Day 21, Before Dawn
Kazahana, Or Hana to her very limited assortment of friends that consisted of Sakura and...
and...
Yikes.
-woke up early at the cusp of dawn to begin her training. The river that the Shepherds had decided to make camp beside ran a few feet away from her, providing some ambient noise to accompany the songs of the birds in the distant trees. With long and steady strokes, Hana polished her katana so that it could reflect the rising sun's rays. It was an heirloom of her late father, and as such she treated it with just as much respect as she did her liege. Well, more, really. If Sakura was her only friend, then her katana was proof of the oath that she swore: to defend and bring honor to Lady Sakura as a samurai of Hoshido.
Even on the battlefields so far away from it.
With a moment of recollection, Hana turned back toward the camp from her kneeling position, watching some of those who had already woken up like she had before the official morning bell. Among the unfamiliar faces, she saw some from Hoshido as well, reminding her to the fact that even among her own allies there were those who came from the same soil as her.
Many of the retainers to the eight members of Hoshidan and Nohrian royalty were awake at this time, and Hana's own partner, Subaki, was doing some running drills with a woman that bore an uncanny resemblance to his own. A bit further down the riverbank was that Flame Tribe oni, Rinkah. Hana wasn't too familiar with the heir to the Flame Tribe, but Hinoka had explained how Rinkah had been a steadfast companion to Kamui on her journey from Nohr to Hoshido, even going so far as to attempt to avenge Queen Mikoto's death alongside everyone else. It was then to no surprise that she had been caught up in all this, but the Flame Tribe daughter had taken up Princess Kamui's plea to join the growing Joint Shepherd force as a Hoshidan warrior. As far as Hana was concerned, Rinkah was as trustworthy an ally as any other Hoshidan on the field. The Flame Tribe was known for its strength, so she was quite eager to see Rinkah's merits speak for themselves when the opportunities came across.
Speaking of new Hoshidans, Prince Ryoma was going through his morning kata, moving through each of the moments with a slow and certain fluidity. Across the riverbank were Saizo and Kagero, who were returning from nearby villages with the results of a scouting mission done over the black of night. And by Ryoma's side, watching in reverence, was Say'ri, who had grown to be a rather steadfast companion to the High Prince. Er, Emperor. Gods, that was going to be weird. Say'ri's swordsmanship was incredible, and Hana would daresay that the Chon'sin princess was just as competent as Ryoma himself. Sure, the High Prince, er, Emperor wielded a sword of lightning and possessed a near unflinching will, but the way Say'ri fought with such deliberate and piercing strokes was in itself magnificent. By this time, she had observed Ryoma enough to mimic some of his motions, and Hana decided to let the two of them be as she turned her attention elsewhere in the camp.
Just on schedule, a man had run past her on the far side of the river. Hana knew not the details, but she would always notice that Chrom's retainer would be running with full armor up and down the camp's perimeter, often holding water cans or a lance to further bolster his routine. He wasn't so old of a warrior, on the contrary really- he was quite young for his station. Still, despite the rigorous exercise, that man had little fatigue or pain to show, and instead diligence and devotion towards his country and his king.
Her armor and weapons were polished and repaired by now, so Hana donned them and took up Sir Frederick's exercise as her own, thinking it to be a good mix-up from the usual sword drills she ran by herself. Frederick was clearly pacing himself but he was still running at near-full strides, so Hana threw uncertainty to the wind and broke into a wild and unfettered sprint, her nimble steps leaving little sound even to the tents she passed. Hana felt the wind sharply passing her ears, and she mustered more willpower and pushed even harder until she covered entire tents with merely two or three bounds. Suddenly, a blue shadow with powerful footsteps slowly crept past her until she saw the Ylissean knight run by her, and she tripped over her own feet from equal parts shock and disbelief.
How... I'm sprinting! He's wearing armor! And that lance certainly has to throw off his balance...
Hana noticed as the knight ran past certain barrels, he would hoist his lance as to stab a target, and then relax it in his hands again. Upon closer inspection, she realized that he was stabbing tomatoes, so cleanly in fact that they did not bruise or collapse when they came into contact with his lance, the head being modified to not obliterate the produce outright. Squinting even as she ran, Hana noticed that 6 or 7 tomatoes were skewered on the haft, and judging by the time he'd been running they must have counted as lap markers for him. Quickly doing the math, a lap around the camp was about a mile or so.
No way am I letting that old man show me up!
Hana sighed, desperately trying to pick up her pace as she hesitantly drew her right-hand katana as well. Quickly running alongside the river, she ran her blade along the surface of the rippling flow until a single droplet hung delicately along the gleaming edge. Being very steady with her arm-movements now, Hana wagered she could run a couple miles balancing a droplet of water on her sword. After all, she was the finest swordsman in Hoshido, as per her self-proclamation. Now it was time to prove it.
Frederick watched as the samurai who had mimicked his routine sprinted at full canter, holding her blade out as if to lunge. Using his keen vision, he could tell she was balancing a water droplet along her blade. Nodding in approval, Frederick decided he had taken his break for too long and slowed his pace to converse.
"I see my training has inspired you to do the same," Frederick called in front of him, where Hana faltered but tried to outrun the knight.
"Non-s-sense!" She paused to take a deep breath before speaking again, "I'm the best swordsman in Hoshido! Your... warm-up's got nothing on m-me!"
Frederick chuckled, not complaining as he ran past her again.
"If that is the case, allow me to enhance the challenge. Hoshido has proven their warriors proud and fearsome. But I've yet to see you."
"And what right do you have to judge my w-worth?"
"I am the guardian to Exalt Chrom, and the Captain of Ylisse's royal guard. Every recruit that guards my beloved country does so under my jurisdiction. Now, try to keep that droplet balanced as I intensify the training."
Hana scoffed as it would be her luck for that inhuman fiend to notice her attempts of honing her craft. Suddenly, an arrow came flying at her and she instinctively slid under it, all the while keeping the droplet balanced on her blade.
"What the hell was that?!"
"It's training, Hoshidan. Relax, I won't aim to kill. Though it would deeply impress me if you could slice those arrows like Prince Ryoma can," Frederick hinted, nocking back another arrow as his steed rode outside her path.
Wh-How! He was just running a second ago. Where did he pull that bow... and his horse from?!
"Challenge accepted, old man!"
Hana maintained her brisk speed as Frederick let loose another shot from his bow. Hana angled her blade precisely, slicing the arrow in half lengthwise and causing the two ends to split around her before rolling into the grass. With a same fluid motion, she had caught the discarded droplet by the tip of her katana, returning it to her possession once more between the breadth of two strides. Frederick's eyebrows raised as the droplet remained clean on the blade.
"Hmph. You b-bore me! How about two at a time!" Hana challenged as she struggled to keep up speed with Frederick's horse.
"So be it!" Frederick nocked two arrows this time, and Hana's focus slowed time to a halt as she slashed downwards, keeping the blade angled down as well, making efforts to do so with such speed that the momentum would keep the droplet in place.
It did.
Even from Frederick's eyes, it looked as if her arms had not moved at all, but the arrows split in half by her feet made no mistake that she had cleanly avoided being skewered. And that damn water stuck on her blade like it was Gaius to a treat.
"So you think your skills could improve further, eh. Let's see how you like this!" Frederick hoisted his lance suddenly, disregarding his bow.
Robin emerged from his tent, nodding to Corrin and Chrom in the distance. They ignored him, as their gazes were on something far more interesting than a bed-head-ridden tactician.
"Hmm? Oh, wow."
Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Robin opened them just in time to catch Hana running up and down the river with her sword extended like a madman while Frederick was holding his bow and launching arrows at her point blank.
"What the hell is wrong with this army?"
Suddenly, Frederick dropped his bow, and instead threw his lance at her like a javelin...
...only for Hana to leap onto it, run along it like it was a solid bridge, leap off it again, and land onto Frederick's horse, all while keeping what appeared to be...
"No way in hell," Robin laughed as he noticed the sunlight reflecting off the single drop of water, still on her blade.
Frederick stopped, eyes wide in surprise as the swordsman came flying until she landed cleanly right behind his saddle, balancing precariously on her feet as the horse neighed in disapproval.
"How's that for the best swordsman?!" Hana exclaimed, dismounting with a backflip and sheathing her sword, with the droplet sliding off cleanly onto her index finger, which she pointed accusingly at Frederick. Flicking it away, the samurai grinned, wiping her sweaty forehead with a cocky expression written all over her eyes and cheeks.
"That was indeed impressive, Hoshidan. I guess I will replace tomatoes with water droplets now," Frederick replied with a laugh. "Let's conclude here. Breakfast is soon to be prepared."
"Oh, right. Alright, yeah, let's dig in," Hana concurred, loosening the straps in her armor.
Ryoma and Say'ri joined the two as well, the pair having concluded their training in time for breakfast.
"Good morning Lord Ryoma, Lady Say'ri," Frederick said in greeting, with Hana bowing in respect.
"You two created quite a stir," Say'ri laughed, gesturing grandly with her hands. "Indeed, the whole camp was watching in awe at your skill, Hana."
"That's an honor, Lady Say'ri. Thank you," Hana replied politely, not quite hiding her smile.
"Oh, by the way, have you seen Prince Leo lately? He appeared quite distraught when he left the provision tent. Was he on cooking duty?" Ryoma asked.
"...I believe he is looking for all the tomatoes that I had skewered," Frederick realized.
