COPYRIGHT INFORMATION: (Read previous chapters for it. I'm sick of writing it anyway! HeheheheZZZ!)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well…I'm back! I do hope all of you can enjoy this new chapter again. And yes, this would be something like an arc composed of various short stories since this is actually a Feudal Fairytale! And yes, I promise you; there will be much of Tomoyo & Kurogane fluff, so sit back and enjoy!
The important replies to the reviews: (Thanks guys!)
PeachPonta: Thanks for your review once again! I hope you won't be disappointed by the sudden change in arc and the structure of this new arc. Hope your trip to Japan was fun! Please continue to write your story too! I really want to finish mine too!
Neko-Yuff16: Haha…this new chapter is of a new arc, so be prepared. I just do hope you can enjoy this new portion, and thank you for your review once again!
asga: Thanks for pointing out the fluff-ness again! I'm gonna' make more of these fluff-ness prominent so sit back and enjoy!
KakashiLvr: Thanks again for your review! Well…his demon form won't be really appearing for now…I believe so…heheheheZZ
Only 4 reviews, but never mind; my fingers will get tired from all of these review replying stuffy. Thanks again!
CHRONICLE ELEVEN: THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED CHAMBER
Another beautiful sun set over the Kyoto Imperial Palace as birds continued to chirp and sing a song of the early autumn. The peace was almost absolute, except for a blood-curdling scream that sounded through the commons chamber of the palace baths.
"Hentai! Hentai!" The woman screamed at the sight of a certain black ninja cleaning the wooden floors of the bathhouse with a small cotton flannel. Whipping a large wooden broom from out of nowhere, she raised at the ninja who had apparently intruded the privacy of women. "How dare you barge into the women's quarters, you hentai!"
Kurogane could not be bothered with the cleaner woman. He had no interest in seeing nude women, for whatever reason there could be. He shifted his focus back to the wooden floor and continued his job.
"Did you hear what I say, black hentai?" She continued her screaming. "Out! Out! Out!" The cleaner pointed to the exit.
Kurogane gave a sigh as he reopened his eyes at the cleaner, glaring at her with his crimson pupils. She was frozen for awhile, with the large broom still in her hand. "The princess…" He spoke abruptly. "She sent me here as a punishment."
"That doesn't mean anything, you black pervert!" The cleaner sprang back to life suddenly. "Just get out! She raised her broom at him and charged at him, expecting that the Princess Tomoyo's guardsman would be scared into leaving.
"…"
Kurogane closed his eyes and quickly dodged the cleaner who slipped and fell on her back from the slippery portion the ninja had created while wiping with the flannel. He got up, looking down at the cleaner woman who was groaning in pain.
"Jaa ne," he muttered out and made his way out of the baths chambers. The black ninja closed his eyes and pretended to walk in a dignified way before bumping into something the height of 3 quarters of his.
"Kuro-pon…" He heard the familiar voice of royalty. Without opening his eyes, a large sweat drop appeared on his head, with one eyebrow twitching violently. "You're quite fast, aren't you?"
"Y-yes," he adjusted himself to a calmer posture and cleared his face of any weird expressions. "I am the fastest warrior in here, of course, Tomoyo!" He boasted, while trying to open his eyes.
"Oh, is it, my dear ninja?" The princess was smiling at her bodyguard. Somehow, Kurogane's eyes managed to pick up a powerful fiery aura covering the princess, along with her calm looking smile. "Why did I hear someone scream hentai then?" The princess continued her ill-intentioned laugh.
"I will improve on it," Kurogane replied and turned around, pulling a long face and returned to the bathhouse where a cleaner with giant bruises on her faces from the mishap stood with her arms on her hips. "Time to return back to work."
It was not long before he entered the bath area again. He blinked for a second. There were women suddenly in the baths, with all of them staring back at him too. In the distance, the princess stood there with a chambermaid, giving a small chuckle at the commotion.
"If I only I had something to record Kuro-chan," she continued her chuckle.
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The black ninja fell back on the soft flooring of his own quarters. There were loads of cross-bandages on his entire body. It was apparent that he had been completely overwhelmed and assaulted by the women in the baths.
"Kusou," he hissed at his own mishap. "Now everyone here thinks that I am a great hentai!"
His face was twisted into an irritating shape. Crimson eyes staring at the ceiling, the black ninja rolled to his right. "If only that wench of a princess didn't make me do that thing," he closed his eyes. "I would have…"
"I heard you clearly, Kuro-puu," the door slid suddenly to reveal a rather calm-looking princess who had came without the ninja realizing. "So who is a wench again, may I know?"
Kurogane gave a big gulp as Tomoyo who had involuntary summoned the terrorizing fiery aura to engulf her once again. Several drops of sweat appeared on his face with shrank red pupils that revealed his nervous state of mind.
"W-well…" He swallowed again. "O-himesama is the greatest princess I've ever seen in my life!"
"Really?" Tomoyo rubbed a hand against her cheek, pretending to be shy. "That was a good compliment, Kuro-pii."
"Like as though someone as bossy of you would be!" He muttered softly to himself.
"Did I hear something from you?"
"Er…Nonono!" He backed away from the princess who was indeed scary although she was always maintaining a relaxed manner. More drops of sweat appeared on his face, coupled with even more nervous and enormous tiny-pupil eyes. "It's nothing, Tomoyo-hime!"
"That's a relief, Kuro-chan," she responded to his nervousness. She held her hand on the sliding door. "Don't worry, I shall be back soon." The princess gave a chuckle and shut the door, leaving an extremely nervous Kurogane inside the room. Even if she was away, he could still sense the ominous aura emanated from the palace terror.
Of all things, why am I here with her? Even if she behaves bossy too?
The black ninja continued his staring at the ceiling. He pondered over his actions. It was rather true for him to be foolish in being her guard, especially when her entire section of the palace had only women working there.
Should I just leave…?
His trail of thought was interrupted by a sudden knock on the entrance to his quarters. He turned his head to face the silhouette of a girl. Narrowing his eyes, he continued to observe the patient figure outside his own room.
"Who's that?"
"Kaori, ninja-sama," the door slided open once again to reveal a young teenage girl in a kimono of sakura patterns.
"What do you want?"
"S-sorry to barge in," she trembled as she spoke, lowering her head. In the view of normal men, she was definitely cute especially with her large brown eyes. "W-would y-y-you like to have some onigiri…?"
"I couldn't be bothered with such stuff," Kurogane folded his arms and looked away. "Unless that tyrannical princess makes me some onigiri herself." The black ninja did not notice his tactlessness.
"Someone called me tyrannical, I heard?"
Kurogane's eyes widened, and turned to see the princess' face in front of him. She was giving a grin as though she had heard a compliment. Opening her kind-looking eyes, Tomoyo stared closer at Kurogane's crimson eyes.
Even if Tomoyo was not afraid of the menacing impression of her loyal ninja's red eyes, Kurogane himself was afraid of the princess looking deeply in his eyes. She was so closed to him until he could see his own reflection in her large eyes.
"Kuro-pon," she drew back suddenly and stood before him together with Kaori, the servant girl earlier. "If you wish your beloved princess to make a snack for you, you should contribute to making it too."
"Bah! Who wants to eat your snack?" Kurogane grumbled. "I don't believe a princess like you can even cook porridge either."
"Oh…Kuro-pii…" She began in a melodious tone that led the black ninja to face her, forcing him to notice the same fiery aura around her once more. "Could you then go to the grain house to find me some rice?"
"Ninja laws mentions no ninja is supposed to do such puny jobs," he huffed proudly and turned away again.
"Really?" Tomoyo was beginning her legendary argument with him again. "I never heard of such laws before. Do you have any proof?"
All Kurogane did was pull a long face again and walk out of his own quarters.
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"Ah, there you go, young man!" The old caretaker of the grain house patted Kurogane on the shoulder. The ninja had a shameful look on his face. Of all things, he had to behave like some servant for the princess. "We didn't expect her royal highness to send her guardsman to take grain for her."
"…"
"Taihen da! Taihen da!" One of the women came running over to where Kurogane and the old man were, overwhelming the soft tone of the ninja's grumblings.
"What's wrong?" Kurogane continued his grumbling, taking small steps.
"N-nami…" the woman was stammering in her unstable state of mind. "…something's gone wrong with that girl again!"
"Possessed by the ghost of Lady Hirasaki?" The old man pondered over. "It cannot be. That legend was never true in the first place, and nobody disturbed her tomb."
"I can't be bothered with all of this crap!" The woman shrieked back. "If Nami does not recover, she could die at this rate!" The word 'die' caught Kurogane's mind as he suddenly stood there.
That's right…everyone has to die someday…
The black ninja reassured himself again. After all, he had been through various near-death ordeals, especially as a child too. Ignoring the commonfolk gossip shared by the two, he continued on his way back to Tomoyo's palace.
"Tachibana-chan," an elder woman of royal descent strolled through the palace gardens as her handmaid accompanied her walk. "I heard that Tomoyo-hime has a new guard."
"Hai, o-hime-sama," she replied instantly to the elder princess' question. "Tachibana knows nothing else other than that he is a ninja almost clothed in black garb."
"Oh?" Tomoko-hime covered her mouth with her folding fan of peony designs. "Is that the person?" Her hazel eyes shifted to that of a laboring ninja carrying a heavy sack of rice. "This is weird. Isn't he a ninja?"
"Tachibana-chan agrees with o-hime-sama," her handmaid responded back with spontaneity. "He may not be Tomoyo's new knight either."
"Very well," she placed her folding fan into the hands of her loyal maid. "I shall approach him if he really is the famous Kurogane-kun."
Meanwhile, Kurogane was trying to carry the sack of rice. Strange enough, it was becoming heavier by the minute and it was already straining his back. Droplets of sweat formed on his face already, his mind was full of cursing the princess for her indirect punishment on him.
"What is a good-looking man like you being a laborer for?" He heard a voice that made him turn to the right. It was Princess Tomoko, the elder sister of his own princess and who commanded much more respect than the young sister herself. She stood there for a moment, noticing his eccentric behavior in struggling with the sack of rice.
"Ishi no jumon, kiete!" She chanted out as she waved a finger. In a sudden flash of a moment, the sack of rice had gone from weighing heavier than two rocks to a little more than a feather. Kurogane raised up the sack, now that the burden had being suddenly lifted. "Feeling better?"
"How did you do that?" The black ninja asked.
"My, my," she spoke back with an aura of calmness. "It seems that my dear sister wanted to give you another punishment through a magical charm. I'm quite surprised a boy ninja like you is still willing to work under her."
"What do you mean?" Tomoko was confirmed that he was a ninja after all.
"Tomoyo-sama never takes in any males in her own household," the princess produced a small smile on her face. "If she does, they suffer at her hands."
"I see," the black ninja brought down the sack of rice to the ground, and shook the dust off his broad shoulders. "But it doesn't concern me anyway."
"It does," the princess replied back in a cunning tone this time. "I'm rather surprised that you still managed to stay with her after quite a long time."
A large sweatdrop appeared behind Kurogane's head. He had only been in the palace for a few months only.
"But I believe," she came closer to him. "A ninja is supposed to protect his princess, am I right?"
"…"
"I'm sure Tomoyo won't mind," she continued her talk. "But would you help me eradicate a peculiar threat in my household?"
"Explain," was Kurogane's single-word answer.
"I'm sure you must have heard about the famous ghost tale of Lady Hirasaki," she took back the folding fan from her servant who had been slowly walking up to her own mistress. "As of recent, when the rumors started, there has been a strong sense of jaki in the air recently, especially around my household where the tomb is nearby."
"Bah! I don't believe in ghosts!"
"But I'm sure you do believe in youkai that plague this country," she unfolded her fan and began ventilating herself. "I'm sure there is a strange youkai who has been tormenting the palace."
"I only work for Tomoyo-hime," he retorted back and took up the sack of rice. "I have no time to waste, farewell." He began walking away again, ignoring Princess Tomoko.
"So you don't wish for a challenge," she replied in a sudden, mysterious tone. "Being the best warrior in the country. That was what a certain ninja said." The princess hid her face behind her fan.
"Omae…" Kurogane turned behind to reveal a surprised look on his face. "How did you know about this? Out with it!" He demanded an instant answer.
"What is my purpose in this place," Tomoko answered, her handmaid Tachibana moving to her side. "If I'm not involved in covert operation?"
"Tachibana-chan agrees with o-hime-sama," the handmaid only responded in respect of her mistress.
"So why are you hiding it, Ninja-san?"
He folded his arms for awhile before turning back to look at the respected princess. "What do you want?"
"Remove the threat in the palace," there was a piercing stare from the princess, who was unlike the calm and gentle look of the younger Tomoyo. "And I shall reward you handsomely."
The next moment, the princess Tomoko was already on her way returning to her quarters, followed closely by her handmaiden. Only Kurogane stood there, observing the departing princess.
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It was the dead of night. A dark figure slid open his paper door as he attempted to sneak out of the watchful quarters of the princess Tomoyo.
"Kuro-pii," he heard a voice from behind that made him shudder.
"Tomoyo-himesama," he turned back as obediently as possible. In front of him was the princess with a paper lantern, which revealed his clothing. "What is such a person doing so late at night?"
"I came to check up on you," she smiled back at her ninja. "And I don't recall sending you on late night missions too…"
Several sweats of drops appeared over Kurogane's face. He was getting nervous at her sudden appearance. "Well…hime-sama," he reopened his eyes. "Ninja custom states that a ninja must go out late at night."
"Really?" She rebutted. "I never heard of such a custom before too."
"That's because you are not a ninja."
"Should I go ask my onee-sama about that custom?" Tomoyo began walking away from him, which alarmed him within. "And ask why my ninja is so polite to me today too."
"You win, Tomoyo," he pulled a long face and tried to pull her back. "The truth is…"
Power…Power of the Onmyou…I need it…
Kurogane was about to behave like a big-shot in telling the truth when his sharp ears picked up the tone of a creepy voice coming from a dark corner.
"Did you hear that, Tomoyo-hime?"
"Someone's still up?" She was behaving too calm for the ninja to handle. "I wonder who it is?" The enthusiastic princess began strolling to the source of the voice, which made Kurogane irritated at her calmness.
"You're not coming along, Kuro-chan?"
"Bah! Go and play with that ghost yourself!" He folded his arms, trying to behave in a cool manner.
"That's sad, my ninja," she lamented with opposite intentions. "Maybe I should visit my sister in the afterdark…"
"You win again, Tomoyo," he grumbled to himself as he adjusted his katana before following after the princess who approached the eerie voice.
END OF CHRONICLE ELEVEN
CHRONICLE TWELVE: GRIEVANCES OF A CENTURY
SYPNOSIS: Tomoyo & Kurogane comes to terms with a ghost that cannot depart from the living world. However, the ghost seems rather peculiar and does not seem to be much of a…ghost…? Can they really solve the mystery of the palace hauntings?
GLOSSARY:
Hentai: Pervert for Japanese. (Not that kind of connotations!)
Jaa ne: Bye for Japanese.
Kusou: 'Damn' in Japanese.
Onigiri: A Japanese riceball
Taihen da: An expression to express distress or trouble.
O-hime-sama: A honourific for a princess. (Yes, I created it myself…hehehe…)
Omae: Rather rude form of saying 'you'
PHEW! AFTER ALL OF THESE TIMES, I HAVE COMPLETED CHRONICLE ELEVEN. WELL…I DO HOPE YOU ALL WON'T BE REALLY DISAPPOINTED BY THIS COZ' IT'S A NEW ARC. ANYWAY, THANKS FOR YER' REVIEWS ONCE AGAIN! AND YES, I DIDN'T MEAN TO MAKE KUROGANE SO WIMPY AND OOC, AND MADE TOMOYO INTO SUCH A BITCHY CHARACTER…