{Romance, Action}
-Introduction-
Nekonian songbirds were always a exalted in Nekonian literature and art. The Blue-tailed Ji-torii, the Laaze Hill Uta-torii, the King's Eagle were all of great renound. Nekoko Kitiwai, the 16 year old princess of Nekonia, knew them so very well, as she had to hear about them every day in lecture. It's was the lady-like thing to learn. Flower arrangement, the biwa-a kind of long folk guitar, calligraphy, and so much more inane things that would serve no purpose in aiding her people.
The citizens of Nekonia weren't exactly ailing. The war to the North had caused some distress and an influx of human refugees. Trade with Doma we badly hurt but began to recover nicely after Malachias's defeat at the hands of a few heros and the Warrior Queen Aya. However, in spite of Nekonia's placid economic standing, Nekoko felt that to confine herself to the castle, signing faceless treaty after faceless treaty, smiling in the face of beaurocrats at royal functions would do no good at all in ensuring that every citizen of Nekonia, Nekojin or otherwise, would get their fair share of happiness.
It was why she encouraged her father and mother to hire Ua Rang so many years agol. Ua Rang was known throughout the land as one of the greatest martial artists. At one time before Nekoko was born, he served in the Royal Elite Ninja Clan. Because of his old position, it made deciding that Nekoko would recieve martial training easier. But Ua Rang was not content to merely teach her a few things. If he would educate her, her skills would learn to challenge his.
She trained very hard under him and was yet still forced into the second world of meek and feminine. At first there were no problems in this balancing act but very soon the scales began to wobble ominously. Nekoko found it harder and harder to hold her tongue in discussions. The stories that Ua Rang had told her of life outside Shin-Jo-Kyo (New Castle) held her captive to her very heart. Bandits and thieves in rural territories that could not afford the help of the castle, evil priests corrupting people with their power, rampant murderes between the races within the borders of her beloved country. All of these things were inacceptable in Nekoko's mind and she felt that she needed to speak out. However, it was 'not her place' to say such things and Ua Rang after two short years of a close sensei-gakusei relationship was dismissed. Nekoko never saw or heard from him again. Like the ninja that he was, he vanished.
But Nekoko was too intelligent for her own good. She still trained in secret. She read scrolls and manuscripts from the ninja clans. She inquired, innocently, all the right questions to the ninja guards. Nekoko looked to Aya for inspiration. The Warrior Queen that actively engaged in the lives of her subjects. She guided them not with papers and demands but with swords and loyalty. It was how Nekoko wanted to lead and thus she abandoned the castle walls and returned only when called for emergencies. Her ninja training in her able paws, she would see life for what it truly was.
And then there was Chaos.
A Canaan Inujin who was hell bent on murder, specifically of nekojin, but all things living did not escape his sadistic hatred. He terrorized the small towns first, decimating them. So she hunted him down and tracked him to the capital where he ran into Aya and her party of fighters. Even Chaos's powerful magic could not save him from harm and disappear after nearly losing his life. It was a minor setback, his teleporting but she ran into him again but he was not the frightful beasts that she was expecting to face. He was a boy, younger than herself. She did not recognize him and instead began to nurse him to health.
For a week, she would bring him food and nurse his wounds. He was terribly intelligent and kind at heart. She could see it in his eyes and the way he always seemed to be apologizing for something. He felt the same way about the inujin people as Nekoko felt about hers. Only the best for their people and the only way to go about that was with direct involvement. He was the first non-diplomatic Inujin she had ever met and she fell in love with him. Canal, as he called himself found that he could not lie to his guardian, and told her that Chaos and Canal were one dog in the same collar. It was devastating news but Nekoko was not deterred. Chaos would surely die by her hands but she would save the Canal that she had learned to love and respect. It was there that they parted.
It was several months later, when she found him again. He was confused and worried. He wore the robes of Fideleo and was seeking holy retribution for his sins. She admired him. He was battling within himself for the answers to his problems, to defeat the Chaos within. She wanted to journey with him but he assured her that it was a war he would be fighting by himself. Again, they parted paths.
And now she sat in her bedroom, being dressed up by her handmaids for a ball. She looked out of the window and could not help but to wonder what she could possibly be missing.
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[url=http://pub30.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=nekogami>Nekogami</A] at: 2/2/04 10:33 am
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