back to business, beginning her routine. She tried to envision the odd, phantasmal being she'd seen on the ship, shifting her weight fluidly to stay balanced, always seeking an angle of attack.
Don't force the issue, she remembered from her teachings. A good swordsman will make few mistakes; the best will make you pay for one.
Who knows what's going to be down there, Hana thought with a shudder.
Yes, I know, I'm terrible and slow at updating. Sorry :(
Short chapter again, this one serves more as a bridge to what's going to happen at the Bottomless Canyon, which is going to be pretty significant (read: long chapter incoming), so I didn't want to inundate you all with words before that chapter.
Guest: Who knows, I may be planning to throw you for a loop ;) sorry that the last couple chapters have been filler, they've kind of been there to touch on how Corrin and Hana sneak moments together in the middle of the war and connecting to the big conclusion.
Yup: So..I'm not 100% sure what you're saying; could you fix up the grammar? Also, Hana's been training all her life and battling; the Hoshido/Nohr conflict has been going on pretty much her whole life, so she has a good amount of experience as well. We don't know how long Severa's been in this universe, so it's hard to say that she's had definitively more experience than Hana has. I haven't necessarily "cast aside" the Awakening trio, they just haven't played a role because this story is focused on the Hoshido kingdom.
Guest: Maybe? I'm not really planning on focusing on other relationships, rather i'll just be mentioning them in passing (like ryomaxscarlet)
Zubatman: Glad you liked it :) Not going to lie, I wasn't expecting it and it surprised me. I thought I made it clear that they were quite evenly matched and Hana only found an opening when Severa's emotions got the better of her and she went for an all-out attack, which makes sense to me (at least in my understanding of the characters).
Peri the bloody retainer: Conquest is great too! Glad you're enjoying the ride so far :)
Mega Sodarayg: Tbh, I think all the characters are a bit one-dimensional, and I wasn't a big fan of Hinoka in the first place, so...sue me. All I got from her is that she's an overprotective, verbally a bit crude but overall nice older sister/princess? Thanks for agreeing with me too :)
Gallian Squad 7: Glad you liked it! I figured it would be the last chapter where I could work in some cute interaction before the ending really starts to kick in, since I don't want this to extend on for too long.
As always, please R&R, and don't hate me for being slow at updating!