Fandom: Blade of the Immortal

Title: Arranged Future

Author: Kanashimi Angel

Theme: #20 – Violence; War (Marriage of Death)

Pairing: Anotsu Kagehisa x Makie Otono-Tachibana

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Blade of the Immortal © Hiroaki Samura. (A/N : I know that none of you knows this fandom, but PLEASE read it. It's my most worked-on story.)

The lit darkness of dawn was filling her room; the first rays of sun came in by her window and fell on the wrinkles of her futon. Her yukata had slipped from her left shoulder, but she didn't seem to care. The white fabric wrapped around her thin body was cheap and hard, yet it had the elegance of silk. But that was her fate. Having to work in the place she did, Makie Otono-Tachibana could not really say that Lady Luck had been nice to her. Moreover, her violent and gruesome past had led to this; it would be inevitable.

Having beaten a man in battle when she was only six, having fought with fifty stray dogs at her eleventh year, she had become the deadliest swordswoman in feudal Japan; yet the fatal beauty she had inherited from her mother worked as an obstacle to this ability of hers. Her father, broken down by his daughter's action, beating her older brother in a public battle, and afterwards, said son killing himself to erase the shame, went crazy and took it all out on her mother and her. Ever since, Makie could remember locking herself up into her room, tightly holding her head, trying to hold out the screams of her mother, being hit y her drunk father.

All those lasted until the day her mother, fed up with that madman of her husband, took Makie by the hand and left. She asked for a roof in several places, but only this low brothel house that she too worked for now accepted them. Makie's mother set aside her pride, coming from a noble family, and became a concubine, thus serving the people who offered her a room and money to raise her daughter.

Makie herself loathed this life and disgusted with her mother's actions. All seemed meaningless and the only thing she could find some comfort in was her swordsmanship. Whenever her mother's clients were there, Makie made sure to get away, seeking solace and peace so to train.

The worst thing was when her mother came to that point of her age that she couldn't work like that anymore. Makie's beauty dragged the owner. Her elegance, the way she moved, her hair, her solemn eyes were all attractive characteristics and the man's brain was big. Makie would bring him a major rise on his income if she worked too. And when her mother died, Makie took her place.

And ever since that day there was no more something significant in Makie Otono-Tachibana's life.

She hated it. She hated her room, the clothes she dressed with, the hairpins, the combs, the perfumes, the white powder she covered her face with, the red and black paint, the futon she worked on; the same futon she tried to find some sleep every dawn. She hated the timing, the clients, the boss, everything. Her only comfort lied in the lone samisen in which she hid her blades. It was heavy when she wanted to play it, but she had gotten used to it. Late at night, so late that it was dawn already, when her last client left, Makie would crawl to the darkest corner of her room, wrapping herself with one of her sheets, and after grabbing her samisen she would sing and cry, looking out of the window up to the sky, the fading images of the stars in the early hours of dawn. She hated this life she was forced into, and she never saw any hope into her future. She was a whore, while she wanted to be a swordswoman. Some of the men that came for her to please them noticed the suppressed sorrow that lied into her ever-solemn eyes and showed some sympathy, but Makie could not feel it anymore. She had been hurt in many ways, physically and mentally, and she didn't have the courage to fight for any delightful changes anymore. Those few men that tried to comfort her could understand nothing, nothing at all. She obediently listened to their requests and did as she was told, unwillingly but almost unconsciously.

That was, until Anotsu Kagehisa came to the brothel house.

He requested to see her, and wouldn't be satisfied with anyone else. Makie was fed up that day, every last one of the men she had seen today were the worst of the worst. The things she was forced to do made her want to vomit. Once more, she was sitting on her futon, her silk kimono leaving her shoulders uncovered, her hair tied up, tightly held with the hairpins, only some dark strands falling over her beautiful features. She was tired; the next one to enter her room would finally be the last one. Dawn was near, and Makie favored those hours. The sheer truth was that she would like to kill the next one to step in her room, but when the door opened she just lost her courage to even move. She collapsed on the futon, her limbs feeling numb as she listened to the quiet steps the man took towards her.

…Weird. Not a person had walked like that before. Quiet and calm. Collected. Makie opened her eyes and looked up above her, to see how that person looked like. The moment her eyes met his face though, her heart fell to her stomach and she lost the world under her feet.

Anotsu Kagehisa was…Handsome. Simply handsome. Long black hair, tied in a ponytail, fierce dark eyes, a murderous intent inside, pale face, long slender arms and legs, a strong body, dressed in a light blue-green hakama and gi, a dark blue cloth inside, a cape over his shoulders, a sheath tied on his belt. A warrior? No, he couldn't be. His features were too noble for him to be either a mere soldier or even a samurai, serving under some daimyo. No, he looked more like a feudal lord himself. And quite the young one.

He kept on walking and reached her, lowered and sat on the futon next to her. Makie couldn't take her eyes off of him; such a fierce power she had never felt so close to. A hand extended from the young man's body, pale and cold fingers grasped her chin and suddenly, Makie was looking right into those strong eyes. He leaned over her and the black strands fell in his face. Makie swallowed her fear down and a small whimper left her slightly parted lips; no matter how they looked or what personality they seemed to carry, in the end they all wanted her. Her, servant to their twisted lust.

But that Kagehisa didn't make another move. He only looked at her, watching her reactions and trying to feel her next move or guess her thoughts through her skin.

"You…Why are you here?" he asked. Makie's eyes opened wide, no one, no one had asked her any questions, they only waited for her to act, satisfying them. That man…He was different.

"…What do you mean?" she asked, back, her lips trembling.

"What do you understand? Why are you here? You're a swordswoman, Makie Otono-Tachibana. What are you doing in a whorehouse?" Anotsu asked.

"Paying my mother's debt." She was honest. Never before had she been asked why, and she didn't want to think more of it herself.

"And you haven't paid him back all those years? Look at yourself, Makie. Just look at you. You're the deadliest woman in this country. Skillful and beautiful. Fatal. You're wasting your years and skills in here." Anotsu said, his fingers intertwined with the loose strands of her silky black hair. "Think of it. A chance to escape. Pay off your 'debt' and make a living out of what you always loved."

"Makie's lips trembled, her eyes watered as he sat back to his previous position, crossing legs under his body and folding his arms in front of his chest. She rose and sat up too, looking at the man before her. He seemed to seek the secret truth beneath her mask, but did he really want to free her? And if he did, what for? What could have attracted someone like him to this low place? To her?

"Don't fill me up with fake promises and hopes. There is no way I could get away from here, that's the truth. And even if you were willing to help me, you wouldn't be able to pay the fund. He will let me go in no way." She said, sliding the silk down her shoulders. "Look over here." She continued. As the soft fabric revealed the skin, red marks made appearance, almost healed; adorning the pale skin over her collarbone, her shoulderblades, her backbone, until down her waist. She had those scars on her forearms too. The kimono was left wrapped down around her slim waist; and his eyes wandered over her. If it was true, what she meant to show him and that hell of her boss was treating her that way, he could understand why her front was, seemingly, untouched. Her skin shone porcelain, no shades at all; pale by nature, as much that it seemed as if the rice powder had been spread there too. Her back was as pale, and the almost healed scars made her look as if she wasn't a servant of pleasure but a mine worker.

Yes, Makie Otono-Tachibana had definitely dragged his attention. And no, he couldn't let her live so lowly anymore. She had to be his; he had to make her his, an urge that gushed up from his heart but was not twisted so as for him to will to own her, but to own her heart.

"Put your clothes on. I told you I'm not interested in that." He said indifferently. "And as for the fact of your serving…Anotsu Kagehisa has the means, be that money or…force, to have his will satisfied. And what I want right now is you out of here. Be it money or force, by that meaning even death, I will make that hell of your boss free you no matter what."

Makie lifted her eyes to the man before her.

"Why?" she asked. "Why are you doing this?"

He turned as he walked to the door and looked at her; then smiled. He closed his eyes and bound his arms from inside his sleeves.

"You really haven't changed a bit. You've got the same eyes as back then." He said, and opened his eyes. "You're the only one to ever hear me say that, but…I owe you."

Her breathing ceased, her heart kicked from inside her chest and her eyes were fixed on his, her lips trembling. One of her hairpins fell from her hair in result of a few ebony strands to loosen and fall in her face. What…What was he referring to? Owing her? Anotsu Kagehisa, owing her?

"…and if I can assume…Your blade's hidden within that samisen, right?" he kept on. "How same…Too much. I could recognize that face of yours everywhere, Makie. You're not just any shinzo or a yotaka. I'll never forget that night…"

And he was suddenly next to her again, grabbing her chin and so close that she could feel his breath on her cheeks.

"…How cold, like ice, your eyes were, how pale your face…And how you, bravely faced that dog and saved me."

Her memories unfolded in splinters of seconds, her eyes felt blurry and her breath left her in the form of a suppressed whimper. She was looking at him, and his face suddenly changed, his hair shortened, his eyes grew bigger and terrified, and she remembered…

"…Kagehisa…" she whispered as the ghostly image of his face as a child faded into her memories.

"I have no idea how you survived after my old man hit you, how you dealt with all those dogs…But after seeing them cut into pieces, I knew…" he whispered in her ear, his breath caressing her neck, "…you're the only being alive that can beat me." He finished, and before she could react, he had covered her lips with his.

Her watered eyes widened at his action and she couldn't believe the events, her mind denied what was happening as if it were the worst thing ever. Her heart pounded rapidly and she grabbed the cloth, her tears running free. Her mind was filled with memories of how they became friends after that night, of how she grew to fall in love with him back then, and still was, and how her sorrow disappeared whenever they were meeting to either play or train or fight. Her heart still remembered the blissful twitches it got whenever she was seeing him. It was a miracle, how she never forgot her love and now he was here for her to save her, just as she had saved him back then.

After some moments, Kagehisa broke the kiss. He held the sides of her head and touched her forehead with his, his eyes still indifferent, looking straight into hers.

"You'll be finally free. You're going to be my greatest warrior. Remember my dream, Makie? Remember? How many nights, after training, I've told you about the Itto-Ryu? I've finally made it. I've founded my clan. My own way of the sword. It's not killing or bloodshed, what I was seeking, this world reeks enough of those. It was the swordplay. I've gathered the strongest warriors, and they, under the orders of Kuroi Sabato, our mentor, are invincible. I want you to be a part of this, Makie. I want you to be a part of my dream." He said, and Makie nodded. His dream, his childhood dream had come true. She knew this kind of life he was living was what he had been seeking ever since they met. And if Kuroi was on charge, she had no doubts that the Itto-Ryu were truly invincible.

She, on her part had been training along with Kagehisa whenever Kuroi as…"occupied". Back then he always needed extra training to catch up to her, to become as fast as she was, as accurate with his slashes. They had a common, a common they shared with their teacher and mentor. None of them liked swords. Even though their basic training consisted of attacking and defending with a plain katana, or sometimes even a kodachi, no one of them really liked them. Makie had found her liking in her swinging blades and Kagehisa in his scythe-like axe. Both their weapons were heavy, but Makie had early gotten used to and was fast, so much faster than him, in the beginning. She was the one who suggested that they should train more, so that he could get better. He had complied with her decision, and there came the time when he could swing the heavy sickling axe around like it was nothing. Makie couldn't even lift it from the ground, and neither could he work with her own weapon either. But after some time his strength developed and he fought with her only to find a chance to silicate her, and grab hold of those blades.

"Where are they?" he asked, and Makie shook her head to the back. The samisen was right under the window, waiting. She reached for it and when her fingers touched them its strings let out a sweet sound, even though she had left her wooden piece behind. Kagehisa lifted his hand and Makie opened the wooden and paper instrument, pulling out her three-part weapon. His fingers wrapped tightly around the razor blades, testing the sharpness. A cut, and a few drops dripped down his arm, staining her kimono and the futon. He let it fall, pulling her in his embrace.

"Stay with me, Makie."

Ah...It's over. Please tell me what you think. I think I'm completely out of subject...But I'd tried my hardest with this one. I swear. I've been writing it for a whole month. I need even the slightest review... And please, even if some of you don't know the fandom, still, please read it. It would make me so happy to know what you think on it.