Konohana Sakuya/Stories
Quotes
- When Entering Dragon's Roost
- Come in, come in!
- I've been waiting for you. ...With anticipation.
- My, my! What brings you here today?
- After Receiving a Gift
- A mere trifle, but please accept it.
- I thank you for your kindness.
- After Bond Level Increase
- Tee hee! What a lovely person!
- The days I spend with you are delightful!
- Idle After Bond Level 1
- A warrior off to battle always cuts a gallant figure!
- My power can cause life to bloom...or to wilt.
- I sense a strong spirit from you, like a cherry blossom that refuses to wither.
- Idle After Bond Level 10
- I love flowers. The sight of them blooming moves my heart.
- It's often said I am a peerless beauty. What do you make of that?
- We should plant more flowers in the garden.
- Idle After Bond Level 20
- You are an undying flower. That much is clear.
- I would wager my very life to see you safe.
- Cherry blossoms are famed for charming people. Tee hee!
Dragon Story Episodes
A Flower Falls
Since antiquity, a dragon clad
in cherry blossoms had lived in
Hinomoto. Her name was Konohana
Sakuya, and she was said to be
a harbinger of great prosperity.
Men of influence attempted
to acquire her power for their
own designs—but she repelled
their every attempt.
Some thought it was because
of arrogance and selfishness that
she refused these men, but that
was not the case. In truth, she
simply feared her own power.
In the past, when she had granted
her power to a human, they bloomed
like a flower in the spring. But alas,
soon after, they lost their lives as a
tree sheds leaves in winter.
Concluding that her power brought
only a fleeting illusion of prosperity,
she regarded it as a curse, and
chose to keep her distance
from the world of man.
But one spring day, she descended
upon a human village to admire
the blossoms and found a young
warrior standing before her.
He sought her power like all the
others—and received the same reply.
But he would not give up.
The warrior was preparing to fight
a great battle for the sake of his
family and countrymen, and was
willing to pay any price for success.
He said his death was no more
than a single flower fading with the
changing of the seasons. And as
she loved flowers above all things,
she eventually chose to aid him.
Preparations for war went smoothly.
Crops flourished, so supplies were
plentiful, and they had the iron to
forge quality weapons. Soon, strong
fighters came to join in the cause.
Even as the preparations continued,
the warrior remained as lively and
dignified as ever. For he viewed
Konohana Sakuya not as a source
of mystical power, but as an equal.
She was once a bud that would
never bloom—but the more time
she spent with him, the more her
heart began to open.
The town the two of them looked
upon was full of endlessly blooming
cherry blossoms. And though war
was almost upon them, the blossoms
kept the people's spirits high.
The dragon soon found herself
wishing for life to continue like this
forever—but alas, time waits for
no one, and the fires of war were
about to arrive at the door.
Konohana Sakuya was the dragon
of cherry blossoms—and much like
those blossoms, all who took her
power had a moment of prosperity
followed by a swift, sudden death.
One day, she chose to aid a warrior
preparing for battle. He carried
himself with the dignity of a flower,
and she opened her heart to him.
But time marched ever onward,
and soon the moment of prosperity
was replaced by the horror of war.
The young warrior marched out
to the front lines with a thousand
men at his back. He held himself
straight and dignified, and never
once looked back.
Though his fate was ordained,
the dragon found herself wishing
fervently for his safe return.
After a hard-fought campaign,
the young warrior's side overcame
the odds and emerged victorious.
But alas, the warrior himself was
cut down on the battlefield.
Still, his efforts played a significant
role in turning the tide, and his
family was showered with honors
by the ruler of the time.
His people declared him the
foremost warrior in all of Hinomoto,
and redoubled their efforts to make
his beloved land prosperous.
All he wanted had come true.
But despite this, the dragon
could not help but feel a pang
of loneliness in her deepest heart.
This made her remember
a conversation they once
had while he still lived.
＂I pity flowers,＂ said the dragon,
＂for they are only admired
in the last moments of their life.
I would give all to see a flower
that never wilted away.＂
＂But such a flower could bear no
fruit,＂ replied the man. ＂Flowers fall
with meaning. They become one with
the earth as their seeds form new life.
We should admire that resolve.＂
Soon, spring arrived, leaving a
blanket of new grass on the ground.
And with the warrior's words in her
ears, she left that land behind.
As she took a last look at the town,
she saw it was filled with laughter
and life. It was a sight and sound she
took with her for the rest of her days.
The cherry blossoms that had
bloomed eternally by the pair's side
soon fell to the ground one by one.
But one flower was able to live
on through death, though it
remained ever unknowing of
the one who mourned its fate.