#Sakura Kusakari

[ffxivaltaholic]

Prompt #16: Crane

“I admit... I am rather curious why they chose to summon us so formally...” Glancing up to her fiancé, the small Raen fiddled nervously with her sleeves, to the point he reached out to quell her anxious fidgeting, placing a gentle hand atop hers.   “I’m sure it’s nothing bad, just relax... It’s your parents, it can’t be that concerning.” Granted he understood why she was panicking a bit, as her mother was quite ill.  The summons had arrived that morning and since receiving the letter Ame had been an emotional flurry, radiating stress and worry. “But what if she’s getting worse? What if it’s reached that point.. I just I can’t...”  Her stutters were suggesting a minor panic attack and immediately Kaze picked her up in his arms, lifting the small woman with ease and holding her tightly to his chest. Thankfully today he was not wearing armor, especially the spikey kind. “It’s fine, if it was something like that they would have summoned us immediately, instead of for dinner.” Thankfully the Raen man was very composed and calm, as was his nature, and as a result it seemed to soothe his panicked mate.  “Now lets get ready to go. No more stressing out, we have an hour before we have to leave.”  That was enough time for Ame to get ready and as she finally relented her worries, Kaze lowered her to the ground, giving one last supportive squeeze before releasing her from the embrace.  With a sigh, he watched the little blonde Raen take off to their room to prepare.

Thankfully, it seemed the small Raen woman had worked out much of her anxious energy on getting ready, exiting the room in a lovely red dress and giving a little twirl.  Red was not normally her color, but it was to stunning of an outfit to pass up, and she had bought it regardless of the color. To Kaze, the red was stunning, though he was biased in favor of the color.  “You look lovely.” He barely got the words out as she practically leapt into his arms, smiling gently. “You always know how to cheer me up.” She gave a tiny chuckle and a gentle kiss, enjoying the peaceful moment before he put her back down.  Taking a deep breath Ame soothed her rising worries as best she could, trying to ignore the nervous butterflies in her stomach.  “Shall we then?” With a small sigh and a nod, Kaze took hold of her hand, leading his mate out and into the fading light of the day.

When they arrived Ame was already a ball of worry, and despite her partner’s words of comfort, her attention immediately went to her mother the moment they came into sight.  “Dad! Mom! Good evening.” She picked up pace, immediately going to the frail woman’s side first. Giving a glance over her mother from head to toe, it seemed today was a good day as far as her illness. While she looked exhausted and pale, Sakura didn’t appear to be in much pain. Meanwhile her father greeted Kaze and offered him a seat, letting his wife and daughter have a moment.  Once he noticed Ame calm down after confirming her mother’s condition, the elder Raen motioned for her to take a seat as well.  “Thank you both for coming.” While Kaze seemed at ease, Sadasuke could see Ame fidgeting and for a moment the man simply sipped his tea before finally continuing.  “I know you are busy, but your mother and I wanted to give you something.”

Immediately the stress left Ame’s face, and her father gave a tiny smile. “Oh? That is unexpected.” Kaze spoke quietly, filling his own cup with some green tea and watching intently.  Giving a nod, Sadasuke turned to his wife and extended a hand, waiting patiently while she retrieved a wrapped item from her lap. “Perhaps but, Sakura and I felt this was a suitable gift, since you will soon be wed.”  Placing the wrapped box on the table, he waited patiently for the pair to open it.  While Kaze was curious, he motioned gently for Ame to do the honors, and after a moment to admire the beautiful fabric, she gently untied the bow, pulling back the silk and uttering a small gasp.   “Ah... I remember this...” It was something she had seen many times growing up and had always loved looking at.  Made from a fine wood and stained a dark cherry red with two cranes done in various tones of cream, sandalwood, and pink dyed wood. The box was pristine, despite surviving the dangerous trip from Doma years ago.  “You’re giving it to us?” Both of them knew how precious this item was to her parents so it was a bit of a shock to have it passed onto them.

“Yes...” Her mother, Sakura, spoke with a gentle tone.  “It was given to us on our wedding day. The two cranes painted on the top, they represent longevity, peace and good fortune. Something we wish for you both.”  Very gently Kaze picked up the box and key, examining it with great care.  “Thank you for such a thoughtful gift. We will certainly cherish it.” Carefully he handed it to Ame so she could hold it as well, though the look on her face suggested that it hadn’t quite sunk in yet that the item was theirs now. “Your mother always kept her most precious items in it, and I hope you will do the same. Please open it.” Sadasuke sat patiently, shifting to reach out and take his wife’s hand. At his urging, Ame gently took the key and turned it, the lock easily coming open.  As she lifted the lid, the Raen uttered a small gasp.  “It’s beautiful... Dad...” She gave a little sniffle, trying not to cry.  “I love it...” Ame choked out a few more words before she reached up to rub the budding tears from her eyes. “Every girl deserves to feel like a princess on her wedding day.” Sakura chimed in, offering a sweet smile.  “Our girl is no different. We may not be nobility anymore but... We wanted you to feel like royalty.”  She offered a gentle smile, watching as Ame plucked the necklace delicately from the box, the stones glittering in the low light. Ame knew it must have cost a small fortune, but it would be rude to not accept such a gift, even if it felt overwhelming.   “Thank you...” Her voice cracked and a few tears snuck through. Immediately Kaze reached over to wipe them away, chuckling at his bride’s emotional reaction.  “Try it on.” He encouraged and reached over to help with the clasp, giving a nod of approval as the necklace sat perfectly on her collarbones.   “Perfect. It is worthy of such a fine young woman. I am proud of you both.” Sadasuke gave an approving nod, and while the grizzled old Raen rarely smiled, tonight he managed one.  “I hope you have an enduring and loving marriage like your mother and I.” Sakura nodded to his words, beaming with joy at her daughter and soon-to-be son-in-law.  “As for you Kaze, your gift will be delivered tomorrow. Please keep and eye out for it.” Despite giving that bit of information, he did not specify what the gift was, deciding to leave it for a surprise. “Shall we enjoy the dinner before it gets cold?” Sakura decided to shift the subject, if only to save her precious daughter from crying again.  “We ordered a special Udon for the occasion.”

[ffxivaltaholic]

👤👤 (any of your choosing!!)

Lets talk about DADS! While tragedy is not lacking for some of my characters, for these two, they avoided the trope of 'orphaned' and still have both parents alive and mostly well.

Tsirae & Venai Dariustel:

While Tsirae is the youngest of four, and a bastard born, he is the closest with his father Venai. The two have always gotten along, and recently his father has passed on the family business to him, much to the ire of his brothers and step-mother. Venai is an older Elezen, nearly his 70s and many years retired from the war. Once a Knight, he served house Fortemps and fought for many years before an injury to his knee and ankle ended his career as a Knight. Now he spends much of his time on the Jewelry business and prying into Tsirae's personal life like a father does. Over all they have a fantastic relationship and together they located Tsirae's birth mother and melded a long damaged relationship. Overall he's a stubborn hilarious old man with a love of terrible jokes and harassing his son. The man has an excellent eye for gems and precious metals, and he likes to enjoy the finer things in life, as well as spreading that wealth and joy when he can, despite protests from his terrible wife. More recently he's had a hand in the Ishgard restoration, as well as opening a shop there. ---------------------------------------

Ame & Sadasuke Kusakari

Ame is the only child born to Lord Kusakari and his wife, due to an illness that Sakura suffers from. While Sadasuke can be a stoic and crass man, he's a good father and dotes on his little girl when he is able. Heavily invested in the Doma Resistance, he is rarely home, but even so Sadasuke tries to make some time for his family when he can. Having lived through Garlean occupied Doma, he is very protective of his wife and daughter, and has enlisted a few of the family's samurai to always be on the properties to keep them safe, especially as Sakura's illness progresses. At times Sadasuke can be a bit cold and unwelcoming, but he was raised as a Lord and his demeanor displays that regularly. During a conflict he lost his left eye and a back portion of his left horn. While he would like to one day retire, Sadasuke is aware that in order to have a better world for his daughter, he had to keep fighting as long as he could.

[ffxivaltaholic]

Father & Mother

A friend of mine made versions of his character’s parents and so it inspired me to do the same.  Here is Kusakari Sadosuke and Kusakari Sakura, the still living parents to my Raen healer, Ame.  There’s a fairly large age gap due to it being an arranged marriage between noble families, but over the years her parents have bonded closely.  Unfortunately as her mother is quite ill, she is often restricted to a wheelchair and at times, Ame’s father will carry her mother places so she doesn’t miss out on wonderful things in life. While Sadosuke is a war weathered man, when it comes to Sakura and Ame, he is gentle and kind.