A knock sounded on his door, and Xander looked up as Kamui poked her head inside.

"Xander? You got time for me?"

"Of course. Come in."

Kamui closed the door behind her, and Xander picked up one of the cushions strewn on the floor.

"Catch!"

He tossed the cushion in Kamui's direction. She managed to catch it just before it hit her squarely in the face.

"Hey!"

Xander smirked and gestured for her to join him.

"So, what's up?"

"Well, to tell you the truth, I'm insanely curious about what you're going to do about Sakura. Are you going to court her?"

"I'd like to, but things are quite complicated. For starters, I have absolutely no idea how to court a Hoshidan princess. Seeing how different our cultures are, I fear that if I just tried to woo her anyway, I'd probably end up offending someone or making a complete fool of myself."

"Oh dear. I hadn't even considered that – unfortunately, I can't give you any pointers..."

"Hm. And I most certainly won't ask any of the courtiers."

"That would be all sorts of awkward... Hey, you could ask Hinoka! She ought to know."

"True, but – I don't think I truly need to worry about this kind of thing before I've secured her consent – she is head of the family now, after all."

"Right. Wait, do you think she would refuse her consent?"

"It's a possibility I must consider. I am Nohrian, after all."

"Surely she wouldn't blame you for your father's deeds!"

"Many do so already, and even if this is your estimation based on the Hinoka you knew before the war, well, she might be a changed person now. Until I have her permission to court her sister, I will not broach the subject to Princess Sakura – it would be cruel of me to put her through this only for Princess Hinoka to put an end to it."

"So – what are you going to do now?"

"Spend more time with her. Get to know her better – allow her to get to now me better. She's expressed a desire to learn more about Nohr so she can understand us better, and I'll try to build on that foundation. The thing is – I know she likes me to some extent, but I have no idea how this compares to other people she knows. I am not deluded enough to believe that she is in love with me – until recently, she was terrified of me, after all."

"True – still, I'd say she's already pretty much at ease around you. You keep this up, and she might very well fall in love with you."

"Heh. That would, of course, be ideal."

"I hope it'll work out – I think you two would be good for each other", Kamui said softly. "Oh, and Xander? Do keep in mind that we're here for you – you don't have to carry the weight of the entire world on your own shoulders, so to say. We're with you all the way, and would do anything to help you. But, you have to tell us. We won't know if you keep these things locked away and hidden form us. All right?"

Xander stared at her for a heartbeat, quite at a loss for words, before pulling her into a bone-crushing bear hug. Kamui let out a surprised grunt, but soon returned the embrace.

"I guess you really needed a hug", she chuckled.

"I might have", Xander muttered. "Thank you for being such a wonderful sister."

"Any time, big brother."