Purpose
She had been born a legend, that much he knew. The reincarnation of the Sun Goddess, or so that was what everyone said. Something to do with her being born on the day of the alignment of the planets and the moons of the galaxy, he really didn't understand it, nor pretended that he did. He didn't have time to wonder about sheltered princesses, who never went without her veil.
For fifteen-year-old Kurogane, all that mattered to him was his craft. Being part of the ninja clan that was devoted to the protection of the royal family only seemed secondary, truth be told. Of course he never said it out loud or else his grandfather, Jin, would blow his top. Especially when the old geezer would constantly tell him that he was born to protect the Princess Tomoyo.
"She is the reincarnation of the Sun Goddess, the protector of our country. She is the watchful stars of the galaxy." He would say when the lessons were over and Kurogane would be nursing his wounds, cursing under his breath. Once or twice, Kurogane had dared to mutter something against the so-called Goddess and got severely punished for it. At least for that one matter, he learned how to hold his tongue.
"Try to protect something that you have no belief in, and it will fly out of your hands, and you will fail. Your skills may become stronger, but without faith, you are nothing but a fool!" and, despite his age, Kurogane could see that he still had a long way to go in matching the skills of his grandfather. Whenever he got fed up with the old man's babblings, whenever he tried to prove him wrong, that you did not have to have faith to win in a battle, the old geezer would beat him up, soundly and surely. It would be weeks before the metallic taste of blood in his mouth would disappear.
Who knew that the old geezer was right, all along?
It had been an unnaturally bright morning, in Kurogane's memory. But then again, he was more used to waking up when the darkness was stealing in for his training. However, today was different. His grandfather gave him a sound kick in the back to wake him up. Kurogane gave a loud yelp in protest, but it was rewarded with another kick.
"If I were an assassin, that'd be a hundred stabs in the back and a hundred stabs in the front. Stand up! We're summoned to the palace." Kurogane woke up to see the old man dressed in his ninja uniform, walking briskly out of the hut without a second glance to his grandson.
"Sleeping in again, aren't we?" Souma's voice asked, and he looked up to see her crouching on the windowsill, also in uniform.
"Stop being annoying, Souma." Kurogane growled, throwing off the sheets of his futon and standing up. "And what do you mean, 'again'? This is the first time the palace's ever summoned for me."
Souma cocked an eyebrow. "Actually you're right, and for that, you should be pleased, Kurogane. This is the first time that the two of us have been called. It must be a mission that requires a lot of reinforcements."
"Heh, I wouldn't get too excited, Souma. It might just be another lame-ass reconnaissance mission, for all we know." He was tempted to add, It couldn't be that hard if you're in the team, but decided it was too early in the morning to try and see if Souma could hit him with her shurikens this time.
"I'll see you in the palace, then, Kurogane." Souma sighed, before departing quietly. With a scoff, Kurogane finished getting ready and soundlessly left the hut himself.
The world looked strange in daylight, Kurogane thought to himself as he way his way in the palace grounds. As a shadow protector of the royal family, they usually navigated through the palace grounds that were not commonly used as pathways for most people. Perched on a branch overlooking the gardens, Kurogane mentally tried to put where the inkblots and grays of this landscape usually had in the darkness of the night.
A sudden movement at the corner of his eye caught Kurogane's attention. A small figure was making its way from the palace steps towards the magnificent fountain in the middle of the gardens. He craned his neck, leaning in for a closer look.
It's a kid…Kurogane thought to himself. Could it be…the princess!
The little figure suddenly halted midstep and looked at the branches where Kurogane had hidden himself. "Who's there?" she asked, and, as if on cue, the branch under his feet suddenly broke and gave way, catching him completely by surprise. There wasn't enough time for him to jump to another branch so he ended up landing on the grass instead, in plain view of…Princess Tomoyo.
It was her, no doubt about it. Ebony hair falling down to her waist, violet eyes studying him with a mix of curiosity and amusement, elaborate clothing and that serene aura around her. Yes, this was a princess in front of him, alright.
He gulped, unsure of what to do. Sure, his grandfather had taught him how to take down five demons in one strike, make undetectable traps in a limited timeframe, create illusions to confuse his enemies and so on, but never, ever how to act in front of royalty. Ninjas were supposed to be invisible, so perhaps that was why his grandfather never did.
He groaned mentally. So much for being invisible, he thought. That worried him more than etiquette right now.
He frowned when he noticed that the princess was still studying him with a bemused smile on her face. He was starting to feel foolish just standing there. "What? What are you looking at!" he barked, crossing his arms and scowling, in a vain effort to regain his bravado. For a moment he was afraid that he had just frightened her, but instead, she clapped her hands merrily and jumped up and down.
"Oh you're a ninja, aren't you? You are! I just knew it!" Princess Tomoyo squealed happily.
What is it with this runt? Kurogane raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. So?"
She grinned, tilting her lovely face on one side. "Well, I was wondering if you really were one, because I've never seen a good ninja fall out of a tree before."
Alright. THAT pissed him off. "What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded angrily.
She shrugged, undisturbed by what was obviously an angry reaction from Kurogane. "Oh, nothing, just…" then she shrugged again and decided to abandon the argument altogether. She offered him her hand. "My name's Tomoyo. What's yours?"
"Kurogane." He spat disdainfully, not taking her hand, glaring at it as if it were some unknown danger. However, Princess Tomoyo would not take no for an answer, and took his unoffered hand into hers. Her hand was soft and warm, and instinctively, he found himself clasping it closely.
"Let's sit down." She said in that tone that was half a suggestion and half a command. Shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly, he sat down beside her on the grass, wondering what the hell he was doing, how this girl could have annoyed him and placate almost instantly.
He realized that she was still studying him intently. She raised a small hand to his face. "You're bruised." She said softly, and there was something sad in her voice that touched him, somehow. He flinched from her touch, but suddenly he felt a sort of warmth radiating from her hand, and suddenly he felt the soreness dissipate. "There! All right now." She said cheerfully, smiling up at him. "You must work very hard at training."
"None of your business." He replied, huffily, turning away from her.
"Oh, my, you're so gruff!" Tomoyo giggled, finding all this very amusing. "Well, it is my business, isn't it? You are, after all, supposed to be looking after me."
"Yeah? It wasn't like I wanted to, or anything." Kurogane retorted, giving a big yawn as he said it, as if to prove a point.
Instead of looking hurt or insulted, the princess gave him another sunny smile. "I know exactly what you mean. However, what can we do? Destiny is always a bigger thing than ourselves." She bit her lower lip and after a beat, said, "Can I trust you with a secret, Kurogane?"
He looked at her, puzzled. "A secret?"
A loud rap on the door made Kurogane sit up abruptly. He wasn't even aware that he had fallen asleep. He scowled as he went to answer the door. It must be Fye again, insisting on some godforsaken mission or whatever it was that ensured him that he could annoy Kurogane again.
He had kept out of the way in the creation of the racing machines while in the country of ? Mainly because he wasn't interested, but also because…
His other reason was standing on the doorway, blinking up at him with those all-too familiar violet eyes.
"Prin—" he caught himself in time and adopted his scowl again. "What?"
"Pardon me, but I was looking for Sakura-chan." She gave him a small smile. "I was hoping that she'd be in here."
"Yeah, well, she's not here. Better try looking in the garage." He said, waving vaguely in the direction where the racing cars were being constructed.
"Oh! Alright, then. Thank you very much!" She bowed politely and hurried off to the direction of the garage, ebony hair flying. Do they really have to look exactly alike? He thought to himself, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe, a small sigh escaping his lips as he continued on watching her smiling and talking animatedly to Sakura. His sigh didn't go unnoticed though, when his ear twitched hearing Fye's voice.
"Ooooo… we've seen Kuro-pi looking annoyed and angry and murderous and constipated, but never lovelorn, wouldn't you agree, Mokonaaaa-chaaan" Fye's singsong voice drifted out of the kitchen as he walked out with a cup of tea and Mokona on his shoulder.
"Whee! Kuro-pi has a soft spot too!" Mokona agreed, hopping up and down excitedly on Fye's shoulder.
"Shut up, jerks." Kurogane muttered as he stalked past them.
"Don't worry, Kuro-pi!" Fye shouted merrily behind him. "I'm sure Princess Tomoyo thinks about you all the time, too!"
He was answered with a resounding slam on the door.
"Yes, a secret!" Princess Tomoyo nodded emphatically. She leaned in closer, as if she didn't want anyone else to hear it, although it was plain that it was only the two of them in the garden. "What if I told you…"
Kurogane found himself holding his breath. This was Princess Tomoyo. The reincarnation of the Sun Goddess. What if this secret was something of great import to the country? And anyway, what did he have to do with anything about it, if it was?
"What if I told you…" she lowered her voice in a conspiratorial whisper. "That I foresaw that we would meet each other in this exact silly manner!"
"…" (--;;) She was giggling uncontrollably now. Was this crazy kid serious, or just, well, crazy? "THAT'S the secret? You foresaw me falling off the tree?"
She held up one finger, as if to chastise him. "Seeing bits and pieces of the future is not as common as you think, and if it does happen, it usually signals something very significant." But she looked over at him thoughtfully. "But you're right, how CAN you be significant? You're not even a great ninja!"
"HEY!"
"Oh well. What can I do? It's happened, nothing we can do about it ohohoho…!" the princess giggled again, covering her mouth with one hand.
"Yeah? Well, if you ask me, that's not really an impressive kind of foresight, either. What kind of stupid vision is that, anyway?" Kurogane grumbled. For someone who rarely saw the outside world, the princess sure smiled an awful lot. As much as he hated to admit it, even to himself, there was something irresistible in the princess' smile.
Once her giggles subsided, the princess was smiling serenely in the distance again. She gave his hand a slight squeeze, and he realized that they were still holding hands.
Souma found the princess sitting on her usual spot under the trees, facing the fountain. Ever since she deported Kurogane to who-knows-where, Souma was finding Princess Tomoyo more frequently in that spot, and most of the time the princess was sleeping. She never really did know why the princess was so fond of that place, although she had a feeling that it had something to do with Kurogane.
Souma had been a personal bodyguard and handmaid to the princess for several years now, and she knew for a fact that ever since the princess sent Kurogane away, she had not smiling as much. It wasn't anything that was noticeable, since the princess had that consistently sunny disposition about her, but even Souma could see that it was not the same Princess Tomoyo without her Kurogane.
Tomoyo's Kurogane. As much as the princess was Kurogane's Tomoyo.
Other than the reasons that the princess stated in sending Kurogane away, even though Souma suspected that there were other, deeper reasons for the princess' actions, the princess herself never even alluded to it.
Souma found the princess dozing off once again, a book resting on her lap and…Souma's eyes widened. In the princess' hand was a black piece of cloth that she recognized as Kurogane's hitae. Souma smiled. No one could've ever known when he was still around. Only in his absence did it become more apparent. The princess must miss him terribly.
She knelt in front of the princess and gave a little cough. Tomoyo woke up with a start, sitting up suddenly, and smiling a bit sheepishly at the ninja kneeling at her feet. "Your Highness," Souma began solemnly. "You have to get ready for the New Moon ceremony."
Tomoyo smiled and nodded. "Yes, of course." When she stood up, the book and the piece of cloth fell to the ground. Souma was quick to pick it up for the princess and hand it to her. Tomoyo blushed rather winningly, knowing full well that Souma was too smart to mistake Kurogane's hitae for anything else.
"I always thought it was so noisy and violent when he was around." Souma began. "Now it seems rather too quiet around, isn't it?"
"The quiet is good for my meditations." Tomoyo was quick to counter, smiling cheerfully as always. It would have worked, too, if only Souma hadn't known the princess as well as she did.
"Princess Tomoyo," Souma paused, not really knowing how to say what she wanted to say without sounding awkward. "I've noticed that you have been sleeping more since he left—sent him off. Have you been feeling unwell? Have you been ill?"
Tomoyo shook her head. "Thank you for your concern, Souma, but I am well." She folded the piece of black cloth carefully and held it closely. "He will be gone for a long time, I am afraid." She looked up at the sky, smiling sweetly up to the sunshine. "Until then, I see him in my dreams. That will do for now."
Souma blinked, not quite sure how to react to the princess' surprisingly forthright answer. There was something in the princess' voice and smile that was so sure that she would see him again. Souma finally nodded and smiled herself. "I am sure we will see him again someday."
"We will."
The trek to the White Temple, the holy shrine of the Sun Goddess found deep in the woods in the center of Japan, was supposed to be standard, meaning, uneventful. Instead, Kurogane found himself being scolded by his grandfather all the way to their destination. Overlooking the princess' carriage from the tops of the trees in the forest, he was getting lectured between jumps from branch to branch, treetop to treetop.
"I have never seen such blatant disrespect for our princess!" Jump.
"Have you lost your head, boy!" Jump.
"Did I teach you nothing?" Jump.
Well, actually, you didn't teach me about how to act when you fall in front of a princess. There were plenty of things Kurogane wanted to say, for sure, but he held it back. He'd learned long ago about the value of prudence in a ninja, despite appearances of him being otherwise. He knew that the old geezer wanted to teach him everything, in the best way, since his parents died.
It wasn't that he wasn't grateful, really. It was just sometimes, the old geezer was just damn annoying. When he saw the two of them in the garden, his expression betrayed nothing, but Kurogane knew that he was deeply displeased. As a ninja, the first rule was to be invisible, as if they didn't exist. And being seen having a conversation with the young princess wasn't really the way to go proving that he's internalized that rule.
Looking back, Kurogane had often thought that it was this distraction that proved to be their ultimate mistake in not sensing the demon a split second sooner. It had come upon them like a giant whip, knocking out several of the other ninjas dead or unconscious. He and his grandfather had avoided it, but only just barely.
It was definitely a demon. The problem was, they couldn't ascertain where it was, since it filled the whole area with its presence. They immediately surrounded the princess' carriage, and Kurogane thought he heard the princess call his name, faintly.
The invisible attacker came upon them from different directions, picking out the ninjas one by one. Finally, it was only him and his grandfather, who had finally drawn his sword, Ginry. His grandfather quickly drew a seal in the air, and in that instant, the attacker was revealed. Its form was a giant leopard, perhaps ten times bigger than a normal one, which clung to the tree trunks, growling ferociously. Its huge red-yellow eyes fixed itself on his grandfather before lunging.
"Grandfather!" Kurogane yelled, taking a step forward, but not before his grandfather yelled at him to stay the hell back and not leave the princess alone. Kurogane whipped around to see the princess herself, already stepping outside the carriage with a look of fear in her wide eyes as his grandfather disappeared into the thicker section of the forest.
"Tomoyo!" he was yelling at her this time. "Keep inside the carriage!" but as if she didn't hear him, she did exactly the opposite, bounding out of the carriage and hurrying towards where his grandfather disappeared. He was equally quick enough to catch her arm. "What are you doing!" he demanded, pulling back her struggling form.
"We have to help your grandfather!" she said to him urgently, not taking her eyes off where the sounds of battle going on.
"No, Tomoyo. He has sworn to protect you with his life, and this is no way to repay it!" Kurogane yelled back to her. Suddenly her lips formed into a thin line, and suddenly Kurogane felt a burst of energy that pulled them apart. Finding herself free, she whirled out of his hands and hurried towards her destination.
"Damn that obstinate woman!" Kurogane cursed to himself as he took up a sword from one of his fallen comrades. He could still see Tomoyo's graceful form flitting in between the trees. They finally reached a clearing, and Kurogane stopped in his tracks, all thoughts vanishing from his mind as he saw the bloodied form of his grandfather lying on the ground.
"Grandfather!" Kurogane's anguished wail reverberated in the forest as he ran towards his remaining family. As he reached his grandfather's motionless form, another voice cried out:
"Look out!"
It had happened all too quickly, and before Kurogane was aware of what was happening, Tomoyo was standing between him and the demon who was about to attack them, a white light forming a protective barrier. The intensity of the light and its sheer power stunned Kurogane. A determined-looking Tomoyo gritted her teeth and pushed her hands forward and against it. The light grew stronger, and seemed to be dissolving, eating the demon whole, until it completely vanished.
Tomoyo turned towards them, smiling tiredly, her same gracious smile. Her clothes were smoking, and they were burnt in some areas. "Are…are you alright?" she managed to say weakly before collapsing entirely.
"Tomoyo!" Kurogane was able to catch her, and when his skin touched hers, it burned him, but he didn't let go. In his arms were two people who tried to defend him, and Kurogane had never felt so helpless as he did in that moment.
"Grandfather…Tomoyo…Please…Hold on!"
The princess had not been as powerful then, and was in fact on her way to the White Temple to learn more of her powers and sorcery. Whether the demon was sent to assassinate the princess or it was just a very powerful stray was still to be determined. Many of the ninjas were killed. However Kurogane was relieved to hear that Souma, who had been one of the first to be knocked out, had survived.
His grandfather was in less worse shape than he had feared. They had come not a second too late, and had his grandfather been left on his own for a longer time, Kurogane could have been very well planning for his funeral.
Princess Tomoyo, however, was in grave condition. Her usage of her powers had drained most of her energy, and she had been unable to fully control it. Her attack, while powerful, had also taken out a significant amount of her own life energy. Even if she survived, there was no way that she could fully recover from this.
No one blamed Kurogane—after all, the senior ninjas were killed, and the remaining survivor was his grandfather. In fact, they were grateful and thankful for being able to bring the princess back to the castle as soon as possible, allowing the court healers and magicians attend to her as quickly as they can. This, however, did not do anything to help the dark guilt that was already creeping up into him.
With his grandfather under the watchful eye of the healers, Kurogane took it upon himself to stand watch over the princess. Night and day, he never left her side, aside from the occasional trips to check on his grandfather. She lay on the bed like a porcelain doll, breathing shallowly and sometimes imperceptibly, as Kurogane brooded in the shadows.
When she finally stirred in her sleep, he was at her side. The midnight moon spilled into the windows as she smiled up at him, reaching out her hand. "Kurogane-kun…" she began weakly. "Is that you?"
He took her hand. "Yes, Tomoyo. I'm here."
She smiled a bit. "I'm glad that Kurogane-kun is the first thing I see from this long sleep." She said softly. "I was worried that you might have gotten hurt."
"The princess should not worry about such trivial things." He said bitterly. "A princess should never, ever, put herself in danger for a ninja sworn to protect her."
She closed her eyes, looking amused at his statement, despite her weak state. "But Kurogane-kun is my friend. My first and only friend." She opened her eyes to see the ninja looking at her in unmasked surprise. "That is why…he is an important person to me. I don't want to see him hurt in any way."
He hid his eyes from her as she said this, tightening his grip on her hand.
"Please forgive me…Princess Tomoyo…" she nodded once, smiled serenely, and closed her eyes again. He looked up, eyes flashing with determination.
"I swear…to never leave your side. I'll protect you with my life! And anyone who dares try to hurt you again…will pay dearly for it!"
"How is the princess?"
"She is recovering, grandfather."
"I see." The older ninja, from his bed, carefully measured up his grandson. It seemed like the past few weeks had forced him to grow up more than all the years of training ever had. Finally, he cleared his throat. "You must have heard that I am retiring from service, have you not?"
Kurogane looked at him with genuine surprise. "Are the wounds that bad, Grandfather?"
The old man chuckled, one of the rare instances that Kurogane heard him laugh. "No, not anything like that… this is, in fact, part of my training."
Now the surprise was replaced with confusion. "Training, Grandfather? But you are the finest ninja in the entire kingdom!" His grandfather shook his head.
"In this life, our training never really ends. Only the arenas change." His face grew serious. "I have endangered the princess' life, and the punishment should be death. And although she has forgiven me, I feel I have failed her as her servant." He sighed, and in that single movement, all the weariness Kurogane had never seen before seemed to set on his face. He said bluntly, "I am getting too old for this."
He stood up and went to the small shrine that stood facing the setting sun. Ginry gleamed in the fading light. Old hands picked it up and placed it in the younger Kurogane's hands. Kurogane looked up to his grandfather's eyes, shocked.
"Ginry is yours, now." The old man said simply, as he let go of his beloved sword. Kurogane stared down at it in awe, speechless. "What you must remember, Kurogane, is that the blade is only obedient to a man with a noble purpose."
"Grandfather, I don't know what to say." Kurogane was never to be the one at a loss for words, but he was at a loss now.
"For a long time I doubted whether I would ever be giving Ginry to you." His grandfather said honestly. "I have long prayed to the Sun Goddess to make you worthy of this ancient sword."
"It seems she has answered my prayers."
He found her sitting on the steps leading to the gardens, eyes closed, and the last warm rays of the sunset on her face. The sword felt heavy in his hand, the words of his grandfather echoing in his head. He stared a long time at her angelic face.
It seems she has answered my prayers.
"Your grandfather is going to be alright." She said, not opening her eyes. It was not a question. Her voice was filled with wisdom, her strength emanating from her small frame. Kurogane nodded.
"I am to take his place." His voice, in comparison, seemed so young.
She opened her violet eyes and looked at him, and he knew, at that moment, that it was done and over with. That he was here precisely because he was meant to be here. She smiled.
"Then I have no reason to be afraid."