Yamuraiha still could not decide if it was the late effects of the little alcohol she had ingested during the big celebration after Magnostadt's battles or if she was just really feeling emotional after seeing her adopted father again, shortly before he returned to the rukh.
She could not help but feel a lump on her throat after it happened - while she previously could not forgive him for hiding everything from her and spreading inequality in her country, now she was simply sad. He had stopped thinking that way and it made her remember of the times back when she was a child, when they, above from being magicians, were something that resembled a family.
The magician tried to hold her tears back, this time successfully. She couldn't hang onto those memories forever, nor stop from her path to cry over the past. Sinbad and Sindria needed her, and sulking wasn't part of it.
She gazed down from Sindria's palace to the areas that were previously full of people from the festivity – now, there were only a few citizens clearing up the place. She felt the urge to help them instead of lazily dropping the work to them, but remembered those people insisted they didn't need any help when she came to their assistance.
Sighing, the mage decided it was time to sleep – it was almost dawn, and she was pretty tired from all the confusion that were the battles and the party afterwards.
When she arrived in her room, she was in a dilemma on whether to be embarrassed or irritated at the view that greeted her. Annoyance grew within her and took the place of her weariness.
That damned cocky, ignorant, hot headed swordsman was sleeping – and drooling - on her bed.
And she bet that he didn't even take a shower or anything before falling to his failed beauty sleep on her bed. At least he was above the bedspread, and not above her sheets.
She didn't think twice before using a quick, but decidedly cold, water spell on his crotch so he would wake up in the worst way possible.
As predicted, poor Sharrkan woke up with a terrified mix between a yelp and the "what the ever living fuck?" sentence shortly before throwing all the swearing he could on Yamuraiha.
- The "ever living fuck", - the mage started with the sassiest tone she could adapt into her voice, not caring about her vocabulary at that point of the night – is that I waltz to my room hoping to find a bed where I could sleep in, and find the person I despise the most sleeping on it. Get your dumb ass off here.
The swordsman took a few seconds to absorb her harsh words (because one: he just woke up and two: she wasn't too keen of swearing that much) and retorted with a no-I-won't look.
"Are you kidding me? You know this is my room, don't you?", she crossed her arms, getting even more outraged. He was really toying with her patience today, even though he hadn't particularly annoyed her during the celebration.
"Well, I'm very aware of it," he finally replied, scratching his neck. "But I'm not leaving this room until... Uhm…Uh."
"Until what?", she inquired, narrowing her eyes. He avoided her gaze for a second before answering.
"Until you admit that there's something wrong with you. Come on – all of us Generals know about your thing with Mogamett", then, he uncomfortably added "And I saw you crying when you arrived here".
There was a short silence.
He knew she was eventually going back to her room and waited for her long enough for him to sleep. That was just not like him.
"What, now you're wanting me to share my pain with you and cry on your shoulder?", she snapped. "Are you that worried? My father died. That's it. No mysteries. I'm obviously sad about it. Now get lost, please."
"I said I'm not leaving, woman", he retorted. "Of course I'm worried. The person I despise the most is much better hating me with a full pissed face than with a mask covering her tears."
He was trying to get her to take on him so she would let her sadness out. But she wasn't going to give in - not to him. Not to him, because there was a tiny possibility that he might tease and bother her for crying and being weak and all the things…
… Even though he had never, ever, done that.
"I'm not fooled by words that easily. And I don't need your pity."
He closed his fists. That was it.
He was actually fucking worried with that dumb witch. He may hate the way she thinks she's superior, the way she sass him whenever they talk, the way she takes out most of her frustrations with him, the way that she's on par with him whenever they spar, and he could go on forever on this black list when he thought about Yamuraiha.
But the thing that he hated the most about this woman was when she suffered. No matter how many times she tried to mask herself, he could always see her pain, clear as her damned water spells on his crotch.
It hurt him as well. And he didn't like it.
And he would never admit that to anyone.
"I'm not pitying you. I'm genuinely concerned with your emotional state and please, don't give me a 'we're rivals not comrades' speech. For now, at least, stop pretending we don't care or respect each other", he countered with a stoic expression. "Yes, I'm that worried. There aren't many things that can make you cry, but sure as hell they hurt, and I can see that."
She took some time to absorb the words he had just told and some more time to try and formulate a proper answer, one that wouldn't make her feel humiliated for feeling that Sharrkan was indeed trying to comfort her and that he wouldn't make fun of her afterwards.
That lump on her throat didn't let her say anything.
She was an adult and fully formed mage and cared about what others would say about her.
But honestly, she thought, no one was really an adult, the epitome and image of maturity, conservation and responsibility.
Everyone was but a bunch of kids who thought too much, trying to live in the same world, trying to deal with conflicts in a way that would end up better for them.
That's the way it was. And those conflicts, sometimes, wouldn't end up in a harmless, painless way. Well, her most recent one didn't end up well – her father returned to the rukh. And that's only one of all the ones she, along with the Generals, would have to eventually face.
Her thoughtful silence provided Sharrkan the chance to continue his speech, since she didn't answer him.
"I'd rather see you seriously angry at me than seeing you try to put a wall between yourself and your issues. The Yamuraiha I know would face'em head on and kick them in the ass.", he said as he rose up from her bed, sitting at the couch's edge.
The woman in question looked everywhere but in his direction. He was right – and she hated it.
Her "issue" couldn't be solved instantly. It would take time to recover. And yet, he was offering her a small shortcut, a way to break this wall as quickly as it could be done.
She felt tears falling and tried to hold them back, silencing her weeps. In the midst of her shaky state of mind, she wondered why she always lost her composure around him.
It was almost – no, it was – humiliating. She would be extremely proud of being a calm and collected mage, but she wasn't and couldn't ever be. Especially when he was the one around her.
They were sword rivals ever since when they were kids. And he was always the one that would make her act differently from her usual self – meaning: she didn't need to hold herself back or act according her surroundings.
And those damned tears wouldn't stop falling. She didn't know whether to feel glad or pissed at him.
"Now would you please let it out or give me a slap or cast dozens of water spells on me? If you keep quiet like that I'll embarrass myself", he commented, interrupting her thoughts, scratching his neck.
She let out a sound between a chuckle and a sob.
"You're already doing it, though", she boldly answered. He mumbled something about her ruining his long ass rant while awkwardly gazing away.
And then she laughed at his face.
And laughed at his offended face when he noticed she was laughing.
And then, laughed once last time before she stumbled and burst into tears on his shoulders while he silently embraced her, in his own way to assure her it was fine to cry - even thought they were just a bunch of kids who thought too many wrong things.
For example, the fact that crying was a symbol of weakness.
She had literally cried herself to sleep in Sharrkan's arms.
Slowly before drifting into unconsciousness, however, she heard him talking to her.
"I may hate all the fucking things about you, but I can't bring myself to hate you."
She wasn't sure if she misheard it, or if she was dreaming, or whatever misleading situation that would be.
But nonetheless she smiled and mumbled back:
"Same here."
After that night, the last sentences were the ultimate joke inside Sinbad's palace.
It seemed that some of the generals were still awake that time of the night, much to Sharrkan and Yamuraiha's mortification.
I don't know, I just wanted to write a situation where they aren't (completely) bickering each other, but actually finding help in each other. (did you guys see Yamu trying to stop him from drinking in the latest chapters?). I can say the omake of the 17th volume also helped to write this, because I was between laughing and "Sharrkan, you talk about Alibaba but you're almost as lame as him". But I love both, sigh, what can I do?
Also, I know Yamu's name is not "Yamuraiha", but "Yamraiha". For me, though, it'll be forever "Yamu-", I'll never forget u. (lame pun completely intended. My sincerest apologies)
Many thanks to Yaya, who read it and helped me come up with a title. orz
Sorry for any possible mistakes, I wrote this in the middle of an writer's block. If you find any, please point it out! And, of course, thanks for reading.