Alrighty then!!! It's been too long since I've put a story up, huh? I'm sorry for changing names on you guys, but…things happen, and that old name (Soi-chan) meant some bad things. Aaaanyway!!! This is, obviously, a Kannazuki no Miko fic. I hope you've read/watched it, but…if you haven't…you don't really have to have read/watched it to enjoy this fic, I think. Well, here goes!
Note: All names are in traditional order. (Surname then given name.)
Disclaimer: I do not own Kannazuki no Miko.
"Himeko! Wake up! You'll be late for school!" yelled Himeko's father, banging on the door. He never entered his daughter's room in the morning anymore. Not since the last time he had and discovered his daughter sleeping in the lingerie her mother had bought her before she passed away.
"Okay…I'm getting up," Kurusugawa Himeko groaned, slowly pulling herself out of bed. She hated getting up at six o'clock. She was always the kind of girl to sleep in until noon. Himeko started to get dressed, wearing more lingerie her mother had gotten her – it was all she had now. She was too embarrassed to buy it herself, and her father wouldn't, claiming, "That kind of store is no place for a man!" Today she chose a simple, modest white set. The she went into her closet and pulled out her school uniform.
The uniform consisted of a white blouse with purple trim around the collar, sleeve ends, and bottom of the garment. The blouse also had two crests, one over each breast. The right crest was the school's crest; a shining sun with a crescent moon inside. The left one, which was much smaller simply had a shinai and a kendo mask because Himeko was the only girl on her school's kendo team. The rest of the uniform was a purple skirt that stopped about six inches above her knees; thigh-high lavender socks which accented her long legs, and black, semi-formal shoes. She completed the outfit with a red bow in her long golden hair. It was another memento from her mother, and it brought out her bright purple eyes.
After she was done getting ready, Himeko went downstairs and greeted her dad with a kiss on the cheek. "Hi, Daddy!" she said enthusiastically. Himeko was always excited to go to school because she had the best friend ever. Her name was Saotome Makoto, Mako-chan to Himeko. Even though they'd known each other all their lives, and Makoto never used "-chan" with Himeko's name, Himeko just couldn't bring herself to drop the honorific. She was too polite. She did have other friends, people she talked to, but she wasn't very open with any of them, except the club, because she was so shy. Makoto had actually forced Himeko to try out for the kendo club; a decision she'd never regretted and had thanked Makoto for multiple times. The club met three times a week to practice, and she was sometimes gone all weekend at competitions. Today was Friday, a club day, and there was a tournament this weekend as well.
"Bye, Daddy. I have to go! I'll see you on Sunday!" Himeko called as she rushed out the door with a piece of toast in her mouth. She always walked to school…well, most of the time it was running because she always overslept.
When the school was in sight, Himeko put on an extra burst of speed. She ran as fast as she could, burst through the double doors, and tripped over a waiting Makoto just in time to hear the bell ring. "I made it!" Himeko yelled, raising her arms in triumph.
"Hey! Off!" Makoto yelled from underneath Himeko. Himeko had landed on top of her when they'd collided.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Mako-chan! Hey, we have to get going! I'll see you at lunch, okay?" Himeko yelled over her shoulder as she got up and ran to her first class. Mako got up and went to class, shaking her head, trying her hardest not to laugh.
It was a perfectly normal day, except for the fact that Himeko was bouncing off the walls the whole time. She always got excited when a kendo tournament was coming up. She'd never lost a match, and we her school's pride. Mako also often came to the tournaments to watch Himeko, so they always sat together on the bus. Makoto also came along to keep the guys off of Himeko. Himeko was exceptionally beautiful, so all the guys wanted to date her. Himeko was too shy to defend herself, and hadn't shown any interest in boys yet, even though she was seventeen. Because of this, Makoto had her suspicions, but she didn't really care. She loved Himeko like a sister and would support her no matter what decision she made.
The bus ride was uneventful except for Makoto knocking a guy out. He had used a bump in the road to "accidentally" fall over and "accidentally" grab one of Himeko's breasts. It had taken a split second for Makoto's fist to be in the pervert's face. After that, the guys were afraid of Makoto, playfully calling her "The Bodyguard." After this little incident, the ride was simply Himeko and Makoto talking about bands they liked until they got to the tournament center.
As she got off the bus, shinai in hand, Himeko took a deep breath and then released a big sigh. "I love this place!" she said happily and grabbed Makoto by the hand as she started walking toward the main entrance. She was halfway there when a big hand clapped her on the shoulder. Her automatic reaction was to turn around and swing the shinai. Just before it connected, Himeko realized who she was swinging at: her teacher, Miyazaki-sensei. "Oh!" she yelled and dropped the shinai, going to check on her teacher's head while Makoto caught the practice weapon. "I'm so sorry!" Himeko yelled as she ran back to the chartered bus to grab the first aid kit.
"I'm sorry about that, but you know how she can be sometimes," said Makoto, holding the blocking side of the shinai in the crook of her neck like she'd seen Himeko do so many times before.
"Don't worry about it. It's a good reaction for a club member. Ow! Not so hard, Kurusugawa-san!" yelped Miyazaki as Himeko put a miniature heating pad on her teacher's bald head.
"I'm sorry," Himeko said again, putting the first aid kit back together.
"It's fine, Himeko. Just go gather everyone and bring them to the lockers, okay? Bring the first aid kit with you. It might be useful."
Himeko did as her teacher said and gathered the rest of the club, which was eight other boys. Himeko was on good terms with all of them, especially Ogami Soma. Makoto regarded Soma as the only guy in the club who really loved Himeko and didn't just want to get in her pants. Himeko seemed oblivious, though. "Come on, Soma-kun! Let's go, everybody!" Himeko yelled and everyone fell in line. She led them inside then parted from them to head for the girl's locker room.
"Hey, Himeko, can you explain the rules of Kendo to me again? I'm still confused. And why don't you go with the "Kendo for Dummies" version this time?" Makoto added after remembering the hour long explanation Himeko had given her last time.
Himeko stood in her bra and panties and thought about how to simplify her explanation. "Um…well, it basically works off points. The two kendoka fight in a square that's about thirty feet on each side. We start in a crouching position and stand up when the referee says," Himeko explained, getting into her hakama and making sure she had all her gear. "When you strike your opponent, you must yell the part you are striking as you make contact or it won't count. Men for head, tsuki for neck – that's armored, of course – do for the sides of the torso, chest rarely counts, and kote for the wrists and forearms. Also, there are a lot of fouls which I don't have time to explain because I have to get out there!" Himeko said in this last sentence in a hurry as she grabbed her mask and shinai and dashed out the locker room door.
Himeko ran to her team and lined up in the leader's position, next to Miyazaki-sensei. As Himeko surveyed the opposing team, she had to do a double take. 'There's a girl on their team, too?' she thought with some enthusiasm. Her thoughts were interrupted by the announcer.
"Welcome to the All Japan Team Finals! Today we have the biggest rivalry fighting for dominion. In the purple hakama and white ribbon is Lunar High with their captain Kurusugawa Himeko!" At this Himeko raised her shinai and half the crowd cheered. "In the red hakama and red ribbon, Solar High with their captain Himemiya Chikane!" This time, the girl named Chikane raised her shinai and the other half of the crowd cheered. "What're the chances that the only two schools with female leaders would be in the finals? Let's see how this goes, shall we? I'll hand it over to the head referee now to get this thing started!"
"This is a standard team match!" called the head referee so all could hear. "Matches will be fought to two points or a five minute limit. The team with the most overall wins shall be victorious! As this is the Final, captains will fight last. Each team had nine combatants. Five wins are needed for victory. First match! Ogami from Lunar versus Kurusaki from Solar! Begin!"
The match started in the normal fashion, both men bowing and crouching. Then, at the signal, they lunged for each other. Soma was the first to take a hit, fooled by a high feint, then taking a hit in the side. Himeko wanted badly to yell encouragement, but Soma would have gotten a fouled for it.
Soma scored the next hit, simply moving too fast for his opponent. He dodged a strike to the head, ducked to the side and brought his shinai down on Kurusaki's forearms, scoring one point. Himeko had an internal celebration at this. 'Yay! Go Soma-kun!' she thought. Next was the deciding point. Soma went for a neck attack, but was parried. He barely got his shinai up to block the counter, but he lost his footing and stumbled back. Kurusaki pressed the attack, but Soma managed to block all his swings until the last one. Kurusaki swing and hit Soma's tsuba, knocking his shinai away. Defenseless, Soma couldn't block the thrust at his neck.
"Tsuki!!!" yelled Kurusaki as his shinai made contact.
"There is victory and defeat!" yelled the head referee, and all three referees raised their red flags, indicating a point for the red team. Soma had lost his match.
Both kendoka returned to the middle, bowed, and walked back to their teams. Soma looked very disappointed when he sat back down. "Don't worry about it!" said Risei, the second best kendoka on their team, as he clapped Soma on the back.
"It's okay, Soma-kun! We'll teach them a lesson for you!" said Himeko. She ruffled his hair and went back to her seat before the next match started. She decided to study her opponent from afar. You could tell a lot about people just by the way they carried themselves, interacted with others, and their facial expressions. Himeko had become an expert at this in recent years.
Himeko could tell that Chikane's right arm was stronger, but she favored her left side when walking. This probably meant Chikane was a well balanced fighter. 'I have to be careful…' Himeko thought. 'If I make one mistake, she'll punish it ruthlessly…' Himeko was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed the net two matches. Risei had won his match, and another boy had lost his. It was now 2 – 1 in favor of Solar High.
Next up was a boy Himeko seldom talked to. He won spectacularly, beating his opponent in only thirty seconds. His spirits were high until he realized his foe had been a last minute replacement.
The matches after were a blur in Himeko's memory. She was so intent on studying her opponent that she started a little when Risei touched her shoulder. "Hey, Himeko! You're up!" he said.
Himeko looked at the score board. 4 – 4. Her match would be the tie breaker. She stood and grabbed her shinai, then marched past her team. They all smiled at her and gave her the thumps up, encouraging her. Her study of Chikane had led Himeko to one conclusion: she wasn't sure she could win. In fact, she was pretty sure she would lose. Nevertheless, Himeko donned her mask and took her starting position.
A/N: So, whadya think? This is the first Kannazuki fic I've written, so I'm not sure how it'll turn out. I hope you'll like it, though. So, that's the end of chapter one! I love ending on cliff hangers! Not a lot to say here, except that I'm sorry it's taken me so long to put out a new story. Muse-chan has been a bitch lately…the worst case of writer's block you could ever imagine. I'm not sure how long this one will be, but I'm hoping at least as long as Pink and Purple. So, that's it until next time! Read and Review, please!
Also, I have a poll up about the fight between Chikane and Himeko. I'd greatly appreciate it if you could go vote in that, as it will affect the story. Thanks!