~niko writing~

➵ Stolen Cores ➸ a cross-over fic

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 17:30:28 -0700

origin: [x] Basis of Characters
Inspired by Tsubasa Chronicle. Sayuri is my OC from an RP I did a long time ago.

This is just a starter for an idea of a story I’ve wanted to do. While I did have a bit of struggle with who was going to be the main characters, I figured it out and decided to bring my own OC into the story. Please read at your own discretion for this will involve a lot of different characters and probably bull-crap. Be it as it may, it’s the first chapter so a lot of the story is and will be choppy until I get the hang of things of how and where this story is going to go. Characters included in this story will or may be a little OOC but I shall try my best to keep them IC as much as possible. Let me know what you all think and I shall do my best. Let’s see how many fandoms I can include, hm?

Chapter 1: A Sort of Beginning

The motorcycle shifted in and out of the streets of Gaia, on his way toward a location that his partner had messaged to him. His blonde spiked hair flowed with the wind, his goggles down to avoid getting anything caught in his eyes that would possibly hinder him from driving. The location was something that Tifa Lockhart had said to be utter importance, saying that there was a disturbance of magic and with the Lifestream. Even from where the motorcyclist was currently at, he could see the strange flow of Lifestream going down toward a certain part of the broken down city.

His phone rang again and he muttered something that was rather incoherent before letting the phone go to voicemail. He could already hear Tifa’s voice telling him to come home soon; Denzel and Marlene miss him.

That was when he was caught off-guard by a girl with red hair came flying toward him, wielding what he assumed to be a staff. Pulling Fenrir to a sudden halt, he watched in stunned silence as she descended, landing on her feet before she shouted something in a language he could not understand. But a familiar stream of instant fireballs appeared, aimed at these strange demonic like creatures that he knew did not belong at all in Gaia. Withdrawing his own weapon, the Buster Sword, he jumped up through the air to assist the stranger before she shouted, “Away!” Her body shifted into a position that looked like she was about to swing her staff and when she did so, for a moment… nothing happened.

Then a sudden boom echoed through the plains, one that could be heard from where Tifa stood at home.

Cloud Strife was instantly blasted backward into a nearby rock face. With a grunt, he looked up toward where he had seen the girl moments ago to see her hovering before she gently floated on over toward where he was. She appeared young, perhaps as young as Yuffie, and the last time he had seen someone with those colored eyes was Vincent, but something about her was completely different from his companion. She was small, wearing only a crimson short red dress that rested on her mid-thighs with a black jacket on top. She wore a matching black leather boots with a slight heel. Part of him wondered how it was possible for her to be hovering without the use of materia…

She appeared apologetic and moved forward to gently touch him. He flinched at the contact and felt his body warm before he glanced down, noticing his body glowing a strange light blue. They descended to the ground, landing softly before his expressions seemed to got a hold of him before he could even ask her anything.

“I’m Sayuri,” she introduced herself. “And I’m here to warn and perhaps even help, your world from an enemy.”

He blinked in lack of understanding and confusion. “… I’m sorry, but… warn… us how?”

She seemed warm though, and Cloud could feel it in every fiber of his being. Something about her seemed powerful, strong, but also… weak. Where did she come from?

“Of a man who is coming to your world to steal your world’s lifeforce and end it in the process.”

“The lifestream?” Cloud inquired uncertainly.

She glanced up and then looked back toward him. Now that she was standing before him, he noted that she was considerably short, but with extremely long hair that ended around her thighs. And the staff that he had seen moments ago, was now gone. She shook her head.

“Yes and no,” she answered quietly. “The thing that makes up what your world is. If it is this… ‘Lifestream’ that runs through your world, then yes, they will come after it. They will want to destroy this world…” she paused, her expression solemn, “and that’s not including this planet that we are on… but everything in it.”

Curse Divide - Chapter 19 - Tryst's and Seryel's Stolen Moment

Wed, 02 May 2012 12:01:10 -0700

Her:
Seryel was searching for the herbs she needed. A basket was slung over one arm. She was dressed simply, in a brown peasant dress that fitted her small form. The dappled light that shone through the canopy gave her a soft, gentle glow. So intent in her search, she was certain she had wandered a little too deep into the forest. But she wasn’t worried in the least. Tryst would find her, wherever she went.

It was their day off today, from the inn. Just for the two of them to spend quality time. She felt a little guilty that she was looking for herbs instead of giving Tryst his due attention. But that would mean spending hours blushing like no tomorrow. She was embarrassed with how sensitive her skin was to his touch and to his voice.

Something moving towards her caught her attention. She looked up and was surprised to see a disheveled man, with a girl in his arms. “Can… I help you?” she asked.

“Yes,” there was desperation in his voice and in his eyes. “She needs help. Please.”

Her eyes assessed the girl’s condition swiftly and she nodded her head. “Alright, just come with me. I have to look for my husband.” She had never gotten used to that term….

The stranger nodded meekly and trailed behind her like a pup, holding the unconscious girl like a precious bundle. She abandoned her search for the herbs and turned around to look for Tryst.

————————————

Me:

Tryst had hoped that their day off would lead to something more romantic, more heated. But every time he had made advancement towards her, she had run away. He wasn’t going to force her, and even if he clearly wanted more, she had run away. He sighed as he decided that she had enough space to herself. Mildly, he knew that she had probably gone to search for herbs as she had taken her basket with her. He sighed again.

Despite the fact that they have only gotten there only once, on their wedding night, Seryel has been running since… or so he thought… He wasn’t entirely sure.

His blonde hair blew gently in the wind as he heard something crash nearby. He frowned. What the hell was that? he thought. His emerald-green eyes glinted as he got up and began to walk in the direction he had seen Seryel walk in. A few or so minutes later, he called out Seryel’s name.

Then he found himself with her concentrated face that he clearly recognized as her “healer” face and a man that was roughly his height, give or take a few inches. Then again, he didn’t care as his eyes found itself on a flushed face of a small female with what appears to be a broken leg. She was clearly fighting as her breaths came out heated and ragged and her eye-brows were furrowed as the discomfort of the fever reigned supreme. His usual mask of a smiling man faltered but it remained there, albeit a bit faded.

“What happened to you two?” he asked firmly, his eyes flickering to what might appear to be an analytical gaze. The man appeared to be disheveled and extremely worried over the small female that appeared fragile, almost like Seryel. Before the man could answer, Tryst turned to his wife and the man as he spoke. “We’ll go back to the inn; it’ll be easier to treat her there.”

———

Roughly, when they got back to the inn, the desk clerk looked at Tryst with surprise before he paled at the female that the man behind Tryst was holding like a precious jewel. He stuttered as he spoke, “S-Sir, I-I thought you w-were going to be o-out the entire day?”

“Move aside,” Tryst said briskly as he opened drawer to pull out a key and then gestured for the man and his wife to follow up. He stuck the key into the door and opened the door, a small room with a single full-size bed big enough for two with a bare desk nearby with a chair and a small sitting area in front of the bed with two armchairs and a small coffee table.

“Seryel, I’m going to mind the desk and see if that man didn’t screw things up while we were gone,” he said quickly, noticing the red-haired female’s movements as if she were in a nightmare. He pulled out of his bag a pouch that clinked together musically. “Here are your herbs.” He gave her the pouch and then closed the door behind him.

——-

Sayuri couldn’t focus, but she kept running. Something was chasing her and it was scared her. She screamed but nothing came out of her throat. Tears drenched her face as she continued to run until her lungs suffocated her, forbidding her from going any further.

Outside, she only muttered a name in her nightmares, “Shura, help me…”

————————————

Her:

When he came, a mild twinge of guilt rose again. But her healer rationale told her that it wasn’t time to ponder about things like that. She had a patient to look after. She smiled faintly and shook his head when he approached the desk clerk with that threatening air. He really should be more pleasant to their employees. Though… it could have been her fault, couldn’t it? Men were known to be a little agitated if… their women ignored them… or evade them.

She blushed and gave the desk clerk an apologetic smile as she passed. The stranger followed her in, appearing a little relieved, but tensed.

When she was about to turn and retrieve her medical supplies, Tryst surprised her with a pouch of herbs. By their faint fragrance, she could tell that they were what she had been looking for. But before she could thank him, he had already turned to leave. It left her a little saddened. Maybe she should stop avoiding him….

The unconscious girl’s distressed words dragged her back to the task at hand. The stranger laid her down so tenderly, so gently upon the bed that she had to smile. She approached them and laid a hand on his arm. “I will take care of her. You may take a seat at the table while I work.”

———

Shura had to lie about falling off a stone ledge when the man asked. He didn’t care much at the moment, so long as Sayuri was looked after. Then perhaps he could organize his thoughts and think of a proper story to cover them if the couple asked too much.

He was about to obey the girl- she seemed to know what she was doing- and take a seat at the table when Sayuri called out his name. He rushed over in an instant and took her hand. “I’m here,” he told her soothingly. “You are safe. I’ve brought you a healer.” He was feeling helpless- how many times had it been? He didn’t care. He wasn’t going to sit at the table. He would just sit at the top of her bed, at the edge and hold her hot hand.

————

Seryel understood the man’s actions, so she didn’t exert her healer’s authority on him. She could still examine and give the girl proper medical attention with him there. She made a thorough check on the girl, before attending to her injured legs. They made her frown. She must have fallen from a great height and there were a few lacerations that hinted she might have fallen down a tree.

Once the girl’s leg was properly bandaged, Seryel left the room to brew the girl’s medication to help with her fever. She worked swiftly and it only took an hour to get the warm concoction done. When she reentered the room, the stranger simply took the bowl from her and assured her that he would feed the girl instead. She smiled gratefully and nodded, leaving them to themselves.

Now… this was her turn to be brave. Breathing in a deep breath, she marched towards the desk, where Tryst was. “Tryst… it’s our day off. Can’t you… just leave it to Bob?” Then she dropped her gaze when she felt a blush coming up her cheeks. “I’m sorry… if I- I was carried away with the herbs.”

—————————————

Me:

“I’m here,” he told her soothingly. “You are safe. I’ve brought you a healer.”

Sayuri heard something. As her eyes opened slowly, she saw Shura’s face hovering near hers. She had woken up from her nightmare by something that touched her hand. It was so much cooler than her own and she flinched as she felt something touch her legs when she realized she was being treated. Flickers of blue sparks came out but disappeared. After she felt the pain subside a little, she noticed vaguely that she had left and slowly moved her eyes towards Shura.

“Shura…” she only murmured, her voice sounding relieved as she gave… his hand a squeeze. She moved again, however, to try to find something to cool her hot body. Everything she touched soon quickly became too hot for her to find something cool. For some reason, only Shura’s hand felt cool and partially delusional with a fever, she lifted his hand to her face, closing her eyes with relief as she relaxed considerably. “It feels so cool…” Then she fell asleep, having been relieved by the fact that he was beside her holding her hand, and that her fever pulled her back into their clutches of sleep.

She remembered vaguely being fed something that tasted almost bitter that it was good. Her tense expression relaxed again as she felt something assure her that she was not alone nor in any danger… for now anyway.

As her appearance, her face relaxed into that of a peaceful looking expression as she slumbered, despite the flushed face.

——-

After Tryst had left the room, what the man told him about falling off a stone ledge seemed reasonable… but the red-haired girl was too different to be from around here. Her clothes seemed foreign and even her hair was too much of a different color from the dark or fair haired people of Tenarin. He sat at the desk, surprised that there was nothing different aside from the keys that the desk clerk probably had given out to several people. Checking the money, it was nice to see the money there was still there. He wondered why Bob had been so anxious when he suddenly came in… ah, perhaps it was his foul mood from Seryel.

At the thought, he snapped the pencil he was holding and glanced down and sighed. However, he looked up when he heard someone speak.

“Tryst… it’s our day off. Can’t you… just leave it to Bob?” Then she dropped her gaze when she felt a blush coming up her cheeks. “I’m sorry… if I- I was carried away with the herbs.”

Realizing what she meant, he nodded with a gentle smile and nodded to Bob, who had the situation explained. Tryst led her into their room with thick walls, he was sure of it. He had her stand by the table in their room and asked softly, “Are you sure?” He didn’t want her to run away again to have his hopes crushed.

He leaned in to her, lowering himself as he had his arms behind her, resting on the table. His face was even with hers as he asked.

———————————————-

Her:

Her heart was already thrumming like the wings of a humming bird when he led her to their room. It wasn’t from fear, but rather the anticipation of his touch. She had seen him snap a pencil earlier… did he want her that much? The thought caused a fuzzy shiver to run down her spine and she flushed. Or was he angry that she wasn’t… willing? They were married… it should be natural, shouldn’t it? Honestly, she had wanted him more ever since the extraordinary taste of pleasure during their wedding night. There was pain at first, but he’d been gentle and she knew it would hurt anyway no matter how much care he took. After that, the pleasure took away all sense and control from her. She felt a little ashamed with her unrestrained display of desire and he… seemed so practiced. And that… had been one reason why she tried to avoid things from getting too steamy. Every part of her imperfection was laid before him. She was afraid that if he’d seen too much of it, he’d get tired of her.

Little thrills raced through her when he backed her against the desk. The base of her spine touched the edge a little uncomfortably and she nearly jumped from the unexpected contact. Every small touch to her suddenly sensitive skin felt magnified. He was standing so close, that she had to tilt her head back to look up at him. His easy display of dominance made her heart race even faster. She found it strangely attractive. It was a wonder her feet didn’t give out under her yet. “No… but I love you,” she breathed, timid but no less loving when she stared into his green eyes. “If you give me any more chances to think… I might change my mind.”

She closed the distance between them almost impulsively and perhaps a little forcefully. She didn’t want to think. Seryel squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her lips to his, her hands slipping past his cheeks to tangle in his hair. Her breaths were already short when he came close, it didn’t help much when her heart started to pound harder in her ears.

———————————————-

Me:

“No… but I love you,” she breathed, timid but no less loving when she stared into his green eyes. “If you give me any more chances to think… I might change my mind.”

He only smiled that smile that he knew that Seryel loved. After all, he loved her more than anything in the world and would do anything for her. Before he could say anything to that comment, her timid kiss as she pressed her lips to his own, ignited the fire inside him that he had been keeping carefully at bay.

Tryst’s hands moved from the table to her back as he pulled her up onto the table to kiss her back, parting her lips to kiss her deeper. When he knew that she had lost all her senses from being kissed senseless by him, he moved his mouth away from her lips to her jaw line to her neck, savoring her skin. One of his hands had decided to move from her back to her leg. He pulled up her dress until her skin was bared to him as his fingers gently went along her thigh to her fires. His lips still lingered over her neck before again claiming her lips again from making any sounds.

When he pulled away for a moment, he smiled as he said in a rather rough voice, “And I love you too, Sery. More than anything.”

———————————————-

Her:

She let herself drown, tasting his sweetness on her tongue, allowing him entrance with only the barest resistance. Despite her nature, she liked a sort of solidness to exist in their kiss, to feel her own lips moving against his hot ones, to know that she was contributing. She hadn’t liked how easily he could melt her. Couldn’t she do at least the same to him? So in her foggy frustration, she kissed him more arduously, nipping on his lip and nursing the indent before delving for more. She was already lost.

A muffled squeak came from her when he lifted her onto the table. It sent a crashing wave of molten lava through her system. Within the split second of a pause, however, he deepened the kiss, taking her by surprise. A small mewl escaped her throat. His hips were between her legs and instinctively, without thought, she shifted closer, spine curling back to brush her body against his. Just the briefest touch suddenly gave her a rush of strength she had lost. Her legs latched on to his hips and pressed them intimately close. The lazy pool of lava beneath her navel throbbed from the contact. She gasped and her lungs dragged for air when his lips left hers.

The drag of oxygen brought back the tiniest shred of clarity in her feverish mind. His lips were so hot, trailing and pressing over the sensitive areas of her jaw and neck. She had to bite her lip to stifle a moan, but barely succeeded. The sound still left her throat in a mewling. Why was he so much in control than she was?

She felt his branding touch drift to her thigh and felt the fabric of her dress brush over her skin. It took all her concentration to keep her hips still. Unfortunately, he didn’t stop there. She shuddered, and he stole away her gasp in another searing kiss. Her hips shifted in a small circle into him.

When he pulled away for a moment, he smiled as he said in a rather rough voice, “And I love you too, Sery. More than anything.”

Her breath sounded so heavy and hastened when they parted. His words warmed her heart and took away all her doubts for the moment of passion. She struggled, trying to release her grip on his hair. Her hands trembled slightly when she dropped them to his shoulders. She leaned down and touched her lips hesitantly on the pulse at his neck. When she was certain it wouldn’t turn him away, she feathered more kisses there. Something drove her to nurse it, so she covered the beating pulse with her mouth and sucked it gently. She remembered vaguely, it was what he had used to make her forget everything.

———————————————-

Me:

Tryst resisted groaning when Seryel’s lips touched his neck. But couldn’t help it when she began to leave butterfly kisses on his neck and he pulled her close. And again when she began to suck on his neck, softly though. He lost his mind as he became hungry for her lips again to be on his mouth.

In a heated and ragged voice, he muttered only her name, “Seryel…” Before kissing her roughly, hungry for her kisses as he was almost driven insane by the kisses left on his neck by her. When he was sure that she had lost her mind, he drifted down to her neck and also suckled softly on her neck, leaving a small mark in its place as his lips drifted down. He wanted her to be all his, although he clearly knew and remembered that she was already his. His girlfriend, his bride, his wife, and his beloved. He began to kiss down towards her chest…

Red Thread of Fate Oneshot - Hope Estheim Fanfic - Part 3

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 10:09:00 -0700

Summary: Connected by a single red thread of fate, what will happen to a girl who meets a strange man with silver hair and light blue-green eyes who seems to genuinely care for her well-being?

Author’s Note:
Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3… Okay, well, experiment 3, begin! Here’s another different point of view. And it’s the ending! I hope it’s okay. >: I’ve thought long and hard on her name, and wasn’t sure what her name ought to be still. Hopefully it’ll stick. The story may seem rushed, but it’s because it’s the end. I didn’t want to make it a drawn out fic, and only would make it so if it is to become a full length story. But until then, yep! ‘Tis the end!

Disclaimer:
Final Fantasy XIII/FFXIII-2 and all related characters and elements are the property, copyright and trademark of Square Enix and no ownership or claim on said property, copyright or trademark is made or implied by their use in the work(s) of fan fiction presented here. This fan fiction constitutes a personal comment on the aforesaid properties pursuant to doctrines of fair use and fair comment. This fan fiction is non-commercial, not for sale or profit, and may not be sold or reproduced for commercial purposes.

View Point 3

Since she found out that Hope was looking for a worker, Wondering slightly if she ought to be concerned, she decided not to, having since that it was time for her to leave. She had all of her things packed and was ready to go. She was only supposed to be here temporary and now the time was up.

In the end, she never did get the opportunity to meet this man to ask him the questions that she needed to. In spite of being able to help with the man’s research, she never once got to meet him. For a moment, part of her wondered if the man she had met on the balcony was him. She immediately dismissed the thought as impossible and decided to move on.

With her belongings packed and everything ready to go, all she had to do now was wait for morning to come so she could leave. With only her sleep wear, tomorrow’s clothes, and her basic essentials, she found that the room she stayed in seemed relatively empty. As she laid down to sleep, she found that sleep could not come to her. Her eyes narrowed slightly at the idea of seeing the stranger again, but decided that perhaps it was a good way of saying good bye, once and for all. And maybe perhaps he’ll get to hear her name, if she felt like sharing it. Truthfully, she wanted to avoid as much contact as possible with people. Mostly because she knew her time here was limited and that it’d be almost sad if she left any new friends behind.

Groaning as she realized that she could not sleep and that she now wanted to walk or at least be outdoors, she huffed as she got out of bed, pulling on a robe before going out.

To her surprise, the stranger was not there.

Curious and now disappointed without really meaning to, she blankly went to make her tea and the tea he always made for himself. Mildly, she wondered how she knew what his tea flavor was.

She set the cup of tea down and sat in her seat taking sips of her own tea. She stared blankly at his unoccupied spot.

Where was he? Did something happen? Or is he busy with work at the moment? Did he stop coming because she did?

No, that was impossible. She’s only been here a week and there was no way that he would stop coming to a spot where he probably has been here for a long time. After all, it seemed like he worked here.

After her tea was almost empty, she heard movement toward where the doors were. She glanced up and froze, her heart stopping in throat.

He was walking through them.

Hastily, she glanced away and continued to sip her now warm, almost cold tea. Since it was almost finished, she would leave as soon as he probably sat down. But, since she was so nervous, she didn’t hear the slight pause in his steps toward the table before sitting down before her.

Trying to be as not awkward as possible, she slowly looked up.

“Where were you?”

Ah, he spoke.

“Your tea got cold now, you know,” she answered, avoiding answering the question as she looked away.

“Where were you?” This time, his voice sounded firmer and more… something that she could not recognize. “Where did you go?”

“I’ve been busy,” she replied curtly, finishing off her tea and setting the cup down. “I’ve been working so that when I go back to my room, I pass out.”

“Ah, I see.” She glanced up to look at his expression and found that he was unreadable. He was hiding something from her… not that she cared.

After a small pause of silence, she decided it was time to head back to her room. It was later than she had expected and she had to be up early to catch the ride from the local transportation to get back home.

“Why won’t you give me your name?”

She stopped and looked to him and tilted her head slightly. He was looking very intently at her, with eyes of something that caused her to turn away. It was an honesty and earnest gaze that she could not find herself to look into. She felt almost ashamed of herself.

“It’s because I won’t be here for very long,” she replied softly.

“And why can’t you seem to look at me?” He sounded… almost irritated, or annoyed, or something. Just sounded… frustrated. “Why do you avoid-“

“I just am, all right?” She may seem ridiculous in saying that, but she knew far better than to have said that in the first place. Why does she avoid his gaze? Why does the idea of seeing him get her a bit excited? Why does his eyes always seem to make her… warm and fluttery?

She heard the sound of a chair scrapping back, and suddenly, he was in her view, turning her chair so that she had no choice but to face him. His hands were rested on both sides of her armrests, leaning forward toward her so that they were face to face, inches or so away from each other.

“Now, you can’t avoid looking at me.” The heat rose to her face and she hastily covered her eyes with her hands. “You’ve been avoiding me, I know it. I may not know your name or where you work while you’re here, but at least give me the right for you to look at me when I talk to you.”

Almost forcefully, he grabbed her wrists and pulled them away from her face. She watched him smile through an embarrassed gaze of her own. “See? Now I can see you.”

Her blush deepened and she squeezed her eyes shut. She heard him sigh, but before he could speak, she spoke up in a rather shaky voice, “Why do you care about what happens to me? About whether or not I go away? We’ve only shared a couple cups of tea or so together. We didn’t share anything personal enough that makes us friends; we didn’t talk about anything that would make one or the other care for another; and we didn’t even so much as say who we are to the other. Why?”

There was a long pause that caused her to open her eyes. He had loosened his grip and his hands loosely held her wrists. His eyes were cast downward as he seemed to have knelt before her before he looked at her with thought.

“It’s because I care… I just do,” he replied.

She felt her eyes burn as something inside of her clicked. He didn’t genuinely care for her after all, because he couldn’t give her a concise answer. “You just do? What’s the point then? Who am I? Do you even know if I’m a good person or a bad one? Do you even know who my family are and what little things I like? What I do in my free time? Who I am? No, you don’t. So don’t give me that crap about you caring about when I’m a complete stranger, and how you might know me just from the few days we’ve talked. You don’t. You don’t know me at-“

Her words were cut off when he had kissed her, shutting her up from any other words that could have been said. The kiss had been such a surprise, that her mind immediately blanked and that the only thing she could think about was that his lips were soft and that he was literally taking her breathe away.

She pulled her hands away from his wrists and held his face while his arms wrapped themselves around her form. He pulled from out of the seat and onto the ground with him, pulling her to him as their bodies molded together. His one hand held the back of her neck and the other her hip.

A small sound from nearby startled her and made her pull herself away from him, realizing what just happened. She looked at him with an expression that seemed hurt and betrayed. She stood up and held her hands to her mouth as tears formed in her eyes as she backed away, shaking her head as if saying something over and over again in her mind.

Without another word, she ran off before he could stop her.

——————

The next day finally came, and much to her relief and delight, the ride home was here. She left her room at the time needed, maybe earlier just so she could avoid the early hustle bustle. As she sat down in her seat and glanced out the window, she replayed the events of the evening before.

He kissed her.

Just remembering it sent heat to her face and her heart racing. Shaking her head, she glanced around and noted that not much other people was going to come on this transport. She figured as much. Where she was going, there wasn’t that much people there.

It drove by the library and she remembered the story she read about the red thread and wondered if it was true.

On one of the stops of the layovers, she found herself staring into a store that talked about all the mushie gushy stuff. Sighing, realizing that this was not her thing, was bothered by one of the young workers there.

“Hey, do you want to try to see if you have a red thread?” she asked.

“Um, no thanks,” she lied. She didn’t really want to know… she couldn’t really handle the idea of knowing that someone out there was for her. “I’ve got to be going so later.” Then she hurriedly rushed off.

——————

A few days have now passed since her departure of the Academy and of the city. She was home now, in an outskirts area of a town in Gran Pulse. Since creatures and monsters often still attacked, she sometimes went with the people to help them out to lessen the monster population. But usually, there wasn’t much to worry about. Then another few days passed and soon, it eventually became the point where she had forgotten about the stranger and the kiss that they shared.

The nightmares did continue to haunt her, but she managed to stave it off by usually working herself hard enough that she would be extremely exhausted by the time it was evening.

But one night, she had a dream that wasn’t a nightmare.

In it, she was standing in a very busy city street with tons and tons of people around her, crowding and moving at a rate that was available to them.

She heard the same sales girl that talked about the red thread and how they had something that could show if she had a red thread. The girl saw her and smiled, pointing somewhere. That was when she noticed she felt something on her pinky finger and lifted her hand to saw that it was tied to something going off in the same direction the sales girl pointed in. With curiosity, she followed the thread, not really sure if it was a good idea or not. Soon, the thread came to an end and was tied to someone she was familiar with.

It was the stranger.

Before she could utter words, he had leaned forward and kissed her, making her remember once again the kiss they shared.

She woke up moments later, breathing heavily. She wasn’t sure if it was a nightmare or a pleasant dream, but regardless, her heart still fluttered for him in a way that she could not understand still.

“That’s because you’re in love.”

It was the next morning and she had gone to help out one of the older neighbors who had lived nearby. “You’re in love and that’s why you dream about him.”

“But why does it appear that my thread seems to be connected to his?”

“Maybe it is connected to him, maybe it’s not. Regardless, you’re in love with a man and you wish that the red thread of fate has connected the two of you.”

“But I barely know him!”

“The time you spent together would not matter, for if it’s fate that wants you to be together, it shall be. You both were destined to love one another without really knowing why. It’s something that would be from the very depths of your soul.”

She glanced down at the little garden she was helping to build and sighed.

——————

Another few days pass before word spread through town of a visitor. The visitor was causing a lot of hustle and bustle. She heard that it was someone rather famous and that a lot of people knew of who he was. A celebrity of some sort? They rarely had those here, especially in a small town such as theirs.

Deciding that the storm will pass, she stayed at her home and only left it for when it was needed.

Eventually, when the sun was setting, did she hear a knock at the door. Setting down her cooking utensils and whatnot, she headed to the door and opened it.

It was him.

Not being able to say a word, she froze. Her heart and breathing seemed to have stopped, for this man was now standing before her, in her home. He came into the home, set down his things and sat down on the couch in the living room.

“Hey, wait a minute!”

He turned to face her. “Yes, and ah, right, thanks for letting me in.”

“How… how did you find me?”

He seemed to think a moment before answering, “I just did.”

For some reason, she just felt irritated. How did he find her when she was so sure she had kept herself hidden and away from him? She didn’t share any piece of personal information and she didn’t share anything with him that would be enable him to find her. How did he find her? And added to the fact that he didn’t answer bothered her even more. Just… how? HOW?

“You live in a really lovely home.”

The living room that he sat in was decorated with small trinkets of all kinds. From an old globe of a planet to wind chimes to home-made pots and ceramic art pieces decorated the shelves. And what’s more, there was books all over the living room, with one side of the room dedicated to the large screen that sat there, good for entertainment and for just watching tv. When not in use, there was a lovely view of the small town that she resided in.

The couch the stranger sat on was of dark leather, worn out to make it now very comfortable to sit in. In the middle was a dark mahagony wooden coffee table of sorts, with a glass on top of it, to give it a sleek appearance. Further down was the kitchen, and then even further still, was the dining room. But since she lived alone, those things weren’t needed and used, and the dining room became a storage room. The ceiling was black, matching the sleekness of some of the furniture that decorated the place.

“Thanks,” she said begrudgingly. “Answer me, how did you find me?”

“Why wouldn’t you tell me your name?”

She gritted her teeth and walked over to face him, standing in front of his view and making sure he looked at her. “How… Did… You… Find… Me?”

He sighed before standing up before her and said in a firm voice with an intense gaze that made her momentarily lose her ground. “I found your file and your transfer papers.”

She lost her nerve. That information had everything he would have needed to know about her. Like where she lived, and what she had been there for and how long. But wait a minute, how did he find access to the worker’s files?

He seemed to have seen the question appear on her face as he answered, “I don’t think you’ve realized who I am.”

Pieces began to click together until it smacked her in the face of the reality of what just happened. She gasped and began to step backwards, not really believing what was happening. How could this be? She was sure that he couldn’t be him! How could it! He was on a different side of the building of where she worked! She had his own quarters of where he slept after all! Why would he go all that way to have a cup of tea to ease his troubled mind?

“You’re… Hope Estheim?” she squeaked, the realization finally dawning on her.

He sighed and smiled, “Yes, I am.”

“But… but… but… I’ve been trying to get a meeting with you since I’ve transferred there! Why haven’t you once me-” She stopped herself by smacking her mouth shut with her hands. Why embarrass herself now? Why bother telling him? She had almost forgotten him and how he might have helped her and gotten rid of the feeling of his kiss…

She was lying to herself. No, she hadn’t once forgotten his kiss, nor what his body felt like against her. How could she? Why would she?

Her face flushed upon the memory.

She watched him smile as he moved closer to her. “So you were the one that kept asking for a meeting with me?” he asked before sighing. “Were you asking Alyssa for a meeting?”

She nodded slowly before another realization dawned on her. Ah, that would explain why Alyssa always freaking talked about this man, was because he was as handsome as the rumors went. And she had wanted to really keep him to herself, trying to make it so that she would monopolize his time as much as possible.

“You could have always just come down to where I worked to ask whatever-“

“No, I couldn’t.” He looked at her curiously, wondering what on earth she was talking about. “I couldn’t because…” She remembered the rumors of how hard at work Hope was, and how hard he was at trying to find his friends. He was given the city, after all, and he made the Academy what it was. There was no way that she really wanted to bother him with her dreams that seemed real enough that it could have actually happened.

“What did you need to know?”

She looked up, not noticing that she had looked away in shame for not being able to go see him herself. It had been so important to her the first day to find him and meet with the guy to talk about the dream she had. But does he need to know?

When she did not answer, Hope knelt down lower to her level and looked at her in the eyes. “Whatever it is, I’ll try and answer to the best of my ability.”

“Th-Then… is it true that…”

“It seems like you’ve been having nightmares.”

Her eyes looked to him with a sort of light bulb moment. “How did you know?”

“You’ve always seemed troubled when we first met, as if you had the weight of the world on your shoulders. It reminded me of myself when I was younger and the feelings I had toward someone. But thanks to what has happened, I can now move forward and work toward a bright future… What was your nightmares? What was the trouble that you’ve been having?”

She sighed before turning and pulling him toward the window, pointing outside where a small crowd of people were pointing up toward where her home was. “The trouble was that I’ve been having nightmares dying by someone’s hand. And it’s always in a different time… Each time, I always see you coming in to save me. And I’ve never met you before until… that night. I didn’t know you were Hope…”

“But if you didn’t recognize me, how did you know where and how to find me?”

“That’s… easy. Everyone knows of the work you do. The only reason why I knew it was you in my dream was because the person who was killing me in my dream was laughing at you, shouting your name at how powerless you were to save me. I didn’t even have the opportunity to see your face in my dream.”

“So you figured if you found me, the nightmares would stop.” Hope seemed to understand where she was coming from. “To see why I was important.”

“But you aren’t important to me…”

“Not yet.” She looked up in surprise from looking down again, a habit she realized that she was doing while she was around him.

“What do you mean?”

He sighed before he smiled, “Does that kiss not make you understand why?”

She blushed again, more heated than before as she looked down again at the floor. “Wh-Why? You don’t-“

He kissed her again, smothering whatever words she had to say. Again, she felt the softness of his lips and the taste of his tongue. It was a passionate kiss, that it left her breathless. She tried to pull away, “H-Hope-“

“Don’t breathe,” he murmured before kissing her again, pulling her close again. When she was really breathless, did he speak again, holding her face between his hands. “I do know you… in a way that’s very hard to explain. You’ve caught me from the moment you sat down and shared a cup of tea with me in the middle of the night. I may not know you, but I feel like we’ve been fated to meet, to meet each other and to never separate again. You have no idea the effect you give me when you aren’t with me.” He rested his forehead on her own, his tall stature towering over her as she had to lean her head back for him to do so. “You and I are tied together by the red thread.”

“How did you-!”

Hope chuckled, “I saw you at the library, but you never noticed me. You left before I could come over and say hello. I checked the book you looked at… and when I went to search for you, a girl told me of the red thread machine. It confirmed what I already knew: you and I are fated to be together.”

Tears began to form in her eyes as she could not believe her ears. He really did care about her, he really…

He kissed her again, in spite of her tears, her heart welling up with feelings that she had yet to understand. But it was all right, for they had all the time in the world to understand, aside from the time dedicated to his research and search for Lightning.

“I’m glad I’ve met you, Faith.”

Red Thread of Fate Oneshot - Hope Estheim Fanfic - Part 2

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 12:03:05 -0800

Summary (edit): Connected by a single red thread of fate, what will happen to a girl who meets a strange man with silver hair and light blue-green eyes who seems to genuinely care for her well-being?

Author’s Note:
Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3… Okay, well, experiment 2, begin! Here’s a different point of view. Let’s see how it goes? Do message me what you think, if you think I should stick to one point or another, etc. And um, the summary got changed because I’m not writing in the “perspective” of Hope. >_<

View Point 2

You groaned when you got up the next morning. The man you had talked to last night, left you a little more annoyed than you had expected. With a huge amount of effort, you forced yourself out of bed and prepared yourself for the day. And that meant you had to deal with…

“You know, you know!” Her annoying voice rang in your ear as you tried to eat your breakfast in peace.

“What?” you snapped, tempted to flick a piece of pork into her really annoying face.

“Sir Estheim was kind enough to let me help with this project we’ve been working on! I even got to hold him! Ah, he’s so wonderful,” Alyssa sang joyfully.

You wished you could strangle this girl and not get caught.

“Ah, he’s calling for me now, ta-ta for now!”

“Thank god!” you said to no one in particular, which gained a few looks from a couple of co-workers from nearby. Well, they weren’t co-workers, but more like temporary ones. After all, you were only going to be here for only a short while until you had the opportunity to meet Sir Hope Estheim. On a side note, you hoped you had the opportunity to meet this man so you can yell at him for making a girl like Alyssa hang on to every word he says. God, you would give him an earful or two for having that kind of girl as his assistant.

Later that evening, after a day of not finding or having the opportunity to meet the director regardless, for whatever reason, you decided to retire to your room. As you collapsed onto the bed, you made another mental note to just leave at the end of the week. Forget trying to meet him if it was only hassle this and hassle that.

Before you knew it, you fell asleep, just like that.

But you would not be at peace, and you woke a few hours later, shaken roughly awake by a nightmare that you don’t even remember. Shakily, you get up to the bathroom and run your hands under cold rushing water, trying to calm yourself.

This was the first time you’ve woken up this badly, and now, you no longer want to go back to bed. In slight frustration, you change and head back out to the balcony.

And lo and behold, the man was there yet again.

“Hello,” he greeted with a smile.

“Hi,” you managed to retort as you sat down before him. “What’s troubling you now?” You decided instead of worrying about your own worries, maybe it’ll help you relax a little bit if you decided to worry for the other person whom you have just met yesterday.

Might as well right?

He’s a much better companion than Alyssa, who wouldn’t stop talking about the director… the… entire… FREAKING… TIME!

“How’d you know?” he asked, as if he seemed genuinely curious.

God, you did not need this. The entire day today has been extremely bad for you. As soon as Alyssa had left you, your food no longer tasted good and thus had to be thrown away after you realized it’s been spoiled by something or other. You were hungry for the rest of the day. For your break, you spilled coffee on your clothes and then managed to get yelled at by your boss. And then when you tried to ask for a meeting with Sir Estheim, you were denied.

Again.

But, in spite of your bad day, you decided to let it all slide away just to ease and soothe away the bad memories of today. Plus the nightmare.

So you shrugged. “A guess.”

He just shook his head. “I suppose you’re gonna try to help me out with it?”

You shrugged again. “If I feel it is able to be solved and is within my power, but otherwise, I really don’t know.”

He watched you for a moment, as if trying to figure you out. He seemed almost puzzled. You sighed. “Is something on my face?” you asked with the slight raise of your brow.

“No, it’s just, I think I would have remembered someone like you before that works here at the Academy.”

You shrugged for what felt like the millionth time. “I’d be surprised if someone recognized me here, but not really. I don’t know anyone here and I came here on my own.”

“Why are you here anyway?” he asked as he took a sip from his cup. It was steaming so it must be either coffee or tea.

“I came to meet with the director,” you stated simply. “To ask him for his opinion about something.”

This he raised his brow up in question. “And what would you be asking of him for?”

You looked up from staring at the table to him, staring him straight in the eye. “That’s something I’m going to tell only the director, should he meet with me. I’m not going to tell someone who’s a complete stranger to me.”

“But the director is a stranger.” He seemed really curious.

“I only want to ask the director because of my own reasons that I’m not going to bother telling you.” You felt guarded and felt like he was probing you for answers, like some kind of experiment. “If you’re done with the questions, I’d like to relax a little bit by just talking to you about random things that’s not so serious.”

He looked like he was about to say something, but thought against it. You were curious as to what he wanted to say, but decided to ignore what you just saw.

“All right, shall we get introductions going?” he asked.

Really? You didn’t want to seem rude or anything, but the fact you felt like you were never going to see him again after you left this place made it seem unlikely he was ever going to remember you even after you leave. And besides, if you didn’t know his name and he didn’t know yours, it’d be easier on the both of you. Or so you thought.

“I really don’t expect you to remember my name nor will I remember you. I think it’d be best if we just kept ourselves being strangers, and not telling each other our names. After all, you’re a fellow worker here too, and the only time we see each other is around this time, which I find it a little ironic that you’re here at this balcony too.”

He appeared to have questions to ask you, but seemed to be thinking about which one he would ask. He seemed now puzzled and concerned. “It’s just a name, so-“

“It’s not just a name,” you said softly. “It’s a person. A name represents that person as a whole. So when you see or hear a name you recognize, you always think of the person that the name belongs to. It’s the identity of someone. I rather you not remember me and only remember my face as someone that you once shared tea with.”

A moment of silence passes and you feel a little distant, remembering things of your home and your family. You weren’t aware of how he was watching you and how he seemed to become more worried.

“We’re strangers, so… we’ll just leave it at that.” You avoided looking at the male, thinking that if you did, you would reveal everything you didn’t want him to see. For you, it was the first time in a long while that someone had decided to talk to you and to seem genuinely concerned for you. You didn’t want this sort of peace to end.

When he didn’t say anything, you decided that you were tired and you had enough for the day. “I’m going to sleep… it was… a pleasure seeing you again.” You glanced at him and nodded. “Good night.” You left, struggling to keep your breathing even.

——————

The next day, you found yourself listening to Alyssa, once again, talk more about the director. You wondered how much more of this you were going to have to listen to. Your break came when someone asked you to go to the city library to pick up something for someone.

Free from Alyssa and the strange stares from your co-workers, you happily agreed and left.

You got to the library and appreciated the dark inside of the building. You could smell old books and hear the quiet murmur of the patrons inside. In your hand, you held a sheet of paper with a list of books to take with you.

The library was old, and a bit of ways away from the Academy, but it was worth it. There was only so much here that hadn’t been transferred yet to become digital. Books are books after all.

You found the display counter you were looking for and checked out the books you need to check out before deciding to browse. You came across an interesting book and pulled it from the shelf.

You flipped through it and found a page that interested you.

It talked about how each person is connected by a red string of fate, where the people connected belong together. And if one finds the person at the end of their red string, then they were soul mates and would never be separated. And even if they were to, they would always find some way to find each other again.

You put the book back with wonder. You think back to your parents and to everyone else as a couple. Does that mean, you had a red string too?

——————

A few hours later, you head back to your room after you’ve finally managed to escape from Alyssa. You plop onto your bed and sleep soon envelopes you.

When you wake up again from another nightmare you couldn’t remember, you realized it was the middle of the night again. You get out of bed and pulled on a sweater and pants and headed to the balcony. When you saw him, you felt like something fluttered inside you.

“Hello…” you greeted slowly, wondering why you keep meeting each other like this instead of anywhere else, and ignoring the feeling in your stomach.

He merely smiled and the fluttering seemed to have gotten worse. You wondered if you were sick.

“Good evening, and it’s another restless night tonight too?”

You merely nod and found yourself surprised at the tea cup already sitting in your place where you sat for the passed two nights. When you sat down and took a sip, you were surprised that it was the flavor you liked.

“I got you some tea since I figured you were going to come again tonight.”

“How’d you know?” you asked softly.

He shrugged. “I simply knew.” When he sat down before you, you noticed he seemed to be more rested now. He looked over you and frowned slightly. “You all right?”

You tried to smile, but couldn’t. It was as if you couldn’t lie to him. Felt like he would know when you did.

“I-I’m fine,” you lied. “Just tired is all.” Suddenly, you wanted to hurry finish drinking your tea and leave.

He watched you and looked rather hesitant for a long while before he took a deep breathe and said, “You seemed to be hiding something for a long while and it’s taking a toll on you… are you sure, you don’t have anything on your mind you wouldn’t mind telling me?”

You avoided looking at him again and answered, “Yes, I’m sure.”

An odd silence passed and you knew, you had to stop seeing him. While his concern for you was certainly new that you didn’t really remember much of, you decided that if you got too comfortable with him, something might happen to him. Especially that weird feeling you get when you see him. This was certainly something you didn’t want to learn and find out. Even if it meant that you would lose your sense of peace from being around him.

But somehow or another, you and him started talking about irrelevant things that didn’t seem to particularly matter. You felt yourself become at ease and relaxed, and almost unguarded. When the time came for you to depart, he hugged you.

“Wh-Wh-What are you doing?” you stuttered in embarrassment, your face burning when he let you go.

“I felt like you needed a hug more than anything else,” he answered. “You seem more stressed than me so…” He smiled.

Ignoring the strange feelings in your stomach, you said good night and quickly turned and left. When the next night came, you resisted the urge to walk to the balcony to see him and managed to find something else to do until you felt tired again… For the next few days, you continued to avoid him…

Then came the day before you were leaving, and can finally put the stranger out of your mind. It was just that… something about him did something to you and that worried you, especially after that… hug.

During the time you avoided him, it seemed like the man kept trying to find you. You kept hearing rumors about this and that, but someone had been around asking for you. You knew, that the sooner you left, the quicker you can avoid seeing him again. You didn’t know why, but something told you that the more you kept seeing him, the more something inside you just stirred at the sight of him. Why though?

“Hey!”

You snapped out of your thoughts and found Alyssa glaring at you. “Were you even listening to me?”

You shook your head. “Sorry, I was thinking about some work stuff.”

“Well anyway, as I was saying, Hope has been strange for the passed few days and he’s always distracted now. He doesn’t even realize I’m there nowadays.”

“Uh huh,” you mumbled in reply as you picked up a box to walk down the hall with.

“He even asked some workers for some of the other workers information.”

You blinked and glanced over to Alyssa. “Which worker?”

You had been trying to contact Hope and you wondered if he finally got the message.

“He doesn’t know, he’s just been looking through all these documents on workers, trying to find someone. Said that it has to do with work.”

You wondered what on earth would the director be looking for in workers?

The Drifter - Chapter 02 - Ouji's Visit

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:00:05 -0800

Summary:
Amu spends the next month spending time with Ikuto… getting to know him and learn his habits. But what’s going to happen on a visit from Tadase?

Author’s Note:
All right, sorry for the long delay. It’s been two weeks since the last release, but meh. I was debating whether I should release this one, or I should release AS. But for AS, I have a bit of a writer’s block, but I’ll get through it soon enough. This one is going to be involving a lot of trouble and problems that going to arise, seeing as Tadase ignites and begins the story. This is where our story begins.

Enjoy this chappie~ And review if you want to see/read what’s going to happen next!

Total Word of Chapter Count: 7074

Misc. crap extras: 209

Disclaimer:
Shugo Chara and all related characters and elements are the property, copyright and trademark of Peach Pit and no ownership or claim on said property, copyright or trademark is made or implied by their use in the work(s) of fan fiction presented here. This fan fiction constitutes a personal comment on the aforesaid properties pursuant to doctrines of fair use and fair comment. This fan fiction is non-commercial, not for sale or profit, and may not be sold or reproduced for commercial purposes.

Chapter 2: Ouji’s Visit

For a moment, nothing was said in the room.

“Wa-wait a minute,” Amu started. “He’s the bodyguard of whom?”

Her father laughed like it was the most obvious thing in the world. But to Amu, it sadly didn’t seem to be that way… mainly because it was her disbelief and shock.

“To you, of course; I can’t have you going around with just any guard right? After all, you’re the daughter to me, and you know how my position is.”

Shock had riddled anymore words that could be procured from her mouth.

Leaving it to his daughter to let the information sink, he turned back to Ikuto. “So, will you take the job? I’ll pay you handsomely each week and you can use the money how you see fit.”

“Actually, instead of giving me pay, would you allow me to stay in one of your special-set-aside guestrooms? And an erhu.”

Amu looked up at Ikuto in confusion before switching her gaze to her father as if to ask him the question by what sort of instrument that was.

“I’m sorry, a what?” Tsumugu asked, unable to answer his daughter’s confusion.

Ikuto’s smile disappeared and was replaced with one that seemed… distant. “I’ve done some very far and wide traveling during my freedom from my Lord and master, and in that, I’ve traveled to rather distant places.”

Interested, Tsumugu listened curiously.

“In one of the places I’ve traveled to, is over the sea, to the countries near this one. I had only recently reacquired these blades, having them left behind at a friend’s house. In one of the countries, their country is almost very much like our own, but seeing as I was a traveler, they did not really stop me to ask questions. I happened across a shop that was playing some very beautiful music. I stepped in and discovered that there was a man playing an erhu. It’s a very unique sound and I’ll gladly play for you should I be able to get it.”

Tsumugu seemed thoughtful but Amu was skeptical. Had he really traveled to another country? She may not know much of his life, but the story sounded a bit suspicious and some parts of it sounded a bit odd. Even the way he looked seemed out of place with the story. His face carefully sculpted, as if careful not to show any sort of emotion on his face. It remained stoic but something in his eyes told her something entirely different. It was… something fierce that was in his eyes about this particular instrument.

“And I’m supposing that it’s impossible to buy it here?” Tsumugu asked after a moment of silence.

Ikuto nodded. “It’s one of our neighboring countries… I believe you may have heard of them… The Chinese? But I hear that some Chinese do reside in our country, making the instruments…”

Tsumugu looked shocked at this new piece of information before he pulled back his good face and said, “All right, that will be my payment to you for protecting my daughter. But in return, I hope that you will not perform it in front me, my younger daughter, and my wife… better yet, away from the rest of the household.”

“Eh?” Amu was confused. It was just an instrument, yet, why was Ikuto not allowed to play here?

Something flickered across his face before he nodded very slowly. “You’re allowing me to play in front of the hime-sama here?”

“Yes, as she already knows of its soon-to-be existence and I’m pretty sure she will be very curious as to what it sounds like… just so long as you do not play the instrument here.”

“Then playing it elsewhere will be difficult. Even if I go out to the farmland to play, people will still be able to hear me and my job would be to protect hime-sama… would you allow me my pleasure while I’m on duty?” He raised an eyebrow in question, as such a condition would be rather difficult to fulfill.

“At the end of the week, the family and servants of the household always leaves to check in with the family outside on the farmland, while my family and I go and talk to the farmers and collect the taxes. That is the day I shall allow you to play the instrument.

“And everything you do, you must report to Dia, her caretaker, who will report to me. I’m a very busy man, so I expect at least one report a week from her about you.”

Tsumugu’s stern gaze and firm order was resolute.

“Understood; under these conditions, I agree and accept the job as hime-sama’s bodyguard.” Ikuto pulled out a piece of paper (from where, Amu doesn’t know) and a brush. He also withdrew an ink well and dipped it in before writing on the parchment their agreement. She watched in awe as Ikuto’s fluid and graceful writing revealed itself in his brush and she watched as he signed his name. Mildly, she noted that even his fingers were long and elegant. Everything about this man seemed to be too pretty for her, yet still so rough and manly that she wondered how such a living paradox was real.

He handed the brush over to Tsumugu and he signed it as well before picking up the parchment and rolled it up, tucking it into the sleeve of his kimono. “You will start your duties today. You go everywhere she goes; aside from the times she needs her privacy. She is your master now.”

Ikuto nodded and before Amu could say anything more to her father, he left the room as he slid the door shut with a loud bang.

“Now I serve you, Amu-sama,” Ikuto smirked.

Feeling the same boiling anger that she felt earlier, she was about to retort when the door slid open again. This time, it was Ran with the meals. She set the trays in front of the pair and sat aside, ready to be called upon for anything that Amu might need.

She looked at her tray and discovered a piece of paper was there. She picked up, curious, and read what was written on it.

Not realizing it, she looked crestfallen before she giggled at the contents of the letter. It then changed to horror when she realized what the rest of the letter said.

Ikuto chuckled, causing Amu to look up and glare, “What’s so funny?”

“You, my dear,” he replied. His eyes half closed as he watched her blush blossom across her face in embarrassment. “And it’s amazing how you’re so not cute with that scowl across your face.”

“SH-SHUT UP!” she managed to snap. Her heart had raced at the words he had used after “you.” It made her heart flutter and she wondered unwittingly to what he would sound like should he be genuine about his feelings.

“I’m guessing the letter came from one of your suitors?” he asked with a slightly raised eyebrow again as he continued to eat his dinner.

“N-Not really…” she muttered as she set aside the letter and began to eat.

“Oh? Then what’s with the rapid facial changes?” He picked up a piece of a vegetable before putting it into his mouth.

“Well, he apologized for the troubles I had faced while I was on my way to his home and said that he will take care of the matter himself so that the next time I go, I wouldn’t have to worry.”

Ikuto raised an eyebrow before continuing to eat; he seemed skeptic.

“What?” Amu asked indignantly.

He merely shrugged and his eyes closed half way as if he seemed… he knew something that she did not. His smirk only became wider, “I really doubt that that ouji will be really to help; after all, he only has so much power for being an ouji.”

Amu twitched in anger as she tried her utmost best to be nice to this man. “Tadase-sama isn’t like that and he doesn’t like to be referred by his title.”

“What else does the letter say?” Ikuto ignored her comment.

“I didn’t read that far into it before you bothered me,” she growled, stabbing into a poor carrot.

He chuckled before he said, “I’m pretty sure that you already have finished reading the letter; I talked to you just after you finished, remember?”

“Oh, right, you joked with me for no apparent reason,” she said sarcastically. “And it was so nice of you to not laugh.”

Again, he raised an eyebrow, “Like it or not, you’re going to be stuck with me until you can find a suitor to marry who can provide for you and for you to move out of this household.”

She glared. She simply glared at this man.

He chuckled before adjusting himself, revealing a bit of his upper chest that caught her by surprise. Her glare was disrupted by the shock that overcame her face. He had so many…

When Ikuto realized what she was staring at, he quickly readjusted himself and sat a bit more upright. He regretted for a moment ever letting his guard down around this girl… but… it was so comfortable to talk to her, despite his want to tease her to no end to see her reactions.

“H-How’d you get so many of those… those scars?” she asked softly.

He looked at her for a moment before deciding how to answer:

With a smirk.

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

Her anger again flared; he was avoiding the question, just like he had with any of the earlier inquires that she had made about himself.

“Of course, were you my lover, I wouldn’t mind showing them to you,” his eyes glinted with mischief.

She flushed with embarrassment and anger as she snapped, “Like hell I would!” Grudgingly, her poor dinner had to suffer her wrath as she stabbed, tore, and shredded them.

When she had calmed down at eating dessert, she glanced up for a moment at Ikuto to see what he was doing.

He was eating a strawberry and her eyes widened when she saw what he was doing.

When he became aware that she was watching him eat, he decided to tease her again. He put the strawberry to his mouth and kissed it so softly, it didn’t look like he had kissed it all; in fact, it looked like he had just brushed his lips over the surface. He took the tip of the strawberry and his teeth grazed it as he moved it over his lips.

Amu was beginning to feel unnaturally hot and bothered her heart racing and her mind becoming muddled. What the heck was she thinking about? What the hell was he doing to the… the… strawberry?!

When his tongue flicked out against the strawberry before taking a very slow bite out of it, she flinched and suddenly, she felt molten lava form at her naval, causing her to squirm.

However, it was cut short when he finished the strawberry, but it only got worse as he licked his fingers so delicately, that for an instant, she saw a flash of it being her hand.

Instantly, she flushed so brightly red, she stuttered, “I-I-I’m d-done my d-d-d-d-dinner!”

Ran seemed to have been focused on a book she had brought out of her secret hiding place and snapped to attention when her master suddenly exclaimed that she had finished. She had entirely missed the exchange just then.

Just as Ran was about to guide her out of the room, she heard him say, “I’m going to make you want me so bad, that you can’t resist me the next time I do something like that because now… you’re mine.”

At the word “mine,” her body shivered with such delight that she clenched her eyes shut before rushing out.

As Ikuto heard her footsteps disappear, he buried his face in his hands.

“What the hell am I doing?”

The only thing that ran through his mind was his sudden lust for her… to see her slowly unwrapped from her suffocating kimono and to have her under him… and the face that she had just showed him as he was teasing her with the strawberry.

“Damnit, this wasn’t supposed to happen,” he muttered.

* * *

Amu couldn’t stop thinking about him. She couldn’t stop thinking about things that she knew she wasn’t supposed to think about until she was married to a husband; her husband.

And yet, he managed to do that to her!

Her body shook with something that she didn’t recognize; her body felt so unsure and suddenly so strange… it was as if this body was no longer her own and was suddenly afraid of what might happen if she was left alone with him. All he did was tease her to no end and irritate her! And yet, how could he possibly do that to her!

She felt so… so… so… violated!

Even though he hadn’t touched her, but she wished he did.

Wait, what?!

She threw her futon’s pillow at the wall, grunting in frustration. It was nighttime now, and everyone should be asleep now. She couldn’t sleep without his face running through her mind. Why… Why… WHY?!

She couldn’t understand what she wanted, what she exactly wanted from him. She wanted more, but she couldn’t figure out what or why she wanted more. She grunted as she got up from her futon and went to collect her pillow before settling back on the place where she ought to be sleeping right now.

Why is that he’s able to stir such… such… such strange emotions in me? She thought. I’ve only just met him!

She sighed, finally calming down as she began to think things through more clearly now that her body was slowly tiring itself out from… something she couldn’t figure out.

I didn’t tell him about Tadase-sama coming… I think that now he’s my bodyguard, he ought to know things like this? In case something bad might happen… she thought. As much as she didn’t want to tell him about Tadase coming, she felt like she had no choice; she didn’t want to risk her family’s safety for her own stubbornness of showing weakness to her enemy who, ironically, is her bodyguard.

But… as she began to think more about Ikuto, the more she began to realize that he hadn’t told her anything about himself. He had remained something anonymous to her and was mysterious. Who were his parents? Did he have any siblings?

… More importantly, where and how did he get all of those scars?

Amu lay down to sleep, sighing in frustration that her late night musings were getting her nowhere. As she curled up under the blankets, she couldn’t help but wonder what the future might bring.

* * *

In the next month, Amu sent letters to Tadase and he replied. He had been too busy doing something important to pay a visit in return for her try to his. When he finally agreed that he was able to come for a visit, Amu’s household went into a flurry for preparation of the ouji’s visit. She had sent a letter to him to not rush here, for their home was a mess, and that he ought to come a week later with his gifts and such that he was going to give and show her had she gone to his home. He sent back another letter saying that he agreed and that he will come in one week’s time.

And in that month and a week, she somehow managed to grow tremendously close to the man that was the wandering ronin (or as she liked to call it, her drifter) as he endlessly teased her day in and day out.

The day before the Ouji was going to visit; Amu was sitting on the balcony, reading a book when Dia came up to her, tapping on her shoulder.

“Dia!” Amu greeted happily as Dia bent down for a hug. “How are you?”

Dia smiled back, “I’ve been doing great, thank you and the mark is all healed up now so Tsumugu said that I may come back to my duties now.”

Amu seemed thoughtful. If it hadn’t been for Ikuto, then Amu might not be sitting here now… let alone Dia. She suddenly felt intensely grateful for her drifter…. Wait, when did she give him a nickname? (And a fond one at that!)

“Miki is here today to paint you,” Dia said as her eyes glanced toward the side. Amu’s eyes followed to the side and smiled at her old friend.

Amu got up and went to hug her friend, who smiled and hugged her back. “Wow, you’ve really changed!”

Amu giggled as she surveyed her friend. She had spiked blue hair with almost luminescent blue eyes. She was said that she had been born under the moon and since that her life was in danger, her parents begged the gods to save her and when she was placed next to paint, her hair changed colors. It was said that it was because she was blessed with the gift of art that she was able to live; because she had such a bright future ahead of her. She had a fair complexion and wore a necklace around her neck with that of a spade with the attire of the family’s artisan. Amu heard rumors that Miki might be secretly a tattoo artist…

However, Amu noticed her tomboy friend looking into the back of the room, where Ikuto sat, sleeping sitting upright. During the month and a week, Amu began to find a pattern in his sleep and discovered that he slept during the day often but what he did during the night, she didn’t know because she always fell asleep before she could.

Her eyes sparkled with inspiration, “He’s beautiful!”

“EH?!” Amu and Dia exclaimed in unison, snapping Ikuto to alert as he jumped up to standing with his hands poised at his swords.

He blinked when he realized that there was no trouble and yawned… like a cat, Amu noted as his other hand ran his fingers through his hair.

“Amu, Amu, please allow me to paint you with him!”

“E-Excuse me?!” Amu exclaimed.

Ikuto blinked, surprised. “Who’s- Oh… she’s the family artisan, isn’t she? … Miki, am I right?”

Miki nodded quickly before she pulled Amu and Ikuto together with strength that didn’t fit the girl. “No… no… that isn’t right…” she frowned. She dragged the pair outside where the sakura petals were falling again. Inspiration had struck her, Amu realized, and there was no way to stop her until her muse dried up.

“You sit like this… you sit like that… no… move your arm like that… yeah… no, no, Amu, move closer… Ikuto, was it? Oh, you’re her bodyguard? All the more for me to paint you two together… No, take out your swords like this… ah, there we go… Amu, stop moving!”

They were sitting under the sakura tree then, Amu sitting so close to Ikuto that her back was touching Ikuto’s arm. If she were to lay her head back, then it would rest on Ikuto’s shoulder. She was sitting in the way that all proper ladies of her prestige sat with kimonos; however, Ikuto was sitting behind her with his sword resting on his other shoulder where it could be seen, instead of being blocked by Amu.

As Miki began to paint, her eyes totally absorbed in painting, Amu began to count how many sakura petals fell. Before she knew it, she leaned back gently into Ikuto’s shoulder, causing him to flinch in the uncomfortable position. Before Miki could stop it, Ikuto had readjusted himself to make Amu more comfortable while making himself comfortable as well. He leaned back onto the sakura tree and then also, before he realized it, he dozed off, his head tilting over to the side and onto Amu’s head.

“Eh?” Miki blinked when she realized what had just happened, but smiled. “Dia, come here and look- oh, Ran, you too!”

The pair came over and smiled. Ran even giggled.

“They look so cute,” Ran gushed.

“Yes, they do, please paint them like that instead,” Dia insisted.

“Well, I’m glad I have photographic memory, but this is even better than the pose I had made them do earlier… this looks more natural,” Miki admitted with a grin. “I get to paint such a handsome and beautiful man like him with such a precious jewel like Amu. And look! I love how they contrast each other!”

Dia only smiled, “You ought to come over more… he teases her to no end, but we all can see it in his eyes that he’s becoming more and more fond of her with each passing day.”

Suu knocked on the door, “Girls, I have-“

“SHH!” Ran and Dia said quickly, rushing to Suu and making her suddenly quiet as they covered her mouth. They moved the food on a tray to the table and guided Suu to where they had been standing earlier. “Look.”

Suu giggled and smiled. “Finally, they aren’t bickering.”

“So I’ve heard… I’m painting this way, now go away; I need to work in peace,” Miki shooed.

As Dia walked away from the artist, she suddenly stopped walking and paled as she turned to face the sleeping pair.

“Dia, what’s wrong?” Ran asked, noticing her sister’s sudden change in mood.

Suu stopped as well to look at Dia with concern.

“Don’t you feel that?”

When the pair didn’t understand, Dia had to explain softly and gently.

“Don’t you feel like that this is the calm before the storm? That something bad is going to happen soon?”

Ran paled significantly and Suu only sniffled. Somehow, they knew that they were right; the household had become livelier with Ikuto and Amu together… even Tsumugu and Midori noticed. Ami had even come to love and adore Ikuto, almost just as much as she did with her sister.

Ran gulped, “We can only hope that this peace will last as long as it can… I don’t want to see Amu-hime suffer… I’ve never seen her so stubbornly cute and happy before.”

“And I don’t think she realizes it either,” Dia said sadly.

Suu smiled weakly, “We’ll just have to wait and see.”

The next day came and as agreed, came the Ouji.

That’s when the trouble started.

* * *

After waking up suddenly in a position with Ikuto that shocked her to no end, she was reassured of Tadase’s visit the next day and that she shouldn’t panic about something like that… and it quickly became something in the back of her mind…

Amu was excited as she getting ready to greet her prince. Amu thought that this man was her suitor, the one man that was going to finally say that he loved her and that he was going to be willing to marry her. That he might just be that one for her.

Ikuto had gone ahead to see the carriage and see if it came all right. When he came back, he had cleared that it was all right and he didn’t sense anything of trouble nearby. But Amu had heard what he added in an undertone to her father: “For now… For now it’s peaceful, but for some reason, I have a very ominous feeling about what is to come.”

She heard her father mutter some words back to Ikuto and together, they left the lobby. Even her mother looked worriedly at the pair. Recently, Ikuto had even gotten close to her father in ways that would have helped any daimyo tremendously. In a way, Ikuto had become someone very important in their family.

Even to Amu, as much as she didn’t want to admit it.

But in her mind at that moment, she didn’t care about what was going on between her father and Ikuto and instead, was focused on getting ready to meet Tadase.

His carriage entered the courtyard and she ran out to meet him with Ran and Dia running on after. Miki had told her yesterday that she was going to stay for awhile because her home was currently undergoing some troubles that she herself could not tell Amu. Miki, however, had said that she will remain indoors to meet him; she said that her skin burned easily at the time that Tadase was to come.

Amu fidgeted as she waited for Tadase to step out. When he did, his blonde hair was shown clearly in the sun as it was almost golden. His red-violet eyes seemed to smile at Amu when he saw that she was there to greet him as his mouth itself smiled.

“Amu!” he greeted as he clasped his hands around her own. For a moment, Amu recognized that he had hands that fit that of a man and abruptly, remembered Ikuto’s fingers as he had played with the strawberry.

“Tadase-sama!” she greeted with a grin, shoving harshly aside that thought. This wasn’t the time to think about Ikuto like that. Not now, not ever.

“I heard that you had gotten a bodyguard, where is he?” he asked, but before Amu could reply, Ran spoke up.

“Ouji-sama, please step into the sitting room so that you may have some tea as you converse,” she said she bowed before him, gesturing her hands toward the entrance.

He nodded, “All right.” He turned toward Amu and held out his hand with a smile, “Let us go and drink some tea, Hinamori-hime.” He took her hand and led her into the room.

For a split second, she noticed that Tadase had used her name when he first saw her, but suddenly changed back to using her surname and honorific.

As she sat down, Ran poured tea for her and Tadase before they began to talk.

“Hime, did you really get a bodyguard?”

Amu nodded, sighing with a smile, “Yes, I have. My father asked him to.” I guess he’s too polite to suddenly really change calling me my name more personally.

“Then where is he? I would like to meet him,” his eyes looked around the room for the bodyguard but could find no one that resembled one. Miki sat in the corner and stood up when he spotted her.

“I’m Miki, the Hinamori’s artisan; it’s a pleasure to meet you, Ouji-sama,” she greeted, bowing.

“Ah, it’s a pleasure to meet you too,” Tadase said with the slight bow of his head before he turned his attention to the female across from him, his eyes as if asking where he was.

Amu tilted her head in question; when she became aware of the fact that Tadase hadn’t brought his brother. “Where’s your brother?” she asked, ignoring Tadase’s look of question.

“Ah, he said he’ll be here soon enough with a few friends of mine who are willing to perform for you here.” Tadase smiled. “I had really wanted you to meet them when you were coming for a visit, but you could not due to those bandits.”

“How is the situation with the bandits?” Amu asked as she took a sip of tea.

“Ah… I think it has gotten worse,” Tadase said softly, staring into the beverage with a solemn expression. “It’s even more dangerous for women of all sorts to go out onto the streets, least they will not be seen again. The worst part of it all is that it’s still in your region.”

Amu blinked.

“My region? You mean the region that my father rules over?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so,” he took a sip. “I have seen some precautions taken and I’ve already noticed a significant change in the bandits. I have my eye on the lookout for them, but I can’t help but think that someone is stirring all this sort of trouble up, but my sources can’t figure out who.”

Suddenly, this visit of her beloved Ouji isn’t turning out to how she wanted it to be at all. At the thought of this, she kept her disappointed face behind a mask of impassiveness.

“But I didn’t come here to make you worry about such things as that; you’re a hime, you shouldn’t listen to me spouting this stuff,” Tadase said with a weak smile. “But, I came here to see you after all; how are you?”

“I’m great, thanks,” she said with a smile. “I’m just glad you’re fine on your way here.”

Before he could say anything more, Dia came and slid open the door to reveal four people. One of them had pale purple hair with blue eyes but with looks that were very similar to Tadase. The other three next to him were very elegant or very sophisticated.

Amu observed that the male in front with dark purple hair and amber eyes. He had long hair that was tied at the back of his head. He had a charming and comforting smile and the ideal posture for dancing. He wore a kimono of a tasteful color of blue and white with dark purple-black tinged in some places to accent his hair. Then two other heads appeared from behind, one with pink-purple hair with amethyst eyes and the other with blue-purple hair that matched his eyes.

The three of them wore kimonos, the female wearing a sakura kimono with various shades of pink. She hid her mouth with her hand hidden inside the sleeve of the kimono. Her hair was tied up at the back of her head with two sakura shaped flowers clipped in, to hold it in place. Her eyes looked around with curiosity and glanced over at the male standing next to her. He had his hair done up like that of a ronin and had a very boy-like smile. Amu got the feeling that he was the laid back one of the group who appeared to be the most outgoing of the trio. He wore a kimono of light blue, blue, and white. It was considerably plain in comparison to the girl, but he didn’t seem to care.

“Hello, I’m Nagihiko Fujisaki; it’s a pleasure to be able to finally meet you, hime-sama,” the dark purple haired male said as he bowed to her. “This is my brother and sister, both of which are younger than I am.”

The boy spoke up first, “But I act more like the older one, Nagi-kun.” Before Nagihiko could retort anything, he bowed to Amu as he said, “I’m Rhythm Fujisaki; it’s nice to meet you, Amu-sama.”

“Oh? Already on a first name basis?” the girl said in a soft, girlish voice that Amu was surprised. It was softer than what she had expected for the girl. It sounded as if she was the youngest of the three.

“I’m Temari Fujisaki, the youngest while Rhythm is the middle child,” she explained. Amu could hear a chime of laughter on the tip of her voice, as if amused by her brothers’ interaction.

“Well, she’s awfully cute,” Rhythm complimented. “I could see why Tadase-sama kept-“

“HEY!”

Amu blinked when she heard another voice come from behind, who busily pushed his way passed the three and into the room. This was the pale haired, blue eyed boy she saw earlier.

“Kiseki!” Tadase exclaimed. “You came with them?”

“Of course,” he snapped angrily. He sat down like a spoiled child at the table, grabbing the meat buns that had suddenly appeared there.

Dia must of snuck them while Nagihiko, Temari, and Rhythm were introducing themselves… Amu thought.

“Kiseki-kun, how are you?” Amu greeted with a smile at the younger brother.

“I’m fine, thanks,” he replied as he chewed on the bun. Amu felt almost irritated by his reaction.

“Kiseki…” Tadase began.

“Sorry, it’s nice seeing you again, Amu-sama,” Kiseki said, trying to sound sincere.

Temari giggled, “I see that even now, Kiseki will never stop being spoiled.”

“I have to agree with you there,” Rhythm laughed. “He’s just as spoiled if he were the son of the Emperor.”

“Guys…” Nagihiko warned. “We came here for a reason, remember?”

“So then, let’s start!” Rhythm said enthusiastically and entered the room and stood in the middle of the cleared area of the room. Temari and Nagihiko followed as they each brought out a fan.

“Nagihiko-san and Rhythm-san are both dancers as well?” Amu asked, raising an eye-brow. This was the first time she’s heard of a male dancer before. Her father had often only had female dancers to dance for them, never males.

“We’re not ordinary dancers,” Rhythm said with a wink.

Nagihiko sighed, “Rhythm, don’t be flirting with the princess now.”

“Nagihiko-san and his siblings come from a very distinguished dancing school from Fujisaki School; they’re quite famous,” Tadase explained.

“Gosh, it’s so tiring hearing nii-san’s full name being said,” Rhythm commented. “Just call him Nagi-kun.”

“Nagi-kun?” Amu repeated, paling slightly. “But to call him like that so… so…”

Nagihiko laughed, “It’s all right, you can just call me ‘Nagi-san’, if that makes you feel better, Amu-sama.”

“Rhythm doesn’t like too much formality; he likes a comfortable atmosphere with everyone,” Temari explained. Her eyes seemed to have smiled for her, instead of using her mouth. Her mouth this time was hidden by the tip of her fan.

“Now, can we get on with the performance we’re supposed to be dancing?”

“Sure thing,” Rhythm said, getting into position.

Tadase, Amu, and Kiseki sat down around the table, and watched the show proceed. Amu was in awe at how beautiful each of them performed, especially Nagi who surprised her with moves that she wasn’t expecting that still managed to look graceful. They moved in sync with each other, following one another in such fluid movements that it looked so easy. If there was a mistake in the performance, they covered it up well. When they finished, Amu applauded the loudest while Tadase and Kiseki applauded as much as they would want to.

“That was wonderful; absolutely brilliant!” Amu exclaimed, her eyes glittering with admiration.

“Haha, I don’t think that performance was that good,” Nagi said. “I’m still mediocre at best and I still have long ways to becoming a great dancer.”

“But you are pretty good today and in good form,” Rhythm noted. He winked at Nagi when no one was looking, but him.

“So were you, Rhy,” Temari giggled. “In fact, we all were.”

“Nii-san,” Kiseki said, turning to his brother. “I got to get going home soon; my lessons for today.”

“Ah, yes, I forgot about those… and you can’t go back with Nagihiko-san, can you?” Tadase realized.

“No, I’m afraid not; we’re going to our next performance after we leave here,” Nagi said apologetically.

“Ah, all right, come on Kiseki; let’s go see if we can get a messenger… Excuse me a moment, hime-sama,” Tadase excused as he got up and led his brother out from the room.

“Ah, so it’s just us, is it?” Rhythm said as he sat down at the table and took a bun for a bite. Temari sat down after followed by Nagi. Temari picked one up and took a nibble as Nagi looked over at Amu.

“Did you really like our performance that much?”

Her eyes still shined with awe from the show. She nodded, “Yep… and I’ve seen a lot of dancers… partially why I’m so amazed was because I know how well you performed. I tried learning how to dance myself, but it didn’t end up very well.”

“Ah, dancing is a very difficult hobby,” Nagi agreed; “but it’s very soothing and worthwhile if you really put your mind to it.”

She couldn’t agree more.

“Oh, I heard you had gotten a bodyguard… where is he?” Temari asked, sensing the sudden pause in conversation.

“Everyone has been asking about that,” Amu blinked. Why was everyone so curious?

“Well, it’s probably because it’s kind of rare for someone to have a personal bodyguard in this area, especially for a family like yours,” Rhythm said.

“And we heard that he was randomly picked off the streets,” Nagi recollected. “But he had showed some skill that not many ronins here know how to do.”

“He had saved me from a bunch of bandits last month,” Amu said. A month already? A month was already how long she knew him for? To her, it felt longer.

Before Nagi could say anything else, the door slid open so fast, that when it hit the wall, it gave it a loud bang.

“Tadase-kun!” Amu exclaimed as Ran suddenly stood up to move to her mistress.

“What’s wrong?” Nagi asked, frowning when he noticed distress on Tadase’s face.

“Hinamori-san… why is Ikuto here?” he asked, his voice shaking with an emotion that she couldn’t recognize.

“Ikuto…?” Nagi, Temari, and Rhythm said in unison.

Before she could answer, she heard the familiar velvety, smooth voice, “Calm down, Kiddy King, there’s no harm in me being here.”

He was so angry that he shook, unable to say anything.

Ikuto walked in with his hands tucked in his sleeves. His swords rested on his hip and he had a casual, calm air about him. He had that characteristic smirk that Amu had to learn the hard way was his number one recognizable trait. He leaned against the wall, watching Tadase. For a second, Amu thought she could see a tail when he smirked at Tadase’s reaction.

“You shouldn’t be here with Hinamori-sama!” Tadase said childishly. Amu blinked. Wait a minute, how did Tadase and Ikuto know each other?

He raised an eye-brow, “Oh, really? I wasn’t aware there was a law that I shouldn’t be with Hinamori-sama,” he smirked bigger.

Amu felt like her feathers were ruffled as well. He was picking on her too!

“I am your master that you should obey, or you don’t get your payment!” Amu snapped even more childishly.

This time, Ikuto turned to the pinkette with an even more amused and wider smirk. “I think I already had my payment.”

She blinked, dumbfounded. What did he mean? The erhu had yet to arrive, so how did he already receive his payment?

“Payment? I already gave you your payment?”

“Yes, you did, although, you were much too scared at the time to notice,” he said brazenly.

As Nagi, Temari, Rhythm, Ran, and Tadase watched Amu, her mind went back to the first time she met him.

For a moment, she didn’t understand until…

“AH!!!” she screamed with her face turning vividly bright red. “You… you… you…!!! You really didn’t… You really did! H-how could you?!”

Ikuto’s smirk couldn’t be any bigger then when he saw the realization dawn on her face.

“What did he do, Hinamori-san? If it was that bad, I’ll go kill him myself,” Tadase said. Although, she couldn’t tell if he was serious enough, she was in too much of shock and surprise to really say much other than say what was going through her mind at the moment about that… moment.

The worst part was… she couldn’t tell anyone about it; it’s far too embarrassing and humiliating. The run-in had been her fault after all.

“It’s not that bad,” Ikuto said as he got up. “Just be glad it’s me other than some stranger who would have taken advantage of you in no time at all.”

“Ad-Advantage…?” Nagi echoed.

Ran realized it first, “He… he touched you?”

“Of course he tou-” Tadase began.

“I’m not talking about that,” she snapped at Tadase. She went up to Amu and held her hands in her own. “You know what I’m talking about, don’t you?”

“It… really wasn’t that bad…” Amu said quietly.

* * *

Without anything else to say, Nagihiko, Temari, and Rhythm had left for their next destination while Tadase and Kiseki were on their way home in a carriage. In the end, Tadase couldn’t figure out what it was that Amu was talking about when Ran stepped in. She had told him straight out that he shouldn’t worry; that it was nothing bad or horrible enough to fire Ikuto. After all, the incident had been before he was hired and it had been once, Ikuto confirmed it.

Dia had gone out that night to verify it further. Ran and Dia had told the group not to say a single word of who Amu’s bodyguard was, and would not explain the reason why, no matter how much they asked.

Now, it was only Amu and Ikuto in the same room. Her father and mother had decided to turn in for the night and her little sister had gone to sleep way before her parents did. Ran had left to head to bed, tired from the day’s work as well as the event earlier that night.

The silence that sat between them was stifling and Amu wanted to smack the stuffiness out of the air.

“I’m sorry,” Ikuto said after awhile.

The room had gone dark now, the candle light blown out. The full moon’s light shined into the room and the evening was mildly warm… getting colder… little by little. From where Amu lay, she could see Ikuto’s silhouette.

“For what…?” She was playing ignorant, not knowing what he was talking about. She wanted him to apologize again. But she was disappointed as she heard him sigh.

“You know what I’m talking about.”

Suddenly, Amu was struck with the sudden feeling of sadness. Startled, she sat upright and shuffled out of her bed and found Ikuto standing by the window, looking out into the sky. He turned to look at her, surprised by the sound and by the rapid movement. Concern rippled on his face, trying to be buried underneath the smirk. “Is something the matter?”

She didn’t know what to say. The world suddenly felt eerily quiet and lonely when she looked at Ikuto at that moment. He stood alone in the moonlight, with an expression that Amu recognized as his smirk. But before he had turned to face her, he had the loneliest look that she had ever seen on his face. Something stirred inside of her that she didn’t know what to call it. It wasn’t that same feeling when he was eating the strawberry, but it stirred something in her nonetheless.

“Amu…”

“Hmm…?”

“Would you let me kiss you?”

Red Thread of Fate Oneshot - Hope Estheim Fanfic - Part 1

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 00:12:00 -0800

Summary: Connected by a single red thread of fate, what will happen to Hope when he meets a very unique individual who seems to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders?

Author’s Note:
Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3… Okay, well, experiment 1, commence! I suppose. I hope this looks good. In this fanfic, I’m gonna be testing out multiple view-points to see which one works out well and which one doesn’t. Originally I was thinking of making up an OC that would be a sort of foil to Hope, but, here goes to experimenting. And forgive me for lack of details on Hope, mostly because I haven’t played FFXIII-2. I don’t have the console nor the money to play it. And this is probably gonna be crap, since I’m just testing whatever this is so don’t take this seriously.

Further note, most of it is what I assume can or cannot happen in the story. So again, do not hate on me for the fact I’m just using this carelessly; I’ll be trying to use as many references as possible.

View Point 1

I glanced around my room and sighed. It’s been awhile since I’ve been to the Academy here, and I’m exhausted. I haven’t had the opportunity to meet with the director of this Academy, to ask about the images that I had dreamed about. I’ve been having these dreams for as long as I could remember, and I was wondering if the director knew anything.

The director, Hope Estheim, is said to have founded the Academy for the sake of a better future. I’ve only heard stories about him and wondered if he is as wonderful as everyone says he is.

I’m getting this feeling that he’s a little overrated.

Especially that Alyssa girl.

Snap.

‘She annoys me so much!’ I thought, punching into the pillow. She brags here and there and everywhere of every chance she can get as to how she gets to work side-by-side with this Hope Estheim and just how wonderful he is. Listening to her talk made me sick to my stomach.

I sighed again.

Realizing that sleep wasn’t going to come to me, I just got dressed and got out of bed, wearing only a simplistic white nightgown with a sweater on top. I pulled on my slippers and grabbed my messenger bag before I left my small room.

I wandered around the empty halls for awhile, noting the silence compared to the usually busy mornings and afternoons.

Cocoon and the Gran Pulse has changed so much, I wondered what it had been like before the Fall. Was it wonderful? Or was it just as bad as it felt like now?

I came out to a balcony overlooking a garden and leaned against the railing as I sighed. It sounded peaceful and I was glad for the peace as it eased my overworking and over-thinking mind.

“Should you really be awake this late at night?”

I turned to face the person who spoke.

He had silver hair and brilliant light blue-green eyes that seemed to sparkle with a sort of determination and… hope. It was there for a moment, but it disappeared quickly after. He wore a plain white dress shirt and light grey pants and black boots. He seemed to be dressed less than usual as there was a sort of posture to him that it seemed like he was missing something.

He had a nice voice though.

I shrugged in reply and merely replied, “Not really, but I couldn’t sleep.”

“You too? Then would you care to join me for a drink?” he asked, smiling at me.

I glanced at him for a moment, wondering if this man was someone I should be wary of, but decided to ignore my better judgement and nodded in agreement.

“Why are you up?” I asked as we both grabbed the hot cup of tea we each poured for ourselves. We were both sitting on that same balcony after having retrieved some drinks to soothe our restless minds.

He shrugged as he stirred his drink. His hands were large, and fairly rough looking, making me wonder if he had been working too hard. “I’ve just been stressing about something I’ve come across, I’ll get it though,” he said before taking a sip.

I took another sip. “Don’t work yourself out too hard now, least you get even worst bags under your eyes. You look like you haven’t slept for days.”

He looked up, startling me with his intense gaze. I felt my face flush.

“Wh-What?”

He shook his head. “Nothing, just… remembering what some of my workers told me; that I ought to take a break soon.”

“Then you ought to, if you’re working so hard. I know that the future is important and all, but at the same time, what’s the point of a future if you can’t even take good care of yourself?” I took another sip before glancing up.

He seemed thoughtful under the dimly lit lights of the balcony. He smiled at me and said, “I don’t believe we’ve exchanged names.”

He completely ignored my question. Thanks for listening to my mild concern for you.

“And I don’t believe I’ll meet you again so I doubt my name is useful, regardless.” A sip.

His smile only seemed to grow bigger and I couldn’t help but feel slightly irritated. “What?” I snapped.

“You remind me of someone… Someone I’ve been looking for.”

I shrugged. “I remind people lots of people, so your comment isn’t anything new.” Sip.

“But I don’t think I’ve seen you around before, are you new?”

I sighed and placed my cup down on the table. “Why do you care so much? And are you done with the questions?”

“I’m just curious, is all. One can’t be curious?”

I sighed, feeling slightly tired now, a little annoyed maybe, but tired nonethless. “Thanks for the drink, but I think I’ll head off to bed now. Later.”

I left without looking back.

Curse Divide - Chapter 18 - Desperately Fragile

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 10:00:06 -0800

Me:
In the morning, she couldn’t see anything without getting dizzy. She dressed and washed herself the best she could, Lancelot watching softly with small eyes before going back to his breakfast. Eve tried to help but found that it was no avail. She staggered and held onto the wall as she coughed and touched her forehead. She was burning up.

She staggered out into the hallway and then fell to the floor, coughing. She coughed out blood and the women ran down the steps ahead of her to put up the laundry.

Outside, the two maids did not notice a large creature outside hidden amongst the trees… so they began to gossip.

“Do you think that’s bad?” one woman with brown hair said.

“Coughing out blood and is dizzy? Yes, I think so,” the girl with darker hair said. “I think she has a fever and is traveling by herself… but coughing out blood? I haven’t seen anything like that before.”

“Poor girl… to think that she’s going to die so young,” the woman with brown hair said. “My cousin had what she’s got going on. She died in three years.”

At that moment, Eve flew out to get some food for herself.

“Not only that, but for the first two and a half years, she pretended she didn’t have it and no one knew until she was too weak to walk.” The maid placed up some table cloths up on the cloths line. “She couldn’t have any treatment because her village was too small so they didn’t have good enough treatment. It was horrible.”

At that moment, Sayuri walked out, looking pale, but otherwise healthier than what the maids had just said. They shushed amongst themselves and only pretended to do that laundry as Sayuri walked into the trees towards where Shura was.

“I’m sorry about last night, I’ll just do what you’ve asked me to do and I’ll kill you should you hurt anyone,” she said as soon as she was out of earshot of the two maids. Her fingers and skin was hot as she stroked his feathers before walking over to the saddle. However, she smelled heavily touched with magic to the point where it might be considered ridiculous. “No conditions, no nothing. It’ll be just as you wished.” Since her face was faced away from him as she tried to pick up the saddle but could not, she sighed and sat down on the grass next to it.

She took slow and ragged breathes before getting up again and using magic to lift the saddle onto him and buckle it on. Her head spun and she held onto a tree and then froze.

There was a group of people surrounding them and she backed up until she was against Shura, her skin still hot to the touch like earlier. She was extremely tensed and worried. She isn’t immune to her own magic attacks, especially when reflected back at her and with the condition she was in now, not that Shura knew of, it was going to be unstable, what with her body weaker than it usually was. Was it because of the fact that she was in a place with so little of magic floating around, that she got it again?

She touched her chest and closed her eyes. Sayuri sent magic rippling through her, focusing her attention at any danger that was coming closer. She reopened them and readied her magic staff, hoping the dizzy spells won’t come back as well as her coughing fit.
That was when she heard the groan of arrows being pulled back on their strings. ———————

Her:

Staying close to such a densely populated place wasn’t a good idea. Shura had had to crawl slowly, and as stealthily as he could into the shadows to avoid detection. He was too large. The trees around him were packed; it was trapping to wedge himself between them whenever more humans approach. But if no one paid attention, they could mistake him for a shadowed bush. Shura was too furious and too proud to shift back to his human body. If the mage wanted to treat him like an animal, he intended to be one just to spite her.

There were maids going about their work, hanging up bed spreads, clothes, and table cloths onto the lines. He could hear their incessant chattering amongst each other loud and clear. But it was starting to irritate him. They didn’t have Sayuri’s voice- what? He blinked and his feathered bristled in fury at his straying thoughts. Blowing out a short breath through his nostrils, he dropped his head onto the ground and glared at the women.

Coughing? Blood? His ears twitched and he slowly lifted his head back up, tilting it in an effort to get an even clearer hearing. Who? Shura recalled then night before, when she left Sayuri- she was hacking quite violently, but he had thought nothing of it. It was probably one of those emotional stunts women liked to pull. Before Ruen took the throne, there were many court ladies who feigned illness, to gain the sympathy from noble men. Whoever the maids were talking about… her illness sounded serious.

Shura could smell her before his sharp eyes defined her small figure approaching from between the blinds of trees. His mind instantly shielded itself. There was something off, he could tell almost too easily. He recognized the smell of her blood and a sort of strange smell he wasn’t used to. Taking on a docile attitude, he listened quietly to her apology and her sudden willingness to give him what he desired. Hot… her hand was so warm and clammy. She was weak, so very weak he was repulsed. He didn’t like to see her so frail, so utterly breakable. What was wrong with her?

The edge of his lips pulled up in a silent snarl when he sensed a group of hunters closing in on them. His large golden eyes blinked, cocking his head to one side as he looked at the mage struggle to put on his saddle. There was something wrong with her. The pent up frustration and twinge of helplessness made him curl his claws into the earth and draw deep grooves into the hard soil.

When they came, the mage stumbled back against him. He simply glared at him coolly. Foolish humans. Asking for their hearts to be gauged out. The men… the hunters, they were probably involved with the movement against the mage’s presence in Tenarin. How else did they find her here? Shura would have been able to sense them a long time before they arrived. This felt planned.

Their bows were drawn, bowstrings pulled tight over their arrows.

Rising unhurriedly to his feet, Shura stood over the mage and crouched over her, his grand wings unfolding and cocooning her underneath him. Those useless arrows were nothing but pin pricks on him. They may be coated with venom, he was almost sure, but Shura was confident he could survive the poison. Trust me, mage, and seal your ears.

The moment the arrows were about to be let loose, his hooked beak snapped open and an ear splitting shriek filled their entire radius, audible throughout the entire town. The glass windows nearby shattered and the humans dropped to the ground, some already had bleeding ears. The arrows that the men let loose, some managed to lodge themselves on his shoulder and wings. They were nothing compared to his size.

Gathering the mage into his clawed arms delicately, he screeched a last warning and hurled himself into the air, threading his wings faster to climb higher into the sky. Those tiny arrows were making him feel drugged and sleepy…. He glanced down at his claws, ensuring that Sayuri was safely cradled before gathering speed, gliding down and rising up into the clouds.

——————————-

Me:

As Shura stood up, Sayuri wondered what he was going to do. Then she watched as he stood over her and his wings were folded over her, like a shield or a cocoon.

She was surprised by the next words that came from him.

Trust me, mage, and seal your ears.

She murmured in a soft voice, “Yes, Shura.” Just then, her ears sealed, just as he had asked. She was surprised that it was successful and watched as she felt the vibrations that the sound Shura made. She watched as several men fell, their ears bleeding from the sound. She flinched as she felt the stab of pain into the shoulder and somewhere on her back as if she herself had wings.

Then she was picked up in Shura’s claws as he flew up into the air, towards the clouds. Her fingers reached out and tried to touch the clouds, although she knew she could not.

“Shura, are you all right?” she asked. She knows that Shura was attacked with arrows, ones especially coated in poison. She placed her hands on his body to send what would feel like a mild shock of electricity on a very dry winter day. She had noticed that he was flying slower and that he seemed sluggish. She closed her eyes and pushed the arrows out of Shura’s body, hovering the arrows in mid-air before erupting them into flames.

———————————-

Her:

His wings were batting so slowly that he was afraid he would lose altitude fast. No matter how hard he tried to work his muscles, they wouldn’t obey. There was a sort of numbing component in the poison. It was crawling fast through his veins, slowing his movements and making feel as if he had lost his limbs. Gathering Sayuri protectively closer to his chest, he focused hard so he wouldn’t drop her.

Instead of answering her, he turned the question to her. You are ill. I can feel it. Stop using your magic and leave everything to me. How he wished they were in a smaller town. It was difficult to find cliffs or caverns in such an open expanse of civilization.

His vision was blurring and his lungs contracting, but he continued ploughing his wings through the air, heading blindly north in the hopes of reaching somewhere safe. Somewhere with no humans, just a place for him to recover. Talk to me… I am falling asleep. No he wasn’t. Shura was losing control of his senses. If he had nothing to concentrate on, he would lose the battle against the poison. You are running a fever….

—————————

Me:

You are ill. I can feel it. Stop using your magic and leave everything to me.

Sayuri looked up at him for a moment before dropping her hands to her chest. She noticed that his flying was sluggish as he closed his claws gently against her to pull her closer to his chest. She muttered under her breath, “I’m not ill.” Why would he care if she was ill or not?

Talk to me… I am falling asleep. You are running a fever….

Asleep? From poison? That piqued her interest as she looked up despite the dizziness that seemed on the verge of overwhelming her. As if to answer her question about her not being sick, he had said that last comment about her running a fever. She was too dizzy to argue and she wasn’t well enough to either. “Why do you care?” she said softly. “I thought you hated the likes of my beliefs and me in general.”

————————-

Her:

His chest rumbled lazily and a chuckle resonated in his thoughts. You are a horrid conversation starter, do you know that? His wings stroked the air in a slow circular pull. A warm draft was rushing towards them. He lifted his wings in an attempt to cut the moving air to carry them higher. Isn’t it obvious? If I really don’t give a damn about you, I would have left you for those men down there. Seriously… are you that dense? Shura tried to sound taunting, but the slur in his mind erased the effect.

I do not hate what your society creates. Just don’t apply them to me. I hate that. Shura blinked and tried to see through his blurred vision. His breath was coming in faster, heavier and there was a strange rasp with every single drag of his breath. Was that a cliff, in front of him? It seemed so far away… how long could he keep flying? No, love. I don’t hate you in general. I just wish you were stronger… somehow. You are so small… he was rambling. His claws lifted her closer, as if to emphasize his point. So small… so fragile. What am I to do with you? What if I turn around just for a second… and I lost you? What if I made a mistake and crush you here, with my own hands?

A slow bat of his great wings. Roses have thorns… why don’t you have any? He felt his arms tremble with the effort to control his muscles. Shura lifted her and hastily shoved her onto his shoulder. Hold on… I don’t want to drop you….

One wing nearly slumped uselessly against his side. Thankfully, he was still able to keep it raised. However, the slight droop was enough to send them on an unstable glide. He couldn’t see properly, nor can he control his body. Throwing his wings open as a last resort to glide smoothly down, he tried to breathe in as deeply as he could. He choked, feeling his throat muscles tighten, cutting off his air supply. Swollen? Perhaps.

A sudden flurry of green blinded him and he crashed, head first into the treetops. Branches snapped under his weight and lashed at his body. He couldn’t even utter a whimper from the suffocation or the pain. With a heavy thump, he collapsed onto the grass. His wings were spread, splayed in an awkward angle. His jaw hurt from the impact on the hard ground. He lay motionless on his front, feeling sharp stabs in his lungs for every heave of his ribs. The raspy breathing continued to pull through his open beak, gasping. What poison was that?

He hoped that the mage was fine… because he wasn’t sure how long he could hold on to his consciousness.

———————————

Me:

His chest rumbled lazily and a chuckle resonated in his thoughts. You are a horrid conversation starter, do you know that? His wings stroked the air in a slow circular pull. A warm draft was rushing towards them. He lifted his wings in an attempt to cut the moving air to carry them higher. Isn’t it obvious? If I really don’t give a damn about you, I would have left you for those men down there. Seriously… are you that dense?

Sayuri felt him laugh and crossed her arms across her chest, knowing full well that he probably wouldn’t be able to see it. “It’s a conversation starter, nonetheless,” she muttered, trying to keep focus so that she wouldn’t start coughing as she sent another ripple of magic through herself. She paused as she began to listen to him speak, not letting herself able to speak until he’s finished.

I do not hate what your society creates. Just don’t apply them to me. I hate that. Shura blinked and tried to see through his blurred vision. His breath was coming in faster, heavier and there was a strange rasp with every single drag of his breath. Was that a cliff, in front of him? It seemed so far away… how long could he keep flying? No, love. I don’t hate you in general. I just wish you were stronger… somehow. You are so small… he was rambling. His claws lifted her closer, as if to emphasize his point. So small… so fragile. What am I to do with you? What if I turn around just for a second… and I lost you? What if I made a mistake and crush you here, with my own hands?

Roses have thorns… why don’t you have any? He felt his arms tremble with the effort to control his muscles. Shura lifted her and hastily shoved her onto his shoulder. Hold on… I don’t want to drop you….

At the rose comment, she only murmured a few words, “I’ve lost my thorns…” As flattering as the rose comment is, the thorns part only bugged her. Was she really too trusting? Should she begin learning things that she knew would only cause her discomfort? Should she just be obedient to Shura…? Something flickered darkly in her eyes as she felt Shura push her onto his shoulder. She held on, just as he asked.

However, what came next surprised her. She felt the difference in flight as they began to descend. Mildly, she could tell that the poison was beginning to take its effect on him. His sight must be gone, and from the sounds, he must be swollen somewhere in the throat and then being unable to use his wings to fly. When she saw the tree tops, she didn’t know what to expect.

She landed on the ground with a painful and loud snap as she screamed out in pain. Sayuri was pretty sure that her legs were broken and she didn’t dare look at the angle that it might be in for she noticed the awkward angles that Shura’s wings were in. Painfully crawling towards Shura, she decided to ignore his words about her not using her magic for she was not well.

“Shura? Are you awake?” she barely managed to ask, her breathing laborious and ragged. Tears streamed down her face in pain for every move she made. They were out in the middle of a forest, far away from any inn or any town. It was good, so that they can’t discover Shura as a griffin. Her fingers were on his feathers and ignoring the slight reflection of magic, she began to send healing magic into Shura’s body. The wings fixed themselves into their righted angles and any other possible broken bones in his body. Already, she felt herself exhausting her energies to keep her focus on healing Shura. She knew she was unwell and if her bodyguard was gone, then what hope could she have for herself if everyone has runes embedded into them so that it reflected her magic? It was dangerous enough for her as it is, but without Shura, Sayuri felt that she would be signing a death sentence for herself. Healing and getting rid of any possible poison in his body, she fell onto him as she collapsed from exhaustion and a fever as her dizzy spells won and sent her into the world of blacking out.

———————————

Her:

Yes he was awake, but he could barely respond. In his muddled mind, he was only grateful for the soothing currents of magic rolling through him. Something was niggling at him to warn him that it wasn’t a good thing, but he couldn’t remember why.

When his lungs stopped suffocating him and when his control over his body returned, dread seeped into his bloodstream like poison. Shura could feel the slight pressure of Sayuri’s small body against his. He had known that there was something wrong with her and had already, specifically told her not to waste the reserves of her magic. Why wouldn’t she listen? Hissing, he shifted, bones rumbling and cracking as he shrunk. He nearly ripped the saddle as he fished for his clothes and pulled them on hastily.

“Damn you,” he growled, a little pained as he returned to her on his knees. “If you had listened!” He hadn’t realized that he was shaking when he pulled her frail body against him and inspected her legs. One was dislocated, while the other was clearly broken. Seeing her so damaged tore painfully at his own heart. He had to take in deep breaths to calm himself. His hand pressed gently over her forehead and was met with an unnaturally high temperature. Cursing, he looked about desperately to his surroundings, trying to gauge where they were.

A valley- his scrambled and frantic mind couldn’t remember its name.

Laying her gently on the ground, Shura focused on her dislocated leg. It was good, he decided, that she was currently unconscious. If he was going to pop her knee back into her socket, it would hurt and she would probably scream if she were awake. He worked quickly, twisting her leg in a swift jerk to put it back in place. His hand rubbed over the fabric that covered her knee, encouraging the blood to flow there. He didn’t waste time to put a splinter on her other leg. A branch was snapped off almost savagely. He used a dagger in the saddlebag to smooth the wood. Then as gently as he could, he arranged her leg and wrapped the splinter with bandages.

She was running a fever, with a broken leg and was clearly spent from helping him. He needed help. She needed a healer. He didn’t have the confidence in him to look after such a fragile being. Determined, he slung the saddle over one shoulder and lifted her gently, cradling her form to his chest as he rose to his feet. His strides were long and brisk as he searched the forest for any sign of civilization.

Yeah deffinately! I can picture it :D sxdcfgvbhjncfvgbhn oh my god Ikuto dancing like that would be soooo hot. And him and Amu dancing the Argentine tango oh my god, I was picturing it and ugh there are no words to describe my emotions while reading that hahaha!! Yeah that's the same for me, studying for university is hard work :( I think that's a great idea :) you'll get back into it no problem!

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 22:00:00 -0800

Hehe. That’s the perfect reason why I wanted to write a dancing fic. ;]

Yours is probably easier. You have papers and tests to do, but I have projects. x_x For like art classes and whatnot. D;

Yeah, it’ll be slowly but surely. x3

bleederdoll: shelbythesonicandyugiohfreak: kearitona: truedesp...

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 21:46:21 -0800

bleederdoll:

shelbythesonicandyugiohfreak:

kearitona:

truedespair:

lizawithazed:

Guilty.

Second. ^^^

mainly songfics but yeah

The odd time, yes.

I write all the time. What chu talking about?

That's amazing! :D I started reading Artistically Sensual aswell now! Really liking how that one is going so far! It's odd to think of Amu and Ikuto as dancers, but I really like it. Aw I see, that's fair enough :) you'll get back into the flow of it when you get the time to :) yaay I'm excited! That's a really nice thing to do for your fans, thank you very much! :D

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:33:27 -0800

Amu is possible since she’s thin and nimble enough to be, but I think of Ikuto as this sexy-bad-ass dancer that’s super… hawt when he dances like the boy bands. LOL. XD

Yes, time… Something I don’t have enough of. xD

And yerp, since I’ve been out for awhile, I thought of it as a way to get back into the flow of things. And you’re welcome!

Aw but that's good! It shows how creative you are in your writing! :) I think your fanfiction plots are brilliant!! Sometimes taking a break from writing can help, it'll allow ideas to come to you naturally and you can go back to your writing with a better idea of what you would like the plot to be :) Is there only 3 chapters of The Drifter? :O

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:17:42 -0800

Aw, thank you! :3 x3 And I’m glad you think that my plots are as awesome as you make them to be! I just strive to make the best story possible with, in most particular, my favorite characters and make a story as epic as possible.

I’m a little rusty, since I haven’t written in a really long while due to college.

Yes, there is. I’m currently working on the fourth chapter, as well as other chappies for my other fanfics, but Mistletoe, the sequel to Hot Chocolate, is a priority. :3 It’s my Christmas present to my fans.

haha! I started reading The Drifter! WOW! I'm just about to go onto chapter 3 :D what other things do you write about, other that fanfiction and your oneshots? :)

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 17:22:00 -0800

Haha, I write original stories too, but those I don’t tend to really share all that often, mainly because the plots I come up with are far more intense than I usually want to make them. The stories usually come up with too many plot twists and the like… and well, I never finish writing them. x3 So I just stick to fanfiction and oneshots. :P

And you’ve already seen how complex my stories could probably get. x3 And they’re just fanfiction! O:

Yay I'm so excited!!! Thanks for the link to your fan fiction! I look forward to reading them all! :D

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 03:27:15 -0800

Oh you’re so welcome! I enjoy talking to those who enjoy reading my works. :DD

The Drifter - Chapter 01 - Scruffy Savior

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:53:46 -0800

Summary:
I’m a princess. And he’s a Samurai. How will we ever be together? Amuto. R&R.

Author’s Note:
I had this huge arse summary on my fanfiction site for this part, but I decided to cut this huge thing out for you guys. Figured it’d be easier for you guys. I think it’d be cool if I just spread this around for you guys to share around the community of tumblr.

Well, to summarize what I had written, this was written because I had been inspired by the Feudal era of Japan and kimonos and the like and I figured Amu and Ikuto need to be in this world. :P So, yeah, enjoy.

Chapter 1: Scruffy Savior

“Where is hime-sama?” one of the servants asked the caretaker of Amu.

“Amu-hime seemed to have ventured off to the garden,” the caretaker sighed, a tad annoyed.

“Dia, she’s always like this, isn’t she?” the servant nodded in agreement.

“You’re right about that, Ran; after all, we’ve known her for as long as we can remember, right?” Dia smiled weakly at her sister, patting her head. “It just happened that Amu-hime isn’t exactly the most… sheltered girl here, it’s more Ami-hime that’s sheltered than Amu-hime.”

“I agree.” Ran looked toward their large garden, the cherry blossoms coming into full bloom. A gentle breeze blew by, causing the flower petals to float down to the lush green grass. “But… isn’t Tadase-sama coming today?”

Dia nodded. “Well, he insisted that Amu-hime come to his home so that he can show her a demonstration of a dance by a famous dancer as a gift. I wouldn’t be surprised; after all, Tadase-sama is the Ouji of the Hotori Clan. There are even some rumors that their father, who is also a fellow daimyo, might take over for-“

“Ah, there’s Amu-hime!” Ran pointed. Behind the branch of flowers stood a girl blended into the surroundings of pink with her own pale strawberry-colored hair. “Hime-sama! We’ve got to get you ready for the trip to Tadase-sama’s!”

Amu looked up from where she sat, her kimono placed delicately around her as she sat under the sakura tree with her book. She took a flower petal and stuck it into her book as a bookmark before getting up to wave over at Ran to reply.

“All right, give me a minute!”

She was excited, but she had been so absorbed into her book that she didn’t realize that it was time to go. Where did all the time disappear to? But she was excited to see her Tadase, who has been showing signs that he wanted her hand in marriage for quite some time now. She had always admired Tadase from afar, and when they finally met one day at an extravagant party at one of the region’s shoguns, she met him accidentally there. Since then, they hit it off and began to make so many plans to meet up with each other more and more. It was mainly Tadase that came over, seeing as he is a man and not a woman, where women were looked down upon to go wandering the streets, especially those of her status without a carriage.

She hurried over and sat down before the mirror. Ran began to brush her long hair and changed her out of her plainer kimono and into her more elegant one.

“Hime-sama, when do you think Tadase-sama is going to ask for your hand?” Ran giggled.

Amu blushed. “I-I don’t know… whenever he feels is right.” Really, Amu really hoped that it would be today, but something about the dream last night told her otherwise. Something about today told her that something important was going to happen today. She noticed the change in title. “Ran, since when have you used ‘Hime-sama’ rather than my name?”

“Amu-hime, it’s not right for this personality of yours to come out now,” Dia sighed as she pulled out the elegant kimono and began to help her dress.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Amu huffed, wearing her favorite “X” shaped hair ties at the end of her braids. She seemed to have forgotten the little issue with her name…

“You’re at the age nowadays that you should be getting married,” Dia said as she fixed the kimono. “You are sixteen after all.”

“Yeah, you’re at the lovely age where many men will come asking for your hand in marriage,” Ran said as she cleaned up the room before getting ready to help Dia, should she need any.

Amu frowned slightly. Mildly, she recounted the number of offers that she had received.

None.

“I hadn’t received any, what on earth are you talking about?” Amu conflicted. “I may be of age to marry, but no one has really asked for my hand in marriage formally.”

“Well, then the time for it is probably very soon, your suitors just haven’t found the right opportunity to propose,” Dia commented as she finished, standing up again to admire her work. “I’ll be right back a moment, Hime-sama.” Dia left.

Probably to change, Amu thought. One who is the caretaker of a hime must dress appropriately, especially when going to the presence of an Ouji…

Dia quickly came back, and excused Ran to prepare the rest of the carriage.

“Are you ready, Hime-sama?” Dia asked. Amu wondered when they decided that they ought to change how they called her, but decided against asking again.

Sitting inside the carriage has always been one of Amu’s favorite times. It was the only time that she was able to leave her home and go to the outside. Of course, she had already often enough snuck out of her home to see the world outside, her curious mind and eyes already saw half of the town… the other half when she snuck out with Ran.

But where they were going, was a region she hadn’t gone to. Her father was the daimyo of her region, which gave her the title of being called a princess. She was of high class, rarely going out to see the peasants, the farmers, and the merchants. She loved looking through the trinkets that she often saw as well as the stores she sees with many books inside. Her warm honey hues looked over the townsfolk, seeing how well that her father ruled this region. As long as she was anywhere in this region, she was safe.

About half an hour passed before they finally came to a stop. Dia appeared worried.

“Strange… we weren’t supposed to stop so soon,” she muttered, peeking out of the sheets that covered the carriage.

“What’s going on?” Amu asked softly.

Before Dia could answer, she roughly closed the blinds, pulling Amu close to her chest. Suddenly, she heard a loud grunt and then a shout.

“Give us your treasures and the hime, and no one will get hurt!” the gruff male voice said.

“Never!” shouted back one of the guards.

Amu had never felt so scared before. What was going to happen?

“Final warning, hand over the darling girl and the loot, or we’ll force you to give it to us!” Another voice shouted. His voice was no better than the male before him that spoke.

“What’s going to happen to us…?” Amu whispered. She clung to Dia, scared stiff that she might be taken away.

“Shh… and I don’t know…” Dia replied, but she held a tighter grip on her Master.

They continued to listen to the exchange.

“No, we will not,” the other guard said firmly. Suddenly, the carriage was knocked over due to the sudden thrust forward by the horses as they neighed in surprise. Amu screamed as they fell to the side, Dia shielding her from any harm, but still keeping her well-hidden should the men come forward and unveil the blinds.

Amu could hear several men laughing at their coming demise.

“We’ll protect Hime-sama and Dia-san, no matter what!” the guards shouted together. She could hear their feet running toward where they had fallen.

She heard several shouts as men charged. She heard slashes and the sounds of bodies hitting the ground. Abruptly, the blinds were ripped off and rough hands came in and pulled them out. Amu screamed and Dia shouted, “Let her go!”

“Hahaha! Look at what a mighty catch we managed to capture!” one of the men sneered. He laughed and Amu smelled the rotten breathe that came from him. Instantly, her fear from earlier evaporated and she glared at the man holding her wrist. “Oh? The little hime has some spunk! And look men, if it isn’t the Amu-hime of the Hinamori Daimyo. How much do you think they’ll be willing to pay for her?”

“LET HER GO!” Dia shouted again, but cried out in pain as a blade was pressed to her back, silencing her.

“DIA!” Amu exclaimed. At the surprise from Dia’s shout, Amu kicked the man that held her prisoner in the shin, causing him to shout out in pain and releasing his hold on her. Rapidly, she gathered up the hem of her kimono and began to run. She had never felt so glad for all that running around her father’s estate, that exercise came in handy. She could hear shouts behind her and she ran harder.

I’ll come back for you, Dia, I promise I will! She thought as she continued to run, the heaviness of her kimono beginning to weigh her down.

She had to find somewhere… anywhere, ANYONE that was willing to help. She wasn’t going to be able to keep running and she could hear the men behind her catching up to her.

When she turned the corner, she bumped into a strong chest, and just as she fell began to fall backward, a strong arm wrapped itself around her waist and held her close.

She flushed instantly. “S-Sorry about that… but could… could you let go of me?” She tried pushing at his chest, not bothering to look up.

Before the stranger could answer, the bandits caught up, breathing heavily as they surrounded the pair of them.

“Oh, I had been hoping not to cause you trouble…” she murmured. She looked up and found herself staring at a young man with a scruffy beard around his face. He had long hair that was in dire need of a haircut, and a large hat that covered the rest of his head. The only thing that she realized that was really seeable was his flashing, deep sapphire eyes that sent strange shivers up her spine. Suddenly, she felt safe.

“Kind sir, I would like that you return what is rightfully ours,” one bandit said. It seemed like this man was the leader.

The stranger looked around him, as if counting how many men surrounded him before he spoke. She was surprised that from this scruffy looking man came a voice that was as rich and as deep and soothing as the sound of the best instrument in the land. Even his low voice sent another shiver up her spine.

“But she’s much too pretty to be with the likes of you,” he said. She heard something sharp being flicked and her eyes shot down to his side. And on his hip rested a sword that she knew wasn’t one used for farming… it was a samurai blade. She flushed as his compliment, but she realized that it infuriated the men around them, and she squeezed his shirt.

“W-What did you just say? She’s our property!”

She could have sworn that she saw him smirk.

“I think not.” At that instant, the men lunged forward, releasing their swords from their sheaths and she heard him only saying one word… well, more like one sound.

“Tch.” His eyes shot to her and in that moment, she seemed to understand what his eyes conveyed. Squeezing her eyes shut and grabbing hold of him tightly, she felt herself being protected as the sound of the sword was released from his own sheath along with many dozens of clangs that the sword came in contact with.

He picked her up as if she weighed nothing at all, and in mere moments, the fight ended and she felt her feet being set on the ground.

“You can open your eyes now,” he murmured in her ear. She opened her eyes slowly and came in contact with his sapphire ones and instantly flushed again. But before he could say anything, she looked at the damage that this swordsman had just did. Surprised, she pulled away from the safety of the stranger’s embrace and examined her attackers. They were all only knocked unconscious.

“How’d you do that?” she asked in awe.

He chuckled, “That was only a party trick.” There was a short pause before he picked her up again, causing her to squeal in surprise. “Cute,” was all he said before he took off in the direction she had run from. Suddenly, she remembered Dia!

When they came in sight of the knocked over carriage, he set her back down and watched as Amu ran over toward Dia.

“Dia, Dia? Are you all right?” she called, gently shaking her caretaker. Luckily, the kimono was thick enough that it left a very thin and light scratch against her back. Dia looked up at Amu and smiled.

“Ah, I’m fine, surprisingly,” she said softly as she sat up before standing up and beginning to dust herself off. She glanced at the dead guards and sighed. “We’ll have to rent out another carriage to get home… our destination…” She stopped talking when she noticed the samurai standing nearby, looking around for any more bandits. “Are you the one who saved her?”

He stopped looking around and faced her. “Yes, I am.”

“We’ll reward you when we get back home, and you are hired to be our guard during our travels.” Amu looked shocked and paled. Why so suddenly…?

“But first, we must know your name…?”

Amu saw his chin move and instantly knew that he was smirking, his eyes glinting with mischief that she knew that was not there before. “I’d like to get cleaned up first before I accept any sort of jobs that requires me to guard hime-sama over there.” Amu felt like he had just picked on her right then and felt angry enough that she wanted to whack him.

“All right, but first, you’ll have to help us back to our home,” Dia said with a sigh. She watched with surprise as the man walked over to the horses and petted them to calm down. He lifted up the carriage with ease into its rightful position and bowed in a mocking manner that Amu felt angrier. Before she could retort anything, Dia grabbed Amu’s hand and pulled her onto the carriage as the temporary blinds covered the carriage. Then she heard the horses being manipulated so that they turned around and began heading home. Before doing so, she heard someone coming up to the carriage and talking to the man guiding the horses… after a few minutes of an exchange, the horses were then knocked into a fast gallop.

“We’re going to have to pick up the pace… this route is filled with bandits,” the man said through the wall of the carriage.

When it fell silent, Amu whisper-shouted, “Why’d you stop me from yelling at him for being so disrespectful?”

“Because he saved our lives,” Dia stated simply.

At that, Amu fell silent. She couldn’t deny that he had saved her life, but she just didn’t like how rude he was towards her. She really wanted to smack him, at least, for his… his… irritating personality. But while the ride was indeed long, this gave Amu time to think about the man a bit more thoroughly.

He was a traveling ronin… he should be under his own daimyo, but he was not, so he’s a wanderer. And from the looks of it, it looked like he’s been traveling for quite some time, by the look of the beard and his hair that desperately needs to be cut off or something… she wasn’t sure how old he was, given that the beard made him appear much more older than what he probably was. She was a little afraid that the man might be… be… handsome. She didn’t want to admit it nor did she want to see it… but she was itching with curiosity to see what he looks like after he cleans himself up a bit…

Before she knew it, they had arrived at their destination, and Amu found herself surprised when the stranger pulled aside the blinds, and helped them down from the carriage.

“Amu-nee-sama!” her little sister exclaimed as soon as Amu entered the threshold.

She was caught off guard by the surprise attack by her sibling, catching her in the mass of a kimono that she wore, surprisingly.

Amu laughed and held her sister tightly, squeezing her as soon as she realized that she was suddenly now safe, and she haven’t felt this relieved in long time.

“Amu-nee…?” Ami asked softly, her young girlish voice quiet and concerned.

Moments later, Amu’s parents came out.

“Ousama, Joousama!” Dia exclaimed, bowing instantly at their appearance.

Tsumugu and Midori were dressed in elegant robes of silk, in many layers that fit their title. Tsumugu was dressed more casual than he would usually, seeing as he is at home and he had no plans for the day to go out anywhere except spend his time today sitting on the balcony to paint.

Midori took a glance at Dia and paled. “Dia-san, please go get changed and have Ran take a look at your injury… it may be small, but it’s better to have it treated than to let you get sick. A doctor is has already been sent for.”

Dia nodded and left their presence as the doors of their home was shut. Tsumugu looked up from worrying about his daughter for a moment and said sternly, “Had I known that the route you had taken to the Ouji’s home was full of bandits, I would have not let you go…” He looked up and found himself face to face to the ronin that had saved Amu’s and Dia’s life.

“I must thank you, Ronin-san,” Tsumugu bowed.

“I was only doing my job,” he replied smoothly.

“As your reward, you are to board here for as long as you like… Ah?” He paused when Midori whispered something in his ear after she had come back from seeing to Dia’s condition. “And we will pay you for your services as you serve under us as a personal bodyguard.”

The stranger smiled. “Thank you, Tsumugu-sama, it’s a pleasure to be serving the Hinamori Daimyo.”

“Now, is there anything we can help you with…?”

Ran came running out just as he was about to make a request, “I would like to get cleaned up before I formally accept the employment… and perhaps some food while we converse.”

“Certainly, certainly! Ran, go and tell the cook to prepare a quick meal and fetch a blade and sissors.” Heartily, he took the stranger away from the front yard with Ran dashing off first, leaving Amu still hugging Ami.

“Amu-nee-chan, let me go please,” Ami whispered. She was afraid that if she let go, her sister might do something drastic.

“Ah, sorry,” Amu said, putting her sister down before taking her hand and walking toward where her father had most likely taken the stranger.

A few minutes later, Ran ran toward her and said softly, “Hurry, we must get you cleaned before the meal… especially after that horrible incident.”

Amu only nodded mutely, unsure as to what to do. She was about to let go of Ami’s hand, but she held on firmly. “Ami-sama, let go of your sister’s hand,” Ran said gently.

“No!” Ami sensed that something was wrong with her elder sister, who was always usually with this attitude that made her admire her elder sister and now, she felt that her sister needed her more than ever.

Ran sighed. “I guess I have no choice, you’ll both have to take a bath. Come along.” She guided the pair into the bath and for a half hour, Amu relaxed her tense muscles, finally easing out of the sense of frigid fear when she had seen the bandit hold the knife up to Dia’s back, a moment before at her neck. She looked at her wrist and flinched when she discovered that there was a bruise of the man’s hand imprinted on it. She drowned it under water, hoping to soothe the pain and she watched with a smile as Ami played with the bubbles that were formed thanks to their bath. Her father had somehow managed to find a merchant that made such things as these “bubbles” and it served often to amuse both her and her sister when they bathed. Joining in her sister of playing with bubbles, she relaxed further still until Ran called that it was time to get out.

The stranger found the land rather immense and calming. It was very well cared for and even the servants were smiling and humming as they walked by. He realized that they really liked their masters and had no complaints whatsoever about them, despite them cleaning the immensely large home.

The servant girl with red hair and pink eyes (unnatural, but then again, he had seen his fair share of strange colors) was called Ran and had given him a small blade to shave and a pair of scissors to cut his hair. Ran said that there were two baths; one of the men of the household and one for the girls of the household. There were an equal number of males and females in the place, and found that he wasn’t that surprised. He heard that the servant quarters were in the back of the building, behind a large hedge that everyone seemed to call it the rose hedge.

After his bath and he had thoroughly washed himself clean, he sat before the mirror and chuckled in spite of himself. He was hairier than he had expected after an entire year of traveling… or more, he wasn’t sure; he had lost count a long time ago.

Should I shave first or cut my hair first? He thought, taking a good look of himself. With the towel wrapped around his waist, his chest exposed well-toned muscles that were fit for a swordsman of this day and age. Mildly, he remembered the scars that were along his back… and some along the front of his chest as he looked in the mirror. He touched it, tracing it as he sighed. He decided to shave first, so that cutting his hair would be easier. After finished shaving, he touched the smooth skin and smirked characteristically.

He took the scissors then and began cutting his hair in the style that had fit him before he had gone traveling for as long as he did. When he finished, his midnight blue hair shimmered as the sun hit his hair and he got out of the bathroom, donning on the robe that would be his replacement until he could wear the kimono that was made in the fashion of the Hinamori Clan. Until then, this kimono would fit him just fine, black with a faded pattern in the fabric with a white robe underneath.

He picked up his swords and placed them at his hip and stepped out and headed in the direction of the room that Tsumugu had told him to go when he finished cleaning up.

When Amu finished her bath with Ami, she was refreshed and feeling much better than she had before… as if all of her stress had gone away with the bath. Ami went off with Ran to check on Dia and Amu headed off into the room that Ran told her that she ought to go to. Before she did, however, she stopped by the kitchen.

“Suu, what are you cooking?” Amu asked, peeking into the kitchen. She smelled delicious food being made, almost ready to be served.

The blonde jumped in surprise and her emerald green eyes turned toward Amu’s way and she smiled warmly. “Amu-sama, you mustn’t do that while I’m cooking!” she exclaimed in her warm, gentle voice. It was hard for her voice to ever sound like it was angry or anything else than cheerful and very welcoming.

“Sorry,” Amu looked apologetic. She smiled weakly before smiling fully and bouncing back into the kitchen to sit at the stool that was before a bar and Suu pulled out some snacks and placed it before her.

“You mustn’t spoil your appetite so soon before dinner, so have a taste of what’s to come for your meal,” Suu said as she picked out a piece of chicken and gave it to Amu before scooping the plate away.

As Amu squealed in delight at the deliciously cooked poultry, Suu said, “You must be off now, Ousama is expecting you.”

Amu sighed as she confessed with a whisper, “Actually, I’m kind of scared to go there…”

Suu looked over at her master, surprised. “Oh? And why is that?”

“Because a man had saved me from a group of bandits which started a series of events that led him to start working for us, but he said that he wouldn’t accept it until he’s cleaned up to formally accept it.”

Suu seemed thoughtful as she continued to cook, but spoke up after a short pause, “It’s best for you to go, Amu-chan, otherwise, your father might become very angry with you for keeping him and his guest waiting.”

Amu nodded reluctantly and walked toward the room. She slide the door open and for a moment, thought she was in the wrong room before she realized that he was wearing the same sheathed swords as the ronin from earlier.

“Amu, come sit over here,” her father patted a sitting pillow next to him, and in front of him was a gorgeous dark wood-colored table that was high enough to eat on, play games, and even have their meal on should they choose to.

Amu obeyed and sat down, finally taking a good look at the stranger.

If she wasn’t next to her father, she would have dropped her mouth open in shock and surprise from how good-looking he was. He had such nicely trimmed hair that seemed to have shaped into feline’s ears on the sides with his bangs covering some of his sapphire eyes. His beard was gone, revealing a nice clean shaven man that made him appear many years younger than what he had been originally. She could finally see the smirk that she had seen several times underneath the beard when they were faced against the group of bandits. Without his hat, cloak, and worn-out kimono, he seemed sophisticated, rough yet graceful, sharp yet dull… it was as if he was all of those things, but was not. She could even smell something… different about him in ways that she can’t exactly describe.

“It’s good to know that you can clean up rather well,” her father said, grinning.

The male in front of her smirked. “Of course, otherwise how do we gentlemen get the ladies?” Amu felt offended, but something felt off about his statement. He was aloof, stoic, and joking most of the time. The only time she saw him become serious was when he was defending her… and that was with her eyes closed so she didn’t really see him… “serious”.

Her father laughed and said, “How rude of us, you know our names, but we do not know yours. What is your name, may I ask of you?”

A flicker of something akin to conflict flickered across his face and Amu wondered about it. In that brief moment, what was he thinking about to show such an expression?

But the conflicted expression faded and came into its place was only a smirk, “Just call me Ikuto.”

“No surname?”

He shook his head. “My surname is indeed important… but you only need to know my name for now.”

Her father agreed with a nod and seemed thoughtful before he spoke up again, “I have a favor to ask of you, instead of the job offered earlier by my daughter’s caretaker. It is indeed a job, but of a different level.”

“Oh?” Ikuto raised an eye-brow, curious. His smirk still remained on his face. Amu felt that it must be so characteristically part of him, that she could no longer try to imagine what he would look like with a genuine smile.

“I would like you to become my daughter’s bodyguard instead.”

Author’s Note Part 2:
Okay… Uh… I felt that it was appropriate in this story that we would use honorifics and a bit of Japanese phrases here and there. Not actual ones, but of people things. I’ll try to use their “titles” as much as possible, to give a sort of feel of Feudal Japan. Here, in the endings of each chapter, I’ll list the ones I’ve used in the chapter so that you can understand. If you already do, then you can skip this part. Haha.

(it may or may not be entirely accurate, so do not think that these are the actual translations.)

Hime – Princess
Sama – Highly respected honorific (sort of like master or someone whom you worship/admire)
Daimyo – a sort of Shogun/Great powerful, territorial lords (From Wikipedia)
Ouji – Prince
Ronin – Samurai
Ousama – King/Emperor (in this case, I wanted to emphasize that Amu’s dad is the “king” of their land property)
Joousama – Queen
Nee-sama – Respected Elder sister
Nee-chan – dear sister/precious sister
-chan – a sense of endearment

jgblsjhblsjke I just read Hot Chocolate, it was amazing! You are a very talented writer. I absolutly love Shugo Chara and Amuto is my favourite pairing. Reading the story made me cry I was so happy haha! Is there going to be another one following on from that? I wanna know details of what happens after she calls home ;) haha!

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:21:33 -0800

Thank you very much! :3 I just try my best to be the best I can be as a writer.

Hehe, yes, I was thinking on writing a sequel to Hot Chocolate. :P The story is actually on my fanfiction site at here. c: Enjoy. :3

The sequel is going to probably be finished sometime before Christmas as I’ve written Hot Chocolate sometime around the holidays a few years back when I first wrote this. :3 So you can expect it soon!

Hot Chocolate - Shugo Chara! Oneshot - AmuxIkuto

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 01:38:00 -0800

Oneshot: Hot Chocolate

Summary: It all started with a sudden visit and hot chocolate. Amuto. Oneshot.

Author’s Note: Written a little bit ago. Enjoy.

“I’m so bored!” she exclaimed at nothing in particular, throwing a pillow from her bed at the wall. She sighed. The pink haired seventeen year old did not have any plans for this evening, even though she should have. Her friends had said that there was going to be a party on Christmas Eve, but she found it to be impossible when they all realized that this year, they had to be with their families. The irony in that; that all of them suddenly have family plans that they must all attend to.

Her family wasn’t home either, having decided to go to a friend’s house for a Christmas Party. They had thought that Amu was going to a party already, so they had left without her. When she realized that they had left, she forgot that she hadn’t told them her change of plans.

Her golden hues flickered to the darkening sky outside her window. She realized that there was white stuff falling down, in contrast to the dark sky. It’s snowing, she thought.

Deciding that going outside would probably be better than being stuck indoors, she got herself suited up to go out and play in the snow for a bit, despite the fact that it might be a little boring being by herself.

When she zipped up, she headed outside, locking up the door before she descended the front steps. She could see her breathe as she breathed in the freezing air, looking up at the falling snow. She shivered as a slight gust blew by her momentarily, causing her eyes to shut before reopening them. Unsure of what to do, she decided to walk around for a bit before coming back home…

She laughed at herself. What a lonely way to spend Christmas Eve.

When she came back from her walk, she found someone sitting in front of her house. Surprised, she walked over and noticed it was a male slumped over. He had a lovely box wrapped in colorful paper with a pink bow. She recognized his dark blue hair immediately.

”Ikuto, what the heck are you doing in front of my house?” she asked, nudging him with her foot.

He looked up at her with half-lidded sapphire orbs when he realized who nudged him. “Amu, I thought you would be out for awhile… its Christmas Eve… shouldn’t you be out at a party or something or are you without anyone to hang out with?”

”W-Well, everyone suddenly had important plans to attend to,” Amu muttered, nudging him aside so that she could enter her home. As her fingers went to get her key, she shook as she tried to open the door.

She was truthfully, very happy to see him. It had been so long since she’s seen him and he had seemed to come back from traveling. She shook so much, that she was unable to open the door properly. She was surprised when she felt someone come up behind her, his hand going to her own, and holding it steady as he slipped the key into the lock and opened the door.

Shockingly, his hand was very cold and she wondered how long Ikuto had been out in the cold. When she tried moving away, she could not when he held her steadfast against him. “Your hands are warmer than I expected, Amu,” he said softly.

At that, she snatched her hand away in embarrassment and entered the house. “C-Come in,” she stuttered before closing the door behind him. She noticed that he carried a violin case and a bag of what appeared to be his clothes. Had he come straight here to see her first?

When they slipped off their jackets and shoes, they entered the living room. Ikuto sat down on the couch, just like he always did: with his hands behind his head and his ankles crossed as he rested them on the foot rest in front of him. Amu went into the kitchen and decided to offer him some food or something.

”Would you like anything to eat or drink?” she asked, shuffling around the kitchen to find something suitable.

There was a pause, in which Ikuto did not answer her question. “Hey, Ikuto, would you like anything?” she repeated. Again, when he did not answer, she decided to enter the living room to find out what was wrong.

”HEY, I ASKED YOU A QUESTION,” she exclaimed, when she realized he was merely watching her and observing her. Suddenly embarrassed by his focus on her, she flushed, “Wh-what?”

He smiled.

It was so warm, so loving that she blushed so vividly red, that one would wonder if she would faint from the blood shooting up into her brain. For him to be away for so long to suddenly smile at her, somehow made her want to do something… aside from her being really embarrassed.

”Wh-What are you smiling at?” she managed to ask.

”How you’ve really grown and how… what’s the word, not so kid-like anymore,” he smirked.

”K-Kid-like?!” Her stuttering words threatened for her to smack him, but he swiftly moved out of the way. “I’m not a kid anymore!”

”So I’ve noticed.” He smirked again, but the smirk wasn’t fully there. Amu noticed that there was something different about it. “Oh, I want hot chocolate.”

”Huh?” Momentarily, she was confused by his statement when she realized it was the answer to the question she had asked him three times earlier. “Why you…”

He chuckled as he danced out her way, unable to land a hit on him. Finally, when she could no longer do anymore, she gave up and headed into the kitchen, annoyed with Ikuto. “You’re lucky that you’re a guest.” She looked in the kitchen for some hot chocolate to mix.

Ikuto watched from where he stood, observing her. She wore a white sweater that exposed her shoulders with black straps on her shoulders. She wore a black skirt with white socks that went up to her thigh. In her hair, she wore her typical X-sign shaped hair clips, in a black color.

He sighed when he noticed that she was unable to reach the part in the cabinet that seemed to hold what she was looking for.

Aggravated, she tried reaching with all her might. Even standing on her toes and with the help of the counter, she was unable to reach it. Stretching to the very limits of what she can do, she was surprised again when Ikuto’s arm reached passed hers and grabbed the bag.

”Looking for this?”

”Yes, and thanks for the help,” she huffed, crossing her arms across her chest as she turned around to glare at him. “Now give me the bag.”

His eyes glinted with something and she thought he was considering it. Then she realized that what the glint was… it was the glint of mischief and merciless teasing.

”Ikuto… give me back the bag,” she said slowly, moving forward to try to grab it.

”Hmm… I’m still thinking on that… should I give you back the bag?” he mused. His smile on his face suggested otherwise.

”Ikuto!” She reached for the bag as she jumped forward and found that he moved out of the way so that she could not reach it. And so it begins, the game of the cat playing with the mouse.

”Come and get it, Amu,” he said, smirking so wide, she was getting annoyed.

”Curse you for being so tall,” she muttered as she tried reaching for it for the third time. Again, he moved out of the way. This continued for the next half hour with Amu trying hard to get the bag while Ikuto effortlessly moved away from her swiping hand.

”IKUTO!” she vented, aggravated that she could not reach the bag. “Can I please have that bag back?”

”Hmm…” Again, that glint and so-called “thinking it over” face. “Well, come and get it.” He held the bag in front of her face for a few moments before Amu pounced. However, Ikuto noticed a bit late. As he pulled away, Amu’s body collided with his and he fell back with a grunt as he landed on the ground.

He blinked, slightly dizzy from the fall and looked to see if Amu was all right.

”Amu, you all right?” he asked softly. As his hands touched her back, he was suddenly thrust into reality as he realized that she was no longer twelve, but seventeen; the same age she had met him. Suddenly, he didn’t feel like playing around anymore as his blood warmed.

”Yeah, I’m super,” she said sarcastically. Truthfully, she was getting annoyed with the game that Ikuto had decided to do. But when they fell, she was smacked into his hard muscles and almost gasped when she felt his muscles underneath his shirt. Her face already flushed from the chase, it couldn’t get any pinker when she felt his hand touch her back. It was warm through her shirt… warm and large. Was his hand always this large when she was younger?

When she looked up, she found herself looking into his face. She was shocked in the look at was in his eyes. His usually smiling sapphire eyes were now a dark turbulence of navy blue… as if some sort of thought had invaded his mind.

Finally realizing that his guard was down, she ignored her pounding heart, and grabbed the hot chocolate bag and moved off of him.

”HA! I WIN!” she gloated.

Ikuto snapped out of his stupor to grasp that she had gotten hold of the hot chocolate bag. Resting his head on the palm of his hand, he looked at her with a smirk, “Even with such a grown up like body, you’re still so, so, so very young.”

”H-HEY! W-Well, at least I don’t j-just suddenly show up out of nowhere!” she huffed and stomped into the kitchen.

How dare he?! And just when I invited him in, he decides to play a game, and then not even explain to me what has happened! Amu thought, ferociously ripping the bag open, spilling the chocolate powder into the cup. As she began to stir it with water and some milk, she began to think more calmly, but more sadly. Why didn’t he say hello? Or a simple greeting, or a “Hi, Amu, how are you?” Why didn’t he even just say a simple “how are you?” to me instead of just… making fun of me…

In the midst of her thoughts, she didn’t notice what Ikuto was doing. When he came into the kitchen, he found her staring absently at the hot chocolate, carefully stirring it as to not burn it. Leaning close toward her ear, he whispered softly, “Amu…”

”GAH!” she jumped, almost doing something of a disaster in the kitchen. “IKUTO! Do NOT scare me like that! I could have burned myself!”

”Ah, sorry,” he apologized. “Are you done yet?”

”Hmph, yeah, almost,” she grumbled, really annoyed as to why she felt like she liked him in the first place, let alone love him. Wait a minute, love? She almost froze when she thought of that. Did she love Ikuto? It was true; she had spent sometimes yearning for him and for his teasing and his smile so much, that it made her hurt and cry. But she was not going to admit that now, after he was being such a jerk toward her.

”Amu, I got a surprise for you when you finish,” he said gently. It surprised her that he could sound like that and decided that he was being sincere.

”All right,” she agreed. When she finished making the hot chocolate, she poured it into mugs and walked over toward where Ikuto was standing, which was by their Christmas tree. He was admiring it.

”I see some of the things that were bought with your Shugo Charas,” he noted.

”Yeah, why? What about them?” she offered him the mug and he took it. He blew on it softly before taking a sip. “Hey, did you put milk in here?”

”Yeah, don’t you like it?” she asked worriedly.

”I do, it’s just the way I like it,” he said quietly before taking another sip. When they had finished a bit more of their hot chocolate, Amu watched as he walked over to the wrapped package and handed it to her. “Really, I had intended to give this to you later, but it’s Christmas.”

”Hmm?” she placed her mug down and held the package. She looked up at Ikuto questioningly before deciding to go sit down and open it. She paused before she did and looked up at him again as he nodded.

She took off the bow gently before unwrapping the wrapping carefully, as if she wanted to save it for later. When she got that off, she found herself looking at a brown box, of which she opened. Inside, rested a leather bound book of sorts. It was black, but worn from overuse.

Just when she was about to ask, he only gestured her to open it.

Looking back down at the book, she opened it.

The first page held a picture of her and Ikuto, back when they were younger. How this picture was taken was shocking because Amu clearly did not recall them taking a picture together at any time in the past. Unable to say anymore, she turned the page and found it filled with scrap pieces of paper, all scribbled in Ikuto’s handwriting. They were music sheets and notes as to leads to where his father was. On the next page over, were letters from Tadase and herself as well as Utau and his mother. She stroked each in turn before she turned to the next, and the next. Each page was filled with a memento of sorts; she wondered why it felt like it was documented. When she reached the second half, she found herself staring at…

Nothing. She was staring at nothing.

”Ikuto, how come the second half of this album is empty?” she asked. She looked up at him and found him with a soft smile. Gently, he knelt down and put away the album safely into the box before stroking her face.

”Because my other half of my present was this,” he said as he lifted his violin case and took out his violin. She could see how worn out it was from over the years and watched as he tuned the violin, getting it ready to be played. It had been so long since she’s seen him play his violin, she watched with admiration, adoration and…

When he began to play, for a moment, she did not recognize the tune. But when she did, she realized with a laugh that it was the song that they played together, back in the park when they did their duet. Unable to resist the temptation, she began to sing softly to the tune, the lyrics still clear in her mind.

When she looked over at Ikuto, she realized that he was having fun.

When they finished, she applauded him before watching him put away his violin again. “You play more beautifully now, it’s a lot softer and happier,” she commented with a smile.

”It was because I was thinking of you.”

”It’s so wonderful—what?” she froze.

”It was because I was thinking of you, Amu.” His sapphire eyes held no mischief, no silly little grin, but a serious one, just as it was back at the amusement park when he told her he might not see her again.

”You…”

”I still love you, very much,” he said softly.

Unable to answer, she stumbled backward. She glanced at the album before placing her hands on her chest. Her heart was pounding so hard, her face so pink with… what? Why was she so nervous and so happy?

”I see.”

Huh?

She looked up and found him with an expression that reminded her immediately back when they had their troubles with Easter. It was that same sad expression, but it seemed deeper; he was hurt.

He was packing away his belongings, finishing his hot chocolate when he went to the door. When it finally hit her that he was leaving, she took off from where she had fallen and ran into him. When he heard the pattering of running, he turned around just in time for her to clash into his body, wrapping her arms around his torso, her face buried in his chest.

”Don’t leave, Ikuto!”

”Amu…?” He tried to see her expression, but was unable to. He placed a hand on her head and the other arm around her. He sighed quietly, “Yes, Amu?”

”I… I…” she couldn’t say it, but she knew more than that. She knew that somewhere deep down inside of herself that she had always loved him back. Tears threatened to stream from her eyes. It was as if she was suddenly afraid that she was going to lose him.

”Amu, take a deep breath,” he advised, “and calm down. What’s wrong?”

”I…” she breathed deeply through his shirt, taking in his scent in the process, suddenly making her very aware of him. But she forged forward anyway; she was going to give in and understand her feelings.

”I love you, Ikuto.” Tears rolled down her face gently, causing Ikuto to rest against the door to lift up her chin to face him.

”I love you too, Amu.” The way he said her name sent shivers up her spine and made her heart flutter with anticipation. He closed what remaining space they had with a kiss.

She was surprised how soft his lips were, and how warm they were. It was a gentle kiss, and it tasted of chocolate, thanks to the hot chocolate from earlier. But she melted underneath her first kiss, her knees weakening, threatening to give way.

He pulled away from their kiss to chuckle.

”It seems, you still have a long way to grow up, dear Amu,” he smiled. Even though she knew he was teasing her, she didn’t mind. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

”Then, teach me,” she said delicately.

He rested his forehead against her own, closing his eyes as he embraced her, giving her squeeze. “But of course.”

* * *

It’s been a year since then, and again, snow began to fall to the ground. To Amu, it only reminded her of a very happy memory. After their little confession toward each other, her family had decided that then it was time to come home. When they found that they could not open the door, they rang the door bell, and embarrassed, she pushed Ikuto out of the way to open the door.

Her mom was almost very happy to find out that her daughter finally had a boyfriend, despite him being a few years older. Her dad, as per the usual, wailed and cried that she shouldn’t grow up, and should stay with him forever. Ami, being older at the age of ten, whacked her poor father and smiled, “Don’t worry, daddy, you have mama!”

For a moment, her parents looked at each other for a moment before smiling and agreeing with a laugh. Then, Ikuto was welcomed in more formally and he gave them each a small gift from where he’s traveled.

”Amu-chan!” said a voice with the utmost urgency.

”Hmm?” she looked up at the person who spoke to her.

”Geez, can’t you stop spacing out for another minute? We kind of need you,” Yaya pouted.

Amu laughed. “All right, sorry,” she apologized as she followed on behind. “Yaya, what are you buying?”

”I’m buying presents for everyone,” she huffed. “I wish we could go buy some cute stuff or go to that cute store I saw awhile ago.”

”Then why don’t you?”

Yaya paused for a moment to look at Amu. She raised an eye-brow. “Did something happen?”

”No… not really, I’m just really happy,” Amu said as she noticed someone from the corner of her eye. “Nagi! Rima!”

The pair looked up and waved back, walking over. Yaya glomped the small light-brown haired female, “You’re still so cute!”

”Yaya…” Rima said through a smile. “You’re beginning to hurt my cheek.”

”So Amu, how are things with you lately?” Nagihiko asked. “How are things going with you and Ikuto?”

Amu had told them about Ikuto awhile back, most of them not that surprised and glad that finally Amu had realized her feelings. Tadase had said that he was only happy for them, and will still continue to be Amu’s friend, always.

”Well…” Amu began slowly, holding her cellphone in her hand as she played with the charm that hung from it. “Ikuto gave me his apartment key the other day… more like during our Winter Break because I was always over so much…”

”So, you cook for him?” Yaya asked, curious.

”Um… yeah, before he comes home from work or his school,” Amu fidgeted. She couldn’t tell where this conversation was going.

”Hehe, so you’re a wife now?” Yaya giggled as she patted Amu on the back. “Congratulations on marrying!”

”Y-YAYA!” Amu exclaimed, suddenly very embarrassed.

”Nagi, go buy me some taiyaki,” Rima requested of Nagihiko.

”Hmm…? Suddenly in the mood for some?” he asked, raising an eye-brow.

”Yes,” she confessed, not bothering hiding her sudden need. Nagihiko sighed for a moment before smiling and agreed.

”All right,” he shrugged as he began to walk away. When he was out of earshot, Amu was confused.

”Why did you-“

”Has he done anything to you yet?” Rima asked sternly.

”Ha?” surprised, she wasn’t sure what to say to that. It was true, now that she was of legal age; Ikuto no longer seemed like the adult in the relationship, although, he still technically is. “Well, no… he had said before that I was too young for anything, only giving me kisses on the cheek or forehead, but never…” She paused, suddenly realizing something. In the past year, he hadn’t done anything to frighten her, and had treated her with the utmost patience… as if… well, Amu wasn’t sure. What was Ikuto waiting for? Then again, it’s not like she minded how patient he was with her.

”So he hasn’t?” Yaya asked, surprised. Despite the fact that Yaya had been the youngest of the group, when she entered high school, she surprised them all by having a more mature side to her, but she was still the baby. In certain times of their conversations, Yaya would seem to have become more responsible. It must be because of her baby brother, Tsubasa.

”No… why?”

”This is weird, maybe Ikuto is gay,” Rima speculated. “It’s not normal for a guy his age to be restraining himself from a girl like Amu.”

”G-GAY?!” Amu exclaimed. There was no way that was possible… after all; he sometimes randomly hugged her from behind just for the sake of it when she was at his apartment. “N-NO WAY!”

”Who’s gay?”

They turned to find themselves looking at Utau with Kukai beside her. She wore sunglasses and a hat to disguise herself from the public. She wore that same outfit when she first came to Amu’s house on a surprise visit. Kukai was dressed in casual wear of jeans, a green jacket zipped up and a hat.

”We’re speculating that Ikuto might be gay,” Yaya said, not caring who they were actually talking about.

Whatever Utau was holding, she broke it with a loud snap! “I-Ikuto… g-gay?!”

”Well, it’s possible, after all, you had said before that he had never expressed interest in girls before Amu… and now, he’s restraining himself from really doing anything to Amu,” Rima said with a shrug.

Kukai laughed so hard, he needed to hold the wall for support. Utau sighed. “He’s not gay, I’m pretty sure of that… otherwise, why he would still be with her now and still say that he loves her?” she pointed out. “Kukai! Stop laughing!”

”S-Sorry,” he said as he wiped the tears from his eyes. Nagihiko came at that moment.

”Did I miss something…?” he asked slowly, noting the serious expressions on their faces. “Here you are, Rima.”

”Not really,” Amu admitted as Rima thanked Nagi.

”He’s not, all right?” Utau reassured. “Kukai, you calm enough now to go have some ramen? I mean, that’s what I came out from my break for.”

”Heck yeah!” he said with a wide grin. “Let’s go… I’ll race you.” With that, a glint appeared in both their eyes and instantly, they ran off. Amu sighed, shaking her head as she thought, Still the same…

”Rima, we have to go now or we’ll miss that show,” Nagi reminded her. As he did so, stars appeared in her eyes and she nodded furiously.

”All right, we’ll be off then,” Rima said as she waved good-bye. “Good luck with Ikuto, Amu!”

”R-Right…” Amu waved back as she watched the pair disappear around the corner. “I wonder what show they’re going to watch…”

”Probably a comedy, knowing the way Rima just acted just now,” Yaya said as she glanced at the time. “Ah, I have to go; I’m supposed to be home to watch Tsubasa.”

”All right, I’ll see you later,” Amu said as she hugged Yaya before she ran off toward home.

”Hmm… what to do now?” she mused aloud before deciding to go grocery shopping for Ikuto’s dinner.

* * *

”Let’s see, after that I add this…” Amu thought aloud as she continued to cook. She was in Ikuto’s apartment now, waiting for him to come home as she usually did. Since it was Christmas Eve, she prepared his favorites with fish, milk, and others. Of course, she cooked her own favorites too. When she was about done, she began to think of what Yaya and Rima told her. Now that they mentioned it, Amu has been acting more like his wife than anything else… even more than a girlfriend. She cleans up his apartment a lot, cooks for them when she’s here, and even does her homework here!

As she waited for him to come home, she also began to wonder why Ikuto hasn’t touched her yet. Maybe Rima was right, maybe Ikuto was homosexual…

Just then, she heard the door open as she heard his voice, “Hmm… something smells good.”

When he appeared around the corner, he was wearing what appeared to be a semi-formal suit with one of Amu’s scarves around his neck. He placed his violin case on the side, took off his jacket and scarf and hung it on the coat rack. She found that as he sat down, he wore a black turtle-neck sweater with black skinny jeans, and white socks. He looked rather sleek and… as much as Amu didn’t want to think about it then, rather hot.

”I’m home, Amu,” he greeted with a kiss on the cheek. She snapped out of her reverie, hoping that whatever insecurities that was building up was going to disappear soon.

”Welcome home,” she smiled. They began to eat dinner and as they finished, Ikuto helped with cleaning up. Half the night passed by slowly as Amu helped Ikuto set up his bedroom for the night. Her insecurity then still had not disappeared. He hadn’t hugged her from behind, or kissed her as a thank you for a small deed, or even just held her hand out of nowhere for what may have seemed like forever. She felt her heart tighten and decided to ask the question when she handed him the hot chocolate. “I-Ikuto… is something wrong with me?” she asked as she gave him hot chocolate.

”Eh?” He turned his head from the television as he received the drink. They had agreed that this Christmas Eve they would just spend time at his apartment before he sent her home. “What do you mean?” He sensed something was wrong.

”Is something wrong with me?” she repeated as she looked down.

”No, nothing is wrong with you, why would you think that?” he replied. “What made you think that? What…?”

”Because you haven’t touched me since last year and I’m already afraid that you’re going to disappear on me just randomly one day!” she confessed, tears beginning to blur her eyes. “Sometimes, I doubt that you even truly love me.”

”Oh Amu…” Ikuto pulled her close to him, to his chest. “Sometimes, I love you too much that it hurts.” He noticed something. “You’re shaking… Are you cold?”

Amu held her mug of the hot beverage as she took a shaky sip. It warmed her insides and why she was cold, she wasn’t sure.

Carefully, he took the hot chocolate away and set them down on a table. He held her face between his hands so that she would look at him. “Amu, more than anything in the world, you’re the most important person to me; I love you with all of my heart.” He brought out a small velvet box. As she opened it, shock began to appear on her face. She looked to him for a moment and when he nodded, she took out the silver ring and placed it on her ring finger.

”D-Does that mean…?” she asked softly.

”Yes, will you marry me?” he asked as he kissed her eye.

”Yes…!” Without thinking, she kissed him on the lips, ripping away whatever control Ikuto had left.

”Amu…” he growled, his voice deep and laced with… with something she did not recognize. “Call home and tell them that you’ll be spending the night here.” When she looked at his eyes, it was a stormy sapphire.

”E-EH?!”

When she did, her mother only laughed.

Curse Divide - Chapter 17 - Revealation & an Intimate, Reluctant Agreement

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 11:16:05 -0700

Her:
The human girl called him ‘love’. He shivered as a pleasant wave ran down his spine. A mild embarrassment made him hide his head under an arm, ruffling his feathered crown in the process. A sigh blew through his small nostrils as he returned his gaze to the sky. Sayuri. He remembered, of course. The mage. One whom he’d been a little rude with. If only she knew who he was. ‘Love’- he would never hear her say it again.

The other two armored humans had separated ways with them: the one woman who was distrustful of him- Resee… and the man- Jegan; his friends. Yet he couldn’t face them. None of them knew that he was beginning to remember. The past and present was melding; two coming into one.

He turned his head, looking at the inn, at one window that was still bright with candle light. Sayuri. The human who called him ‘love’. His age old nature would drive him to tell her the truth soon. He knew he should reveal himself to her very soon.

——————-

Me:
Sayuri noticed something during the next few days. It was as if the griffin, whom she had named “Love”, had become quiet. It was as if his mind had quieted or built up a wall that she couldn’t go through. She wondered mildly if he was remembering something that it didn’t want her to remember. She shrugged it off, thinking that it was all right that it was starting to become aware of what was going on around himself.

They had been traveling for awhile and Sayuri felt as if the gloom of Keira wouldn’t go away. It had been lingering there in the silence for awhile, whilst Jegan was trying to cheer Resee up. She still felt a small amount of guilt over Keira’s death, but remembered her words that she had said to her. She wondered for a moment where Shura could be and automatically felt bad. She wasn’t taking care of Shura at all… he had gone missing ever since he had been taken away from Keira. She didn’t know where Shura was at all and felt guilty of the fact that Sayuri had not been honoring Keira’s wish. She sighed.

Thinking on it now, she noticed that Resee and Jegan had seemed to have gone back. She wondered for a moment why. Why had they left her with just Love? She sighed as the white dwarf rabbit in her small bag pocket was asleep and Eve was flying far away from the griffin, in case Love should decide to eat her. She stroked Love’s feathers as she fell deep into thought. She couldn’t leave Love alone so she decided to stop for the night, seeing as they had traveled far enough that Sayuri felt that they should wait for Jegan and Resee to come back.

Gently, she jumped off the griffin’s saddle and walked him over by a bunch of trees where he would be completely hidden. She was surprised that the trees were able to hide him. “Stay here.” Then she scurried inside to reserve a room for later by the window where she could see the woods from it. Inside the room, she walked over to the window and opened it to see Love where she was in. Since the light was off, she was able to see him clearly from where she sat perched on the window. Eve fluttered over and went inside the room and found the edge of the bed, ruffled her feathers and then fell asleep.

Sayuri only smiled as her candle light flickered on but closed the window, feeling the chill of the night. She yawned as she prepared herself to sleep, after pouring herself over the texts she was reading, to hopefully try to hide the information she had learned about the griffin’s birth. She yawned again, realizing that it was late. She wondered for a moment what was going to happen in the next morning and what had caused for Resee and Jegan to leave so soon and early in their trip. She shrugged it off and blew out the candle’s fire and let her eyes adjust to the darkness with the slight light of the moonlight peering in. It had been about a few hours already and most would have already fallen asleep. Sighing, she got up and walked to the window and opened it again. She sat at the window to look up at the stars…

———————

Her:

He shifted restlessly, watching her from the forest with a hidden yearning. He should reveal himself to her soon. But when is soon? There were more humans in the area here. He couldn’t remain a griffin and avoid detection… not unless he flew off to somewhere more secluded. Leaving the mage was the last thing he’d want to do.

The cold night wind filtered through his feathers in soothing flows. The golden flecks in them shimmered. He turned his head to pick at the saddle, unclasping the nearest buckle, then the other before rising to his feet to shake it loose. Tonight would be the best time.

He shifted, bones cracking, feathers shrinking into the pores of his skin. The saddle slid off and dropped to the ground with a heavy thud. When he was done, he searched for the clothes Jegan had packed for him. He left his top bare, clutching onto the shirt in one hand as he left the cover of the forest. It was a moonless night, but the stars that dot the dark skies were bright as diamonds. His skin shone pale under the dim light.

He approached the inn quietly, stepping into the clearing behind it without haste, ensuring that no one was around to witness. Most of the windows were already shut, with curtains draw. Only one was open and his sharp vision could see her looking out. With great effort, he forced his shoulder blades to shift, sprouting extensive wings too large for his form. With an agile leap, he shot vertically up, flared his wings and landed on her window sill, crouched to fit himself through. The wings slid jerkily into his skin to form his scarred back. As he passed, he flashed her a mischievous smile and planted a brief kiss on her cheek. He staggered into her room, turning around to face her with a wistful expression, all playfulness gone, and waiting for her judgment.

——————-

Me:

As she watched the stars, she wasn’t aware of what was going on below. Thinking that Love had fallen asleep, she herself was about to doze off after she had named several of the stars to herself. Seeing as it was a silent night, she had decided to cast a spell on her ears in case something or someone should come to the inn, namely, Jegan and Resee.

When she heard something crack, and then a heavy thud, she mildly thought that it was nothing, and continued to look up at the stars and naming them in her head; occasionally, saying them aloud in a soft voice. Then, what she wasn’t expecting was the sudden appearance of him as he shot up and flared… his wings, to land on the windowsill. She bolted upright to stand up, realizing that those wings were the griffin’s. Then she watched as the large wings of Love’s disappear into Shura’s back. After that, he kissed her on the cheek, causing her to blush a very vivid cherry red as she stumbled back and fell.

Then the expression on his face told her he was awaiting something from her. She covered herself quickly, realizing she was only wearing a silk nightgown she only wore alone. Covering mainly, her chest, she stood up and looked up at the taller male. For a moment, her mind seemed shocked and surprised and yet, what was said on her face said so many questions and emotions that one could not register what she was thinking, even if her thoughts are often echoed on her face. Slowly, she stepped forward, for some reason, now verifying that Shura was indeed the griffin… how embarrassing, she had called him Love…

Reaching out with one hand, as if in disbelief, her shaky hand came in contact with his skin on his chest. She could clearly felt the heartbeat underneath her fingers… yet, everything felt so ethereal right now she wasn’t sure of what she was seeing.

Finally, she looked like she was about to say something as she continued to stare at her hand touching his chest, where she could feel his heartbeat.

“Shura…?” she whispered, in a voice so soft that it could barely be heard. She sounded unsure of what she was seeing, wondering if it was lack of sleep from seeing anything actually real and that this was actually a dream.

————————

Her:

Of all things she could wear, she had to have silk. A wan smile curved his lips as he let his darkened gaze to appraise her form. His eyes had a dim shine of transparent gold and his blood warmed.

As she rose to her feet, the smooth silk rippled down and was like second skin on her. It clung to her form, her curves. She may as well have not worn anything at all. He almost chuckled when her arms went around covering her breasts. The candle light highlighted her long maroon tresses, casting amber shadows and traced golden lines. And those eyes dark in contrast to her alabaster skin were so innocent. Her scent… so entrancing, but he knew it was wrong. His instinct knew it was wrong. But still, he was drawn to her.

She came so slowly towards him with not the slightest fear. Didn’t she know what he was? His eyes slid shut as he savored her touch, cool against his warm skin.

“Shura…?”

“Your reaction is a little disappointing,” he said quietly, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. His eyes drifted open. He turned and walked to the nightstand to retrieve a robe and returned to drape it over her shoulders, folding the front over her body.

He didn’t know what to say… where to start. So he simply took a step back, putting a respectable distance between them and waited almost meekly for her questions to come.

—————————

Me:

“Your reaction is a little disappointing,” he said quietly.

Sayuri said nothing as she withdrew her fingers, suddenly realizing that this in fact, was not a dream. He had spoken in that voice that she knew that she was clearly wide-awake. Then the robe that he had placed over her shoulders and then moved it so that it covered her chest, she looked down reluctantly to fix herself of the robe.

Then she looked up when he had stepped back, as if bracing himself for her questions. She opened her mouth but closed it. Her face showed that she was puzzled as to how and what to ask Shura the right questions. She decided she should start off simple.

She looked towards him with soft ruby eyes, and in that gentle voice, “Why?” Her eyes showed that she was asking about him showing his transformation from the griffin to his human self. She walked slowly towards him, again to touch his body and see how he was able to transform into such a magnificent creature so big that those wings had looked too large for him. She walked around to his back, her hands touching over his scars and where she saw the wings had come from as she waited for his answer.

———————

Her:

The muscles under his skin flexed when her cool touch skimmed over them. The mage will be the death of him one day.

Her soft entrancing voice asked a question and the emotion in her eyes warmed him. He hadn’t been sure what she was asking, so he assumed a question anyone would ask if they saw him. “Why did I kill so many, and ripped their hearts out?” he asked sardonically. “I can’t remember… not yet.”

He shuddered when she touched his scar. Though the pink tissues that grew over the old wound was much more numbed compared to his unharmed skin, it was strangely sensitive to her touch. Electrifying. As her fingertips continue to trace, his breathing hastened just slightly, and a warm, pleasant wave spread through him. His fist tightened his grip over his rumpled shirt, debating if he should pull it on.

There was an ache in his heart. He dropped his shirt and slowly reached back for her arms to pull her around. “Now that you know, can you still call me ‘love’? Or are you appalled with what I’ve done?” His eyes bore into hers. Shura needed the truth- to know what he was to her. A monster?

————————-

Me:

“Why did I kill so many, and ripped their hearts out?” he asked sardonically. “I can’t remember… not yet.”

She shook her head, just enough as she murmured, “No… not that.” Her fingers continued to trace his scars, part of herself wondering how he had gotten them, another part of her tracing the scars that she herself had healed a few days ago or more, and another part wondering about that memory of that image she had vaguely seen while healing him. She wondered how his wings come out of his body had and that he was the griffin as well. Was this magic that she had not learned of… yet?

She felt his muscles and body tense with her touch, her fingers tingling from just his skin. Mildly, she wondered why. Softly, she heard his breathing quicken just a touch and wondered why. Was it because of something she was doing wrong?

“Now that you know, can you still call me ‘love’? Or are you appalled with what I’ve done?” His eyes bore into hers.

She blushed a soft pink when she was turned around to face him, his bare chest bared to her as she forced herself to look up into his eyes. She didn’t flinch when she discovered that his eyes was boring into her own. Her blush deepened when she thought about calling him “love”, now that she knew his true form.

When she spoke, her words were soft, but firm as it did not shake at all, unafraid of how she was going to answer. Her eyes were determined to not look away from his piercing ones as if she thought the question was asking about her morals. “I-I’d rather just call you Shura while you are… in human form, and no, I’m not. I have seen far worse of what a magical creature can do… Even if it is a part of you… even it was just a little.” She didn’t know if what she answered was right, but one thing was for sure: she was not afraid of Shura or of his griffin side. She believed that the griffin had been treated wrongly and which was why he now lashes out and… devours humans, especially their hearts.

“No matter what someone says, the griffin is a magnificent creature.”

————————-

Her:

His smile was pained, wry, exasperated. “I sincerely have no clue how you survive in a world like this. You’d be eaten by a pretty looking predator in no time. Griffins are magnificent, yes, but this one kills. You don’t know me very well, do you, love?”

Oh and how she didn’t understand… he could love her, but she could never love him.

He lowered his head, leaning towards hers as he took her chin. For a moment, he simply stood there, breathing in her scent, letting his eyes roam over her delicate features. He hummed in pleasure. “I like your fragrance very much. What do you taste like?” He leaned closer, locking his eyes with hers, a mischievous glint in them. He was giving her a chance to refuse, curious and already almost sure that she wouldn’t.

———————-

Me:

“I sincerely have no clue how you survive in a world like this. You’d be eaten by a pretty looking predator in no time. Griffins are magnificent, yes, but this one kills. You don’t know me very well, do you, love?”

Her eyes narrowed. No, she did not believe in the idea that she’d be eaten by a pretty looking predator. She was not that stupid and she knew her ways around “pretty” creatures so that they would not “eat” her, as Shura says. Her eyes burned with a fire that seemed on the broken edge of anger at the assumption that she believed that she would love every “pretty” creature that she came across. Even though she was blushing at the nickname that she herself had given him as he called her that, she barely managed to lash out, “I’m not as fragile as everyone makes me out to be.”

She made him release her arm so that she would be a little bit away from him, however, he was much taller than she was and her eyes narrowed a bit when he drew his face close to hers. She flushed deeper, but her anger did not fade as she watched his eyes roam over her face for a moment.

“I like your fragrance very much. What do you taste like?” He leaned closer, locking his eyes with hers, a mischievous glint in them.

“T-Taste like?!” she exclaimed. She was already annoyed with him assuming that she was going to fall into those kinds of traps, but thinking that she will let him take an advantage over her was ridiculous. Her eyes flashed as anger crossed over her visage. She raised her hand to slap him, her fiery ruby eyes burning into his own piercing ones.

“How dare you!”

———————————-

Her:

He kept his expression passive and he could feel that he had stroked her anger to life. He listened and waited almost too patiently for her to finish. Shura had to disagree with her. She was fragile. Oh so fragile that he could confidently say he could crush her if he wanted. So easily. But even before he could, he trusting nature would get her killed sooner.

A low growl ripped from his throat when she pulled away. Finally. Some sensible reaction. He had actually misread her once- that she would allow him free reign. And he was annoyed with her for refusing.

When she raised her arm- he’d thought she never would- a faint, pained smile flashed briefly over his lips before he leaned forward in a crouch, a snarl building at the back of his throat as black wings tinted gold erupted from his back. Cracks and the sound of shredding flesh muffled by his rapidly growing feathers filled the room. He shifted so swiftly, the griffin’s entire size filling the room. His eyes glinted with a dangerous light as he glared at her.

One claw reached swiftly forward, aiming to pin her onto the floor. He was careful, but he masked his care for her with his bestial viciousness. No! Not a slap! He snarled, chest rumbling with the rough, threatening sound. Where is your magic? Use it!

Had it been someone else, mage, you would have been dead! He hissed, narrowing his eyes at her. He continued to glare at her for a moment longer.

Then the act slowly crumbled. His ears, which were pressed flat against his skull slowly dropped and the fierceness, vanished from his eyes, replaced by remorse. You have to kill me… if I ever hurt anyone. No one is willing to do it. No one can do it. I am much too strong for them. Do you understand? You cannot call me ‘love’.

———————-

Me:

Before her hand went up at all, she noticed that brief and faint, pained smile. Her anger and emotions in that moment had faltered but what happened next surprised her that she had actually pulled up a barrier before anything could happen as she moved back as Shura changed back into the griffin. He had her pinned to the ground, but she sensed something about him that said he was being careful. Her eyes again narrowed after her shock had passed but her eyes widened when she heard him speak, clearly, unlike the other times when she had spoken with the griffin.

This time, she knew that she was still talking with Shura as the griffin.

No! Not a slap! He snarled, chest rumbling with the rough, threatening sound. Where is your magic? Use it!
Had it been someone else, mage, you would have been dead! He hissed, narrowing his eyes at her.

“Even if you are a Rune Knight, that does not make your griffin side have the ability to reflect nor the complete immunity to my magic,” she hissed. Sayuri only narrowed her eyes further as she said, “First of all, I don’t let strangers into my room before I blast them out of the window and second of all, I have ways to getting around griffins.” Her eyes still flashed with that same burning fire and determination that she had earlier but it faltered when she noticed his eyes.

You have to kill me… if I ever hurt anyone. No one is willing to do it. No one can do it. I am much too strong for them. Do you understand? You cannot call me ‘love’.

Her gaze softened when she heard the sadness in his voice, the loneliness. Freeing her arm out so that she could try to stroke his feathers, she murmured, “Amongst the mages, there is a sacred ceremony between those who are like you, their lives ultimately connected.” She stopped as she listened to his other questions. “I… cannot. Were I to kill you, I might as well as end my own life. Like I said, there’s a sacred ceremony for that amongst the mages that intertwines your… ‘kind’ with people like… me.” She paused as she considered her next few words, closing her eyes for a moment as she teleported out of the griffin’s grip. “But because you are such a creature here, it is the exact reason why I call you…” she blushed, “‘love.’ Not because you are a creature that kills, it is because that you are or could possibly be… lonely.” She stroked his feathers before withdrawing her hand.

“As for me killing you, the only way I would, is if I do that sacred ceremony.” She looked to him with strange eyes that seemed to be of a warning…

——————-

Her:

His growl deepened when she challenged him, a hiss slipping past his beak. His temper was much quicker when he was in a griffin’s skin. Didn’t she understand? He wanted her to hurt him. She was the most powerful mage in Rania, wasn’t she? She should be able to take his life easily. As easy as breathing itself, he could have laughed if he were human, listening to the mage defend herself to say that how she would deal with intruders and monsters like him.

Lonely? Was he lonely? His growl ceased when she stroked his feathers soothingly. He stared at the mage thoughtfully. Amber flecks in his golden eyes shifted. The years… the decades… he had been waiting and looking for someone. But he couldn’t remember who…. Lonely? Shura wasn’t too sure. It felt as if he had been locked in a deep sleep, watching his human body go about his daily routines. She couldn’t kill him? She would… rather end her own life than his? That didn’t make sense.

Why did everyone want to keep him earthbound? Was no one willing to send him off?

His claw sank to touch the floor when she vanished from beneath him. He had wanted to shake her hand off when she touched him again, but she seemed to have sensed his distress and her touch didn’t linger long on him. He tried to process… to find another meaning in her words and her offer. He’d been away from home for a long, long time, but Rania’s ancient practices weren’t lost on him. This ritual… it was the binding of two souls.

His chest heaved, feathers rustling as she folded his wings tight against his body. He was so large; he could have burst through the walls. He threw his head in her direction, golden eyes burning holes into her own. Indiscernible emotions swirled and roiled in his chest, dragging his lungs and burning his heart. Why do you want to die with me? He asked acidly. What in hell makes you think I’d bind myself to you? Once was enough, he didn’t need any more. Once… his precious person. His precious person he couldn’t remember.

————————

Me:

Sayuri heard the soft question of being lonely echo in his mind. She also heard before that she could easily take his life like breathing and to that, she turned away and faced the window with a sad expression. She pulled out something out of the cover her robe and nightgown, a small silver heart trinket with appears to be engraving. The item itself is of no value and has no magic inside.

She listened to his thoughts before she murmured, “No… I’m just simply denying killing another magical creature… with a better option.” She paled as the memories and clenched her eyes shut as she held onto the small trinket.

When she opened them again, Shura’s own eyes were burning through her, but she didn’t feel it. Only the anger behind them.

Why do you want to die with me? He asked acidly. What in hell makes you think I’d bind myself to you?

She turned away to hide the emotions that was bringing forth memories she did not want to remember during the times she stayed in the castle back in Rania. Still holding onto the trinket, she walked the best she could to the window. “I don’t think such a person as yourself should die alone,” she whispered. For a moment, that sentence didn’t sound like she was talking about Shura. She was, but she was also talking about someone else. However, when he asked the second question, she snapped out of it for a moment as she looked down at the trinket. “I had only given you an option, and yes, I could kill you… at any given notice, but… I will not. I cannot.”

It was a taboo to kill those who do no actual harm to the person without Sayuri suffering for it as well. In Shura’s case, she cannot kill him, she could only kill one side of him and that would be the griffin side, and being as he is a magical creature, she will have to bear the circumstances of killing one that is law in her Kingdom. Sayuri figured that there were actually two people inside of Shura, himself, and the griffin side… thus, she cannot kill him… and which was why she offered the ritual. It was the only way that she could “kill” him completely, both himself and the griffin side. It was a taboo for her as well that she cannot tell him the exact reason why. Besides that, she also had remembered at one point while living in Rania, she killed an entire village of people. She didn’t know how it had happened. She only remembered waking up covered in blood and many burning tattoos on her body that were red instead of just her black one that was on her back…

She shoved those memories aside and clung to her trinket further, causing it to leave prints in her hand. Her already fair skin seemed to pale further, as if no color had ever touched her face. At the memory, her arm burned and she flinched visibly. Hiding her arm from Shura, she lifted the sleeve of the robe up to reveal the red burning tattoo before it quickly faded away.

“As much as you may hate it, as much as you may possibly loathe me for it, I think that you deserve to live and try to change, but from the way I see everything now and how you ‘try’, I doubt it. But you have become something important to me, and I will honor her wish… and my own.”

“Her wish” had been directed at Keira. For Sayuri to take care of Shura, and that was what she was going to do, even if it meant lying to him about her own past so that she may continue to watch over him… in a way that she hopefully can. But should Shura ask of her of her past, then she would have no choice but to tell the truth, seeing as the laws in Rania were already and still punishing her. Not by the tattoo on her back, but the burning red ones.

——————

Her:

He narrowed his eyes at her, resisting a growl that was now rattling his chest. Humans and mages alike were all insufferably foolish. All things die alone. What did their romantic minds conjure? That two spirits would hold hands and leave the living realm together with a happily ever after? Fools; everyone are born alone and will die alone.

You are weak, he hissed. Weak humans like you will never amount to anything. Shura was furious and he knew those words would cut. Really, what was so difficult when all she had to do was nod her head and be done with it?

Before he could make anymore snide remarks, he saw her pale. And he saw the injury, or what was left of it flash briefly on her arm. Keira…. She had made that. The mage could barely hide anything from him. He was filling the room anyway. Oh how many innocent souls had he harmed? He couldn’t count anymore. Blood was thick and unwashable on his hands. Blood of the innocent.

Oh the mage had it right on the nail. He was starting to dislike her weakness. Lowering her head so one great eye glared at her, he clicked his beak arrogantly. You think you know what is right, don’t you, child? You are important to me, because I know you can kill me. But what are you if you can’t do it? Don’t you dare give me a lecture about ‘trying’ to change. I will never change! Not for anyone.

His form withdrew. Feathers shrank into his pores and the cracking of bones ensued. Once human, Shura picked up his clothes and pulled them on. No trace of his previous mischief remained. His expression was grim and disappointed. “Good night, mage,” he murmured and stepped onto the window ledge.

————————

Me:

You are weak, he hissed. Weak humans like you will never amount to anything.

Sayuri said nothing nor did she show anything. After a moment’s pause after he said that, she said tonelessly, “But because you are weak, you are able to become strong.”

She remained silent until he spoke up again, already prepared for his anger to lash at her.

You think you know what is right, don’t you, child? You are important to me, because I know you can kill me. But what are you if you can’t do it? Don’t you dare give me a lecture about ‘trying’ to change. I will never change! Not for anyone.

Remembering the dream she had about herself a few nights before tonight, suddenly, she didn’t care about her customs and the consequences that it would bring anymore. Her life was already ruined anyway, so what could she gain by trying to fight for the last bit of right that she’s done in a long time? Especially since he was so persistent on giving himself an executioner. She snapped only enough to retort to his comment about him “changing” and the “not for anyone” part. “I never said you were going to do that, now did I?”

No longer was she herself as Sayuri “changed” when Shura spoke.

His expression was grim and disappointed. “Good night, mage,” he murmured and stepped onto the window ledge.

“Killing you will be easy, just like breaking a tree branch,” she said softly. “After all, you are so happy to give up your life.” Her face was completely hidden in shadows, making Shura unable to make out her facial features. “I’ll only do it, however, when you are about to kill someone.”

———————-

Her:

He paused when he heard her offer. A small pained smile quirked the edge of his lips as he turned around. “Finally, some sort of agreement, mage?” he asked. “I know mages love to trick people with their ambiguous words. Perhaps a more specific agreement? If I am about to kill anything or anyone, you must take my life.”

Shura had been more than happy to give his life to someone who had enough strength to overcome him. He was a griffin. It wasn’t in his nature to give in to anything without a fight. She would have to fight him eventually, defeat him and finally end his life. He had killed so many… and he couldn’t even remember why or how. All he knew, was his anger went out of control. Anger, anguish and loss.

Poor young mage… he must have distressed so to get what he wanted. It had been too long to pass up the chance. “I am sorry I had to ask you,” he murmured, sincerity ringing true in his low voice. “I will forever be grateful to you if you help me through this.”

———————-

Me:

“Finally, some sort of agreement, mage?” he asked. “I know mages love to trick people with their ambiguous words. Perhaps a more specific agreement? If I am about to kill anything or anyone, you must take my life.”

Sayuri’s expression continued to remain blank for a moment. Something seemed like there was hurt in her voice as she spoke, “I will only engage you when the griffin side of you is going to go after certain people and those certain people, you will have to find out for yourself.” She paused. “And you must at least try to… more or less, be ‘tamed’ by me.” She emphasized tamed.

Her head moved slightly in the shadow, as if her head had bowed down. She turned around to her desk, her fingers flicking through the pages of text and symbols that cannot be recognized by those who are not of with Rania. Her “injured” arm rested across her stomach as she looked through them in deep thought for a moment, her mind wandering around.

Her arms burned when he spoke again.

“I am sorry I had to ask you,” he murmured, sincerity ringing true in his low voice. “I will forever be grateful to you if you help me through this.”

“Then keep me alive,” she said bitterly. Her breathing hitched slightly when the burning got worse but then subsided randomly. She rubbed her arms softly and gently as she avoided looking at Shura. The dream felt surreal and she hadn’t known why and her arms stung with the memory as with the tattoo on her back. She slowly breathed to calm herself before she spoke again before he could, “Just… keep me alive.” She knew she was going to die some way or another… after all, this very kingdom had magic reflects where she would get hit back with her own magic and probably be worse. An example was Keira and she flinched at the memory. Then there was that other time when Shura got hurt because of her with those arrows and Keira as well. Were she to get shot with it, she probably would have already died.

——————

Her:

An angry frown darkened his features when she refined her agreement. What the hell. If it was so difficult making a damn deal from this mage, he might as well drop it. He could find other more reliable ways. If it he ever grew tired of his own pride, he could always rip his own heart out. He heard the twinge of pain in her voice, but the bloody words that left her lips flared his temper.

He shoved himself roughly from the window ledge and nearly flung himself at her. “You don’t understand.” It was a statement and he spoke it with a heavy finality. “I don’t want to be tamed. If that’s what you see me as- a creature lower than you to be tamed to do your bidding and roll over when you tell me to- then to hell with you.” How could she even say that to him? His chest was suddenly emptied and the coldest air filled his lungs. A wave of nausea stirred his insides as he glared heatedly, brokenly at the mage. The familiar, chilling burn of betrayal tore open an old forgotten wound. He was hurt. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to escape from her. To never see, hear, smell or touch her ever again.

Then he heard her anguished words. Keep her alive? He was half blinded with rage, tired of her secretive ways, tired of being denied, and hated to be so open for her abuse. Loneliness? “Perhaps it is you, who is the lonely one,” he said with a cold edge to his voice. “Afraid of death. Afraid because in the end you will be alone.”

He retreated, steeling his heart. “Good night.” Then he leapt out the window, a pair of oversized wings erupted and vanished into the trees.

The next morning, he lay under the shades of the trees, golden gaze empty and dead as he stared at the limitless sky. Shura was just there, waiting; waiting for her to saddle him up and treat him like a pack animal.

—————-

Me:

“You don’t understand.” It was a statement and he spoke it with a heavy finality. “I don’t want to be tamed. If that’s what you see me as- a creature lower than you to be tamed to do your bidding and roll over when you tell me to- then to hell with you.”

“Not like that!” she exclaimed, before she started a coughing fit. But it seems that it was to be ignored. “I didn’t it mean like that! At all!” That’s why she was sarcastic at the word tamed, that’s why she emphasized it. It wasn’t so that she could control him, and in all actual facts, it wasn’t for anything. She coughed again.

“Perhaps it is you, who is the lonely one,” he said with a cold edge to his voice. “Afraid of death. Afraid because in the end you will be alone.”

“No, you don’t understand!” she cried, her heart breaking. But halfway through that sentence, she started coughing again. Again, it was to be ignored. Eve fluttered awake; her eyes suddenly wary at the coughing fit that enveloped Sayuri. “I’m going to d-” she coughed again and could only watch as he left out of the window.

“Good night.”

She watched him leave as she fell to the ground, coughing harder as tears rolled down her face. When she looked at her hands of which it had been covering her mouth, she realized she was coughing out blood. She paled as she felt herself wheezing. Why? She had been “healed” and “cured” of it when she was younger, so why is it back again?

Suddenly realizing what her dream meant in two ways, she was either going to die by this disease or she was going to die by the tattoo on her back. None of them let her age passed 27, at best. She tried to breathe, but found it difficult and coughed again. Taking out a piece of cloth, she covered her mouth to stop the blood from touching her clothes. With pained eyes, she closed the window and clicked it locked.

“Young Mistress, you’re in no condition to move and travel tomorrow,” Eve said in a very worried tone.

“I have no choice, least Shura find out something was wrong with me, and I must promise that I will kill him, without any of those stupid conditions that I had thought would be there,” Sayuri said with a stagger. She held onto the bed post and curled herself to bed. She coughed again, painfully as she felt like she was coughing up her insides…

The Demon Prince - Chapter 11 - Prophecy

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 10:16:05 -0700

A/N: Ah, so, I finally update the next chappie. Sorry for the delay. I had finals. I finally got this written out, but I feel like that since I was out of the writing phase for a bit, the chapter might be a bit choppy and not very well written. So, yeah, I hope you forgive me for that.

There’s not much action here, sort of matching the sort of mood I’m in. It’s a little slow, but it’s okay, I guess. Soon, I’ll have practically non-stop action. It’s like, the calm before the storm sort of thing. I hope I can write the action well!

But yeah, here, enjoy the chappie! Sorry for the delay!

Chapter 11 - Prophecy

When the gang opened the door, they truthfully had thought that Jonouchi was lying about Yami being awake, along with Meili. But they had heard the phone conversation when Jonouchi decided, just on a whim, that they should try giving a call on Yugi’s cellphone. And shockingly enough, Yami answered instead of Yugi. They wondered why that was the case.

But they noticed that it was Yugi sitting on the bed, looking a little confused and Meili was nowhere to be seen. Kaiba moved swifter than the others and had disappeared into the little hall that connected to the room. Yugi glanced up as soon as Kaiba ran by and then turned his eyes toward the gang.

“Hi guys,” he greeted in a relatively cheerful voice, although confused.

“Yugi?” Jonouchi asked curiously, as if to confirm. “How’d you wake up?”

Yugi shook his head, trying to really recall his dreams. He couldn’t remember how he had woken up here, and how he was sitting up instead. And why he felt strangely… warm.

“Did anything weird happen when you guys woke up?” Honda asked. “Kaiba said something being haywire with the cameras.”

“Not that I know of… But how’s Meili? Where is she?”

The gang all exchanged glances, curious as they turned toward the back room. Yuri ran toward the back, behind the curtains that Yugi knew that Yami probably didn’t notice was there before.

Moments later, Meili appeared from behind the curtains with Kaiba and Yuri following closely behind her. She appeared to wear only the white dress that she had been sleeping in while she was recovering before.

She appeared more slender than they had remembered, as if she had lost weight. She seemed skinner, and a lot more fragile looking than he thought a girl could look. Next to Yuri, it seemed like she was made of sticks. It was slightly… frightening. But the thing was, all of the cuts and injuries she had on her legs and arms before, were gone.

He smiled the kind of relief as he faced Meili, “I’m glad you’re all right.”

Meili nodded, somehow shy and hiding herself behind Yuri and Kaiba. Jonouchi was slightly confused. She didn’t seem to be this way before. He was pretty sure that she was a little bit more forward.

“Um… is it just me, but does it seem like Meili is…” Jonouchi began.

“Thinner?” Anzu finished with concern.

Yuri sighed, “Yeah… she lost a bit of weight when she was recovering, so it might take awhile for her to recover that weight back. The injuries seemed to have hit her harder than Kaiba had thought.”

Kaiba shrugged, “She seemed fine when I was changing her.”

For a moment, there was a strange bit of silence.

“What.” Yuri, Meili, and Anzu stared at Kaiba with a sort of angry glare.

He blinked in momentary confusion before blushing an intense crimson that just didn’t seem to fit his character at all. “Ah, no! I didn’t mean it like that!”

“I can’t believe you’d take advantage of a defenseless girl…” Yuri said with slight disgust in her voice.

Jonouchi snickered.

He sighed before growling, “One, don’t think too far into that little brain of yours that I’d actually do that to her. Two, do I look like the kind of man that would do that? And three, I run a bloody company, so wouldn’t I be able to afford nurses to care for her?”

“He has a point there,” Jonouchi growled, barely admitting the fact that the moment he thought he would have an advantage over the hard-ass Kaiba, he lost it just as quickly as he gained it.

“Jou…” Honda shook his head.

“S-S-Se-Kaiba isn’t like that!” Meili squeaked. Her face was even redder than how Kaiba’s was, turning even more crimson than the reddest cherry. She gripped Yuri’s black and white striped t-shirt as if for comfort. She looked so timid now, one would wonder how not teasing her would make her any cuter, especially with slight tears in her eyes. She was so embarrassed by the very idea that someone would… but then… there was…

Apparently, it didn’t help her as she remembered something more as she had turned even more vermillion as it had spread to her ears, neck, and arms.

“Whoa, Meili, are you all right?” Yuri asked. “Don’t think too much now, you’ve just woken up. I don’t know how you managed to completely heal while we were away, but… even so, you shouldn’t push yourself.”

She merely nodded before Yuri glanced at Kaiba, while still having that sort of look of contempt before asking briskly, “Where should I let her rest?”

Kaiba only returned the glare before replying, “Go to the floor above the one she was on before, and there should be another room ready until the 7th floor is fixed.”

Yuri gave another long glare before taking Meili and then somewhat escorting her away from the rest of the gang. Briefly, she smiled at Jonouchi, Honda, and Anzu to reassure them that she was all right before leaving. However, just as they turned the corner, Meili glanced toward Yugi and the doors swooshed closed.

Kaiba appeared to wanted to say something, but Yuri came running back and seemed alarmed as she burst out, “Guys, come quick!”

Before they had any moment to doubt or question what she was requesting, they ran on after her and found Meili collapsed on the hallway floor that led to the elevator. But that wasn’t all. It wasn’t that she was out-cold or anything, but in fact, it was probably the opposite. It seemed that she was perfectly aware of the setting around her and whatever else was going on.

Yugi was about to reach for her when Yuri snapped, “Don’t touch her!”

“Eh?”

Her eyes was the only thing that was different. Instead of her usual brown, it was this luminescent blue that seemed to burn harshly like fire. It wasn’t soft nor was it kind, like her usual eyes. Suddenly, she sat up and stared intensely at the group in front of her as she murmured in a voice that was unlike her own. As she spoke, her eyes were half-closed, like the vision had taken hold of her, enabling her to be completely immersed with the vision. Her hair seemed to float around her, as if the energy required of the vision was surrounding her in its full power. Then, she held out her hands, palms up, and from them appeared a sphere. In the middle of that sphere, an image began to filter in the orb-like object.

“Soon, a great battle will be at hand, and it will determine the fate of all three worlds… of whether or not two souls will be saved or not. That may their souls be saved by those who had a fate predetermined before they had even existed. Those two alone, shall hold the fate of this very world.”

An image of four silhouettes with some kind of weapons were held in each of their hands. They stood on top of what may be the representation of the world as the four looked up at something hovering in the air. Then, two vague figures appeared, held captive in what appeared to be like a cage. As the four went and battled through what appeared to be their enemies, they appeared to be confused as to what they ought to do in regards to saving the “world.” And then two of them walked forward…

Then, Meili stopped speaking and her eyes faded from that intense blue as she fell, the sphere disappearing along with. The closest person to her was Kaiba, who caught her in one fluid motion. Because of how tall he was, he had to bend down to catch her, using one arm to hold her up, while the rest of her sort of just rested against him and his leg that knelt on the ground. She seemed so… white and feminine like compared to the male who was dressed well in a black outfit with tall, slender, and fit form. If it weren’t for how thin she was at the moment, one would swear that just from the way he held her, it was as if he held something precious.

He picked her up, her head resting against his chest and her arms resting around or on her abdomen. He held her carefully enough so that her dress wouldn’t reveal more of her than she would want. Her hair draped down her shoulders and then the rest was down Kaiba’s arm.

“I’ll be taking her to the room,” he murmured. His hands seemed to gleam a soft, white light that pulsed. The knitted brows that had been on Meili’s face seemed to disappear and she seemed peaceful in whatever sort of sleep she was in. It seemed he was far more concerned for the safety of Meili than the vision she had just prophesized.

“I’m coming with you, I want to make sure she’s all right,” Yuri admitted. It almost seemed like Kaiba and Yuri were used to this sort as they disappeared up into the elevator.

“Er…” Jonouchi seemed extremely confused, and wanted to talk about it to Yuri, but they seemed more concerned with Meili more than anything else.

“What was that?” Yugi groaned as he messed up his hair in retaliation of confusion. “I don’t-“

“Then let’s go ask Yuri and Kaiba about it,” Anzu suggested.

Honda nodded, “It’s probably the best thing to do right now… They probably know what’s going on with that.”

They headed up in the elevator and landed on the floor that Kaiba had suggested before to Yuri. They found that Kaiba was sitting on the bed instead while still holding her as the light still pulsed from his hands and into her. Yuri and Kaiba glanced up.

“Ah, you wanted to know what that… weird thing was right?” Yuri asked before turning her attention onto Kaiba and Meili.

“What’s wrong with Meili? Shouldn’t she be resting in bed?” Jonouchi asked.

“She was supposed to but, whenever we put her down and Kaiba lets her go, she seems to cling to him in her sleep and well… looked restless.” Yuri sighed. “Meili has never been like this before, but something must be extremely wrong in her mind if she can’t even let Kaiba go… especially since whatever he’s doing, is soothing her.”

Yugi felt something with Yami inside of him that twanged in some kind of emotion.

“Yami?”

‘Yeah?’

“Something wrong?”

‘No. Don’t mind me.’

Concerned, but unsure of how to prove it, let it drop before turning his attention back to his friends. “Hey, um, guys, what did Meili do in the hallway? Is she like… some kind of psychic?”

Kaiba sighed this time. “Yes, she has the ability to see the future whenever she wants. However, from time to time, she gives out prophecies, which is what just happened.”

“And her prophecies always come true, no matter how far away in the future they are.” Yuri ran her fingers through her hair as she sighed, sounding tired. It probably just wasn’t physically but also mentally.

“So… basically, it’s a vision of what is to come for us?” Yugi asked.

Yuri nodded.

“But it was so vague, how do we know who’s going to be the four in that… picture?” Honda asked.

“And it’s going to come to true, no matter what happens?” Jonouchi queried.

Yuri frowned. “I don’t know who the people are that she said, and yeah, I already just said that.” She seemed frustrated at the slow pace of comprehension of the group. She huffed as she put her hands on her hips as she narrowed her eyes. “It might be in reference to Bakura and Ryo.”

“But it had the captive people in a cage,” Yugi pointed out.

Yuri merely shrugged. “Just because they appear to be in cages, doesn’t necessarily mean that’s what they are… it’s just a representation of what it symbolizes.” She sighed as she moved a stray hair piece from Meili’s face as she continued to talk. “I’m tired, all right guys? Let’s just go home for the night and figure it out in the morning or something?” She rubbed her temples as she glanced toward the clock, and mildly thought about her home.

Yugi and the gang exchanged glances before reluctantly agreeing. Yugi had to admit, he felt his entire body was aching and sore. It was as if whatever magic Yami had used had completely used his body to the fullest to fight against the enemy. Jonouchi, still unused to combat, was sore too. With every step he made, felt like it was an effort of pain to move. He felt as if he could feel his joints in his bones creak, like an old man.

Not surprising enough, Yuri had decided to stay with Meili, but when Yugi had commented to her about going home to change her clothes, Yuri reluctantly agreed to go with them to go home. Her clothes were torn from the sharp strings from before and it seemed that the outfit was worn out, so it was falling apart.

They headed to Yuri’s place after they had dropped Anzu off. Honda went his own way, separating from the group after he pointed out he lived just around the corner. Now was left with Yuri, Jonouchi, and Yugi.

“If you guys want to, come crash at my place for tonight,” Yuri suggested as they entered her home. It was… sort of heavy, the air, but because they had left, it was bearable enough. “I don’t know if it’d be a good idea for the two of you to go home. At least, with Meili all recovered now, some of her barrier is probably up. Probably enough to keep away the weaklings.” She led them up the stairs and into the master. It was still pretty worn out from the damage when Bakura and Ryo had attacked them earlier, but she pointed to a little sitting area that had two long, black leather couches facing each other that Jonouchi and Yugi hadn’t noticed before the first time.

“You two can just crash there,” she said as she tossed them some blankets and pillows. Where she got them, was beyond them. “Here you go.” Then, she tossed two bags toward them. Only when they caught them, did they realize they were new sleeping clothes and a pair of boxers for both. “The boxers were because Meili had said that somewhere in the future, we’d be needing male clothes.” She shrugged. “Don’t ask. I don’t understand her half of the time sometimes. The bathroom is over there.” She pointed toward a door and out in the hall that was seeable from where they stood.

“Night.” She closed the doors.

Curse Divide - Chapter 16 - Departure

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 00:00:05 -0700

Me:

Sayuri woke up after a dream. She covered her hands over her eyes to try to soothe herself, to know that it was only a dream, after all, he was not going to come after her here, in Tenarin’s kingdom… would he?

She shrugged it off and decided she wasn’t going to be able to fall asleep. She wore the same shoes she wore the first time when she sneaked into Shura’s room and clothes that seemed to blend into darkness. She was going to have to risk not using magic; otherwise, their alarms might set off. She took with her a candle stick, some matches, and some courage. Walking to her door, she made sure that there were no guards before she ran silently down the halls towards the area that she remembered that held the library. She opened the door enough for her to walk in and closed the door after herself, hearing the slow footsteps of the guard as he walked by. She sighed softly before realizing that there was another guard nearby, walking towards where she was. Quickly, she jumped over the railings to land on the floor quietly before she ran towards the area where she was told held the restricted section. Although, it was obvious that this section had guards, the files inside were a bit messier than they were in the main part of the library. No doubt it was the files that were used for…

Ignoring that she as she sneaked inside, looking for something that would tell her about the griffin. When she found some of them, she opened it with great care as she began to read. Whenever a guard came by, she had already disappeared amongst the shadows before she came back to read some more, by the candlelight.
When she had finished reading, she quickly ran back to her room while trying to avoid the guards before she disappeared into her room and fell asleep, surprised at the new kinds of information she had discovered.

Her:
Black, thicker than the essence of shadow, darker than night, it slid easily out of the cell. The lock was destroyed, mangled beyond recognition. It didn’t hold the gate anymore.

It moved swiftly, in flashes of black, hungry for raw flesh. Underground, there were no humans to feast on but the rats and insects. Still, it devoured as many as there was, to replenish all the energy that had been constantly drained. When there was no more, it clawed at a locked door, raking its blackened talons. It understood that the lock would be broken, so it dug and ripped it out.

It came upon another cell. The large, living, breathing being locked inside made it wary, but it was truly too hungry to care. It tried to destroy the lock again. This time, the metal was too hard and wouldn’t yield.

The beast in the cell stirred. It grunted once and soon returned to sleep. The black creature squeezed itself through the bars- they were much wider apart compared to its own small cell.

Circling cautiously, it leapt with reaching claws and fangs, onto the mound of feathers.

A piercing shriek filled the dungeon.

THE NEXT DAY

“General?” the King spoke, fascination, disbelief and uncertainty underlying his tone. He stared, not through the thick iron bars, but through the open door of the cell.

There, his General stood, laughing. Laughing, embracing and stroking the massive griffin they all called a demon. The right side of the beast’s head was wrapped, in clean bandages. The white strips of cloth were wound under its cheek, behind a long ear and down between its eyes. The griffin’s right eye was fine. The injury seemed to be above it. Heavens forbid, the griffin was… making some sort of a noise, between a purr and a warble. And it was playfully stuffing its head into the hands of his General.

“Should I shut the dungeon gates, My Lord?” a Rune Knight asked.

Still stunned and staring, the King shook his head. “No.”

————————-

Me:

Sayuri woke up with a start, haunted by the information of memories that now plagued her that she had read the night before. Rubbing the tiredness of the sleep away, she stepped out of the bed and dressed herself up for the travels. Washing herself up until she felt refreshed, she headed out of her room, surprised that Resee wasn’t there nor was Jegan. She wondered mildly what had happened to all the guards before she began to wander around. She felt a flicker of energy that felt familiar to that of the griffin and decided to follow on after it, hoping that wherever the trailed led, it wouldn’t lead her into trouble as well.

She continued to walk around the castle grounds, avoiding the court yard that she was told that she was not allowed to enter. She called out Jegan’s and Resee’s names several times, but to no avail. She tried to look around for the Rune Knights that wore the cloak that Resee, Jegan, and Shura wore, but she found none of them in sight. Strange, she thought with a shrug, hoping she wouldn’t get in trouble for wandering around. She was avoiding the places that she wasn’t allowed to go to as well as making sure that she was not in places where people could suddenly attack her for. Her guard was up and she was looking for the Rune Knights. The king never gave her anything to call for them if she needed them… she frowned. She should have asked for something like that on her first day here, but realized that since it was either Keira, Jegan, or Resee or even Shura had watched her, she never thought to realize when they might not be around.

Finally, she came to a gate that seemed to lead down. She saw the flutter of the cloak of that seemed to belong to a Rune Knight. Feeling rude if she just called out, Rune knight, she decided to follow the person down. That was when she felt the strong presence of the griffin nearby and she nearly ran down the rest of the steps until she came to a stop next to the King, although, she was unaware of it. She almost stumbled back in surprise at the playfulness that the griffin was displaying to… the General?!

She walked gently forward, and slowly, hoping that the griffin wouldn’t suddenly change moods but when her eyes saw the wounds that were covered in bandages; she had a sharp intake of breath, feeling the slight burning sensation lingering over where the griffin had been injured. She restrained herself from healing the griffin and instead walked forward until she was near and close enough to the griffin that she could hear its thoughts.

“Are you all right?” she whispered to the griffin, looking concerned, glancing briefly to the General.

———————-

Her:

The Rune Knights, who were gathered in the dungeon, including Jegan, Resee and the big brute, Gerrand were all there, staring at the spectacle with disbelief, some with aversion, confusion and distrust.

Resee didn’t know what to make of it. The beast who slaughtered her sister was romping with the General as if it didn’t have a care in the world. How unjust… how unfair! But she couldn’t react. She simply stood frozen; a mask of so many mixed emotions on her face erased any readable trace.

Jegan was similarly surprised, but he took it as more of a blessing. At least Shura wasn’t the savage demon he was when he wasn’t human. This- whatever had caused it was a relief. His logic and reason warned him that he should be suspicious, but the moment- watching Shura, no… the griffin, actually make an effort to play and not to hurt, overwhelmed all his thoughts.

Gerrand remained passive, observing the exchange critically. He seemed ready to leap over and save the General if the need arises.

When the Rune Knights drifted slowly back from their shock, to themselves, they were even more stricken with Sayuri’s presence. “My Lord! The Mage-” one of them exclaimed, stepping swiftly forward, ready to restrain Sayuri.

“No,” the King’s voice was dull, as if it was no surprise at all. “Leave her be.” Then he turned to her. “It is unfortunate that you’ve chanced on this place. But here you are. I believe there is nothing more I can say to conceal this secret you’ve come across on your own. So, instead, I’d like your aid. Can you tell if this creature is stable?”

“Are you all right?”

The griffin turned its head slowly, abandoning its head ruffling game with the General, to fix one of its clear golden eyes on her. He blinked once, sniffed curiously all over her and chirped, deciding that the human- although she smelt familiar- was too fragile for him to play a head butt with. He returned to the General again and cocked its head when he noticed the number of humans surrounding his cell.

With a good toss of its feathery mane, the griffin nudged past Sayuri, and crawled carefully out of his cell. The King allowed it, and he stilled all his frantic Knights.

“Lady Sayuri,” the General greeted, while straightening his clothes. There was uncertainty in his eyes as his gaze flickered from the King back to her again. “Is it wise to let him out, My Lord?”

“This is a mythical beast. Lady Sayuri knows it better than we do,” was the King’s reply.

———————-

Me:

Then he turned to her. “It is unfortunate that you’ve chanced on this place. But here you are. I believe there is nothing more I can say to conceal this secret you’ve come across on your own. So, instead, I’d like your aid. Can you tell if this creature is stable?”

“Well… if the griffin is playing with the General, wouldn’t it be so that the griffin is stable?” she said with a small smile, looking over the large creature with a curious gaze. She smiled at the peaceful mind that the griffin had, relieved too.

He blinked once, sniffed curiously all over her and chirped.

She giggled musically as she felt the griffin sniff her, reaching out her hand to touch the griffin. She glanced at the General a moment with a nod. “General,” she said before turning her attention back to the griffin. She stroked its feathers as it made its way out of the cell. Although she wasn’t emitting anything from her fingertips that related to magic, as her fingers stroked the feathers, she wondered mildly what had happened to make the griffin injured. But she didn’t know that she practically was made of magic so there goes her idea of being “magic-less.”

“Does that chirp mean a yes?” she asked with a soft smile, still stroking the griffin’s feathers.

———————-

Her:

Motioning to one of his Rune Knights, the King spoke with a strange calm. “Go to the stables. Have a bridle and pack saddle made for this beast.”

Though confused, the Knight went as he was told.

The King ordered another Knight to go to the kitchens and fetch food fit for the griffin’s size. Then he turned to the General. “Have the chosen escorts ready. Lady Sayuri leaves today, as soon as possible, along with that beast.” By ‘chosen escorts’ he had meant Jegan and Resee. The King was subtly giving his General the chance and choice to replace his appointed Rune Knights if he so desired.

Making his way to one of the walls of the dungeon, the King tugged a bundle of thick rope free. With a quick toss of his arm, he had looped the rope around the griffin’s neck. His actions elicited gasps from his Knights, but he paid little attention to them. Then he dropped the other end of the rope in Sayuri’s hands. “You have more experience dealing with creatures like this, I believe. This beast has wrought much trouble for me. Tame him if you can.” His amber eyes bore intensely into hers, though they stood far apart from each other. “Once the beast has been fed, watered and properly saddled, you will take him with you on your search, Lady Sayuri. Much depends on you.”

He turned, paying no heed to the protests from his General. The rest of the Rune Knights took one glance at their stricken General, waiting for his orders. With a defeated sigh, the General waved them away, expecting them to return to their posts. They went after the King, worry and confusion on their faces. What drove their King to make such rash decisions?

The griffin barely paid any attention to Sayuri’s words or touch. It was more interested in the light that shone through the open doors of the dungeon. Besides, it didn’t understand much of the two-leggeds’ language. Why listen? Watching the two-leggeds file out into the light made it want to follow. So it did. Hesitantly, like a cautious animal, the griffin approached the open doors.

————————

Me:

A saddle? Sayuri had never thought to look so confused before. What was going on? A saddle was going to be made for the griffin? Who was going to ride the griffin?

“Have the chosen escorts ready. Lady Sayuri leaves today, as soon as possible, along with that beast.”

“Eh?!” Sayuri barely managed to say. Wait a minute, she was the one who was going to ride the griffin?!

“You have more experience dealing with creatures like this, I believe. This beast has wrought much trouble for me. Tame him if you can.” His amber eyes bore intensely into hers, though they stood far apart from each other. “Once the beast has been fed, watered and properly saddled, you will take him with you on your search, Lady Sayuri. Much depends on you.”

She was caught off guard when he handed her the rope that now hung around the griffin’s neck. She only stared at it a moment before she began to listen to what the king was saying to her. As she continued to listen, the sooner and more she realized her assumptions were coming true. And thanks to the information from the restricted section of the library, she’s more or less guessing that the griffin is…

“Yes, your highness,” she said softly, looking up at him after bowing her head and then returning her gaze to the griffin.

She followed after the griffin, holding the rope tightly in her hand so that it wouldn’t come free from her grip. She was wondering mildly what the griffin was going to do… as it seemed to be curious as to what the light was out of the dungeon.

————————

Her:

He staggered and let out a shriek, stumbling back, away from the blinding daylight. The griffin blinked rapidly to clear the stars from his sight. A moment of pause was all he needed. Undeterred, the griffin poked his head cautiously out. He had to blink several times before his vision adjusted to the light.

Slowly, he crawled out. There was a fragrance in the air that made his mouth water. Sniffing, he followed the scent. The passing servants scrambled fearfully away, while the Rune Knights on guard kept close watch. Crossing paths, podiums and scraping up steps, he came upon an open courtyard of stone. A cow’s carcass was left there, and a small human boy, accompanied by a stern looking old man stood at one far corner. The boy had a measuring tape draped over his shoulders.

Suddenly hungry, the griffin lunged for the dead cow and began tearing, and snapping up the meat. The taste was familiar, but he couldn’t remember where it had come from.

Jegan was close by, ready to intervene if the griffin turned violent. “Lady Sayuri… are you certain you can control him?”

————————-

Me:

Sayuri was unsure what to do, but felt her firm grip on the rope only tighten as she didn’t want to lose the griffin to suddenly “get free.” She only watched as the griffin progressed, getting more and more confused as she watched and listened to its thoughts. The confusion was on her face although it wasn’t directed at anyone in particular. What had happened to made the griffin this way?

“Lady Sayuri… are you certain you can control him?”

She was snapped from her thoughts when she looked up. The thoughts about the griffin was unsure about why the cow’s flesh was familiar was… only proving to her that the griffin had either lost its memory or merely didn’t remember where the taste came from.

“Jegan, what part of the griffin was hurt?” she asked, almost as if ignoring the question. “I can tame him to be certain, but I can’t 100% control him; no one in our realm could do that without dying in the process.” She glanced at the griffin again, wondering what had happened to the griffin to… lose its memory. Also, he had felt that she was familiar, she wondered for a moment why would she be familiar? She stood a bit of ways from the griffin as it was eating but still held the reins of the rope in her hands. She seemed to focus on the rope for a moment and it almost seemed to have glowed for a moment before it faded, leaving after-images of ancient signs along the rope to around the griffin’s neck. To the griffin, it would only tickle slightly but that was all. But to Sayuri, the rope would be strong enough for her to pull on like she would a horse, but it would only work on her, seeing as she’s the only one who wielded magic here.

————————

Her:

Jegan saw her cast something, and he thought to warn her, “Be careful, Lady Sayuri. The beast possesses a high tolerance for magic-” He couldn’t continue. -because he has a rune carved into his bone. Because of the spell that bound him to Tenarin’s oath of secrecy- The Rune Knight’s secret.

“He suffers a cut on his right brow. We don’t know what led to a… sudden behavioral change- maybe a concussion. Let’s just hope… that its current behavior is not unreliable,” he replied.

It was almost funny, to see the boy standing so far, pull out the measuring tape and start measuring the griffin from afar. Then he went to measure the height and width of a similar bush the griffin was standing next to. After that, he scuttled off with the old man. He was done measuring the tame demon.

The griffin had already devoured half the cow. He tore deeper, crushing bones in its beak and ripping mouthfuls of raw flesh as if he had not been fed for a week.

———————-

Me:

“Be careful, Lady Sayuri. The beast possesses a high tolerance for magic-“

That pretty much confirmed it… although she couldn’t be sure that it was him that made him the griffin. She wanted to doubt it and hold the idea that it wasn’t true… but… it was starting click in really weird ways and something inside of herself was telling her that she was close enough to be right to think so. She let that be a mental note for herself as she listened to the next words that came from Jegan.

“He suffers a cut on his right brow. We don’t know what led to a… sudden behavioral change- maybe a concussion. Let’s just hope… that its current behavior is not unreliable,” he replied.

Sayuri looked at the griffin momentarily and bit back what she was going to ask but decided against it. “I think he may have memory loss,” she said softly, watching the griffin continue to eat… er… devour.

———————-

Her:

How many days had it been? Three? Four? He couldn’t be sure. He was remembering… slowly. Thirty years ago… forty years ago… even the day of his birth, foggy as it was. He remembered too, how fundamentally stupid his animalistic side was- he had crooned to the mage when she stroked his feathers and sunk her hands in them, even chirped in joy when she fed him the tiniest morsels. And it was strange, how her weight, light as she was, felt intensely familiar. As his memories returned, he had erected a great wall to hide his thoughts. There was only one whom he would allow… he couldn’t recall who, but he would feel guilty if he allowed the human girl to share the privilege.

Shifting his head over his scaly, folded arms, he blinked one golden eye at the star filled sky. His name was Shura. Who gave him that name? His heart ached to know, but he would be patient, for all the answers he had waited for were always answered in time.

The Demon Prince - Chapter 10 - Addictive

Sat, 17 Sep 2011 02:12:00 -0700

A/N: Warnings: Smut. Fudging smut. xD At least, kind of one. But yeah, anyways, enjoy. >w> I’m aware that I gotta move the story on, but… YEAH. ANYWAY.

Enjoy! >w<

————————————————

Chapter 10 - Addictive

Yami woke up in place of Yugi, and he could hear Yugi yelling out words of worry and concern.

“Yugi…?”

‘Yami?! What happened? Holy cow, I thought you just seriously disappeared on me. Where’d you go? What-‘ Yugi was panicking, obviously. And Yami could understand, after all, he had just disappeared before they could find out who that person was-

Yami realized that the face he was looking at was Meili’s. She was still warm, but her body was far colder than it ought to be. Her hair was still slightly curled here, so that it curled around her face while some of it just draped down onto the bed that…

He looked up and noticed that they were no longer in Meili’s room that Kaiba had set up for her, but instead, they were in a room with several beds lined up in a row, with curtains in between each bed. But they had been pulled to the walls, to reveal the whole room. The walls were a light grey, with the floor the matching white tiles like it had been up in Meili’s room. There were a few windows here and there, and nightstands between each of the beds. There were about six beds in all, each neatly folded with the blankets at the foot of the bed.

At the other side of the room, away from the door where it was to his left, was a hallway that led out to some other places. Where, he didn’t know.

“Meili,” he whispered, trying to wake her. She was still breathing, he could hear her breathing, and could see her chest rising and falling. Unresponsive, he shook her a little more.

She shifted, but that was because he moved her. He held her close, realizing that no matter how many times he called her, she wouldn’t wake up.

‘… Shouldn’t she be able to… wake up?’ Yugi asked softly.

“Yes… she should…” he whispered.

He shouldn’t feel so sad toward a girl, who had barely met, barely even knew. And yet, even just being near her, it feels like he’s known her forever. Something inside of him felt like he knew her, but how… how could he have known her if he’s never met her before?

He started to grip her too tight on her shoulders, and her body immediately shifted as a soft groan was heard. He looked up and saw that she was in pain, suffering from the grip he was giving her. He released his hold on her, and she immediately relaxed. He didn’t know if it was her, or it was her body, but she seemed to snuggle closer to his chest, wanting more warmth. His free hand that wasn’t holding her, touched her face, feeling the soft warmth.

‘Yami… Do you think Kaiba’s magic would be able to heal her now?’

He flinched his hand back, Kaiba’s name bugging him to no end. He suddenly felt irritated. This feeling reminded him a more than a few centuries before he had lost his body, when he had a girl. But it seemed like the girl had a person who had stayed by her side. Suddenly, he realized that it was the same feeling. He groaned inwardly, rubbing his face as he ran his hand down.

“Yes, he may be able to now,” Yami stated tonelessly. But then, had a strange idea. “I wonder…”

He stood up and then placed her down on the bed. For a moment, he had some interesting thoughts in his head as to how to go about this without driving himself insane. But there was no way right now that her power was anywhere where it should be. It seemed like the right thing to do.

“Yugi, do you know how to just disappear for awhile?”

‘What do you mean?’

He began to explain, “Well, for me, sometimes, when you’re at school or doing something pointless, I don’t see it and I go away. I only come and go on occasion. You’ve noticed that, right?”

‘Yeah, I’ve noticed. Oh, so… But… I don’t know how.’

Yami seemed thoughtful as he tried to figure out how to explain it. But better than words, Yami showed it to him through his thoughts. Yugi seemed to have gotten the hints and then, soon, he felt Yugi’s presence disappear from Yami’s mind. He double checked, and confirmed it.

Then, he slowly began to take off her dress. It’s been so long since he’s touched a woman’s clothing, and found that since she only wore a singular dress, it was rather easy. To his surprise, everything underneath her dress was covered in bandages too. The thing was, Meili had said that her body had been completely broken, so how was it that she wasn’t in a complete body cast?

Thinking back, he recalled Mokuba saying something that her injuries wouldn’t completely heal, and it clicked for him that he had probably healed the more severe injuries, such as her bones and most likely, organs, but couldn’t do the cuts on the outside and the rest because her body probably had gotten too much of it at once. He supposed that her body could only handle so much outside magic to heal herself before her body will just ignore the rest of it.

He sighed, wondering how to go about this. He didn’t like seeing a woman’s body without her invitation, and he didn’t like the idea of doing this without her knowing.

But because he had moved her around so much, her eyes seemed to have fluttered open.

“I-I’m… alive?” she breathed.

An insane blush appeared on his face. He hadn’t actually counted on her actually waking up! He thought she had…

Suddenly, an overwhelming feeling of relief flooded his body. “You’re… I thought…”

She blinked slowly. “I… guess you had given me some of your life force.” The cutest blush just appeared on her face as she looked at him through gentle eyes. “Thanks.” But she closed her eyes again, feeling tired.

Resisting the urge to ravish her, he needed to do something more important than to get to know her some more. “Meili… I need to heal you… and the only way that a demon does it is by…”

She had turned her head to look at the ceiling and opened her eyes again. “Yes… I understand. My physical wounds won’t heal because of the demonic poison that the puppeteer had left behind on my body made it impossible for even Seto’s magic to heal me completely.”

Yami only stared at her. It seemed that she was a lot sharper than she looked. But she had been asleep for awhile, so how did she know?

“You’re a demon, so you can eat anything demonic, as is your kind, if you choose to.” He nodded. She turned her head to look at him, “My injuries aren’t going to be pleasant.”

“I’ve probably seen worse.”

“That’s not what I meant. They’re the kind that, if it had been left to heal alone, would have left horrible scars behind. And now, some of my wounds have healed on their own. And I don’t know if your methods would heal it anymore.”

Scars on a woman’s body… was harsh. It made it seem like it was flawed to the girl, and that she shouldn’t show her body to anyone anymore. But he nodded. “I… I understand.” He also knew that he probably had his work cut out for him.

And then she nodded in reply. Closing the door and locking it, he made sure that there were no cameras, and to his relief, there were none. But to make sure, he closed his eyes and gave the momentary illusion that Yami had gone to another bed to sleep so that if there were any hidden cameras, that’s all they’d see.

Yami moved to her side, and sat at her feet as he lifted her up slowly. He began to gently remove the bandages, layer by later. Soon, the stench of demons filled the room. He saw her wrinkle her nose and even Yami did it. The stench wasn’t even pleasant, as mixed in with rotting flesh and a demonic aura, it made to become something rather putrid.

The more he revealed, the more he saw that she would have had a very beautiful body. Fair, soft, and smooth to the touch. He decided that he ought to start at the arms. Resting her against his chest, he removed his dress shirt so that her cool body would rest against something warm.

“Mmm… You’re warm…” she murmured.

He had finished unraveling the bandages around her arm, and found that her arms were shredded all along the top of her arms, coinciding with the fact that she had indeed fallen down into a ravine. “This might hurt a little bit.”

He began to lick her wounds, starting with her fingers and hand. Then he moved to her forearms, and then her upper arm. With every lick, the skin stitched itself back up, leaving behind a pleasant burning sensation. When he did the same with the other arm, he became slowly more aware of the sounds she was making, but stiffly, tried to ignore them. But it seemed instead of hurting her, it… did the opposite. And something new occurred to him, this new sensation. He realized that he liked doing this, especially to her. But… this… sensation when he licked her… he realized he just couldn’t stop.

And then he began on her legs as he set her down on the bed. Removing the bandages, he began the task again. This time, the sounds were more evident, and it was getting harder for him to ignore them. He wondered if she was making those sounds because it was only natural that she would make them or it was because her body was sensitive to… tongue licking.

But, when he got to her thighs, it was really audible, as if the entire time before, she had only been trying to muffle out the sounds that she was making.

“Ya-Yami…”

And then he smelled it, slamming full on into his face and forcing him to stop as he looked at her.

Her face was entirely flushed and even her arms, that had been completely healed, aside from a few scars, were flushed. The blush on her face was intense, and the aroused expression on her face made him nearly lose control, especially because her arms covered her chest and part of her mouth.

“D-Don’t do that,” he said, exasperated.

“I… I can’t help it…” she breathed as he noticed that she was breathing heavily, and it was the kind he knew all too well.

“Damnit! I’m not even done!”

Aggravated, he began to become slightly rougher with his licking, his tongue so painfully close to her maidenhood, that he nearly killed himself as he resisted the dying urge to stick it in. F***ing hell… she’s clean.

He finally finished licking her thighs, but he could see that her body was quivering. Since he was on top, his fingers gripped the sheets, desperately wanting to get rid of the feeling he felt was gathering.

“T-Turn around. I’m going to start on your back first.” He was afraid if he saw her from the front, her face, and her… would make him take her. After all, she was completely naked before him. Especially now, when he had had removed all of the bandages.

He began licking her back, and the sounds, holy goddamnit, were so hard to ignore, that he found himself growing hard. She’s so bloody sensitive! he thought.

When he got near the lower back, her body was dying. She felt like her body was screaming for the torture to end, that this… experience needed to end soon. All these feelings welling up inside of her was driving her insane. She felt her nether regions throbbing and she could feel it aching for something. She realized that she couldn’t even think straight, her mind completely devoid of anything but wanting to feel more. Of wanting to feel it all. Every time he had licked her, she felt this sort of delicious electricity shocking through her entire body, making her want him to continue licking her. It made her body extremely sensitive to his touch and it made her now, officially, addicted to his touch.

Yami, ignoring the wetness that he could smell, he told her, mostly against what he wanted to do, to turn around and face him. He noticed that she was gripping the sheets.

When she turned around, he realized that he had far more willpower than he thought he had, but thank god for that.

When he began licking again, the sounds, the sighs, the moans, the bloody everything she made, made it extremely difficult to focus. By the time he had finished the middle of her torso, he realized he still had her lower abdomen and… f***, her breasts to do too. He ran his fingers through his hair, going insane with want that he could feel in the tightness of his jeans.

He decided that he’d do her breasts first, seeing as if he went to the lower abdomen… he just might lead all the way down… and then proceed to eat her out. But, what he had hoped for, didn’t work out. She was sensitive there too, and he felt her fingers go through his hair, and grip them.

F***.

He barely managed to be able to finish licking and healing her breasts when he realized there was what he thought was the danger zone, but was now…

“Ya-Yami…” she breathed. He had shifted up, and away, looking away, trying to get a grip with himself and cool down.

“What?”

“F-F-F-Finish,” she whispered hoarsely.

F***ing a, f***ing a… He groaned. “Yeah, all right.” He knew he was going to be sorry.

And he was, but at the same time…

When he began licking her to clean out the remaining demonic aura and poison, the last of the wounds gone, he found himself unable to move his head up. Her fingers had latched onto his head near…

F***!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then he was gone. He gave in and began to eat her out. And, oh dear god, she sounded so sexy. With every flick of his tongue against her clit, a sharp gasp, and then with every thrust of the tongue, another one.

And then…

He pulled himself away, expecting it as he licked it up clean. But dear god!, her juices were so heavenly, that he wanted to make her do it again. There was no turning back now. “You’re unexpectedly sweet,” he said as he used his fingers to clean up his mouth to clean up and wipe away it on his face.

“Ah… ah… ah…”

F*** hell.

He made the mistake of looking down now, where his head had just been, and saw that she was still oozing full of juices and all he did was to lick her… well, guess that could be explained, seeing as how he did lick her entire body.

He knew he was doomed, and he knew that he had walked himself into a trap. He could tell that she was so ready, that he could almost hear her walls just… clenching around him.

He shivered with want.

Meili’s body quivered and the way her body was positioned made it… difficult to not take her. Finally, as if some sort of common sense finally smacked him, he ran around the room, to look for something cool himself off. He ran down the hall and found, thank god, a shower. Running back out of the room, he picked her up with both of his arms, and then stepped into the shower with Meili.

He turned it on.

She screamed… or had tried to.

He had covered her screaming mouth with his own, muffling it out as they both took a cold shower. Slowly, but surely, he felt his own arousal disappear, much to his relief. Touching her was so drug-like, that he wondered if he was ever going to stop touching her.

But in order for Yami to fit Meili in the shower with, he had to position her standing up. And then to make sure she wouldn’t scream when he kissed her, he had to pull her up so that her legs were placed around his waist. Now, that was a mistake as he felt her bare naked crotch rested on his own. Pressing her against the wall beneath the shower head doesn’t help either.

And now, the bloody cold shower wasn’t working.

Especially since kissing her… damn, was like… nothing he’s ever done. His mind completely blanked and the only thing he could think about was just how good she tasted. Sure, drinking in her juices was simply heavenly and all, but kissing her was on a whole different level.

It was different from when they kissed in that white room, where they didn’t have this addictive taste to one another.

Meili couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t think. She couldn’t think of anything but just how good he felt, of how good he tasted, and how delicious he was. His hands, his large hands, were placed on her back, and her hips. Kissing him wasn’t enough. She had wanted him to do more to her than just lick her and eat her out. To do more than just kiss her…

The cold shower wasn’t working.

When they finally managed to breathe again, the way she whispered his name, made him just… lose it and kissed her again. Soon, they couldn’t stop kissing one another, the water raining down on them from the shower head. Her hands wrapped themselves around his neck, her fingers in his hair and his arms wrapped around her, pressing his hard body against hers.

It wasn’t until they heard a phone ringing, vaguely, did they finally manage to break out of their addictive, suffocating delicious kissing. Yami could see that she was dazed and that, well, he’ll have to admit that he’s never had this kind of kissing before. He could only wonder what it was like for them to…

The phone kept ringing.

Finally, Yami comprehended that it was the sound of Yugi’s cellphone ringing. And then, the cold shower miraculously worked. Leaving the shower dripping wet, he grabbed a towel and flicked open the phone. He found out that it was Jonouchi.

“Whoa, you’re awake?!”

“Eh… well, it’s Yami still,” he replied.

“When did you wake up?” he asked.

“Um… probably… five minutes or so ago?” Yami lied. He realized he just left Meili in the cold shower alone.

“Ah, then we’ll be up in like a few minutes!” Click.

F***.

He grabbed her dress and pulled her out of the shower, turning off the water and giving her a towel. “Here, when they come up, tell them that you… ah, just whatever! Make up something!” Yami ran back out, and used his magic to dry himself off and the area where he had dripped water onto the floor. He quickly pulled on his shirt and then plopped onto the bed he had made himself sleep in and just sat there.

He hoped, to the very life of him, that it didn’t seem like… And then, had an idea.

Just then, the door opened.