Kagetora is a handsome young ninja whose sole focus in life is to protect Princess Beni (the Red Princess) as her bodyguard. But both their lives are upended when they fall into a lake, and Kagetora finds himself timewarped into a future where he meets what he believes to be his princess, but who is in actuality her granddaughter, Beni Fujiwara, who bears an uncanny resemblance to her. He arrives in the nick of time, and rescues her from an attempted suicide, at the beginning of Shoku Conami's Shinobi Life. Kagetora becomes accepted as Beni's new bodyguard. Apparently as the only child of a wealthy man, she is frequently subjected to being kidnapped, and is in great need of one. Beni realizes that Kagetora has her confused with her grandmother even as, to her amazement, she realizes that he is from another time. But she is also falling in love with him, and cannot bear to tell him the truth – that she is not Beni-hime, but simply Beni Fujiwara. All of her previous bodyguards have failed her, but Kagetora is implacable in his duty, and Beni is appalled to learn that the multiple kidnappings have been done at the instigation of her cold father, as a series of tests. In order to keep his protection of her from standing out like a sore thumb in her daily life, Beni has Kagetora enroll at her school, where Beni is annoyed by the attentions of fellow student Iwatsuru Rihito. An accidental trip back in time for Beni and Kagetora reveals the truth to the latter regarding his princess, and he feels as if he has no further purpose in life, feelings that are exacerbated by his "friend" and fellow ninja Hitaki. They return to the present, with Beni determined to protect Kagetora, and to win his love. But the unthinkable happens when they discover that Hitaki has timeslipped as well, becoming a guest of Rihito, and is bent on killing Kagetora for having shirked his duties as a ninja. Just when she thinks that things are going well with her and Kagetora, to her dismay her father informs her that he has accepted Rihito as her intended husband! As if that isn't bad enough, Hitaki kidnaps Kagetora!
Highlights
As Volume 3 of Shinobi Life begins, Hitaki is trying to force Kagetora to admit that he sees Beni-sama as a substitute for the princess he loved in the other time, which Kagetora refuses to do. Beni goes to Rihito, and in order to rescue Kagetora reveals the truth of his origins to her fiance. While she is there she meets his stumbling alcoholic mother, and we discover that Rihito too is merely a pawn in the same game which traps Beni-sama, their parents regarding them simply as disposable pieces to be played with at will for their own advantage. In order to save Kagetora, Beni makes a deal with Rihito – she promises to be his alone, in exchange for his life. She saves him and is able to take him to the hospital where he is healed, and life goes on. But nothing is the same. Rihito goes out of his way to set his stamp of ownership on Beni, and both she and Kagetora grow more and more miserable. When he learns what she has done for him, Kagetora comes undone, for in his eyes to be protected by the one he is supposed to protect is emasculating. Beni is desperate to become the princess he loves, but as herself, not as Beni-hime, biting her tongue at what she sees as slips of the lip on his part, even though it is killing her inside – to the point where she skips school rather than have him see how much she has cried over him. We also learn Rihito's father's motivation for the engagement of his son with Beni – a reason which includes Beni's late mother. Beni hides from everyone in the storehouse she used to play in as a child – despite stern admonitions from her father to stay away from it from now on – figuring that while he is gone, he won't find out. Rihito helps Kagetora search for the missing Beni – he finds her first, and kisses her, but when Kagetora would protest, Beni will not allow it, as Rihito is her fiance. Beni's father discovers what she has done, against his direct orders, and locks her up – she escapes but only into more trouble – and once again it is Kagetora to the rescue, precipitating a new closeness between them, while at the same time Rihito is confessing to Hitaki that he is actually in love with Beni!
Overall
Each volume of Shinobi Life builds upon the one before, as not only the romantic tension heightens, but the concern grows over whether there can or will be a future for Beni-shima and Kagetora? Or will those around them prevent them from having a happily ever after? Will Rihita's newly professed love for Beni strengthen him, or will he knuckle under yet again to his father's demands? Or perhaps he will be more determined to remove Kagetora from her life, with the aid of Hitaki? We discover more and more about the characters as we go, as the strands of the plot are tightly woven around them, and I defy anyone not to root for these two to end up together – I know that I do! Nothing is a foregone conclusion, as Fate can be a fickle thing, especially when there are those who conspire against you. The artwork is pleasing to the eye, and the story is one that is sure to hold your attention. I am certainly looking forward to the next installment!
Comicsonline gives Shinobi Life Volume 3 4 out of 5 attentive bodyguards!
