Megumi let out a pearl of laughter as Yuri ran in place across the table from where she was sitting. Yuri's wavy blonde hair was tied back in a loose ponytail bounced up and down as Yuri huffed while she slowed her running to a slow motion jump.
"No," she said in a deep slow voice as she threw her hands in front of her and pretended to fall forward reaching for an imaginary item that was part of the story that she was telling. As she came to a stop on the floor she quickly sat up and looked towards Ryuki who was sitting to Megumi's left with his ears turned backwards and a light whine coming from his throat. Yuri reached out and patted the large timber wolf.
"That was about the time that Ren realized that I was actually part of an outdoor drama and that it was fake blood that I was covered in and that Kai was actually not stabbing me with a real knife. He turned so red when he looked out past the stage to see that the entire audience was sitting there watching him with wide eyes and open mouths. It really was a sight to see Ren standing there covered in mud and broken branches holding his sword looking around the stage with a dumb look on his face. Poor Kai even turned red when he realized what was happening."
Megumi turned towards her right to look at the man named Kai that Yuri was referring to. He was a tanned man with snow white hair that was short around the sides and back but on top was long and thick enough for him to run his fingers through to make it look ruffled. He turned towards Megumi to flash his beautiful smile and watched her with light brown eyes that made her blush at the sight of them. He had been so sweet to Megumi since he had arrived at the temple that she felt herself blushing like a schoolgirl in front of him every time that he looked at her.
"Needless to say," said Kai, "the audience continued to watch thinking that Ren was actually part of the play and we had to create a death scene for Ren so that we could continue with the rest of the play. You know I never realized what a fine actor Ren was until that scene. I even started to believe that I had killed him."
"Hey, Megumi-san, where is Keiichi and Belldandy," asked Ryuu who was sitting at the head of the table across from Ryuki and towards the right of Kai. Ryuu had come to the temple with Kai and Yuri had told Megumi that she had talked to Belldandy before she left and asked if they could stay in the temple for only a few days. It was still the first night since they had arrived and already she enjoyed the company of the two men.
"Well after Keiichi got over whatever it was that put him in that coma, the doctors stated that it would be a good idea for Kei to get out and take a little vacation. He was working himself really hard at work to get a present for Bell and it seemed that the stress of the temple, work, school, and the Motor Club finally caught up to him. So since he needed to get away for awhile and I needed a place to crash for awhile until my apartment was finished being renovated, I decided to give the lovebirds the tickets that I won to a hot spring resort for a week.
"Keiichi was a little skeptical at first, but Bell just flashed him those lavender eyes of hers and he could not pack fast enough to spend some time with her alone. Skuld and Urd are actually still away looking for Ren. I can't believe he skipped like that when Kei got…"
Megumi stopped in mid sentence as she saw Yuri begin to tear up and felt Kai tensing up next to her. She forgot the impact that Ren had on the people that she was sitting with. To help alleviate the situation before it got worse; Ryuki suddenly jumped on the table and began to lap Ryuu's tea out of his cup. This caused Ryuu to jump up and start chasing after the large wolf as he took off through the open doors towards the forest. Kai and Yuri just began to laugh and make cat calls after the two running towards and through the clearing of the woods behind the temple. The sight of them running reminded Kai of another story that involved him and Ryuki stealing his dinner and how they somehow ended up with Kai being lost and having to be rescued by the wolf after he had eaten Kai's dinner.
After a few hours Ryuki returned back to the temple wagging his bushy tail and grinning up at the waiting company. Kai realized what had happened and excused him to go look for Ryuu deep within the woods. As he walked out the door he turned and stopped to look at the wolf sitting next to Yuri with his tongue hanging out. As the two looked at each other Kai let out a soft growl under his breath that was answered by a louder growl from Ryuki. Kai laughed softly at the wolf and flashed a smile at Megumi before walking through the yard and into the woods. As he reached the edge of the woods he began to call our Ryuu's name as the sun began to set on the edge of the woods.
Megumi continued to sip her tea in the ensuing silence of the fading sun. It was really a beautiful sunset and she could only imagine Keiichi trying to work up the courage to reach across the beach towel and hold Belldandy's hand. As she imagined them together she realized that Yuri was actually in a relationship with Ryuu, but she had mentioned before that Ryuu was not her first love. As she turned to look at Yuri she could tell that it was not Ryuu she was thinking about.
"What was his name," asked Megumi.
Yuri simply got up and walked away from the table leaving Megumi sitting there in silence with Ryuki who was watching the doorway where Yuri had stepped out. After a minute of worrying, Yuri walked back in through the same doorway carrying a small box with a rose carved on the front that Megumi could see. Without saying a word Yuri sat the box down in front of her and opened the lid to expose the contents to Megumi.
Before Megumi could see the exact contacts of what was in the box Yuri shot her hand out and ran her fingers through Megumi's hair. Yuri kept face mere inches from Megumi's and her eyes seemed to look right through her and deep into her soul. There was something strange about Yuri that Megumi couldn't seem to place. It was as though Yuri was not human but something else…
Yuri finally smiled at Megumi and sat down across from her and turned her gaze towards the open box that still sat on the table. The inside of the box was lined in a dark red velvet and cushioned deep within the square box was a light blue rose bud that seemed to glow against the velvet.
"His name has actually been lost through the many centuries, but one thing remains the same and that is that the love that he felt for her would never waver. No matter where she went or who sang her praises, he would only love her and she would only love him," said Yuri as she reached out to tenderly stroke the top of the rose bud. Megumi noticed that when Yuri touched the roses, her touch caused two of the rose pedals to fall flat against the velvet.
"Who are you talking about," asked Megumi.
"The man that I was just thinking about," stated Yuri with a smile as she looked up from the rose to Megumi. "You assume that I was talking about Ryuu, but it was actually the man that gave the Moon herself this rose. You see this rose is a very delicate and very rare rose that has a legend behind it.
"The story behind this rose actually begins hundreds of years ago in a small village when mankind still lived in peace with the forest and all of its inhabitants. It was said that the Moon Goddess herself would come to earth during what is now known as the new moon to bathe herself in a river that was said to be sacred and that nobody could drink from or even bathe in themselves. Everyone in the village respected that rule except for one man who dared to defy the order of the Goddess herself.
"He was a young man of the village who refused to take any woman within the village to be his wife stating that he was meant for something greater that involved the Goddess Moon herself. The members of the village shunned him and told him that if he would dare defile the request of the Goddess Moon herself that he should be banned from the village in order to protect themselves from her wrath.
"The young man, having made up his mind to be with the Goddess, left the village in search of the Sacred River where she was said to bathe. After traveling for weeks he finally found the place where she bathed and fortunately for him it was the night that she would appear and bathe. Needless to say the Goddess Moon fell in love with this brave man who would dare defy her because of the purity of heart that he had for her. It was a true love that those romance novels are made of.
"However a jealous young warrior had heard that the brave man had captured the heart of the Goddess Moon and vowed revenge. The warrior from the village traveled to a dark part of the forest to seek out the demons that lived deep within the woods looking for a way to turn the Goddess against the young man and steal her heart for himself. The demons in the woods gave him a potion and told him that it would only successfully work if the warrior forced the young man to drink it during the new moon when the Goddess Moon was in her human form on this earthly plane. Unfortunately the warrior lacked the virtue of patience and forced the young man to drink it when the Goddess Moon was dancing among the Heavens."
Yuri stopped her story and looked down at the rose that sat in the box. She reached out to caress the soft velvet deep within the box before closing the lid and sliding the box onto her lap. Megumi continued to sip her tea after the story had come to an abrupt stop. As Megumi sat her empty glass down on the table she became aware of the strong smell of musk and mud within the temple. As she turned to look behind her she began to burst out laughing at the sight that awaited her.
"Laugh it, Megumi. After all this is your brothers' house that were dirtying," stated Ryuu who was standing on the porch of the house next to Kai. Both men were covered from head to toe in mud with small branches protruding from them. Kai looked the same as Ryuu except that Kai seemed to find the whole situation a little amusing.
Yuri began laughing at the men also and told them she would be back with towels and clothes so that they could clean up before coming into the home. Kai told Megumi about how he had come across Ryuu who had fallen into a mud hole that was hidden beneath some leaves. Ryuu then dragged Kai into it when he began laughing at him. When Yuri returned with the towels, Megumi excused herself so that the men could wash themselves outside in privacy.
"Fell into a mud hole, huh, honey? I thought you were a better warrior than that," said Yuri as she summoned a spell to envelope the two men in a ball of pure water. As they scrubbed themselves down Yuri noticed that they were also covered in scratches and that Kai had a large bite wound on his left side of his abdomen. When they finally got cleaned and dressed, Kai told Yuri what really happened while Ryuu held her in his arms.
Yuri looked towards the temple home where she knew that Megumi was lying in bed about to drift off to sleep thanks to the potion that she had slipped in her tea. It seemed that the time had come to prepare for an unexpected visitor to the temple that was not afraid to use their magic in front of a mortal, especially to destroy them.