Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Kazemaru and Miharu ❯ Chapter 9

How much longer should she wait? She listened carefully to the sound of the girls' breathing outside her little tent. It was late enough, she figured, and she didn't want to keep him waiting. She stood up quietly, glad she had made the pretense of being cold and thus slept in a few of her kimonos. She shrugged a couple more on over, it was cold outside, after all, and she didn't know how long she was going to have to wait. She carefully stepped around Emi, out of the tent, and tiptoed through the other girls.

 

She lifted the curtain to her room quietly, and nodded to the guard. He assumed (as he should) that she had natural business to attend to and would be back soon. The shoki seemed to make far more noise than necessary as she slid it open and then closed. In the darkness, each footstep on the cold wood was the beat of a drum, and the sound of her kimonos sliding as she walked was as tell-tale as the hiss of a snake.

 

It was bitter cold out, the biting cold that makes your skin feel tight, and she hoped Kazemaru would be there soon. She made her way to the stage and waited, hugging herself to keep warm.

 

He didn't notice the cold. He'd been sitting in this tree since sunset, and even his demon blood couldn't keep him warm on this unusually cold night. But he didn't care. He sat perfectly still, watching the comings and goings of the palace below him. At long last, she stepped out of the room he guessed belonged to her, and made her way to the familiar stage. He imagined he could hear her footsteps, but he knew it was just the quickened pace of his heart.

 

He quickly dropped down into the palace grounds, landing outside of the nearest lantern's light. From here he could study her secretly once more, his keen eyesight cutting through the darkness. She had a concerned look on her face, and she folded her arms inside her sleeves to keep herself warm. What if it wasn't true? What if she had changed her mind? But no, he could tell by the way she searched the skies that she wanted to see him badly. Something akin to pride swelled within him, but then something pricked it. `She's a human, Kaze,' a nasty voice from the back of his mind intoned patronizingly. `What will they say? The great lord Kazemaru had gone weak! He's fallen for a human! What will they think?'

 

Screw them, who ever they were anyway. He didn't care anymore. So what if he'd gone weak. All the strength he needed was enough to protect her. That was all. He walked forward, making enough noise for her to notice.

 

Miharu heard a soft noise, and looked down. She tried to see beyond the light of the lantern, and was rewarded with the emerging figure she had scanned the skies so hopefully for. As always, he looked like something from the world of dreams, unearthly cool and beautiful.

 

“Kazemaru-sama…” she breathed. She couldn't move as he stepped towards her, then up onto the stage. It was all so unreal. There was an awkward moment as he hesitated and searched her face, and then suddenly she was in his arms, nearly crushed against his hard leather armor. She shakily wound her arms about his waist, barely able to breathe as it was.

 

“Miharu…” his voice came out in a whisper, rough with emotion.

 

“I missed you…” she said simply, feeling tears at the corners of her eyes. He sighed deeply, and lowered his head to kiss the top of hers. She felt as if she could fly, completely amazed at the way his simple nearness affected her. It was like floating in water, surrounded and utterly calm. They stood that way for a long time, and she didn't mind. She could stay like this forever.

 

***

 

Emi woke, and adjusted her back a little. She turned her head, and saw that Miharu was gone. She had probably gone out to attend to things. But it was winter, why hadn't she used the chamber pot? Hadn't she said she was cold just that evening? She waited what she thought would be the normal time to take care of such things, and then rose, slipping on her few kimonos.

 

The other girls were asleep, so she quietly asked the guards if they had seen her.

 

“She went out a little while ago, I assumed she…” he politely gestured out the door, leaving the unspoken assumed. “Do you think something is wrong?”

 

Emi shook her head. “I'll go check on her, just in case.”

 

The guard nodded, and Emi stepped outside and shivered. What on earth was Lady Miharu doing out so long in this cold? She was going to get sick. She looked around a bit, heading toward the stage the lady seemed to like so well. She turned a corner and stopped dead in her tracks.

 

She was seeing things. She was dreaming. That was definitely her lady, but what uncouth man had his arms around—she stopped as she noticed the style of his armor, and his ears. That was no man. Miharu had been lured outside by a Yokai! She tried to scream but felt as if she couldn't breathe, and it came out as a tiny squeak.

 

The demon looked up at her, evil in his eyes. He froze for a moment, and then said something she didn't understand.

 

“I thought you said they were asleep.” He quickly grabbed one of the small sickles at his side, his other arm still wrapped about poor Miharu, who turned around to look at Emi as well.

 

Then she said something she didn't understand. “No, wait!” she put a hand on the demon's arm, and he lowered his weapon, looking to Miharu's face. “She's my handmaiden. She's like a sister to me. Let me talk to her.”

 

To Emi's great surprise, the demon let Miharu go, though he looked after her with a frightening expression that bordered on possession. Miharu quickly came close to her, and laid a cold hand on her own.

 

“Emi, listen to me,” she whispered, looking around as if someone would be listening. “Please go back! Don't tell anyone what you've seen!”

 

“But…” Emi was shocked. Maybe her lady was under a spell.

 

“Emi-chan, I just saved your life, please return the favor by keeping our secret.” Miharu looked desperate.

 

Suddenly something in her mind clicked together. “Our?” It couldn't be… it just wasn't possible.

 

Miharu blushed, giving an answer unwittingly. “Please, Emi. Trust me. He won't hurt me. We…”

 

“You love him.” Emi said, dumbstruck.

 

Miharu nodded.

 

“Do you even know his name? What he is?”

 

Miharu went stiff. “Yes. Does it matter? His name is Kazemaru-sama.”

 

“Kaze…” another thing clicked. “The letter?”

 

Miharu nodded. “Please, Emi… please.”

 

She nodded her head numbly. “I won't tell anyone. I promise.” It was all too much to handle. She stiffly turned, glancing one last time at this Kazemaru. He didn't look as if he would take her word, but restrained himself. She walked back to the room, her mind a jumble.

 

When she reached the guards, there was a dilemma.

 

“Is the lady alright?” he asked kindly.

 

She automatically went into her “court way” and put on a smile she didn't know she had in her. “Oh, she just can't sleep. She wanted to take a look at the stars. I'll just grab a couple extra kimonos since it's so cold and join her. Don't worry.”

 

She passed into the room, wondering where the lie had come from. She grabbed the remaining kimonos, the bulk of silk as heavy as the secret she carried within her. She made her way back out, and back to the stage, every step a strangely difficult effort.

 

But when she got there, they were gone. She put all the kimonos on herself, and sat on a cushion.

 

`Miharu, you fool. What have you done? You had better come back quick, so I can knock some sense into you.' She settled herself against the cold and waited.

 

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

AN

Ah, Emi… I love her character…