Hello Your Majesty
I wrote this fic as a response to Five seas' challenge. It's a short one-shot theme-oriented story revolving around Ellie and Ryu. At first, the theme was a bit vague to me, but I quickly figured it out. I hope you like it!
Disclaimer: If I tell you that I own Shaman King, will you believe me?
Ellie glowered menacingly at Lilly.
"I know he's strange and has a weird sense of fashion, but I'm absolutely sure that he's not like that!"
The bespectacled girl smiled slyly. "How can you be sure? The only thing you've ever been doing is going around in cafes and talking. Your only physical contact was holding hands and even that could barely count as romantic progress."
"That time was really awkward for both of us. I wish he did it because he likes me, but I can't be sure anymore. It hasn't happened ever since…"
"I'm jealous of this guy. He's threatening to replace us as your best friends. I mean, just look at him! All you do is talk and talk, you're always chit-chatting and you're not like that even when we're together!"
Ellie looked away in irritation. "I can't believe you think I might actually break up with you over some man. My relationship with Ryu can't possibly influence the bonds I have with you guys."
Lilly sipped from her orange juice, licked her lips and said: "First of all, it already has. You two are going out non-stop, we see you in the lodgings only when there is an upcoming fight. You've been neglecting your share of work in the kitchen and I'm already tired of Sally's overdone meals. Second, the thing you have going with Ryu can be barely classified as a 'relationship'. Right now, you're nothing more than friends."
"I think he's starting to get my hints… It won't be too long before he acts seriously." Ellie said hesitantly. The other girl's smirk popped on her face again.
"Keep telling yourself that." She said sarcastically. "I won't be surprised if he really is gay."
The blonde knitted her eyebrows and exclaimed: "He's not gay! The fact that he's going out with me is proof!"
"I already told you that this 'going out' of yours barely resembles anything real couples do. How do you know that to him you're just not another one of his buddies?"
"I am NOT! He's told me things he's never even shared with Yoh. Plus, he's told me that I'm very important to him!"
"This can be interpreted in more than one way." Lilly concluded and dried the glass of orange juice. "Until you have solid proof that he's straight, I won't believe that anything can work out between you two."
The nerdy girl repressed another smirk. Her friend's face was a priceless mixture of anger, frustration and hesitance. Then Ellie suddenly bolted up and stated:
"Fine! I'll show you that he's not gay AND that he likes me! I'll find that out in less than a week!"
"Even placing a deadline for yourself?" Lilly said with surprise in her voice. "Looks like you're really serious about this."
"I'll make you take back what you said!" The blonde grumbled and stormed out of the café.
Lilly sat there at the table for another minute, gazing absent-mindedly at the door through which her friend had disappeared. It was a guilty pleasure of hers to tease Ellie for anything, but she might have just gone a little too far this time. She just hoped that Ellie wouldn't do anything extreme.
Ellie slouched on the bed in her apartment and glared at the ceiling, as if it was the reason for all of her problems. She rolled over on one side and stared through the window. The vista was breathtaking, taking in mind she lived on the eighteen floor. The city was illuminated in light, glowing beautifully in the evening air.
"That idiot Lilly... She's gonna make me do something I might regret." Ellie muttered to herself.
A plan had already formed inside Ellie's head. She only hoped that she wasn't going to ruin everything between her and Ryu. She couldn't help but think that Ryu might take this the wrong way… but what was the 'wrong way' right now? She needed to state her intentions for him clearly, to make him understand that she didn't want to be just friends with him. Ellie needed to take this risk of changing things. She couldn't live like that any longer. It was killing her.
She grabbed her cellphone and phoned Ryu. The plan was ready. All she had to do now was set it in motion.
Knock-knock.
Ellie leaped from her chair and skipped to the door. When she opened it, it was none other than Ryu standing in front of her in all of his good-natured bulkiness and fashion eccentricity. Ellie grinned and invited him inside.
"You seem to be in a really good mood. What happened?" He asked.
"Oh, you'll learn very soon." She answered cheerfully.
They made their way to the living room. Her apartment was lavishly decorated with stylish, abstract paintings and high-class furniture. Her job as the director of the marketing department of a large commercial company was providing her with an income high enough to satisfy her every whim.
She settled in one of the couches and crossed her elegant legs. Her miniskirt was offering Ryu a generous view of her thighs, a potential object of worship for an ancient pagan tribe. Ellie smiled in content when she felt Ryu's eyes being drawn to the irresistible sight in front of him. She put this skirt on in the times she wanted to draw male attention and it never failed, this case included.
"So… how's work?" Ryu forced out these words after some time. "Your boss isn't too harsh on you, right?"
Ellie flashed him with a radiant smile. "I've got it all under control. In fact, I think he's finally considering the idea of promoting me."
"That's real good to hear." Ryu grinned back. He seemed to be having difficulties keeping eye contact. "The bastard's kept you waiting long enough."
Ellie frowned slightly and peered at Ryu. "I didn't expect you to react in such a lukewarm manner. This isn't some big news, but I thought you'd be more happy for me."
"No, no, I am! I really am! It's just that you didn't exactly prepare me for it."
Ellie snickered. "I wasn't prepared either. I learned about it an hour before I called you last night." She leaped from the chair and nipped over to the kitchen. "I'll make some drinks!"
Ryu just nodded silently.
Little did he know that all of this was made up. It was an excuse for Ellie to have him come to her apartment. It took her exactly two minutes to come up with this lie and prepare her lines. Ryu, being his gullible self, immediately fell for it. Her story had more loopholes and inconsistencies than there were craters on the moon, but she knew Ryu well enough to know that he wouldn't even question its credibility. The man trusted her far too much to even picture this being the prelude to the scam she was plotting.
She mixed up the drinks and placed them on the tray which she carried to the living room. The floor was covered in a wide thick crimson rug rich in ornaments. It was going to play a major role in the Second Phase of her plan. Ellie grinned at Ryu and walked straight at him, while doing mathematical calculations inside her head. And then she performed flawlessly the act that she had done countless times in her childhood: she tripped and reeled forward with the elegance of a tumbling oak tree, spilling the drinks all over the unsuspecting and oh-so-unfortunate Ryu. She hit the floor with a satisfactorily loud crash and slammer her face against the rug. The pain in her nose was outmatched only by the immense feeling of content and glee that bloomed inside of her. She managed to muffle her snickering so that it could pass as whimpering in pain.
"So sorry, Ryu, I'm really sorry!" She babbled out with all the embarrassment she could muster in her voice. Ryu rose from the sofa, alcohol dripping from his ruined clothes. "I completely ruined your clothes!"
"I think I'll need your shower." The man said evenly.
"Yes! Please, go ahead!" She urged him. "I'll go get you a towel."
She went in her bedroom and grabbed one of the larger towels and handed it to him. He hurried to the bathroom and didn't even bother to lock the door. He knew that the lock was broken, probably the only object in Ellie's apartment that wasn't functioning at top efficiency. There was a rustle of clothes, curtains pulled and running water. The girl smirked deviously.
"I'll be out in a minute!" Ryu called from the bathroom after a while.
"Oh, don't worry!" Ellie chirped and grasped the hems of her blouse. "Take your time!"
She slipped out of her skirt, socks and shoes, followed closely by her undergarments. The woman stood in front of the bathroom, butt-naked, and took a deep breath. Phase Three was going to begin.
"I'm really sorry about your clothes. I think I'll be able to wash them clean later."
"Don't worry yourself with this right now." Ryu's muffled voice came sounding from the other side of the door. Ellie gripped the handle and slowly turned it.
"I can be so clumsy at times." She went on with her act and set foot silently on the tiled floor. Steam crawled in the living room. "I can be such a bother from time to time."
Ryu took longer to reply. Maybe he had noticed that her voice was not obstructed by the door. "Everybody makes a blunder from time to time."
She glided towards the drawn curtains, she could see his silhouette reflecting on their surface. "True, but you know me. I don't tolerate mistakes. Especially when they're on my part."
Ellie reached out and grasped the curtains. All movement behind the curtains froze, safe for the running hot water.
"Ellie?..."
She pulled the curtains.
"And I always compensate for my mistakes."
Ryu and Ellie's faces met. He stared at her with an amazed look, she peered at him with a mischievous grin. Then, as if on cue, their eyes scrolled down against each other. Ryu was turning redder in embarrassment by the second. Ellie locked her eyes on the part of his body that was going to answer the question that has been plaguing her mind since yesterday. Content and glee beyond description spilled across her features when she saw the reaction she was looking for.
She pressed her body against Ryu's. The man wheezed sharply when his lungs suddenly requested huge amounts of oxygen. Her hand stole down his stomach and grabbed the object of her desires.
"Why, hello, your Majesty." She purred in Ryu's ear.
"You did it in the bathroom!?"
Lilly was staring at her with a gaping mouth and eyes wide open. Ellie took a sip from her drink and gazed at her meaningly.
"If you'd like, I'll go into more details."
"NO!" The bespectacled girl cried out and raised her hands. She was endowed with an active imagination, plus, when taking in mind her friend's boldness and creativity, she could clearly visualize the… ensuing events. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose while trying to regain her composure. "I guess I was… wrong about Ryu, after all."
Ellie crossed her legs and gazed away absent-mindedly. "Ryu and I had a talk and sorted out our relationship. As I expected, he really had more special feelings towards me, but he just wasn't ready to take on the initiative. I just sped things up a little."
"A little!?" Lilly repeated in amazement. "You practically fucked his brains out! Taking in mind how shy and… traditional Ryu is when it comes to relationships, he'll surely take this dead seriously. Aren't you pushing it?"
"I'm not sure." Ellie drawled pensively. "In our case, I was the one who spoke out our mutual feelings. The potential has been there for a long time. I just took action to realize this potential. And by the looks of it, Ryu doesn't mind me being on top."
Lilly furrowed her eyebrows in bafflement, but then loosened her expression when she realized she had misunderstood her friend. She finished her drink and asked:
"So now that everything's official between you two, what're you gonna do next?"
Ellie threw her a sly look.
"What do you expect? Make use of it to the fullest extent. We'll be seeing each other tomorrow. Same place, same time. We still have some… catching up to do." She winked impishly at Lilly. The girl glared at her with something like indignation.
"I hope you brought along enough condoms." She murmured faintly.
Ellie burst out laughing.
From the Author: Well… it's not short. Maybe I'll give this another shot some day and try to rewrite it, or at least make a shorter version of it. Do some reviewing when you're done reading! I'm dying to hear some comments!