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The dragon riders are in the sky today, and even though her neck hurts from it, Yachi can't stop staring. She's twelve years old, one year away from being able to assign as an apprentice and leave home. Five years, they say. Five years until you get the chance to hatch your own dragon egg. Two years until you can start flying, three until you are ready to be knighted. Ten years in total.
She's been dreaming of it ever since she caught the first glimpse of a burning red scale in the sky and saw the flames rush across the plain of wide blue up ahead.
Today, though, the riders aren't just in the sky. They'e in town, too and with them come the squires Yachi admires so much. They walk with heavy and sure steps, pride in each of them, a pride Yachi can understand all too well. Going up on her tip-toes she tries to catch more sight of them, but the grip of her mother around her wrist is almost painful and she can barely see anything.
“Why does this get you so excited?”, her mother asks her, barely concealed anger in her voice, and Yachi's heart sinks because that tone of voice always means bad things will follow, and because she had told her mother ever since she was little. Why had she not listened?
“Why, because I will become a dragon knight as well! I am almost old enough to get accepted!”
The grip of her mother turns painful and Yachi's eyes widen in fear, a part of her knowing what is to come.
“Impossible,” her mother tells her, the word as harsh as a slap might have been. “You are but a helpless girl. There is no way for you to become a knight. Just look at you, tiny and weak as you are. It is not for girls to ride dragons and yield swords, you are to stay at home and hope that your husband will take good care of you!”
Each word is a new thorn in the beauty of the dream Yachi had been chasing, wrapping herself up in whenever times got tough, painting her future and longing, always longing from beneath her coat of possibilities.
“That is not true!”, she yells back, finding a voice inside of her even though she is usually quiet, because there has never been anything as important to protect as this.
“It is!”, her mother hisses and starts moving, dragging her along, ignoring Yachi's protests that it hurts. “I will prove it to you!”
She walks right up to one of the riders, dragging Yachi in front of him, who stands small and helpless as the weak, weak girl she is, her lip trembling even though the last thing she wants to do right now is cry. She's never been more ashamed of taking up space.
“Please, dear sir – could you tell my daughter that her dreams are foolish? Look at how weak she is, and yet she dreams of being a knight. I would love for you to chase those thoughts out of her silly little head, before it is too late.”
Humiliated as she is, Yachi is about to turn her head to the floor to avoid meeting the knight's eyes, when he reaches for his helmet and she can't help but stare, too eager to see the face of one of them. The sight of the person underneath the plain silver helmet makes Yachi's eyes widen once more, makes her forget the grip of her mother's hand and the words she had just heard.
The most beautiful girl she has ever laid eyes on stands there, dark hair spilling over her shoulders as her ice cold gaze bores through her mother. She holds herself tall and self-assured, and somehow even her heavy armour carries a certain grace.
Her voice is calm and piercing.
“Why would I tell lies?” Then she turns towards Yachi, her eyes soft and warm and a gentle smile on her face. If she had not seen her in her armour, Yachi would have assumed she was a princess, or a queen, and she could not believe she was granted such kind attention by such a girl. Even when she could barely have been more than a few years older, she seems so much more mature, so unreachable to an unimportant farm girl like Yachi.
“You look strong to me. You will make a fine squire! Don't ever let anyone tell you such lies, they do not know a thing about the world. The knights can use more fierce girls.What's your name?”
“Y-yachi. Yachi Hitoka!”
“That is a beautiful name. Suited for a future knight. Listen to me, Hitoka. Never give up on your dreams. You can do anything if you set your mind to it. I will be waiting for you to be a squire, too. You will see, it is exhausting, but it is well worth it! Will you promise to work hard and make it?”
“Y-yes!”, Yachi promises, sincere, cheeks glowing with hope and pride.
“I am Shimizu Kiyoko, and I will be waiting for you.”
She extends her pinky and Yachi locks hers with it, and they promise.
Later that day, the dragon riders vanish from the sky and her mother keeps yelling and threatening, but when Yachi thinks back, she never remembers any of that.
All she can remember is the look in Shimizu's eyes and the feeling of locking pinkies with her.
---
“I was always afraid you'd forget me,” Yachi confesses to her, years later. Kiyoko is breathing heavily, forehead beading with sweat but her wound long bandaged and the bleeding long stopped. Her hand is clutching Yachi's and she's forcing a wobbly smile on her face.
“How could I when you were so fiercely determined to take to the skies?”
Even now, even after all those years, Yachi's heart still skip a tiny beat. Even when Kiyoko is in pain and they have no way to make it back tonight, even if they would be freezing if not for their dragons curled around them. They're here and they're alive, Skyheart and Dancer are alive, and things will be okay.
Every step she had taken, every scar, every hour of training until her fingers were bleeding and she collapsed from exhaustion, every time she thought she had reached her limit and kept going anyway – all of this had been worth it.
Worth chasing Kiyoko, worth getting to know her, worth working together with her, worth getting to team up with her eventually and fight at her side.
To keep each other safe, even though Yachi would have wished Kiyoko had not shielded her, would not have gotten hurt. (Next time, she will be the one protecting her.)
Yachi leans down to press a soft kiss to her temple.
“Get some rest, love. I'm here, I'll look after you.”
“I know,” Kiyoko whispers back, squeezing her hand. “You're always by my side.”
Yachi smiles and raises their linked hands to press a kiss to the back of Kiyoko's.
“Forever,” she whispers against her skin.