AUTHOR'S NOTES: Regular updating schedule will begin anew sometime in January of 2017, owing primarily now due to the holiday season. If I can find enough time off I will try writing chapters to put into reserve, but I am by no means abandoning this fic; it's just slowing down a little for the time being. In the meantime, here's Sakura and co. I'm trying a couple things differently this time. Since I labelled this story as Romance under genre, that's obviously going to start happening the more characters interact with one another. Ideally I plan to make them interact with multiple others, so just because (for example) Hana and Subaki interact with each other first and alot does not necessarily mean they're going to end up together (or that they won't). That said, I am curious about the direction of this story, and so by all means people, please review. It definitely helps with the ol' motivation.
Happy Reading!

CHAPTER 44: Strong-Willed and Shy

Sing with me a song of Comrades and Calm…

Sakura went around trying to heal and help the soldiers on both sides of the battlefield, and despite this, it was clear that Yukimura intended to keep his word about their surrender. Even though he did not plan to accompany Corrin, neither he nor any of the Hoshidans stood in his way as they advanced.

While Saizo and Orochi remained behind to help clear the damage, Kaze confronted his brother.

"Brother," he looked Saizo in the eyes, "I would ask for your understanding. I would like to accompany Lord Corrin and his sister on their mission."

"If you are set on that course," Saizo grunted, "then you may do as you wish."

"I am," Kaze declared. "I believe that what Lord Corrin is doing is the right thing; and I hope that you will be able to join us when the time is right."

"I have explained my next mission," Saizo reminded him, "but I will keep that in mind."

"And what of you, Sakura?" Yukimura asked, "You are formidable, but you are also in enough danger as it is. What say you?"

"I would like to go with Corrin…" Sakura mumbled, before cocking her head towards Corrin. "Can I? Please? I'm not very fond of fighting, but I'm sure I can find ways to help."

"Maybe this is just me being a front-line soldier and such," Kamui pointed out, "but Sakura, you're the most powerful wielder of magic I have ever seen. My body might not have been my own on the field, but I saw what you did, and it nearly stopped me."

"Oh, I don't want to try and stop you, Kamui." Sakura shuddered, "you're terrifying on the battlefield; you have the ferocity of the Flame Tribe. Oh! You're hurt!"

Sakura didn't waste any time trying to heal Kamui's injuries. Since she was on the front lines, Kamui was considerably injured from the skirmish; she was just used to shrugging it off, and as such, had been much less careful than Anna, Jakob, and Oboro.

"I'd never say no to you gracing us with your presence, little sister." Corrin smiled. "Welcome aboard. Kamui and I will give you the briefing when we get somewhere safer."

"Just give the word," Kamui offered, "we can go to New Kamui at any time."

"I do wish to find and alert my retainers of where I'm going," Sakura requested, "but if I know them, they should be coming at any moment."

Almost as if waiting for their cue, Corrin and Kamui turned their heads skyward at the sound of a pegasus. Corrin's eyes widened. "It's heading straight for us!"

"Waaah!" Sakura jumped back, but the rider of the pegasus landed his steed gracefully and without incident. With them able to get a closer look at the rider, they realized it was a red-haired man, and that a brown-haired woman was clinging tightly to his waist.

"We've finally caught up with you, milady!" the man address Sakura before leaning back to the woman still tightly clinging to his waist. "Hana? That means we've landed."

"Subaki?" Sakura tilted her head, "what happened? Where were you?"

"No need to worry about us," Subaki slowly pulled Hana's arms off from around him, "we are unhurt; merely delayed in our attempt to come to your aid."

"Goodness!" Sakura gasped as Hana staggered rather ungracefully as she dismounted. "Subaki, why does Hana look absolutely green?"

"I wasn't cut out for the flying business," Hana clutched her mouth. "I apologize, Lady Sakura… I need a moment alone." She disappeared behind a large hedge, and while no one said anything, it was clear from the sounds that she was emptying the contents of her stomach.

"Subaki, you know better than to do that!" Sakura gave her retainer a pouty look.

"Milady," Subaki reasoned, "surely by now you know that I strive for perfection and would never do anything short of that mark. Our friend Kazahana simply does not share the same passion for flying that I and your sister do."

Hana returned a few moments later, still looking slightly pale, but looking much better than she had earlier. "I apologize again for that little… erm, display, lady Sakura. But of course, you know why we're here: you disappeared, and it's our job to make sure that you don't disappear again!"

She beamed proudly, and Sakura smiled.

"I'm happy to have you two at my sides again," she opened her arms invitingly. "Thank you."

"I don't want to sound like a skeptic or anything…" Kamui interrupted, "but would you mind giving us a few introductions?"

"Oh!" Sakura squeaked, "Right! Sorry, Kamui. This is Subaki, and this is Kazahana. They're both very strong and very kind. They've done an amazing job at protecting me for years. If I join you, they will too. It'll be helpful to have supportive friends, right?"

"Of course," Kamui smiled. "Well… nice meeting the two of you then, Subaki; Kazahana."

"Hana," Hana nearly interrupted, "only lady Sakura can use my full name."

"Got it," Kamui half-shrugged, "I'm not exactly the best at social pleasantries; and so I apologize if I offended you. If you need anything smashed or beaten to a bloody pulp, talk to me. Otherwise, Corrin knows a lot more about what's going on than I do."

"I'll explain everything back at New Kamui," Corrin began, "let's go."

Hana and Subaki turned to each other and exchanged skeptical looks, but suddenly they as well as the remainder of Corrin's army was transported back to the Astral Realms, where Kamui's magnificent castle and grounds stood before them. As they did with everyone else who crossed the threshold, Kamui (with some help from the more socially apt Corrin) explained how the castle worked, and that because of her power to manipulate dragon veins, she could transform it at a whim exactly how she wanted it to look."

"And so you go with a Hoshidan design?" Hana tilted her head. "I'm not saying I don't trust you… but why? Lady Sakura mentioned that you seemed pretty staunch in your defense of Nohr."

"Because I wanted to branch out," Kamui shrugged, "I could always turn it Nohrian if I really wanted. It's not like it'd be dreary; just that I've spent 15 years locked up in Nohrian architecture, so a little change of pace is nice."

"Hmm…" Hana's lower lip stuck out and her eyes narrowed, almost as if she was trying to see through a lie that wasn't there. "Alright then. Thanks."

Kamui suspected something else was on the girl's mind that she was not sharing, but decided not to press the issue. For now, it was time to rest and recuperate. Their objectives were simple: find Takumi, Hinoka, and Ryoma (and by extension, Kamui's Nohrian siblings), but the Nohrians were most likely within the safest confines of Windmire at the moment, and with an army this small an invasion of Nohr was simply impractical. As for the remaining Hoshidans, they simply lacked any real leads to go off of.

Corrin took advantage of the different (slower) flow of time of the Astral Realms to rest himself and his army up, while he sent members of his army (primarily Anna and Kaze) out on reconnaissance missions of sorts to try and learn anything else about where the remaining royals were. Sakura and her retainers adjusted easily enough, although Hana and Subaki seemed to bicker a lot, much to Kamui's amusement.

Most of the time, however, Kamui was in her study in the castle; a lot less social off the battlefield than she was when she was on it. Most people left her alone apart from Jakob and Felicia who helped tend to her needs, or Gunter and other veteran fighters who tested their steel against hers. This time, however, she was just at her desk putting words to paper when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," she didn't even look up as the door slid open and Sakura stepped in. Kamui saw her out of the corner of her eye and turned her head to offer her some attention.

"Need something?" she raised a curious eyebrow.

"Oh, n-no!" Sakura exclaimed, "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to bother—"

"You weren't bothering me, Sakura." Kamui shook her head. "I was just wondering if you needed something. If you are, I'm happy to help."

"I-I just wanted to say hello," Sakura whispered, "we haven't gotten to see each other very much and I want to get to know you. You're my sister, after all."

"Oh…" Kamui frowned, "I really hope you weren't taking my lack of socializing seriously, Sakura." she stood up, "Because it's not that at all… it's more just me being about as socially talented off the battlefield as a dead slug."

"You seemed pretty full of conviction out there to me," Sakura pointed out.

"That's because we were on the battlefield, and that's more or less all I've been taught how to do," Kamui chuckled, "well, that and write books."

"Is that what that stack of paper behind you is?" Sakura peeked around Kamui.

"Yeah;" Kamui glanced around, "well, drafts, anyways. It's going to be called 'The Hero in Hoshido' if my publisher will allow it."

"What's it about?" Sakura looked curious, "and can we sit down?"

"You never need to ask for my approval to have a seat, Sakura," Kamui chuckled, "so anyways, the story is basically about the wild adventures a Nohrian mercenary gets into when she winds up fighting alongside Hoshido."

"Could I be in the story somewhere?" Sakura asked, the childlike innocence of her eyes and her excited expression winning Kamui over completely and immediately.

"I could probably write you in," Kamui grinned, "may be as some powerful mage or sorcerer. I've seen you on the battlefield, sister."

"No, don't make me the villain!" Sakura cried.

"I wouldn't do that," Kamui patted Sakura on the back. "I was more thinking like one of those powerful sages from the Dragons' Trials or something grand. I can't give you all the details this early though. No spoilers for you."

"Oh… okay." Sakura lowered her head a moment before glancing back at Kamui. "When will it be finished? Do you know?"

"I don't know," Kamui admitted, "but I want this one to be better than Dancers and Diviners… because that one was rubbish."

"I actually really liked that one…" Sakura whispered. "You're a talented writer, sister."

"So here's a question for you, Sakura," Kamui smiled, "what kind of things do you like doing on your free time?"

"When I'm not helping or healing others, I like reading and trying other therapeutic methods," Sakura explained, "I don't like contention. My retainers don't seem to get that."

"They seem pretty loyal towards you to me," Kamui indicated.

"N-no, not that…" Sakura swung her feet and stared intently at them, "I trust them with my life. I'm more worried about how they interact with one another. Kazahana's a good person, but she's so hotheaded sometimes."

"Ha," Kamui chuckled, "that sounds like me on my bad days. Maybe she and I should have a discussion soon; maybe an exchange of steel…"

"Please don't hurt her!" Sakura pleaded, "I don't want our own friends and allies fighting each other for any reason!"

"It's not fighting; it'd be sparring," Kamui pointed out, "kind of like back when I challenged Ryoma and Hinoka to single combat before all of this mess went down."

"That reminds me… Kamui?" Sakura looked Kamui in the eyes for a second before looking back down again.

"What is it?" Kamui gave her best attempt at a reassuring smile.

"After all of this is over…" Sakura fidgeted again, "you know; the war and stuff… would like to learn more about Hoshido; about us?"

"I don't see why we have to wait that long," Kamui smiled. "We can start now if you want."

"Oh, thank you so much!" Sakura threw her arms around Kamui, who actually felt calm enough to return the favor. There was something about Sakura that made her very calming to be around. Frankly, Kamui felt like she hadn't been this relaxed since the last time she had been with Camilla—and that in turn reminded her of their goal. The possessions, the war, and whoever this "Exalted One" were… that's what they were out to stop. And that too, brought a smile to her face.

AFTERTHOUGHTS: A few characters might get their Japanese names with or instead of their English ones. Hana's was particularly easy because it's a shortened version of her Japanese name, and also ties into one of her character traits. Others might pop up or not as the story goes on.

CHARACTERS RECRUITED:

Sakura: The youngest princess of Hoshido. She has a kind heart and cannot abide suffering, and thus even on the battlefield, she attempts to end fights quickly and painlessly when she can. She is surprisingly strong-willed for one so painfully shy, which shows in the way she wields the legendary tome, Cymbeline. Her small size, gentle voice, and assuring presence makes her extremely relaxing to be around. The most deceptively powerful. Born on 9 April (Age 16)
Classes: Priestess/Onmyoji

Kazahana: A Hoshidan samurai who goes by Hana, serving as Sakura's retainer, where she displays loyalty to a fault. She is outgoing, boisterous, and among the finest katana wielders in the kingdom due to her punishing practice regimen. She reacts fiercely towards anything she takes as an insult or affront, and like her actions, her mouth has a terrible sense of self-restraint, which sometimes gets her into trouble. The fondest of cherry blossoms. Born on 28 March (Age 17)
Class: Swordmaster

Subaki: Sakura's retainer and a Hoshidan sky knight from a long line of talented knights trained to be perfect in everything they do. Easygoing, handsome, and skilled, he strives to maintain his image of perfection, putting up walls and charades whenever it may fall (or even when he merely thinks it has). His attitude makes him unaware that most people appreciate him exactly how he is rather than demanding further improvement. Has the cleanest hands. Born on 7 February (Age 22)
Class: Sky Knight