Title: Wedding Tattoos
Author: Tuliharja
Summary: Kurogane goes to get a tattoo together with Soi Fon. While getting tattooed, Kurogane thinks over how the two of them ended up together. One-shot.
Disclaimer: BLEACH belongs to Tite Kubo while Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle belongs to CLAMP. I'm merely writing fan fiction. I don't either own the cover art.
Author's note: Thank you Briarrrrrrrose for betaing this.
❤ Wedding Tattoos ❤
When it's finally time for the tattoos, Kurogane can't help but feel slightly nervous. It feels almost ironic, because he has always known he would get one and even wanted one.
His father had had one to mark his status as the ruler of Suwa. But the thing is, there aren't anymore Suwa. His father is no longer there with him, nor his mother. In fact, there's no longer any reason for him to get that tattoo. All the reasons have faded away along the years just like the pain of the losses.
A small hand wraps around his firmly, squeezing it. The gesture speaks volumes to Kurogane as he glances down on the woman he has fallen for. The woman is extremely petite looking, yet fierce and strong. But underneath that strong cover is a cracked young woman who had to build herself fully anew when she too lost everything. Just like himself, this woman lost her family, master and honor. And just like him, they built all of those back from the pieces and became stronger than ever before.
Kurogane can't help but chuckle deeply as he looks at Soi Fon, who offers him a warm smile. Usually people only see Soi Fon's scowl or excited look when Yoruichi is near of her. They don't see these warm smiles or encouraging ones. They don't see what is underneath the perfect soldier, unless she herself allows it. Usually she only allows Kurogane to see it for which he is grateful. It means that she trusts him enough just as he trusts hers.
That's why it's Soi Fon who comes with him to get that tattoo he has always wanted. Not Tomoyo-hime, kid or even mage. No, it's Soi Fon who understands him on such a level, as no other has before. She even understands why he is for a brief moment hesitant. Why he questions if this is sensible or not. She understands that and takes it all in a stride, pulling him along with herself. Kurogane allows it as he mulls things over, thinking just how odd it is that such different people fit so perfectly together as they enter the tattoo parlor. After all, the old saying says opposites attract each other, but in their case, it was fully and completely opposite.
Silently, the tattoo artist gestures Kurogane to sit in the chair while Soi Fon lies down on her stomach on the other chair next to Kurogane's. All preparations have already been made as the other tattoo artist comes from the backroom. A mere glance and Kurogane grabs Soi Fon's hand with his fake one. He is rewarded with quick smile, before Soi Fon focus upon something else. Both of them have learned various ways to deal pain and they both knew that even if the tattoo artists numbed the area, it will still hurt.
That's why Kurogane focus once again to them. He focuses on how they met (through Tomoyo-hime) and how at first, they all but danced around each other, unsure if one could really trust the other. Kurogane had, by that time learned to trust, but he had still been cautious. No one could be too cautious, especially when dealing with military organization and Gotei 13 is exactly that, even if they try to mask it with various other things. Usually dealing with organization like that wouldn't have been a problem, but that time there had been high stakes and the highest one had been Tomoyo-hime's heart. Should the marriage fail, all diplomatic ties would also fail as well as the fact that Tomoyo-hime's heart would shatter into pieces.
While Tomoyo had solely focused on finding out if she could truly fall in love with Kuchiki Byakuya, Kurogane had focused on protecting her. And along the way he had met Soi Fon who had wanted to see if Tomoyo-hime's intentions were truthful. That she had wanted alliance and at the same time fall in love. She had. That had bought Soi Fon's trust and allowed her to open slowly to Kurogane.
Once they both had realized the other one wouldn't be threat to their goals, they soon allowed themselves to fall in love. Of course, a certain were-cat had helped them along the way, as much as Kurogane had disliked Shihoin Yoruichi at first. Yet that had been put in the past, once Yoruichi had showed to Kurogane how much she still cared about her former student and protector, even though she had hurt her deeply in the past. Of course, both Yoruichi and Kurogane had made promises to each other to kill the other one if the aforesaid other ended up hurting Soi Fon. It was wordless agreement they both had made and Kurogane was going to keep it. He wouldn't ever let anyone hurt Soi Fon as long as he would be alive. In fact, after this event, he would make it official.
Kurogane had already hinted to Soi Fon earlier that once he had gotten his tattoo to show his status as the ruler of Suwa, he would ask her hand. It had made the petite woman wordless for a moment, but she had soon made her own promise. And because of that promise, she was there with him at the moment getting a tattoo. The tattoos on their skins would be promises of something old but at the same time something new and special.
Wordlessly Kurogane tightened his hold on Soi Fon's hand as he felt a rocking sensation going thru him. It made his heart swell from pride and happiness as he watched how ink started to decorate Soi Fon's back. It was starting to get a shape of two squares between each other, positioned like a cross whiled on each end there was a star. It was a symbol of both Omnitsukido and Shihoin Clan, as if to remind Soi Fon that once upon a time she had served their heir with fierce loyalty and been nothing but a face in the crowd. But now, now she was the leader of the very organization that Shihoin clan had once established and was even the same level as said clan. It was both a reminder of the past and of the future. Just like Kurogane's own tattoo was.
Unlike his father, his tattoo would decorate his right arm, since his left one was fake. It wouldn't be a big difference, but still enough of one to show that he too had changed, even though the very core of love and caring was still there.
A sharp breath escaped his lips as Soi Fon's hold upon his hand tightened a bit. At some point Kurogane had forgotten what caring and loving someone actually meant. It had been a long journey to understanding that and even longer to find the one. But he didn't regret it one bit as the tattoo artists finished the giving the last touches to their tattoos.
After that both Kurogane's and Soi Fon's tattoos were covered by clean cloths and they were told how long to keep it and other general instructions to protect against infections. They both listened to these instructions and memorized them at the same time, before paying up and leaving the tattoo parlor.
Soi Fon's hand once more found Kurogane's real hand and Kurogane squeezed hers tightly back. They shared a wide grin with each other like the lovesick fools they were, because they knew even that, if time ever would see fit to separate them, the tattoos that were now embedded in their skins would remain. Just like their promise to each other would, as the tattoos would be their wedding ones. Not typical ones, but then again, if everything else about them was too strange, then this would be the abnormality that would tie them together even tighter.