Black Steel and Wordly Wisdom
Satisfied
By Mystic Dawn
Summary: (Set some years after Kurogane first met Tomoyo) While Kurogane watches over Tomoyo, she says some riddling things about her innermost feelings that he fails to comprehend.
Kurogane sat against the wall, his shoulders hunched and his arms crossed over his chest, wearing his usual scowl on his face. He was unobtrusively watching Tomoyo through the corner of his eye, who was kneeling on the floor a few feet away from him.
She seemed to pay him no heed whatsoever, playing with delicate balls that chimed whenever they moved. Each ball had a flower design on it, but was differently colored, and each rang a little differently from the other. She then lifted one in her hands and stared at it for quite some time, apparently in deep thought.
Slightly unnerved about her lack of speech, Kurogane finally spoke. "What's so interesting in a simple ball?"
She looked up at him with a small smile. "I wasn't really looking at the ball," she explained in her musical voice. "I was thinking about something else by looking at it."
He didn't pry and she didn't elaborate. Their relationship was a bit sketchy. Although it had been months since he had been first appointed one of her personal bodyguards, he was still uneasy about not calling her 'princess' when alone with her, even though she had constantly asked him not to (although expected would be a better term to use that asked). His eyes regarded her inquiringly as she continued to play serenely.
She fascinated him. At times she seemed as a young adolescent and acted her age, yet at other times she seemed wise beyond understanding. He did not really know how to cope with the situation. He had finally settled on the decision to watching her carefully for now, and decide what she was later.
She suddenly stood up and went to her balcony window, abandoning her juvenile distractions. Her movements were graceful as she leaned against the banister, sighing slightly. She stood before the sight for a few moments, drinking in the view. Her violet eyes regarded the full moon, which glowed with a silver light, shining upon the mountains and the fir tree forest which spread beyond the walls of her castle.
Kurogane's eyes followed her, but he did not raise his head from his slouched position against the wall.
"I love watching the moon," Tomoyo whispered in her melodious voice, without turning. The moon held her gaze for a long moment, almost as long as she had been staring at the ball. "The moon and I are very close," she spoke again, softly.
"But it's just the moon," Kurogane protested sourly, not understanding the reason for her sudden change in behavior. "The moon's not a person."
"But when one feels lonesome, one must find other means of entertainment."
He did not really understand what she meant and decided not to say anything.
"I am frequently lonely, even though I am surrounded by people every day," she admitted with a small sigh. "Do you not find comfort in something, Kurogane?"
He shrugged with seeming indifference. "I'm satisfied with what I have."
"But has there never been a moment when you desired for something more? Or for something to be different?"
He wondered why she was asking him all of these questions. Perhaps the reason was because she felt lonesome, and hungered for conversation. "And what about you, Princess?" he asked her with mild curiosity. "You wish things to be different?"
Tomoyo turned to hold him in her gaze. She wore a small and enigmatic smile upon her lips. "For now, I am satisfied."
She said nothing more and turned once again to the moon.