Tagline: A crusader named Daichou; a thief named Yuki. He helped train her without realizing what she was. And then they fell in love.
Author's Note: Well, I finally decided to work on something.. and since I've been having trouble with figuring out what to do with my Furuba fanfic, I decided to write one about Ragnarok Online with my character and her now-husband. I wanted to try something new, and this section gives me some more freedom than the others do. So... I hope you enjoy.
It was a cloudy day, and many had opted to stay within the confines of their home rather than risk getting wet from the soon coming shower. The mere thought made Yuki scoff; it wasn't as if water would kill them... Really... Of course, she loved the rain... It made her feel good when she could run along outside without a care and be cleansed by the pure waters. She often took the opportunity of the privacy to bathe in the nearby spring in the field south west of her town, Morroc. Today was one of those days. In the small pouch at her hip was a bottle of home created honey soap and a scrubbing brush. Morroc was not graced with rain often, so she took every chance she got to get completely fresh water.
Once reaching the spring, the young woman began to strip, laying her clothes over one of the nearby rock and slipping into the slightly shallow water, smiling as the rain washed over her skin. She reached over to her dark brown, leather pouch and pulled out the soap and brush, spreading some of then liquid over the bristles and beginning to slowly scrub over her skin. It stung slightly, but she knew that she needed to clean off and exfoliate. So instead of focusing on the pain, she began to sing a song softly to herself, closing her eyes and continuing to cleanse herself.
Although Yuki was a very adept thief, she was much too immersed in her cleaning ritual to realize that she was not the only one there...
A tough-looking crusader who had been training not too far away, had been alerted by the noise of her singing. Wanting to make sure it wasn't someone who was trying to sneak up on him, he slowly stalked towards the noise, hand hovering over the hilt of his sword as he approached. Unfortunately, neither of the individuals were prepared for what happened next...
Daichou pushed his way past the surrounding bushes, hoping to take advantage of the supposed 'enemy', only to come face to face with a very naked woman... who screamed as soon as she saw him. And before he knew it, a rather large rock came flying at his head. Being too shocked, he didn't seem to have much time to dodge and was knocked right upside the side of his head.
Saying Yuki was pissed off was a complete understatement; she was so angry that she got out from the spring, not seeming to notice the lack of clothing, and stomped right towards him. "You.. how dare you?" She demanded, immediately poking him harshly in the chest. "You perverted little..."
Finally seeming to get ahold of himself, the older man took her hand in his to stop her incessant prodding, then took off his cape with the free hand. "Here," He muttered, looking away in attempt to hide the embarrassment that was proudly showing upon his face. "I'm sorry that I disturbed you... use this to cover yourself..." Yuki blinked, confused at his sudden interruption, and numbly took the cape from him. Without a word, at least for the time being, she wrapped it around herself and looked up at him in wait of an explanation. Daichou took a minute, looking down to her in an attempt to figure out what she was doing outside in this weather. His eyes darted to the small bottle at the side of the water and the brush that was still clasped in her hand, then sighed. "I'm sorry that I interrupted your ...er.. bathing," He spoke then, "But I assumed you to be an opponent."
Her cheeks puffed in annoyance as she stared to him, holding the fabric tighter around her body, "Well obviously you assumed wrong," She pointed out needlesly. "Why... why are you out here anyways?..." She was beginning to shiver, suddenly cold now that she was out of the warmer water and in the cold breeze.
Noticing the girl's obvious discomfort, he couldn't help but chuckle. "Training," he replied with a simple shrug, "Now... do you live nearby?" The woman nodded weakly, looking up to him in confusion, wondering why he would ask. "Good." He said, moving to pick up her clothes and satchel. "Come on then. I'll get you home.." Before she could protest to his suggestion, Daichou picked her up and began back towards the town. "You'll have to direct me to your house, all right?"
"I can walk you know..." She muttered, embarrassed that a strange man found it amusing to torment her so.
"I know... but I am a crusader... and you are a young woman. It is my duty to make sure that you make it home safely." He spoke, looking forward to give her a small bit of privacy. "Don't worry. I am just a traveling swordsman. I will not bother you for a long time." Silence ensued once he'd finished speaking, and held for until they reached the entrance into the town. He brought her through the streets, hoping she'd point out her home. She remained silent for quite a long time, not giving him any sign of direction, until finally, after he'd searched the entire northern half of the town, she spoke.
"I live in the south west," she said softly, looking up to him with a bemused smile. She had decided to torture him a little after he had so rudely interrupted her alone time. To her surprise, he did not show signs of anger or annoyance, but began to laugh.
"All right," He said with a bright smile. "We'll head home then..." Yuki pouted softly, looking away from him in disappointment. So much for getting him back... Then again, he was trying to be a gentleman, and that was... nice, she supposed. It wasn't often that a man offered to carry her home. In fact, this was the first time it ever happened. She decided not to complain; it could ruin it and force her to walk. Finally, they made it to the southern quadrant and she relinquished, pointing her small home out. "That's where you live?" He questioned, looking over the tiny place, "No family, then, I presume." She shook her head lightly and blinked.
"None."
"And you do not travel?" He questioned again, glancing to her as he headed to the house.
"I do not. Traveling alone would not be a smart thing for me to do... I am not quite strong enough." She hated admitting to that, but it was the truth. He nodded in understanding as they entered through the threshold. Finally feeling comfortable enough to do so, Yuki pushed out of his arms and managed to make him let her stand on her own two feet. "So... you..." she muttered, accepting her things as he offered them up to her. "Thanks..."
"It's my duty," He repeated softly, "I'll leave you to yourself then. Thank you for not taking too much offense in my mistake..."
She nodded numbly, "Uh... please, wait here... let me just go ... dry off, and then I'll return your cape to you."
"No, that's all right. You can keep it if you'd like." He offered a small smile, "I need to go and purchase a room at the inn, anyways."
"Ah. You'll be staying at the inn?" She questioned then, looking up to him. "Then I will return it to you later. Don't leave town before I do, all right?" He blinked once before smiling and nodding. "All right then... I will see you soon enough." She said, her hand peeking through the folds of fabric to wave him off.
"If you insist," He nodded and mimicked her wave before turning and walking from her home, closing the door behind him.
Yuki sighed then and walked to her room, muttering to herself, "Well... that was an odd first meeting..."
The sky had cleared by the time Yuki was done drying off and washing and drying the unknown crusader's cape, and she was greeted by the familiar bright sunshine. In an unusual turn, Yuki had decided to wear a dress, something that she had not worn since she was but a child. She, of course, questioned her reasoning, but didn't push it too far. It didn't take long for the young girl to reach the inn. Although she was not all that strong, she had always been a fast girl. To her surprise, within the inn lobby waited exactly who she was coming to see, and an even greater surprise was that he was in a simple tunic and set of pants. "You're not in uniform," She pointed out bluntly, immediately feeling moronic to point out something so obvious.
"Ah... yes... it looks a little off without the cape." He said with a smile. "Thank you for returning it to me.. and only in a few hours. I thought that you would have forgotten. May I?" he asked then, reaching for the cape. She nodded and offered it up to him. He took it from her and brought it up to his face. "Ah... Soft and smells like honey. Thank you... You didn't have to wash it."
"I wanted to," she said simply. "Besides... I never use something and return it dirty. It's just not right." The young thief bit down upon her lip lightly, looking up to him, "So you can leave sooner rather than later. If I were you, I would have left long before now."
"Well... why don't you?" He asked, looking her over quickly.
"I've already told you. I'm too weak to travel alone. I can't risk it..." She muttered, crossing her arms over her chest in annoyance. She had even worn a dress... then again, it wasn't as if that was for him. No, of course not.
"I know," He said simply, "But if you want... you could travel with me, and I could train you to defend yourself." Her eyes scanned his face in confusion. Why would he want to train someone of her stature? A thief was something that someone of his class and stature was trained to go against. He was trained to defend people and uphold law, and she was taught to break it. Then she realized... he didn't know what she was... and she decided that this would be a perfect opportunity.
"All right," She nodded, deciding to agree quickly before her conscience got to her and forced her to do the right thing. "When do we leave?" Her hands then moved to rest upon her hips as she tilted her head.
"Well... Probably tomorrow morning. Will you be ready by then?" She nodded affirmatively and he grinned, "Good... And... Don't wear something like that... You'll need something you can move in more easily. Something... not so girly." She huffed and glanced away, muttering a low 'fine'. "I'll see you in the morning then, all right?" He asked, moving slightly to the side to look her in the eye.
"Fine," She repeated, "I'll be here and ready early... So be ready as well. I'll see you then..." And without another word, she turned and left the inn, heading home to pack. She knew this was taking advantage of him... but this was her big chance to get stronger and be able to live a more adventurous life. It had been torture to live in one place for so long.
Early the next morning, just past dawn, Yuki had shown up at the inn, ready to go just as she had said. And as he had advised, she did not wear a dress this day, instead donning light, cropped pants and a strapless coton top. She wore boots upon her delicate feet and had strapped a few daggers to her belt. The young woman had left her long, silver hair down, carrying ribbons with her in case she would need to tie it back. Inside of her satchel was now not only soap, but also a few changes of clothing and money. She knew that she had arrived much earlier than necessary, but in all truths, she felt the need to show him up. Of course, all hopes of that were thrashed when she found him reading in the lobby. "Did you even get a room?" She questioned, feeling slightly annoyed.
"Couldn't sleep," He admitted, grinning up to her. "And I wanted to be here waiting for you..."
In truth, she meant to reply with a sharp comment, but for some reason, she just couldn't after he spoke that. Why did she have to feel so embarrassed? She hated those god damned female hormones of hers... And she couldn't help but imagine herself hunting them all down and killing them with her bare hands... and of course all of those hormones looked like him at the moment. "Well... then, let's just go," She muttered, turning slightly from him.
"Let's," He agreed, standing from his spot and grabbing his pack.