A/N: This was actually a birthday gift for my friend Aayla. Enjoy!
Ninja, Butterfly, Samurai.
Luka sighed – again – and propped her head up on her hand, bent backwards.
Somehow, when she joined the clan, she didn't imagine that she'd be sitting in a class with 4 other people around her age – Kagamine Rin, Yokane Haku, Hatsune Miku, and Sakine Meiko – with an extremely boring teacher who's voice dragged on...and on...and on.
The pinkette was the first out of the classroom when the teacher dismissed them.
Miku stumbled out, groaning.
"Oh...my...gods..."
"I know, right?" Luka said sympathetically. The 5 girls all shared a dormitory and were very close friends.
"I did not sign up for...that."
In actuality, they hadn't signed up for anything. They all came from very old families who had been sending their children to learn to be ninja from centuries. Luka, Miku, and Rin all had brothers in the clan. Their paths crossed occasionally – more to prank each other than in an educational way.
Of course, what was the point of having advanced ninja training – not being allowed to fight – if you didn't use them to prank your obnoxious brother?
Later that night, Luka flopped down on her low-riding bed in the dormitory. Miku was in the restroom, preparing for bed. Meiko and Haku had been called off for super secret hush hush training. Rin – the youngest out of them by 3 years – had already fallen asleep.
When the teal haired girl came back out of the restroom, Luka put a finger to her mouth. Miku had a tendency to be...loud. In everything she did. Singing, walking, talking, sleeping. The only place she wasn't loud was in training or on a mission. It wouldn't do to have a noisy ninja.
Miku spotted the sleeping blonde and nodded. She sat down on her bed – the one next to Luka's - and started talking quietly with her friend.
It was really just idle chitchat when Miku spoke of the samurai.
"I heard Kiyoteru-sensei say that he thinks the samurai are getting ready to launch a peace treaty with us."
Luka just nodded. She wasn't doing as much talking; more listening.
"Hmm..."
Miku rolled her eyes at her friend, who was reading.
"Alright...well, I'm going to go to sleep."
"Mhm.."
"Goodnight Luka."
"'Night Miku..."
Later that week, they had their final assessments. If they passed this, they would become full-flegded ninja in the clan. Haku and Meiko still hadn't returned from their mission, and Rin was too young to take the assessment, so it was only Luka and Miku. The two were usually paired up – they were an excellent team – and pitted against Luki and Mikuo, their brothers.
Today, though, the masters decided that they had to test Luka and Miku even further.
They were pitted against each other.
They sparred fiercely for a while, before Miku broke down when Luka pulled a blow.
"I...I can-can't do it! I c-can't h-h-hurt Luka!"
Luka instantly dropped her katana.
The masters murmured to each other for a few minutes before the Hard Master stood
"Very well...Luka, you know what to do."
The tradition was that if you're opponent said that they couldn't – they were not defeated in combat, they gave up – that the winner would give the death blow.
Luka looked at her friend, who was kneeling, head bowed, helplessly.
"I..." she started quietly, "I can't."
In the end, both of them were thrown out of the clan, without being allowed to say goodbye to anyone. Their brothers would be informed and expected to tell their parents.
They would also tell Len – Rin's brother – who would tell Rin, who would run in sobbing to Haku and Meiko.
Luka's heart twinged at the thought of little Rin being upset over their absence.
Miku was still crying as they made their way away from the clan where they grew up in.
"Come on, Miku..." Luka said quietly, "We should find somewhere to stay before nightfall."
They had been traveling for 2 months.
Luka and Miku were the epitome of 'bedraggled travelers'. Luka's hair – usually so stately, even though it was pink – was now tangled and knotted. Miku's long teal locks – longer than Luka's by about 3 inches – weren't much better. Their kimonos were ripped and falling apart. Both girls had lost weight from lack of food. They stole from farmers to scrape by.
"Come on, Miku..." Luka encouraged, "We have to be close. They have to be around here somewhere."
The 2 were searching for the Samurais. They had heard of the peace between Ninja and Samurai and decided that it would be the best move to put their skills to use as Samurai instead of becoming mercenary.
Miku had started to drag herself upwards when two figures burst into the foliage. Miku screamed, hitting a high note that Luka hadn't thought possible to hit. The people – a man and a woman – clasped their hands over their ears.
"MIKU!"
The voice was strangely familiar.
"Meiko...?" Luka murmured.
The brown haired woman nodded.
"Miku, stop! It's Meiko!"
Miku instantly stopped.
"Really? Meiko? Why are you here Meiko? Why are you with him? What's his name?" Miku asked in her typical, rapid-fire, breathless voice.
Meiko groaned.
"Never changed, did you? Well...yes, it's me. I'm here because I became a samurai. He's a samurai also. His name is Shion Kaito."
'Shion Kaito' was a blue haired man who wore a matching blue scarf.
"You became a samurai?" Luka asked, shocked. Meiko nodded.
"It was the only way to..."
"To what?"
"To get Haku free. They captured us and wouldn't let us go until they got our word that we wouldn't tell the clan. I had to become a Samurai to prove it." Meiko said sadly. Luka and Miku, for once, were speechless.
Meiko half smiled.
"It's not that bad. We were sent to collect two trespassing women. Come on."
"You're arresting us?" Miku cried. Meiko shook her head.
"No, Miku! I am not! You are to come with us to see the Lord Kamui. He wished to talk to the trespassers."
The Lord Kamui turned out to be a tall, lean man with purple hair longer than both Miku and Luka's hair. He had laugh lines around his eyes, but he wasn't smiling now.
Luka and Miku both bowed to the Samurai Lord who held their lives in his hands.
"We apologize profusely, Lord Kamui...We did not know that these were your lands, though we have been looking for you since our clan kicked us out."
Kamui raised a purple eyebrow.
"You have been looking for us, ninja?" His voice was surprisingly deep and smooth. Soft, too, though Luka didn't doubt that it could raise just as easily.
"Yes, Lord Kamui-"
"Enough of that...call me Gakupo, pretty butterfly." Luka's cheeks flushed and she gritted her teeth.
"If it is all the same to you, I would prefer we stick to proper names, Lord Kamui."
Gakupo laughed softly.
"Alright, butterfly. What are your names?"
"I am Megurine Luka and she is Hatsune Miku." Luka said, gesturing to herself and Miku. Lord Kamui nodded, thinking.
"Alright, Megurine Luka, why were you two seeking out the clan?"
"As I said, our clan kicked us out and we decided, with the new peace between Ninja and Samurai, that we could put our skills to good use."
Gakupo seemed quiet about this.
"Hmm...I see. Well, Gumi – my cousin – shall see you to the guest quarters. You will receive my answer in the morning."
"Thank you, Lord Kamui."
*~*~*~*
That next day, Luka raised before Miku – as always – and made herself presentable.
She sighed in happiness. It felt good to be able to have clean hair and clothes. The pink haired woman glanced back at the sleeping Miku. She figured she would have half an hour before she awoke and started to play with her hair, braiding it back in an intricate design taught to her by her mother.
Miku woke 3 minutes after Luka finished with her hair.
"Gooood morning." she yawned. Luka grunted in acknowledgment.
The teal haired girl dragged her arm across her face in order to whip away the sleep.
"Whoa!" she exclaimed when she saw the way Luka had done her hair.
"My mother taught it to me." Luka defended.
"It looks amazing, Luka-chan." Miku assured her. Then, she gained a sly grin.
"Are you trying to look pretty for a certain Samurai?"
"No! What on earth would make you think that?"
"I saw the way you reacted when he called you 'pretty butterfly!"
"You are imagining things, Miku." Luka said, rolling her eyes and pulling the pins out of place, allowing her knee-length hair to fall back in its usual waves, ignoring the screeches of protest.
There was a knock on the door. It was Gumi, the green haired cousin of Lord Kamui.
"Gak- Lord Kamui requests your presence."
The trio made their way to the hall where they originally met Lord Kamui.
"I have decided to let you stay here and continue your training."
"Lord Kamui, we have finished our ninja training. We were thrown out before our final assessment."
Gakupo looked thoughtful for a minute.
"I see. Well, then you may join the ranks of our Samurai. You are dismissed."
Luka stood there, dumbstruck, for a few minutes while she tried to piece together what he said.
Then she shrugged and raced after Gumi and Miku.
Gakupo couldn't figure Megurine Luka out. She was obviously skilled, but not proud about it. Was that something they taught in ninjas? Samurai were very proud creatures. But that did not make sense, because the other girl, Hatsune Miku, was very proud. And then Luka would get onto her for gloating.
Luka was also very pretty. The original nickname, 'pretty butterfly', suited her very well. Luka was graceful, beautiful, and fast. So fast. Gakupo had overseen her training sessions, and she was very fast.
She had also refused his suggestion of putting her in more power. The pink haired girl was a natural with tactics, and was made one of his tacticians. She was a leader, but would not accept a place of power. What was up with her?
Months passed, and Gakupo found himself faced with the Winter Ball. Even Samurai had dances.
The Winter Ball was the biggest event of the year, and it was traditionally the courting event.
Now the Samurai Lord just had to work up the courage to ask Megurine Luka to it.
He paced in his lavish quarters, hands behind his back, murmuring to himself.
"Luka, would you kindly...No, Gakupo that sounds retarded...Would you like to come to the...Gah! Too formal..."
After about 30 minutes of trying out different pieces of flowery, poetical language, he decided that Luka would probably just laugh at him for it.
She wasn't like other girls.
The purple haired Samurai Lord set out to find Luka.
It wasn't that hard; she was relaxing in her assigned quarters. Reading. Reading? Not many girls Gakupo knew read. Or enjoyed it like Luka obviously did. He could see that content look on her face. Then it twisted in agony as something obviously happened in the story that wasn't good. Gakupo resisted the instinct to go over and insist that everything would be alright.
It's just a book. Just a book. Just a story.
"Ah...Luka...Am I interrupting anything?"
Of course, this was more of a way to get her attention than a real question. As Samurai Lord, he could conduct a search of any guest or resident in his manor at any time he wished – it was only polite to inform a female member before doing so.
Luka looked up, shocked, her ice blue eyes wide. Then her eyes darted down to make sure she was covered. With relief, she registered she was.
"G-Gakupo!"
In the months of working closely, they had lost the icy formality Luka insisted on at the beginning.
Gakupo's mouth twitched upwards.
"Excuse me for staying covered in your presence, Lord Kamui...but I am not decent." Luka was wearing a tank top and very short sleeping shorts.
Gakupo nodded. Another thing that was different...Girls were raised to be modest, but hardly any were this day and age. Luka refused to let anyone – besides Meiko and Miku, who had grown up with her – in anything but her normal top and skirt, which brushed her ankles. And she could fight in it. And hid weapons with it. Gakupo was impressed.
"Ah...Luka...I was wondering if you had an escort to the Winter Ball."
Luka's brow furrowed a little.
"Well, no..."
Gakupo pounced on it eagerly, hoping his excitement was not noticeable.
"Would you allow me to take you?"
"Is that an order?" Luka asked quietly. If Gakupo made it an order, she would do it unquestioningly. Gakupo sighed.
"No," he said at last, "It's not."
There was a long – well, it seemed long to Gakupo – silence.
"You can have anything – within reason – if you do." Gakupo said desperately. Luka looked up at him.
"Anything?" She sounded about 5 years old – or like Kaito, which was about the same thing – promised ice cream for doing a good job.
"Within reason."
A real smile crossed Luka's face. She didn't smile – really, smile – often. There was her evil grin, her condescending smile, and her awkward, forced, polite-society smile. Then there was her real smile.
Gakupo waited anxiously, tapping his fingers along the railing of the entrance to his ballroom. Luka was supposed to be here any second. They would make a grand entrance together, fashionably late.
It had been the talk of the entire manor. The icy ex-ninja Luka and the Lord Kamui, attending the Ball together? Scandalous! Breathtaking!
If Samurais had tabloids, this would be on the front page of every single one of them. (And probably some lie about Luka being pregnant with his child – not that he was opposed to that. He just wanted to do it right.)
And then she appeared, tossing back a remark to someone behind her that he couldn't hear.
She looked...scandalous. Breathtaking.
She wore a beautiful blood-red kimono, just long enough to be acceptable for Luka's standards. Her waist was made even smaller with a green sash, and her long pink hair was wound into a bun with a yellow hair piece accenting it.
Gakupo barely realized he was staring, his mouth unhinged.
Luka tugged at the hem of her kimono awkwardly.
"Do I look alright?" she asked quietly.
The Lord Kamui, feared samurai, snapped out of his stupor.
"Yes! You look amazing, Luka!"
Luka smiled a little bit, but Gakupo saw the insecurity there. He wondered why she was insecure about anything. She was the best at whatever she tried at – and she was beautiful. She had more curves than any other Japanese woman he had ever met, and she hid them behind a long skirt and loose shirt.
"Let's go, then, Lord Kamui."
The next day, Gakupo didn't want to get up. He imagined that everyone else in the manor was feeling the same way. Now he knew why every other Samurai Lord before him in the Kamui family had declared the day after the Winter Ball a day off. He hurt in places he didn't even know he had – and he was very aware of pretty much everything in his body – and he was so happy, which didn't make any sense at all.
He was still smiling when he dragged himself into the dining hall for breakfast. The cook staff was one they used specifically for the mornings after large events – like the Winter Ball, or a battle.
"You look happy," Gumi grumbled, glaring at her coffee.
"Very. You looked plenty happy last night in the arms of Piko." Gakupo instantly retorted. His sister was much older than him, and Gumi was more of the sister, rather than the cousin.
The girl flushed bright red, which contrasted nicely with her neon green hair.
"Don't worry," Gakupo said in a tone much quieter, "I approve." Gumi rolled her eyes, but smiled anyway.
Just then, an ungraceful Luka stumbled into the dining hall.
Gakupo shot up.
"Gotta go, Gumi!" he called, running across the room to help Luka into her chair.
The pinkette glared at Gakupo the entire time. When the purple haired man sat next to her, she slapped him with a loud SMACK. Everyone in the room – about 19 people – gasped. Gakupo was dumbstruck.
"What was THAT for?" he asked incredulously.
"For all the pain I'm in!" Luka retorted. Her face was flushed in, Gakupo assumed, anger.
Then she leaned forward suddenly, placing her hands on either side of his head and kissed him soundly on the lips.
Gakupo was too stunned for about a split second to respond, but once he registered Luka had no intention of breaking of the kiss, he responded, carefully wrapping his arms around her and kissing her back, adding a heat that Luka didn't expect him to have.
When they finally broke it off, Luka looked highly satisfied with herself.
"And what," Gakupo asked, panting slightly, "was that about?"
"You said I could have anything I wanted."
"That's what you wanted?"
"Well...I didn't want to slap you until we danced so much."
"Ah."
They lapsed into a comfortable – but somewhat awkward, with the entire room watching them -silence.
Luka stood.
"I suppose I should go attend my duties." Luka said in a even, controlled tone. She stood and left the room with a swirl of hair.
"Chase after her, Gakupo!" Gumi instantly shouted. Her cousin needed no other encouragement, standing and running out of the room with a speed no one had ever seen in their Samurai Lord before.
"Luuuuuuuuuka! Wait!" was heard.
The crowd that was just there was silent for about 4 minutes before what they had just seen sunk in and they erupted in pandemonium.
With these two and Meiko and Kaito – who had recently become public with their courtship – the Samurais would need to start tabloids.
Gakupo found the pink-headed woman working away in her small office. He knocked hesitantly on her door.
"Luka?"
"Come in." she said briskly. Gakupo obeyed. He felt more like a little boy sent to the Headmaster's office than a Samurai Lord and therefore superior to Luka.
"What's wrong?" he asked. Luka just looked at him with that icy coolness from the beginning of their relationship. That cut into Gakupo better than any blade could – and his scars showed just how well blades could cut him.
"I do not know what you are referring to, Lord Kamui."
"You just slapped me, kissed me, and now are icy!"
"I figured you wished that it did not happen, so I am willing to pretend it didn't." Gakupo could swear that he heard sadness in her voice.
"Luka..." he said softly, moving behind her and wrapping his arms around her slim waist and resting his forehead on the top of her head. Luka hesitated a moment on deciding what to do.
Then she grabbed the fork she had used for breakfast and stabbed his hand with it.
"AH!" Gakupo shouted, wrenching away, "WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT FOR?"
"I do not appreciate the close contact, Lord Kamui." Luka said, obviously fighting herself.
Gakupo looked down and saw the sheath that held the katana that had been passed from Samurai Lord to Samurai Lord.
He unbuckled it and tossed it aside.
Luka seemed shocked at this. A Samurai did not discard his sword – especially the sword that signified his Lordship.
"Luka, I don't care about them. Truth is, I've been in love with you since that first meeting you were at as a Tactician."
A small smile crept over Luka's features. That meeting, Luka had – very calmly – presented her plan for counterstrike against a small rogue force of ninja.
Then, when someone argued against it, she annihilated their argument – also very calmly.
And when they continued to argue, completely out of arrogance, Luka had started yelling. It was actually quite humorous to Gakupo. He had always thought that the man was rather ignorant.
"I don't care if I'm Samurai Lord. If that's what's making you stay away from me, then so be it – I'll appoint Gumi my successor and even leave the manor with you."
Luka was shocked. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, but no sound came out.
"Gakupo..."
He looked up at her, his purple eyes wide with terror. Luka flew onto him, latching her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Her face was buried in his shoulder, and Gakupo idly noted that it looked nice with his own dark purple hair.
"I'm sorry," she sobbed into his shoulder, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
"This means you'll allow me to court you?" Gakupo murmured, his eyes closed, his arms wrapped around her, supporting her, almost protectively.
"Of course, Gakupo. Of course."
It was the next year before Gakupo and Luka married. Miku had stood beside Luka as her maid of honor – as well as Meiko, Gumi and another girl, Lily – sobbing her eyes out through the entire ceremony.
They had just returned from their honeymoon when Luka hesitantly approached Gakupo about something.
"Gakupo..."
"Yes, butterfly?"
Luka half smiled at the pet name, but her nervousness overcame it.
"I want to visit my old clan."
Gakupo jerked his head up.
"What?"
"I...I want to visit my old ninja clan."
"The ones who threw you out because you wouldn't deliver a death blow to your best friend?"
Luka just nodded meekly. Her new husband was speechless.
"Well...Why?"
"My...my brother is still there."
"You never told me you had a brother!"
"Guess it slipped my mind...But my brother and my close-enough-to-be-a-little-sister is there..."
"You have a brother and good-enough to be a little sister at your old clan and you never told me?"
Now she was blinking back tears.
"I didn't want to talk about it." she said quietly. Gakupo saw the effect of talking about her old life was having on his wife.
He moved forward and held her, rubbing her back comfortingly. She clung to the front of his shirt, almost numb.
"I'm sorry Luka...We can go. We can go and visit your family. I'm so sorry, my lovely butterfly..."
Now Luka stood, staring at the doors of her clan's hidden dojo, trying to regulate her breathing. Gakupo gripped her hand. He refused to allow her in alone.
She took a deep breath and opened the door.
Kiyoteru was enjoying his tea when a messenger girl ran into his quarters.
"Kiyoteru-sensei!" she seemed out of breath, "Megurine Luka has returned!"
The older man quickly stood.
"Megurine Luka?"
The young girl nodded quickly. Kiyoteru thought that she couldn't be more than 9 years old.
"What's your name?"
"Yuki, Kiyoteru-sensei!"
"Well, Yuki, take me to Megurine Luka."
Luka was sitting there, watching her fingers curl around Gakupo's then uncurl when the door opened.
She rose quickly, her old training reasserting itself, and dropped into a deep bow. Her pink hair – now much longer than the last time Kiyoteru had seen her – made a curtain around her.
"Kiyoteru-sensei." her voice was muffled from the curtain of hair that separated her from the rest of the world.
Kiyoteru frowned.
"Please stand, Megurine Luka."
Luka straightened wearily.
"I am no longer known as Megurine."
Her old teacher arched an eyebrow.
"Really?"
She nodded.
"I see." he said, frowning. Then the doors opened again. Rin, Haku, Len, Mikuo, and Luki stood there. They had obviously been summoned – but not by Kiyoteru.
"What are you doing here?" his voice cracked like a whip.
Luki – the oldest of them – stood forward.
"We were summoned, Kiyoteru-sensei." Then his eyes drifted over to his sister.
Gakupo could see the similarities. They both had pink hair, and icy blue eyes, and the same angular face. They even sounded the same – sort of. Except that Luki's voice was obviously lower. And he was older than her – probably by 4 or 5 years.
"LUKA!" The blonde girl, a very small thing, screeched. She would have flown at her if the boy who looked almost exactly like her hadn't caught her around her waist.
"Rin," he hissed.
"But...Len, it's Luka!"
"I know, Rin. But she was exiled for a reason."
"Because she wouldn't kill Miku?"
"Rin."
Gakupo smiled slightly at the interchange between the brother and sister – possibly even twins. He watched his wife, he saw the tears that trickled down her cheeks as she watched her family – her other family.
Kiyoteru frowned.
"You should not have come back, Megurine Luka."
"I told you," she said tightly, "I am not a Megurine anymore."
Luki seemed shocked at this.
"You gave up our family name, Luka?" His sister shook her head.
"Not until..." she looked back at Gakupo, her eyebrows furrowed in that adorable way that she had. "When was it, Gakupo?"
"3 weeks ago." he said happily. Luka nodded.
"Yes, 3 weeks ago. 3 weeks ago I became a Kamui." Her words took a while to register on her older brother.
"You became a...Kamui..." he stuttered. Kiyoteru recognized the name.
"Wait!" he said, "That is the family name of our local Samurai Lord."
Luka nodded.
Then the teacher looked beyond the ex-ninja, to the purple haired man sitting on the benches. His eyes widened and his mouth seemed to unhinge.
"Kamui Gakupo!" All eyes focused on him.
On his part, Gakupo gave a little wave.
"Hello."
The next few hours were a blur. There was the little matter of Luka's exile – which was quickly resolved, once they found out Luka was the new wife of a Samurai Lord.
Then there was the hour and a half of teary, barely comprehensible, babble from Rin who attached herself to Luka. Luki gave her a very stern talking to, which he came out of with a red mark on his cheek. Gakupo figured that's what that very loud noise was, and the yell of pain.
The gist of this violent conversation was that Luka shouldn't have married without her father's permission ("Father has been dead for 4 years, Luki."), or at least talked to him about it, since he was the oldest male ("I was exiled, Luki!").
Then there was a lot of hugging and crying.
At one point, Gakupo was slapped by the white/gray haired girl named Haku. He remembered her from that imprisonment she and Meiko suffered. The one that made Meiko turn into a Samurai. He didn't blame her – he probably would have slapped the person who imprisoned himself and Kaito, then made Kaito become a ninja for his own freedom.
After all the violent and tearful interjections, Gakupo actually got to sit down and meet Luka's family.
They were nothing alike – Luki and Luka. Well...they were. But where Luka was more...cunning and sarcastic, and oh-so-clever, Luki was more blunt and in your face.
And then there was Rin. The girl was only 16, and she relied on her twin brother for more than Gakupo thought possible. She was clingy, attaching herself to Luka, but very eager and nice.
Haku was quiet and almost harsh, but Gakupo saw the relief that she knew Luka was safe in her almost completely passive face.
Mikuo was exactly like his younger sister. It was almost like they were the twins, and Rin and Len were just siblings – but Len and Rin were also exactly a like. Gakupo found it very confusing.
Then Luki.
He seemed happy enough that Luka was in love and pleased...but Gakupo saw the resentment there. He understood, sort of. The purple haired samurai related it to Gumi – if he hadn't seen her in almost a year, and she came back with some man he never knew saying she was married...well, he'd be pretty ticked too.
Luki kept quiet though. He saw the way Luka glanced at Gakupo, the way that Gakupo sat next to her, never letting go of her hand – almost possessively. He was happy for his sister...just...displeased. Yes, that was the word. He was displeased that she had gotten married without even consenting him first. She was exiled...and even this trip was risky.
At least Gakupo seemed...real. He didn't seem like he loved her for her looks like the other boy who broke Luka's heart before – the one that had made her stay up for nights on end, sobbing her eyes out.
Of course, that was nearly 5 years ago...But still. Luki was weary of any possible suitor for his younger sister.
But as he watching Gakupo stoop his head to whisper something in her ear, then the way he tucked a lock of pink hair behind it, and the way Luka stifled a giggle, Luki had to admit...
Luka was much better off with this man.
And for that reason only, Luki would give him a chance.
Even though they were already married.
Ah...well...it's the thought that counts.
~FIN~
A/N: Well...there it is! Originally, it was 3 chapters, but I just compiled them. Happy Birthday, Aayla~!
If you get all the song references, please comment and tell me.
Even if you don't, still comment. XD