=== Ivy & Kagetsu ===
--- C ---


[Kagetsu]
...
[Kagetsu]
Yes, I see it! Princess Ivy, dinner tonight shall
be...bum-bum-ba-BA! Vegetable stir-fry!
[Ivy]
I see.
[Kagetsu]
Your response is very underwhelming. Do you
dislike stir-fry?
[Ivy]
I don't have strong feelings about the menu.
[Kagetsu]
Then what does it mean when your face wears
this dubious look?
[Ivy]
I am thinking.
[Ivy]
You have the ability to see the future.
[Ivy]
You never predict anything important, but your
predictions are correct every single time.
[Kagetsu]
Kind of you to notice!
[Ivy]
It was not a compliment. I don't understand
how you do it. I find it unsettling.
[Kagetsu]
I am unsettling? Why?!
[Ivy]
You are an unknown quantity. I dislike
unknown quantities.
[Kagetsu]
You dislike me, Princess Ivy? We each have our
tastes, I suppose, but...this makes me sad.
[Kagetsu]
Wait! Even if you do not like me, I like you
enough for both of us. So there is no problem!
[Ivy]
...
[Ivy]
Hahaha!
[Ivy]
You are a strange one, Kagetsu.
[Kagetsu]
Ah! There you are! There is your joy!
[Kagetsu]
To bring such joy to your face is at least some
compensation for your dislike.
--- B ---


[Kagetsu]
Ah! Princess Ivy! I was raised in Pale Sands.
[Ivy]
OK... Why are you telling me this?
[Kagetsu]
You said you dislike unknown quantities.
[Kagetsu]
So, I am going to tell you everything about
myself. Then I will be known.
[Ivy]
Not the worst idea, I'll grant you.
[Kagetsu]
Once you come to know me, we will no longer
be princess and retainer, but friend and friend!
[Kagetsu]
It is worth trying, at least.
[Ivy]
Uh...haha...
[Kagetsu]
What else can I tell you? I have two siblings,
brother and sister. Both younger. Very cute.
[Kagetsu]
My father has great swordsmanship. My mother
has strange powers, which perhaps came to me.
[Kagetsu]
I care very much for my family, but I have also
long dreamed to see the world at large.
[Kagetsu]
That is why I explained to them in writing my
decision to leave. And I am on this journey now.
[Ivy]
...
[Kagetsu]
Oh no! Have I done something wrong?
[Kagetsu]
How foolish of me! I should not have presumed
you would wish to hear my entire life story.
[Kagetsu]
Please forgive me, Princess Ivy. I should have
noticed sooner it was not what you wanted.
[Ivy]
No, that's not it. On the contrary, I am actually...
rather pleased.
[Ivy]
I had no idea that becoming friends with me
was so important to you.
[Ivy]
I'm flattered. Thank you.
[Kagetsu]
Ah, you are too kind!
[Ivy]
I don't dislike you, Kagetsu.
[Ivy]
I do dislike unknowns. They make me wary.
But that doesn't mean I dislike you as a person.
[Ivy]
And after today, I think it's safe to say my
impression of you has improved.
[Kagetsu]
Wonderful! So, we may become friends soon?
[Ivy]
Not the worst idea.
--- A ---


[Kagetsu]
Our time has come, Princess Ivy!
[Kagetsu]
Let us draw anchor, hoist our mainsail, and set
this boat of friendship on its maiden voyage!
[Ivy]
...
[Kagetsu]
Hmm... It appears we are stuck in port.
[Kagetsu]
Perhaps I was mistaken, and it is not yet time.
[Ivy]
That's not it, Kagetsu.
[Kagetsu]
Oh?
[Ivy]
The truth is...I don't have many friends.
[Ivy]
When I was growing up, adults were always
conniving and scheming.
[Ivy]
I grew to learn that was how the world worked.
[Ivy]
As a result...it was quite a long time before I
met anyone I could trust enough to call a friend.
[Kagetsu]
As crown princess, you must have been limited
in your contacts.
[Kagetsu]
I imagine it was cold and harsh to be raised
in this type of environment.
[Ivy]
Yes.
[Ivy]
That's why I found you so disconcerting at first.
[Ivy]
When someone is friendly toward me right
away, it's my instinct to be suspicious.
[Ivy]
But you've never tried to take advantage of me.
You don't seem to have any ulterior motives.
[Kagetsu]
Hahaha! Of course not! I am much too simple
for schemes.
[Ivy]
Until recently, I couldn't have hoped to
understand your...purity.
[Ivy]
That's why you felt like an unknown. You could
not be what you seemed, so...what were you?
[Ivy]
Now I've realized you're exactly as you appear.
That's your charm, in fact.
[Kagetsu]
Oh! Such kind words.
[Ivy]
So, Kagetsu... That's why...
[Ivy]
I would like us to be...friends.
[Kagetsu]
Are you certain? Wonderful, wonderful!
Yes, Princess Ivy! Of course!
[Kagetsu]
Let us be friends until time itself comes to
its end!
[Ivy]
Hm-hm! Yes, let's.
--- S ---