A TakiXMitsurugi fic, I personally like this pairing, theres something to the whole Samurai/Ninja love that I really like :)
Japan, year 1570, the entire country is torn apart by war.
8-year-old Heishiro Mitsurugi has watched the terrible suffering that plagued his village his entire life, the frightened eyes of those who's family members had to go away to the battlefield, and the sad, disgusted, and horrified eyes when their bodies were brought back to their respective villages for the Family to see them half decomposed, and often headless.
As the Savaged, Bloodthirsty Warriors did as a sign of dominance.
And he feared that soon enough, he would taste the same bitter taste of sorrow that consumed the villagers, for his Three older Brothers, Roshitsune, who is 14, and Hayate, is 17, and Sanza who is 18, were all called on to the battlefield, either coming home with blood on their hands, and a demonic, worn out look in their eyes,
Or headless, and dead.
At least that's was what his Father, Seishiro, told him, and he always took his Father's words to heart.
His Father, as Heishiro always thought of him, was the very example of what a real man should be, proud, noble, ready and willing to give his life for his Family, and what he believed in,
His Father was a fairly tall, rugged looking man with stern features, he was always dorned in dark colored Hakama and Haori, his hair was once a black color with a brown hue to it, and he always kept it tied in a long ponytail that fell over his broad shoulders, but now he wore it loose, and it was starting to gray slightly with age.
Like a true Swordman should.
As a Swordman, Heishiro could admit that he idolized him and watched very closely to every example he made.
As Father and Son, however, they were a bit strained.
Heishiro did love his Father, no joke, at least the extent you can love a man like his Father, the strain is in partial fault to his Father's cold, silent exterior, and the way he bluntly, and harshly fortold the inevitable fates that could be awaiting his Brothers, whom Heishiro was already worried enough for.
Whether or not he shared his worry was a matter of debate.
But according to his Mother, Kyoko, his Father would have gladly went to the war in all of his Son's place, but due to an injury he took in a battle that crippled him a few years earlier, he was unable to do so, and that he loved all his children dearly and equally with all his heart.
But Heishiro still wondered about it.
His relationship with his Mother, however, was a much more compassinate one.
His Mother was a kind-hearted, sweet, beautiful woman, she had long, ebony hair worn in a loose braid down her back, she wore a pale pink Kimono with a lime green Obi, and casual straw sandals, She was the direct opposite of his Father, (Heishiro always wondered how he was able to have a kind woman like her fall for him in the first place.) who's presence was a great relief to the young Heishiro, she was always ready to calm Heishiro's fears, though he never outright expressed any such weak, pathetic emotions, yet, somehow she always knew.
And there wasn't anything wrong with that.
Heishiro stood in the Bamboo forest just outside of the village, holding a bamboo Shinai firmly in his small hands, he'd been swinging it repeatedly for several hours, seeking to get stronger with each swing.
I have to get stronger, to protect my Family, my friends, my village! He swore as he swung it even more intently, strands of his black hair that had escaped from his usual upward hairstyle, were hanging loose around his face, and a determined look in his brown eyes, little did he know, however,that someone was watching him...
An 8-year-old young Kunoichi-in-training by the name of Taki hid in the many stalks of Bamboo plants, hiding in her surrounding, and hiding her presence like Toki taught her, she swept her hair out of her face, large dark eyes watched closely at the boy with the Shinai.
She placed a hand over her mouth, to try and stifle her giggling, it was the first time she actually spied on anybody,
And it was fun!
She loved the thrill of watching a complete stranger's every move, and their none the wiser of the pair of eyes watching from the shadows.
Then, she saw the boy stop! Taki tensed up, Did he see me? She thought, worried.
"Who's there?" The boy called, with a placid glare, amazing how a boy that young looked so jaded.
Taki's heart began racing, as she tried to keep herself out of his view, she didn't learn how to disappear yet, or jump that high, she had no way of escaping.
Oh no, if he see's me, we're both going to be in a lot of trouble! She thought franticly, she wanted to explore the outside world, not endanger the life of an innocent boy!
She wasn't allowed to leave the village, lest run the risk of exposing the Fuuma Clan secrets, but Taki just couldn't help herself, she loved to go and see the outside world, and she always had a bad habit of letting her curiousity getting the better of her.
" Whoever you are, come out!" He yelled, the low tone in his voice almost frightening.
Then an idea came to Taki's mind,
I'll just pretend to be a normal girl, just walking through the woods, then he'll be safe and not find out I'm a Kunoichi, and I can slip away safely. Taki, you are a genius! Taki thought with a smile.
Taki then slowly stood up, and walked out from her hiding spot, and pretended to be timid, and less of a threat.
Upon seeing a girl walk out, Heishiro's expression softened a bit.
" What were you doing spying on me?" He asked plainly.
A real straight to the point kind of guy, huh? This could get complicated. Taki thought, then put on the most cute, timid face she could fake, and spoke.
" I-I'm sorry, I was just walking by, and saw you swinging that Sword thingy, and I, I guess I got curious." She said, looking down shyly.
God! I hate acting so weak, this guy better buy this! She thought angerly, but still keeping her facade on flawlessly.
Heishiro sensed that something was amiss about this girl, but dicided that he was just being to paronoid, what could a cute, innocent looking girl like her possibly do to him?
Taki flinched slightly when Heishiro raised the Shinai a bit,
" This sword-thingy is called a 'Shinai' its used to practice Kenjutsu." He explained in an almost monotonic manner.
I already know that. Taki thought.
" Wow, " Taki exclaimed, looking at the Shinai in feigned wonder," So, are you training to become Swordsman?" She asked, making her dark eyes as wide and innocent as possible.
" No, well, sort of, its just for some stupid goal of mine." Heishiro answered, looking away, embarassed a little for saying that.
Why am I spilling my guts to this girl, I just met her, I don't even know her name! He scolded himself for being careless.
Taki blinked at that," What is your goal? " She asked.
" I can't tell you, you'll just laugh." He said, still emarassed.
" I won't laugh, I promise!" She said, with genuine interest.
" I don't even know your name!" Heishiro argued.
" Okay, I'll tell you," Taki said as she bowed her head in greeting." My name is Taki." She said.
" Taki? Thats an odd name." He said bluntly.
" Well, whats your name?" Taki asked the boy, slightly irritated with his comment.
" Its Heishiro Mitsurugi." He stated, not bowing his head.
" Hey, your sopposed to bow your head!" Taki pointed out.
" And why would I do that?" He asked, stilll bluntly.
" Well, my M-Father said that its a sign of being a polite person." Taki answered.
" Your Father is right, it is polite to bow in greeting, and he was right to teach you that, but I am not bound by such things, I merely seek to pursue strength, nothing more." He stated proudly.
Taki was surprized at how sure of himself Mitsurugi sounded, so untaunted and unashamed to speak out against the norm, she quickly found herself facinated by him, she wanted to learn more about him.
" That's really brave of you, Mitsurugi-Kun." She said, with the upmost honesty.
Heishiro blushed slightly at the new nickname Taki had presented him with." Don't be ridiculous." was all he said, not knowing how to respond to her praise.
" Now, back to the original question, whats your goal, Mitsurugi-Kun?" She asked once again.
What a persistant girl. Heishiro thought with annoyance.
" Its none of your business! " He spat angerly.
Taki knew that he had a point,"Sorry, I always pry without realizing it." She said. " But for what its worth, I hope you achieve your goal, whatever it may be." She said with a smile.
What am I doing, why do I keep complimenting him? Why should I care? She thought, confused at her own behavior.
Heishiro felt himself blush once again," Whatever." He said stubbornly, trying to sound nonchalant.
Then Taki approached him, and when she got uncomfortably close, she placed a hand on the slightly taller child's forehead. "Are you feeling okay, you feel warm." She said innocently, for real this time.
" I'm fine, now back away from me." He said as he gently swatted her hand away.
" O-Okay." Taki said, slightly confused.
There was a silence between them for a moment as they both simply wondered what to say next,
Heishiro had no idea what to say to a girl, in fact, he didn't know much about socializing with people in general, he was always so preoccupied with his training to take the time to make friends,
It was the one thing he didn't understand about people, their consistant need for companionship.
And Taki was no better off, she lived in a hidden Ninaja village, and all of them were aware of eachothers occupation, but in the outside world, that wasn't the case, with this boy, she had to actually lie to him, and to be honest, she was starting to feel a little bad about that, but all the same, it was for both of their sake's, so her charade would continue.
"So, can you show me how to use it?" Taki asked, pointing innocently at Heishiro's Shinai.
Even though she was already adept at Swordplay, she just wanted to see how good Mitsurugi was.
" Oh, okay, I soppose that I can." He answered.
Then he placed the Shinai in both of Taki's small hands, Taki blushed at the sudden contact.
Mitsurugi, however, was no longer nervous, in fact, he seemed to go stoic once again, like the notion of training with a Sword put his normal childish emotions into neutral, and he did not share the embarrassment of the Kunoichi in front of him.
Though strangely enough, Mitsurugi noticed that, they were callosed, and not the soft kind of hands that you'd find on a normal little girl!
Taki tensed up, worried that he'd notice!
But to Taki's relief, he didn't press it,
Although with his oddly flawless pokerface, she couldn't read what his exact thoughts were, she was sure he was still none the wiser of her deception.
I wonder what this Taki girl really is? The young swordman thought as he straightened the Shinai in her hands,
Heh, heh, I'm the Queen of deception! She thought triumphantly.
But he didn't think it was that important, after all, it was no concern of his one way or the other.
" You have to hold the sword in your hands firmly, like this." Mitsurugi instructed as he stood behind the shy ninja girl before him.
" Okay." She replied, then gave a strong swing, though not as strong as she could really go, lest she reveal her true skills to him.
" How'd I do?" She asked cheerfully.
" You did fine, I soppose." Heishiro said plainly.
A cute pout became apparent on Taki's face," Shouldn't you be more, I don't know, nicer?" She asked.
" Why?" He simply asked, a little confused.
" Because, you have to be nice to people, so that they will be nice to you in return." She answered him.
" And you honestly believe that, Taki?" He said, somewhat arrogantly.
Taki was starting to get a little angry at him, but tried her best not to make it to apparent.
" Yes, I do believe that." She said proudly.
Mitsurugi was even more confused at that. " Well, then I guess we just have different outlooks on things." He said, somewhat nervous, he couldn't understand what it was that disturbed him about this girl, but he didn't want to argue with her!
" I soppose we do, " Taki replied with a smile, " But thats not a bad thing, if we were all the same, there wouldn't be much point to living."
Mitsurugi did not know what to make of that girl.
" You are strange, girl." Mitsurugi said, with the faintest smile.
Taki chuckled a bit, "So are you!" She replied, smiling back.
Then glanced at eachother for a moment, then both looked away with a blush noticable on both of their young faces.
" Heishiro!" A voice called out in the distance.
The two children glanced in the direction the voice came from,
And there stood an elderly woman with grey hair worn in a loose bun, stood outside the bamboo, with a worried expression on her wrinkled face!
" Bachan? What is it?" Heishiro asked, his young face was placid, but Taki could sense the slightest ripple in the calm lake that was his mind.
" Its your Father, he suddenly collapsed, your Mother got a docter, she told me to come get you!"
As she informed Heishiro of the bad news, Taki saw his eyes slowly widen in horror!
" Father." He breathed out in his shock, then, forgetting the girl beside him, he bolted past her, "Mitsurugi!" Taki yelled after him, but she didn't hear her as he darted past the the old woman and darted down the dirt road in the direction his house was!
" Oh dear, I haven't seen Heishiro with such a worried look since his Brothers went to fight in the war." The old woman, Yukari, said sadly, as she watched the young boy run home!
" Is he always like that?" Taki asked the elderly woman, with a worried look in her large brown eyes.
Yukari looked to the strange girl that she didn't remember seeing before in the village. " Yes, but I think its more or less become an emotional defense that he created to escape his loneliness." Yukari explained to the young Kunoichi.
But then, sensing the girl's worry for Heishiro, smiled softly," But maybe he'll come out of his shell with the help of a new friend." She said, implying to Taki what she should do.
" I see." She replied, looking away with a slightly serious expression, she was scared about where this was headed, she was just trying to have fun and harmlessly abuse her Ninjutsu now and then, but no, she had to get attached to some boy she just met, and get caught up in his troubles.
But she didn't have to, right? She could just walk away now, and disappear, like a bat in the night,
And part ways with Mitsurugi forever...
But, for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to do that,
She didn't want to leave him,
She couldn't leave him, not like this!
She hated this, feeling such sympathy, some Ninja she'd grow up to be!
A Ninja can't be controlled by emotions, but she couldn't escape just how well she understood his pain, his lonliness...
I hope you'll be okay, Mitsurugi. She thought, with genuine concern for her new friend,
Then she ran past Yukari and ran after him.
Yukari smiled when she saw that the girl understood.
Good luck, Heishiro, and to you as well, child. For you are both on a very dangerous road, with many twists and turns ahead of you, you will both face many trials and find yourselves in many dangerous situations, and in the dance of blades and the many rains of blood, you will either be each other's salvation, or damnation. She thought as her dark eyes glew a solid white.
Mitsurugi ran down the road in a panic!
Father, please don't die, I don't want to loose you to! He thought frantic as he through off his sandals, and tore open the shoji doors,
And there saw his Mother sitting down beside his Father, who layed on a futon, unconscious.
" Mother, is Father-" He began, then saw his Mother smile lightly.
" He's fine, Heishiro, you don't have to worry." She said as she got up, walked over to her Son, and gave her worried child a hug.
" So he's okay, I'm glad." He said into her shoulder, trying to sound calm but was actually very relieved.
Kyoko seemed to already be aware of that, so she hugged him tighter.
" He was just running a high fever, thats all." The young, male docter said, smiling.
Mitsurugi didn't like the sound of that, at his Father's age, a fever wasn't something that one can just get over.
He looked to his Father's sleeping form, he looked well enough, slightly pale, but nothing to noticable.
" I see." He said, trying to be stoic.
" Heishiro," His Mother said sadly, sometimes she worried for her Son, even though she knew that he was worried, no Eight year old should be this placid at this kind of situation!
" Mitsurugi?" A tired voice said from behind him,
He turned to see Taki standing there, panting, like she ran the whole way, her bangs were sticking to her porcelian face, and her brown eyes were wide with worry.
" Taki?" He replied, a little confused that she followed him all the way there.
" Who is this?" Kyoko asked her Son.
" I-I'm, well, I- " Taki stuttered, not sure how to answer that.
" She's my friend." Heishiro interrupted bluntly.
" Your friend" Kyoko asked, surprized, her Son didn't make friends very easily due to his severe nature.
" Yes, her name is Taki, she followed me here to make sure my Father and everyone else was okay." Heishiro explained.
Taki felt heat rise in her cheeks, and a cherry red color painted across them.
Friend? She thought, completely dumb-founded.
" Oh, well its very nice to meet you, and thank you for your concern." Kyoko said, smiling happily, and bowing in thanks to her Son's first friend.
" Um, yeah, sure." She said, still nervous.
Then she glanced at the now silent Mitsurugi, but he wasn't looking at her, he was kneeling beside his Father, but instead of the sad, worried expression one would find on a child who almost lost his Father,
There, in its place was one of,
What is that? Is that, hatred? She wondered, not sure what to think of him, what it wasn't any of her concern what his feelings towards his Father were,
She didn't care, right?
" Well, your Father needs his rest, you two can sit on the porch, I'll go make some tea." Kyoko suggested, not noticing her Son's face.
But somehow, Mitsurugi felt she already knew...
" Alright, Mother." Heishiro replied, then he stood up, walked by Taki, grabbed her hand and pulled her outside.
" Hey, let me go! Whats wrong with you?" Taki said in protest as he stopped outside the shoji doors, with Taki's hand still tightly grasped in his.
Mitsurugi was silent for a moment, then he turned around,
His eyes met with Taki's as he gazed at her intensely,
His eyes were more serious then usual, Taki could easily compare them to that of a Wolf, then can be stoic and determined one moment, and then cruel and vicious the other.
Taki stood, unfazed by him.
" Why did you follow?" He finally asked.
" Well, I soppose its because I was worried, Mitsurugi-kun." Taki said shyly as she lowered her head, suddenly feeling nervous, avoiding his piercing eyes further.
She found that she was no longer pretending, he was seeing her, in her truest, most real self.
And that scared her, it meant that he would be in danger, and she didn't want that!
" Why? " Its not like its any of your concern, right?" Mitsurugi replied, trying to make sense of the strange new emotions that started clawing in his heart the second she said that she was worried for him were.
" I dunno, I guess I- " She began, then stopped herself, she couldn't tell him that she actually likes him, it would be the death of him, and she couldn't do that to him, to tell him that she's his friend, and then just disappear, back into the darkness, forever out of his sight, she just couldn't!
And if she said that, she'd basically be astablishing a frienship with him, and even though she would like that, she had to consider his safty, at all cost!
She looked to him again, they were both blushing at this point, both to shy to say what they wanted.
" N-No reason really, I just figured it would be polite, thats all!" Taki insisted, obviously nervous.
Mitsurugi's eyes narrowed slightly in disbelief." Are you sure that the only reason?" He asked, patiently.
" Yep!" She insisted yet again, then she saw how late it was getting!
" Oh, oh no! I have to go, sorry, Mitsurugi-kun, I have to get home!" She said as her hand left his, and she started to run down the road.
His hand suddenly felt cold without hers...
" Taki, will I be able to see you again?" He called after her.
She stopped and turned back in his direction," Yes, I'll meet you in the bamboo forest in a week from now!" She called back.
He felt a small wave of joy as she told him that.
They both shared a mutual smile, then she finally turned back and left his sight.
" Heishiro, wheres your friend?" Kyoko asked, standing behind him.
" She had to go home, thats all." He said with a nonchalant shrug.
Okay, before anyone gets mad, I dicided to make Taki a little more playful because I didn't think she was the serious Kunoichi we all know and love, since she was a little kid! And Mitsurugi, well, I figured a that he didn't get along with other people very well in his youth, thats all. Anyway, I hope you review :)