Seeing
Ok, the computer doesn't like me for this fic, so as much as I hate it, authors notes are in bold. disclaimer... I really dont own this... is a diclaimer nessicary for every chapter?
A silent shadow walked down the hall of the Imperial Palace. Room after room was checked for intruders and marked off for the next patrol as searched. The woman turned many corners, traveling up numerous flights of stairs to the top. All throughout the grand building she stalked, looking for any sign of something out of place. As her mistress' most trusted kunoichi, she had to be ready for anything.
Souma shook her head at the two shinobi guarding the treasury. Slowly she circled around, inching toward the gap between their backs and the wall. Just as silently, she took in a breath, not wanting to alert them. Neither of them noticed her until it was too late. She slipped up behing the young men and placed a kunai at each of their backs, at the top where shoulders met neck.
"Is this how you would guard Tomoyo-himesama?" She hissed, smirking inwardly as they jumped. "I should kill you where you stand. In fact, if Kurogane-san were here, you would already be dead. Forget silly questions." She pushed harder on the kunai, breaking the skin on one of them.
"Itai! Soma-sama! Forgive us!" The older one, Tetsu, blurted, straining his neck to avoid the blade. All the younger did was mutter some rather elaborate words and twist around to face her. "We didn't see or hear you."
"There would be a reason behind that." She smiled; the older one shivered and the younger ninja, Shinji, looked blank. Soma sighed. "If a rival ninja came in here, do you think he would stand up and declare his presense?"
The younger ninja stared at her. "Demo, Soma-sama, no one is as silent as you! Who could get past you?"
Soma sighed. "You both came in with the new batch of recruits from the outer villiage, correct?" They nodded. "Then that means you've been here less than four full months." Again they nodded. " So you never met him. Good thing. If you had met Kurogane-san, you would probably be dead now."
Tetsu glanced over at his partner. "You said something about this Kurogane before. Who was he?"
Soma smiled, this time sad. "The greatest ninja Tomoyo-hime ever had."
It took almost an hour to tell about Kurogane, his skills, his attitude, and his love of fighting. Soma's face lit up as she spoke of her rival, outlining their matches and where one excelled beyond the other. But as she went on, her face dimmed again, as if her thoughts were troublesome. Then she spoke of the clouded, moonlite night of the massacre; of the numerous enemy ninja slain by Kurogane's hand and Tomoyo's disapproval. Finally she ended with his involuntary journey and parting words.
"Wow! He had guts! Did he really kill all those ninja?" Tetsu blurted. "Why did Tomoyo-himesama send him away? With a ninja like that, she wouldn't need any others."
Soma glanced at him. "Do you really think the princess would want someone without respect for life beside her? Yes, she knew he was the greatest, but if that power was gained by murder and the slaying of disarmed enemies, would you respect it?" The trainees were silent. She went on, voice dropping to a whisper. "It took alot for her to send him away. She's different now. So sad, so alone."
The two gave her a searching look. Behind them, their replacements came up, looking between the shinobis and Soma. Soma glanced up and smiled again; there was still no joy in the expression. She waved them off, watching as the younger ones wandered back to the barricks whispering about the night conversation. She glanced over at the two new ninjas and nodded, returning to her silent patrol.
Just as silently as before, she crept towards the chambers of the princess. Her mind was turning, trying to sort out the princess' odd behavior. She drifted back a year to the night on the balcony, the first time Tomoyo-hime had spoken about Kurogane's departure. She had been distant, even more distant than her role as a ruler called for. Normally when she was with her more trusted servants and aides, she was more human. Not anymore; everyone that truly knew her said she seemed almost like she was sleepwalking through the day.
Soma walked past the teaching rooms, where the younger servants and noble children went to school. On the wall was a calendar proclaiming the day in bright letters. Soma glanced at it, stiffening at the date written on the calendar; tomorrow would be the third anniversary of the massacre and the journey. Somewhere in the court yard, a sentry yelled out the hour. Soma shook her head, reached over and changed the date on the wall. Today was the anniversary.
"What am I thinking? I can't seem to get on with my patrol at all." Soma muttered, stalking down the hall to the royal chambers. "First talking to those two, then changing the date on the calendar. What is the matter with me today?" Silently, she crept up the doors of the princess's chambers. She pressed her ear to the door, listening for any unusual voices or noises. A soft murmuring reached her ears, like someone whispering softly in their sleep. She turned around, taking her station at the entrance, standing at attention. This was how it had been, since she had been sent to the palace, but now she was alone. She and Kurogane would both personally standing watch over Tomoyo-hime's chambers. Often enough, they would end up bickering over policies and techniques, but it was still something.
Still watching the corridor, her thoughts turned back to the princess's behavior in the past year. Tomoyo-hime had once been a warm hearted, vocal ruler, protesting any little thing that didn't seem right. She still protected her people, but she didn't seem to take the same joy out of it as she used to. Where she had laughed, she now smiled, a thin gesture on her pale face. She once used to enjoy dressing up for court, making sure everything looked perfect. She wanted her people to be encouraged by her shows of prosperity and wealth, but now she merely dressed up because the occasion called for it. Her hair, once up in intricate designs and styles, now hung in a simple braid; she allowed no one to touch it. The only time she ever seemed to be happy was when she was writing. What she wrote, Soma could only guess. Tomoyo-hime had taught her to read when she came, but what the princess wrote wasn't japanese. She wrote in some language from the far west, something she called english.
Then there was the night Tomoyo-hime had gone missing for an entire day, reappearing and offering no reason or apology for her absence. Since that night, Soma had occasionally seen a strange dagger in her mistress's rooms, sometimes on a desk or hidden a robe the princess wore. Whenever Soma had asked about it, Tomoyo-hime would either just smile or give an obscure order to check on something or other. After a while, Soma stopped asking and made it a habit to note where the dagger was. All along the blade there were the strange markings, looking almost like the Tomoyo-hime's writings, but different. Then she began to sleep deeper, sleeping later and later into the day, more and more groggy when she woke. One morning, when she was particularly hard to wake, she turned to Soma and began chattering at her.
"Soma-chan! I talked to him. I talked to him!" Tomoyo's sleep muddled eyes danced. "He looked at me and saw me and really really talked to me! I did it!"
When Soma asked about it later, Tomoyo-hime only said it was a dream and went on with her writings, but her face was troubled. Never again did Soma wake her up, as the princess used her magic abilites to create a charm to wake her every morning. She ordered everyone to stay out of her rooms until three hours past sun up. Morning became smoother after that, but Soma missed talking to her ruler as she had before. So much had changed since Kurogane left, so much.
Softly the noises behind her became loud enough to startle her out of her revery. She turned sharply, pressing her ear to the door again. Inside the noises sounded like someone thrashing around violently. Quickly, she drew kunai and shuriken, kicked the door open. What lay inside both baffled and terrified her.
Tomoyo-hime often laid magical ward before sleeping, maintaining that it kept her safer and her bodyguard had to work less. These lay in grid patterns all around, intersecting like green strings on the floor. Their sickly green light gleamed off the polished floor, lighting the path for walkers. Soma's eyes drifted to the bed, staring at an unknown spell there. Stretching over the bed like brilliant blue arches, hung letters, just like that on the dagger. Tomoyo-hime lay on the bed, eyes wide open, staring at nothing. Her mouth whispered things in a strange language, while her hand alternatly clutched the sheets or waved useless beside her. Her other hand lay motionless, palm up, showing off brutal scars all along her wrist and arm. Matching the writing on the dagger and words. Her hair was cut short, barely long enough to pin back. On the desk nearby lay the long silkly black braid and a silver mirror.
Soma stifled a sob, turned her back on her princess and marched back to the door.
The next morning, when Tomoyo woke, she noted her guard spells had been tripped. When she walked out of her chambers and saw the look on her most trusted ninja's face, she knew Soma saw.
I don't really know about this chapter, but I felt it was important to have Soma and her perspective in the story. I hope this matched the flow of the story and am willing to take any suggestions about the final chapter. i was thinking about him coming back, but when a series goes on like this i really dont want to touch on something like a reunion... what if he dies? oh well, when its all over, some one will always say, "man that fic is so stupid! it doesnt fit!"
thank you for reading, now please review!