AN: This is my first time writing a fanfic with any level of seriousness. My goal with this story is to maintain the tone and characters of Kuragehime while exploring aspects of their relationship beyond what has been provided in the anime&manga. That being said, this project is going to be long and at some points slowly paced, because I feel that is one of the things that makes the manga so sweet and charming. Also, I don't know where this will go in the future, rating is subject to change, especially in later (waaaay later) chapters. Also, I've found a beta reader (NamesAreForFriends) and received some helpful reviews. I'd like to especially thank StopTalkingAtMe for such a detailed review that pointed out so much stuff that I missed.
Chapter One
Beautiful. A princess. That was the first thing Tsukimi noticed when she met Kuranosuke, on the night he helped her save Clara. He was tall and slender and confident in his western boots and long pink wig. She continued to notice it when he would visit Amamizu-kan in his endless collection of cute skirts and form-fitting blouses. All those times that he visited, he would talk to the Amars as though it was a perfectly normal thing for a stylish like him to be doing.
She noticed in the evenings, too, when he would sit in her room, his wig discarded haphazardly on her floor beside him. Sometimes he would close his eyes and lean back against her bed and just look so perfectly comfortable and at peace—like this was the place he belonged, rather than in a busy downtown shop or a room filled with lavish furniture and dazzling outfits. Other times he would be wide-eyed and jittery as he flipped through her sketches and rattled on about the dresses they could make and how everyone would know their name. Was it him or the idea of being noticed by all of those fashionable people that made Tsukimi's heart flutter and her breath catch in her throat?
He was also brave, Tsukimi noticed. Much braver than me, she thought, thinking back on how powerless she had been to save Clara, and then Amamizu-kan. If Kuranosuke hadn't been there to fight for them, and in his own way teach them to fight too, they would have all just given up. They would have had to move away, separate themselves, possibly return to the homes of their parents. Amamizu-kan and the Amars would be no more without Kuranosuke.
And why? Why did he help me to begin with? she wondered. And after that, he came back. He didn't have to, she certainly didn't expect him to. But he had, and she just didn't understand it at all.
"I wanted to see you, Tsukimi-chan."
Tsukimi could feel a blush creeping up her neck and onto her cheeks. She glanced from Kuranosuke to her sketchbook, then turned to stare out at the night sky. When was the last time someone said that to her? Had anyone ever wanted to see Tsukimi? Not that she could remember.
With a sigh she turned her gaze back to the floor where Kuranosuke was sleeping. He was all at once the most kind, brave, and beautiful person she had ever met. More of a princess than she would ever be. Well-connected and popular, he could probably be anywhere, doing anything, but lately he chose to spend most of his time with Tsukimi and the Amars. Thinking about it, she could feel a tightening in her chest. Nobody besides her parents had ever made her feel special, like she could be a princess too. Somehow, Kuranosuke did.
In her sketchbook she added a few more lines, trying to get his hair falling over his face just right. She didn't have much practice drawing people—they weren't usually as interesting as jellyfish—but there was something about Kuranosuke that demanded her attention. She knew that she could draw him a million times and each time something would still be missing, but she also knew that she couldn't stop trying.
She closed her eyes and inhaled slowly. It was late, but she wanted to finish her sketch while she had the chance. She stretched her hands out and massaged her wrists for a moment before returning to her task. When she finished, she carefully crawled out of bed, making sure not to step too close to Kuranosuke or make any noise. She slid her sketchbook back onto the shelf with all of the others and left her room to go say goodnight to Clara.
"Hi Clara," she said. quietly so nobody else would be disturbed. "The sky is really beautiful tonight, isn't it?" She turned away to look through the open window across from Clara's tank and then sat down beside Clara and leaned her head against the wall. "Let's do our best to stay here at Amamizu-kan, no matter how hard we have to work, right Clara?" Tsukimi smiled as she imagined her sweet spotted jelly responding to her.
"Don't worry, Tsukimi-chan!" Clara would say, floating calmly through an underwater field. As she closed her eyes, the scene became more vivid and the light, cool breeze coming through the window reminded her of the ocean.
"Just for a second," she murmured to Clara, and then she dozed off.