Title: Monogatari
Rating: PG-ish? Nothing too serious at any rate.
Characters: Archer x Rin
Word Count: 1,969
Warning/s: None.
Summary: The Kyudoka ronin known only as Archer was a dead man walking, and he knew it.
Dedication:HAPPY 25TH BIRTHDAY, umbra elf! No hot dickings (yet), but this has me hooked for more, so expect them soon! love glomps
A/N: An AU set in roughly 1450's Japan, with a semi-historical deviance in that the Saiou system (the system of the High Priestess of the Goddess Amaterasu) is still ongoing when it had actually been disbarred in the early 14th century, and that the Sakoku, or Isolationist Policy that strictly forbade foreigners from entering Japan or Japanese from leaving, started about two-hundred years early instead of the early 17th century. I've left some Japanese terms in for authenticity, but they'll all be defined at the bottom. I'm not sure if I'll expand on this idea, but Elf enjoyed it so I thought other people might too. I think that's it-enjoy!
Fate/stay night © TYPE-MOON / Kadokawa Shoten / Studio DEEN.
The Kyudoka ronin known only as Archer was a dead man walking, and he knew it. Knew it, and just didn't care. There was nothing to tie him to this world, all he had were tattered ideals and blood on his hands and death would free him from both soon enough.
There were no regrets, if only for his inevitable death and not his worthless life.
Mostly.
In spite of everything, the sword-smith within him clung to one last desire, unyielding despite his best efforts.
Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi. Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven.
Kusanagi.
The one blade left unrecorded by his sole magecraft.
The one blade that had always been beyond his reach.
Until now. But then, with the right leverage anything was possible.
Even if it came in the form of the Saiou, the High Priestess of Ise Shrine and the goddess Amaterasu.
Just a girl, barely of marriageable age. The first daughter of Emperor Tokiomi, if he recalled correctly. He had only heard of her appointment by divination on her fifteenth birthday two years ago, but had never actually met the girl despite his former...service...to her father.
Not that this mattered to him. Rin-hime was only a means to an end, after all. The miko would be the key to the blade, and once the blade was acquired and recorded he could surrender to the death warrant placed upon him for his severe violation of the Isolation Edict in his search for the great swords of foreign lands.
All this was the thought of an instant as he scaled the wall of the Saiku as silently and unnoticeably as air. The Saiou's residence possessed some extremely effective protective measures, but to a man who knew how to counter such things and had nothing left to lose at any rate, they were easy to overcome.
Within moments Archer stood before the shoji door of the Saiou's sleeping quarters, the two kunoichi guarding it having been disabled before given even a second to attack. A soft whisper was the only sound in the night as he slid the paper door open and stepped inside, steel-grey eyes automatically focusing on the slender figure asleep on the futon.
The girl-Rin-hime-stirred in her sleep, dark locks sliding away to expose her face in the pale moonlight that was his only illumination, and for the first time in his life Archer could say he had seen beauty greater than any master sword. Far greater-no sword, no item ever made to rend life before its time, could ever compare to such purity.
But he couldn't let himself be affected, couldn't let that flutter of feeling he had believed to be long dead to become anything more. He had his goal to accomplish, and then he would be free. No tool, no matter how lovely, was going to interfere with his plans. Carefully, he knelt by her side, watching the stirrings of growing wakefulness flutter across her face.
"Mm...A-ayako...what is it-" Rin-hime mumbled, before she registered the simple knife engraved with the characters for Seven Nights at her throat. Simple, but no less lethal for it. Perfect clarity came upon her in an instant, as an ocean-blue gaze calmly met his own with the dignity of one who was both the Crown Princess and Amaterasu-sama's Holy Maiden. "Remove that blade from my person at once and you may avoid the full wrath of the sun goddess, though I promise you nothing if you have killed my guards."
"Fear of the gods' wrath is only for those who haven't realized what life offers is worse, Saiou-sama." Archer replied coolly, tilting her chin up to angle the blade more. "But they are merely unconscious, for what it is worth. You are the only one I'm here for. To kill or to let live is up to you."
Rin-hime's eyes sparked with barely restrained anger that only intensified her beauty, her mouth opening to fire some devastating response only to have him beat her to it. "I want to see the Sword. And you will bring me to it."
Despite the knife to her throat, she still managed a incredulous look. "Why on earth are you at Ise, then? I find it hard to believe you are skilled and cunning enough to break in without upsetting the kekkai, defeat two of my strongest kunoichi without any effort, yet not possess the common knowledge that it is the Yata no Kagami we have at Ise, not Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi-"
He cut her off then, easily lifting her light form to her feet without budging the knife from her throat. "And that, Rin-hime, is because you forgot to take into account I wish to get to Kusanagi in one piece. To go straight to the Imperial Palace only to be killed long before getting a chance to see the blade would be rather pointless. But as long as your safety rests in my hands, my own survival is assured."
To his grudging admiration, the Saiou didn't flinch in the face of the knife or his tight grip on her arm. "Kill me, then. I'll never guide you to the Regalia Sword while I have the power to deny it to you."
Archer didn't miss a beat. "Your guards are alive now. They don't have to stay that way. Nor does anyone else who resides in the Saiku compound." Her face paled at that, a bitter satisfaction filling his stomach. "I don't want to take the sword for myself. I don't need to. Just to see it."
Those lovely cerulean eyes studied his face closely, and he suppressed the pang he felt at the choice he was forcing upon her. "Just to see it? And what will happen to me, if I go with you?"
"Only to look, an experienced miko like yourself should realize the level of my Touei spell proves the truth of my words. You are my key to getting to it, nothing more. I certainly have no interest in you as a woman." Archer's face let nothing escape. He had gotten so good at lying over the years he could almost believe the utter falsehood of that last sentence himself. Almost. "You won't be harmed if you cooperate."
Rin-hime's mask was good, but he saw her eyes flick to the limp bodies of the guards, to the window framing the view of the residences of her retinue, staff, and servants. "And if I don't?"
"They'll all die, Rin-hime." Archer responded without hestitation. "Give in, Saiou-sama. You can't win against a man with nothing to lose and who wouldn't care if he had."
For the first time since he entered her chambers the air of uncompromising strength Rin-hime possessed wavered, her delicate shoulders slumping gently in defeat. It took Archer a second to remember how young she really was, not even truly a woman yet. He ignored the pang again as their eyes met. "Then I have no choice but to go with you. Will my kidnapper at least give me his name, seeing as he already knows mine?"
"Gather your traveling case, Saiou-sama. I know it has already been prepared with basic necessities need for the trip from Ise to the capital." Archer ordered flatly, his knife-arm utterly steady as he followed the miko to where the item in question lay, forcibly repressing the self-loathing that arose at the sad look on her face.
"And now, Fukuseisha?" Rin-hime asked, voice leached of all emotion.
"This." A single pinch to a pressure point and the Saiou was unconscious, her slight frame falling right into his arms. Archer told himself it didn't feel good, and nearly succeeded in believing it.
Rin woke up in time for the lantern lights of the Saiku to just disappear from her line of vision. She was in the arms of the strange man, and though his hands were empty, she was well aware he could quickly kill her before she could effectively kill him or at least escape. Numbly, she stared at the mane of the handsome black stallion the kidnapper was skillfully riding, offering a silent prayer to Amaterasu-sama. It was really all she had at this point, other than the fledgling hope he'd keep his word when he said she wouldn't be harmed.
"Archer." He rumbled, shocking her out of her morose reverie.
"W-what..." She began weakly, startled.
"It's the only name I've ever had. But you asked for it, so I'm giving it to you."
Utterly lost, she stared up at him for answers that they both knew weren't going to come.
"Rest while you can. We'll be in Tsu in an hour, and after a night's stay, we'll head to Kyoto."
"To the Palace."
"Obviously. In a few days, you can get on with your life, Rin-hime, and I can be relieved of mine. Help me and it'll be over that much faster."
I just wish I could believe that, Rin thought, sneaking another glance at him before tiredly resting her head against his chest. But I have a feeling-a premonition?-things are destined to become far more complicated...
To Be Continued...?
Terms
Kyudoka-Master of Japanese Archery. Needed to make a distinction between Archer the character and Archer the occupation. XD
Ronin-Masterless samurai. Archer is one since he no longer serves the Emperor and is now a wanderer.
Saiou-An unmarried female relative of the Japanese emperor, sent to Ise to serve at Ise Grand Shrine as High Priestess from the late 7th century until the 14th century. The post is officially disbarred, but the tradition itself continues to this day.
Saiku-A village located approximately 10 kilometers north-west of Ise Shrine, arguably the most significant Shinto shrine in Japan. Sometimes referred to as the Bamboo Palace, Saikū served as the palace and public offices of the Saiou.
Touei-Projection/Gradiation Air. The Japanese name for what Archer is doing when he Traces stuff using the raw materials from Unlimited Blade Works
Fukuseisha-Japanese term for Faker, A term for those that are adept at projection (Gradation Air) type spells. Archer is probably the best Faker in human history.
Seven Nights-Little Tsukihime cameo here by the blade used by the main character, Tohno Shiki. True name is "Nanaya".
Monogatari-Archaic Japanese for "tale".
Kekkai-Barrier.