The Sasa Award

Lena was sweeping up leaves in the courtyard when an unfamiliar sword approached her. She wasn't familiar with him because they hadn’t worked closely together before. 

"Hey," he introduced himself casually, "I'm Sasanuki." 

"Sasanuki-san..." She curled her lip when his name was mentioned. Of course, she remembered now, he joined their team during the summertime. Mostly he went on scouting expeditions. 

"Just call me Sasanuki," he replied, not caring much for formalities.

"What can I help you with?"

"I have a request." He stared at her with his piercing blue eyes, the same colour of the shining ocean. "The next time you visit the shops, can I accompany you? I have something that I need."

"What is it?" Lena asked, "I can buy it for you, if you let me know?"

Sasanuki shook his head. "It will be easier if I tag along. My jacket got damaged during the last mission, and I would like to get it fixed."

At the mention of clothing, Lena's eyes lit up and her whole demeanor changed. "Oh, you need to go shopping for clothes? No problem! In fact, we can even find time to visit the tailor shop today!"

"Uhh, well... it's not that big of a rush...???" 

Sasanuki was confused. He didn't have time to think before Lena took him by the arm and started leading him down the pathway back inside. Shopping was one of her favourite activities, and she rarely got the opportunity because Heshikiri was always nagging them about their finances. But with Sasanuki's excuse, there was no way Heshikiri could deny them!

After informing the team that she would be going into town, Lena and Sasanuki stepped into the time portal together and disappeared in a flash.

"Hmm? Where did Lena hurry off to in such a rush?" Aki wondered. "And who was with her? That didn't look like Mikazuki."

Hizen shrugged. "I dunno. Haven't seen that guy around much... Honestly, I don't really care."

"Hizen!" Aki gave him a nudge. "Be nice!"

"Why?" Hizen caught her hand and held it in his. "The person I care about most is you. Isnt that enough?"

Aki blushed. Recently, since they *became closer*, Hizen surprised her by showing a softer side whenever they were alone. Though he was still indifferent around the rest of the team.

But, something didn't seem right... Aki felt something strange about the situation she saw with Lena. She hoped it wouldn't lead to trouble later on. 

---

At the tailor shop, Lena cheerfully bounced through the door and greeted the owner. She was a regular here, and visited quite often. They dropped off Sasanuki's jacket to be mended, and then Lena turned her focus to the colourful fabrics hanging on the walls.

"Say..." Something caught her attention. "You would look amazing in this!" Lena gestured to a stylish yukata for men. Her eyes were sparkling as she imagined Sasanuki wearing it. "You wear so much blue, perhaps you can try green, or how about grey?"

"I agree," the owner commented. They looked Sasanuki up and down. "We have this lovely scarf that matches the outfit perfectly."

"Yes! Let's try that, and... Ooh, this hat looks stylish as well. And how about these gloves?" Lena started to get carried away, piling a bunch of items into Sasanuki's arms for him to try on. 

Sasanuki could not refuse how insistent she was being. It was easier for him to go with the flow rather than protest, so he went along with Lena's wishes to play dress up. 

"Does it suit me?" he asked, after trying on every item she gave him... At the same time.

Lena studied his appearance and smiled brightly. "Yes... We will have to buy everything!"

The shop owner was pleased as well. "Splendid choices! I'll package everything up at once."

"Perfect." Lena felt accomplished. Brimming with satisfaction, she and Sasanuki returned back to the Honmaru with their new purchases. Hopefully Heshikiri wouldn't notice the extra koban they spent, but even if he did, Lena didn't worry too much.

---

Over the following weeks, Lena found herself gradually spending more time with Sasanuki. Since their shopping trip, whenever Lena was, Sasanuki always seemed to be close by and ready to strike up a conversation. 

During one of those moments, the topic turned to surfing on the waves and how much Lena liked the ocean.  

"I'd LOVE to learn how to surf!" Lena exclaimed. "That's super cool."

"I could teach you," Sasanuki offered, "but we would need to catch some big waves. There's nothing like that around here."

"Maybe someday, then." Lena sighed. For now, hearing Sasanuki's stories was enough. "Anyway, I should go and check on the horses. I'll talk to you later!"

Sasanuki watched as Lena disappeared off to the stables. Talking to her was interesting. He liked that...