I haven't written anything in forever but this idea kept creeping in my head as I watched this series over and over. /sigh. I just wish everyone could have gotten a happy ending
The air was much cooler now than it had been. The sun had finally crept beneath the horizon and made way for the ocean of stars to emerge. The campfire gave off a dim glow , Kambei and Shichiroji sat around it, Rikichi and Sanae not too far from it's warmth either.
But Kikuchiyo sat the fartherst from it, with little Komachi curled up comfortably in his lap The events that had happened just a few hours before were still replaying in his mind. Komachi had asked him to be her husband . He knew they were close but he never imagined that any feelings she had for him would compell her to want to spend the rest of her life with him. "We have to beat Ukyo and his bandits." He thought to himself. He knew that if he didn't , than she wouldn't have the rest of her life to spend with . Kikuchiyo's mind raced to think of what was at stake. The lives of his friends, the people of Kanna village that had given everything for their chance at freedom from tyranny. He imaggined those hills, where he had hoped he and Komachi would live someday , buring as the capital ship hovered overhead. He tried not to tremble in anticipation as the idea of battle loomed over his head. He look down at Komachi and gave a gentle stroke of her hair, again reminding himself that he had some sort of a future laid out in front of him. " Once this war is over, and once she gets older..." He thought.
He was just gonna stop at the idea of marrying her once she was older, but than his brain jumped to exactly what that meant. At first, the machine Samurai only picutred her sitting on his shoulders, only a little taller and a bit grown . But than he saw her cooking, looming over a garden , hanging laundry on a line outside on a sunny day, wearing a smile that was warmer than any fire or sunshine. Kikuchiyo was sure that he felt a warmth rise up in him. He grew eager for the future. "I may not be able to farm rice anymore , but i'll be sure to build her the best house she has ever seen" He thought. He knew his big metal body was good for heavy work. Suddenly thinking about his body , he remembered something he had told Rikichi.
"...how could you love her, in a body like this?"
The thought suddenly depressed him. Everytime she would wrap her arms a round him, she would feel nothing but metal against her skin instead of the warmth of another. He knew that the two of them would be incapable of ever raising a family together. How could she ever love someone like him? When he embodied something like the Nobuseri, something that had tormented her for the majority of her life so far? What if a point in time came, where in the perfect future he imagained, Komachi would look at him in disgust for what he was : A machine.
"Well I love you just the way you are Kiku!"
Her little voice rang in his head, breaking through the sudden onslaught of dark thoughts that had plauged him. He looked at the stars imagining the hills of Kanna once more, wondering which hilltop they would live on, and trying to think of a way he could help his future wife with delicate tasks like farming rice. He wouldn't let her do all that hard work on her own. Not his Komachi, no matter how tough she was.
When he felt something stir , Kikuchiyo's attention was drawn to the irl on his lap, sittingup and rubbing away at her eyes.
"Something wrong Kiku?" She asked. Kikuchiyo cuckled a little, and spoke for the first time in hours.
"Nothing Sprout. I'm still thinking over how I'm gonna beat the pulp outta that Ukyo creep." He said happily. He wouldn't dare tell anyony he was day dreaming about a pleasant future with his future wife, like a teenage girl in love. Komachi smiled at him.
"Your gonna win! I just know it!"
"Your damn right I am. Now, go back to sleep sprout. Its a long road back to the village and sleeping on the ride is gonna be tough." He urged, patting her head with his large mechanical hand. Komachi smiled again and curled up into a little ball.
"G'night Kiku" She whispered, cluting at the cloth he wore around his waist.
"Sweet dreams Komachi."
His gazed drifted up to the stars once more. On the eve of the final battle, Kikuchiyo looked up at the sky. "When this is over, and when you get older, I'm gonna be your husband. " He put a hand on Komachi's head protetingly .
"and everything will be perfect. You'll see."