A/N: A story idea based on Matt Frank's "A Samurai and his Love" found on DeviantArt for my own love, Camille. I might expand this to its own series, starting at the story's actual beginning but it won't be until the next attack of inspiration. Whenever that might be. I'm thinking Frabjous Day but I'm no seer.
DISCLAIMER: I OWN WHAT IS MY OWN.
"A Lady and her Samurai"
By Corvus no Genmu
The city below was peaceful, the sun having set some hours ago. The towering mountains that served as a natural protection to the city's defense rose like great stone trees in a large circle around the city, and yet the stars could be seen with great ease, the moon full and shining brightly. This kind of night seemed almost like day to the citizens below as they sat on their porches or rooftops, most frequently in pairs. Young or old it did not matter as the mood of the day continued well into the night. Today, fresh couples were formed, some for friendship, others for a discovery and a chance at love. Couples already well experienced took this chance to reaffirm themselves to each other, to show their loved ones their true feelings to the fullest, safe in the security of the day and its meanings.
He claimed no mastery of such matters, the heart being as foreign to him as life without battles, without combat against friend and foe alike. His heart had died years ago, when he first earned his sword and armor, back when all he had to care about was when the next battle would be, if that battle would end his suffering be it through death or the adrenaline of another battle won. Coming here, to this so-called Valley of Peace… it changed him in ways he never imagined.
He had come here, tracking rumors of an unbeatable foe, a practioner of mystic arts and ruler of this land untouched by the constant wars and skirmishes outside its boundaries. In his first days being here, the people of this valley saw him as a true monster, a destroyer with a heart as black as coal. Now, barely a year later he was hailed a hero, a savior of their homes and their leader. It wasn't a quick transition by any means; no it had taken invaders with worse intentions than he to earn their respect, their admiration. Time and again he tried to leave the Valley, thinking that he was growing soft, getting too attached to one place instead of wandering the world as his want.
But each and every damn time he was at the top of the mountains, standing at that invisible boundary between the Valley and the world outside, he would pause and his traitorous eyes would turn back to the Valley; to the city, the forests, and the lakes below. There was peace here, between the people and nature, surprising but not too unbelievable. No, it was the people themselves that had surprised him. Humans and kaiju living together, some in more literal ways, a concept he never imagined to be possible in his lifetime.
Humans were weak but they outnumbered the kaiju by the thousands, kaiju were few but even the weakest of them could easily kill several humans with little effort. To see them together as friends, family, even lovers was… disconcerting. Even more so when the so-called Shaman of Peace, the Ruler of the Ivory Tower, had descended down from said tower to meet him with a trail of devastation in his wake and revealed a worse truth.
A half-breed, born from human father and kaiju mother.
He had been angry then, to find that his hopeful adversary, a greater warrior than he, was not only a half-breed but a female. He thought her beautiful even then though he would never have admitted it. He attacked her head-on, sword drawn for her blood but she would not face him. Her honor guard however was another story. Most of them pure kaiju like himself, the rest sharing in her half-breed status.
Two of them he knew well having fought against and with them in the past. He was admittedly surprised to find them allied with her, willing to stand against him despite knowing they had no chance against him, even with their combined effort. That did not still his hand and he defeated them both quickly and mercifully. They would live and their rivalry would continue.
The rest of the guards were even easier to dispatch, so easy in fact he actually felt guilty in beating them so badly and sparing them the mercy of death. All but one, the captain of the guard and the Lady's guardian since childhood. A kaiju shiisa, Caesar fought with no weapon and in a style that admittedly had him reeling at first but the longer the battle between the two went on, the more he learned of the old wolf's style. He adapted and slowly began to make headway. Even if he could not land sword or flame upon the old timer, he had the advantage of stamina unrivaled, a healing power unseen, and a power unmatched.
It was only a matter of time.
Fate, unfortunately, had other plans. The Lady was, apparently, a twin, sister to a brother twisted by the black arts. So twisted in fact that it was he who slew their parents when they were both but children and sub sequentially banished from the Valley with his powers supposedly sealed away. Battra had bided his time, practicing his spells and enchantments until his powers grew too strong for the seals to hold. He had boasted of his grand plan in utilizing the arrogance of the so-called "Kaiju Samurai" to draw the warrior to the Valley, hoping that he'd do half the job for him but he had grown impatient.
He wanted his sister dead and the Valley destroyed.
The Black Death, as he proclaimed himself, easily finished off Caesar and nearly wiped out the honor guard as they rose to defend their Lady. Battra's eyes were only on his sister and her imminent demise; he didn't care about anyone else because there was no one else strong enough to cause him any concern.
A mistake.
The Kaiju Samurai was a name he had earned for a reason, his sword and armor a silent testament to his deeds. Armor made from the flesh and scales of the first kaiju and the blade that slew him and through his blood gave birth to the race of kaiju, he was a worthy adversary to Battra's powers. Add in the gifts he already had and he was an unstoppable force, a living disaster that left naught but devastation in his wake.
He fought Battra head-on, meeting the blackest of enchantments with his own power, fierce as the sea in the midst of a storm. Eyes of burning light promised that only one of them would be walking away from this fight. "So be it!" was Battra's one and only reply, the last he'd ever make as the Samurai's blade pierced through his heart as deadly claws ripped his throat asunder, breaking Battra's last spell in the middle of casting. Left unfinished, the magic behind the spell overloaded and caused an explosion that nearly ended his life.
He awoke a week later to find the Lady herself kneeling beside him, wrapping a fresh set of bandages around his exposed torso. He did not know for sure what he had said but he remembered well the slap he earned for his words from her. He expected to be kicked out shortly after she had stormed out of his room, to see her return with her honor guard at her side ready to finish what her brother couldn't. She did come back armed with healing ointments and pleasantly scented candles that relaxed his sore muscles. The rest, as they say, was history.
Now here he was, an entire year spent in the Valley of Peace earning and receiving more than all the years he spent wandering had ever earned him. He hated it here and yet he would lay down his life for the continued existence of this valley and the people who called it home, all for one person, the very one sitting in his lap gazing up at the stars with him.
She was human, both in size and shape, but she had kaiju blood in her veins, made obvious by her luminous blue eyes over which pale white antennae dangled lightly on the breeze. Her wings, much like a butterfly's, were open wide, letting the wind catch them enough to keep them spread. Her hair was mixed, by genetics or by her own will he did not question, the forelocks pale like fresh milk, the rest falling just below her neck in faint vermillion. Her kimono was rather simple, reflecting her perfectly in his opinion, though it revealed more of her legs than usual.
Not that he was looking or anything.
He, on the other claw, was very different compared to her. He was a pure-blooded kaiju and towered over her a good deal, her head barely reaching his shoulders despite sitting on his lap as she was. Where she had soft, ivory skin, he had hard emerald scales tough like leather and rough like the bark of a tree. He wore no clothing, for none would really fit him, but he did wear the shoulder-guards of his armor, the helmet and sword lying on the ground beside him. She was the perfect picture of peace and life and he was the exact opposite, a living example of war and death.
"Something's bothering you." She spoke up, her voice soft, almost a whisper on the wind.
"Oh? How did you come to this conclusion?" He intoned, looking down at her. He saw how the glow in her insect-like eyes drifted up to the scar over his left eye, the only scar to never heal, a sign of his victory over her wicked brother. He knew she felt guilty of it and he hated it all the more for being a constant reminder to her. Her eyes shifted to meet his, which glowed like embers in the twilight.
"You're tense, more so than usual." She pressed a hand to his shoulder and he noted how his muscles relaxed under her gentle caress with a small smile. "I've only seen you like this before you spare with Caesar-ojiisan or the others, when you're worried about how much you should hold back in case you hurt them behind repair."
"Caught that did you?" He huffed, looking heavenward once more. "It's nothing."
"… You're scared." A year ago, he would have flown off the handle, roaring and cutting down everything in his path to take down whoever dared to say such a thing. Now, a faint flicker of light danced through his spines with an even fainter look of irritation on his muzzle.
"I fear no-one." He answered.
"Sometimes the worst of our fears does not have a face to wear." She replied to which he snorted, amused by how she appeared more cute than wise whenever she spoke so. She recognized his amusement instantly and stuck her tongue out childishly at him, laughing with him a moment later. Her cheeks grew rosy as she smiled with satisfaction as she always did when she got him to laugh. "So?"
"Hrmm… I've been thinking…" He didn't say anything more but then, neither did she. She knew that whatever he had to say was important enough to him to think through rather than just come out and say it. "You know how I feel, right? Even though I don't say the words?"
"You don't need to. Your actions speak louder to me." She replied.
"I suppose… but I think this time, words are appropriate." He took a deep breath to try and steel his resolve. It was now or never. "I want to swear my allegiance."
He was awarded by her surprise, something he was rare to see. "Well… if that's what you wish but I'm sure Caesar-ojiisan would wish for a bigger audience…"
"I don't think he'll care too much about that." He replied, his eyes never leaving her face. "The Valley is not really what I'm pledging myself to." Her eyes met his, at first confused but then realization dawned and the rosy blush returned with added force. He took her small hand in his own, a small smile on his muzzle. "What say you, Princess?"
She smiled, the glow in her eyes almost shining like the sun. "What do I say? Yes. A thousand times yes."
His smile grew to a grin and he bent further down to nuzzle his face against hers. "Have I told you today that I love you?"
"I believe you did but I never grow tired of hearing it."
"I love you, Mosu-chan."
"And I love you, Goji-kun."
Fin