Kenkaku Bouken

Chapter One

-Assignment-

Candlelight lit the dim room, illuminating only a portion of the two men's faces. One was a regal man, dressed in a formal kimono and sitting on a nice cushion, a small table set out before him with a single coin pouch sitting in the center. The other man sat across from him on his knees, his posture lax, but still formal.

"Travel to Tokyo. There resides the Sabaku Clan, headed by the famous Sabaku no Gaara himself. He has one son, and two daughters with long, flowing pink hair, and dazzling jade eyes. They are the Princesses Satomi and Natsumi. Find the daughters, and kill them." The first man ordered, before pushing the bag of money forward a bit. "This is only half of your compensation. The rest will be provided when I have the Princess' heads before me as proof."

"Yes, Lord Hirasaka." The other man said. With that he stood and quickly snatched up the bag of coins, bouncing them in his palm a bit to weigh it before tucking it into his dark green kimono with a pleased nod. He turned from the lord then and left the room, off to begin his newest assignment.

Kyo sighed to himself as he walked down the streets of Tokyo, his hands folded into the sleeves of his kimono. It was a bright, sunny day, something for which he was grateful. These were the best days for an assassination, for this way he was always in good spirits before the deed was done. It wouldn't do to lose his head on a mission after all. He didn't like killing women, as most were poor defenseless creatures, but he hated having an empty stomach just as much. And the leader of the Hirasaka Clan was giving him a generous amount to just kill two frilly princesses.

He quickly found a teahouse and ordered himself something to eat for dinner. As he sat there sipping his tea, his hazel gaze remained trained on the Sabaku Estate, which was a convenient distance away. He knew this to be the location of his targets, for it was the biggest home in the city, as well as the most luxurious. And the Sabakus were known for their money.

As dusk came to a close, he rose and left some money on the table before walking towards the place. His assassination would take place under the cover of darkness, after all, but first he needed to find the room that the two women were staying in. Walking around the wall closing the place off from others, he found a well concealed area. From there, he ran at the stone, quickly scaling it and dropping to the ground on the other side. This was pretty easy so far. Almost too easy.

He ducked into some bushes at the sound of voices coming his way, and watched as a couple of guards walked past him, undoubtedly doing their rounds. When the coast was clear, he ran for the house, quickly climbing into a large tree and making sure he was hidden as he surveyed the area. His gaze zeroed in on a pair of servant girls who were walking out of a room and giggling. This meant one of two things.

One, they were the personal servants to the princesses, or two, they had just finished servicing one of the lords of the estate. And he was banking on it being the first option.

Letting out a breath, he gripped his sword in his hand before leaping onto the roof and getting a firm hold with his free hand, making sure to not make a sound. Once he felt secure, he began to crawl over towards the room he had seen the servants come from, being careful to not be seen. It took him a while, but he eventually made it. Strapping his sword back to his side, he took out a dagger and loosened some of the tiles on the roof, carefully moving them out of his way. Then he cut a small round hole in the roof, and peered inside the room. And what he saw made his eyes widen.

There, sitting across from one another on two elaborate cushions having tea, were the princesses. They matched Lord Hirasaka's description, but only barely. For the old man hadn't mentioned the sheer beauty of them, nor their stunning smiles. And that was what they were doing, for it seemed that they had been talking about something rather comical before he had gotten to hear what it was. His eye stayed on the face of the twin that was better facing him. She was the most gorgeous creature he had ever laid eyes on.

Her long pink hair flowed over her shoulder in a thick braid, giving her a beautiful glow. Her smile was brilliant, though a bit softer than her sister's, and her face seemed a bit more serious. Some would say that this caused her beauty to lessen, but not to Kyo. It only made her that much more appealing to him. In his eagerness, he began to lean forward, desperately wanting to hear the sound of her voice as he saw her open her mouth to speak.

Suddenly, the paper layer of the roof ripped from the blonde samurai's weight, and he fell through with a startled yell, hitting the hard floor inside. "Ow." He sat up slowly, rubbing the sore spot on his head, before realizing that he now had two pairs of startled jade eyes looking at him. "Um…" he blinked at them, not really sure about what to say. "Sorry about your roof. It wasn't supposed to break." Was all that came out, and he mentally slapped himself at his stupidity.

They both stood and moved away from him, the other twin, who appeared just slightly younger, had her long locks pinned up in an elaborate bun, the remnants cascading down her neck. "Natsumi go get the guards." The elder looking twin ordered.

"No! Wait!" Kyo held up a hand to halt their movements, both freezing in horror as they stared at him. "Please don't. I promise I'm not here to hurt you." He said quickly, instantly regretting the lie that spewed from his mouth.

Natsumi, the younger looking of the two, had on a beautiful white kimono decorated with white and red flowers. While the other twin had on a light green kimono with white designs of different shapes and curves. "Who are you?" the elder demanded, glaring at the blonde, and keeping her sister somewhat behind her.

He stood slowly, and brushed some of the rubble from his clothes. "My name is Kyo." He said, giving them a pleasant smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Highnesses." He bowed low then, the smile still on his face when he straightened.

The younger smiled and attempted to move forward, her hand stretched out. "Hi I'm Natsumi." She said. Her arm was grabbed by the elder, who only glared at the blonde.

"Get out." She ordered. "Or I will call for the guards."

"Right." he said, bowing once more. "Again, I am sorry about your roof. I really didn't think it would break in the short time that I was standing on it. Trying to get away from those thugs…" he mumbled, though it was still loud enough so that they could hear. If he had already lied about not harming them, another lie wouldn't hurt.

Natsumi blinked, looking back at her sister for a moment, before returning her jade gaze to the blonde. "What thugs?" she asked innocently.

"The ones near you house that were going to beat and rob me." He said simply. "I mean, that's what thugs do."

"Oh! Well," Natsumi appeared somewhat distressed. "I'm going to go tell the guards there were some thugs. I'll get you some tea, please stay and rest, you must be exhausted from running." She smiled before hurrying from the room.

The other twin, whom he could only surmise was Satomi, looked to the rice paper door and then back to the blonde. "What are you really doing here?"

"I don't know what you mean." He said, still keeping his easygoing façade in place.

She glared at him, her hands forming into fists. "I'm not as trusting as my sister. Now either you tell me, or I get you executed immediately."

He sighed. "I was just looking around. I've never been to Tokyo before, and had heard lots of things about your family's estate." He shrugged. "So I figured that crawling over the roof and looking around that way would be the best."

"I see how it is." She sighed, taking a deep breath. Kyo went wide eyed and ran over to her, clamping his hand over her mouth, holding her close.

"Okay. Okay." He searched his head for another excuse and then smiled. "I had heard of your beauty and I could not help but attempt to see for myself. There, you caught me."

Satomi continued to glare at him, and slowly reached up and pulled his hand from her mouth. "You are insane. What kind of crazy man breaks into a woman's home?"

"The kind standing before you, in complete and utter awe by the goddess you are." He said, the first real, honest thing that had come out of his mouth upon arriving.

Her slanted gaze did not let up. "Do you always speak this way to women, because if you assume I am so frail to be swayed by compliments, you are sorely mistaken."

"No." he shook his head, still keeping her in his arms. "I have only, and will only speak to you this way, my dearest Satomi." He said, turning the hand that she was gripping and holding it gently.

She looked down to their hands and actually blushed, "Um…well…thank you, I suppose. But you really can't stay in here. It's forbidden for a male other than my father and brother to be in this room."

"Then I shall leave. I wouldn't want anything terrible to happen that could potentially upset you." He said. "Can I see you again?" he found himself asking. "Just being in your presence, hearing your heavenly voice, and seeing your stunning face makes me the happiest man in the world." He rubbed the palm of her hand with his thumb then.

"Um…well…" she looked around and then focused back on his hazel depths. "We could talk…in my room. But you must promise to leave, as I do not know when it is I would be able to see you again. My sister is going through a tough time right now."

"Of course, of course." He nodded. "But…which room is yours? I don't want to fall through the roof looking for it again." He smiled at her.

"I'll show you." She kept her grip on his hand pulled him with her towards the door in the back of the room and slid it open. They crept into the hall and she pulled him into another room, before sliding it shut as well as the cover. "There."

He looked around, taking in their surroundings. He looked back to her then and smiled. "Your room is almost as lovely as you are, Satomi-chan."

She rolled her eyes and moved away from him, sitting down on one of the cushions in the room. "So nice to know I'm as lovely as wood."

His eyes widened, and he fell to his knees before her. "No, that's not what I meant Satomi-chan! I just meant…that you have a nice room." He blushed slightly. "Being in your presence flusters me a bit. I'm usually a lot more eloquent with words."

"Is that so?" she smirked, glancing off before looking back. Her gaze lowered to his belt and on his swords, before she reached forward and rested her hand on one of the hilts. "So, you're a samurai?"

He looked down to where her hand was, noticing the proximity it was to his manly region, and then back up at her. "Yes." He told her.

"Hm. And you just wanted to see how pretty I was?" she asked once more, leaning closer to him.

"W-well," he looked at her with wide eyes, "essentially. But, now that I have met you, I would relish the opportunity to get to know you better."

"I don't see how that's possible."

"Why not?" he asked.

She sighed. "Because I'm a princess, and you're a samurai. And unless you are of some noble descent…well, I just can't see how you would be allowed to see me."

"I could always sneak in here to see you. Or petition your father, something." He reached out and cupped her cheek. "Though I am of noble descent…my family's name is not the best any longer." Satomi let her eyes close and leaned into his hold before freezing. She grabbed his hand and pulled it down, meeting his gaze.

"This is weird. You're a stranger."

He just gave her a kind smile. "Not anymore. We know one another's names now."

"I'm sorry." She shook her head. "I don't like breaking the rules." She smiled and leaned closer, giving him a chaste kiss. "If you would like to see me, you will pay proper tribute to my father."

"Satomi-chan, I would go to hell and back in order to see you one more time." He told her. "So tomorrow I will come and give your father the best tribute he has ever seen in his entire life." he said with a bright smile.

"Alright then," she replied softly, looking up when the door slid open to reveal Natsumi, who was shocked at the sight.

"Oh um…" she blinked. "Satomi, father is looking for you."

The pink haired woman went wide eyed and looked back to Kyo. "You must leave."

"Right. Hopefully I will get to look upon your angelic face tomorrow Satomi-chan." Kyo said, before leaning in and kissing her cheek quickly. He stood then and walked over to the door of the room, bowing to Natsumi. "It was nice to have met you, Natsumi-sama." He said, before slipping out and disappearing into the shadows.

Once he was safely out of the Sabaku Estate, he let a sly smile come to his face as he walked towards the nearest inn. Screw Lord Hirasaka, that man could rot in hell. Natsumi and Satomi were too beautiful and sweet to be assassinated by someone such as him. Besides, he'd already been paid half of the wages, and that would be enough until he found other work. He let out a content sigh, planning on what to buy for the next day in order to convince Lord Sabaku to let him have Satomi's hand in marriage.