hello naughty children it is childhood friends au time
- so if mana actually grew up in hoshido, what would her life be like?
- she’d still be a dragon. she would have been found by the royal family not long after corrin was taken by nohr and azura brought to hoshido
- she would have been accompanied by a blue-haired man dressed in nohrian-like clothes who claimed to be her butler, but would be otherwise all alone
- she would have probably been around five or six years old. she would have claimed, and will keep claiming later in life, that she had no memory of anything prior to being found by the hoshidans. the only memories she can think of are of her butler maximilian’s face
- queen mikoto, still frazzled by the loss of corrin, agreed to take mana and maxie in and give them a place to live in the castle, thinking the young dragon could possibly fill a void where corrin once was. in the first few years of the young dragon’s life, she and mikoto became quite close
- mana was also close with little azura. they had a lot in common; they were mysterious children from unfamiliar places, who loved to sing and had a strong connection to the color blue
- though close with and living under the same roof as the hoshidan royals, mana was never quite seen as “part of the family.” she was more so a really good family friend. that didn’t stop some from affectionately calling her “lady mana” one such person being hinata, but we’ll get to that in a bit
- mana’s arrival at the castle roused a strong reaction from the citizens, to say the least. some criticized mikoto for taking in a random girl and butler that popped up seemingly out of nowhere—some thought the two were nohrian spies. others were more optimistic and heralded mana as the new corrin, acting as if the other dragon child had never left
- as a child, mana was quiet and reserved, and preferred to spent her time by herself. she was shy around new people or situations, but once she got used to her surroundings, she had a much better time opening up. around people she liked, she was compassionate and bright and fun, though stubborn and self-deprecating. she was unfortunately prone to alarming physical and mental breakdowns that were gone faster than they’d appeared, the source of which was thought to be her dragon blood
- mana was not a fan of transforming into a dragon in her youth. she had a stone, and always kept it on her to avoid the possibility of transforming
- instead of fighting as a dragon, mana wanted to be a sky knight. she loved the flying part of being a dragon, but not the dragon part. if she rode a pegasus, she could still fly. the idea of being a healer appealed to her as well, and if she became a falcon knight when she got older, she could do so that way
- she started her formal training when she was seven or eight years old, and began learning how to use a naginata and how to tame a pegasus
- this was also when she formally met hinata, a novice samurai around her age. she’d seen him before, hanging around prince takumi, but never had the chance to really talk to him. besides, she didn’t have much courage talking to anyone outside of the royal family
- she felt a little better about talking to hinata when she learned he was likely going to be takumi’s retainer
- fortunately, when they met, mana felt comfortable around hinata immediately. something about how energetic and smiley he was made her really, really happy; happier than she’d been around anyone up to that point
- hinata wasn’t much different when he was young than how he is now. he was quite a rambunctious and headstrong kid, always getting into trouble. maybe not the smartest, either, but he had a good heart and was kind to everyone he met. he was extremely devoted to his training. there wasn’t much to dislike about him
- suffice it to say, hinata and mana were a good fit for each other. both of them had something the other didn’t. hinata helped break mana out of her shell, while she kept him grounded and out of trouble. mana had intelligence and wisdom, and hinata had strength and charisma. mana had untapped draconic abilities, and hinata had…a really cool sword
- that’s not to say they didn’t have things in common. they were sweet kids who were driven to become strong warriors. they both genuinely cared about the welfare of others, though perhaps expressed it in different ways. they made a great team, and were inseparable from then on
- mana practically begged hinata to teach her how to use a katana. she felt as though she wasn’t skilled enough with a naginata (despite all her teachers telling her otherwise) and she wanted something else in common with the samurai so she could get to know him better
- whenever mana had one of her dragon fits, hinata was the first person she went to afterward. hinata was always a little scared she’d go into one while she was with him and he couldn’t do anything to help her
- as children, they loved to go exploring. whether it was into the woods or into town or just walking down the halls of the castle, they spent much of their free time wandering around and hanging out together
- sometimes they’d skip training to do this and get in trouble for it
- one day mana dragged mikoto with her to watch hinata train with his dad. everything was going great until hinata misstepped and got sliced across the cheek. poor mana was terrified; she thought hinata was going to die. she burst into tears and hid behind mikoto, and when hinata didn’t get up after a few seconds, she ran away into the woods
- once he’d been patched up and it was confirmed he wasn’t dying, hinata went off to find mana, against the wishes of his father and the nurses. he found her in a secret clearing they’d discovered earlier. when she saw his face, she started crying again and hugged him, repeating over and over that she thought he was dead. he told her he was too strong to die that easily, and when he asked why she was freaking out so much, she said because they were friends and she didn’t want to lose him. she noticed she’d hesitated for a second before responding, and that’s when she realized she…kinda liked him. they were both around nine years old when that happened
- after that day, mana would have lived in what can only be described as constant agony for a little over ten years, wrestling with her feelings for her friend while also worrying about her training. she acted nervous and jittery around everybody, not just hinata. her adolescent years were incredibly tough for her both physically and mentally, but hinata would have been there for her through it all, even as he was going through his own problems
- mana tried to quell hinata’s teenage rebellion and desire for freedom by taking him out on more explorations, now referred to by the more mature term of “dates;” though hinata, terribly oblivious as he is, never quite saw them as such
- mana didn’t start really talking to oboro until this time, too. oboro was a big help with placing and managing her feelings for hinata and getting comfortable around him again. she was often a third wheel in their dates, and couldn’t be happier to help
- prince takumi and the rest of the royal siblings also encouraged her to pursue him, since they thought hinata could use somebody to keep him from going crazy
- once reaching adulthood, hinata and mana mellowed out considerably, in their own ways. hinata embraced his loyalty to takumi fully and used it to better himself, and mana, though still harboring strong feelings for hinata, became totally comfortable in his and everybody else’s presence for the first time in a long time. her dragon impulses and fits had quieted down as well. the both of them were doing quite well for themselves
- that changed when mikoto was killed, however
- along with the rest of the country, mana fell into a panic and a deep, debilitating dread overcame her. she’d just lost the closest thing she’d had to a parent besides her butler. she felt completely alone in the world. she didn’t leave her room in the castle for days, she didn’t eat or sleep, and the only people she’d talk to were maxie and hinata
- in the aftermath of mikoto’s death, hinata had watched the two people he was closest to crumble before his eyes, unable to do anything about it. he’d failed to protect the queen. he would have done anything to stop her from dying
- he made sure to tell mana that, too. he apologized time and time again, thinking he’d caused her pain, when in reality, she said, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. she was grateful for everything he did and begged him not to blame himself, for his own sake and hers
- they spent quite a bit of time together in mana’s room. mana just really needed company and she didn’t have many other people to ask. fortunately hinata was always willing to oblige in a little cuddling and hair-stroking and soft conversation. had she been a stronger person, mana reflected later in life, she would have had her first kiss with him right then and there
- with corrin back in hoshido and both princes m.i.a., they had to get back down to business as soon as possible. hinata went off with oboro in search of takumi, and mana and maxie were stationed with sakura and her retainers at fort jinya
- mana had never met corrin before, but felt an extremely strong connection with them once she saw them, probably because of their dragon blood. and corrin has a strong connection to azura, who also was close to mana. rumors circulated about the three’s possible link, though none truly existed between the two vallites and mana
- everything after takumi is found is pretty much exactly the same as the normal mana canon, except mana’s confession of her feelings for hinata is much more monumental because instead of liking him for about a year beforehand, she liked him for ten, and knew him a little longer. just imagine the size of the weight being lifted off her shoulders after that
- this is all for birthright, anyway. as for conquest…well…you know. :)
