From the Beginning: Ch. 8
Title: From the Beginning
Co-written by: youkohiei-fan and Zelinxia
Overall Summary: Canon AU. Eleven-year-old Kurogane and his father are summoned to Shirasagi Castle where he meets Fai, a boy from a different world. What becomes an instant friendship sets in stone an indelible bond for the two.
Chapter: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
Apart
Over half a year later Fai had still not received a letter from Kurogane. The only reason they knew he wasn’t dead was because a letter had been sent by Tomoyo herself explaining that the boy had training and missions to go on all the time.
Fai was over sixteen and things had been changing a lot for him. He was powerful thus Suwa had seen less and less oni because of it, which meant they had to face bandits more often yet it wasn’t as bad. He had also been going to the city more often and had found he was rather charming, especially when it came to the women, who always gave him free food whenever he stopped to chat with them.
“Excuse me, young priest?” a sultry voice said.
Fai looked over with a smile. A tall woman stood smiling at him. Her long black hair was pinned up with various combs and the kimono she wore looked expensive as it slipped off her shoulders. “Yes, can I help you?”
“Oh no, this was more of a question of if I can help you,” she responded with a sly glint in her eyes. Her long fingernails were clenched over a long pipe; the scent clearly was opium infused. “You see, I notice that many women around here are flattered by your charms, and I can see why.”
She leaned closer to observe Fai. “Not only do you have exotic features, but you have a good heart - two things young women these days fall over.” The woman tapped her pipe. “So how about a free matchmaking service?” she offered.
“As flattered as I am by the offer, I’m afraid I’ll have to pass. I’m a little young, don’t you think to be looking for a wife just yet.” He smiled, thinking that while the idea of courting one of the girls here had crossed his mind and thought it might be fun for a while, he wouldn’t like the idea of anything long term.
“Are you sure?” The woman blinked.
“Maybe when I’m older?” he suggested. Fai thought he was still young, after all, and didn’t need to think about settling down with anyone when he had more important things to do.
“Very well then.” She looked a tad disappointed. It was apparent she loved to match people up using her schemes. “But take this to heart young priest.” The matchmaker puffed her pipe, letting opium smoke dangle around the front of her shop for a mystical effect. “Whoever you encounter is not because of coincidence. There is no such thing as coincidence, only hitsuzen.”
“The inevitable,” Fai said aloud. He had heard those words a long time ago. “I will, Miss. Maybe one day I’ll come back asking for your skills. I’m needed back at the palace right now though.” With that he bid a quick goodbye before he headed back home.
Far behind him the woman stood there. Putting aside her opium pipe she chuckled and looked at the sky. “There is no woman suitable for you,” she whispered to herself and grinned.
As Fai walked he wondered if he should send another letter. In the months since his last one from Kurogane he had sent four. He knew his friend had realized he was late in writing back, so maybe another letter would finally get a response.
“Welcome back, young priest,” one of the palace servants greeted him with a bow. Ever since Fai had helped save that particular village from the oni, the palace had started to address him as the ‘young priest’. He still found it strange and he had tried to get them to address him as anything else, but that had failed.
Nodding in greetings, he passed them, heading towards the main hall to see if anyone was there. Only the retainer happened to be there. He was sitting on the floor, deep in meditation. Deciding not to bother him, Fai slipped out of the room and back into the hallways. It seemed today was a rather calm one and as such there wasn’t much for anyone to do.
The familiar smell of ink welcomed Fai when he went into his own chamber. The brush was poised delicately on the parchment, ready to be used. Figuring it was as good a time as anyone, the blonde sat down. Opening a bottle of ink, he grabbed his brush and once it was dipped, he began writing.
“Kuro-san, it’s been half a year and you still haven’t written back. We’re all worried. Earlier in the city a matchmaker came up to me, she wanted to find me a girl in the city here. I told her no since I’m still pretty young now.” He smiled, wondering what Kurogane would think.
Have you met anyone new? What about your missions? Have you had any adventures? Write back soon.
-Fai”
He set the letter aside so it could dry and put everything else away. The blonde hoped he would get an answer.
Kurogane was in a sparring session with Souma that afternoon. It was getting close to summer so the heat was coming too. Sweat trickled down his temples as he dodged sideways to avoid Souma’s kunai. She was quick to respond to his deflect with a swift kick. Kurogane was getting better and better and was well on his way to becoming a general in a few years. “Make sure you don’t focus on just one enemy at a time. You can always be ambushed.”
“Right,” he grunted. Kurogane could feel that he was honing his skills as a shinobi, but overall as a warrior, as the two, nearly three, years went by. He had begun to fine tune his ability to distinguish others’ presence and knowing what to expect from his enemies - or even allies. For example, Kurogane observed how Souma would rely on martial arts as well as her weapons, thus he knew to also look out for any signs that she would use her legs. If he kept dodging her kunai then he had to expect for some roundhouses as well. To counteract that he learned how to meticulously go in for an attack then sidestep appropriately before parrying.
Souma leapt backwards out of Kurogane’s reach before she took out two kunai from her belt and flung them towards the boy. He still had trouble with long ranged attacks and he needed all the practices he could get. Kurogane used his katana to deflect one of Souma’s kunai but was too slow and too late to react to the other. It grazed against his shoulder, leaving a relatively harmless scratch. Still it hurt and he gritted his teeth in pain.
“Your reflexes must be quicker,” she explained as she ran towards him for another attack.
He heaved his katana at nose level sideways to block Souma’s attack. After that contact Kuorgane moved his head to avoid having her weapon graze his cheeks and went in to jab her side with his hilt. With an open palm, she struck his arm before he could hit her and dodged low. One of her legs swept out, knocking Kurogane’s legs out from under him. Grimacing in defeat, Kurogane landed on the ground. He was panting heavily. Souma went over to lend a hand and he grudgingly accepted her help.
“Good job. Be sure to go to the training grounds in the morning.” Smiling, Souma knew Kurogane wasn’t trained well enough to defeat her yet. “Now go, I think I heard the princess tell me you got a letter earlier. It should be in your room.”
“Yeah,” he replied, clearly still sulking in his defeat. He trudged towards his room, but he noticed that his door was open. As soon as he stepped in he saw Tomoyo - who was nearing her ninth birthday - sitting calmly in a pile of pillows. In her hands was the stuffed rabbit he had brought from home.
“Tomoyo-hime, what are you doing here?!”
“I wanted to deliver your letter, silly. Don’t worry, I’m well-guarded,” she informed him and no doubt there were several ninjas around to protect her if the need arose. “Is this yours?”
“Yes it is,” Kurogane huffed. “Now give it back.” He extended his hand. The ninjas in the background watched the unfolding scene nervously. No one but Kurogane had ever talked to a member of the imperial family like that before.
“A gift from Fai-san?” she asked with a smile as she handed over the small toy.
Kurogane flushed. “It’s a long story,” he said, trying to avoid a direct answer. He snatched the toy and propped it away where it would be safe from sinister hands. “Now Souma told me you have a letter for me.”
“Ah, yes. I suspect it’s from Fai-san too.” She reached into her long sleeve and pulled out a tiny-piece of parchment rolled up.
The young man thanked the princess and sat down as far away from prying eyes to read the content in his friend’s letter. Fai mentioned something about running into a matchmaker in the heart of Suwa. Come to think of it, Kurogane knew that someday he would try to be matched with a suitable young woman who would become his wife and the future lady of Suwa. By gods how time had flew, he thought with a grimace.
“Tomoyo-hime,” he asked. “How long has it been since I last wrote any letter?”
“About…eight months I think,” she said in a pondering tone. “You work too hard, Kurogane. You should write back, it’s relaxing you know.”
Eight months… Had it really been that long? Now that he thought about it, there had been a spur of threats to Shirasagi that have been putting him off from writing back. After politely asking (which he found hard) Tomoyo to leave him alone, Kurogane stared at his writing materials, wondering what to write. He picked up his brush and began.
“Oi, Fai-kun. Been really busy. Lots of assassins have tried to invade the castle but so far I’ve helped dealing with them. I’ve been training a lot more and feeling hungry and tired more often. Maybe it’s ‘cause I’m growing. Haven’t met anyone new but I’m still aiming to defeat Souma someday so I know that I’m strong. Hope things are well at home. And stop drinking! Chichiue’s becoming a bad influence on you, which I’ve known would happen a long mile away!
“-Kurogane”
Fai would no doubt find the last bit funny as he always did when Kurogane told him not to drink. His friend would be excited to at least have a reply at last. He felt bad for not responding as soon but things at Shirasagi Castle were becoming more of his priorities. Lying down the brush and letting the parchment dry, he went up to bathe and prepare for supper.
Fai smiled to himself as he walked through the palace gardens. He had just sent off another letter for Kurogane and hoped he wouldn’t have to wait eight months for a response again. He was seventeen and growing out of the gangly and awkward looks. Whenever he walked by the handmaidens now they would usually blush and he was always getting complimented on his looks.
There were coughing noises coming from the shrine and they were intensifying. His smile fell at the sound and he hurried over. Over the past year Suwa’s lady had gotten a cough that just wouldn’t leave her. She was always resting nowadays, except for when she was gone in the shrine like now. ‘The lady should be resting.’ everyone would say, worried.
“Fai-kun… is that you?” The lady was struggling to speak in between her coughing fits. She looked weary as she was performing her priestess duties.
“It is.” He stepped forward and kneeled down beside her. “It’s alright for you to relax you know. I’ve been to the shrine this morning and with only one of us, Suwa should be safe. I know all of us would rather have you healthy than worrying over the wards right now.”
“Thank you.” Tsumebe allowed herself to rest from praying. “You don’t have to worry, I have just finished.”
The priestess stared outside the garden, observing a tree that young Kurogane would frequently climb on after being dared by her husband. “I’m glad that you and I could pool together to pray for Suwa’s safety. Otherwise Kurogane would feel horrible and would insist on coming home. But I’m glad he could still stay as long as he needs for training. I wouldn’t want to make him worry so much. But…alas that is something I cannot control,” she said with a weak smile.
“Kuro-tan will always be a worrywart and I’m getting stronger every day. Soon you won’t have to worry about coming here every day or for as long. You can focus on getting better.” His magic was strong, probably stronger than the miko’s, but it was his offensive magic that was the most powerful. His barriers still needed work.
“You’re too kind.” The priestess laid a hand on Fai’s cheek. “I know the lord and I have said this many times already, but we’re glad to have you with us. Especially for Kurogane, because you see…” She paused, trying to hold back tears. “We couldn’t have any more children after Kurogane, so we were afraid he would get lonely. He’s very kind just like his father, but we felt he needed someone that would be his friend. And now I know.” She began to whisper, “you two needed each other.”
“I believe I should say you’re the one who’s far too kind.” He smiled to her then. Kurogane’s parents had cared for him like a son and he cared for them as well. “I’m glad that I was wanted and could be helpful for all of you. Though now I must insist you let me take you somewhere to rest.”
“My, Kurogane seems to be rubbing off on you,” she mused. “I think my bedchamber would be fine.”
“I wouldn’t say that.” He laughed as he helped her to stand. He knew she had to keep her strength up and it was hard for her to swallow most food now with her throat usually raw. “Hmm…maybe I can get the cooks to make some soup for us tonight. I think I found some herbs in the woods too. I could make something sweet for you, too.”
“That sounds wonderful. And I know it’s your favorite soup, too.” The priestess allowed Fai to escort her back to bed.
He laughed as they walked, telling her about how he had written to Kurogane again amongst other things. “It looks like Fai-kun is becoming quite the charmer, making my lovely wife smile and blush.” Fai looked to see Suwa’s lord smiling good naturedly. “I think I can look after her, Fai-kun,” the lord offered.
“Of course. I’ll head off to the kitchens then.” He moved away from her then and smiled as her husband took his place.
“Are you alright, my dear?” the lord asked his wife in private.
“The same as always. I think I’ll lie down. Just make sure I’m up before dinner. I don’t want Fai-kun to worry since he went to the trouble of making me something,” she informed him with a tired smile.
“Anything you wish,” the lord assented. He lifted some strands of her hair and played with them. “I’m shocked they’re growing up fast. Well, at least we see how Fai-kun has grown, but as for our own boy, who knows.”
“Well, he does take after his father, so I’m sure he looks the same as you.” A small smile graced her lips at the loving gesture. They both missed their son terribly but with Fai here it eased their pain.
“I sure hope he doesn’t grow taller than me, otherwise he would make me the laughingstock. But I won’t be surprised seeing that someday karma would bite me back for all those years I tormented the kid,” He jested, laughing. Toriho noticed he was keeping his wife up far too longer. “I’m sorry, we should head to our room.”
“Don’t be.” Shaking her head slowly, Tsumebe couldn’t help but laugh softly. “And our son will probably look like your twin when he comes back.”
“Minus the dragon tattoo,” Toriho replied with a grin. He led the lady away to their chamber to rest.
“Of course, how silly of me to forget it.” Once inside their room, she moved to lay down on the futon that was still spread out. She gently began taking out three hair pins and such in her long hair. “It shouldn’t be long now until we see him again.”
“You’re right,” Kurogane’s father reflected. “And when he comes back, I’m going to threaten him about taking him to see the local matchmaker. I wonder how he’s going to react.”
“Probably the same as you did at his age,” she replied with a delicate smile. “Fai-kun already turned down a matchmaker’s service, you know, but that was last year.”
“It makes me wonder. If Fai-kun did find out who his match was, how would the boy react,” the lord pondered. “Yuuko-san has quite a reputation. I don’t think I would have been happy right now if you weren’t my match.”
“Well, we knew we’d end up together long before then.” They had known each other as children when their fathers traveled and had meetings and such together.
“You’re absolutely right again!” He had a mad smile on his face all of a sudden. “Say, Fai-kun and our boy are childhood friends…”
“It could happen, but don’t push them. If it’s fate it won’t matter what anyone does,” she informed him. “I know my husband likes to do things in a particular way, but you might embarrass them if you did.”
“You got me there.” The lord grinned sheepishly. “All we ever wanted was for Kurogane to be happy - and the same for Fai-kun, too.”
“When he comes back, we won’t bother them,” she added with an emphasis as she brushed her long hair, having taken out all the ornaments.
“I can promise that, but I cannot promise I will not bother Kurogane.” He smirked. “But he’s getting older I have to admit, and there will be a time I will stop doing this to him. Though it will be painfully hard to part with.”
“And you have years to catch up on.” Laughing softly she set her brush down and moved to lie down. “Now don’t let me keep you.
“Alright, take care.” He bent down and kissed her forehead. Leaving her to rest he left the room. He could smell the aroma of soup in the palace.
“Kurogane, you’re getting stronger all the time. I think you just might be our second strongest warrior,” Tomoyo informed him with a smile as they sat eating together.
“Is that so?” Kurogane reflected as he chowed down his food. He was growing more these years, both taller and muscular. At this rate he could easily surpass 1.8m and the seamstresses were always busy crafting new clothes for him. “I still aim to be the best,” he noted.
“Maybe in another five years,” Souma said with a smirk as she sat on Tomoyo’s other side. Kurogane was now far taller than her and skilled, but she was still his teacher and he still needed to work on certain skills.
“That’s not fair!” he huffed. “That is later than I expect to return home. Besides, I want to make sure Hahaue’s doing alright.” The people close to him at Shirasagi were all informed that Lady Suwa had been feeling ill for nearly two years. Tomoyo had kindly offered to pray for her health and Amaterasu insisted that should her condition get worse she would force him back home immediately.
“I think Souma was exaggerating. At this rate you might beat her soon,” Tomoyo said as she looked over to the older ninja.
“Tomoyo-hime, you are not helping.” Souma sighed. Kurogane fought hard to hide a snigger.
“I can’t be helpful all the time,” she giggled, giving the woman a devious look. “That reminds me, I have some new hakama and yukata for you to try on, Kurogane.”
Kurogane wriggled an eyebrow. Tomoyo may not seem like it at first but she was always into the latest fashion and insisted that her court rotate into different hakama and yukata. But he knew it was because he outgrew the other one that she had new ones prepared for him.
“Oh, don’t give me that look, Kurogane. You’ll like it,” she laughed. All three of them knew that wasn’t true.
When the court tailor presented his new clothing, Kurogane had to fight so hard to not protest. The colors were daring and outrageous. For his new yukata it wasn’t simply black or white or even red. It was pale green.
“You don’t have to try on them now, since it’s getting late at all, but by tomorrow I want to see you in them,” the princess informed, thinking Kurogane wouldn’t look too bad in them.
The young lord was too revolted by the colors that he couldn’t even respond to her. Instead he slowly nodded, wondering if he could ever pull it off without getting laughs or snickers.
“Now once you finished eating, you had better go off and write to Fai-kun and your parents.” She laughed, clapping in amusement. “I think they would like it.”
Kurogane simply muttered something under his breath and lightly stomped back to resume eating.
Fai sighed as he walked. It seemed that Kurogane’s letters were fewer and even farther between. It hurt, but he supposed he understood. Even in the few letters he had gotten Kurogane seemed angrier for some reason.
“Why the sad face, young priest?” a child from the marketplace asked.
“Our young lord doesn’t send nearly enough news from the capital is all,” he said with a bright smile. He knelt down to be at eye level with her. It was always fun to talk and play with the kids here as he had missed out on a lot of it before he had come to this world.
The girl looked genuinely puzzled. “How come?” she asked curiously.
“I’m not sure, probably because he’s off getting strong for Suwa,” Fai replied and moved to get a piece of candy out of his sleeve. “But thank you for being so concerned. I’ll tell him about it. Here, have some candy as a thank you.”
“I knew we can count on the young lord!” the girl pumped her fists and smiled gleefully. “And thank you, young priest.” She accepted the piece of candy and ran back to her older sister. Standing, Fai watched them both leave before he went about walking down the street. He thought idly that Kurogane would have a lot of people waiting on his return.
“Prizes, prizes, we have wonderful prizes if you win! Come on, come all, give your luck a chance!” That voice sounded familiar.
Fai strolled up to the booth when he noticed it was the same vendor from years ago. He suddenly wondered if Kurogane had kept his gift as he hadn’t seen it in years.
The vendor stopped ringing his bell. “Hey…you look really familiar,” he observed. He was stroking his goatee.
“I believe I won a prize from you a long time ago in the capital.” Fai smiled, thinking he probably wasn’t one to be forgotten easily.
The man flashed a toothy grin. “Ah, I remember you now! Your hair and your eyes are unmistakably unique. Those children then gave you a hard time, I remember now. Didn’t you have another friend with you?”
“Yes, the young lord. He’s one of the strongest ninjas in the country now.” Fai grinned as he leaned forward against the booth.
“Oh, well I’ll say, I had no idea that the lad was the young lord of Suwa. I can see why he’s really busy,” he mused. “Say, do you still have that prize you won fair and square?”
“Not on me, I’m afraid. I think my friend took it with him.” Fai was surprised the old vendor remembered them at all.
“I see, I see.” The vendor seemed very pleasantly delighted. “So how about another round? Let’s see if you still got what it takes.”
“I suppose I could give it a try.” He smiled, thinking the older man didn’t know what he was asking. The blonde put down a few coins as the children around him watched. When he took the slingshot, he aimed carefully for a few seconds before he hit one of the other targets, knocking it off the shelf easily.
“If you get another target, how about you go home with two prizes?” the vendor bargained.
Fai had to laugh at that and nodded. He had trained for years using long range weapons and this game was far too easy for him. He leveled the slingshot with another target and hit the small circle on it, making it wobble for a few moments before it fell back like the first.
The children were wowed by Fai’s prowess with the slingshot. The vendor laughed and clapped his hands. “Well, I don’t want you to take home all the prizes now,” he teased. “So here, take your two choices.”
“Hmm…I think I will let those two have them,” Fai said as he pointed to two of the youngest children there. He thought they could use them far more than he could.
“Really?”
“Are you sure, mister?” the two children asked.
“Of course, while I’m not too old for stuffed dolls and such, they would get lonely since I leave the city a lot and you too look like you would take much better care of them,” he explained with a bright smile.
“Oh, alright.”
“Thank you, mister.” The two of them were allowed to go behind the booth to pick their prizes. When they emerged, the blonde noticed that one held a puppy doll while the other a kitty one.
“Very good choices. They’ll have good homes,” Fai told them both and watched as they smiled up at him. “Although I’m afraid I have to go. Duty calls.”
The children lifted their toys and simply admired them. “Well, it was nice seeing you again,” the vendor stated. “Please send my thoughts to the young lord.”
“I will. He should be surprised to know you still remember us.” He waved to them before walking away. It seemed today hadn’t been so mundane after all.
Next chapter will not be posted on the usual Monday and will be delayed in order to let everyone enjoy the remix fics this coming weekend. :)
Co-written by: youkohiei-fan and Zelinxia
Overall Summary: Canon AU. Eleven-year-old Kurogane and his father are summoned to Shirasagi Castle where he meets Fai, a boy from a different world. What becomes an instant friendship sets in stone an indelible bond for the two.
Chapter: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
Apart
Over half a year later Fai had still not received a letter from Kurogane. The only reason they knew he wasn’t dead was because a letter had been sent by Tomoyo herself explaining that the boy had training and missions to go on all the time.
Fai was over sixteen and things had been changing a lot for him. He was powerful thus Suwa had seen less and less oni because of it, which meant they had to face bandits more often yet it wasn’t as bad. He had also been going to the city more often and had found he was rather charming, especially when it came to the women, who always gave him free food whenever he stopped to chat with them.
“Excuse me, young priest?” a sultry voice said.
Fai looked over with a smile. A tall woman stood smiling at him. Her long black hair was pinned up with various combs and the kimono she wore looked expensive as it slipped off her shoulders. “Yes, can I help you?”
“Oh no, this was more of a question of if I can help you,” she responded with a sly glint in her eyes. Her long fingernails were clenched over a long pipe; the scent clearly was opium infused. “You see, I notice that many women around here are flattered by your charms, and I can see why.”
She leaned closer to observe Fai. “Not only do you have exotic features, but you have a good heart - two things young women these days fall over.” The woman tapped her pipe. “So how about a free matchmaking service?” she offered.
“As flattered as I am by the offer, I’m afraid I’ll have to pass. I’m a little young, don’t you think to be looking for a wife just yet.” He smiled, thinking that while the idea of courting one of the girls here had crossed his mind and thought it might be fun for a while, he wouldn’t like the idea of anything long term.
“Are you sure?” The woman blinked.
“Maybe when I’m older?” he suggested. Fai thought he was still young, after all, and didn’t need to think about settling down with anyone when he had more important things to do.
“Very well then.” She looked a tad disappointed. It was apparent she loved to match people up using her schemes. “But take this to heart young priest.” The matchmaker puffed her pipe, letting opium smoke dangle around the front of her shop for a mystical effect. “Whoever you encounter is not because of coincidence. There is no such thing as coincidence, only hitsuzen.”
“The inevitable,” Fai said aloud. He had heard those words a long time ago. “I will, Miss. Maybe one day I’ll come back asking for your skills. I’m needed back at the palace right now though.” With that he bid a quick goodbye before he headed back home.
Far behind him the woman stood there. Putting aside her opium pipe she chuckled and looked at the sky. “There is no woman suitable for you,” she whispered to herself and grinned.
As Fai walked he wondered if he should send another letter. In the months since his last one from Kurogane he had sent four. He knew his friend had realized he was late in writing back, so maybe another letter would finally get a response.
“Welcome back, young priest,” one of the palace servants greeted him with a bow. Ever since Fai had helped save that particular village from the oni, the palace had started to address him as the ‘young priest’. He still found it strange and he had tried to get them to address him as anything else, but that had failed.
Nodding in greetings, he passed them, heading towards the main hall to see if anyone was there. Only the retainer happened to be there. He was sitting on the floor, deep in meditation. Deciding not to bother him, Fai slipped out of the room and back into the hallways. It seemed today was a rather calm one and as such there wasn’t much for anyone to do.
The familiar smell of ink welcomed Fai when he went into his own chamber. The brush was poised delicately on the parchment, ready to be used. Figuring it was as good a time as anyone, the blonde sat down. Opening a bottle of ink, he grabbed his brush and once it was dipped, he began writing.
“Kuro-san, it’s been half a year and you still haven’t written back. We’re all worried. Earlier in the city a matchmaker came up to me, she wanted to find me a girl in the city here. I told her no since I’m still pretty young now.” He smiled, wondering what Kurogane would think.
Have you met anyone new? What about your missions? Have you had any adventures? Write back soon.
-Fai”
He set the letter aside so it could dry and put everything else away. The blonde hoped he would get an answer.
Kurogane was in a sparring session with Souma that afternoon. It was getting close to summer so the heat was coming too. Sweat trickled down his temples as he dodged sideways to avoid Souma’s kunai. She was quick to respond to his deflect with a swift kick. Kurogane was getting better and better and was well on his way to becoming a general in a few years. “Make sure you don’t focus on just one enemy at a time. You can always be ambushed.”
“Right,” he grunted. Kurogane could feel that he was honing his skills as a shinobi, but overall as a warrior, as the two, nearly three, years went by. He had begun to fine tune his ability to distinguish others’ presence and knowing what to expect from his enemies - or even allies. For example, Kurogane observed how Souma would rely on martial arts as well as her weapons, thus he knew to also look out for any signs that she would use her legs. If he kept dodging her kunai then he had to expect for some roundhouses as well. To counteract that he learned how to meticulously go in for an attack then sidestep appropriately before parrying.
Souma leapt backwards out of Kurogane’s reach before she took out two kunai from her belt and flung them towards the boy. He still had trouble with long ranged attacks and he needed all the practices he could get. Kurogane used his katana to deflect one of Souma’s kunai but was too slow and too late to react to the other. It grazed against his shoulder, leaving a relatively harmless scratch. Still it hurt and he gritted his teeth in pain.
“Your reflexes must be quicker,” she explained as she ran towards him for another attack.
He heaved his katana at nose level sideways to block Souma’s attack. After that contact Kuorgane moved his head to avoid having her weapon graze his cheeks and went in to jab her side with his hilt. With an open palm, she struck his arm before he could hit her and dodged low. One of her legs swept out, knocking Kurogane’s legs out from under him. Grimacing in defeat, Kurogane landed on the ground. He was panting heavily. Souma went over to lend a hand and he grudgingly accepted her help.
“Good job. Be sure to go to the training grounds in the morning.” Smiling, Souma knew Kurogane wasn’t trained well enough to defeat her yet. “Now go, I think I heard the princess tell me you got a letter earlier. It should be in your room.”
“Yeah,” he replied, clearly still sulking in his defeat. He trudged towards his room, but he noticed that his door was open. As soon as he stepped in he saw Tomoyo - who was nearing her ninth birthday - sitting calmly in a pile of pillows. In her hands was the stuffed rabbit he had brought from home.
“Tomoyo-hime, what are you doing here?!”
“I wanted to deliver your letter, silly. Don’t worry, I’m well-guarded,” she informed him and no doubt there were several ninjas around to protect her if the need arose. “Is this yours?”
“Yes it is,” Kurogane huffed. “Now give it back.” He extended his hand. The ninjas in the background watched the unfolding scene nervously. No one but Kurogane had ever talked to a member of the imperial family like that before.
“A gift from Fai-san?” she asked with a smile as she handed over the small toy.
Kurogane flushed. “It’s a long story,” he said, trying to avoid a direct answer. He snatched the toy and propped it away where it would be safe from sinister hands. “Now Souma told me you have a letter for me.”
“Ah, yes. I suspect it’s from Fai-san too.” She reached into her long sleeve and pulled out a tiny-piece of parchment rolled up.
The young man thanked the princess and sat down as far away from prying eyes to read the content in his friend’s letter. Fai mentioned something about running into a matchmaker in the heart of Suwa. Come to think of it, Kurogane knew that someday he would try to be matched with a suitable young woman who would become his wife and the future lady of Suwa. By gods how time had flew, he thought with a grimace.
“Tomoyo-hime,” he asked. “How long has it been since I last wrote any letter?”
“About…eight months I think,” she said in a pondering tone. “You work too hard, Kurogane. You should write back, it’s relaxing you know.”
Eight months… Had it really been that long? Now that he thought about it, there had been a spur of threats to Shirasagi that have been putting him off from writing back. After politely asking (which he found hard) Tomoyo to leave him alone, Kurogane stared at his writing materials, wondering what to write. He picked up his brush and began.
“Oi, Fai-kun. Been really busy. Lots of assassins have tried to invade the castle but so far I’ve helped dealing with them. I’ve been training a lot more and feeling hungry and tired more often. Maybe it’s ‘cause I’m growing. Haven’t met anyone new but I’m still aiming to defeat Souma someday so I know that I’m strong. Hope things are well at home. And stop drinking! Chichiue’s becoming a bad influence on you, which I’ve known would happen a long mile away!
“-Kurogane”
Fai would no doubt find the last bit funny as he always did when Kurogane told him not to drink. His friend would be excited to at least have a reply at last. He felt bad for not responding as soon but things at Shirasagi Castle were becoming more of his priorities. Lying down the brush and letting the parchment dry, he went up to bathe and prepare for supper.
Fai smiled to himself as he walked through the palace gardens. He had just sent off another letter for Kurogane and hoped he wouldn’t have to wait eight months for a response again. He was seventeen and growing out of the gangly and awkward looks. Whenever he walked by the handmaidens now they would usually blush and he was always getting complimented on his looks.
There were coughing noises coming from the shrine and they were intensifying. His smile fell at the sound and he hurried over. Over the past year Suwa’s lady had gotten a cough that just wouldn’t leave her. She was always resting nowadays, except for when she was gone in the shrine like now. ‘The lady should be resting.’ everyone would say, worried.
“Fai-kun… is that you?” The lady was struggling to speak in between her coughing fits. She looked weary as she was performing her priestess duties.
“It is.” He stepped forward and kneeled down beside her. “It’s alright for you to relax you know. I’ve been to the shrine this morning and with only one of us, Suwa should be safe. I know all of us would rather have you healthy than worrying over the wards right now.”
“Thank you.” Tsumebe allowed herself to rest from praying. “You don’t have to worry, I have just finished.”
The priestess stared outside the garden, observing a tree that young Kurogane would frequently climb on after being dared by her husband. “I’m glad that you and I could pool together to pray for Suwa’s safety. Otherwise Kurogane would feel horrible and would insist on coming home. But I’m glad he could still stay as long as he needs for training. I wouldn’t want to make him worry so much. But…alas that is something I cannot control,” she said with a weak smile.
“Kuro-tan will always be a worrywart and I’m getting stronger every day. Soon you won’t have to worry about coming here every day or for as long. You can focus on getting better.” His magic was strong, probably stronger than the miko’s, but it was his offensive magic that was the most powerful. His barriers still needed work.
“You’re too kind.” The priestess laid a hand on Fai’s cheek. “I know the lord and I have said this many times already, but we’re glad to have you with us. Especially for Kurogane, because you see…” She paused, trying to hold back tears. “We couldn’t have any more children after Kurogane, so we were afraid he would get lonely. He’s very kind just like his father, but we felt he needed someone that would be his friend. And now I know.” She began to whisper, “you two needed each other.”
“I believe I should say you’re the one who’s far too kind.” He smiled to her then. Kurogane’s parents had cared for him like a son and he cared for them as well. “I’m glad that I was wanted and could be helpful for all of you. Though now I must insist you let me take you somewhere to rest.”
“My, Kurogane seems to be rubbing off on you,” she mused. “I think my bedchamber would be fine.”
“I wouldn’t say that.” He laughed as he helped her to stand. He knew she had to keep her strength up and it was hard for her to swallow most food now with her throat usually raw. “Hmm…maybe I can get the cooks to make some soup for us tonight. I think I found some herbs in the woods too. I could make something sweet for you, too.”
“That sounds wonderful. And I know it’s your favorite soup, too.” The priestess allowed Fai to escort her back to bed.
He laughed as they walked, telling her about how he had written to Kurogane again amongst other things. “It looks like Fai-kun is becoming quite the charmer, making my lovely wife smile and blush.” Fai looked to see Suwa’s lord smiling good naturedly. “I think I can look after her, Fai-kun,” the lord offered.
“Of course. I’ll head off to the kitchens then.” He moved away from her then and smiled as her husband took his place.
“Are you alright, my dear?” the lord asked his wife in private.
“The same as always. I think I’ll lie down. Just make sure I’m up before dinner. I don’t want Fai-kun to worry since he went to the trouble of making me something,” she informed him with a tired smile.
“Anything you wish,” the lord assented. He lifted some strands of her hair and played with them. “I’m shocked they’re growing up fast. Well, at least we see how Fai-kun has grown, but as for our own boy, who knows.”
“Well, he does take after his father, so I’m sure he looks the same as you.” A small smile graced her lips at the loving gesture. They both missed their son terribly but with Fai here it eased their pain.
“I sure hope he doesn’t grow taller than me, otherwise he would make me the laughingstock. But I won’t be surprised seeing that someday karma would bite me back for all those years I tormented the kid,” He jested, laughing. Toriho noticed he was keeping his wife up far too longer. “I’m sorry, we should head to our room.”
“Don’t be.” Shaking her head slowly, Tsumebe couldn’t help but laugh softly. “And our son will probably look like your twin when he comes back.”
“Minus the dragon tattoo,” Toriho replied with a grin. He led the lady away to their chamber to rest.
“Of course, how silly of me to forget it.” Once inside their room, she moved to lay down on the futon that was still spread out. She gently began taking out three hair pins and such in her long hair. “It shouldn’t be long now until we see him again.”
“You’re right,” Kurogane’s father reflected. “And when he comes back, I’m going to threaten him about taking him to see the local matchmaker. I wonder how he’s going to react.”
“Probably the same as you did at his age,” she replied with a delicate smile. “Fai-kun already turned down a matchmaker’s service, you know, but that was last year.”
“It makes me wonder. If Fai-kun did find out who his match was, how would the boy react,” the lord pondered. “Yuuko-san has quite a reputation. I don’t think I would have been happy right now if you weren’t my match.”
“Well, we knew we’d end up together long before then.” They had known each other as children when their fathers traveled and had meetings and such together.
“You’re absolutely right again!” He had a mad smile on his face all of a sudden. “Say, Fai-kun and our boy are childhood friends…”
“It could happen, but don’t push them. If it’s fate it won’t matter what anyone does,” she informed him. “I know my husband likes to do things in a particular way, but you might embarrass them if you did.”
“You got me there.” The lord grinned sheepishly. “All we ever wanted was for Kurogane to be happy - and the same for Fai-kun, too.”
“When he comes back, we won’t bother them,” she added with an emphasis as she brushed her long hair, having taken out all the ornaments.
“I can promise that, but I cannot promise I will not bother Kurogane.” He smirked. “But he’s getting older I have to admit, and there will be a time I will stop doing this to him. Though it will be painfully hard to part with.”
“And you have years to catch up on.” Laughing softly she set her brush down and moved to lie down. “Now don’t let me keep you.
“Alright, take care.” He bent down and kissed her forehead. Leaving her to rest he left the room. He could smell the aroma of soup in the palace.
“Kurogane, you’re getting stronger all the time. I think you just might be our second strongest warrior,” Tomoyo informed him with a smile as they sat eating together.
“Is that so?” Kurogane reflected as he chowed down his food. He was growing more these years, both taller and muscular. At this rate he could easily surpass 1.8m and the seamstresses were always busy crafting new clothes for him. “I still aim to be the best,” he noted.
“Maybe in another five years,” Souma said with a smirk as she sat on Tomoyo’s other side. Kurogane was now far taller than her and skilled, but she was still his teacher and he still needed to work on certain skills.
“That’s not fair!” he huffed. “That is later than I expect to return home. Besides, I want to make sure Hahaue’s doing alright.” The people close to him at Shirasagi were all informed that Lady Suwa had been feeling ill for nearly two years. Tomoyo had kindly offered to pray for her health and Amaterasu insisted that should her condition get worse she would force him back home immediately.
“I think Souma was exaggerating. At this rate you might beat her soon,” Tomoyo said as she looked over to the older ninja.
“Tomoyo-hime, you are not helping.” Souma sighed. Kurogane fought hard to hide a snigger.
“I can’t be helpful all the time,” she giggled, giving the woman a devious look. “That reminds me, I have some new hakama and yukata for you to try on, Kurogane.”
Kurogane wriggled an eyebrow. Tomoyo may not seem like it at first but she was always into the latest fashion and insisted that her court rotate into different hakama and yukata. But he knew it was because he outgrew the other one that she had new ones prepared for him.
“Oh, don’t give me that look, Kurogane. You’ll like it,” she laughed. All three of them knew that wasn’t true.
When the court tailor presented his new clothing, Kurogane had to fight so hard to not protest. The colors were daring and outrageous. For his new yukata it wasn’t simply black or white or even red. It was pale green.
“You don’t have to try on them now, since it’s getting late at all, but by tomorrow I want to see you in them,” the princess informed, thinking Kurogane wouldn’t look too bad in them.
The young lord was too revolted by the colors that he couldn’t even respond to her. Instead he slowly nodded, wondering if he could ever pull it off without getting laughs or snickers.
“Now once you finished eating, you had better go off and write to Fai-kun and your parents.” She laughed, clapping in amusement. “I think they would like it.”
Kurogane simply muttered something under his breath and lightly stomped back to resume eating.
Fai sighed as he walked. It seemed that Kurogane’s letters were fewer and even farther between. It hurt, but he supposed he understood. Even in the few letters he had gotten Kurogane seemed angrier for some reason.
“Why the sad face, young priest?” a child from the marketplace asked.
“Our young lord doesn’t send nearly enough news from the capital is all,” he said with a bright smile. He knelt down to be at eye level with her. It was always fun to talk and play with the kids here as he had missed out on a lot of it before he had come to this world.
The girl looked genuinely puzzled. “How come?” she asked curiously.
“I’m not sure, probably because he’s off getting strong for Suwa,” Fai replied and moved to get a piece of candy out of his sleeve. “But thank you for being so concerned. I’ll tell him about it. Here, have some candy as a thank you.”
“I knew we can count on the young lord!” the girl pumped her fists and smiled gleefully. “And thank you, young priest.” She accepted the piece of candy and ran back to her older sister. Standing, Fai watched them both leave before he went about walking down the street. He thought idly that Kurogane would have a lot of people waiting on his return.
“Prizes, prizes, we have wonderful prizes if you win! Come on, come all, give your luck a chance!” That voice sounded familiar.
Fai strolled up to the booth when he noticed it was the same vendor from years ago. He suddenly wondered if Kurogane had kept his gift as he hadn’t seen it in years.
The vendor stopped ringing his bell. “Hey…you look really familiar,” he observed. He was stroking his goatee.
“I believe I won a prize from you a long time ago in the capital.” Fai smiled, thinking he probably wasn’t one to be forgotten easily.
The man flashed a toothy grin. “Ah, I remember you now! Your hair and your eyes are unmistakably unique. Those children then gave you a hard time, I remember now. Didn’t you have another friend with you?”
“Yes, the young lord. He’s one of the strongest ninjas in the country now.” Fai grinned as he leaned forward against the booth.
“Oh, well I’ll say, I had no idea that the lad was the young lord of Suwa. I can see why he’s really busy,” he mused. “Say, do you still have that prize you won fair and square?”
“Not on me, I’m afraid. I think my friend took it with him.” Fai was surprised the old vendor remembered them at all.
“I see, I see.” The vendor seemed very pleasantly delighted. “So how about another round? Let’s see if you still got what it takes.”
“I suppose I could give it a try.” He smiled, thinking the older man didn’t know what he was asking. The blonde put down a few coins as the children around him watched. When he took the slingshot, he aimed carefully for a few seconds before he hit one of the other targets, knocking it off the shelf easily.
“If you get another target, how about you go home with two prizes?” the vendor bargained.
Fai had to laugh at that and nodded. He had trained for years using long range weapons and this game was far too easy for him. He leveled the slingshot with another target and hit the small circle on it, making it wobble for a few moments before it fell back like the first.
The children were wowed by Fai’s prowess with the slingshot. The vendor laughed and clapped his hands. “Well, I don’t want you to take home all the prizes now,” he teased. “So here, take your two choices.”
“Hmm…I think I will let those two have them,” Fai said as he pointed to two of the youngest children there. He thought they could use them far more than he could.
“Really?”
“Are you sure, mister?” the two children asked.
“Of course, while I’m not too old for stuffed dolls and such, they would get lonely since I leave the city a lot and you too look like you would take much better care of them,” he explained with a bright smile.
“Oh, alright.”
“Thank you, mister.” The two of them were allowed to go behind the booth to pick their prizes. When they emerged, the blonde noticed that one held a puppy doll while the other a kitty one.
“Very good choices. They’ll have good homes,” Fai told them both and watched as they smiled up at him. “Although I’m afraid I have to go. Duty calls.”
The children lifted their toys and simply admired them. “Well, it was nice seeing you again,” the vendor stated. “Please send my thoughts to the young lord.”
“I will. He should be surprised to know you still remember us.” He waved to them before walking away. It seemed today hadn’t been so mundane after all.
Next chapter will not be posted on the usual Monday and will be delayed in order to let everyone enjoy the remix fics this coming weekend. :)