Chapter Text
“Kizashi!” Sakura hears her mother call from inside the shop. It’s nearly noon, which means they’re about to open for the day. Sakura caught on to their schedule a long time ago, despite her age. Her mother and father always did compliment her on her observation skills.
She could hear her father’s footsteps descending the stairs, followed by the sound of the window shutters opening, signalling to anyone outside that they were now open for business. Most days, like today, Sakura’s mother would give her small tasks to keep her busy throughout the day.
Carefully, Sakura lifts the watering can in her small hands, and goes about watering the plants in their wayward garden. It was the only job outside that her mother trusted her to do alone. Anything that involved direct contact had to be supervised, she was told, since some of the flora they grew could be harmful and sometimes fatal.
Watering the plants wasn’t the most exciting thing to do, but Sakura much preferred having to do this task on a day as busy as this. She can hear the front door opening and closing, and the muffled voices filling the shop as she makes her way towards the back of the garden. Otherwise, she would be running around helping her dad package customer’s orders. She has meet the most interesting people with that job; inner city knights, travelers, and local citizens alike. But today, she could do without all the prodding comments and questions that came with them.
A noise startles Sakura out of her thoughts, and she nearly drops the water can in her surprise.
She thinks about what her mom would say as she fixes her grip on the can and assumes the noise is from an animal. Their garden often plays host to the occasional bird or rodent, much to her parent’s annoyance. The rustling sounds again. Sakura walks back to the entrance door, trading her water can for a broom- her mother’s usual weapon of choice.
Now armed and ready, she makes her way to the back of the garden, keeping a lookout for a sign of whatever it is that’s rummaging through the bushes and shrubs.
Her intense focus makes her eyes cross, and she giggles as the garden seems to go in an out of focus, doubling everything. She starts at the sound of the rustling again, now coming from right in front of her. She makes her eyes focus on the hakura-nishiki hedges before her, and sees a pair of eyes behind the leaves staring back out at her.
She shrieks as she jumps back, the broom in her hands just missing her feet as it falls to the floor. After a beat, she grabs for the broom again, using her strength to sloppily swing it over her shoulder and hit the hedge. The branches jump, releasing leaves and twigs onto the floor.
Her heartbeat thuds in her ears as she waits, frozen in place and waiting for whatever- whoever - was in the bush to come out.
“I didn’t mean to scare you- hey-!” Sakura’s feet slip on the damp leaves as she tries to get away from the source of the voice behind her. Something scratches her arm as she falls, and it burns despite not drawing blood, like a brush from a tree branch. She lands on the stone floor, wincing at the impact.
She anticipates an attack, but there is none. Slowly, the tension begins to seep out of the air, and her heartbeat grows slower. She chances a peek from behind her arm. Without thinking, her surprise has her lowering her arm to better see the girl standing before her.
She couldn’t be much older than Sakura herself, with shoulder length light blond hair, striking blue eyes, and a round face. Her arm outstretched, she seemed as if she was about to reach out to Sakura before they heard a call “Sakura!” come from behind the door. “What is going on in there?”
Sakura could hear her mother’s footsteps coming closer before the door opened, Mebuki’s eyes finding her, and the damaged hedge, instantly. “What on earth were you doing in here?”
Sakura quickly turns to the girl as explanation, but there is no one else with her anymore. She frantically looks around the garden for her, but sees no one but her mother. “I…”
“Come inside, Sakura, that’s enough time in here for you today.”
“But…” Sakura doesn’t know what to say and her weak protest falls short as her mother ushers her through the door. She hears the broom clang on the stone tiles, and looks just in time through the closing door to see the hedges rustle, and a foot disappearing back into the leaves.