Sakuran Tears

prolouge

Hiroshima slowly opened his dreary eyes, only for the sun's luminous rays to blind him. His attention slowly drifted towards his clock. It was noon. His sister was long overdue to wake him up, and his scarred back was fully exposed for all to see. She could barge in any minute, seeing him in his injured state. Knowing how she was, he dreaded that possibility. He quickly went to get a shirt, but fell on his wounded back, earning a groan from the kitsune, which his sister's ears, sharp as ever, picked up from afar.

As she opened the door it was as if time itself slowed down, her crimson eyes scanned the room until firmly focusing on Hiroshima.

"What happened to your back?!" Akagi stared at the wound like a painter judging a work of art.  Akagi was in disbelief that someone did this to her brother, and horrified at what Hiroshima likely endured. 

Hiroshimas wound was not fresh as the wounds were healed over giving them a pinkish color. His back was covered top to bottom with nightmarish scars, they were as if he was mauled by an animal. But the cuts were too clean to be done by any beast: they were deliberate. The closer she looked, the clearer what caused them became: They were whip marks.

Akagi had tasted anger many times incompetent officers, Shoukaku getting beneath her skin, drunkards daring to defile her. But that was microscopic compared to the rage she felt when looking at her brother's wound

"Brother, who did this?!”Akagi as her malice leaked to her features, contorting into a scary frown

One may feel pity for what Akagi would do to the perpetrator if she got to them would be a punishment far crueler than Hiroshima endured.

"Sister, it's nothing really. you do not need to worry. These came from bed bugs!" Hiroshima hoped her sister would believe his lie but his body gave away his fabrication. 

Akagi stared at Hiroshima. She noticed he was sweaty as a swine and was slowly but surely inching towards the door behind him. So Akagi thought of what to do: What would Amagi do if she was acting in an immature manner? She vividly remembered that she would hit her very stern in the head and then lecture her. So, Akagi preemptively grabbed him by the ear and dragged him away to give Hiroshima the lecture of his life.

“OW,OW,OW sister,stop.”

Hiroshima begged, but to no avail. She dragged him outside to a private place causing confused Sakuran ships to stare at the two kitsunes. Hiroshima begged bystanders to help, but no one dared oppose Akagi in this state: they let  Hiroshima succumb to his fate.

Eventually, Hiroshima stopped struggling,

When Akagi finally arrived at the destination she let go of Hiroshima

"Sister, why did you bring me here?"  Hiroshima asked as he rubbed his ear to ease the pain.

" Hiroshima look at your surroundings" 

Hiroshima glanced at the area around him and was in awe. It was nature untouched by man. Cherry blossoms danced gracefully through the wind, wildlife at every corner which was shocking because most species who survived the siren's first onslaught were put in massive reserves. For the first time in a while, he felt truly serene. 

Once she saw her brother calm Akagi carefully laid a blanket down and took a seat as she signaled Hiroshima to do the same.

And as he sat down, a brief sigh escaped Akagi's lips as she asked, "Hiroshima, do you know why I and Kaga are aircraft carriers today?"

Hiroshima thought the answer was obvious, his whole life he was told his sister was a converted aircraft carrier. "You were converted"

Akagi let out a small laugh before saying, "Yes. I was originally a battlecruiser in a time when the power of ships was at its height, the world's nations got very worried about rising naval power and perceived a naval arms race was imminent. I was supposed to be scrapped, but a selfless soul gave her power and life for me and Kaga. She was my sister, I miss her dearly,but now it is as if the Gods gave me a second chance. Hiroshima, as a sister there is nothing you can't tell me. I'm begging you, please don't sacrifice yourself like Amagi, I do not deserve it.." 

At the end of her sentence, her head was hung a bit low, remembering the memory of Amagi, her elder sister.

Hiroshima slowly looked down, all the horrible memories of torture, the sound of whips echoing through his traumatized mind repeating like a record player. His guilty memories began to bubble up about how he couldn't save his friend from being harmed and his dear brother who took his own life due to humiliation. His mind focused on where it all went wrong. A time that showed him how cruel fate was.