Please Read and Review!
And BTW, this will probably be a ShoriXEverybody fic – meaning there will be moments for a certain pairing each chapter.
Oh, and for those who are confused about me pairing ShoriXEverybody -- it's sort of a challenge I gave myself to try and pair a character I really like with alot of other characters in one fic~ And yes, the serious plotline is just scheme to get as much characters involved without it seeming too "convenient". XD
I rated it T to be safe, the later chapters will probably be rated higher than this one~
Rating: K
Disclaimer: Believe me, if I owned KKM, Shori would have WAY more screen time… and maybe a pairing. *hinthint* XD
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He looked up to what seemed to be an endless sea of stars and smiled, nights like this reminded him of so many cherished memories. The wind started to pick up and long, cold breezes swept through the palace garden. He closed his eyes and took off his eyeglasses, now that he thought about it, he never really took them off for no apparent reason before, only when he slept or bathed.
His face felt much lighter now.
He stood there, eyes closed under the light of the moon, his eyeglasses hanging on to his t-shirt as the wind threatened to blow it away.
It was getting pretty cold, and he started to regret leaving his jacket in his room.
Shori took a deep breath and inhaled the fragrance of a variety of flowers whose scent was carried to him by the cool breeze. Then there was a long silence, where all he heard was the strong wind. He found comfort in listening to nature but he never really took the time to get out more.
Maybe Yuuri was right, the stress has been getting to him. It was just surprising because he always thought he had higher tolerance than that. But he was finding it harder to endure all that pressure lately...
"I guess this vacation won't be so bad... Considering I almost destroyed this place last time, people have been very welcoming…
"But those kinds of things are overlooked when your younger brother is the chosen demon king and practically destroys the place on a regular basis."
Then his thoughts wandered off to the constant danger his brother is under. He felt so helpless, and much worse, his vows to protect Yuuri are being fulfilled by other people. Yuuri was growing up and he was afraid that the day would come… The day Yuu-chan wouldn't need him anymore… But whether or not Yuuri needed him, he knew that at least Yuuri cared for him and was worried about him enough that he would gladly inconvenience himself to help him recover.
This led him to remember some very painful memories…physically painful ones at that. The relaxed expression on his face turned into a scowl.
He tried his best to shield Yuuri from those things. They weren't human, but they had a physical body. A body without a soul that had been stained with darkness…a manifestation of the growing evil after the Originators have perished…Well; at least that's what Bob had speculated.
He pondered over that thought when his eyes started to blur...... again…
It happened so fast he couldn't even finish his trail of thought.
Everything went black, his head was spinning and it was throbbing like hell. His eyes were open, or at least he thought they were, everything was getting dark. He was half-unconscious then and he struggled, or at least he tried to. After what seemed to be an endless battle between his will and his numb body, he decided to surrender and succumb to whatever was happening.
"Uncle Shori!" he heard a young girl's voice say.
He managed to muster enough strength to look up...
It was his niece, Yuuri and Wolfram's adopted daughter, Gretta.
He remembered how shocked he was when he was first introduced to his 16 year old brother's 10 year-old child.
She was such a sweet little girl. He was happy he was able to get to know his niece a little better as they talked in the palace garden a few hours ago...
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Shori managed to make his way to the garden without getting too lost, which in itself was an achievement… the place was huge. Although he had gotten there by accident he didn't really mind, anywhere he could be alone and quiet would be fine. Then he heard indistinct noises from within the inner plaza of the palace garden. So much for alone.
Shori cautiously went nearer to the source of the sounds that seemed to be muffled crying. He found a little girl curled on the grass, face covered with her wavy brown hair and knees held up by her knotted hands.
"Gretta?" The girl reacted by slowly lifting her head to the anonymous voice that called her. By the way she flinched at the sound of his voice Shori figured that she was surprised. It was pretty quiet in the garden so he thought anybody would be.
He wiped away her tears and let her sit on his lap. Shori couldn't understand her so instead he sang an old lullaby that used to calm Yuuri down...
Sakura, sakura
falling down how beautiful...
children watching fondly,
catching the sakura
as they catched their dreams.
Sakura, sakura
simple yet cherished.
Adults watching fondly,
watching their CHERRY BLOSSOM dream fly away...
When he was done singing and saw two curious brown eyes fixated on him.
Gretta stopped crying but instead she started laughing. That was a sting on Shori's part, he wasn't that bad a singer was he? But all the same he smiled, he might not have been a great singer but atleast he could be a damn good uncle. Shori felt a surge of warmth and pride at that. Then he noticed Gretta was shuffling her hand in her pocket...
"What are you looking for?" Shori asked instinctively as the little girl continued to looking around her pockets. "Aha!" Gretta exclaimed excitedly.
She pulled out one of Ms. Annisina's most successful inventions-- Let-Me-Hear-The-Cries-Of-The-Heart. She handed it over to her uncle so they could talk. He took it from her little palm and placed the device by his ear.
"I'm not a very good singer, am I?" Shori said admittedly. Gretta shook her head and smiled. Her uncle gave her a confused look and she continued,
"Don't worry
"Your okay," she smiled "I laughed because when you sang it reminded me when Wolfram sang to me the other night."
"Wolfram... sings to you?" Wolfram didn't really strike him as the caring mother figure, he definitely looked more feminine than his brother but his attitude just seemed way too aggressive and stubborn. But then again, he was reminded by his own mother, then, Shori thought, it's possible.
"He tries!" Gretta giggled "But just between you and me, he isn't very good."
At that, he started to laugh and even more so when Gretta described Wolfram's soothing but strangely off tune voice. But as amusing as he found it he also considered it quite thoughtful of Wolfram to atleast try to calm his daughter down. Shori thought that if the singing worked its purpose then the voice didn't matter as much.
"But you know, even though he sounds like that, I really appreciate that he still treats me like his own daughter, and Yuuri too of course." Gretta admitted with a sad smile, probably at the thought that she was just adopted.
Shori looked at her and said with a thoughtful smile, "You know, even if you didn't come from either of them physically that doesn't make you any less their daughter. You are their child by heart, and that's what matters…" Gretta looked up to her uncle and it seemed as though she was trying to memorize his face. Then she returned his smile, "Yeah!"
Gretta then slowly wiped off the dried tears on her cheeks which reminded Shori of how he found her: sitting all alone on the grass, crying.
"Gretta?" The little girl nodded in acknowledgement of the question "Why were you crying when I found you earlier?" Gretta frowned again, causing Shori to feel a pang of guilt at having to ruin the once cheerful mood, but he just had to know.
"I had a bad dream…" Then there was a silence, Shori waited for any additional information but none came he started to open his mouth when Gretta started to sob again. "Every…body…was.. -hic-…turn..ing… aw..way…from mee… e..ven..Yuu…Yuuri…. and… I was all…all…alo..ne.. ii.. -hic-… in.. t-the… dark." Then she started to cough between sobs "I… woke up and… Yuu…Yuu—ri w-was..n't t-there… anymore…e-e-veen W-wolfr -hic-…" Gretta's voice was barely audible but Shori could make off enough words for him to understand. She had a nightmare about being left all alone and she woke up without anybody there like her dream.
She was scared. Shori momentarily wondered where her parents were but he then thought Gretta should be the priority right now.
Shori pitied the poor girl and comforted her by telling her stories about the 5-year old dress-wearing Yuuri up to the present 16-year old Yuuri she knew as a father. He was fond of how she reacted and laughed to his stories: a 6-year old Yuuri burning the carpet was her favorite. He then made a promise to come with her to look at her favorite flowers.
"Why are they your favorite?" Shori asked, an amused smile on his face.
"Take a look for yourself" Gretta replied with a childish grin.
"Any clues?"
"They remind me of Yuuri" she admitted shyly.
"Speaking of Yuuri, I'm quite curious... how exactly… did you meet?"
Gretta hesitated, looked down and sighed.
"Sorry. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Shori said guiltily.
She shook her head and looked at her uncle with a sad but genuine smile to assure him, "No, it's okay"
Gretta took a deep breath to brace herself. This was going to be a long story.
She told Shori about how Yuuri and she met and how she tried to kill him. At first Shori was shocked, Gretta surely thought he was going to hate her for doing something so unforgivable. She also explained how Yuuri pitied her and took her in even though she almost stabbed him. But instead of the accusing glares Gretta braced herself for Shori attentively listened to her with a warm and understanding look on his face.
Gretta looked a little surprised that he didn't get angry or upset with her. She knew her uncle was very protective of her dad, yet he looked as if he didn't mind at all... That familiar look, she realized, is the same look Yuuri gave her when he forgave her for trying to stab him—not that he blamed her for anything.
She thought she was stupid.
He said she was brave.
Gretta wondered what he meant by that and Shori smiled and said,
"Although you may not have done the right thing, it takes guts to do anything at all."
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He stumbled and his feet lost contact with the ground.
The ground almost seemed to vibrate as the little running footsteps got nearer.
"Uncle Shori! Please wake up!"
The young girl pleaded
"You promised me you would come with me to look at the flowers by the town!
"They're very pretty! My favorite flowers are at bloom..."
...How familiar...
"Big brother! Look! The pretty cherry trees are at bloom!
"You promised we would go at the park to look at them!"
He looked down and he saw a young dark-eyed boy around the age of 10, looking at him eagerly.
"Come on! Hurry! You promised!"
The boy started to run.
His body went numb and he couldn't move as those words echoed in his head...
...You promised...
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Yay serious prologue! :D
Thanks for taking the time to read~
I rewrote this dozens of times and I'm not sure if it's any good so please give me feedback :3
And my guess is there will probably be more pairing moments than serious contemplation scenes on what the hell those dark manifestions are. XD
Next chappie summary: Gretta's POV
Gretta waved goodbye to Shori after their talk and ran off… but where to? And how did she know he collapsed?