Hi everyone, Kasai here. Now, some of you may be wondering why in the world I'm starting a new fanfic when I have two other unfinished ones, a co-write in the works, and junior year to deal with.
The answer? I don't know.
Well, I kind of do. I've always wanted to delve into Loveless, particularly into the relationship of Kouya and Yamato, which I feel wasn't given the proper light that it deserved. So, this fic with delve into the lives of the two female zeroes before they ever came in contact with Ritsuka, and it will focus on the developing romance between the two. If the concept of two females sharing a romantic relationship offends you, please leave, or forever be held as an idiot in my mind.
This fic id dedicated to my lovely Zaya-sama, who's just about one of the coolest people I have ever met. She wrote me a lovely one-shot devoted to those two, and I hope I can show my appreciation with this fic.
I luff you, Zaya-luff! Vielen Dank!
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She was tired of waiting
The little glow in the dark watch clicked away the seconds, and she listened to them weave into minuets, documenting the time she had been sitting in the room, quiet and motionless. The said room was small, painted black, and there were no other objects, save her and the little stool she had been sitting upon for the last hour or so. The grains of wood felt old and brittle under her hands, and she idly wondered in the chair would stand up much longer under her slight wait. She was only ten, and certainly not overweight, but regardless, the last thing she wanted was for Nagisa to find her in a tumble of broken wood.
She had been escorted here, she estimated, about one hour ago by Nagisa, who, as always, was wearing a remarkable arrangement of clothe and ribbons, with a ridiculous looking hat to complement the outfit. She was like a peacock, Yamato had thought with a giggle. Playing the flirt, preening her feather. She'd never win over Ritsu like that.
"Sit." Nagisa had commanded, decorating the order with a rapid flutter of her hand. "You're meeting your sentouki today."
Her chest had twisted in a rather unpleasant feeling of unease at the concept her teacher was suggesting, but she tipped her head, eyes widening into an innocent expression of child like curiosity. "So soon?"
Yamato was expecting Nagisa to be annoyed, so it brought no surprise when the blue haired woman rolled her eyes and shot her a cross look. "Yes, now. What, aren't you ready? Or are you just lazy?"
Yamato remained quiet for the moment as she pondered how exactly to answer the question. True, she didn't really want to get into spell battles and fight, so she supposed that laziness played some part in her reluctant answer. Or maybe it was merely the concept of the sentouki-sacrifice relationship that made her hesitate. The sacrifice belonged to the sentouki…or was it the other way around? In any case, one human belonged to another without question, and Yamato wasn't sure she could play the role of the master or the servant. It didn't seem right to her at all.
Yamato had been taught, for as long as she could remember, that, if life were a chess board, she played the roll of the king. She was the piece that everyone sought to restrain, and she was the piece that could not survive without someone to guard her. The sacrifice, to complement this analogy, played the role of the queen, the most powerful, versatile, and vital piece in the game. The queen was the soldier who led the assault while the king stayed behind, holding all power but unable to do anything but give orders. She was the king, and her sentouki would serve as her guard and companion for the remainder of her life. They would be woven together by a bound so deep that all suffering done in battle to her sentouki would be transferred to her so that she could be protected by her. It was a harmonious effect practiced by all fighting pairs.
The again, she was a Zero. She couldn't feel pain.
Well, that didn't make much difference, did it?
A sharp thwack on her head brought her out of her contemplations, and she rubbed at the sting, her straw colored ears throbbing from the abuse. "Nagisa-sensei!"
"You weren't paying attention." Nagisa replied, waving her hand, the disregard for the girl shown by her nonchalant face. "Are you too lazy? Your sentouki is a very valuable girl. I don't want her wasted because you won't work hard enough."
The child grinned, sitting up straighter and rocking back and forth on the chair. "No, Nagisa-sensei, I'm not lazy. I'm ready."
"I should hope so." Nagisa murmured, walking to the doorway and peering down at her pocket watch, another little embellishment to her ridiculous outfit. Honestly.
In a sudden fit of mischief, Yamato raised her hand, waving it about in a way she knew her teacher hated. "Sensei, I have a question!" she all but yelled to the woman, who grimaced. "Why do you hate me?"
Nagisa made a noise of discontent, her eyes narrowed in a slight impatience as she opened the door, turning back to face the girl.
"I don't hate you. I hate all sacrifices."
"Does that mean you like all fighters?" she inquired, still rocking back and fourth on the little wooden chair. If she wasn't careful, she thought idly, she might fall off.
Well, who would care? Nagisa certainly didn't.
Said teacher merely nodded in agreement, before turning and facing the girl, her childish face scrunched up in attempt to appear threatening. "I'm going to fetch your fighter now. But make no mistake. Kouya doesn't belong to you. You belong to her."
Kouya?
Before Yamato had time to inquire about the name, Nagisa had disappeared.
And here she was.
Ever since her last contact with her teacher, Yamato had rolled the name over and over in her head, repeating it to herself, trying it like a piece of sweet candy. Kouya. It was a warm name, a sweet, soft, gentle name. She liked it.
"I will be bounded to Kouya." She said, smiling to herself as she wrapped her arms around her slight body, clothed in a pair of pink pajamas. "And her to me."
There was a shuffling outside the door, and the little sacrifice looked up expectantly, blinking as the door opened and the light poured into the room. Her blinking blue eyes fluttered a bit to adjust to the shapes standing in the door. As they cleared, she was able to pick out Nagisa without too much trouble.
But the girl next to her was a mystery. She stood there with her eyes down cast, wavy black hair falling down her little round face. She was dressed smartly in a pleated skirt and sweater, but most of it was hidden by a long, tan overcoat the hung limply around the girl's slender frame. Yamato could also see a pair of rounded glasses over the girl's eyes. She was a secret; everything seemed so tucked away and hidden. Everything about the girl was a mystery.
"Kouya, meet your sacrifice, Nakano Yamato." Nagisa's voice cut through the awkward silence as she nudged the girl, Kouya, a few steps forward. "Yamato, this is Sakagami Kouya, your sentouki."
There was warning glance in Nagisa's eyes, as if to remind the blonde girl of her place in this new arrangement, but Yamato wasn't paying attention to the gaze, but instead was looking at Kouya. The black haired girl had finally lifted her head, her eyes meeting Yamato's blue for the first time.
They were the warmest shade of brown Yamato had ever seen.
She offered a smile, not as vivacious as her previous grins had been, but almost shy, more subdued, as she stared at her new sentouki.
"I'm Yamato." She said, tilting her head to one side. "I've been waiting for you."
Kouya stared at her, wide eyes unblinking, face making no change to show any emotion to her introduction. Yamato would have believed that the girl was incapable of any human quality until the girl spoke.
"Waiting?" Kouya asked, her voice as soft as a butterfly, and seemingly almost as fragile. "But, I was told I was on time."
Yamato wasn't really paying attention to the actual content of the sentence, but more to that whispery voice. So different from her own voice, loud and begging to be heard, Kouya seemed to stay quiet in hopes that no one would listen to her.
Maybe because she though no one would /want/ to listen to her?
She rolled the idea around in her head, but Yamato could think of a reason why anyone wouldn't want to listen to the pretty girl in front of her. Kouya's voice made her stomach flutter and it made her feel warm and happy. Why wouldn't you want to listen to someone who made you feel like that?
"You're just in time." Yamato said softly, sliding off the stool and walking up until she was about a foot away from her new sentouki. Though she wouldn't understand what she did next until many years later, Yamato reached up her hand and cupped Kouya's check, stroking the silky flesh of the girls face.
"I've been waiting for you."
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It's a short first chapter, but I only consider this the prologue, so look for a much longer chapter next time!
Kasai