Author's Note: I really need to lay off the (possibly considered) crack writing. But I do these things mainly because the plot bunny refuses to leave…and in the end, they usually amuse me more then my more serious writing. But in this case, I like to think of it as more of an AU than a crack fic. There's a lot of background info in this thing, so if something doesn't quite make sense, let me know and I can try and clear it up for you.
Anyway, the opening of this is not as good as the original one I had written (and then was subsequently eaten by my computer), but it'll do.
This is my first Tsubasa fic, so any and all feedback is appreciated. Since there are a billion and one ways to spell the name of a certain mage, I'm just going to go with the one I prefer, and am going to basically avoid the whole mess with the whole real name thing...for now, at least.
Disclaimer: Author does not own anything (as far as rights and licensing goes) that has to do with the creations of CLAMP. Though she does have an unnaturally large collection of CLAMP merchandise, licensed items, and manga/anime. Not to mention the whole cosplay thing…
Title: Swept Away
Chapter: First
Rating: T
Author: Singe
O0O0O0O
He should have expected it. Really, he should have known it was coming. Tomoyo-hime had been smiling all day, even more so than usual. Soma was doing her best to try to not appear amused whenever she saw him. As a result, he had been scowling in a way most others would claim unnecessary in the face of so much cheer. But Kurogane knew what those smiles and glances really meant.
They were up to something. Something involving him. Something they knew he wouldn't like but had been deemed necessary by Tomoyo-hime. And really, it could only have to do with one thing. The timing was too perfect to even consider it being a coincidence. Because tonight was the first full moon after Kurogane had become of age, and so, tonight would be the night he received his shikigami and became a true guardian of Tomoyo-hime.
For in the land of Nihon, one could train to become a shinobi all his life, but could never truly be a guardian until the gods and Tomoyo-hime herself had blessed him. It was in the form of shikigami that these blessings came. These beings, generally some type of powerful spirit or demigod, were granted primarily as aides and protectors to soldiers, though occasionally there arose a case where the one being blessed had nothing to do with fighting or tactics. Like that one friend of Tomoyo-hime, the one nowhere near the usual required age, who just so happened to have a small, irritable and winged stuffed animal…thing, that just so happened to turn into a large, winged, and angry golden cat whenever the girl was threatened.
In any case, tonight Kurogane would receive his shiki, one chosen specifically for him by Tomoyo-hime from the candidates supplied by the greater gods. It was a cause for celebration, the day he had been waiting all his life for, or so it seemed. The day he had been waiting for since he had returned home to find the mutilated bodies of his parents among the wreckage of the small border town in which he had been born. Kurogane was looking forward to the event, and had expected his princess and comrades to be happy for him. But the former was still too damn cheerful about the whole thing.
"Kurogane?" she asked softly, noticing her shinobi's wandering attention.
"What?" came the gruff reply.
"Is something troubling you? Worried about tonight, perhaps?" Not that she really needed to ask, seeing as how Tomoyo knew perfectly well she and Soma were making the man nervous, but she was never one to pass up a good chance to harass Kurogane. Especially when he was already this annoyed and she hadn't even done anything yet…as far as he knew.
"No," he muttered darkly, "of course not."
In reply, all he got was a small, and in his mind, conniving, chuckle from the girl.
O0O0O0O
He would kill her. No, he would kill them both—Soma deserved it just as much as Tomoyo-hime, because she had known and had done absolutely nothing to stop this…this…. catastrophe from happening. It didn't matter that he had pledged his life to protect the seemingly frail and innocent princess last night. It didn't matter that he had known the other shinobi since they were children, or that the two had grown up and trained together for as long as he could remember. Because they were both responsible. And therefore, they both would have to pay.
"Woooow…what IS that?"
"A tree," he answered, after glancing at what his new "partner" was pointing and staring avidly at.
"…No, it's not."
"Yes, it is."
"Nuh uh."
"Why are you so stupid? Do they not have trees wherever the hell it is you things live before you're paired with a human?"
"Silly Kuro-tan, of course we have trees. And I," he paused to point at himself imperiously, "was not talking about the tree. Nyaah."
"Nyah? What the hell does that mean?"
"You know, like a kitty." The other then proceeded to make the noise again, which only perhaps resembled a cat if it were to be from some children's story...and the listener had partaken in a few too many cups of sake before hand.
Kurogane changed his mind. He would not simply kill them; he would make them suffer first. Suffer as much as he was going to have to for the rest of his life, or until his new Shikigami ended their contract. Which most likely, would not happen anytime soon judging by the joy that seemed to be radiating off the other and attempting, but failing, to penetrate the dark cloud of misery and irritation hanging over Kurogane's head.
"You aren't a cat," he muttered darkly and sent the other a look that would have terrified any enemy soldier, and had done so often in the past.
"I'm not right now," the blond man replied cheerfully, his smile only growing larger (if that was even possible), and then returned to his earlier question. "So, what kind of bird is that?"
"A hawk," Kurogane replied after glancing to find out what the other had been talking about. "It's some kind of messenger or shiki or something for one of Amatarasu's generals. I'm surprised you noticed it…"
"Shiki recognize shiki," came the enigmatic reply. "He's a lower level than I am—can't take human form—but he's still a shikigami." The blond-haired shiki stared at the other demigod for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, before suddenly grabbing Kurogane's arm and attempting to drag him along as he skipped.
"What are you normally?" the shinobi demanded and refused to move from his spot, wrenching his arm free of the other's grip. "When you aren't in human form."
"I already told you, Kuro-chi," the other replied happily, seemingly not put off by the threatening feeling emanating from the taller human.
"…A cat."
"Yes!"
Kurogane sighed. Of all the things he imagined his Shiki would be, he never would have thought he'd eternally be tied to a thin, blond, and perpetually annoying cat. Granted, he had yet to see the other's true form, seeing as how during the ceremony last night the being had appeared in the shape of a human and had done little more than bow slightly in respect to Tomoyo-hime and himself. As such, Kurogane did not realize just what he had unknowingly agreed to until this morning when he had been awakened by the excitable mass of energy known as "Fai" pouncing on him. Not that he would ever admit the event had happened to anyone. One did not simply sneak up or catch by surprise the shinobi Kurogane. It was not possible.
Sighing, he glanced at Fai, noting how the other was now happily prancing around the courtyard. How had someone like that have successfully snuck up on him? It just didn't make any---wait a minute. He turned his attention back to Fai, who was now apparently stalking a large gold and blue butterfly. Out of the corner of his eye, Kurogane had thought he has seen an unusual movement.
He had.
The otherwise normal appearing blond man now had a pair of cat ears in addition to his more normal human ears. They sat on top of his head, blending in with the flaxen hair, and only made noticeable by their slight twitching as the owner of the ears stalked his prey. Kurogane had heard about things like this before, of course: shikigami who could move at will between one form and another, picking and choosing the traits they wanted their physical body to display. But it was uncommon. The shikigami who were capable of it were rare, powerful, and in battle, deadly. There had only been one of these shiki ever to be a Healer type (as far as anyone knew)…and that had been generations ago. Every other one had been apparently intended for battle: vicious, deadly, and loyal to a fault. All of which were traits most common in the Fighter types of shikigami. But from what he had seen, none of these traits were apparent in his new shiki. So, just what the hell was the blond nuisance really?
"Hyuu!" The other interrupted the shinobi's thoughts with his delighted cry and then proceeded to prance over to his owner to happily display his captured prey. Kurogane almost instantly forgot the train of thought he had been on and resumed planning the payback he owed to both his princess and his comrade. Both of which, as he was currently unaware, were watching the events unfold between the shinobi and shikigami thanks to a special divining mirror owned by the princess, who—hypothetically speaking, of course—occasionally used the sacred device for personal affairs.
"Tomoyo-hime," Soma said cautiously, watching the amused smile barely concealed on the face of the younger girl, "may I ask as to why you…decided on this particular shikigami for Kurogane-san? I know you have your reasons…but as I have said since I met this so-called 'Fai,' I am not so certain as to what those reasons are."
The smile of the younger grew even more cheerful as she turned to look at her female guardian. "You know, there are shikigami who are capable of becoming bonded to a human that never do."
"Excuse me, hime?"
"You see, Soma, there are some demigods who simply are not compatible with humans, and therefore cannot be bonded to them, even if they were to wish to do so. But there are also those that are entirely capable of it, but can never quite bring themselves to forge such a bond. Which is unusual, to say the least. Just as it is a rite of passage for shinobi, it is one for the demigods as well. And that is why, whenever a human who is able to connect with the gods comes of age, there are always so many of the demigods that present themselves in hopes of being selected. With the nearly immortal lives of the gods, it is possible for a demigod to wait decades, or centuries—if not more—to be selected."
"And the one you and the higher gods decided upon for Kurogane-san is one of these? Was he selected because he has waited so long?"
"Oh no," the priestess turned her and attention back to the mirror, absent-mindedly watching her new guardian attempting to kill a butterfly with a katana. "I had never seen him before that initial meeting, unlike almost all the other candidates. And he is not some new born god…despite his appearance, the soul in that form," she gestured to the mirror at the laughing figure easily dodging swings of a blade, "is far older than I think even I can imagine."
"Then…why?"
"Because it seemed right, as if the two of them would just…fit, regardless of anything else. It was almost like…he had been waiting, but not in vain like the other demigods. Almost as if…he knew when it would be his time to be selected and didn't bother to wait in vain until then."
"Tomoyo-hime, that is…it seems you made the choice based on faith and a whim…and then that the higher gods simply went along with your decision. You know Kurogane-san will expect more of an answer." Soma, like all trained soldiers, no matter their title, was weary of emotional decisions. And the risk her princess had taken by selecting a shikigami—whose name had not even been recognized by her own shiki—by such a means, especially for a shinobi such as Kurogane who was powerful enough by himself, seemed extremely dangerous.
"Yes, I suppose he will. But really, all I can tell him truthfully was that it was faith and a feeling. But really, is that so bad? An alliance formed with any shikigami is one of both trust and faith. A person does not simply accept someone into their life just because they met on a street. We are too distrusting of other humans for that. And yet…a select few are able, are willing to simply accept some strange being into every aspect of their existence, a being more powerful and perhaps more conniving than any man. You yourself are bonded to a demigod, are you not? And what has allowed you to have that bond? Trust? Faith? They are really both the same in the end."
"My trust was in you," the darker skinned of the two answered after a moment, still feeling uneasy over the new situation for her comrade, despite her initial amusement with it after having met the blond shiki.
"As was his." Tomoyo replied gently. After this, there was silence between the two for a time, as they were both absorbed in watching the unlikely pair they were discussing. The blond had somehow ended up in the upper branches of a large tree in one of the courtyards. He himself had apparently forgotten how he had gotten there, if the conversation with his new human was anything to go by. Said human was of course yelling at him to cut it out, climb down, or be left behind. He seemed to believe the blond was joking…and judging by the large smile plastered across the latter's face, the belief was entirely justified. So he turned to leave. The blond attempted to regain the shinobi's attention, but in doing so managed to lose his balance. And so, the lithe demigod proceeded to fall out of the tree, his arms still flailing.
Neither Soma or Tomoyo were able to contain a wince as it was proven that while cats may always land on their feet, feline shikigami were not quite as lucky. Well, at least not this one.
"Well…" the female guardian began to say a few moments after watching the newest addition to the court being dragged to his feet by his partner and then subsequently berated, "if nothing else he certainly livens things up."
"I think they'll be good for each other," Tomoyo-hime responded cheerfully and then decided she should perhaps perform some of her expected duties instead of watching the torment of her male guardian. Really, the boy still had so much to learn…and she was already certain the blond would be more than able to help her teach, whether or not he was aware of it.
O0O0O0O
Ending Note: In all honesty, when I started writing this, the plan was to do a humorous one shot about Kurogane being eternally stuck with a certain genki shikigami, perhaps with a slightly more Death Note-esque plot and/or background. And then the damn thing got away from me. So there may be more or this may be it. I do have a plot in mind, but I would like to have some reader input on whether or not it would be worth the effort or if there would even be interest…
So, please leave a comment/review/critique/suggestion so I can get some sort of idea.
In any case, thanks for reading!
