Sakuras family visit home

Sakura had arrived to her family's spacious cherry blossom tree farm. They were allowed visits home for the holidays and so Sakura took her vacation accordingly, but not without her weapon. Sakura was wearing one of her special tailored winter themed Liaota dresses. She was let down from the car by her chaffeur and waited for kinsei to stand next to her. They had about a two mile walk to the residence house. The walk however, was gorgeous. It was lined with the infamous cherry blossom trees, the scenery was breath taking. "Usually I would have my horse Princess waiting for me here, but I wanted to personally walk you to my home." Sakura told kinsei, giving him a smile.

Kinsei climbed out of the vehicle soon after, and spared a moment to stretch. The long plane ride and the car made him feel slightly cramped, because of his height. But it was nice to be back in Japan for a visit. Not to mention the view was spectacular, thanks to the cherry blossoms. As they started on their walk down the path to Sakura's home, the young man couldn't help but look around at the many trees. It was like a sea of pink petals in every direction you could look. As the Meister began to speak about normally she would ride a horse up the path, he let out a soft chuckle and directed his attention back to her. "Well I guess I owe you my thanks then. I might get lost if you went on too far ahead of me."

They passed the little cabins where the workers lived and nodded at them as the bowed to her as she passed them tending the trees. "My family allows the farmers and their families to live on our land. Many of the farmers started out poor and in need of a job so my father brought them in and had them trained. Because of his graciousness the workers work even harder, proud of their job an loyal to my family." Sakura explained to kinsei. Right on que a small group of small children ran up to the pair. They bowed respectfully before they began to speak. "My lady, it is so nice to see you again!" Sakura smiled at them kindly. "We made these from the fallen petals, we want you to have one." The children handed her a flower crown, made from the fallen petals. Sakura placed it on her head and patted the children on the back. "Thank you, it's beautiful. Will you run to the house and let my family know I will arrive after a small trip to the stables?" She asked the children, who shook their heads excited about visiting the family home.

The young man nodded as he listened to Sakura's explanation of the situation with the many workers around the orchard. It surprised him a bit, thinking over the fact that these men and women may be homeless if it were not for the generosity of her family. Most stories he heard about rich people involved them being very cheap and sometimes even mean in regards to their workers. As these thoughts passed through his head, some children had run up and were offering a flower crown to his Meister. While they seemed absorbed in her and weren't paying much mind to him, Kinsei still gave them a rather warm looking smile. It was very sweet of them to give her a gift, especially considering it must have been rather short notice.

He did take note of what Sakura said to the children however, about how they would be taking a small trip to the stables. It didn't take long at all for him to recall that she mentioned usually riding her horse up this path to her home. So as the kids ran off he gently nudged her shoulder, a slight smirk playing across his lips. "Would I be safe in saying that we are about to go see the other princess?" He said, a slight chuckle escaping as he remembered that she had said the horse's name was Princess, and what her own title was as well.

Sakura smiled at Kinsei and laughed. "Yup! She's my best friend!" Sakura took his hand and with surprising speed in her heels took off running towards the stables. You were able to see a glimpse of the main house, which was of beautiful traditional Japanese design.

Soon they arrived at the stables, which were huge and being tended too by more workers. She saw one of her favorite stable men arrive out of the stables, and when he saw her he bowed deeply. He was pretty old looking, but his eyes were filled with joy when he saw Sakura. "HIKARU-CHAN!" She yelped as she let go off kinseis hand and tackled him in a hug. He hugged her back deeply and looked up at Kinsei. "Hello, my name is Hikaru, I tend the horses and other animals here." Sakura let Kinsei introduce himself before speaking again. "The academy lets us come home for the holidays! I brought my weapon partner home with me to meet everyone! I'm so glad I ran into you." She said, obviously fond of this man. He let out a warm chuckle and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Yes my dear Sakura, it seems that the heavens brought you home just in time. I will be leaving the estate soon to retire. My old bones are having a hard time tending to the animals, and I want to spend the remainder of my days with my wife and children." Sakura froze up, sadness clouding her vision. "Your family saved my life my sweet sweet girl. I have given you all that I can give in return. With the money that I've earned now I can afford a home for my family, all because of you." Tears started running down Sakuras face and she nodded, understanding. "I'm.... I'm glad you are going to spend your days relaxing." She said, looking away for a moment. "I would like to see Princess now." And then she grabbed Kinsei and walked into the stables.

Spoiler:

Kinsei let out a chuckle as he was practically dragged towards the stables. Her boundless energy and excitement never ceased to amaze him, almost as if she truly were a child. But before they had truly arrived, Sakura seemed to notice one of the other workers, and raced off to greet him. The young man smiled, and followed behind her as they embraced. As them older man looked to him and introduced himself, Kinsei gave a short bow before responding. "My name is Enkatsu Kinsei, I am a Weapon at the DWMA. It is very nice to meet you." He said, trying to be polite since this man was both his elder and seemed to be very important to Sakura. As if on cue, his partner started to explain they were on vacation for the holidays and that he was in fact her Weapon.

But his smile soon faded as Hikaru revealed he would be retiring, a fact that seemed to cause his Meister a great deal of sadness. Though to be fair, she contained it well. This was a surprise, considering this was the same girl that cried because the line for ice cream was too long. Regardless, when she grabbed his hand and pulled him into the stables, Kinsei wore a look of concern on his face. Though he waited until they were inside and out of view before voicing these concerns. "Sakura... Are you alright? I know it can be hard to say goodbye." He gave her a slight smile, mainly just to let her know that he was there for her. After all, they were partners now, and it was his job to help protect her. He'd always be there for her.

Ooc: I totally understand friend. Being an adult really sucks lol. also I forgot to say, pretend that all of the diolage is in Japanese, I don't have the tools to google translate everything at the moment. So yea, Japanese!!

Sakura turned around with a bright smile, although she had just wiped a tear from her cheek. "It's bittersweet sometimes. My father gives all of our workers the option to leave whenever they like, they aren't slaves ya know? Most of them decide to stay and have families here though. We give them food and a home, not to mention free medical attention." She sighed and looked towards the fields of numerous cabins and trees. "We also pay them though. Sometimes they save up their money and move on.." She leaned up against the wall of the stable. "Hikaru was working for my father when I was born. He wasn't always working in the stables. I don't remember his old job exactly, I was really young. He married one of the garden tenders, they had their wedding here. It was beautiful they waited until the cherry blossom leaves started to fall. I was the flower girl, I remember it was such an honor. He has two daughters who used to play with me when I lived here." Sakura took Kinsei's hand and smiled at him. "But life is about making new friends and cherishing the old right?" Sakura nodded to herself, as if agreeing with her own statement. "Hikari and his family deserve to retire. It just hard to let some people go." And then she leaned again his chest, although just barely because of the height difference.

OOC: I figured on the japanese thing XD It would be a pain to translate everything regardless, so it's no trouble.

Kinsei couldn't prevent a small frown from showing when Sakura turned towards him with a smile on her face. He could tell she was in pain, and that she was just putting on a smile to try and hide it. But as she went on to explain the situation with the workers further, perhaps trying to justify his leaving in her own mind, he sighed and gave a nod ending with his gaze a bit low. But when she leaned up against the stable wall, his eyes rose back up to her face, listening to her recount some of her memories with Hikaru. He could practically feel the warmth of them, as she told him about some of these fond times. It ended rather suddenly though, with her taking his hand and mentioning that life was about making new friends and cherishing the old. Her grasp had surprised him a little bit, but he returned her smile all the same.

He could understand that, it was never good to cling to the past, because no matter what it could never come back. But at the same time, it was important to be able to reflect on your journey, and know where you came from. Especially so you could avoid repeating mistakes. Like all things, balance is key. His musings ended once again when Sakura said that Hikaru and his family deserved to retire, and that it was just hard to let go sometimes. He nodded at that, just before being surprised again as she leaned against him. Kinsei hesitated and looked a bit dumbfounded for just a moment before he wrapped his spare arm around his Meister's upper back and squeezed her gently. "I know what you mean, and I can only imagine how hard it was to not cry in front of your friend like that. You are really strong, Sakura-chan. But you know what? This doesn't have to be the end. Before we leave, you could give him the address to your home in America. You could write to each other."

Sakuras eyes lit up at his suggestion. "Yeah, that's true!" She imagined getting mail from her old friend. That was when she heard a loud neigh from down the stables. Sakura quickly slipped out of the hug and skipped to the source of the noise. A large white stallion with bows and flowers in her hair was there waiting. When she saw Sakura she loudly stomped her hooves and shook her massive head. Grinning she reached out and placed her hand under Princess's soft mouth. If kinsei had seen any magiZine spreads of Sakura, he would instantly reconiquze the horse.

OOC: I thought stallion meant male horse? Oh well lol.

The young man couldn't help but give a warm smile when he saw her expression brighten at the prospect of sending letters back and forth to her old friend. Then a sound came from one of the stalls a bit farther down the stables, and his Meister rushed off towards the source. At least she seemed to have cheered up quite a bit. Kinsei let out a soft chuckle and then followed behind her. It seemed like he was following Sakura a lot these days, perhaps even for most of the time they had been partners. As he got closer and was able to spot the horse, he couldn't help but feel like she seemed familiar. Perhaps he had seen her in a picture before. Regardless, he kept a smile on his face as he approached the two, and spoke softly. "So this must be Princess, huh? She's beautiful. He said, not entirely sure how the animal would react to him, since he would be a stranger.

Princess saw the tall boy and snorted loudly. Sakura had planned on taking the giant horse out to show Kinsei but paused looking at the clock on the wall. Worry suddenly clouded her vision and she spun to face Kinsei. "We are going to be late for dinner!" She grabbed his hand and darted out of the stables, sprinting towards the main estate. The smell of food could be smelt from outside the house and it was obvious dinner was going to be served soon, if not already. Not bothering to explain where they were she swung open the front doors to run into a beautiful older woman. "Mother!" Sakura cried out bowing deeply. Her mother was wearing a beautiful kimono decorated in koi fish. She crossed her arms and sternly looked at her daughter and Kinsei. She was undoubted beautiful, with many of the same features as her daughter. Her brown hair was pulled up into a tight bun. "You're lucky you made it in time. Go change out of your pageant clothing and into proper attire!" She snapped at her daughter, before turning to kinsei and giving him a lighter look. "Please excuse Sakura's foolishness, she understands the customs of our household. You must be her weapon partner, Kinsei if I'm not mistaken?"

Kinsei was a bit startled by the horse's sudden snort, then perhaps even more so when Sakura made an outburst about being late for dinner before grabbing him and running off towards the main house. Of course he had no other choice than to keep up, noticing the smell of food getting stronger as they went. But just as they had arrived and the door was opened, there was a woman who barred their path. A woman who the young man could not help but notice bared some resemblance to Sakura. A fact which was explained with just one word, as his Meister called her 'mother'. Hearing this, and seeing the girl bow, Kinsei bowed his head as well. Hearing the bit of a tongue lashing that Sakura was receiving, the young man winced ever so slightly. That is, until she had been dismissed to change and her mother now directed her attention towards him. Though without the stern look. "Ah, yes. My name is Enkatsu Kinsei. Thank you for allowing me into your home. Also, if anything I am to blame for us running late. Sakura-chan was showing me around the beautiful estate you have here." He said, giving a rather sheepish smile to the lady of the house.

A small smile appeared on her face a she looked at Sakuras blushing face. "It's a pleasure to have you here for that American Holiday. It's custom that we wear formal attire to dinner here, and Sakura had planned ahead and had an outfit prepared for you." Sakura let a naughty smile cross her face, silently thanking her stylist for getting his measurements.

Sakura turned to Kinsei and said softy, "Well I need to go get ready for dinner. I know that there's a spare room prepared for you, right mother?" Sakura said gentley, hoping her mother had cooled down some. "Yes that's correct. Go take that make up off your face - you know how your father prefers you. Don't let him down." And with that Sakura blushed again and bowed, scurrying off quickly.

Her mother offered her arm to Kinsei. "Please forgive my harsh tongue. The only way to get things threw her head is with a firm touch. If you would allow me the honor I will gladly escort you to your quarters. You are more than welcome to stay in your current attire, however we prefer Kimonos for supper." She told him with a much warmer voice as she walked him down the hallway.

Kinsei glanced towards Sakura when he saw her mother smile towards her, a bit confused when he noticed her blushing as a result. Though his attention was brought back to Mrs. Figiota when she addressed him again. She mentioned how it was a custom to wear formal clothing to dinner, and he nodded. He was quite familiar with traditions, since his own family was quite fond of them. But what did manage to surprise him was the mention of how Sakura had arranged for an outfit to be prepared for him. "She did? Well that was very kind of her." As he spoke, he shot a glance over to his partner, the look expressing all the questions he had. Such as when, and also how. The smile that was on her face didn't exactly inspire confidence either.

But then she mentioned she needed to get ready for dinner, and that he should have a room waiting for him. A fact which was ten confirmed by her mother, supplemented with another couple commands before Sakura excused herself. As soon as she was gone, her mother explained why she was acting so firm with the girl, and offered to show him to the room he would be staying in. He nodded and took her outstretched arm while he walked with her. "Thank you, and I suppose I have no issue with changing. I am in your home after all. Have you seen the outfit that she prepared for me?" He said, genuinely curious. Hopefully it would be more tame than her idea to put blue streaks in his hair.

Her mother chuckled as she pulled open the bamboo door to his room. It had a simple, yet serene atmosphere to it. Laid out on the bed was a beautifully tailored kimono. It went from a lovely shade of light blue to white, but upon further inspection the white was actually tons of little snow flakes. "I don't understand the design, although it is quite beautiful." Her mother said softly, looking at the article of clothing. "You'll find a pair of bamboo slippers to wear in the closet." She said as she began to leave the room. "Oh... And when you're finished Sakuras Father would like to speak to you. He's out back, you'll find the place." And she gave Kinsei the same trickster smile Sakura often gave him.

OOC: prepare for the man to man talk lmfao. Also I have no idea how the weather works so let's just assume the trees are in full bloom okay?

Kinsei couldn't help but let out a chuckle as he made a quick inspection of the kimono laid out for him. What had at first looked like a fairly simple gradient turned out to be an intricate design. The meaning of which, was quite plain for him to see. "It certainly seems like it would have taken awhile to make, and you're right. It is quite beautiful. It's an honor to wear something so nice." He said as he picked up the kimono to look it over a bit more closely. As he was doing so however, Sakura's mother explained that her father would like to speak to him, and he was out back. He tilted his head slightly at this, a small look of confusion on his face as he wondered what he would like to speak to him about in private. Or at least he assumed it would be private, otherwise the talk would have likely happened during dinner.

His confusion was only heightened by the look that the woman wore, which reminded him of his Meister quite a bit. Well. she must have gotten her looks and mannerisms from somewhere. "Ah, okay..." He said softly as she left the room, his confusion and curiosity still at their peak. But before he could find out more, he had to change, so he removed his clothes and folded them before laying the set down on the corner of the bed he would be using. They seemed sort of out of place in this expensive home he noticed, but still they were his. Then he changed into the kimono that had been prepared for him before going to find the slippers that she had mentioned.

Once he was all changed, Kinsei let out a soft sigh. He wondered if these clothes really suited him, considering how much they may have cost. But that was a matter for another time, and so he quietly exited the guest room that had been assigned to him and started to walk down the hallway. It wouldn't be long before he made his way through the large home, and found his way to the back in order to find Sakura's father. Once again the young man couldn't help but wonder what he wanted to speak to him about.

Sakuras father was sitting out back, which had a gorgeous view of the trees. When he saw Kinsei he motioned him over to the empty wicker chair next to him. He nodded his head when he sat down and cleared his throat. He was wearing a plain black Kimono, and had his hair tied into a braid which reache down his back. His bead was long and finely trimmed, and although he looked healthy he was really quite old. "Hello Kinsei. I thought a proper introduction before dinner would be more welcoming." He turned to Kinsei and looked him over for a moment. "I just wanted to tell you a little about Sakura. About her family, and about her past." He paused for a while staring out into the trees.

"I met her mother at the same factory I worked at as a young man. I was very poor son. I was struggling to provide for my wife and myself. We often skipped meals to pay the rent. When I found out my wife was pregnant I was beyond myself. How could I afford to support a child while we barely could afford to live ourselves? At the time my wife had found beauty in the cherry blossom trees across the road. No matter how dark things seemed she always found a glint of hope. I had started growing those trees in secret, a surprise for my wife. It turns out I had a knack for growing trees. In the nine months it took for my daughter to be born I had people traveling from all over the area to buy my trees. When we brought our daughter home, a single cherry blossom petal landed on her face. I knew at that moment my future was in the hands of these trees." He paused and looked at Kinsei. "Sakura is the light of my life. From her birth I had became wealthy beyond my wildest dreams. When things got big I hired friends from the same factory I worked at as a young man. It is my goal to instill hope in everyone I meet." He cleared his throat before he continued. "I know my dear daughter has turned spoiled to the core. I don't want you to resent her for everything she has, for her selfishness. Instead when you look at her I want you to remember my tale, remember how she is hope." He pulled out a heavy looking ring. "This was the first wedding band I gave my wife. It's made of brass, and it's all I could afford. I suppose this is the only family heirloom we have." He took Kinsei's hand and placed the ring in it. "I believe on fate my boy. This world is connected, and everyone that comes into our lives has a purpose. It wasn't chance that you met my daughter, it was fate. I trust her life in your hands, and I know she would do anything to protect you. I'm sure she has bought you many things.... All that money she uses she earned by herself. That's her way of showing you she cares. When you look at Sakura don't look at her like the little girl she loves to portray, look at her as a friend, a companion and for who she really is."

OOC: hello!!

(So sorry about this huge delay, kinda talked to you a bit about it. Feel free to pester me on Skype if it ever happens again.)

Kinsei nodded and walked up to the older man when he signaled for him to approach, still not entirely sure what to expect from the conversation. When he mentioned wanting to make a proper introduction, the young man felt understandably relieved. "Ah yes, of course Mr. Figiota-san." Though the conversation seemed to shift rather quickly, and instead the head of this household decided to speak about Sakura, and how the family's wealth came to be. It was certainly interesting, that they had been able to rise from rags to riches in such a short amount of time, and Mr. Figiota seemed to attribute this success to Sakura. No wonder he had bought so much stuff for her, practically gave her the world. He felt that they only had everything they did because of her. When he mentioned that he did not want him to resent her for what she had, or how she could act spoiled, Kinsei quickly shook his head. "Of course not. She is still very caring, and we are a team."

Any further comment on that matter was silenced when the man pulled out a ring. He explained that it was made of brass, and was the ring which he had used to get married to Sakura's mother. As Kinsei looked at the simple band, and Mr. Figiota explained it was more or less a family heirloom, the older man grasped his hand and placed the ring inside of it. The young Weapon gave a rather surprised expression, as it was explained to him that the man believed all that transpired was fate, and that he trusted the young man with Sakura's life. Considering all that he just explained, that truly said a lot. "A-are you sure about giving this to me? It must mean a lot to you." Of course he was taught better than to be ungrateful, so he did close his fingers around it, showing that he would accept. It still surprised him greatly though.

The old man gave him a sly smile and said, "Of course, I trust you will take care of it. Just don't tell Sakura, she will have it covered in dismonds by the hour." He stood up tall and extended his hand to kinsei. "I do believe it is time to eat, shall we?"

The dining area was large and decorated in beautiful plants. Traditional japenese paintings lined the walls and when they entered Sakura, her mother and a few severants were sitting at the table. Two silk pillows remained and her father took the one at the end of the table. The food was rather extravagant and smelled lovely. Sakura gave kinsei a large grin when he sat across from her. Before she could speak her father cleared his throat. "I would like to express my joy of having my beautiful daughter and her partner, Kinsei here with us." He raised a glass of white wine and the table returned the toast. When Sakura raised her glass you could see the sparkle of the friendship bracelets we bought for herself and kinsei. Her mother looked at kinsei as she started passing around the food. "Kinsei, are you going to visit your family this break?"

Kinsei let out a chuckle at the mention of Sakura covering the ring in diamonds, which relaxed into a soft smile as he took the older man's hand, he assumed to shake. Since the idea seemed to be to keep the ring out of sight, Kinsei tucked it behind the belt of his kimono. Too bad they don't tend to have pockets.

In no time, they had found their way to the dining area, and the Weapon took his spot across from Sakura, who seemed to be happy to see him. But before any words left her lips, Mr. Figiota proposed a toast. Seeing everyone else raise their glasses, he gave a polite smile and followed suit, thinking about how much of an honor it was to be here. Not to mention the token he had received from his partner's father as well. Though as the food started to be passed out, Sakura's mother addressed him, asking if they had plans to visit his family. "I haven't really decided yet, honestly. My family is rather set in traditions, and I was sent to the DWMA as a sort of result of that. Some of my family members are not fond of how I am a little different. Of course I am sure my parents would love to see me."

Sakura grabbed a few rice balls from the plate being passed around and dipped it in a little jar of soy sauce. "Well... If you bring em gifts they'd be happy to see us!" Sakura proposed, and then took a huge bite from her soy soaked rice ball. Her mother scowled at hr but her father chuckled. "You are more than welcome to bring your family one of our saplings." Her father said kindly, as he started to pass around the lemon seasoned seared duck. Her mother smiled and shook her head. "You are such a daddy's girl." Sakura beamed at her father who returned a warm smile. "So how far do they live?" Sakura asked him as she finished her third soy soaked rice ball.

Kinsei let out a soft chuckle and shook his head at the mention of bringing gifts. His family didn't really do anything different for the holidays. Though when her father chimed in, saying that he was more than welcome to bring a sapling to them, He smiled and nodded his head. "That is awfully generous of you, but that won't be necessary." He took a moment to take some food from the plates being passed around, taking a bite here and there. Though he had to stop and think for a moment, when Sakura asked how far away his family lived. "Hm... Well, they live in a small community on Rishiri Island. Right near the base of the mountain. So right off the coast of Hokkaido. I mainly remember that everyone I saw, without actually heading into town, was a relative in one form or another. There were a few houses there, none quite as large as this one though. But I remember my parents telling me the houses were very old, built by some of our ancestors. Not sure how long ago though." He took another couple bites of his food, trying the duck as it was passed around. It was all very good.

Sakuras eyes lit up brightly when kinsei described his home. "That sounds beautiful!" Everyone around the table nodded their heads in agreement. "What was it like growing up on an island?" One of the severants asked shyly. Sakuras father smiled at the teenage girl who asked the question. It appeared that the house servants had huge respect for the Figitota family and were anxious about being rude. Sakura was pouring a ginger sauce on her seared duck and she watched Kinsei waiting for his answer.

The young man smiled when Sakura mentioned that where he used to live sounded beautiful. The idea mainly earned a shrug from him, as he had been used to the sight. Though seeing snow on the mountain during a good portion of the year was pretty neat. He was somewhat surprised when another girl who had been seated at the table with them asked what it was like growing up on an island, since he didn't even know her name. But regardless, he smiled and answered her. "It was a bit different. My family was a bit reclusive, mainly keeping to themselves and only going into town to buy food and other essentials, or if someone got sick. The only time I even really remember going to the mainland was when I was first sent to the DWMA, even though you could see the shore from the island. I'd say the biggest bit of excitement was when some of my cousins convinced me that Mount Rishiri was going to erupt..."

Kinsei gave a bit of a meek smile as the last sentence left his lips, somewhat embarrassed that he had believed the long extinct volcano was going to erupt. "We went swimming a lot though, being right by the ocean." Fishing too, but he was never any good at that.