Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from Peace Maker Kurogane. I just write, and occasionally they have the misfortune of being my vicitms. That said, Please enjoy.
No one else would have noticed it...but I did.
The tension, the ever-so-slight tremor
that coursed through his body
that day. No one else noticed it,
they were either too overcome with
grief, or they were too afraid
of him too look that closely. But I
know him well, so very well.
And I see these things.
That's why I got up and chased him
down the hallway when he left,
though I would have liked to stay
and pay homage to the brave woman's
soul.
I knew what was
going on in that thick head of his. He was blaming
himself for her
death, though she had requested her mission. She was
kunoichi,
after all. A female ninja, and a good one. Her duty
was to her
master, and so long as she was of some value to him, her
death did
not matter.
But somewhere behind that autocratic demeanor,
drowned out by his
sharp tongue and legendary temper...lies a
sensitive man; one long
since buried, but still there. He feels
his grief like no other,
because he believes he sentenced her to
death.
I called to him, and called to him, raising my voice
enough that I
risked another coughing fit. Finally, he stopped;
and I caught my
breath before speaking, though I doubted that my
words would have much
effect upon him.
"It wasn't your fault..."