A Sacred Promise

Another Tale of the Swordsman's life.

Toushiro sat on the ground leaning against a tree, observing Virgil running through his training regiment. As the minutes passed the kitsune could not help but feel a bit nostalgic. It had been quite some time since he helped someone better themselves, let alone since he finished his own initial training. Toushiro found himself clenching his sword, still in its sheath, tightly in his hand. This caused his attention to drift to his weapon, which in turn caused his mood to sour. The weapon was his most treasured possession and it made him remember his sister. She  had given him this very sword as present once he finished his weapon training, however not all was well on that. Toushiro allowed his mind to drift back to the night in question, a time before he met Maeya let alone the rest of his mercenary crew.

One fall night, Toushiro was outside training his body to be a better fighter. He was tired of being helpless every time someone attacked him and desired nothing more than to protect not only himself but Kairi as well. He was so focused on his training he had practically drowned out any sound.  As he was in the middle of doing pull ups using a low hanging branch, he felt a tug on his pant leg. The sudden tugging startled the young kitsune to the point he lost his grip and fell flat on his back. He looked up to see his sister standing over him trying not to laugh. "Sheesh Kairi-nee, why did you have to do that?" Kairi immediately frowned and glared at him. "Not my fault you didn't hear me calling you from the house. I had to do something to teach you a lesson." Toushiro stood up and dusted himself off. "Yeah well I was busy training." Kairi scoffed at her brother's words and turned away. "You are always training lately. You do know that rest is just as important, right?"

Toushiro waved his hand dismissively and grabbed a cloth and began to clean himself up. "So what was so important?" Kairi glanced over her shoulder at him and smiled. "I want you to come inside I have something for you." Toushiro hung the cloth over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow at Kairi in suprise. "What is it?" In response his sister walked over and lightly smacked him across the back of the head. She then placed a finger on his lips as if to silence him. "It's a surprise that is why you must come inside to see it." Without another word Kairi turned on her heels and made her way back inside the house. Standing there more confused than when he fell form the branch, Toushiro stared at the house not sure what to do. After a few moments he decided he best hurry inside and see what had her all excited.

Once inside he saw Kairi standing next to the table with a long rectangular box on the table. He stared at it questioningly before turning his focus back to his sister. She smiled even wider and gestured at the box. "That's is it. I bought you a present Shiro-kun." Toushiro stood frozen in place, unsure why she bought him this gift. "Why? What is so special about today." This caused his sister to sigh in frustration. "You silly boy it is All Hallow's Eve." When it was clear this didn't make things clear she stomped her foot on the ground and groaned. "Sheesh you are dull today. It is your birthday today." Toushiro could feel his cheeks burn as he blushed form embarrassment, having forgotten his own Birthday. "Oh wow sorry, I guess time flies when you are training."  

Kairi grabbed a nearby apple from the table and threw it at her brother. "You would forget your own head if it wasn't attached to your body. Just shut up and open your present before I decide to take it back." Making his way to the box he lifted the lid to see a Katana inside. He was awe struck at the sight of it as he carefully lifted it out of the box and drew it from the sheath. He admired the blade and gave it a few test swings to check it weight. "It's perfect , Nee-san." He returned it to its sheath and placed it on the table. "Now I can begin my work as a Mercenary and bring money to this village that has sheltered us." He looked up to see Kairi's expressions was no longer happy and warm. Rather it was shocked and a bit angry. "What did you say?" Kairi muttered quietly in response to his statement. "I said I am gonna start to work as a mercenary to bring money to this village th-." This time however Toushiro's statement was interrupted and Kairi crossed the room and slapped him across the cheek. He stumbled a few steps back and held his hand to his now red cheek, looking at his sister in shock. "What was that for Nee-san?" 

Kairi once again stepped closer causing him to flinch. When the expected slap didn't come he looked back at her and saw tears streaming down her cheeks. Her fists were clenched tightly and she looked more angry than sad. "How dare you!" This outburst made him flinch again but this time he kept his focus on her. "You lied to me Toushiro. You told me you only wanted to begin training with a sword to protect yourself should people come attacking us again. Now you tell me you want to go out there looking for work that could get you killed. Has everything we have been through meant nothing to you. You want to sit here and throw it all away just cause you feel obligated to provide for the whole village." Toushiro looked down at the floor as Kairi began to yell at him. He listened quietly as she ranted on. "I only got you this sword cause I thought it would be nice to have a blade of your own. I didn't want you to have to use it. I want us to be safe and live happily. Now you want to go stir up trouble and leave me home to worrying if you got yourself killed or worse. I won't have it Toushiro, I forbid it!" 

He stood there silently for a moment to ensure she was done, before he looked up. His expression stern and strong. "No Kairi-nee I am not throwing anything away. I love you and I am grateful for all you have done for me. I just wish to provide for you and those who risk their lives sheltering us out of the kindness of their hearts. This village has protected us and welcomed us like we were one of them. That is not something you find much anymore, especially given what we are. My honor will not allow me to not repay them for their kindness, and what better way than to use my skills to bring in money." Kairi shook her head in defiance. "No, there has to be another way. I won't let you get yourself hurt." Kairi began to sob uncontrollably. Toushiro stepped closer and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Genshukuna chikai." This caused her to stop sobbing for a moment and look up at him questioningly. "Genshukuna chikai, it means Solemn Oath. I swear upon the blade you have given me I will stay safe and survive no matter what. The sword will be named as such and serve as a reminder of my promise to you and all I swear to protect. I am doing this one way or the other Nee-san so this should help you understand I am not just running off on some fool errand nor am I going to take this lightly. I know full well the risks and will do my best to ensure success in each mission as well as my own safety. I will come home to you and I will never leave you behind." Kairi sat there for a few moments before a she stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I will hold you to the oath till the end of time."

Toushiro found his thoughts slowly drifting back to the present and seeing Virgil standing before him. "Hey Toushiro you okay, you seemed out of it for a while and were clutching your sword tightly like your life depended on it." Toushiro looked down and saw his knuckles were turning white form clenching his swords so tightly. "Oh yeah, I am fine just thinking about something." Toushiro eased the grip and stood up and placed the sword in his belt. Virgil still looked at him as if he wasn't convinced. "You know come to think of it whenever that sword is not in your belt or otherwise secured you hold it tightly in your hand. Why is that?" Toushiro shrugged and placed his hand on the hilt of his blade. "Nothing really, just a precious reminder of things I have lost. Yet at the same time a promise of things to come." 

Reviews

[Miss Jenca]

Awwwwwwwwww! I'm tearing! That was wonderful; everything hit just right, and the mood was powerful. You did a really good job.

[KeithKVH]

Great scene of interacting between him and his sister, must've been a nasty surprise on his birthday from the very present she gave him, and very hard for her to accept, but he'd made his resolve and still convinced her to begrudgingly accept it.

Quite a history behind his sword, good name for it too. Always makes me sad to be reminded that Kairi is gone. Another good swordsman story. The grammar is pretty good, a few things caught my eye temporarily but I can't seem to keep hold of them today. Bit tired. xD

[Shinigami of Chaos]

I am glad you enjoyed it, i really thought on this one for a while and really wanted to make it work. I would also like to say that a common theme with Toushiro is even when he loses loved ones her carries them with him. So even though Kairi is not alive she is always on his mind and her words drive him to be the person he is.