Roaring Tales – Short Story Collection
By. Indigo Siren
Disclaimer: Bloody Roar © copyright to Konami (Hudson Soft). The use of characters from the franchise is for non-profit entertainment purposes. The only elements that are owned by the author are the story premises, which should not be copied in any way. All rights reserved.
A/N (1): The following one shot short stories were originally posted on here during 2003 to 2007, though were removed as part of a cleanup operation I undertook to focus more on my multi-chapter stories. Given that these have just been sitting around in a folder ever since, it seemed such a waste to leave them to gather dust, so I decided to do some alterations (though not too much!) and correct any errors in them to put back up for your reading pleasure. (I might have missed some errors, though hopefully it will be a vast improvement on how they were before!)
All stories are romance related (though unrelated to each other) and the following pairings are used: Yugo x Alice, Gado x Jenny, Kenji x Uriko, Long x Shina & Xion x Uranus. Not all these pairings are ones I support these days, but that doesn't matter! They are good memories of a time when I involved myself heavily in writing Bloody Roar stories. Hopefully, you will enjoy them!
A/N (2): 'Glimpses of their Lives' is four separate mini scenes covering numerous pairings. It's all pretty much what it says in the title.
Glimpses of their Lives
Moonlight spilled in a soft line from a crack between the curtains and onto a bed where a slumbering woman lay. The flickering of the light coaxed the beautiful, pale woman to stir from her sleep. Blue eyes slowly opened to look up towards the curtain, swaying slightly with the gentle breeze from the open French doors.
Jenny Burtory sighed softly, turning away from the glowing moonlight that had such disturbed her peaceful rest, and instead came to look upon the form that lay beside her, who was entangled in silken sheets, fast asleep.
At first glance, those who didn't know the pair would have been shocked into disbelief that such a couple might actually be together. Alan Gado, a veteran mercenary, appeared to be many years her senior, but in truth, Jenny should have been of the same generation, maybe even slightly older. But because of harsh experiments long ago, she never had to worry about ageing again.
After a wonderful night of making love, sharing the passion they both felt for one and other, she hated to let her mind wander to things such as her agelessness. She sometimes felt envy for him being allowed to gracefully grow old, while she was trapped to watch as an eternal bystander.
She reached out and brushed aside a few of the white gold locks that splayed onto the side of his face, now resting limp instead of gelled back into their usual spikes. She couldn't help but smile as he shifted slightly, brushing against her side unknowingly
Love was truly ageless, like her. Never in her life would she want to let him go, even with such uncertainty around her situation.
Left restless on this train of thought, Jenny rose from the bed, careful not to disturb her sleeping lover. Naked milky flesh was illuminated as she stepped into the wake of the moon's gleam. Reaching for a light robe, she stepped out onto the balcony to embrace the cool night air, moving to lean on the cold iron rail as she looked up at the starry sky.
'Bats are nocturnal creatures…' Her mind whispered. 'The night welcomes you gracefully.'
For once in her life, she actually felt happy for the person she was. With her new-found friends and her supportive beau, she'd broken away from the hatred of her being that had become so deep rooted in her heart. She'd never let anyone know how bitter she'd been, alone in the darkness, only out to serve her own needs. But now, like the starry sky, her friends had lit up the cold darkness with a brightness she wished to bask in and cherish unreservedly.
Her destiny, from here to eternity, wouldn't be so hard to endure after all.
There was a rustling from the curtain behind her and the bat Zoanthrope turned. Her lover had been awoken, alone without her resting at his side.
"Are you alright?" Gado's deep voiced inquired warmly.
She nodded and slowly stepped toward him, noticing that he was actually completely bare before her and quickly covered him with a hug, her blonde locks tickling against his chest, enough to draw a sound of pleasure that rumbled against her cheek.
His rough hand, usually used so brusquely in battle, ran over her hair with surprising tenderness. "Anything you want to talk about?"
"No," she whispered with assurance, looking up at him with a soft smile. "These thoughts of mine are nothing to worry over. What I'd rather do now is climb back into our warm bed, before it gets too cold..."
He decided not to pry further. Jenny was one of the strongest women he knew, and if she had something to tell him, she would. Taking her hands carefully between his own, he led her back into the warmer confines of the room.
Sighing happily, she used her foot to carefully shut the French door behind her.
"Kenji?"
The young man smiled at the sweet, whining voice behind him, though his eyes stayed firmly locked on the textbook in front of him.
"What?" He matched the tone that his girlfriend had used.
Uriko Nonomura pouted. "When are you going to put that book down?"
"As soon as I've finished this chapter," he said, turning another page of the thick science textbook.
The pair was lounging around on Uriko's bed, revision books spread around them in disorder. It was preparation for a test the next day. Kenji lay on his front, legs crossed up behind him with the book rested in front of him at the end of the bed. Uriko was nestled in a barrage of pillows at the head of the bed, tossing another book aside.
She whined even louder. "But it's so long! You'll be ages!"
"Well, we are supposed to be revising," he informed her matter-of-factly.
"My brain hurts!" She grumbled, folding her arms. "And we've been doing it all evening!"
"A little longer won't hurt you... If you want to pass that is..." He said, partially engrossed in the text in front of him. There were no worries about him about scoring high on the test, though for Uriko however...
The cat Zoanthrope huffed, glaring at the complicated texts laying before her in all their intimidating glory. Though, seconds later, all thoughts of revision were washed away as a cheeky smile cross her lips as a thought crossed her mind.
Kenji was reading the text to himself, the words muttering under his breath, not expecting to have his companion pounce onto his back suddenly. He yelped, distracted just long enough for Uriko to make a grab for his textbook, snatching it away.
She hopped back, tongue out at him as he sat up, giving her a bemused glance.
"Come on, Uriko," he said, hand out. "Give the book back."
"Nope," she said sweetly, "no more books for tonight!"
"Seriously, Uriko…"
"Nuh-uh! You're not getting it back!" She teased playfully, waving the book in front of him. Even for his fast reflexes, she was one step ahead of him, whipping the book away from his grasp and behind her back for safe keeping.
Caught in a stalemate, with her dodging every snap attempt at getting the book back, he came up with a cunning idea. Kenji lunged once more in what he made to seem like a frontal assault, to which she backed up in response, keeping the book rightly behind her and out of his reach. But she was fully unprepared for him to press up against her with a firm kiss.
Parting seconds later, she blinked drunkenly, hardly reacting as he took the book out of her hands. He smiled with triumph, but as he looked between the scholarly text and his flushed girlfriend, the victory just seemed rather dull. He placed the book aside, and brought her lithe frame against his own for an affectionate hugs, their faces bare inches apart.
The rosy glow in her cheeks brightened tenfold. "You've had... a change of heart?" She asked, a shudder underlining her words.
"I think you were right when you said no more books tonight," he responded in a whisper. The gap closed between lips, as they shared in the warmth of a long, loving kiss.
Tossing the books aside that littered the bed, he laid her back onto the covers. The sound of forgotten books thudding against carpet accompanied the cacophony of kisses and chuckles between the pair.
"Don't tire me out too much," she said breathlessly, a slight smirk poised on her lips. "We've got a test tomorrow."
His fingers tugged on the zip of her lightweight jacket, slowly pulling it downwards. "You know, I can't make any promises..."
Shina tiredly dragged herself towards the bathroom. Just another day of excruciating chores that she particularly didn't want to do; and trying to work off the stress, she'd overdone it lifting weights in her own personalised gym. The twinge in her muscles was an ever present reminder that she needed to lessen up on her work out regime.
"Oh well, no big deal," she muttered, pushing open the door into the ivory-tiled bathroom. Dropping her sweaty clothes into the laundry hamper and resting her clean sleepwear on top of the closed lid of the toilet, she clambered into the nice, hot shower that awaited her. She adjusted the temperature on the faucet to just the way she liked it and grabbed the soap from the rack.
It was then that she noticed through the steaming glass of the cubicle that she'd not brought her t-shirt with the pile.
Probably left it on the bed, she thought, sighing heavily. Hesitating, she glanced towards the door. Well, I am alone, so it won't matter if I just make a rush grab for it without having to get dressed again...
Her beau, Long Shin, wasn't back yet from teaching his rowdy group of Kenpo students. It wouldn't be too long before he'd be back, but if she rushed to the bedroom and back, she could just about avoid an awkward situation. Both she and Long were always respectful about each other's privacy, and any nude encounters always ended up in a bashful mess, usually on his part.
They'd only been together a short time but besides sharing a bed, nothing else had ever occurred. There was always this weird, uneasy air about stuff like that they just ended up avoiding such things.
But he wasn't there now to cause a stir, so off she went, sprinting out of the bathroom like a naked, peachy blur towards the bedroom, where low and behold, her T-shirt was laid on the end of the bed. She retrieved it, blowing out a sigh, turning to exit, thinking she was home free.
Just seconds later, the door to the apartment opened and Long stepped inside, getting an eyeful of his lover striding out of the bedroom, completely naked.
They both stared at each other in shock until Long graciously averted his eyes, a blush tinting his cheeks. He cursed himself staring so long to create a perfect mental picture.
Shina used the couch for coverage, t-shirt pressed over her breasts. "Long! Welcome home! I was just going for a shower…" She cleared her throat embarrassed. "Sorry for the peep show."
"It should be me apologising…" He began.
"No, no!" She cut him off. "You weren't to know the minute you walked in you'd see a nudist."
"Yes, well…" He coughed, trying to cover up the awkwardness, shutting the door promptly.
She shifted uncomfortably in her crouched position. "We shouldn't have to act all pre-school about this, you know. We're supposed to be dating…"
He was still looking away, taking in the wall as if his life depended on it. "I guess you're right, but you know…"
"Listen, let's not over-think this. It just makes situations so much more complicated…" He was suddenly surprised that she had actually come up to him, pressing her nude form against him. His eyes sharply met hers with surprise, but hers were loving and calm. For a moment, she pushed aside any wavering thoughts and focused on the most important thing. The man she dearly loved. Intimacy shouldn't be something they shied away from.
"Jane…" His voice was caught between a shiver and uncertainty.
"Come join me in the shower?" She asked, laying a feather soft kiss to his lips.
Long gulped and nodded without hesitation. How could he refuse such an open offer? A part of him stirred with delight.
She smiled and stepped away from him, turning to head back towards the bathroom, for once not feeling so bashful to have his eyes follow her.
Long shook his head, and a small smile graced his lips. Not letting any opposing thoughts stop him, he dropped his luggage and coat aside and headed swiftly after his lover.
I've never known him to be so romantic...
Alice Nonomura opened her eyes to stare at the flickering orange flames of the line of candles displayed down the side of the bathtub.
What better way to make up after an argument than to be pampered by her lover – rose petals on the water surface, scented candles liberating sandalwood perfume into the room and to top it all off, crystalline glasses of red wine. It was a surprise to her that he even liked wine. Maybe he didn't, maybe it was just for her.
Alice had meaninglessly fought with her lover, Yugo Ogami, tempers flaring over such miniscule things. Dinner, chores, who'd get the car… just anything that was worth a fight over was brought up that morning and Alice had stormed off to work at the hospital in a foul mood. But surprisingly, when she got home, the dark cloud over her head had shattered when she'd seen what he'd done for her as an apology.
Alice snuggled back against her lover, prompting for him to tighten his arms around her waist. He placed a kiss on her shoulder, nuzzling into the crook of her neck with a sensual groan. The rabbit Zoanthrope quivered with delight.
"You spoil me, you know that?" She murmured gratefully, reaching for her glass of wine. The sparkling, intoxicating drink seemed to entice her senses even more.
His cheek came up to rest to hers. "Don't you believe you deserve it?"
She didn't answer, instead just giggled, cheeks flushed. She sipped the wine and placed the glass back on the side.
"You always seem to surprise me, even when I think I've seen it all…"
He grinned. "Oh, I can assure you, the surprises will keep on coming."
She craned her neck to look at him, eyes lit with intrigue. "Oh?"
He coaxed her to turn around in his arms; faces close enough for their warm breaths to intermingle. "You'll see."
She thought she would drown in his loving kiss, the embrace more intoxicating then the wine. The exotic sensation made her skin glow with love-induced warmth, sending tingles flowing down her spine.
Yes, she could be assured that tonight would be an interesting one indeed...