His Servant[Book 1]

Loss

As anticipated, Emperor Dai's army marched up to the outskirts of Inazuma Kingdom before fifteen days. Judging by the size of it, it was evident that they would be the strongest enemies the kingdom had ever faced. However, this did not waver anyone's spirit the slightest bit. Gouenji and Kira, along with the rest of the warriors, were ready to face whatever would come their way, head on. With full enthusiasm, they set out towards their target, some on horsebacks and some on foot. On her black horse, Kira moved almost in front guiding her army, with only Gouenji being ahead of her on his white horse. By the end of daylight, they had reached their location and they settled down to set up their camp.

Only few hours before they would face their enemy, everyone gathered where Gouenji was residing, a large and comfortable canopy. Kira went over the plan one last time, explaining each one's responsibility. After everyone left, Kira remained seated for a bit to have a moment of peace and sort out her thoughts.

"So this is it,huh?" She said, more to herself than to Gouenji who was calmly watching her little moment of meditation.

"We're going to win this." Gouenji reassured her, flashing one of his rare smiles.

Kira looked up at him. He seemed confident and hopeful. Kira wasn't worried about herself, she had fought many battles, this was usual to her; but she couldn't help but worry for Gouenji. Her mind knew there was nothing to worry about since he was an excellent warrior but her heart refused to let go of her paranoia.

Smiling, she glanced at him softly, "I am sure we will." and with this she left.

The battle was fierce, spanning over several days. Inazuma army was greatly outnumbered but they refused to give up. They held their ground firmly, fending off the enemy soldiers continuously. Even when they were exhausted and injured, their spirit did not die down and they swore that no matter what they won't let the enemy step on their land.

Gouenji and Kira, just like everyone else, were pushing their limits. Standing side by side, their swords continuously slashed through man after man, making them drop to the ground like flies but there seemed to be no end to it. They didn't even have time to think of a plan and all they could do was to keep fighting as long as they could.

Their chances of victory seemed bleak when on the fifth day, they found themselves facing Emperor Dai and his knight. They had managed to make their way to the Emperor and defeating him would end the war. As soon as his knight saw them, he wasted no time in attacking Gouenji but before he could reach him, Kira swiftly blocked his way. After an intense one-on-one duel during which he managed to hurt her twice, she finally overpowered him and her sword slashed through him ending his life immediately. She could barely take a breath when she saw Dai charging towards them speedily. She moved forward stopping him from reaching Gouenji who was still busy fighting soldier after soldier. Dodging Dai's deathly swings crashing against her sword continuously she tried to look for an opening to attack but it was getting harder every minute.

After a couple of minutes, her body finally gave way as she failed to block an oncoming swing in time and Dai's sword slashed across her armor. She fell on her knees and then on the ground, her vision getting blurry and ears ringing.

Gouenji froze for a moment as he saw her limp and bloody body fall to the ground. He quickly dashed in her direction before Dai could deliver the final blow. Dai's sword crashed against Gouenji's as they engaged in a fierce duel. Aggressively laying down blow after blow, Gouenji refused to give up until he had him down on the ground. He shot a death glare at him, gritting his teeth before delivering the fatal blow.

The war was over and Inazuma Kingdom had won but that did not cause any joy to Gouenji. He quickly ran upto where Kira was lying on the ground, her armor broken and her consciousness leaving her swiftly. He fell down on his knees and picked her up in his arms. With tears in his eyes he frantically urged her to speak,

"Kira!Kira!Say something!Don't close your eyes!" He kept shaking her desperately trying to keep her from losing her consciousness and getting lost in the darkness once and for all.

With great difficulty, Kira managed to glance at him. Finding herself cradled in his arms, she smiled weakly. Slowly raising her hand, wincing in the process, she cupped his cheek, smearing it in blood,

"Till my last breath." She whispered.

"No no no don't say that. You're going to be okay." Gouenji immediately responded, holding onto her hand and hugging her. He did not care that the rest of his people were gathered around them staring at him in astonishment.

As her hand slipped from underneath his grip and her eyes refusing to stay open any longer, countless thoughts swam across Kira's mind, her childhood memories, her sneak trips to the royal garden, her knight training,the coronation day,the royal ball and the days that followed the royal ball and with it, Gouenji's voice echoed in her mind,

"You don't know how special you are to me."

Then she was reminded of the kiss under the sakura tree and along with it,a promise.A promise to never be the cause of Gouenji's sadness.

A tear drop fell on her cheek jolting her back to reality and making her hear ceaseless pleadings of Gouenji urging her to stay awake and to hold on. Her fall towards the dreamy darkness surrounded by her thoughts was interrupted. She had to live. She had to live for him.

With every last ounce of energy left in her she struggled to pull herself back towards life forcing herself to open her almost closed eyes and gasped for air. Next moment, she felt a sharp pang all over her body causing her to grimace but as soon as the pain died down, her vision cleared a little bit and she found Gouenji forming a weak smile through his tears.

"You're going to be okay." He said once again as he softly kissed her cheek.