Kagero's Day Off

#FEHAprompts10

I'm not good at things, but imma try anyways, lol. Also, idk if this technically fits the criteria, but here goes.

Also, fair warning, there's a bit of Kagero x Me in here. Yes, I'm essentially writing my own fanfiction, sue me.

"Kagero," a stern voice called out to her, "do you have a moment?" She turns and immediately gets on one knee and bows her head.

"How may I serve you, milord?" she asks. He shakes his head in mild discontent, but smiles wryly.

"Stand up," he orders, his tone more friendly than it was a moment ago. She does so before he continued: "I'm impressed that you're still so loyal and steadfast, despite our new surrounds here in Askr. I've seen you fight and work hard, on and off the field of battle." Kagero started to turn slightly red, despite her best efforts to hold it back.

"I've done nothing special, milord," she responds, "I'm merely satisfied that you appreciate my work.". Ryoma smiles.

"That I do; and to reward you for that work, I ask that you take a day off."

"I cannot do that, I'm afraid," Kagero retorts. "If I assume you mean tomorrow, I am meant to participate in a raid of sorts. Apparently armies across the realms are to fight off a dark manifestation of Princess Eirika of Renais-".

"Someone can go in your place. In fact, I've already made arrangements with Summoner Kima," Ryoma stated, Kagero taken aback from the news.

"Then, certainly there's something else-" she was cut off before she could finish the thought.

"I understand your position, Kagero, but I need you to be in top form." Ryoma eyes her, and notices a bruise on her arm. She attempts to conceal it, but it was too late. "And considering your attitude right now, I'm also concerned about your mental state." Their eyes locked, and for the first time in years, Kagero felt fearful of her liege. "If you do not accept the day off willingly, I will order you to do so. This means no missions, no raids, no castle work, no training. It matters not what you do, but you will take your mind off work for the day. Do I make myself clear?"

Kagero didn't know how to respond to this. Loyalty to her liege always came first, but bot doing anything for an entire day made her feel useless to the team. Feeling compromised, she simply acknowledged Ryoma's "order" with a nod.

The Next Morning

She sat near the top of the hill, attempting to capture the moment on her canvas: a sunrise over the horizon, flowers blooming near the base of the hill, trees holding the sun like a tender cradle for a young day. Despite her beat efforts, however, her concentration broke multiple times, thinking about what she could be doing: checking on food storages, performing recon, taking the battle to the enemy, or even something as simple as doing laundry. After a fifth moment of hesitation, she placed down her brush in surrender on a piece of cloth beside her, and looked off into the distance, the breeze trying to use her hair to hide her sad eyes.

"So you've been here, have you?" Kagero turns her head to see the summoner walking towards her, their cloak and hood still concealing their face. Kagero simply looks back at the horizon, the air stiff, atmosphere heavy. He let's loose a heavy sigh before sitting a few feet from her. He leans back in an attempt to see her painting, but only a few strokes were made on the canvas, nothing resembling the sight in front of them.

"I suppose you're not motivated to do much, are you?" She nods. It was in this moment that Kima properly saw Kagero: she was now wearing a white blouse with small frills around the collar, having the Hoshidan insignia on the back, albiet hidden by her combed hair, a black skirt with two thin vertical dark crimson stripes, one on either side, that reached about four centimeters below her knees, and a dark butterfly hairpin being used to hold her back instead of the hair tie she typically wore. The fabric used for her outfit seemed brand new, and freshly sewn together with care. Seeing her in something new brought a smile to his face.

"I heard you were taking a day off, but I thought you would still wear your typical outfit," he commented. Kagero's eyes still hadn't moved, but her mouth finally did.

"I originally did out of habit, but Oboro insisted on making me something more... casual, as she put it. Something to better relax in." She readjusted her collar, though it seemed out of nervousness rather than discomfort. "I apologize. It must be strange to see me like this." Kima chuckled a little, which took Kagero by surprise, turning to him almost in shock. He wasn't normally one to make of people, so why would he...?

"Strange, perhaps, but not because it's bad." He turns to her and gives her a warm and gentle smile. "Personally speaking, I think you look beautiful." This causes Kagero to blush a little, looking away to hide it. Kima, however, laughed a little at her embarrassment, finding it cute. He seized the opportunity to shift closer to her before talking again.

"I know you aren't fond of doing no work today, especially considering how much you do for the army, but I sincerely believe that you deserve a little bit of down time, recuperate and de-stress." She let her eyes meet with his, mildly confused.

"Recuperate? I can tell you without doubt that I feel fine," she tells him. "I find this wholly unnecessary." Kima's eyes narrowed, his face now stern, but was filled with visible concern.

"Then explain your performance two days ago." He swiftly but gently takes her hand and turns it a little, revealing the bruise. "This is from a battle that you could've avoided if you let Hana take care of it. One you know she could've handled." He looks her dead in the eye. "And don't think I didn't see you stumble when transporting weapons to the barracks. I already told you that you should ask for help when doing that." Kagero let her eyes fall to the ground.

"I'm sorry. I will not make the same mistakes. I simply wanted to help everyone, and do what's asked of me."

"And ignore yourself in the process?" His voice was raised, almost about to grab outright. "You can't do that! There's only so much you can do before you wear yourself out, and become literally incapable of doing anything for anyone. I don't want that to happen to any of our allies, especially you!" Expecting to pushed away, he embraces her; surprised, she simply sat there, incapable of saying anything in response to such genuine concern. She felt warm... and somewhat happy. What was this feeling she had? Before she could think of anything, Kima pulls away, grabbing a kettle from behind him.

"Today is your day to relax, so I decided to try my hand at making green tea," he states, grabbing a couple of glasses for the two of them, pouring a small amount of tea for each. "I apologize profusely if I messed it up." He holds up his glass, readying it for a toast. "To you, for all you do, and to a nice day of relaxation."

Kagero takes a moment to analyze the situation as is. It's true, her allies cared for her, and her liege Ryoma and others close to her did periodically check on her, but nothing to this extent had ever been done. At the very least, not in a long while. She was scared of letting down her guard, something she found it difficult to express, especially now that people were going of their way to try and help her, make sure she was okay. Now, she was sitting in such a beautiful sunrise, side by side of someone she originally thought nothing more of a tactician. Something about him, however, made her at ease. Perhaps it was his gentle smile, or maybe his soft demeanor. The warm embrace, or even his ability to go out of his way to aid even strangers. She didn't know for certain, but for the first time in many years, she gave a tiny smile, and lifted her glass.

"To me," she confirmed, "and to you as well, Summoner". The two glasses clanged together and they both took a sip of the bitter drink. She was impressed by the tea, despite it being his first time making it. He let loose a small chuckle.

"Not bad for something I normally detest," he said, putting down the glass. "Anyways, I would like to request that you drop the formalities with me." He looks at her with a smile. "We're allies and friends after all." She shakes her head.

"I'm not normally comfortable with it," she says as she looks towards the sun, almost free of the horizon, "but since you request it of me, I will consider it..." she looks down in embarrassment as she whispers, "K-Kima." His smile grows bigger upon hearing this.

"Haha, then maybe we should walk around town together and let you get used to it a little." She smiles, unsure whether she meant it or did it out of courtesy.

"I... would like that."

An Hour Later

The town was abuzz, many of the townsfolk taken aback by the Summoner visiting with a Hero beside him, especially shocked by Kagero in her new outfit. The stares made her uneasy, expecting one of them to jump out and attack. Without her dagger, however, she wasn't sure how well she could protect them. Kima turned, about to speak, but noted the air around her, her body a little stiff. He envelops her hand with his own, speaking softly in attempt to ease her mind.

"Don't worry right now," he says. "They're simply not used to you being more... well, I would say relaxed but that's technically not true." Kagero nods, as he continues: "Just ignore them for right now. I got a nice place to show you." He leads her by the hand towards a food stand, selling something she had seen before.

"Sweet rice dumplings... how on earth did they recreate Hoshidan delicacies here in Askr?" Kagero was taken by surprise by it, but he had already gotten an order of it, and led her to small area where they could sit down and eat.

"It was actually Sakura's idea," he finally answered. "Soon after I started summoning more and more Heroes here, Sakura proposed introducing everyone to the cultures of their homelands. The natural first step was food." He visibly struggled as he attempted to pick up a dumpling with chopsticks. "Because we somehow managed to find different ingredients for these foods not only from across Askr, but from the Heroes' homelands when they arrived, we managed to start introducing them to other Heroes, and then eventually businesses started selling them." He turns to Kagero, who had yet to touch one. "They may not be perfect recreations of what you eat in Hoshido, but I felt like you might want a taste of home."

She begins to eye the dumplings, unsure of whether it was worth trying or not. Feeling Kima's anticipation burn through her skull, however, she takes one and bites into it. The sweetness of the the red bean within filled her mouth, almost like ecstasy. The rice dough of the dumpling itself was a perfect counterbalance for the filling. She took her time chewing, but it was obvious to Kima that she was enjoying it.

"I'm glad you like it." His eyes dart around towards the stands. "Would you like me to fetch some tea? I hear sweets go great with it." She smiles and nods, allowing herself to enjoy the dumpling further. She began to think about how she's not on the battlefield today like she would like, but somehow it didn't bring her sadness. Surprised by this realization, she swallowed, and looked at the remaining dumplings. This was unusual for her, to feel no sorrow, pain, or dishonor for doing nothing that day. Yet, somehow, she felt at ease.

She looked around at the surrounding area, getting herself acquainted with the many stores and vendors, foods and items from across the realms, people and Heroes roaming the streets in peace of one another. She even noticed Xander and Sakura, royalty of countries destined to clash, speaking as if a bloody feud didn't exist. Her eyes finally rested on Kima who was smiling as he ordered the tea. She felted a warmth go off within her, a smile crept onto her face.

She thought to herself: Perhaps... today won't be so bad.

To be continued... maybe. Probably. Not. Idk. You decide.

Also, to be true to this story, I will actually not use Kagero for the 17th (tomorrow). She deserves a break, after all.