Himari

Much of Himari’s day had been spent going over the tactical plans for the upcoming assault. While not the most interesting thing, it did allow her plenty of time to get more accustomed to Chikao in an environment that wasn’t, well. Him kicking the shit out of her. She appreciated that about him - before he had hit her so hard that she might have been out for months if not for Sakura. Now, he was the tactical mind behind their entire plan.

She had never expected that now, well into the evening, she would have any surprises.. Save maybe a preemptive strike from Makoto’s forces. To have someone coming in to see her, and her mother of all people caused her to damn near fall over in surprise. “Mother?!” The word came out more or less reflexively.

The two stared at each other for several heart beats. Then it was an attack at her midsection that pulled her out of her moment of shock, as Jiro threw himself like an arrow into her stomach. “Himari-chan!” His excited voice rang through the tent as she almost fell over. With her bearings reset, however, she was able to bring herself back to mind enough to lift her brother into her arms and give him a big hug. “You haven’t been home to play in so long!” He chastised. “Mama doesn’t play the fun games that we play.”

“I’m sorry, Jiro-kun,” she laughed. “Your sister has been busy on a very important mission, you know! Trust me, no one I’ve talked to in the last several weeks has wanted to play either. Save Chikao-san here, but his games aren’t nearly as fun as yours.”

Chikao snorted as he placed a hand on Himari’s shoulder and nearly threw her out the tent. “Go! Spend time with your family. We’ll have plenty of time to talk strategy later, girl.”

Himari turned briefly to give him an appreciative smile, before setting Jiro down. “Thank you, Chikao-san. We can finish up tomorrow, I think.”

“Go, girl. Before I change my mind!” Needing no further encouragement, Himari made her way out the tent flap, her family in tow.

She took Jiro’s hand as they walked the camp. She took the lead, walking ever closer to her personal tent. “How did you get out?”

“We played a game,” her mother explained with a bit of a chuckle. “Didn’t we, Jiro-kun?”

“Mama lied to the guards and we pretended to not be us,” Jiro said with a scowl of disapproval. “She says it was necessary, but I think they would have let us go if we just told them we were going camping.”

“Oh, is that so?” Himari looked to her mother with an amused expression. “Dearest mother, you aren’t teaching my littlest brother that lying is okay, are you?”

Kimika let out a defeated sigh. “Put upon by my own children! Does the newest generation know no respect for their elders who came before them?” Her hand reached to her forehead and she swooned dramatically.

“Oh dear mother,” Himari giggled in response, “You know we simply hold you to the same standards that you held us to. Surely you cannot blame my dear brother for expecting you to model the behaviors you expect of him?” She pat Jiro’s head affectionately. “I am glad that you are both here, no matter what you had to do to get here, though. My heart is lightened to know that you both are doing well and away from danger.”

“It was a close thing,” Kimika nodded her head. “If that guard recognized who he was talking to, it’s very likely we would have at least been reported, if not taken to the Castle to stay as Makoto’s ‘guests.’” She shuddered at the words. “She is not a pleasant woman, I assure you of that.”

“Nothing I’ve ever heard about her suggested as such,” Himari shook her head. “Do you have an idea of where you are going? I wouldn’t put you at risk keeping you here with the army once we march, but there are a couple of villages I know of that I think would be able to take care of you well enough.”

“We can talk more about the future later, Daughter. I want to know how you are doing now. I haven’t seen you since the day you left the capital, and I will be damned if I spend all of the precious little time I have with my daughter talking about this coup and all that it has entailed. Please tell me that you have found some joy even in the midst of all this, please?”

Himari flushed at her mother’s chastisement, but she nodded in agreement. “I’m sorry, mother. This war has taken up so much of my time that I have had very little to think of other things. That said, there is one thing I’d like to show you. Come, this way.”

She led the two of them to her tent. “Ah, one second.” Her head popped in so that she could make sure that Sakura was dressed. To her great fortune, her lover hadn’t undressed quite yet. “Hey. We have company,” she said casually.

“Oh?” Sakura’s fox ears perked up in curiosity. “Oh, I do love guests!” She stood up, and Himari opened the tent flap as she stepped outside. Her mother looked curious, while Jiro immediately became distracted by her long, fluffy red tail.

“Mother, Jiro, this is Sakura. She is my…” she paused. How should she describe their relationship? In all that they had been busy to this point, she’d barely had time to define it.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“I am her lover,” Sakura answered with none of the hesitation that caught Himari. “I am so happy to meet you both, Himari says nothing but wonderful things about you.”

Himari flushed as she looked away. She had never talked about her preferences to her mother, and now they were immediately out in the forefront. “I wish I could have told you in a less stressful time, but…”

“Sakura-san,” her mother interrupted her, her voice kept stern and neutral. “My daughter has been taking good care of you, I hope?”

“Oh yes! Himari-chan is a wonderful companion. If anything, she takes much better care of me than she does herself!” Sakura’s smile was as radiant as ever, and for a moment Himari wondered if she missed the tension or was forcing cheer through it. “Your daughter is wonderful, and I like her very much.”

There was a moment of silence. For a moment, Himari thought that Kimika disapproved. But when she spoke again, Kimika was full of joy. “I am so glad.” She approached Sakura and pulled her into a big hug. “Thank you for taking care of my silly daughter, Sakura-chan.”

Himari couldn’t help but let surprise hang over her face. She wasn’t displeased, of course, to see her mother and her lover getting along, but she had no idea that they would get along so readily. She let out a deep breath of relief.

Which did not go unnoticed by her mother as she let go of Sakura. “What, dear Daughter? Did you think I would not approve? I have had lady lovers of my own in my day, you know. Your father and I shared in quite a couple of-”

“Mother!” Himari’s voice became incredulous as she motioned towards Jiro. “Details in front of the child.”

Jiro, however, had not been paying attention. Instead, he was focused entirely on the Kitsune in front of the tent. He pulled gently on her kimono, staring at her.

Sakura looked at him with a delighted smile and knelt down. “Yes, little one?”

“Is that tail real?” He asked with childish wonder.

Sakura grinned, flicking her tail gently into his nose. “You tell me, little one. Does my tail feel real to you?” The boy giggled as her tail tickled against his face, and she grinned widely. “If it pleases, I can play with Jiro-kun while the two of you talk. I sense that you both have much to talk about.” She pushed Jiro along towards the nearby hills, and both Kimika and Himari slipped into the tent.

The tent was a fairly large military tent, well designed to hold four people. One of the privileges Himari had earned as the face of the army was that everyone seemed more than happy to give her just a bit of extra comfort. She couldn’t say she didn’t appreciate it, even if separation from the remainder of the army in this fashion felt a bit unusual. A low table sat in the room’s center, and Himari smiled to see that Sakura had set tea. No doubt for the two of them to share, but it would work for her and her mother for now.

The two sat and took turns pouring for the other. Himari let out a small sigh before she spoke. “I’m sorry, Mother.”

“Sorry?” Kimika’s eyebrow rose in disbelief. “Whatever for?”

“I tried to get to Father in time to save him,” she said, surprised at herself at how bitter she still was about that moment. “I arrived just in time to watch him die. And I couldn’t even avenge him before my friend Maiko rightly stopped me from throwing myself at her.”

“Maiko. You mean that delightful young woman that brought me the message from you the other night?” Kimika smiled. “Remind me if I am blessed to see her again to thank her for saving my daughter.”

“But-”

“Himari, my darling daughter. Every day you prove ever more that you share your father’s inexhaustible dedication to what you think is right. It is a blessing and a curse, both. If you had attacked her in that moment, doubtless you would not be sitting across from me today. And even if you had been able to get there before he had died, do you think you would have been able to affect an outcome he had already planned for?”

Himari’s face blanched. “He… wanted to die there?”

“If Masashi-san can be believed, yes,” Kimika sighed.

“Masashi-san has often shown that one should believe him at their own peril.”

“Very true,” Kimika agrees. “I’ve known him for a very long time, in a great many ways. He was a different man, once upon a time. A man that your father and I loved very much. To see the man he has turned into over the last fifteen years is a burden that I have always resented carrying.”

Himari’s head tilted, and she took a sip of tea to collect her thoughts. “When you say love, do you mean…”

“Yes, he was a part of our family a long time ago. We were involved, in the same way you and Sakura are. He was named your godfather once upon a time, though that was rescinded not long after he became the Imperial Advisor.” Kimika sighed wistfully. “Your father and he would talk for many hours about how they envisioned the Empire developing.”

“What… happened?”

“We all change over time, Himari. He had a husband once, beyond his relationship with us. He was a good man, a soldier who fought along the northern wall. He… died honorably defending a medical tent, or so the tale goes. Masashi-san was never the same after that.”

Himari frowned. She didn’t want to acknowledge that Masashi had anything resembling redeeming qualities. She somehow resented more that he was so intertwined with her family. But she shook it off and sighed. “His past aside, how can I know if I can trust him?”

“Oh, trusting him is a terrible idea, Daughter,” Kimika chuckled. “I wish I could tell you what his plans are, or what he is thinking. But deep down, I know that he did still love your father, and that Kosuke-kun’s death weighs on him heavily. At the least, whatever his plans, I doubt that he plans to betray you.”

“We’ll see,” Himari sighed. Before she could say more, the tent flap opened and Jiro rushed inside. He leapt, and this time Himari was just prepared enough to catch him and spin him easily in her arms.

“Himari-chan!” Jiro intoned. “Sakura-chan is soooo nice!”

Himari looked towards the tent, as Sakura slipped inside and flashed an apologetic smile. Himari smiled back at her, intense affection welling in her chest. “She is, isn’t she?” She took a breath and set Jiro down. “I should get back to the command tent. I’ll be back in a bit. Please, feel free to get to know each other more. I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

Himari rose and left, waving at the trio as she made her way back to the tent. For the first time in a while, something more than the grim determination she’d been carried by warmed her chest.

For the first time in weeks, she dared to let herself hope.