Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Kazemaru and Miharu ❯ Chapter 1

Kazemaru drifted over his territory lazily, the wind and snow buffeting against his face. He couldn't sleep again, he was bored, and that irritated him. The night was dark and a little cold, the world itself seemed to be sleeping, all of it excluding him. Maybe he could stir things up a little; he could use a little practice. His body became tense and aware, ready for a fight. Through the snow and clouds he spotted a newly constructed palace. He seemed to recall they hadn't yet made their sacrifices. To anybody. Time to collect dues.

 

***

 

Miharu sighed, and sat up. She just couldn't sleep. She stood up, and loosely dressed herself in a couple of her kimonos. It was hard to do it herself, but she should be decent, and it was cold outside. She silently slid out of the room, freeing herself of her handmaidens and guards.

 

She walked along the roofed pathways. In the dim light of the watch lanterns, she could see fat snowflakes slowly drifting to the ground. They disappeared as soon as they touched the warm earth, and she knew they wouldn't accumulate. They almost never did, and especially this early in the year. As she wandered, she found herself in the little gazebo they sometimes used for Noh plays. There was a small cupboard that contained some extra instruments, and from it she extracted her koto. It was late, but she didn't think anyone would hear her. She calmly tuned the instrument, and then began to play an old familiar tune.

 

***

 

Kazemaru sighed. The security here was pathetically lax. He had killed two guards, but they had never seen him coming, and the other guards hadn't even noticed that they were missing. There was no thrill in this, no sport. He walked along a courtyard without making a sound, and then he heard something. Off in the distance, a slow, melancholy tune was warped along the sifting winds. He made them stop so he could hear. There was something about it he just couldn't place. He followed the sound, and when he saw where it was coming from, the image struck him.

 

There was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, playing a koto with her eyes closed, completely lost to the song. Her hair was so black it shone blue, and her face was as delicate as a flower. Her full lips looked almost as if they had been rouged, but he could see it was her natural coloring. Her hands were slight and delicate as they plucked the strings as if with love. The thing that struck him the most was she was not the cultivated image of perfection he was used to seeing in human women of high stature. Her kimono was loose, showing her white bottom layer a little more than she should, and her hair pooled around her with a will of its own.

 

She finished the song and looked up. She froze. Damn. He didn't want to kill her.

 

Miharu stared at the man who had appeared before her without a sound. He was unlike any man she had ever seen, with hair as white as the snow, and piercing blue eyes. She decided she was still asleep and dreaming, for there was no man as beautiful as him. Well, might as well be polite.

 

“Hello, my lord. How are you this evening?” she said with a smile.

 

Kazemaru was stunned. Her smile was so kind, so inviting. She wasn't afraid of him. She had asked him a question.

 

“I am well, but I find that I cannot sleep,” he replied, taking a few steps closer. Perhaps she couldn't see well.

 

She smiled again, and it looked so natural. “I couldn't sleep either.”

 

He paused, and then nodded to the koto. “You're very good at that. Do you mind if I listen?”

 

“Of course not. Please, have a seat. Perhaps it will relax you.” She gestured to a pile of cushions. He ignored them and sat sprawled out with his back against the cupboard, so he could see her profile. She ignored his improper posture and began to play again, and then sing. Her voice was as clear as the cold air, and yet it warmed him. He found himself relaxing for the first time in a long while. What a strange night. Perhaps he was only dreaming all of this.

 

She stopped for a moment, after the song ended. “My name is Nakamura Miharu no Kurihama. What is yours?” she asked very politely.

 

“Kazemaru.” He said simply. It wasn't a name a human would have, and if she was sharp she would figure it out.

 

She looked at him carefully, taking in his strange armor, the chained sickles at his side, and at last his ears. “Kazemaru-sama. Are you…?” she frowned a little.

 

“Yokai. Yes. Are you going to scream?” he asked, half wishing she had been a little stupider.

 

She smiled again, as if he had said something very pleasant about the weather. “No. Why would I?” If this was a dream, what danger could she be in?

 

He looked at her and shook his head. He was definitely asleep. “Please.” He gestured to the instrument. “Continue.” Might as well enjoy the dream.

 

“As you wish.” She started a new song, a little happier this time.

 

Suddenly a cry came from one of the guards, and she stopped. `Damn. They found the bodies. Just when I was beginning to enjoy myself…' Kazemaru stood up, and Miharu looked to him.

 

Guards began pouring in from all directions. He could get out of here in the blink of an eye, but he had a reputation to keep up. Demons don't run away.

 

Miharu stood up as well, unsure what to do. A guard came running with his sword bared, and Kazemaru shot past her at the guard, engaging him immediately. It was quick work, a left-right with the kusarigama he held in his hands. He threw one sickle then, jerked back the chain, and both of the guards' heads hit the floor at about the same time.

 

Kazemaru heard a strangled sound behind him and turned to see Miharu begin to teeter and he caught her as she fell. Not now.... He coiled the chain, clipped the still-wet blade to his obi and scooped her up. Dammit, woman. You had to be blood-weak. You had to faint.

 

More guards began to advance from the other direction and he decided now was the time to make his exit. He smirked at the guards and leapt behind the balcony, then shot into the sky, leaving the cries and arrows of the guards behind.

 

As he flew, he stared at the woman's face. What exactly had he been thinking? Well it was too late to go back now. He'd let them be scared for a few days and then return her. But for now, he'd have a little songbird to sing him to sleep.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

A/N:

 

YAY! So this is my original story, kind of my baby. The name sucks, but hey, Shakespeare named his plays after the main characters all the time! A couple quick explanations:

 

The koto is a 13-stringed instrument similar to a dulcimer. It originated in China.

 

A kusarigama is a sickle-and-chain weapon. If any of you watch InuYasha, Kohaku, Sango's brother, uses a kusarigama. Kaze's however, has a sickle at each end of the chain, which makes it twice as deadly and twice as hard to weild.

 

Comments, as always, are greatly appreciated.