It's My Peach!
Judal could say without a shadow of a doubt that he had never met someone like her. Saying so made it seem like the clichéd beginning to one of Kougyoku's cheesy romance novels, but it was the truth. He had been caught off guard, by her appearance, her capabilities—even the peach pit and the witty, handwritten note he'd received with her departure had left him in a state of disbelief. Perhaps his shock was what had irritated him so. Even hours after the incident, he found himself growling internally, tormented by everything he'd failed to do to her, and all the respect it had cost him in the process.
Judal glared up at the peach pit between his fingers one last time as night fell over the roof of the Kou Palace. He scowled menacingly at the wrinkled seed as his mind wandered back to the note he'd reread enough times to memorize.
"An endless supply to quell your cravings, darling, and perhaps in a few years' time you can pay me back for all the trouble"
—N
Growing a tree from this pit would have been the simplest matter; but the thought of letting her win that easily made him sick to his stomach. Judal let out another soft growl before tossing the seed into the courtyard below. If it was meant to be, the blasted plant would grow on its own. He wouldn't let her win so easily. He would find her again, and when he did, she would pay.
—earlier that day—
"That's my peach."
Judal glanced down at the comically short woman before him, almost laughing at her unassuming appearance, drab clothes, and the messy black bangs hiding most of her face. Poor girl looked to be a hopeless wretch with little more than a cent to her name. it almost made him feel bad for snatching the peach from her, but he'd had his eye on it first, and since it was the last one, he could hardly choose another. Judal bit into the peach defiantly, smirking as the woman crossed her arms in response.
"Give it back. Now."
"Why should I?" the magi inquired mockingly.
"Because it's my peach. I paid for it, and I never said you could have it. So give it back."
Judal contemplated the demand for a mere moment before putting on an impish grin. "Make me," he challenged her as he took another bite from the peach. The woman scowled, and Judal smiled triumphantly—she wouldn't have the guts to go against him, she was obviously much lower on the social hierarchy than him. Even if she didn't know who he was, she'd have to be stupid to take the risk. He hummed a little at his victory before he felt the peach get snatched from his hand, and he came to the sudden realization that this woman was, indeed, an idiot.
For a moment he stared at her departing frame, entirely dumbfounded that the pauper had risen to the occasion, but he shook off the feeling and levitated over to block her path. "Give it back," he demanded.
"Now why would I even dream of returning something that isn't yours? We've been through this. It's my peach."
"I saw it first!"
"Oh? Is that so? Well isn't that lovely. But you see, I paid for it first, so I'm going to eat it," the woman took a large bite out of the peach while staring straight at him, the blue of her eyes peeking vaguely through her bangs.
"You've got a lotta nerve, pipsqueak…" Judal muttered as he forced a smile.
"This coming from the noble stealing from me in broad daylight? I'm truly astounded."
"Do you even know who you're talking to, you little bitch?"
"Does it even matter? You shouldn't take what isn't yours. Though since you're a noble, it's hardly surprising that you're too dumb to know that. Ta ta now."
Judal froze in blatant disbelief as the woman took another bite out of the peach and walked around him. Did she just have the audacity to call him an idiot? He was going to kill her. He was going to make her wish she's never spent a single coin on that peach. Judal took his wand out from his shirt, his hands trembling with rage as he turned towards the departing woman. "Ramz!" he shouted forcefully, and a bolt of black lightning shot directly towards her form.
In the few seconds the bolt took to travel, Judal had been certain of his victory, but his triumphant smile dissipated almost as quickly as it had appeared, for while the bolt traveled, the woman turned heel and raised a closed hand up to the approaching attack. A simple Borg surrounded her as the spell hit, and Judal growled in disappointment as the air between them calmed. Once the lightning faded entirely, the wretch brought her hand to her mouth, and a short, simple melody traveled his way.
"So you're a magician, huh? Never would've guessed that a brat like you could use magic. But do you really think you're powerful enough to beat me?"
"In a fair fight? Probably not. However," she continued as she pocketed the little whistle that she'd used, "unlike some, I am not so quick to under estimate my opponents. It's probably easy to assume that your victory is ensured when you're a magi, isn't it?"
Judal snapped to attention at that. "You already kn—" he cut himself off as he felt himself wobble a bit, his consciousness dissipating enough to make the woman sound a great distance farther away than she was.
"You know, the best thing about Sound Magic is that after enough practice, some of the simpler spells can be cast without detection. Especially if your opponent is kind enough to not only ignore you but also announce his attack to all Lord and creation."
"What…did you…" the magi let out a soft groan and brought one hand to his head as his ears started ringing. He hadn't been careful enough.
"In truth, if we were to have a fair fight, you would probably win. After all, you have way more magoi to work with. That said…"
"You…bitch…" Judal rasped as he lost his balance and fell to his knees, his vision and consciousness fading more and more. He tried to hold himself up with his weakening arms as the echo of the woman's footsteps reached his ears, and he felt a hand lift his face up by the chin, allowing his hazy red eyes to meet the deep blue irises of the girl that had bested him.
"We both know that life is hardly fair, isn't it?"
oooOOOooo
It was the first time that the skies had cleared in two weeks. Judal yawned as he shuffled once more through the market streets of Rakushou while glancing to his right every so often to make sure he hadn't lost Kougyoku in the crowd. In truth, he really hadn't wanted to go to the market today, he'd instead been partial to the idea of avoiding social interaction for yet another day, but Kougyoku wouldn't have it. Hell, at least he'd convinced her to leave that cow Ka Kobun at home.
"Oh look, Judal!" Kougyoku exclaimed happily for the umpteenth as she latched onto his arm. "They're selling some really pretty jewelry over there! Wanna get a closer look?"
Judal whined pathetically, causing the princess to let out a huff of frustration.
"You like jewelry!"
"I wanna go back to the palace."
"You haven't left the palace in two whole weeks!"
"So?"
"So you needed to get out and stretch your legs!"
"But I don't wanna…"
"At least pretend to be interested!"
Judal let out a hefty sigh as he turned to the stall and walked towards it. "Fine…whatever you say, Kougyoku."
"More enthusiasm!"
"Take what I give you."
Kougyoku puffed out her cheeks childishly as the disinterested magi picked up a necklace and examined it. It was honestly a beautiful necklace, but since the recent blow to his pride, he'd had a slight bit of trouble getting excited over any of his usual hobbies—he'd been too frustrated. The city guards had utterly failed to find the wretch he'd described to them, and even on the occasion where he did his own searches, he had to reluctantly admit defeat. It was as if she'd become a ghost, with no trace of her left in the city. The situation had Judal so irritated that he couldn't even bring himself to complain about it.
"Did you wanna buy that one?"
Judal snapped back to reality and glanced over to Kougyoku before sighing and putting down the necklace. "It's not my style."
"Hmm…well I'm sure we can find something to your liking here!"
"I don't want any of 'em."
"How long are you gonna keep moping?" Kougyoku pouted. "You've been a complete downer lately."
"Fuck off!" Judal spat, "I'm not moping!"
"You are too!"
"No I'm not!" the magi insisted before turning heel and stomping away from the stall.
He could hear Kougyoku let out a frustrated shriek behind him. "You are such a pain sometimes!"
"Whatever," he muttered to himself as he turned onto another market street, noting immediately that there was something very off near the end of the road. A crowd had gathered a good distance away, standing stationary around a spot that Judal could've sworn had nothing of particular intrigue in it, at least under normal circumstances.
"Hm? What's happening over there?" Kougyoku spoke up as she returned to his side.
"No idea," Judal replied as he shuffled forward without waiting for her to follow, occasionally shooting a glare at any merchant that dared to look in his direction. As they approached the crowd, a melody trailed out from beyond the cacophony, and once they were a few feet away, Judal stalled. Something about the song seemed eerily familiar.
"Wow…Judal, can you hear that? It sounds so pretty…"
The magi turned to Kougyoku in time to watch her scuttle into the crowd, and he let out a short grumble before following her. He weaved in and out of the masses until he found himself at the front of the crowd next to the princess as she watched the mere street performer with complete awe.
"Isn't she beautiful?" Kougyoku murmured as she leaned slightly towards him, her eyes not leaving the show for a second. Judal followed her gaze to the woman that had her so captivated, and he found some disobedient part of his brain wanting to agree with her. In truth, she was attractive, her honey colored skin seemed to glow in the daylight, and her ebony hair flowed like silk with the graceful movements of her slender frame.
Her style of dress was intriguing—obviously foreign, the crimson gown managed both modesty and elegance, with a form fitting floor length skirt and a top that seemed to merely be a long sash of silky fabric wrapped a few times over her chest. She wore a light blue necklace and earrings, coupled with beads of the same color wrapped around her arms like sleeves and a hair clasp holding back her bangs on one side.
She was almost as beautiful as the haunting melody echoing out of the flute at her lips, or so Judal managed to think before he remembered that he was trying to be unimpressed. What the hell was wrong with him? He'd seen street performers before, and she was nothing special—the dress, the glow and the song were all a simple part of the act. So why did he feel so fascinated?
"You know, the best thing about Sound Magic is that after enough practice, some of the simpler spells can be cast without detection."
Magic. Judal growled as it suddenly occurred to him. Black hair. Brown skin. A petite frame and an airy melody that compelled him to abide by her wishes. This bitch was the same one who had humiliated him. Judal's glare hardened on the woman as the performance came to a close and Kougyoku trotted up to her eagerly.
"T-That was really beautiful!" the princess stammered nervously as a small blush crept onto her face. "You should perform at the palace sometime!"
The woman smiled slightly as she collected the money she'd earned and stuffed it into a change purse. "While I appreciate the offer, I'm not certain that my presence would be welcome."
"You would definitely be welcome! Right Judal?"
The magi glared straight into the woman's eyes as she turned to him, her soft features only broken slightly by the smirk playing at her lips. The pretentious wretch knew he'd recognized her, he could see it. "No, she isn't welcome," he hissed.
"Huh?! Why not?!"
"We've met, previously," the woman replied nonchalantly without taking her eyes off of Judal. "It was hardly what I'd call a friendly encounter, either." The blue of the woman's eyes twinkled mischievously, and Judal let out another low growl—even if his vision had been blurry at the time, there was no mistaking this brat' eyes. Each iris sparkled as if she'd trapped the night sky beneath a veil of twilight blue; they were so aggravatingly identifiable that the thought of how much time he'd have saved if he'd told the guards about them made his blood boil.
"Um…Judal…what happened between you two…?" Kougyoku murmured hesitantly after a long pause of silence between them. The magi scowled in response, waiting only a moment more before answering the question.
"This bitch stole my peach."
oooOOOooo
Alright nerds, time for the disclaimers.
1.- I do not own Magi or any of its characters, I only own my OCs
2.- This fic begins prior to the first Balbadd arc, and will center mostly around the development of a relationship between Judal and Neela.
3.- The plot depicted here will be slightly canon divergent in later chapters, be it in the edits to time passed, actions or outcomes, some things will happen differently.
4.- While Neela was initially designed for a different world than the Magi verse, this version of her exists solely within the timeframe of the current Magi plot line. While her base personality, name, and appearance are all the same, she has no knowledge of Blackcastle or any affiliation to it.
Fave, follow and/or review if you enjoyed, and stay tuned for the next update ^^