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Listening to the new princess in front of him speak, Tsubaki decided that he quite liked Kamui. She was bringing Lady Sakura out of her shell quite well, and while Kazahana was a little bitter about it Tsubaki could only see it as a good thing. And despite Lord Takumi having being determined to make her feel unwelcome at the start, Kamui seemed to be getting on well with everyone. She took interest in all their opinions, taking on board any ideas they might have for their little group they were slowly building up, and she also had a pleasant air about her. She didn't have that super sweet innocence to her that young Sakura did, but she wasn't as jaded as Lady Hinoka. A little naïve about some things, but level-headed and willing to do what was needed.
She must have felt slightly out of place, an outsider in her birth country, but Kamui made sure to never let it on to others as she spoke. Tsubaki knew what it was like to want to put a perfect facade up at all times, so he felt a small connection to her. The only slightly odd thing was that she was quite demonstrative with how she showed her interest in conversations, often gesturing with her hands and arms, and even occasionally touching others at certain points. It must have been a Nohr thing, as while people in Hoshido weren't completely averse to the touch of their friends and family, they generally were a bit more restrained.
They were currently talking about the weapons cache that they had just picked up, and as Kamui was describing one of the naginatas that she thought he might like, she brushed her hand against his forearm. While Tsubaki thought he had hidden his surprise perfectly, she picked up on it and withdrew her hand, apologising.
“No apologies needed, Lady Kamui, I don't mind~ Are people in Nohr more open with touch like that?” he had asked, trying to see if she'd start talking about where she came from more. Aside from that servant that had joined her, and the cavalier that had originally come to take her back, Kamui had no connection to her old home any more. It must be a bit lonely.
An odd look passed over the lady's face before she had responded, “I'm not sure... my siblings generally allowed it, but they may have been humouring me. They used to let me fix their hair, too... but I think I might offend some people if I did that here.”
“Oh, are you good with hair? Maybe you wouldn't mind trying to fix mine?” he reached up to the odd strand that always refused to stay in place. “This bit is determined to ruin my perfect image – I'd cut it off but I think that might make it worse.”
“Oh no, don't do that, if that's how that hair lies it'll just stick out more when it grows back.” Kamui instructed him to sit down on a cushioned mat and she soon started fiddling with his hair. She knelt in front of him, and it was a little odd to look up into her face as she concentrated so hard on what she was doing. Her eyebrows were tilted down slightly as she worked, and her mouth pursed a bit. It was quite a cute look, really.
He hadn't realised that he had started to drift off slightly, the fingers slipping through his hair being rather relaxing, until she leaned back with a huff. “I'm sorry, Tsubaki, but I can't get it to behave either. It's not standing up quite so straight, but I think a gust of wind will pick it back up again. Let it grow out a bit more and it should stay in your tie better.”
“Ahaha, I guess I should have some point of imperfection after all~ Thank you for your help though, Lady Kamui.” He gracefully stood back up, and offered a hand to the young woman. “I'm happy to have made a friend with Lady Sakura's sister. Feel free to call me if you ever need anything, okay~?”
“A friend...” Kamui's face softened and a bright smile lit up her face as she squeezed his hand lightly in a handshake. “I'm glad to have made a friend, too. I hope we get along well, Tsubaki.”
That face must have imprinted itself into Tsubaki's mind somehow, as he found himself thinking back to it every now and then. Kamui had sounded almost surprised at his words... surely it wasn't so odd? She must have had many friends back home, with her personality and kindness. Perhaps she missed them, and was just happy to make some new ones. He hoped he would be able to make her smile like that more in the future; it had given her face such a beautiful glow.
Kamui seemed to be getting on with more and more of those in their little group. Even people like Rinkah and Saizou were unable to escape her attention, and her attempts to get to know everyone seemed to prompt better relations between the group as a whole. It appeared to be deliberate as she soon started getting them to pair up during their battles, and of course the better you knew someone, the better you could fight with them. It was a solid tactic, and Tsubaki found his respect for the woman grow even further.
In fact, he was determined to impress her, and to make her confident in asking for his assistance in battle if she required it. During the battle in the Wind Village, Tsubaki swooped beside her to offer a lift, and just as she said yes he slipped an arm around her waist and hefted her onto his tenma's back, keeping her legs free of the beating wings. She shrieked in surprise at first, clinging to his shoulders, but soon was laughing as they skimmed past the axemen and other fighters. He landed the mare briefly in a clear spot for Kamui to jump off, and she grinned up at him. “A little warning next time, but thank you! You helped out a lot.”
“Just call for me again if you need~” Tsubaki sung out as he nudged his tenma away from the already shifting sand as Kamui manipulated the ground beneath her, and doubled back to Kazahana and Lady Sakura.
It didn't take long for him to realised that he was developing something of a crush on the Nohr princess, when his first reaction to her sparing the life of the sorcerer who had tricked him was thinking how benevolent she was, rather than what a risk she was taking. This was only reinforced when the wayward Lord Takumi was shaken out of his stupor and Kamui had immediately forgiven him his transgressions. It was a sweet feeling, thinking of someone and only being able to come up good points.
Of course, he had had similar thoughts before, though none so easily validated by the person in question. That said, Tsubaki didn't believe that this small crush would develop into anything further, so he was happy to let it be... and to try and get all he could out of his interactions with the princess. He had worked out that Kamui would be coming through the training grounds at this time today, so he'd made sure he was mostly done with his routine just as she came by. Sure enough, he heard her comment on his form, and he turned around with a perfect smile in place to greet her...
---
… oh gods, could that have gone any worse?! Tsubaki was surprised she hadn't started laughing right there on the spot! Ah, that just showed how compassionate and thoughtful Lady Kamui was. But this only meant that he had to hurry back to his lodgings before she came back out, just in case she might try and talk to him again. Not that she should with such a screw-up like him, but oh... how could his body betray him like that? He thought he had worked out exactly how much food he needed for his energy and nutritional needs, but apparently he hadn't gone over his calculations enough times. Barely taking time to set his gear by the door, he threw himself to the small table in his room and pulled out some paper and ink. Time to redo his notes.
One issue with his new training schedule was that he had less spare time, but it wasn't too much of a problem. He was still able to see to his tenma's care, which was the most important thing, and he got the perfect amount of sleep almost every night, so it was fine. And if this meant that he had less chance of running into Lady Kamui, well... it was a shame, but needs must. He crossed by her during battles, of course, ever willing to be of assistance, but he didn't talk to her directly until she managed to corner him and found him eating his third snack of the day. He hadn't realised how much she had worried about him and his reaction, and he did his best to hide his own reactions to that. After promising to stop his current regime of constantly eating and training, he escaped back to his lodgings once more to think over the conversation. To think that Lady Kamui had been concerned over him that much...! But, she would have the same concerns about any member of her group. Absolutely no need to over-analyse it. He shook his head to dismiss any daydreams and pulled out the latest list of supplies that had come in, to see if he could reorganise them more efficiently.
He didn't get a chance to interact with her much more until they were making their way over to Nohr, and the ship they were on was ambushed by seemingly undead spirits. They were physical enough to deal damage, however, and Kamui quickly set himself and Lady Hinoka to prevent the wyvern riders from sneaking up behind them. Once he got back to the ship, small gusts of wind were rushing along the deck to prevent the front enemies coming in too quickly, but it was also causing his tenma to struggle to move any distance. He landed her somewhere where he was able to defend her if need be, and watched out for any enemy units. As it turned out, a Golden-Kite warrior spotted him and started to make their way over. Not wanting them to get in range of the mare, he shouted at her to stay put and ran out with his naginata. He wasn't as great using it on the ground as Oboro, but he wouldn't make a fool of himself at least. It was only when he got close enough that he noticed there was another one coming in behind, and he let out a soft curse. He dodged the stab of the first one easily, but he hadn't realised that the second one was lining up their bow until it was too la--
A figure jumped in front of him, sword up and cape obscuring his vision for a moment as he heard the sound of an arrow deflecting off the blade. When realised who it was, he cried out “L-Lady Kamui! Are you okay?”
“Hah, that's my line.” She shifted to stand at his side, staring at him. “Why are you on the ground? Is your temna okay?!”
“Oh, she's safe, I just didn't want her to get stuck in the winds.” He shifted his grip on his weapon, watching them out of the corner of his eyes. “I didn't think that these guys would make it here, though.”
Kamui had an apologetic look on her face. “I knew you and Hinoka would be stuck here, so I doubled-back to get the last plume up, but it seems I wasn't in time... I'm sorry.” Before Tsubaki could reject the apology, the enemy swooped back in and forced them to concentrate on the fight. Obviously the princess was a good fighter, but he was surprised just how well they fought together. With his naginata Tsubaki had the longer sweeping reach while Lady Kamui was able to weave her blade Yatogami with speed and agility. They were... well, perfect together, and quickly finished off their foes.
The battle as a whole didn't take much longer, and he noticed that the veteran Yuugiri had joined them, which had probably helped. After walking with him to where his temna was waiting, Kamui gripped his arm gently before running back to the fore of the ship. Tsubaki found himself staring after her for quite a while, and it wasn't until his mare nudged him impatiently that he laughed at himself and remounted.
---
After they had rejoined with the Crown Prince Ryouma, the army made their way back to their hidden barracks for some recuperation. After Kamui had taken the time to speak to each and every one of them privately – including with Tsubaki during which he ended up letting some of his fears about being seen as imperfect out, was almost overwhelmed at her offer to help, and ended up running off again – they were all able to have some time to themselves.
There was currently a sun shower coming down from the heavens, so taking advantage of the warm conditions he took his tenma out to an open area and started grooming her. Tsubaki was wearing his spare hakama and gi, which were loose and easier to clean than his usual uniform, and since the rain would mess it up anyway his hair was loose. He was currently pulling out old malting feathers near a wing joint when he heard his name being called. Looking out from under the wing, the sight he saw made his throat tighten.
Kamui had borrowed one of Lady Hinoka's yukatas and was also holding an old umbrella up to keep the rain off. Neither had any extraordinary patterns on them, and Kamui's hair wasn't done up in any particularly fancy way, and yet she looked stunning. “L-Lady Kamui~ you're looking lovely today~”
“Oh, um, thanks... the weather is so nice, despite the rain, I thought I'd try wearing something... comfortable.” Tsubaki noticed that she was staring at him, and only just remembered that his chest was bare, having let his upper clothing slide off earlier as he'd warmed up.
Without making it seem like he was hiding, he moved back to the tenma's wing and stroked along the secondary feathers. “It is nice, isn't it? It certainly makes grooming Tomoe easier – I hate having to use cold water on her~”
“Tomoe... oh, that's her name?” Kamui walked up cautiously, and while Tsubaki knew that his mare was very well behaved, he watched their interaction carefully. Once they had a master, tenma were fiercely loyal, and rarely allowed anyone else to touch them afterwards. Yet Kamui's upturned palm was sniffed with grace, and the hand that carefully stroked along Tomoe's neck didn't earn a flinch; not even an ear flick.
“She's so soft, I didn't really notice that one time you dragged me up on her,” Kamui shot him a small grin. “No doubt thanks to your thorough care of her.”
“I try my best~” They spoke for a little while longer before Kamui excused herself, and he finally came out from behind Tomoe's wing. The tenma gave him an unimpressed look and he laughed.
“Sorry I stopped grooming you, but Lady Kamui is important you know~” He stroked her forehead and she leaned into it. “You seemed to like her yourself, huh... do you approve?” The snort that was her reply could have meant anything – or nothing – so he just sighed happily and got back to work.
He knew his personality sometimes came across as condescending and arrogant, a consequence of his background and how that drove his need to be perfect in everything. It had certainly made his relationship with Kazahana strained at times, though Lady Sakura seemed to see through it enough to know that he always meant well. But with Lady Kamui, it was like she didn't even notice that unfortunate part of him. And after seeing how Tsubaki could react when things didn't work out and cast him in a bad light, she still sought him out. Still talked and joked with him, touched his arms and fixed his hair. Before he knew it, they had become quite good friends; he was happy about this, and yet....
“It's odd... if it's you, I'm able to let my imperfections show,” he had said once, and she had only smiled brightly and looked pleased as she rubbed his cheek. If he wasn't careful, he might soon let it slip just how much he had come to care for her.
Should he really keep hiding it, though? Tsubaki's upbringing, along with instilling the need to live up to the family's reputation, had also given him a great sense of honour and conduct. It was one thing to hide flaws and have the perfect facade up, but was hiding one's feelings the same thing? He was willing to admit that in part his pride was holding him back, because he was sure she would not hold similar feelings, and to confess and be rejected would almost be too much. But... considering how she talked to him now even with all she had seen... there was a small chance, maybe...
Right. It was decided. He was going to tell her. Tsubaki worked out the next time he would be able to find her alone, and started to mentally prepare himself. He tried not to think too much on what might happen should Kamui respond favourably, but he couldn't help but imagine her reaching out to him... and him finally reaching back.