.
.
The club slammed into Kirara's mouth. She flew backwards, slamming against the wall.
"Nee-chan!" Komachi was screaming. "Nee-chan! Nee-chan!"
The thief ran down the road, pushing through the spectators and barreling through the crowds. "He stole our rice!" Komachi said. "Someone stop him, please!"
"Komachi...." Kirara struggled to sit up.
There was a sound, and both she and Komachi turned. The crowd scattered; something flashed and something hit the ground.
Then they saw the samurai coming closer, the bag of rice in his hand.
xXx
.
The sun was beginning to set, and in the slanted light she could see the fine grains of dust floating in the air.
"Samurai-sama," Kirara said, and she bowed before him, keeping her eyes on the ground. "I thank you humbly for your good deed today. My sister and I have traveled far to sell this rice; I and our village are in your debt."
A shadow fell where Kirara kept her eyes, and to her surprise, the samurai knelt down in front of her.
"You're hurt," the samurai said. He touched the bruise on her cheek. "I will kill him for what he's done."
Kirara did not look at him; Komachi clung to Kirara's leg. "Sister he scares me," Komachi said. Kirara bowed again.
"Great samurai, please, do not trouble yourself. I am just a farmer's daughter--"
"You were the mikumari," the samurai said. "But if it pleases you, I will let him live."
How did he--? Kirara raised her eyes.
He was nothing but hard angles now; dark eyes and scars and a cruel thin mouth. "Katsushiro?"
Katsushiro stood, and as she crouched on the ground he seemed to block out the sun. "Katsushiro-sama," Kirara said. She took his hand and pulled herself up to match his height. "I didn't recognize you. You look so...different."
Katsushiro slung his katana over his back and turned away from her. "Come with me," he said.
Kirara glanced at Komachi and followed after him.
xXx
.
He was walking fast, so fast the sisters could barely keep up. Grains of rice spilled from their knapsack as they followed him, and Kirara struggled to keep it from tipping over. The samurai turned, then wordlessly took the sack from Kirara's hand.
Kirara glanced down at Komachi, whose face had gone pale. "Sister?"
"It's all right," Kirara said. "Kyuzo-dono was scary too, remember?"
"Yes." Komachi gripped her hand. "But this one's scarier."
They reached the outskirts of the city and followed him into the woods. Kirara glanced behind her, then stepped forward into the brush. "My camp is just beyond the clearing," Katsushiro said. "You are injured and are in no shape to travel. You will stay with me tonight, then I will accompany you back to the village. I will not allow you to travel alone."
"He doesn't sound like Katsunoji, I don't think it's him," Komachi said.
"Komachi, hush." Kirara was filled with unease. He was a man now, cold and silent. He was not the boy she had befriended all those years ago."Great samurai, please. I thank you for your hospitality, but my sister and I have a mission to complete. Our rice--"
He tossed her a satchel of gold. "I trust this is enough?"
Komachi's eyes widened. "Sister!"
Kirara gaped at him, then at the pile of gold in her hand. "I don't understand," Kirara said.
"The city is not safe for you, and if it's money you want, I have plenty of it." He stepped closer, making Kirara flinch. "Let me see your face," he said, softly.
Kirara's stomach tightened as the samurai stepped closer. He reached a hand and she flinched a little, closing her eyes. "I won't hurt you," Katsushiro said. And Kirara relaxed just enough to let him touch her. She breathed hard, avoiding his eyes.
"You're different," Kirara said. "I hardly recognized you."
Katsushiro didn't answer. He cleaned the cut carefully, gently stroking her face with a wet cloth. "You shouldn't have gone out here alone," Katsushiro said. "Where were the men? Why didn't anyone accompany you?"
"The village elder had a premonition," Kirara said. "He saw in a dream that Komachi and I would find salvation in the city. I guess...I guess in a way, he was right." Katsushiro made a sound, something like disgust, and it made Kirara uneasy. "You really are different. What happened to you?" she asked.
"I saw the world," Katsushiro said. He pressed a bandage to her face. "Only a coward would strike a woman. I only wish..."
He broke off suddenly, and looked away.
"You were still there to protect me," Kirara said. Katsushiro looked up and met her eyes.
"You can still read me, even after all this time," Katsushiro said.
"Well." Kirara stared at her hands. "I was the mikumari, after all."
And Kirara suddenly realized she was just a finger's breadth away from him, close enough to touch. His shoulders were broad and his features had filled, and suddenly, inexplicably, she felt drawn to him. "I thank you again, Katsushiro-sama," Kirara said. The honorific slipped out easily, as if they had never met.
"Lady Kirara." He nodded toward her. "It is getting late," he said. "I suggest you two get some sleep. It will be a long journey tomorrow."
.
A/N: So, I decided to try my hand at some Katsushiro/Kirara reunion!fic, and I thought to myself: dude, what would Kirara do if Katsu became a full-fledged badass like Kyuzo? I thought it would be interesting to explore, especially since Komachi once said that Katsu just wasn't scary. There's actually a picture in Deviant Art that inspired this fic, here:
bobubanks dot deviantart dot com/art/Katsu-38686688
I thought that was cool. Anyway this was supposed to be a oneshot, but it'll probably be a multi-chapter fic. We'll see how it goes *nods*