Ryoma and Hinoka concluded over dinner that they had really never paid enough attention to Takumi, and though they must have justified it at the time, they couldn't think of a single reason as to why they had been so cold to him for so long. He must have thought that they were both terrible siblings.

However, they did remember that although they had barely spoken to Takumi during the war, he had helped train Sakura in the ways of the yumi, well enough that she had been able to pick it up and use it on the battlefield despite her timid nature. Both of them got on much better with Sakura than they ever had with Takumi, so Ryoma resolved to ask his youngest sister how Takumi had been since the war ended and maybe ask for advice on talking to him again.

To ask her about this, he invited Sakura to eat lunch with him the following day. He had been considering inviting Takumi to breakfast with him again, to see if he could establish a form of routine between them, but his little brother seemed to have hidden himself away, because he was nowhere to be found. Sakura, however, was predictable as ever and easy to find in the castle infirmary, where she was continuing her studies as a healer in the hope that she could one day be a master at the art and help as many people as possible.

"Good morning, Sakura," he greeted her, and unlike Hinoka, she jumped at his voice. She had been watching a more experienced healer as they attended some patients with long term injuries that needed physical attention to heal properly rather than just a festal rod and a bit of magic.

"Good morning, brother!" She called back, and he was pleased to hear that much of the shaking in her voice was gone. She was so much more confident in herself now, and it was good to see. "Did you need something?"

He smiled to her and nodded, beckoning her away before motioning to the healer to continue with his work. "I wished to invite you to eat lunch with me," he said, and suddenly Sakura blushed a bright red colour.

"O-okay!" She nodded quickly, and Ryoma would have been very concerned if he hadn't been able to see the large smile on her face. Still shy, then, just as it always had been with Sakura. Some things never changed.

"How are Hana and Subaki?" He asked, happy that he could talk about retainers with this younger sibling, at least.

"They're taking a month of leave at the moment," she said, which was honestly something that Ryoma should have known. "They wanted to travel Hoshido with Caeldori. You know, their daughter?" Ryoma did remember the sky knight who seemed to rival even her father in striving for perfection. A very handy girl to have around, Caeldori, because she thought of everything that needed to be done and you only needed to ask her to get her to share.

"Yes, of course!" He said, linking arms with Sakura as they walked towards where he took his meals. She laughed softly as he did it, and he felt happiness rise in his chest. If only it could be so easy with Takumi. "And how is Hayato?"

"B-brother!" Ryoma turned to Sakura to see her go an even deeper red colour than before. "What does that have to do with my retainers?"

"You know exactly what I mean," he said, smiling down at her as she continued to blush. Of all the people in the army Corrin had led, Hayato was probably one of the more difficult people to deal with, simply because he was so obstinate. And his ability to drive people away was almost as powerful as Takumi's, and only fell short because he wasn't a prince. But, somehow, he had gotten off on the right foot with Sakura, and the two of them were firm friends. "I'm just teasing you, little sister, don't worry about it."

Fortunately for poor Sakura, they reached his quarters before she got the chance to respond. "Um, brother, was there a reason you asked me to eat lunch with you?" She asked, and not for the first time since the war had ended, Ryoma marvelled at how she had matured and grown more aware of other people as she had grown up. He also thought on how proud Mother would have been to see her grow like this, but he didn't dwell on that thought for too long, because he still missed her more than he could bear.

"Yes, actually," he said, waving to a maid to get her to set up for their lunch. "I wanted to ask you about something that I think you have more experience in than me." Once the maid was gone, he continued, "it recently came to my attention that I have not paid as much attention to Takumi as I should have, but when I tried to talk to him he wasn't particularly receptive."

Sakura laughed lightly, and he was about to tell her it was no laughing matter, but she stopped him by responding. "If you want to talk to Takumi, you would have to get used to that," she said, smiling. "He's really nice and funny when you get to know him, but sometimes he just doesn't like talking. He's been really quiet for the last few weeks, really."

"Is he okay?" Ryoma asked. He'd almost expected that Sakura would tell him things about Takumi that would make it easier to understand him, but this just made him more worried about his brother's wellbeing, reminding him of how Takumi spent far too long training and studying and hadn't been looking after himself or allowing himself to grieve for his lost friend.

"I think so," Sakura said. "He just gets like that sometimes. You wouldn't really know, brother, but during the war his temper was much worse than normal, and he kept driving me away when I wanted him to help with my yumi training." Ryoma didn't miss the slight jab at how, even during war when they could have lost each other at any day, he didn't really talk to Takumi or even look for an opportunity to say how much he meant to him. "He's much better now, though, but he's quiet."

"Is he still grieving for Hinata?" Ryoma asked. He thought that was the most likely cause of Takumi being upset and avoiding talking to people he liked, even, like Sakura. He was sort of pleased that it wasn't just him who had caused the rudeness, and it was also how Takumi was feeling at the moment. He was still willing to accept the blame, but it was nice to have a little of it taken away. At the time, it had felt like he held all the blame for neglecting a member of his family, and it was a terrible feeling.

"I think so," Sakura said, and her voice was quieter now. "Hinata was always so cheerful, Takumi really liked him. He used to do everything he could to take stress away from him." Ryoma had barely spoken to Hinata too, except when the boy was very young and had first been appointed into the role of Takumi's retainer. "But I don't think Hinata is the only thing on his mind, because it's been so long since he died, and he's been happier since then than he is now."

"Well," he said, almost unsure of what to do next about Takumi. Clearly he should try to help, but he didn't know how. He was dealing with the loss of Mother, yes, but it was an entirely different kind of thing to lose one of your best friends. "The next time you see Takumi, could you let him know that I'm sorry if I bothered him?"

"Of course," Sakura said, smiling. "I'm sure he'll warm up to you in time, brother."

"I can only hope so," he said. He felt awful for leaving Takumi to his own devices all the time. It was truly as if he had completely failed in his duties as an older brother. He should protect and care for all of his siblings, and he could only imagine how neglected and unwanted Takumi would feel in comparison to how he treated his sisters.