A/N; Enjoy this prologue to the full-length story I'll start uploading in two weeks.

23. Comfort

Haru didn't want to do this. She shouldn't need to do this. It wasn't fair!

'Being the better person stinks,' the village girl had no trouble admitting to herself, knowing that she'd never be able to voice it aloud as she moved through her little village's only street and to the tiny hut that had only recently become occupied.

She had to set this in place before telling Hiromi. As much as Haru loved her best friend, the flighty young woman had a certain gift for derailing conversations and make it a lot harder for Haru to say her piece before the occupants lost their patience and tossed them out.

Haru could feel her heart pitter-patter unsteadily as she approached the front door, but she forced herself to knock politely anyway.

The flimsy door opened a tiny crack, making a dark blue eye glare at her coldly. "What do you want?"

"Hello, Mai," Haru said with a polite smile while masking how she really felt about coming here. "I need to talk to Sakura for a moment, if she is available."

The older woman gave a dismissive scoff. "What if she doesn't want to talk to you? You're the reason we aren't being welcomed by most of the village, you know."

Large brown eyes closed against her will as a heavy sigh escaped her lips. "That's why I'm here. If she doesn't want to talk, that's fine, but there are some things I need to tell her. I don't mind if you listen in, and…" Haru had to brace herself for the next part. "If you find anything I say offensive, you can throw me out again. But it's very important that I talk to your niece before the other villagers do something stupid."

That last part made Mai hesitate, but at least the door reluctantly slid open. "Make it quick," the middle-aged woman ordered, giving way enough for the brunette to slip in.

Haru knew that she and her father weren't exactly well-off, but the little cottage they shared seemed like a palace compared to this single room hut. Nothing but the barest of necessities were present, and it only took a glance to see where Sakura was.

There was one rolled up sleeping mat leaning against the wall, but the other one was rolled out so that a young woman could lay on it, her back facing everything but the wall.

Haru's heart broke that even from the back, Sakura was prettier than her. There was no mistaking that delicate build, and the view only put her wealth of bouncy golden hair on full display. The visitor would have started tugging on her own plain brown locks if she didn't keep it up in a ponytail and out of her way.

Haru knelt by the pallet, reminding herself that she had practiced this speech for hours before coming. She had never been good with talking to strangers, but at least this was going to be easier than if Sakura or her aunt had been men.

Sakura didn't move a muscle, but her breathing patterns were subtly saying that she was fully awake and fully aware of who was behind her.

Haru took in another breath and spat out the most important thing she had to say.

"I don't have a claim on Machida."

That made Sakura start with surprise, and even sit up to attention after a long moment.

The front of her was even worse. Even after a crying spell, Sakura had more beauty in one finger than Haru had in her whole body.

She shook the thought away to clarify her statement. "I want to, the whole village knows about it. One of the joys of having a blabber mouth for a best friend," Haru grumbled under her breath before shaking her head again to get back on task. "But I have a hard time saying more than 'hi' in front of him. Until such time as I can hold a decent conversation with Machida, I can't really qualify as a rival, can I?"

That even surprised Mai.

Haru twiddled her thumbs nervously, glad that she at least had the niece and aunt's undivided attention. "I will freely admit that I would have been happier if you hadn't moved into our village, but you did. He saw you, he likes you, it's as simple as that. I'm not a part of what's going on, never mind what the elders or anyone else thinks about your courtship."

Sakura wiped the last tears from her eyes. "Then, why are you here if you aren't going to try to force me to leave?"

Haru started rubbing one arm as her nerves grew worse. "I think we need to be seen in public together," she blurted while staring at her lap. "Buy food, maybe do laundry by the river at the same time, look for wild herbs together with Hiromi, that sort of thing. Before you get any ideas about me getting ideas," she added while pointedly looking at a worried aunt still standing by the closed door.

Not that there were very many other places to stand in their little hut.

"We all know full well that if something bad happened to Sakura while she's alone with me, I'd be held responsible even if it really was an accident. That would only cement Machida against me no matter what happened, so that will be plenty of incentive for me to keep her safe. If the villagers can see with their own eyes that I don't hate Sakura over Machida, that will make life a lot easier on both of you, and they will take my word more seriously when I defend her against the ones with nothing decent to say about either of you. It's not your fault that the elders picked a poor way to show that they like me."

"The whole village likes you," Sakura corrected miserably. "They've been making that nice and clear since Machida started taking me on walks."

That hit Haru like a physical blow, and she had to wipe away a tear before it escaped her control. "If they like me all that much," she stated in a voice of iron. "Then they can show it by respecting my wish to let Machida… be with the one he wants." 'I hate my life! I hate doing this! I hate needing to go this far!'

Sakura stared at the brunette like she could see past the other girl's careful guard. "… I don't think I could do this if the situation was reversed."

"But you can talk to him without any trouble," Haru pointed out in depression. "We still wouldn't be on even terms." She stared at the brown skirt covering her lap, knowing that she shouldn't invite disaster with what she had to say next. Yet, with how transparent she had struggled to be so far, she needed to lay down this one rule.

"I'm going to say this now so that I won't have to talk about it later. If… you and Machida…" She swallowed hard, but it did nothing for the lump in her throat or the heavy weight on her heart. "Don't expect me to be at the wedding. That… I won't be able to. Please understand."

Sakura nodded, surprising even herself when she reached forward to clasp the hand that she once thought belonged to her enemy. "Same thing if he marries you instead?"

Haru nodded her response, even though she couldn't shake the feeling that it wouldn't happen, now. Who on earth would bother paying attention to a plain girl like herself when there were girls like Sakura around? She squeezed that hand and did her best to force a smile on her lips. "Then all that's left is telling Hiromi what we're up to. One of the advantages of having a blabber mouth for a best friend is that she'll make sure everyone in the village is too busy talking about our arrangement to bother you or your aunt again. If they do, tell me, and I'll inform them to find a different hobby."

Sakura's smile beamed with gratitude. "You know… I don't think I'd mind losing to you."

Haru managed another weak smile and stood up while keeping their hands clasped. "Tomorrow's laundry day for me. Does noon seem like a decent time to walk with you to the river?"

The other girl nodded happily, also rising to her feet so that she could translate her appreciation with a hug. "I'll see you then. Thank you so much."

Haru's smile seemed a little more sincere this time, and she returned the embrace before letting herself out of the hut after giving the stunned aunt a respectful nod of the head.

Mai couldn't help staring after the young woman through the still open door. "No wonder the elders are convinced she's a noble."