Welcome to one of the many sides that are being added to FFW. These stories are mostly for two reasons: to help me out and for fun since they are one-shots not anything related to the cannon story.
The polls for voting are up on the Deviantart page but for those without accounts I will be generous and leave the polls at the end of the story. Now everyone enjoy the oneshots and we will all see if I'm as good at writing romance as I am with action. I hope you all enjoy the stories as this is a little present for supporting FFW for a whole year now ^_^
First Chapter is about the pairing of Shadow and Illu (a really popular pairing for a reason). Enjoy and make sure to view the poll below. Now to begin the story.
ON WITH THE SHOW...
Speech: "FFW"
Thought: "FFW"
Attacks: FFW
Transformations/Dark side: "FFW"
Disclaimer: I do not own anything, I only borrowed it to use for the story. All that I own is FFW and the character Shadow. (Inser other legal garbage here)
Within Tokyo City business began to go on as usual. With known conflicts such as the Eclipse Tournament over FFW slowing returned to its simple days. Stepping out of the Reception Center Illu greeted the day with a smile on her face.
"It's such a lovely day; it's even beautiful here in FFW." Illu said as she enjoyed the calm breeze that blew through the town making her hair gently sway. In a flash Mukurowl appeared and landed on Illu's shoulder.
"What do you think Muku-Chan, doesn't it feel great out?" She asked the small white bird with a smile. Mukurowl nodded his head and flew about a bit before perching back on her shoulder. Illu let out a small laugh.
"You'll get lazy if you don't spread your wings and fly more Muku-Chan" Illu teased the bird as she walked through the market district. The owl decided to ignore her until he saw something and flew ahead forward with a small hoot.
"Hey Muku-Chan, don't fly off ahead like that!" Illu called to him as she ran passed a few sellers and buyers to keep up with her pet.
Shadow stopped his walking when he heard the sound of wings flapping. He turned slightly and saw Mukurowl landing on his shoulder, he couldn't read the owl's expression but he saw Mukurowl giving him a closed eyed smile. . "Mukurowl, if you're here than…"
"Muku-Chan!" As if on schedule Illu then made it to see where her pet had stopped flying. "Oh Shadow-kun, what brings you here?" She asked the boy used to seeing him mostly at the guild's HQ.
"I'm just walking out for a bit; I'm here looking to see if something interesting catches my eye." He let Mukurowl moved to his fingers and sent him back to Illu. "Plus I there is an order I have to pick up."
"For a client?" Illu asked.
Shadow shook his head negative. "No this one is personal, I'm surprised to see you actually I thought you said you wasn't going to be online today in your message."
"Oh, well…I did have an appointment but it got moved to next week, there's no one around to meet at my house so I decided to get online." Illu explained. "Do we have any missions today?"
"None, it's been a quiet day and everyone else is off on their own different thing." Shadow answered her question. "Key's at some meeting, Naenia dragged DB to god knows where, and Bella and Ravena are planning a prank war in the town east of here." He listed all the reasons the others weren't present. "I figured this would be a solo day for me."
"Oh well if you want I could…" Illu started to speak quietly but stopped when Shadow cut her off.
"You know I have to go collect my order now, you want to go with me for a bit?" Shadow asked her.
"Huh, just you and me?" Illu asked with a light blush. Mukurowl made no movement when she didn't count him but continued to watch.
"Sure unless you have something to do too." Shadow said nonchalantly.
"Ugh no, I mean" Illu stuttered as she became flustered. "Sure I'll go with you."
"All right, it's a date then" Shadow said as he began walking out of the district.
"Date?!" Illu asked blushing in place. Shadow stopped and turned back to Illu. "Come on, we may have time but the place we have to meet the delivery guy soon to get my order." He called to her.
"Hai" She said snapping out of her stupor. "Where are we going?"
"Just the residential part Tokyo City" Shadow explained as they walked out the market and where more buildings and malls began to pop up.
"Really is what you ordered expensive?" Illu asked.
"Yeah, it's a collector's item and its worth a lot but I want it." Shadow looked at one of the clocks that were displayed along the buildings. "We have about two hours until we need to go to the meeting place" He then looked and found a familiar restaurant. "Why don't we chat and eat first?"
"I'm not really that…" A soft rumble filled the air causing Illu to blush in embarrassment. "Ok maybe we can sit down for a while." Mukurowl just continued looking at his owner with a confused look.
"Maybe you didn't get the chance to eat before you dived in, come on we'll have a bowl of ramen on me." Shadow pointed to the Ichiraku Ramen Restaurant that rest across the street.
"I can pay for my own bowl; I don't want you wasting munny when you need to save it to buy your item." Illu said still blushing.
"I have enough to waste and I dragged you on this adventure so the least I can do is pay for lunch." Shadow waved off her worry as they both walked into the restaurant.
'This is almost like a date, me and Shadow-kun' Illu thought as her cheeks still had a rosy color to them. She was brought out of their thoughts when Shadow stopped as a waitress walked towards the duo.
"Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen, where would you and your date like to…" The Waitress greeted them and then spotted Mukurowl.
"Is there a problem Miss?" Illu asked wondering why she was looking at her, or more specifically Mukurowl.
"I'm sorry but we can't allow pets in the restaurant, we had small trouble with a litter of beast manjus that took a while to clean up." The Waitress explained. "Can you trust your pet outside, or maybe send him to your realm?"
"Muku-Chan" She looked to her pet in worry, true Illu was hungry but she didn't want to leave Mukurowl on his own. Before she made a decision Shadow walked a bit closer to the Waitress.
"I know you may have had a problem but can you wave this once, or at least give us a window seat with an open window." Shadow tried to negotiate.
"I don't know, I really can't allow it." The Waitress said. To her surprise a menu popped before her showing her an amount of munny, she looked to Shadow who still looked calm.
"See if we can get a window seat and you can keep the change, anything happens I'll pay for it myself." Shadow said as he waited for the Waitress's response. Illu looked to him in gratitude that she didn't have to decide.
"I'll go talk to the manager, give me a moment" She bowed to them before leaving to confirm the table. Illu chose this time to talk to Shadow.
"You didn't have to do that; Muku-Chan could have used the time to exercise his wings." She said though she was still thankful to him. Mukurowl let out a hoot of thanks that he didn't have to go from Illu, even for a moment.
"It's no problem, I would hate to have him hungry after we sit down and ate some ramen without him." Shadow simply said. "You don't have to pay me back for the tip either."
Illu shook her head at the last response. "No you've done so much, I can at least pay you back because this is my fault to begin with."
"It's your munny" Shadow said just as the waitress appeared.
"We can get you a booth at the window as long as you promise your pet won't make a ruckus or fly around inside, Manager's rules." The woman said as to the two.
Shadow nodded while Illu gave her a small bow of thanks. The waitress then led them to their seats and took their orders while Mukurowl fly and landed on a perch outside of the open window.
"I'm a little envious; we have to sit in here while he enjoys food and a nice breeze." Shadow joked as he sat back in his booth. Illu laughed a bit before looking around the restaurant.
"So you eat ramen a lot?" Illu asked curiously. Shadow took a hand a made a so-so gesture. "Not all the time but it's a personal favorite, it's something I enjoy eating but don't like making."
"What do you mean?" Illu said confused.
"Making it from scratch is a bit of a pain and any premade noodles I buy usually end up in pasta that I make, also I already have enough instant ramen back in reality." Shadow explained as they waited for their meals.
Illu giggled a bit, "I don't suppose this order happens to be a special type of ramen?"
"You'll see when we get their" Shadow answered. "Since we've talked about me, tell me about yourself Illu."
"What do you want to know?" Illu asked. Soon the waitress back with the drinks they had ordered with their meal, Illu thanked her as she began to drink her tea.
"Like where are you from, from the honorifics and manners I say somewhere in Japan." Shadow asked and saw Illu nod her head.
"Hai, I mean I am from Japan, Kyoto actually, sometimes I play on their Server but I have more fun on the United Server." Illu explained.
"Some things you can't do when you're just confined to one country, I've only been to the Japanese Server twice in my whole time playing." Shadow drank his tea.
"You've been to Kyoto?" Illu asked curiously.
"No I server-hopped, it cost me a bit to go there and back since my location isn't registered in Japan." Shadow explained. "Not to mention the paperwork sucks as well."
"They wouldn't make it easy to go to other countries' servers; otherwise some kind of international interest might spark from it." Illu said.
"The last thing we need is a terrorist attack starting from FFW." Their food arrived and Shadow thanked the waitress as she set a beef ramen before him. A bowl of miso ramen was before Ill and she pulled a fishcake out and fed it to Mukurowl who hooted happily.
They ate in silence for a bit until Illu noticed the way Shadow rolled the food with his chopsticks and laughed. "That's not really how the chopsticks work Shadow-Kun." The laughing girl said.
"This is how I learned to use them and there aren't really a lot of people I know that can teach me." Shadow rebutted but Illu stilled continued to laugh. It was funny to her that one of the strongest players she knew had little to know experience with chopsticks.
"You have to hold it like this" Illu tried to explain.
"Like this?" Shadow tried to mimic her wrist.
"No more like this" Illu reached across the table and used her hand to correct it, when she soon noticed how close they were to holding hands she took it back with a blush after Shadow held the chopsticks correctly.
"Thanks Illu-Chan" He then went back to eating already seeing how easier it was to eat the noodles.
"Illu-Chan" Illu asked when she heard the honorific.
"You added one to my name so I added one to yours, besides think of this as our little secret." Shadow said as he ate an egg from the bowl.
"Ok" Illu said as she ate from her bowl. Mukurowl sat on his perch feeding off of the pieces of the food that Illu would offer to him. Soon the three were done with their meal and Shadow left the munny on the table as they sat up.
"Shadow-kun I thought you would let me pay for my bowl" Illu said.
"Like I said don't worry about it, I still have enough to spare and I don't exactly carry all my money on me at one time." Shadow said as they walked out of the restaurant. Illu wanted to say something but knew it was pointless when Shadow put his mind to something.
'He doesn't admit it but he's almost as stubborn as Bella-Chan' Illu then smiled. "Arigatou Shadow-Kun"
"No need to thank me…besides aren't guys supposed to pay for everything on their dates?" Shadow teased the Owl hybrid.
"What date?!" Illu said as she went from pink to red in an instant. Shadow laughed and then noticed the time. He noticed they were almost late so he grabbed her hand causing Illu to blush more.
"Sorry looks like we lost track of time, I'm going to speed this up." Shadow said as he began to concentrate.
"We're going to Shadow-step?" Illu asked.
"No I can't cross that much distance but we can quickly fly there." Shadow said as he was outlined with a dark aura which also covered Illu.
"Then Muku-Chan can quickly fly…" Illu then felt stranged as she felt the aura around her.
Gravity Zero
After the call of the attack the confused girl began to float into the sky, Illu scrambled in surprised and held her skirt to avoid it floating along with her. "What is happening?"
"In my rush I forgot Mukurowl could fly but this will get us their just as fast." Shadow said as he also floated but he was calmer than the flustered girl. Still holding her hand he began to flay forward as they travelled through the sky.
Illu went from floating to flying as she gripped Shadow's hand in fear of falling but soon she looked from the ground to around the sky and began to enjoy herself. "How are we doing this, I thought you didn't have flying abilities."
"I don't but using gravity and a few small pushes I can fly in zero G." Shadow explained as he flew forward. "This flight won't take long so enjoy it, you're the only person I ever flew like this with."
"The only person" Illu repeated in a whisper. She looked to the focused boy as he concentrated only on flying their destination. 'Maybe I should…'
Mukurowl flew from behind and then caught up with the flying duo, when Illu set her sights to her pet the owl made a small illusion visible to her which caused her to blush. 'Even Muku-Chan is teasing me about this' Illu thought. 'The only one who doesn't tease me is Squal-niisan and that's only because he's protective of me.'
As she thought of her brothers and the others of Atherion she looked back to Shadow. 'I love my brothers and they all take care of me; but Shadow-kun treats me more like a fellow player instead of someone who is fragile.' Illu then got a downcasted look. 'Then again he doesn't know about my condition.'
As if he could sense her mood Shadow stopped flying and just floated with a confused Illu. "Why do you look so sad?"
"Sad I'm not" Illu tried to explain.
"Ok, but do me a favor and look around." Shadow said. Illu did what he said and then looked astonished at the sight before them. Some of the clouds have parted to reveal parts of the sky and the two stared at the "skyscape." Her eyes were wide with surprise as she also saw the sun getting ready to set.
"Sugoi, all this time I flew with Muku-Chan I never saw a sight like this!" Illu said in joy.
"Sometimes you just need to stop and look at the sky" Shadow said to her. "You would be surprised at what you can see, some days when I'm bored all I do is find a spot and look at the sky."
"The sky" Illu repeated. "I should stop and enjoy it more, it's so beautiful."
Shadow nodded in agreement, he then glances at Illu as they stood there in the sky, her long her flowing gently in the small current as she enjoyed the view. He blushed and then looked downwards.
"This is our stop, we land here" Shadow said and they began their descent.
"We're here, and I was just enjoying our date" Illu said not noticing her words until they already left her mouth.
"Glad you enjoy, as much as I like spending time with you we can't keep this guy waiting." Shadow said as he quickened their landing. Both landed gently in an open field where a man in a blue robe stood waiting.
"I was beginning to think you weren't going to show, were you preoccupied?" The robed figure asked as he looked to Illu, though the two players couldn't tell.
"No we were enjoying ourselves and we lost track of time, do you have it?" Shadow asked.
The man nodded and opened his menu to pull out a wrapped box that appeared in his hand. "Here as we said, do you have my payment?"
It was Shadow's turn to nod as he pulled out a large bag of munny. The two proceeded to complete their trade with a curious Illu and Mukurowl watching. The man checked the bag's contents and nodded.
"Everything looks good, although I never took you for a music lover" The man said with a chuckle.
"There is a lot about me that you don't know, now don't you have a place to be?" Shadow asked.
"Of course, you two children enjoy your date" The man then vanished.
"Children?" Illu tilted her head as she knew they both were anything but.
"It was his way of joking leaves it alone" He said as he observed the box. He felt the weight in his hand making sure the contents were what he thought it was.
"He called you a music lover; do you play an instrument?" She asked thinking of a type of instrument that would be as small as to fit in a box.
"I used to, it's more of hobby, I played mostly wind instruments or anything that caught my interest." Shadow answered her.
"Have you tried another type, like violin?" Illu asked again.
Shadow was silent as he thought back to the Eclipse Tournament and Illu's transformation with the violin but shook his head. "No, I did once but I wasn't any good."
"Oh" She said knowing it was hard to master the violin, Illu herself played very well back at home but she wouldn't call herself a prodigy. "What instrument did you buy?"
"I'll give you a hint…little fairy" Shadow then started to walk out the clearing. Illu stood confused before she noticed him walking. "Nani what kind of hint is that, come on tell me."
"It's more fun if you guess" Shadow smirked. Illu sighed before an idea came to mind; she turned to Mukurowl who nodded before his eyes began to glow. Shadow stopped walking when he noticed the small illusion around him.
"Really is this a prank?" He dispelled the illusion only to see a rock in his hand instead of a box. He turned and saw Illu beginning to open the contents. Shadow sighed and dropped the rock. "You seriously can't guess?"
Illu shook her head and then looked surprised as she pulled out the instrument. It was ivory in color and curved in her hands, she traced the small image of what looked like a demon and then felt the holes obviously used for changing the tune. Shadow walked over to her and she handed it over.
"Sorry my curiosity got the better of me." Illu apologized.
Shadow nodded. "That and a bit of your prankster side came out." He said much to her embarrassment. "So what do you think of it?"
"I don't know, I've never seen an ocarina up close before…you said that one is a collectable?" Illu remembered his words.
"Yeah the design is easily replicated but the song built into it isn't, this ocarina has a specific song that comes with it that the player can play." Shadow explained as he eyed the ocarina as he double-checked to see if it was authentic.
"Can you play it?" She asked curious of what the song was. Shadow shrugged and they stopped walking as they found a bench, the two saw they had walked into Tokyo City's park. The two sat down on the bench as Shadow eyed the ocarina.
"All right this once I can play, let's see if I can get the song right." He then stood up to play and turned to his audience. Illu and Mukurowl waited to see what the song was. Shadow brought the instrument to his lips and began to play.
(Play Tapion's Ocarina)
A soft melody filled the air as Shadow played the hero's flute. As he continued to play the music got louder as spread more so that others could hear it.
Kids stopped running and playing to see where the music was playing from, older players stopped and listened to the song out of nostalgia. The whole park was silent as they all enjoyed the melody, but none more than Illu as she listened intently to the beautiful tune.
'Beautiful, that song is…' Illu thought as she found herself becoming drowsy from the song. She tried to keep herself awake but the melody swayed her to unconsciousness. After a while Shadow soon stopped playing and opened his eyes and saw the girl sleeping on the bench with Mukurowl next to her.
'This must be what a Jigglypuff feels like' He joked to himself as he looked at the sleeping girl. "My playing was that terrible huh?" He asked but all he got were soft mumurs and a negative from Mukurowl.
"Thanks Muku" Shadow then sat down and looked to Illu. "Sorry about knocking out your owner."
"Shadow…kun" Illu mumbled in her sleep.
"She's dreaming about me?" Shadow wondered. Illu continue to let out a few words though he did manage to catch some of what Illu was saying.
"Get stronger…Shadow-kun…I'll stronger so…I won't be a burden." Illu said in a soft voice. Shadow smiled and pulled her scarf down so that she could breathe better and moved some of her bangs so that he could see her face.
"Baka" Shadow said using the few Japanese words he knew. "Who ever said that you were a burden" He then stood up from his seat. Shadow picked up the sleeping girl and rested her gently on his back and began to carry her in the direction of the guild.
'Everything that happened at the Tournament was my fault…I'm the burden, no I'm a sinking ship and I just dragged you under with me.' Shadow thought and then looked at the sleeping girl's face. 'Get stronger Illu-Chan; so you won't have to wait for a guy like me to help rescue you, and I'll get stronger too…so nothing like that happens again.'
Seeing a spot of green Shadow saw leaves beginning to fall from the trees and move with the wind. The Sunset had turned the sky into vibrant orange before the sky filled with a soft amethyst color.
Shadow chuckled to himself. "All we need are some cherry blossoms, then this would be a classic Japanese Kodak moment."
The black clad player continued walking with the objective of finding Illu something softer to rest on. Mukurowl flew behind them, not wanting to be left behind; the owl gave a vague impression of a smile knowing Illu had enjoyed her time with her 'Shadow-kun.'
That's it for this chapter, it is short but it is an oneshot and this would be one of the few times I wrote something like this. Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and I want to thank Ravena Felidae for the artwork. Good bye everyone and be sure to vote the couple for the next chapter.
Choice-shipping: The meaning of this name comes from Illu's debut in the main story. The chapter was centered all on Illu's choices and Shadow reminding her at the end that she still has a choice and can always do the right thing.
Review and tell me how I did as this is also for me to get better at writing. So please criticize fairly and tell me what I need to work on or add.
Now as I promised here is the poll for the next chapter:
Past-shipping: ShadowxRose
Admin-shipping: CastxLeon
Yokai-shipping: GrimxRavena
Remember to vote, both here and on the DA page if you can and as always I can't say this enough don't forget to review.
-Shadowlight0982 out.