Romance of a Failed Knight
Author's Note: I will apologize in advance because even though I mention the Seven Star Sword Art Festival, I will not be writing about it in the next chapter. I know I suck at writing action sequences, and I don't want to put my readers through my terrible writing. Also, as the title indicates, this story isn't about action, it's about romance. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of Chivalry of a Failed Knight; characters or plot
Chapter 1: Introduction of a Failed Knight
It was the day before the Seven Star Sword Art Festival of his senior year, and the word's that Ikki's father had told him his freshman year were playing over and over in his mind. "If someone who's not supposed to be able to do anything ends up doing something, then helpless people begin to have needless confidence." Ikki went into his father's office that day in hopes that he would acknowledge him after hearing of his many victories in the recent tournament. What Ikki didn't expect was his father to acknowledge his victories and improvement, but instead of being proud, he informed his son that his success was not what he wished for. In fact it was damn near the opposite. Since his son had about one tenth the magical ability that was normal for an aspiring knight to have, his father believed that his son should always be the way he was, weak and unable to accomplish anything.
"Ikki?" A voice snapped him out of his deep thought. His attention was directed towards the origin of the voice, his crimson haired fiancé, Stella. "What's the matter Ikki?" His fiancé asked with genuine concern in her words. "Something is clearly bothering you, so please, as your fiancé tell me what is on your mind. I can't know what's bothering you unless you tell me, but I promise, whatever it is we'll get through it together." She said as she took his hand in her own and gave it a gentle squeeze.
Just seeing his fiancé lightened his mood, but the concern and love that filled her words eased the trouble in his heart. It was true that of all his family the only one who truly cared for him was his younger sister. This, however, mattered little to him now. Now he had Stella, and like she told him, no matter what came their way, they would face it together. Bringing his attention back to the present Ikki faced his fiancé, a small smile pulling at his lips before his look returned to that of a somber one. Letting out a sigh he replied to Stella. "I'm sorry, it's just that I can't get my father's words out of my head. I always thought that if I could get stronger and start accomplishing things on my own, then maybe he would care about me." Though the explanation was short it brought back the countless years of loneliness and isolation he experienced because of his father. Ikki dropped his head as if in defeat. Before he could even replay what he just said in his own head he was wrapped in a warm embrace. "I know that you wanted your father to care for you. You have worked so hard to become strong and improve and because of that every accomplishment and victory you have achieved is yours and yours alone. I'm sorry that your father can't get it through his thick skull that you, despite severely lacking in magical ability, are still an amazing young man. Though you should know, even if everyone else in this world refuses to acknowledge you, even if your younger sister turns her back on you, I will always acknowledge you. No matter what happens I will always be there beside you and I will always love you."
Unable to respond verbally to what his fiancé had just told him, Ikki just held her tighter, pulling her closer into their embrace.
Still wrapped in her warm embrace, Ikki was finally able to respond to his fiancé, who just remained silent, but still held him for all he was worth. "Thank you Stella. You always know what to say to lift my spirits, although just being with you is enough to shine light onto any darkness I find surrounding me." Pulling slightly away from their embrace to face one another, but still in each other's arms, Ikki continued. "I love you too Stella, more than any words could ever hope to describe. As long as I have you I don't need any acknowledgement or outside support. You are my everything, and I wouldn't have it any other way."
Her words had indeed cheered him up as intended. "Though, I do have to disagree about one thing you told me" Ikki told his fiancé in a playful tone, but not so informal so she knew that whatever he was about to say was genuine. His tone changing from its previously light heartedness to serious, so much so that it was almost concerning. He explained, "You told me that the accomplishments and victories were mine and mine alone, but that isn't entirely true. Yes, all my victories were in solo fights, so naturally I didn't have help. The only reason I won was because I got stronger, and I got stronger for a reason. However, that reason changed along the way." Hearing this, his fiancé continued to listen, but from the edge of her seat. He continued, "I know my initial reason to become stronger was to graduate, but that all changed when you came into my life. Ever since my battle with Kirihara I stopped fighting to graduate."
Pausing briefly to take a breath Ikki was about to resume his explanation when Stella cut him off as her curiosity got the better of her in the brief moment of silence. "Then what did you continue to fight for?" She asked, eager to hear his response. He lightly chuckled before answering, "It's not what I fought for, it's WHO I fought for. To me, that person was and still is you, Stella. Because of you I was able to continue fighting, even if I faltered, I would never give up because I had you. So to sum it up, even though on the surface I earned those victories and accomplishments on my own, the truth is that without you I would've never achieved anything I did in the time between meeting you and now.
Now it was Stella's turn to be at a loss for words. She had known she had meant a lot to her fiancé, but this was the first time she could remember him voicing it with such passion and conviction. Much like her words, his words had reached her heart.
The two locked eyes, and Stella closed the distance between them, giving him a quick peck on the lips. Looking into his fiancé's eyes, Ikki's look of absolute bliss and contentment was replaced with a devilish smirk. Stella noticed this, and didn't know whether to be concerned or scared. She should have been the latter, as before she could voice her thoughts Ikki pounced on her, pinning her down to the couch they had been sitting on. Not expecting the sudden action from her fiancé, Stella let out a surprised sharp yelp.
Not knowing what was going on or what to say, Stella only managed to speak her fiancés name. "Ikki…" Taking note of her reaction, Ikki explained, "Sorry about that, my pouncing on you out of nowhere and whatnot. It's just I can only hold myself back for so long. He then buried his head in the crook of her neck, planting kisses on her delicate flesh. "Your words… alone nearly pushed me… over the edge of my self…control, but that kiss broke the dam that holds…my love and adoration… for you." Ceasing his ministrations from her neck, Ikki brought his attention to her ear, gently nibbling it. The princess let out a quiet moan as she shivered at his act of love on top of his words.
Leaving her ear, much to her chagrin, Ikki faced his fiancé with the intention of asking if she was all right. She hadn't said anything after he had pinned her down. Before he could get the words out, Stella put on a pouty face and scolded him. "I didn't say you could stop." As she said this, a sly grin graced her lips. Before he could respond to his fiancé she yanked her hands from his now loosened grip. She then placed both of them on his cheeks and mashed their lips together, wanting to be as close to him as possible. Unlike the first kiss, this one was deep and full of passion, with perhaps a hint of lust, but they both believed that taking that final step into adulthood should wait. They wanted it now so badly, and knew they would be tempted in the future. Hell, they had almost done it in an abandoned cabin in the mountains their freshman year. Somehow they managed to keep their relationship pure and planned on keeping it that way. By waiting for marriage to take the final step into adulthood both would keep their relationship pure and show others, as well as themselves, just how serious they were about their relationship.
They stayed like that, just holding each other as they kissed, for a good seven minutes; wanting to keep their lips locked together and not wanting to let the other go. Unfortunately for them, their lungs begged to differ, as they (their lungs) cried out for life sustaining air. Finally breaking their kiss, giving in to the needs of their respiratory systems, they just sat there in each other's arms, content with their lives. They eventually fell asleep on the couch, still in each other's arms.
When Ikki woke up, the sun had set and the only light that was provided to their room was that of the moon. Ikki looked down at Stella and just admired just how beautiful she was. The soft moonlight only enhanced her natural beauty. "She looks like a sleeping angel. No, she is a sleeping angel, my sleeping angel. I'm so lucky to be with her." He thought to himself. "No Ikki, not your Ittou Shura of the night" Stella mumbled in her sleep. Ikki merely quietly laughed at this. He had found out some time ago about his fiancé's habit of talking in her sleep, mostly about him. He never judged or spoke to her about it for two reasons. First, he found this habit of hers to be absolutely adorable. Second, though he would never openly admit it, especially to Stella, he had dreams like that too; about her that is.
Deciding it wouldn't be good for either of them to sleep on the couch for fear of the possible back pain it could cause. The last thing he wanted was for Stella to not be able to perform at 100% and end up getting hurt, as a rule of the Seven Star Sword Art Festival was to use weapons in real mode, not phantom mode. He could never forgive himself if something happened to Stella because of him. He didn't care what happened to him as long as Stella was all right. Ever since he told Stella he liked her, and she returned those feelings, Stella was the center of his world. Her happiness and safety came before everything else, even his life.
Quietly getting up as to not wake her, Ikki took Stella into his arms and carried her bridal style to their bed. Yes their bed. After their freshman year, namely after he proposed to her, a single queen size bed had replaced their bunk beds. No doubt the doing of Kurono Shinguuji. She had been the one to room the two together in the first place, despite their difference in rank. He smiled to himself as he thought about when he first met her. He had walked into his room to find that she was changing, and at that moment was only dressed in her undergarments. Instead of walking out and apologizing, or even asking why she was in his room, he decided to offer to take his clothes off so they could call it even. In the short run that hadn't worked out for him. He was almost incinerated by Stella, but was spared as he explained to her that the only reason he didn't fix his gaze upon something else was because he had never seen anyone as beautiful as her. In the long run, however, offering to remove clothing was the best choice he ever made. He didn't know how their relationship would be different if he hadn't, and he didn't care to find out. He knew even if he could that he wouldn't change a thing about their meeting simply because of how happy he was with her now.
Coming back to the present, Ikki gently placed Stella on the bed, wrapping her in their blanket so she would stay warm. He gently kissed her forehead. "Goodnight my princess" He whispered. Ever so quietly, he climbed in on his side. Slowly scooting closer to her, he wrapped his left arm around her, resting it against her stomach as he pulled her closer to him. She just repositioned herself in her sleep and nestled against him. The only real difference in her position was that she took one of her hands from under her pillow and brought it to his, lacing her fingers through his. He then let out a sigh of pure contentment. He couldn't have been happier having the one person in the entire world that he loved more than life itself be peacefully sleeping beside him. With that thought in mind, Ikki gave in to the pulls of slumber, a smile on his face.
Ikki awoke to find himself in a dark room, the only source of light being a lone spotlight directly above him. He tried to stand up to look around the room, but a severe pain in his legs brought him back to the ground. He looked down and saw that it looked like he had fought off an entire army single handedly. As he continued to check himself for any other injuries or possible clues he saw that he was holding something in his left hand. He inspected the piece of crumpled paper, and gently unfolded it. What he found inside both scared and confused him. Inside the paper had been a few locks of Stella's hair. How did he know this? Aside from him knowing what her hair looked and smelled like, he knew all too well the situation he was in.
"Why the hell am I back here? I thought, correction, I know I already went through this, so why am I here now?" He wondered aloud to himself. He nearly jumped, he probably would've had he not been sitting, when a voice answered his question. "So, you're finally awake. Well, to answer your question, you lost a match, badly at that. After you lost you passed out. So forget the experience of that pleasant dream you had, this is reality."
Ikki was stuck on one thing the voice had said. "Forget the experience of the pleasant dream you had" He never said anything about a dream, nonetheless what kind, so how did this voice know? Before Ikki could question the situation further a familiar voice pierced his thoughts. His head snapped in the direction of the voice. If heads were screwed into place, his would've flown out of its socket with the speed that he turned his head. In a doorway, one that wasn't there before, there stood two figures. One was more of a silhouette with no distinguishable features, but was obviously a male from his build. The person next to him was Stella. Ikki wanted to run to her, but something was keeping him glued in place, much to his chagrin. He turned to Stella and was about to speak, but though his mouth moved, words didn't follow. It was Stella who broke the silence. She commented, "It's a real shame you lost. I guess your father was right, those who weren't meant to be able to do something shouldn't try to do anything"
The pain in Ikki's legs had been unbearable to the point he couldn't walk. The pain he experienced from his match with Kirihara was so bad that he nearly died. The words that Stella had said made those experiences seem pleasurable. Ikki stopped fighting the unknown force keeping him down and focused on keeping himself together. If he let this get to him, his very essence would break; his will, his heart, his spirit, even his soul would break to the point of no repair.
Once again Stella broke the silence, addressing Ikki reassuringly, "Don't worry about it. I know that promise we made kept you going, but you don't have to worry." Ikki looked up hopefully before Stella put the nails in his metaphorical coffin. "I've found someone who is meant to do something, and that something is being with me, so don't beat yourself up."
Ikki looked up and saw the two grasp each other's hand. They then turned and began to walk away. The pain her words had brought him seemed to numb any physical pain he was feeling. The force holding him down seemingly vanished as he got up and started running towards her. He was in a full sprint, to the best of his current ability. Though he couldn't feel the pain, it was still affecting his legs. Despite running as fast as his legs could carry him, he couldn't seem to catch up to the walking duo. In fact they got further and further away. He cried out to her, "Stella!" The distance between them continued to grow. "Stella" He begged as tears began to flow freely down his face. Once again the distance between the two increased, but this time she started fading from his vision. "Stella, please!" He begged. This time the distance didn't change. He reached out towards her, but as he did she vanished.
"Stella!" He yelled as he shot up, arm still outstretched. He looked around him and saw that he was back in his and Stella's room; he felt his heart beat at an unhealthily high rate. His body was covered in a thin, shining layer of sweat and his eyes were stained and red with a few tears still present. Stella, as well as most of the residents of that building, was forced out of slumber at the sudden out burst. She asked with severe concern in her voice, "Ikki are you alright? What happened?" Finally looking at his fiancé, Stella was able to see the state her fiancé was in.
She immediately knew what happened, but before she could speak, Ikki, through more tears of both sorrow and joy from just seeing Stella, spoke. He couldn't form a coherent sentence and only managed to squeak out a few words. "I… you… another man… not needing me" After getting those words out he lost the last sliver of composure he had left. He buried his head into her shoulder and began to sob heavily.
She didn't say a word, just pulled him closer and held him as tightly as ever in her embrace. She gently stroked his hair in a comforting manner, letting him know that it was going to be all right and that she was there for him. A half hour of getting the pain out of his system passed. Though it was a dream the pain was all too real. He would never wish that kind of pain on anyone, not even Kirihara. He rubbed Stella's back, signaling the end of their embrace.
Before Ikki could explain Stella cut him off, saying, "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. Just know if you do, even if it isn't right now, I will always be here to listen and comfort you." Just like earlier that day, her presence lightened his mood, but her words eased to tremendous pain in his heart.
After telling her exactly what happened in his dream, she wrapped him in another embrace and held onto him with no intention of letting go anytime soon. With tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes, she whispered to him, "I am so sorry, love. I hope you know that my heart belongs to you and you alone, and as long as my heart beats, it will beat for you, and nothing could ever change that. Though I do wish I would've been there to teach that bitch a thing or two." On top of her concern for her fiancé, she was also livid at the thought of her, even if it wasn't the real her, ever saying something like that to Ikki.
Ikki laughed at his fiancé's remark knowing that she was not only concerned for him, but also mad at the thought of what her dream self had said. "Don't worry about it. You had no control over my dream, or what that dream you said." He didn't want to say that it was her who said those things. He knew she didn't; it was a dream Stella, just a mirrored image of her. He reassured. "You know, even though I woke up with a sky rocketed heart rate at the thought of you leaving me, it still beat for you and you alone. Not even the feeling of you leaving me could ever change that, though I know you wouldn't dream about it, and after this I REALLY hope you don't". He continued, "All that matters to me is that you're here now, and I know you would never say anything like that to me. I don't want you mad at something that was out of your control."
Easing up from her Ikki's reassurance, Stella did as he did, and focused on what was in front of her at the moment; her one true love; the only person she needed in her life; Ikki Kurogane.
Ending their embrace, much to Stella's chagrin, Ikki suggested they return to sleep. He explained that, despite the current situation, which involved comforting him, he had one priority to keep, that being Stella's happiness and safety. Concluding that losing sleep could potentially lead to errors in battle. Stella thought of resisting, but decided against it. She knew she could convince Ikki to do almost anything, though she rarely needed to given that she was his top priority. However, when it came to her safety he would never budge, even to her. It hurt him inside to go against what she wanted, but as always put his feelings aside for her safety. She had found this out a while ago and stopped trying to change his mind in situations like this. She opted to just go with what he said cause in the end she realized that if she was happy and safe, then he was happy too.
The couple returned to bed and snuggled against each other, facing each other this time, and held each other tightly. Knowing that Stella was right there and loved him and only him did more than ease his mind and the pain; it made him appreciate her more than he already did, if that were even possible. He knew, that as long as Stella was there, he would never have to worry about nightmares ever again, and after that night no nightmare ever infiltrated his dreams. All he ever thought about, awake or asleep was Stella, and he wouldn't have it any other way With that they both fell prey to slumber as they continued to hold each other, neither of them loosening their grip on the other.
Author's note: There you have it, my first fanfic I've made, not the first I thought of writing, but the first that I actually did write! I hope you enjoyed!
Okay, here I am about 4 months after I started writing. Originally I planned on publishing all chapters, 26 planned currently, after I wrote them all, but I decided against it. As of now I have 7 chapters written and plan on releasing one a month until I catch up to where I am. With me starting college I'm not sure how consistently I can post, but I'll try my best. Well, that's about it. Don't hesitate to PM me with any comments or suggestions.
Also, despite this being my own original work, I feel like it's appropriate to give a shout out, not that a shout out from me matters, to a writer who I believe has influenced my writing style greatly. I loved reading Gamera68's Rosario + Vampire fanfics (His confession and a Vampire. Both the original and the Reboot), which if you haven't read you should definitely check them out. I binge read the both of them, and I think his style just stuck with me.
Can't wait to write/post the next chapter. Until then, stay you my friends.