Hey, everyone. I love this manga, so I thought I'd add this one-shot to help beef up the category. 23 isn't enough!
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"Kaede. Kaede!" Anis heaved herself forward and willed her legs to continue their methodical plodding. Sweat prickled at her forehead and tickled her nose as it dripped to the ground. She glared down at the boy – no, he was a man, now – who, for some reason, refused to hear her screaming his name. He was bowed low over the form of a woman Anis couldn't recognize. Who was it? Who was this woman who threatened to tear Anis' dreams to shreds? It wasn't Mikage, Anis knew, mostly because she had left the traitorous witch a mile back, blessedly unconscious by way of a large, blunt object. Anis was no longer an idiot to be toyed with.
She clenched her fists, now blistered from that too-long altercation. Mikage was scrappy. "Kaede, you JERK! Look at me when I'm talking to you!"
No response. Kaede's hand stroked the woman's cheek and his head fell forward, his lips inching toward the faded red mouth.
You must stop him at all costs.
No kidding, Captain Obvious. She had known that from the moment Kaede's warm eyes had glanced at the statue of the sinuous diva, the moment his calloused hand forsook Anis's to the icy winter air. Had that been only yesterday? It seemed like a year ago. But Kaede had sought this woman for miles, and had found her lying on this great stone slab.
If he kisses her, you will lose him forever.
That wasn't going to happen. Not if Anis had anything to say about it. For heaven's sake, she had only yesterday realized that she…ugh, she still wasn't comfortable with the idea. He was her old friend. She had known him forever! Suddenly switching her view of him from 'buddy' to 'lover' was wayyyy too awkward. But her stomach flipped as she remembered the softness of his gaze when he asked her if she was tired, the roughness of his hands as they moved over hers, warming her. He cared for her so deeply. How could she not have noticed? But the whole idea was so confusing. She needed some time.
But time wasn't something Kaede had in abundance. Anis sprinted the last few meters. She was seconds from pushing Kaede off his knees. Her arms were outstretched; her breath caught in her throat. But Kaede's lips, which had been moving so slowly – or was that a trick of time? – sped up, and his head completed its goal. His lips touched the woman's. Anis' mind went blank. She fell.
"No." It was barely a whisper. It was all she could manage. Pain shot up her legs. She couldn't be bothered to check why. For the moment Kaede's lips completed their course, the feminine mouth that had been so pale burst into ruby red, the wan face brightened, and the woman sat up, grinning triumphantly, as if knowing that Anis would be there to watch as everything she held dear was ripped from her.
It was a wrenching, hollow feeling. Because although the woman held Anis' gaze, Kaede only had eyes for the woman. He stared at the dark beauty as if she held the meaning of life. His cheeks were red, his forehead glistened, and his lips were parted as if he still remembered their kiss – and was expecting more.
The woman spoke in a mellow alto. "How does it feel, Anis?" The woman knew her name. As if the woman knew Anis' discomfiture at the realization, she smirked, and a few strands of her dark hair fell across her face. Kaede reached over and pushed them back, smiling slightly. He had once done that for Anis. Tears welled up in Anis's eyes, causing her physical pain as they poured down her cheeks.
"No." Louder this time, but still her heart twisted with the import of the syllable. It was a futile word, now. She could do nothing. And as the realization of her loss blinded her emotionally, the woman lifted her hand, pulled Kaede close, and kissed him back.
The exchange was complete. The woman was the new Dominion. And Anis, who had betrayed the contract by failing to fulfill its requirements, was sentenced. But not to demotion. Stripping her of her title would never be enough to punish her.
Anis would be sentenced to death.
Anis did the only thing she could do. She ran. And as she ran, she knew who would be pursuing her. She had known it would happen if she failed to stop Kaede.
And so she fled from the very people who had sworn to protect her so long ago:
Her knights.
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There you have it. Feel free to review - I always like feedback!