Disclaimer: This is here simply for the purpose of not getting me sued. I don't own SDK, or Kyo sobs or any other character to arrive in this story. This is simply for entertainment during my long, uneventful summer. Please R&R!

Oh, the first part IS A FLASHBACK INTO THE SERIES! This first chapter deals a lot in the very end of the last episode, but I have some original parts, too. The next chapter will be purely from my imagination.

Honoring Vows

Chapter 1

I'm sorry I don't show you
And if I find that you ain't by me
I'm afraid no one will know the things you see.

From the song "Just the Way You Are" by the Goo Goo Dolls

"Would you truly be able to love the winner, Yuya?"

"Yes! If I lost Kyo, the pain would be just as bad had I lost Kyoshiro, Migeira! …But I know we-the winner and I - can overcome that loss… together."

…

"Medicine!" Yuya called out, already winded. Shehad half a mind to throw down the medicine box –how it gave her back pains!- and leave it up to him to find her, not the other way around.

Almost twenty minutes had gone by, and still no sign of him. Yuya was used to his abrupt wonder-off-in-any-given-direction, but he had never strayed far.

Yuya came to a place where the heavily wooded side of the road thinned and tapered, allowing the sight of a rushing river. A dark figure seemed to loom beside the water, looking lost in thought.

A smile broke across Yuya's face. "There you are!" she yelled, breaking into a run. The weight on her back was all but forgotten. "I've been looking all over for you, and you're lazing by the river!"

He turned, slowly, and smiled. The sight always caught her breath. The smiles were too rare to not treasure. "Yuya."

After so many years, here she was with the bounty she had once planned on turning in: Kyoshiro Mibu. He had changed since the first time she had met him. The carefree medicine peddler was gone, leaving a mellow, ex-samurai in its place. He was calm, self-possessed, exactly as he had been before Seikigahara's meteor had hit.

Kyoshiro took the medicine box off of her back for her, saying in a calm voice laced with sleepy boredom, "Did we sell anything?"

"We didn't sell anything!" Yuya teased, casting him a playful smile. "I sold sleeping aids while you stared at the river." Yuya yawned, sitting down on a rock and stretching. "Sometimes I wonder what Kyo would think, seeing me walking around carrying medicine supplies."

Only when Kyoshiro didn't answer did Yuya realize her mistake. Kyo. She had never mentioned the other man in his presence, not thinking it the wisest thing to do. Now she knew it wasn't.

Kyoshiro's expression of lazy contentedness had slipped into something harder, a bit colder. His baby blue eyes seemed distant, dreamy almost, only there was only hatred and something close to pain in them.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" Yuya began, worried that Kyoshiro would fall back into the indifferent samurai she knew he once was.

"It doesn't matter," he interrupted as he began to walk further downstream. His voice was gruff as he continued over his shoulder, "It's not as if I didn't know that you thought about him."

With any other person, Yuya would have run to comfort them. Maybe even point out that it was a simple slip-up that meant nothing. The only problem was that Kyoshiro wasn't any other person, and the slip-up did mean something.

…

"Medicine!"

At the sound of Yuya's voice, Benitora hastened out of his battle armor, yelling out commands and cursing himself and Yukimura, and the entire war.

…

"Medicine!"

Yukimura heard the voice, as well, just as he and the entire Sanada clan were riding to storm Beitora's castle. He called the entire regiment to a halt, glancing over his shoulder to Sasuke and Saizo.

Obviously, the two were just as alarmed as he was.

"Was that-" Sasuke began, amber eyes confused.

"Lady Yuya?" Saizo finished, looking just as befuddled. Had Yukimura not also been as anxious as they were, he would have laughed at how odd his companions looked.

Yukimura heard the confusion of the regiment, wanting to know why they had been called to a halt with victory just around the corner. The voices rose when a lone figure on horseback came from within the fortress, galloping toward the group.

Yukimura rode up to meet the rider, whom was none other than Tokugawa Hidetada. Benitora.

"It's been a while," Yukimura said, voice as light and cheerful as he could make it.

"Did you hear it, Yukimura?" Benitora began, getting straight to the reason he had come, "Did you hear her, too, or is this battle going to my head?"

Yukimura dropped his smile and contemplated Benitora with hard, sapphire eyes. The ruler had gained many worry-lines but had somehow maintained his air of boyish charm. "I heard her, as well, old friend," he finally alleged with a sigh.

Benitora's gaze swept over the Sanada warriors, eyes resting on Sasuke and Saizo. "I… I think this is a sign, Yukimura. Maybe you don't believe in them, but I do. I am not going to fight you; not today, not like this. Now while Miss Yuya's voice is ringing in the air."

Yukimura stared at Benitora's unsmiling face, the blatant adoration for Miss Yuya laced through his words.

Yukimura chuckled softly, running a hand through his black hair. "That same thought crossed my own mind, in all truthfulness." He turned his horse to the Sanada and, after a brief hesitation, called, "FALL BACK!"

Yukimura looked over to his two faithful servants, whom he thought more of as friends, and ordered, "Sasuke, Saizo, I want you two to tell the others that they are not permitted to leave the encampment for any reason, understand? When you are finished with that, return here. I think we will be visiting an old friend."

"But Yukimura, the men won't under-" Sasuke began, only to be cut off by Saizo.

"We obey Lord Yukimua's orders, Sasuke. Come."

The boy nodded and kicked his horse's flanks hard, turning it toward the retreating Sanada warriors. Saizo followed suit.

Yukimura watched the two leave with undiluted respect before turning his gaze back to Benitora. "Well then, shall we go find Miss Yuya?"

Author's Note:

First off, this is my first Samurai Deeper Kyo fanfiction, but I hope it meets the other authors' standards! I adore Kyo, both the series and the character. Also, I hope I don't stray into the out-of-character that I try to always avoid in any fanfic. If I do, let me know. Criticism is welcome, but please no FLAMES. My poor innocent heart can't take the abuse, lol.

Leave reviews and I might think about updating soon! ;)

Love love,

Eternity