So Much In Common - A Songs of War FanFiction

Chapter Three - The Confession

____________________________________________________________

Two Weeks Later...

____________________________________________________________

It was late at night, but Kiyoshi couldn't get any sleep, not with Nitsuke on his mind. He was barely even angry about the whole Necrolord situation anymore. Nitsuke was all he could think about. He could no longer deny how he felt now, and he had to tell her. She had to know.

It had been weeks since he'd first woken up in this cottage. His condition had been improving. He was still nowhere near ready to fight again, but he was certainly on his way. Over time, another thing had happened, something he hadn't expected, but something that was a welcome surprise.

He had fallen in love.

Kiyoshi got out of bed and put on some somewhat nice clothes. His former injury had been reduced to a mere scar on his back, obscured by the shirt, anyhow. Most of the clothes in this house he couldn't actually wear, since most of them belonged to Nitsuke, so he had a limited assortment of options to pick from. He couldn't even believe he was so worried about this at all!

Nitsuke was sleeping when he found her in her room, and Kiyoshi gently nudged her awake.

"Sorry to disturb you, Nitsuke," Kiyoshi said. "There's something I have to talk to you about, though."

"Kiyoshi?" she sleepily said, reaching for her glasses from the nightstand so she could see clearly. "What's going on? Is something wrong?"

"No, of course not! Just, come with me, okay?" Kiyoshi asked.

She frowned. What could possibly be so important that would warrant a waking at this hour? Slightly concerned, she threw her legs over the edge of the bed and stood, pushing her mussed bed-hair out of her face. "All right." She strode quickly to her closet and pulled out a tattered woolen sweater that was more of a comfort piece than anything. Once wrapping it about her, she met him at the doorway.

Kiyoshi took Nitsuke by the hand, the contact providing a tingly sensation, at least for the former. He led Nitsuke to the balcony.

"First of all, I just want to say... I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me and for Felden," Kiyoshi told her.

She smiled and pushed her glasses up her nose. "Of course, Kiyoshi. I'm grateful for being needed around here, especially with all this... scary stuff going on." She laughed slightly, looking down at the floor.

"You know what makes a Chronicler's work so important?" Kiyoshi asked. "Your work, in particular?"

She looked into his eyes and couldn't help but hold her breath slightly. "What?"

"I may be the one ordering troops and fighting the bad guys, and some would call me a hero for that," Kiyoshi began. "But as a Chronicler, your job is to write down what happens so it can be remembered forever, throughout history. My fight—our fight—against the Necromancers is something you will surely one day carve into the Walls of Time. And what's a hero without a legacy? It's thanks to you I'm going to have one."

"Kiyoshi..." Nitsuke blushed slightly. "You were already a hero before I met you. I only got dragged along into this mess."

"And I'm sorry. You didn't deserve the hardships of war. All the same, I'm just glad I got to meet you." He scratched the back of his head, doing his best to be mindful of his claws. "Well, that sort of ties into what I'm going to say next."

Nitsuke opened her mouth to say something, but she closed it again, silent, though her heart began pounding harder.

"You see, my father was Captain of the Guard, and his father before him. It was already a guarantee that the position would be mine at some point," Kiyoshi claimed. "But... I didn't just want to be handed leadership because of my lineage. I fought to earn it fairly. I just... thought it was the right thing to do. I was a little too busy with that to have much of a social life. You wouldn't believe it, but my only real friend outside my own family for a while was probably Lucan. But I was pretty well-known and respected because of my parentage. And, heh, it's a little awkward thinking back to it, but so many girls were romantically interested in me. I just didn't have time for anyone. Nor was I really interested. I guess everyone just expected me to eventually get married off to some high ranking person who once again inherited their position without working for it. I was never into people like that, but that just seemed like all my options when it came to courtship! A little silly." He let out a nervous laugh. "Because of that... I was fairly certain I would never even fall in love, because I thought that there wasn't anyone out there for me." He then grasped Nitsuke's hand again. "But I've never been so happy to have been proven wrong."