The crimson sky over Jupiter's battlefield was thick with the smoke of destruction. The air vibrated with the clash of steel and the roars of monstrous Youma, their grotesque forms writhing like creatures birthed from the deepest storms of the gas giant. Blood—both human and inhuman—stained the ground, and amidst the chaos, a single warrior carved through the battlefield like a celestial storm.
Himura Kenshin, the Battousai of Jupiter, was lost to the fight.
His golden eyes glowed with a deadly intensity, his hands slick with the remnants of foes long vanquished. His blade, forged in the sacred forges of the Jovian moons, cut through the Youma like they were mist. Their howls filled the air as Kenshin moved with the speed of lightning, his strikes fueled by nothing but instinct and fury.
The other soldiers, his allies, had long since stopped trying to fight alongside him. Instead, they kept their distance, wary of the unrelenting beast that had emerged from their ranks. He had no allies in this state—only enemies.
And then, the sky blazed with a brilliant silver light.
A Message from the Moon
A celestial transmission rippled across the battlefield, shattering the darkened clouds overhead. A massive, ethereal vision shimmered into existence, glowing with the soft radiance of moonlight. A voice, gentle yet commanding, filled the air, cutting through the chaos like a beacon of peace.
"Hear ye, people of the Silver Millennium! On this day, we celebrate the birth of the Crown Princess of the Moon, Kaguya-hime. May her light shine forever upon the heavens."
And then, he saw her.
A vision of purity and grace, Princess Kaguya stood in the projection, her long silver hair flowing like a cascade of stars. Her serene eyes gazed upon the galaxy with kindness, her delicate hands folded before her in quiet strength. She was untouched by war, untainted by blood, existing in a realm beyond suffering.
For the first time since the battle began, Kenshin stilled.
His heart, which had been pounding with the primal rage of a berserker, slowed. The shadows of battle receded from his mind, and his grip on his sword loosened. The bloodlust that had consumed him—devoured him—suddenly felt distant, like a feverish dream beginning to break.
A name echoed in his thoughts. Kaguya-hime.
He had never met her. He had only heard whispers of her name in the courts of the Silver Millennium, had caught fleeting glimpses of her celestial beauty in stolen moments. But something about her presence, even in this distant, unreachable form, was enough to call him back from the abyss.
"Himura Kenshin, stand down!"
The voice came not from the sky but from behind him. Before he could react, arms wrapped around his body, pulling him close. A familiar warmth, shaking with relief and fear, enveloped him.
"Kenshin!"
Princess Alisabeth, the warrior-princess of Jupiter, clung to him as if she were afraid he would disappear. Her body trembled against his, and when he finally turned his gaze to her, he realized—she was crying.
"You idiot," Lissa choked out, her fingers tightening around his shoulders. "You almost lost yourself. We… we almost lost you."
Kenshin blinked, his golden eyes flickering as his mind fought to clear. He looked around and saw the aftermath of his rampage—his own comrades staring at him in horror, their weapons raised, unsure if they would have to cut him down. His heart clenched.
"Had I truly lost control?"
"You wouldn't stop," Lissa whispered, her voice cracking. "The units were scrambling to put you down, Kenshin. They thought… they thought you had become one of them."
His breath hitched.
"You were lost, and I—I didn't know how to reach you," she continued, her tears hot against his battle-worn armor. "Then I remembered… every time someone mentioned Princess Kaguya, you always went quiet. You always listened."
Kenshin felt a strange heat creeping up his neck. A memory flickered in his mind—him, pausing mid-task whenever Kaguya's name was spoken in the royal courts. The way he had listened intently when rumors of her kindness reached him.
He swallowed. "…Oro?"
It was barely a sound, more breath than word, but it made Lissa's lips tremble into a smile.
"See?" she murmured, cupping his face. "You're still in there."
Kenshin glanced away, his gaze flickering back to the sky where Kaguya's image still lingered like a celestial dream. His grip tightened around his blade, as if grounding himself to the present.
"It doesn't matter," he muttered bitterly. "I'm just a soldier. She's a princess."
Lissa pulled back, her tear-streaked face suddenly breaking into something halfway between a smirk and a triumphant grin.
"Not anymore," she said.
Kenshin frowned. "…What?"
"You've been officially recognized as the First Prince of the Silver Millennium," Lissa announced, crossing her arms with satisfaction. "The first male warrior ever granted a title in a galaxy that only recognizes Senshi."
Kenshin's eyes widened. "…What?"
"And," she added with a teasing glint in her eyes, "your first duty as a royal knight is to serve as the bodyguard to the Crown Princess herself."
Kenshin's brain stopped. Completely.
The information processed slowly, like a wheel turning in a storm. He had been given a royal title. He had been named a Knight of the Silver Millennium. And—his duty was to guard…
Kaguya-hime?
Lissa's grin widened as realization dawned on his face.
"ORO?!"
She burst into laughter, wiping the last of her tears away. "There it is."
Kenshin groaned, running a hand through his bloodstained hair, his face burning.
Lissa patted his back. "So, dear little brother, do you want to meet her?"
He hesitated for only a moment. Then, quieter this time, but no less reverent, he whispered:
"…Yes."
XXX
The gardens of the Moon Palace shimmered under the eternal glow of the celestial dome, a place of untouched serenity. The silver blossoms of the Lunar Lotus swayed gently under the soft wind, their petals catching the ethereal light of the stars. Princess Kaguya moved among them, her fingers grazing the delicate flora, her presence as luminous as the moon itself.
But then, the air changed.
A chill slithered through the sacred garden, and the once-tranquil dome overhead darkened as a jagged shadow ripped through its celestial barrier. The light dimmed. The flowers recoiled.
Something had entered the sanctuary of the Moon.
A shriek, raw and inhuman, echoed through the gardens as a monstrous Youma emerged from the rift—a writhing mass of darkness, tendrils twisting like living nightmares, its gaping maw drooling black mist.
The creature lunged.
Kaguya did not scream. She did not run.
She merely closed her eyes.
Because she knew.
He would come.
XXX
And then, the heavens roared.
A golden streak of energy—like a comet forged in war—tore through the atmosphere, cutting through the night like a blade of judgment.
Kenshin had arrived.
His descent was as fast as lightning, his boots striking the marble with an impact that sent a shockwave through the garden. His golden eyes locked onto the monster before him, and in that instant, the gentle man known as Himura Kenshin vanished.
The Battousai took his place.
His blade was unsheathed in a single, fluid motion.
The Youma barely had time to react before he was upon it.
With speed too fast for mortal eyes, Kenshin's blade flashed—once, twice, thrice—each stroke a whisper of death. The creature howled as its limbs were severed in an instant, its form unraveling into tendrils of black mist. It tried to reform, but Kenshin would not allow it.
He spun, a flicker of light and fury, and delivered the final strike.
His blade cut through the core of the beast, the very essence of its darkness. A choked shriek echoed through the garden, and then—silence.
The Youma dissolved into nothing but shadow, dissipating into the wind.
The danger was gone.
But Kenshin did not lower his blade.
The Battousai never lowered his blade so easily.
Before he could turn, before he could steady his breath, arms wrapped around him.
Kenshin tensed, his battle-hardened body rigid with shock.
Kaguya was holding him.
Her embrace was warm, unwavering, as if she had no fear of the blade still gripped in his hand. As if she had no fear of the man who had just slaughtered a beast without hesitation.
For a moment, he couldn't move.
"Kaguya-hime," he murmured, his voice hoarse, uncertain.
She did not speak.
Instead, she pressed her forehead against his shoulder, her fingers tightening around the fabric of his uniform.
And then—he felt it.
A warmth—not just physical, but something deeper, something divine.
From where her hands touched his skin, a faint silver glow radiated outward, seeping into him, through him. A pressure he hadn't even realized he had been carrying began to ease, unraveling like thread.
A shadow lifted from his heart.
The darkness he had carried for so long, the weight of the battlefield, of the bloodshed, of the Battousai—it lessened, if only for a moment.
And it terrified him.
"You should not be near me," he rasped, his voice strained. "I am not—"
"You are Kenshin," Kaguya interrupted, her voice gentle, firm. "You are my knight."
His breath hitched.
She pulled back just enough to meet his gaze, her silver eyes reflecting nothing but warmth. Nothing but understanding.
"You do not belong to the darkness, Kenshin."
He swallowed thickly, his grip on his sword loosening.
For so long, the battlefield had been his home. The rage, the bloodshed—it had been all he had known.
But here, in her arms, beneath the eternal glow of the Moon…
For the first time, Kenshin wondered if there was another path.
Another fate.
A future where he was not just a weapon, but a man.
A future where he belonged—not to war.
But to her.
XXX
The Moon Palace's great hall shimmered with celestial brilliance, its towering crystalline pillars reflecting the eternal glow of the Silver Millennium. At the center of the chamber stood Queen Selene, her presence as luminous as the cosmos themselves. Before her, Princess Kaguya kneeled with reverence, awaiting her decree.
The Queen's gaze was serene, yet there was an unmistakable weight to her words as she spoke.
"The Earth has extended a hand of diplomacy," Selene declared. "For the first time in history, they have invited the Moon Kingdom to their world. As my daughter and heir, you will go in my stead."
Gasps whispered through the court. The Earth had long been a mystery to the people of the Moon, a distant world of shifting tides and mortal frailty. To send the Crown Princess there was no small matter.
Kaguya, however, did not hesitate. She straightened her posture, her silver eyes alight with purpose. "I will go, Mother. If Earth seeks peace, I shall meet them in kind."
From the shadows of the chamber, a figure stirred.
Kenshin had stood silent through the proceedings, his presence ever-vigilant beside Kaguya as her sworn knight. But at the Queen's decree, his jaw tightened, and his golden eyes darkened.
He stepped forward, his voice low, firm. "With all due respect, Your Majesty, Earth is not to be trusted."
A ripple of murmurs spread through the court, but Kenshin did not waver. He turned to Kaguya, his expression grave.
"The Youma we have fought—many were not creatures of chaos, but Terrans." His words hung heavy in the air. "Humans. Corrupted by darkness."
A shadow passed over Kaguya's face. The revelation struck like a silent storm, but where another might have hesitated, she lifted her chin.
"Then we must go," she said firmly.
Kenshin's brow furrowed. "Kaguya-hime—"
"You must come with me," she interrupted, stepping closer. "If there is corruption on Earth, then we need to see it with our own eyes. If humanity has fallen to evil, then I need you to stand beside me, to protect me."
Kenshin clenched his fists, his heart a battlefield of conflicting emotions.
Earth.
A land of shadows. A land where men had already succumbed to the Youma's influence. He had fought them. He had seen what they had become.
He feared what Earth would do to her.
He feared what Earth would do to him.
For so long, he had battled against the darkness, afraid that one day it would consume him entirely. That he would become the monster he had spent a lifetime fighting.
And yet—
He looked into her silver eyes.
Bright. Passionate. Determined.
How could he say no?
How could he refuse when she asked him?
Kenshin exhaled slowly, his grip loosening. Then, with a quiet sigh, he bowed his head.
"As you wish, Kaguya-hime," he murmured.
A smile bloomed across her lips, radiant as the moon itself.
And though the path ahead was uncertain, though the shadows of Earth loomed ever closer, Kenshin knew one thing for certain.
No matter what awaited them, he would protect her.
Even from the darkness within himself.