A/N: In the manga, we get to see Syaoran encountering his Kudan in a dream; and when Kurogane's Kudan comes out for the first time he noted he met it in his dream too. So therefore, I wrote this short one-shot for another "behind-the-scene", but this time in the first world the gang lands in - Hanshin Republic. I thought I would never write Kurogane in his initial bravado stage, but I did.

He is angry. He is frustrated. And it's all Tomoyo's fault.

How on earth did he end up in this predicament? Sure, perhaps it's unfair that this boy had to lose so much in order to save the girl's life, but to hell if he wants to get personally invested in that quest. All Kurogane wants to do was to go back home and get back at the princess. Really, there was no need for him to be sent away like that. He's sure that she would instantly regret that she had sent him away; he, her bodyguard and undeniably the strongest warrior in all of Nihon.

After successfully shushing the silly blonde in the room that their hosts insist they could share, the proud ninja settles down to sleep. Sleep is never a luxury where one can leisurely sleep when one wants then wakes up likewise; sleep is purely for the state of resting the body before tending to one's duties. It's a wonder the other also manages to fall asleep relatively at ease. As he shuts his eyes, he thinks longingly about home and about all of those assassins he had managed to wipe out with relative ease on top of the castle.

xXx

In his dream (and of course he is aware it's just a dream), he's walking along a body of water – more so a lake. There is nothing else in the surrounding except for the sun breaking through the clouds and reflecting off of the lake's surface. The lake reminds him of a beautiful one he would frequently visit as a child, before… No, he must not dwell on those times, those things he could never reclaim.

As he represses those thoughts, the middle of the lake becomes unsettled and ruptures as something pushes past its surface. Water rushes over to Kurogane, but it does not crash over him. Instead, it transforms into an undeniable shape of a dragon, a creature Kurogane finds familiarity in. Ginryuu, his family sword (and its copy which is now in the possession of that blasted witch), is revered as a token of the water dragon that watched over him and the people of Suwa before him.

"Are you…Suwa's dragon?" he asks.

"No," it responds. "I am the master of those who utilizes water and I have been waiting for a proper subject.

"Do you want power?" it asks.

Kurogane smirks. That's easy to answer. "Yes. I want to get strong, stronger than I already am."

"And why? What will you do with it?"

He is uncomfortably reminded of his father. "To go back home, no matter what."

To his annoyance, the water dragon makes a slithering noise, as if it is disapproving his response. "Even though that's not the answer I'm quite looking for, I can see great potential."

"What the oni are you talking about?" Kurogane says, snarling.

"You should be satisfied I am accepting you," the dragon remarks coolly. It throws Kurogane off.

"Very well then, you are still the one I have searched for."

And with that, the dragon of water surges into Kurogane's body, leaving him sputtering in surprise and causing him to wake up.

xXx

He wonders what the hell that dream was. Perhaps it is a trick or a side effect of something Tomoyo gave him, because it sure as hell seems like something she would do, after milling on about him needing to find the meaning of true strength. Meaning of true strength his ass. It's what he had said to the dragon in his dream – he only wants to get stronger than he already is, plain and simple.

He then hears the other stirring, prompting him to leave the room immediately so he would not have to deal with him.