Had it really been 400 years already...? Such a puzzling thing: the years flash by too quickly in this ever changing world. Though it could be worse. There's always those Shadowrealms with rather odd timing..."

He, the (immortal) swordsman Niten, Miyamoto Musashi, had always been skeptical, despite being a man of little emotion; according to the people he was not well acquainted with of course. Four hundred years ago he had the distinct pleasure of becoming acquaintances, no, friends, with the Shadow's twin sister, Aoife. A tall woman (in his aspects), prideful and strong, both mentally and physically. She managed to worm her way into his cold heart which mourned the loss of honorable war. She never even realized it most likely. Thoughts often skittered across his considerably calm mind, and much like he and Aoife, they were quick but silent, easily unknown even with the barest of recognition.

To look back on the occurrences about a week ago, Prometheus himself was giving him romantic advice. A hint of amusement played across his supposedly stoic face. He owed the man, no, the elder being. A soundless sigh passed his lips, still easily heard by Aoife, his wife now, who questioned the cause with a tilt of her head. He'd seen all sides of her by now, but there were many more to see, he was sure of it. Thousands of years do not go by without picking up new traits. With a perceptible shake of his head (they could read their motions easily, much like Sophie and Josh, without much trouble, after all, 400 years is a long time), he brushed off her inquiring glance under the guise of a man's way of letting the stress roll off.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, she knew exactly what was going through his head. Mentally, he cringed, "caught in action, I must be losing my grip." Yet still, two weeks had passed since the fall of Danu Talis, a whirlwind of mish-mashed days presented themselves; Jos-Marethyu finding Aoife and bringing her back- her prison mate (so-to-speak) was worse for wear despite being an Archon... Her weariness was quickly cured (courtesy of him of course, plus a few witty banters with the Shadow) and suddenly he felt himself asking her to marry him, just as she was about the start putting together a plan for her training that following day. Her shocked pause was only broken by her subsequent answer that made his heart, so hardened by the lack of honor in battle, warm and bloom within his chest while his cheeks began to burn slightly.

He couldn't help but call up memories of days that passed quickly, yet still felt like weeks.

"Have you any regrets? You're blushing."
"One regret. One regret only. I am sorry Aoife is not with us now. How she would have relished this battle."
"And she'd have defeated the Spartoi too."
"They would have run from her. I should have asked her to marry me."
"You loved her?"
"Yes. Over the centuries I came to love her."
"Did you ever tell her?"
"No. I came close on a couple occasions, but somehow, at the very last moment, my nerve always failed me."

Such a serious yet light hearted conversation in the midst of battle. A wry chuckle escaped.
He skimmed through the memories surprisingly cheerful.

"Do you think she loved you?"
"It was hard to say with Aoife."
"And yet she stayed with you for how long?"
"About four hundred years."
"I'd say she loved you."

A definite answer for someone he believed would never come back. Still, the world never failed to turn around and give him a good surprise once in a while. For this was one surprise he would cherish even if he were to lose his mind like the great King Gilgamesh.

Yes... He had no regrets now... He was quite content…

Well... Hello there... Umm... Ah! I don't own the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, so the quotes used above were merely for the purpose of the story, and I didn't mean to plagiarize, it just helped developed this a bit more.

I'm actually rather new to this section of FF (Anime fan here -woo-) despite being an enormous book lover. I've decided to "expand my horizons" in fanfiction. -nervous laugh- So I hope you were able to bear with me on this oneshot. It may sound a little awkward since I typed it up right before going to bed... But reviews are nice, I like reading creative critism :)

Bye! (Call me Chocolat! I use this nickname for my shared account with my friend, and I'm pretty sure Kaida-chan would throw you all off -those that don't watch anime/read manga- [Kaida-chan is the nickname I use on this account for anime stuff ahaha... Odd, I know, I'm a weird one...])