Kurogane perched on the roof, his sword in its scabbard on his back. He gazed over the rooftops of the palace... off into the deeply forested land beyond this place... and up at the pale, glowing moon.

It certainly was a peaceful night for him. Normally he'd have bloodied his hands within the hour, but not tonight. For once, he had too much spare time on his hands.

"Dammit, this is getting boring," he snarled.

After an hour or so of this, he began to get impatient. Scouring the ground below for anything to occupy himself with, his gaze finally stopped and landed on you.

Boy, what a vision you were.

Deep down... deep, deep, deep, deep. DEEP. Deep down inside him, he truly was infatuated with you. Every little movement you made, every tiny gesture, all those smiles, every quirk of yours, no matter how strange it was... he loved them.

Or, to be more specific, he loved you.

His eyes followed your moving figure, your long silk dress flowing behind you. In short, you looked like a goddess. You were walking around the courtyard, a smile etched on your face. It certainly was quiet tonight. Your soft laugh, like the ripples on a lake's surface, echoed up to Kurogane's ears, concentrated on you. So captivating, so endearing...

"It's very quiet tonight, Kuro." Only you could call him that and get away with it. "No one to fight, is there?"

You glanced up at where you thought he'd be. And there he was, glaring at you... but you knew he didn't really mean it.

"Hmph."

Smiling, you made your way up to the same rooftop and sat down next to his crouching figure.

There was a silence between the two of you as both didn't move or speak. If he wasn't going to strike up a conversation, you would.

"So, how was your day?"

"..." his gaze flickered over to you for a moment.

"I'm fine, thank you," you replied to no one. You smiled and chuckled softly, tilting your head over to the side to get a better view of the silent, brooding warrior you grew up with.

After another silence, you spoke up again.

"As I was saying, it's very quiet tonight, isn't it?"

"Not if you're going to continue talking."

Your laugh echoed throughout the courtyard. You loved Kurogane. His witty comments never failed to cheer you up. Conversations with him were endlessly amusing.

"No one to fight, is there?"

"Do you see anyone to fight?"

"Well, me. Do you want to fight me?"

"..."

You leaned up and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"I know you wouldn't."

"If I had to, I would."

"Really?"

"..."

Another failed attempt at conversation. Try again? Sure, why not. You scoured your mind for something that might make him have some sort of reaction.

"Kuro?"

"What is it now?"

"I just thought of... of..."

"Spit it out already."

You smiled at him. "Do you remember that birthday present I gave you once when we were kids?"

He thought for a moment.

"Which one of them? They were all too weird for me to know which one you're talking about."

"So you remember each one? Every single one?"

Your eyes had widened a bit. He remembered every birthday present you'd ever gave him. That was touching.

"So what?"

"Well, the one I'm thinking about was the toad I caught for you on your thirteenth birthday."

He made a face and muttered, "Tsk. Can't even give a normal present."

"That's right. And you love me because of my strange qualities."

Bull's-eye.

"Well, Kuro, I just thought of your father's reaction to my gift. He certainly had an amusing face for the occasion."

You laughed again, and Kurogane rolled his eyes.

"How did that toad remind you of me? I still don't get it."

"Well, it looked so cute." He twitched an eyebrow. What other girls would think was hideous, you thought was adorable.

"And then I thought... 'On the outside, it may not look very cute, but on the inside, it's a kindhearted little thing.' which really reminded me of you."

He lowered his head in thought. You really managed to bring out the teeny, tiny sentimental side of him... He had always strived to never let you down.

At that, he went completely silent.

"Kuro? Kuro?" you noticed his extreme degree of silence, and gently prodded him with an elbow. "Is something wrong?"

And, guessing from all the knowledge and experience with his set of emotions and feelings that you had gained, growing up with him, you knew what he was thinking about.

"Kuro? I know what you're thinking about. I know that she died a terrible death... and that her body was among the unnecessary casualties that day." Your voice faltered, and you put a hand on his shoulder. "I loved your parents as well. They took me into the household when everyone else I asked for help had rejected me. And to them and you, I will be eternally grateful."

His deep onyx eyes were now focused on you.

"A-a-and the thing is, I really care about you. You're the closest person to me in the world, and I know that you want to find out who killed your mother with that sword. No matter how much you protest, I want to help you."

"So, I guess what I'm saying is... 'I love you.'"

And after yet another moment of silence, you were beginning to regret your last few words. Did he not want you around anymore? Was that a bit too much to say at once? You just wanted to help, but it all just came rushing out of your mouth. Maybe getting that over with was better anyway.

You were about to mutter an apology and leave, when Kurogane had tugged you close to his body and pressed his lips against yours. Your arms found their way around his neck, and you pulled him even closer. Ah, love.

You pulled away from his body for a moment, one arm still around his neck, and the other arm... the other hand, actually, taking off his red mask and flinging it down into the courtyard. He wouldn't be needing that mask for most of tonight.

And then the two of you resumed your business.

Down at one of the entrances to the courtyard to the throne room, Princess Tomoyo was about to stroll outside to see what Kurogane was up to. Just as she took a step out of the room, a familiar red mask landed in front of her, twirling around on one edge for a moment before falling down flat.

After a minute of careful thinking, and trying not to jump to conclusions, with no sign of a dead body or the clanging noise of swords as well as death threats, the Princess finally deduced what was up, since one of her ladies-in-waiting, who was Kurogane's very cared-for childhood friend, had gone missing just a while before.

"Oh my," she whispered, a knowing smile on her face.

She had stepped out only enough to see you two, hopelessly tangled in one another, and she'd hurried back inside.

You two certainly were a vision in the moonlight.