Reborn as Sakura and Hinata: Lost in the Wind (Part 2)

Inked Up

"Careful, Pearl."

Keeping my attention off of the constant swaying of the boat beneath my feet and the crystal blue waters that threatened to swallow me if I so much as stumbled and instead on the strong arm being offered to me, I grasped Takumi's hand and jumped as he gave a solid pull to bring me to safety.

"Thank you~!" I breathed a sigh of relief, turning to watch with some envy as Kaia stepped effortlessly off of the boat with her toddler in her arms and without the slightest bit of help from her husband. Curse my still very much deep-seated fear of water.

Takumi smiled, letting my hand go and replacing his on my back, "You did very well, Sakura. I think you're getting better with sailing!"

I looked up at him hopefully, "You think so?" I was inclined to believe he wasn't just trying to humor me because Takumi seemed like the kind of guy that was too genuine to give a false compliment.

His now wider grin cemented as much, "Of course! You were a great help with steering."

Kaia nodded her agreement, giving my hair a motherly stroke, "Your determination is admirable, and I only hope it'll rub off on Hamako. She can be so hesitant at times."

As if to prove her mother's point, the small child had her face buried in Kaia's shoulder, probably wary of the new surroundings and looking for safety. What did I know though, I still didn't know all that much about children, even if I had gotten better at handling them thanks to Beth's brothers.

"Why're you hiding, huh?" All the same, I guess it wouldn't hurt to try and interact with her, and I popped around Kaia to try and see the toddler's face, "You aren't going to see anything interesting like that."

Hamako stayed stubbornly put, Kaia rubbing her back with a laugh, "She'll perk up eventually; boat travel tires her sometimes."

"She'll learn a love for the sea eventually." Takumi gave a confident nod, ruffling his daughter's hair and moving for the town.

I couldn't help but feel a little bad still, and, so, I gave our surroundings a brief scan to try and determine if there was anything interesting about. Besides the expansive river that emptied into the ocean a ways down, the outside of the wooden town was surrounded by, well, woods... and not much else.

I gasped, an idea occurring to me, and I skipped back up to Kaia's side, "Look! A viking!"

Hamako lifted her little head curiously, eyes following my pointing to a burly man carrying a large log on his shoulders as he walked to town. He paused, brow furrowing in confusion as Hamako's eyes lit up in delight despite the fact she had no idea what a viking actually was. The man gave her a small wave, smiling once he realized what was happening and walking off with the shake of his head and a grin.

"Viking!" the girl echoed, gazing up at her mother excitedly as Kaia quirked an amused brow at me.

"You know you've doomed every burly woodsman to being a 'viking' now, right?" She asked humorously, Takumi bursting into laughter that his daughter followed with a softer giggle.

"It's not that horrible of a fate, is it?" I questioned back, beaming at how Hamako seemed much more alert and curious now with bright eyes searching for more vikings.

Takumi shook his head, "I wouldn't think it so." His gaze softened at his daughter's attentiveness, a type of gratefulness then directed at me that I wasn't expecting, "There are certainly worse fates." We passed more properly into the town, his smile dissipating as we began to roam the streets for our destination, "Are you sure about this, Pearl?"

"That's half of the reason I came out here!" I huffed, "Sure I'm sure!" I wasn't sure.

And Kaia saw that almost immediately, "You know, you don't have to if you're not prepared for it. It doesn't make the trip pointless."