"You ever do this before?" Merle questions quietly.

Sakiko nods, "Kind of.. Indirectly.."

Merle looks up from where he was putting his gun together, sending her a smile, "Well, guess you'll be learning from the best."

"Have you?" Sakiko hesitates, "Before..?"

"Back in the military.. Sometimes we had to do whatever we were told," Merle answers vaguely, "Before then, no."

Sakiko stares at the gun he was putting together, sensing his struggle with only one hand. She sighs, kneeling on the ground in front of him and taking over- remembering the steps as she'd seen the others do it multiple times over the months.

Merle leans back, watching her work. How precise she was with the weapon that she never used- like she was afraid even touching it might make it go off.

"Why ain't you ask me about your old man?" Merle wonders.

Sakiko doesn't look up at him, only continuing to put the gun together, "Doesn't matter."

"I didn't sleep for a week when I got back from the military. When Daryl finally found me and told me that ours was gone.. I slept like a baby," Merle reminisces.

"That man.. He killed my dad long before he offed himself," she expresses, "The drugs and booze killed him before that bullet did."

"What about your ma?" Merle questions- never hearing of the woman before.

Sakiko hesitates and Merle swore he saw something flash in her eyes until she blinks it away.

"Plane went down," she answers.

There's a few seconds of silence, only the gun's parts clicking into place until Sakiko continues.

"She hadn't been to Japan in a long time, so we were going to visit her family there. It was supposed to be Nanami and I's first time there, but we went down three hours after take off. She put herself over Nanami to protect him and the debris collapsed on her. For a few days, we thought we would lose Nanami, too."

Sakiko glances up to Merle, a new look on his face as she revealed wounds only known to the Otani family.

"I was trapped in the luggage department for awhile until the rescue squad found me.." she faintly smiles, looking down to the gun, "They had to shoot the locks off with me inside."

"Is that why you're scared of 'em now?" Merle asks, voice suddenly softer.

"Probably," she tilts her head back and forth, "I was only five or so at the time.. Nanami and I were both put in therapy for years after.. Maybe dad was the one that needed it more since he turned out the way he did."

Pulling the gun off the ground, she holds it out for Merle to take with tight lipped smile.

"Thanks," he mutters, taking the gun from her.

Sakiko stands, wiping the dirt off her jeans before pulling out her own gun that she'd brought.

"Can you do it?" Merle asks, eyes flicking from her face to the gun.

"Yeah," she nods, "I'm tired of being scared of it.. It's just a loud thing that I can control."

"Like your mouth," Merle teases.

"I should stop being scared of things that I'm clearly louder than," Sakiko nods in agreement.

Merle sends her a smile- the first genuine one he's had in a long time.

--

"All right, Na, let's go," Daryl hurries.

Nanami falls into step behind him as they run to the gates- Rick and Ryan following.

"I'll come, too," Ryan offers.

"Nah, stay here. Y'all gotta be on lookout for them," Daryl waves off as Nanami opens the gate.

"You can't go alone," Rick argues.

"And you can't track for shit," Daryl reminds, "Na and I got this. Y'all just be ready. 'sides, we ain't alone. We got each other."

"Wait!" Michonne calls.

"We don't have time," Nanami sighs.

"Here," she holds out a sword with a black scabbard- just slightly smaller than her own.

"What is this?" he asks.

"Give it to Sakiko. She's pretty good with 'em," Michonne smiles.

Nanami shakes his head, "Give it to her when we get back. It'll mean more coming from you."

Michonne nods, figuring he had a point and stepping back from the gate.

"We'll be back. You need to be ready," Daryl tells Rick, "Your family, too."

Nanami pulls the gate open and the men duck out. Rick sighs, pulling it shut again. Standing side by side, Rick, Michonne, and Ryan watch as Daryl and Nanami run down the courtyard to find the rest of their own family.

--

"I ain't mad," Merle admits, "Y'all leaving.. Either time.. You were doing what you had to do. I get it."

"Good, because I wasn't apologizing," Sakiko raises her eyebrows.

Merle scoffs, fixing the scope of his gun to scan the area, "That don't mean you do it again in the future, though."

"Don't give us a reason," Sakiko shrugs- making Merle wonder if she had a comeback for every one of his words.

"I'll try," Merle finally decides to say.

"Good," Sakiko nods.

'Good'.. Merle had never heard someone say that his actions- or promises, were 'good'.

Merle chuckles to himself. Daryl was right about these kids, after all.

𝒶𝓊𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓇 𝓇𝒶𝓂𝒷𝓁𝑒𝓈--

merle character growth leTS GO

i love sakiko sm i cant handle