I remember rolling this kid on the final day of the Performing Arts focus way back in September, so this is rather late on my part.. or it would be, were it not for Wings of Fate dragging him back into the spotlight and Lyn's Legendary Hero focus rerunning his PA alt. So if there was ever a time to get off my ass and drop another update, now is that time. As an addendum, I also recently completed an Azurrin prompt for TheApocryphalOne, as well as two other short pieces. If you haven't checked them out and want to sate your thirst for more Nate in these trying times, I'd highly recommend them. In any case, read, review, and enjoy.

TheApocryphalOne: Hurt/Comfort for the Hurt/Comfort gods! Looking back at the chapter, I realized I wrote in the A/N that you guys primarily come to my content for the fluff, then I, uh, gave you that. Let's hope this more than makes up for it.

Extreme Tactician: I wouldn't say grumpy, more moody, but I see your point. Hope you enjoy the rest of the story, and this response should you ever see it.

Word Count: 1,157 words.


.09 - Shigure and Performing


"Do dee do da da dee-la! Tum te dum de bum boo-ba!"

"Kana?" came an inquiring voice from within the dressing booth. "Is that you?"

The girl ceased her ditty and planted her feet, stopping just short of the scarlet curtain between them.

"Yup! Sorry I'm late, I got a little sidetracked... and a little lost! But I'm fine now!"

"Thank goodness. You had me worried for a moment. Were you able to recover my score?"

Kana nodded, her blue bun bobbing as she briskly waved the sheet over her head. "Uh-huh! Ta-da! I found it under a pile of dusty old books in your tent! Ehehe, I can't believe you didn't think to look there!"

"Those books are more than just 'old', Kana. They're historical texts from hundreds of years ag—eh?" the voice started. "Wait, did I not check under there earlier? How odd, I could have sworn I—"

"Hehe, you were right, Kana," Kiragi butted in with a cheeky, boyish grin. "He really is blind!"

"Told you!" Kana beamed toward the boy with a bright smile of her own. "Heehee, blind as a bat!" she giggled, which brought him to giggle, which brought the both of them to giggle.

"Ah, oh well," the voice sighed, ignoring either comment. "It no longer matters now, I suppose. You have my gratitude."

"No biggie!" Kana chimed with a salute that went woefully unseen. "Does this mean you can come out now?"

"N-No! Ah, er, I mean, not yet, w-which is to say, I, uh, require more time to get ready—to be fully prepared and all."

Kana's expression fell. "Aww, c'mon!" the little dragon whined. "You've been in there for so long! So, so long! You can't play hide-and-seek forever! You can't! You've gotta set sail sooner or later! You just gotta! What if you get hungry? Or thirsty? Or hungry and thirsty?!"

Beyond some indecisive, indecipherable mumbling, the girl received no response, much to her dismay. The silence was not only deafening, it was rude.

"Hmmph!" Kana huffed, her cheeks puffing. "This calls for drastic measures! Drastic!"

She clasped her hands together.

"Please! Pretty please! We're all waiting for you! We wanna see! We wanna see!"

At first, there was no response. Kana was moments from adding a cherry on the top of her plea before the voice spoke once more.

"If I must.."

She beamed.

The kids reveled in their success as the curtains shuffled awkwardly, parting aside to unveil the teen of the hour.

"Well then," Shigure gestured to himself, as deadpan as his voice would allow. "How is it?"

In hindsight, Kana and Kiragi desperately trying to smother their laughter was something he should have anticipated.

"W-Wait—heehee—big brother—hehehe—no—hahaha—it's not what it looks like!" Kana babbled. "Th-This is from Kiragi's joke earlier—ehehe—honest! I'm not—heehee—laughing at it! R-Really!"

"I think it looks lovely," Forrest added, far quieter than the children beside him. "The style, the texture, the colors. It suits you."

"Truly?" Shigure's eyes widened. "You think so?"

"I do," Forrest nodded with a gentle smile. "There's a certain nostalgic air to it that I can't help but admire. I almost feel as though I've seen it somewhere before.. ah, but there's no way I could have. I'd surely remember seeing something so beautiful, so divine!"

"Divine?" Kiragi craned his head, confused. "He's only got one sleeve!"

"No, that's okay," said Kana, a clear expert on the subject. "My mama's missing a sleeve too. I'm more worried about the skirt! It doesn't even go all the way around!"

"Oh, you two," Forrest sighed, a hand cradling his cheek. "Still clouded by the unfortunate miasma of youth. You'll learn to appreciate the true essence of fashion when you grow older, or better yet, I could teach you both! My tent is always open for new pupils!"

"Not if get-ups like that are what you have in mind, friend-o!"

"Yeah! Siegbert gives me enough trouble with math as is!"

Shigure blinked, feeling as though things had gotten off-track somewhere. "I was beginning to think this outfit was a little too somber for me, but if someone of your cultured renown likes it, Forrest, then perhaps I should reconsider."

"That's the spirit!" Forrest cheered. "It's as I always say: to be loved by others, you must first love yourself! To let doubt and uncertainty consume you is to say 'I see no value in myself, so why should you?'. Embrace yourself and let the rest come naturally!"

Shigure chuckled, inspired by the troubadour's spirit. "Haha! I must admit, my concerns weren't that damning, but I appreciate your words nonetheless. I'm feeling more confident already."

"You're very welcome! You really do look great, you know. Why, I'm almost jealous. I may be fashionable to a fault, but even I doubt I could match this level of expertise."

"That's the thing," Shigure said. "The design is said to have come from my homeland. I presume that's why my mother wished to see me take the stage in it. I had been conducting research on it with what few remaining texts I could gather. However, even when pooled together, their information was largely vague. Intentionally so, I suspect."

"And yet you were still able to put something together! A tale for the ages, if I do say so myself."

"Haha, I have Oboro to thank for that. I supplied her with my notes and requested that she do what she can to fill in the blanks. That, paired with her tailoring expertise and my mother as inspiration, and this was the end result."

Kiragi nearly choked at the mention of the fierce-faced spear wielder, all manner of merriment draining from his face. "A-Ah! M-My mom made that!?"

"Why yes," Shigure grinned. "She did. As a matter of fact, I was just about to go and express my gratitude to her for all she's done. Won't you come with me? I'm sure she'd love to see you, as well."

Having caught the wiliness in his friend's voice, Forrest could not help but play along. He placed a hand on Kiragi's shoulder, equal parts blissful and sadistic. "I agree! What a splendid idea! I'm sure she would be most delighted to hear what her beloved child thinks of her craftsmanship!"

Kiragi's neck hairs stood on end. He could not immediately recall if he had ever felt a sharper shiver crawl up his spine.

"I still have some time before I'm needed onstage," said Shigure. "Why don't we visit her right now?"

"A-Ack! C-Come on, guys! T-This isn't funny! K-Kana, help me out here!"

"Huh? But she's your mama, not mine!"

"Actually, Kana," Shigure began, clutching the girl's shoulder as well. "Now that I think about it, we should pay our respects to mother as well. This was largely her idea, after all. She deserves to know our feedback, wouldn't you agree?"

"Uwaaaaaaaah!"


The Festival of Bonds (Japan-only) conversation between Corrin and Shigure briefly has Corrin concede to feeling tense whenever performing for a crowd, a sentiment which humbles Shigure as he naturally feels the same way. I drew from both that and FEH's Performing Arts for this chapter, but I find it funny for two reasons: 1) This makes sense, because we know Corrin to be an introvert and socially inept, having been raised as such. At heart, however, he is an extrovert, and playing through any one of Fates' three routes illustrates his progression from dude Rapunzel to 'I want to make friends with everyone!'. 2) And yet, for as many C supports as he may have on your save file, he still feels nervous under the spotlight. Xander also mentionsin his My Room dialoguethat Corrin can play the piano, but given the circumstances of his situation, he couldn't have been entertaining anyone short of his siblings. Just something to think about. It's something that gels particularly well once you consider that Kana can't stand loneliness. Now where could that have possibly come from?

Feel free to pitch me any comments, concerns, questions or suggestions. Cheers.