Note – Hiroshi refers to Kyra as Kira, as there is a Japanese name with the same pronunciation.

Moon Princess
Moon Shrine

The summer weather was warm, and the cicadas were singing. The sun was setting over the horizon, leaving an air of mystery to the two young men as the explored the vast expanses of the land owned by the Shirogane family. Hiroshi stood on top of a rock, looking down at his younger brother by one-year as he attempted to scramble over the rocky face of the hill.

The night before they'd seen a shooting star, but felt the earth shake. None of the adults thought anything of what happened, as earthquakes weren't an anomaly in Japan, nor were shooting stars, but for some reason, Hiroshi decided to go and look for the fallen star. Takeo let out a sigh, that morning, telling his older brother they wouldn't find the fallen star, but now he was starting to become annoyed at that summer day being wasted on what seemed like a frivolous adventure.

Hiroshi chuckled, feeling the cool breeze which usually occurred in the vicinity of the family shrine brush against his warm body, cooling the sweat he felt from their supposedly frivolous journey of discovery. As he laughed, something caught the youth's attention, a change to the landscape that wasn't there a few days before, but which wasn't natural at all.

The young man pushed his lips together, curiosity getting the better of him. Getting closer, Hiroshi could see the damaged space craft, but willing crawled onto the top as that was the easiest manner to approach the ship from his position. Someone was in there, and he without hesitation set out trying to rescue them despite Takeo's protests. "Hey! It could be an enemy plane! I mean, it doesn't look like any of the ships we've seen at the base when we've gone with otou-sama."

"You protest to much." Hiroshi let out a deep breath, bored out of his mind. For a family so deeply entrenched in bringing the old customs into the military life, life was in fact rather boring. He climbed down to the side and attempted to open the cockpit to get to the person who possibly needed help. That was the morally right thing to do, and yet the young man also felt drawn for some strange reason.

The next thing he knew, the instincts that their "otou-sama" ingrained into kicked in as the door to the cockpit opened up, and the person inside attempted to spring forth. The person had a blade, which she propelled towards his face. Hiroshi dodged but felt the sting of the blade over his right eye. Instinct led to the young man pushing the other person into the ground and getting on top to prevent another attack.

The way her body tensed told him they thought of her as a threat, and yet he knew she was hurt. He could tell that she was a she simply because of the shape, and yet he could be wrong. Somehow, he managed to get her turned over so that he could speak to her, and hopefully get a look at her injuries. He attempted to tell her, hello, only to see her beautiful crystal blue eyes and alien features. Hiroshi felt as if something had connected between the two of them that he couldn't place.

The way he acted towards her next wasn't at all natural. His defenses were down, yet for some reason, Hiroshi knew she wouldn't hurt him. His hand calloused from holding a wooden sword in the dojo gently touched her cheek as he continued to stare into those beautiful eyes. At the back of his mind, the urge to kiss her existed, and yet it was superseded by concern for her wellbeing. In fact, somehow he knew exactly where she was hurt.

Takeo though wasn't happy, his voice coming out fearful. "Hiroshi?"

"Ah…" Suddenly, he found himself introducing himself to the girl. "Hiroshi. Shirogane Hiroshi."

"Hiroshi!" Takeo's voice cracked. After introducing himself again, he looked up at his brother, who was looking down at him horrified. "Takeo. Shirogane Takeo."

Then she told him her name. It was Kira, a beautiful name to match a beautiful person. He couldn't help but call her a tenshi himi.

"What is wrong with you?"

Hiroshi found himself drawn away, still holding onto Kira as he thought about how best to get her injuries treated. Takeo was clearly upset. "What do you mean?"

"You gave our names to a complete stranger who looks like an alien from outer space despite the fact otou-sama has always said, never, ever give out our names that easily!"

"It's okay."

"It's not okay Hiroshi."

"No. You're right." Takeo's facial features softened at this statement from Hiroshi. "She's hurt."

Gently, he lifted her up into his arms, knowing that the closest place was the shrine. He cradled her to his chest, glancing down at her beautiful face, only to note how pale her features were. Something definitely wasn't right, and letting out a sigh, he began to walk up the path at a semi-quick pace, his brother hot on his heels. Takeo followed closely behind, frustrated at Hiroshi's actions.

"We need to contact otou-sama. What if she's part of an advanced party that is attacking Earth."

"You're just paranoid."

"Paranoid? You're not thinking straight. And why? Because some alien chick's bewitched you?"

Hiroshi paused, more to adjust Kira in his arms so he wouldn't accidently drop her than to give his brother what he hoped as a very glaring look. "She's not bewitched me. You wouldn't even begin to understand."

"Hiroshi! She's an alien, or… something not human!"

The older of the two brothers stiffened, before continuing up the path. It took five to ten minutes to get to the shrine, but by the time he arrived, only to find the monk currently stationed at the shrine talking to some of the local villagers. Everyone in the village was connected to the Shirogane family, but only a select few weren't related or married into the family.

The couple speaking with the monk looked up, concerned at seeing the two oldest of the Shirogane head, but that the oldest had a young female with him. Arriving up there, Hiroshi froze. His mind told him to get her to safety, and he knew the shrine was the safest place. However, the realization hit that he didn't know who he could trust. Kira's breath came in and out, slightly ragged as if she had managed to injure her ribs, possibly even breaking them.

"Hiroshi?" The woman looked up, not addressing him with the "sama" others normally attached to his name.

Tadeo walked forward. "Eri oba-chan. Hiroshi nii-sama…" The younger brother paused, still horrified that Hiroshi had decided to rescue the young female.

"She needs help. Her ship crashed."

"A tenshi himi?" The person running the shrine seemed worried, his eyebrows shooting up.

"No, an alien." Tadeo managed to gasp out.

Their oba-chan moved over, placing her hands lightly on Kira's shoulder. A frown spread across her face before she looked him in the eye. "Oi-chan, we can't keep this a secret."

"If they know about her, they'll experiment on her."

"She needs a doctor."

A wave of nausea hit, realization that he might lose her despite just meeting sinking in. The situation wasn't good, but it was right then that the female alien decided to wake up. Kira was at first relaxed, only to flinch when the woman tried covering her ears with a scarf.

"No. Don't touch me." Kira strained, going deeper into Hiroshi's arms, clinging to his shirt tightly."

Eri pointed at her ears, then at Kira's. The female alien seemed to realize what she was getting at, and let the woman cover her ears to hide their oddity. In the mean time, Eri's husband started down the stairs that led to the villiage. "I'll get my truck. We need to hurry."

The monk placed a hand on his chin, before sighing. "So, I'll be going with as well. I hate saying this, but if we want to cover this up, we need the family head involved."

Hiroshi flinched, not wanting to think about how his father would possibly act. Instead, Eri tugged his sleeve. "Hurry. Doctor. She needs a doctor."

"Yes." Hiroshi took a deep breath, looking over at Takeo, the look almost saying his younger brother got what he wanted. The look on the younger brother's face continued to indicate extreme displeasure. Taking a deep breath, he started to carry her down. Her hand tightened around his clothing as Kira slipped in and out of consciousness. The journey down was longer than the walk to the shrine, but Eri held onto his sleeve as they went down.

To his dismay, some of the villagers had already gathered, as news traveled fast. Hiroshi pushed her head into his chest, catching site of the girl who everyone hoped he'd eventually marry. Swallowing, he took in how much had changed in that one moment, but how the duty so ingrained into him seemed insignificant. Eri's husband helped him to settle Kira into the back of the truck just as the girl he was expected to marry grabbed Takeo's sleeve, saying a few choice words to his brother.

Takeo flinched but then shook his head, climbing in with Hiroshi despite his negative feelings on the matter. Hiroshi cradled Hira in his arms, one of his arms clutching the side of the truck as Eri's husband took off. Eri sat on the other side, helping him to steady Kira as they headed to the closest hospital. Arriving there, they, of course, drew attention.

"This girl. Who is she? I've never seen her before."

"She's our daughter." Eri piped up, as Kira breathed slowly. "My husband and I, we adopted her from Korea, and these two young men were kind enough to show her around, but there was an accident on the trail by the shrine."

"Yes." Eri's husband spoke up. "Our daughter's name is Tsukihime. Kogane Tsukihime."

If he'd been his normal self, he might have laughed at choosing the name, as it meant moon princess. However, the monk was on the phone, discussing things with the head as he discussed things. The doctor started to remove the scarf, only to flinch upon seeing Kira's ears. "What the…"

"You'll say nothing of this." The monk spoke up.

"Excuse me. I need to report this…"

"She was born that way." The monk piped up, placing a hand over the mouth piece of the phone he'd borrowed from a nurse. "There is no reason to report this."

"Yes. I'll set up…"

Hiroshi honestly didn't understand any of the jargon the man used, but soon he was gone, taking Kira with him. The monk sighed. "So, the head of the family should be here before they find anything that might prove her to be alien, but he'll also be demanding that they sign non-disclosure agreements."

"Yeah, but after the fact?" Hiroshi let out a sigh.

"He's got his ways. You don't need to worry."