=====
Battle for Love.
=====

=====
It was an especially hot day in the South Kingdom. The sun was at it's zenith and so was mercilessly beating down on Earth, with no clouds in the heavens to somehow obscure it. The air smelled of dry grass and burning sand, dust clouding the sight. Quick, short shadows moved, in sync with everything. Hundreds of crickets chirped loudly yet melodiously in the tall grass that surrounded the road to the castle.

Travelling on that same dirtroad was a knight called Lady Tainaka Ritsu. She wore her full knight's armor despite the smouldering heat. A bead of sweat slowly trickled down her brow, along the few brown locks that peeped out from underneath her helmet. But she made no intention to wipe it away. Her amber eyes were intensely focused on the castle that doomed up from the horizon, it's colourful banners and flags protruding from the beige walls. The massive building was getting bigger and bigger with every step her trusty horse took.

She'd come all the way from the lands in the North to visit Akiyama Mio, a princess who lived in the castle. Rumour has it that this princess was recently attacked by heathens, bandits who had nothing left to lose and who risked their lives to try and capture the royal damsel, only to either sell her as a slave or wait for the ransom that could set her free again. It was this problem exactly that had made Ritsu so mad.

How dare those low-lives threaten the only hope this land had left, she thought. Princess Akiyama was the only heiress left next to her brother, who was sadly affected by the plague and on the brink of dying. He father was equally ill. If he and her brother were to pass away, the young princess had to follow in her fathers footsteps and become Queen Akiyama. Though the Higher Counsel in the West had accepted this, the townspeople absolutely did not agree with them.

They believed that a lady, a simple woman, could not rule an empire. They believed that only men were capable of such a task. But Ritsu knew better. For as far as she knew and reckoned, woman were equal to men. They were nothing more and nothing less. She could know: she'd become a knight, opposed to the tradition that, yet again, only real men could bear that title.

Ritsu shivered: she absolutely hated it when men thought that they were better than women. Even when she just thought of it, the anger bubbled up in her like some sick version of adrenaline. The way to becoming a knight wasn't easy for her: she remembered the midnight beating she'd received from the guys night after night. Bruises upon bruises, but Ritsu kept on going, just kept on going. Because one day, she was better than them, and that was the day that she was knighted. She was proud that she crossed that border of inequality. She would show the world that it was possible, if you believed. And she had trusted, in herself, and now no one would ever tell her she couldn't do it.

And so, Ritsu believed that Akiyama could rule the empire. Though everyone in the Kingdom knew that she was fragile and broken because of the family drama, they also knew that the princess was strong inside. Strong enough to be a queen and reign with justice and honour. No men needed. Just the right feelings and instinct. The knight believed in Akiyama.

Murmuring something under her breath, Ritsu patted the side of the neck of her horse. His breathing was heavy and his steps were slow. He was tired, and the amber-eyed woman knew that if they didn't reach the castle soon, they would have to rest somewhere. But with all the bandits scurrying around, Ritsu was sure that they would get little rest.

She let the bridles in her hand a little more loose, giving her horse some breathing space, and setting back in the saddle, the knight took a deep breath. She took off the woven shawl that she had wrapped around the lower half of her face to prevent her from inhaling dust and exhaled deeply. She wriggled around a bit in her armor, the heavy plates crushing her joints. A crooked grin played on the lips of the young soldier as she thought about Akiyama.

Of course, the recent threats to Akiyama weren't the only reason Ritsu was going to visit the princess. She would have to see with her own eyes the supposed beauty of the woman every one talked about. Her supposed strength, her supposed mesmerizing eyes, her supposed everything. The knight wanted to see her, to see to person she believed in without a doubt but without even knowing her.

A blush crept up the cheeks of the warrior and she quickly focused her gaze and thoughts back on the castle, her eyebrows furrowing together.
=====

=====
After a few more miles, Ritsu had reached the castle. The walls were high and she looked up at them in awe, the flags and banners with the royal Akiyama insignia high above her. Back in the North, were she came from, the castles were a lot smaller and only habited by barons and governors; not by kings and queens.

Guiding her horse to the gate, the knight noticed that no guards were shielding the entrance, which was customary. Seeing the recent threats from the bandits, Ritsu was wary as she rode through the gate and into inside the castle walls, setting her sword loosely in her sheath, her hand resting on it, ready when needed.

Ritsu acknowledged the eerie silence and yet again the absence of guards, pages or even simple servants inside the castle. As the young woman slowly lead the horse inside, he neighed softly, struck by the smouldering heat inside the castle walls. She lead him to a pile of hay in the shade, she alighted her horse, tied his bridles to a wooden pillar and continued on foot, tentative with each step, her steel boots echoing with each step. She didn't like this at all.

Trying her best to stay silent, she sneaked across the courtyard, checking the roof for eventual archers. But there seemed to be absolutely no one in the castle. She walked back again, looking all over the place, but still, she found no one. Raising an eyebrow, Ritsu stood up straight again, huffing.

Suddenly, an ear-piercing scream filled the air, shrill and afraid. Ritsu started for a few seconds, startled by the sound, but then dashed off to find the source of the scream, the wind whizzing in her ears as she ran. The worst scenario's unfolded in the amber-eyed woman's head as she sprinted across the gate that led to the little plaza, still following the persistent sound.

After a while, which already felt like too long for Ritsu, the young warrior had found the source of the scream in the stables. And what she found there was not good.

A group of six, maybe seven bandits had pinned down a young woman in the hay and were trying to tear her clothes off, their hands roughly tracing down her body as she lay there helplessly, sobbing. Ritsu choked, loathed and angered by the men's behaviour. She quickly drew her sword with the loud hiss of metal scraping against a sheath and charged forward while yelling some abusives.

The bandits turned away from the black-haired woman en masse, startled by the sound. One of them was already too slow to notice Ritsu's sword being flung towards his head. He crashed down onto the ground with blood gushing from the wound on his head as the others aggressively drew their crooked swords and counter-attacked.

Ritsu skilfully ducked underneath a bandit's slashing scimitar which was aimed at her head, scooted forward in the same movement and pierced through the back of the crook with her sword, retracting it quickly to slash down the other bandit in front of her. Blood splattered on Ritsu's gloved hands as she bashed in the skull of another one with the handle of her sword.

Turning around gracefully, she parried a strike from her opponent who had tried to attack her from behind. Their swords clashed together in a battle of parrying, producing clattering sounds, but after a few agile slashes with her sword, he was also heading towards the ground, gurgling out his last breath.

Breathing heavily, Ritsu fervently looked around for more of them, and, catching one off-guard, she stabbed a bandit left of her in the face, extending her arm to the furthest, thrusting her sword all the way through with all her strength. With a hard yank, she retrieved it, pushing the body to the ground. She was fuelled with hatred, her vision blurred with it, and slashed around until only one bandit was still alive. His stance appeared uncertain and afraid, the fear of death gleaming brightly in his eyes.

Letting out a low growl, Ritsu pounced forward, trying to hack at the unprotected right side of the man, but he managed to counter it. He swung his sword backward and wanted to slam it back into Ritsu's head, but the amber-eyed woman stepped aside, easily avoiding the deadly blow. This gave her the opportunity to jab her sword into the exposed chest of the bandit, ending his violent spree. His sword clattered to the ground.

After Ritsu made sure all the bandits were dead, she sheathed her sword and rushed over to the young woman that was still laying in the hay. Kneeling down in front of her, she wanted to examine her, but since some parts of her clothes were ripped off, she quickly retracted her hands.

"Are you alright?" she asked instead through heavy breathing.

"I-I'm... I'm fine." the woman stammered, unable to look in the eyes of her rescuer, trying to cover up her bare chest with her hands. Her cheeks were flushed and her grey eyes were swimming in unshed tears.

"Hold on." Ritsu said, as she quickly undid herself off her breastplate and also took off her heavy chainmail, throwing them both on the ground. Only her leather undercloth and her green tunic that was underneath it remained. She unclasped the buckles that held her leather under cloth and offered it to the woman.

"N-no, I couldn't-" she began, but was cut off by Ritsu, who gently removed the woman's arms and wrapped the leather part around her upper body, buckling it in place. The lady seemed thankful. She was pulled up by Ritsu and the knight asked her where she lived.

"Just follow me, p-please."

As Ritsu silently followed the woman through the courtyard and into the castle, she couldn't help but to admire her beauty. Even after the rough assault, her onyx eyes spoke of strength, a hidden fire brightly burning in them. Her face was very feminine with a very distinct but fine jawline, framed by her pitch-black, shiny hair. Though Ritsu didn't dare to just ogle her body, she noted that she had sumptuously long legs, because the usual long end of the dress was ripped off. Altogether, the woman was indeed very handsome.

But there was just something about her that made Ritsu ponder. The way she walked up a flight of stairs with such grace, her elegant, lithe movement, her tender, honey-sweet voice and her developed sense of speech... this couldn't just be a servant, could she? This lady had to come from a higher lineage at least.

"If... if you'll excuse me, brave knight, I'm going to c-change," the woman said, embarrassment hinting her voice, "if you could just wait here, please."

Ritsu nodded, and once she tore her eyes off of the black-haired woman, noticed that she was in quite a large room inside the castle. It's walls were covered with paintings and different ornaments. In the middle of a room stood a rectangular table with six chairs covered in red velvet. The fire in the hearth wasn't lit, but above the mantlepiece hung a gigantic mirror with a decorated frame. A large chandelier hung from the ceiling, reflecting the sunlight that came in through the open window.

"Impressive." the knight murmured, looking around in awe. Her family wasn't really that wealthy or respected, but at least Ritsu had come further up the social ladder. Not that she had wanted that in the first place, but being a knight had it's advantages. But this particular room made Ritsu once again question the maiden's family and lineage.

After some time, the lady returned, fully dressed now. As Ritsu turned to look at her, a light blush covered her cheeks as her eyes roamed across the beautiful sight.

She wore a dark-red and black gown, with some white ruffled edges here and there. The dress was quite bare-necked, but not too much, though it did give away an awful lot of cleavage. Her shoulders were also bare, and the sleeves began somewhere around her upper arm, ending in long sleeves which were attached to her hands. The dress ended at her ankles, almost touching the ground with some moves the young woman made. A simple yet beautiful collar-like necklace clung to her neck.

"So, Sir..." the woman began after a time, Ritsu quickly recovering from her gazing.

"Tainaka. Ritsu Tainaka." she gave a curt bow out of courtesy, feeling her heart thump loudly in her chest and her cheeks unusually and uncomfortably warm. She couldn't go around looking at girls.

"A pleasure to meet you, Ritsu." the grey-eyed woman said, also giving a elegant bow as an equal greeting, "I am princess Akiyama Mio. I'm honoured to have you as my guest, if you would please," she smiled a polite yet friendly smile, her cheeks a light pink hue.

Ritsu gasped, too shocked for a couple of moments to respond. Her mind ran in circles, nothing sensible coming up in her head. Then, she simply dropped to her knees, took the princess' hand in her own and, shoving up the steel visor of her helmet and closing her eyes, gave it a light kiss.

"It's my honour, Milady."

"Please do refrain from such actions, brave Sir. You've saved me after all, so I should be the one who has to be polite and honoured."

Ritsu got off her knees, quickly pulling down the visor again, and remained silent for a while, being in some state of shock and utter bliss at the same time. Yes, she had come here to visit Akiyama, but never did she dream she'd actually meet the woman, let alone save her from bandits.

"And, do I get to see your face, or not?" Mio innocently asked, her voice subtly seductive. She walked a bit closer to Ritsu, her slate eyes trying to peer through the visor of her helmet, unsuccesful. The golden-eyed woman did not reply, still in a haze.

"Surely, I would have to reward my saviour." the princess softly added, inching yet a bit closer, a gentle smile playing on her lips.

Ritsu brought her arms up hestitantly, her hands lingering on her helmet in doubt. Taking off her helmet would reveal herself. Mio would see that a woman had saved her, and she had no idea what kind of reaction that would trigger. Would she be angry? Shocked? Happy, to have someone to relate to?

She took a deep breath and then took off the piece of steel, causing her lush brown locks to fall free from the captivating space of the helmet, her hair now cascading down the rest of her armor. It rivaled the length of Mio's hair, but it was still inches shorter.

Moving her gaze into the dark eyes of the princess, the shock was readable on her face and the confusion burned in her eyes. Ritsu kept staring into the other woman's eyes, still too much in haze and not even able to look away, somehow trying to gauge Akiyama's reaction through her awe-struck expression.

"I see." Mio recovered after a silence, a warm smile yet again plastered on her face, her eyes suddenly gleaming with happiness. Ritsu blinked.

"Aren't you... mad or anything, Milady?" she asked, a little bit surprised, her eyebrows raising in question. Though she half-expected Mio to accept it, it was still a bit of a shock to actually experience it. After all the years of disapproval, this was just so different it seemed wrong.

"Why would I be?"

Ritsu kept silent yet again, casting her eyes downward. Mio did have a point, certainly seeing the point that she herself was also a woman who needed to follow in the footsteps that men had set out for her. It struck the knight suddenly that she felt the urge to talk to the princess, to tell her about her thought on her future, and how she believed in her.

"Take a walk with me, Milady?"
=====

=====
"So, Ritsu, I assume you wanted to talk to me?" Mio said, after a while. They'd been walking in the lush, green and beautiful castle gardens. The air smelled sweet and warm, flowers sprung from every inch of soil and a few birds were singing melodiously in the nearby tree. Underneath them, on the horizon, the town on the foot of the hill on which the castle was built lay silently in the golden sun, embraced in it's warmth.

"Yes, Milady." the knight said before getting interrupted by the noir-haired princess.

"Please, just call me Mio." a smile. Ritsu nodded and blushed lightly. You couldn't just call a princess by her first name, could you?

"M-Mio." Ritsu uncertainly began, looking into the eyes of Mio, searching for some kind of confirmation. The latter's opaque eyes gleamed happily and a soft, approving smile urged her to continue. Searching for the right words, she took a deep breath.

"I... I just wanted to tell you that.. you need to believe in yourself. I know that with your father and your brother in this state, that it's not easy, I know it isn't... but... But you are a woman worth believing in. I never knew the person you were and I never knew what you were like. But despite all that, I still believed in you."

Mio stopped dead in her tracks, her delicate fingers absentmindedly tracing the shapes of the petals of a blooming flower. Her eyes big from suprise, she gazed deeply into the brown ones of Ritsu, marvel written all over her face. Ritsu flashed her a brief but genuine smile, crooked like a grin.

"You see, I know what it's like, to have to go to where only men have been before. I know what it's like to go in against all rules," she continued, looking at the horizon, staying silent for a while before speaking "But I also know, that it is worth it in the end."

She adjusted her gaze back upon the dazzled princess, "What I'm trying to say, Mila- Mio, is that you shouldn't listen to the townspeople. They don't know that you are a strong woman. They just don't get it. But I do, and I know you can do it," the warrior said, stepping a bit closer to Mio, "I believe in you. And you should believe in yourself too. Because I know, that deep inside, you feel like you could. And you need to use that feeling."

"Ritsu..."

"Use it, and I'll know that you will be a beautiful, powerful queen." she continued before falling silent when she caught Mio's onyx stare. Underneath those shy eyes lay wonders so mysterious that Ritsu wanted to get to know them all. She stepped closer to the princess, still locking their eyes together.

And as Ritsu gazed into Mio's eyes, she suddenly felt a such strong, deep attraction towards the princess that her knees nearly buckled. The feeling was so strong that it felt like it was rooted in her heart, compelling her to be always be right here with Mio. Her mind screamed for sense, but like she'd done all her life, she followed her heart. And right now, it told her to stay with Mio. To stay right here, always.

After a few moments, Mio tore her eyes from Ritsu's, a deep blush covering her cheeks, her eyes glimmering underneath her dark lashes. The knight took a few steps closer to the princess and took one of her soft, warm hands in her own, and with her other hand she coaxed Mio's head up to look in her grey eyes once again. Ritsu's heart pounded in her chest as the last bit of sun cast long shadows, making the black-haired woman look even more beautiful in the warm light.

"And even if there is trouble. Even if there is danger. I'll be here. I'll always protect you, no matter what," Ritsu said breathlessy, "I will always do so, Mio."
=====

=====
Ritsu was lying on the grass, staring up at the opaque, star-filled sky, the princess only millimetres away from her. She could hear her steady breathing, and it calmed the knight down. She could smell her scent, and it warmed Ritsu. Though Mio had said nothing since the warrior had told her what she needed to say, she felt good. The silence was comfortable, and Ritsu momentarily closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath.

She'd told the princess a lot of things, and though Mio never said anything back, she was glad that the black-haired woman listened. She'd told her practically everything. From her youth to her becoming a knight and how hard that had been, from her loneliness to her opinion on mankind, and so on. Ritsu could never vent to anyone so much before, because she basicly had no one to talk to, but also because she trusted no one. But with Mio, it just flowed out of her. The princess had something calm and sweet about her, and the company she delivered was wonderful, and Ritsu longed for the young princess to be at her side forever.

But thinking about it just now, she knew she'd fallen in love with the princess. It just happened, she couldn't help it. Mio was just so wonderful and lovely, and the need to be with her, to just hold her and protect her was so strong within Ritsu that she immediately knew that she loved her, without a single doubt. It just felt right this way.

"Ritsu." Mio whispered softly.

"Yes?" the brunette turned her head, only to feel the princess' lips pressing softly against her own. The feel sent a shock through Ritsu, but that quickly vanished and made place for a deep affection, her heart skipping a few beats.

Gently applying some pressure back, Ritsu cupped Mio's face with one hand, stroking her silky skin. She inhaled Mio's sweet scent, felt her soft touch, tasted her sweetness. The kiss ended soon, but it was enough for Ritsu. More than enough. When Mio pulled back, smiling ever so adorably, moonlight fell on her face, giving it a silvery glow, the beauty of it knocking the breath out of Ritsu.

"Thank you."
=====

====
A/n: Bwahaha! Seriously, imagine Ritsu in armor! It's hilarious! But awesome though... hmm yeah, I figured she'd be like a knight to Mio, opposed to Romio x Jurietsu where the roles are like, reversed. Mio is more of a queen~ Maybe they're a bit out of character, but I had to, because it'd be weird if you have happy happy joy joy Ritsu going around slashing bandits with a grin on her face, you know? And well, Mio.. yeah, um.. yeah. Don't even ask.

Anyways, yeah, I wanted to make this longer, but I felt like I could not put anything related in there to make it longer... but it's almost 4000 words, so I'm okay with it. I feel like the ending is kinda lame, I dunno, I suck at making endings these days... Hmm, well, yeah. I might, MIGHT make this longer by adding a few more chapters, but ONLY if I finish my other projects. ONLY then. Kay?

So.. yeah. Hope you liked it, Read&Review please~!
=====

=====
Disclaimer: I do not own K-ON!
=====