Fen: Hello everbody! Fen and Fang here for something exciting for ya! You think Blade and Kiva are over?!
TWF: *slowly raising my hand* Uh… yeah? They are over? O.o
Fen: Okay, let me rephrase that. They are over, but we don't know what happens after they are over. So we will provide with short stories of the Riders' everyday life!
TWF: Dude… give 'em some privacy. O.o
Fen: Hey, you're the one that came up with the idea. I just followed along.
TWF: Really? Because I can tell that you're way out of the steam after Kiva, Blade and GX Season 2 were finished and you're pretty much cramped up until the movie, OVA, new season of GX3 and some other projects we thought about came along… o.o
Fen: Hehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh… let's just start these short stories…
TWF: Just a heads up, you guys: We won't do it in chronological order, but totally random! I mean, like… RANDOM! 8O
Fen: Yep, so don't go complaining to us about stuff going out of order.
TWF: Because we're RAN~DOM~! *doing the weird african chant and dance around the large black cauldron on fire* HUGA, HUGA, HUGA! BOOM, SHAKA LAKA LAKA! BOOM! BOOM, SHAKA LAKA LAKA! 8O
Fen: *facepalm* Okay, we're starting now! With Kiva!
Kiva Gaiden 1: A Day in the City
"Daddy! Daddy! Wake up!"
"Ughhhhhh… not now Serena…" I groaned, rolling over on my back.
"But, Daddy! You promised!" Serena cried out, shaking my back rather eagerly. "Daddy promised go out with me today!"
"Yeah! Me, too!" Morgana joined in, happily shaking me.
"True, Father." Yukihana said, as Yukina remained in her arms. "Today's the day where the bazaar is lively in Plegia."
"Girls, c'mon, I wanna sleep…" I groaned.
"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…!" Serena pouted before she suddenly stood over my stomach. "WAKE! UP!" And then-
*POW!*
-sat hard on my stomach.
"OHOOOOOOOOOO!" I choked out, coughing badly. "Okay, Okay, I'm up…" I wheezed.
"Serena, that's not very nice." Yukihana kindly told her.
"But Daddy promised, big sister!" Serena whined, now pouting badly.
"Oh dear…" Yukihana got out. "Father, I think it's best we should do it today. As a family."
"Yukihana, not you too…" I groaned.
"I didn't do it for myself, Father." She corrected. "It's for Serena's sake, because she is looking forward to go out together with us today."
"But the paperwork-"
"Has already been filled by Shiro-niisan before he went on an espionage mission with Sir Ursor." She explained with her innocent smile. "And Severa-oneesama and her family went visiting Onee-sama at Chon'sin and won't come back until next week via Castle Doran."
"Heeeehhhhhhhhhhh…"
"Daddy! You promised!" Serena pouted heavily… and even Morgana pouted. Oh, why do girls have to gang up on me to get what they want?
"Alright, alright, we'll go… just off me first…" I admitted defeat.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!" Serena and Morgana cheered before they got off of me.
As day went on, around 1pm, the bazaar was as lively as it could get, and sure enough, the monthly event were filled with people from all over the world; selling and purchasing others that can't be bought elsewhere.
"Daddy! Daddy! Over here!"
And of course, just like Severa… she's dragging me all over the place to buy things.
"She really is like Severa, isn't she?" Kaa-san giggled lightly, as Morgana and Kyoshiro held her hand happily.
"It would seem so, Mother." Cordelia giggled, holding Yukina's hand; walking side by side.
"Look, Daddy! Pretty dresses!" Serena pointed out.
"Yeah, I can see that." I said sheepishly.
"Can you buy it for me, please?" Serena asked sweetly.
Oh no… it begins…
"Um… let's see…" I got out, as I took out my small pouch and paled slightly. I didn't bring enough money with me… that's not good…
"Father, is something the matter?" Yukihana asked, noticing my paled expression.
"I don't have enough money…" I muttered.
"Then, I can give you some of mine, Father." She told me.
"Ehh?!" I gawked. "Yukihana, I couldn't-"
"I don't mind, Father." She kept her innocent smile. "Money can be earned, but family moments are priceless. Uncle Saigo taught me about that."
"Uh… w-well, if you're sure." I got out. Yukihana then gave me her pouch of money and I went over to the merchant. "How much for that dress?"
"Ah, you've got good eyes for that lovely dress! Its cloth is made from the finest cloth from the east!" The merchant praised happily. "For that, it's only 1000 gold!"
"Daddy, buy!" Serena chirped happily.
"Oi, oi, oi…" I sweat dropped. "Alright already, just be patient will ya?" I then took out ten gold coins that were valued 100 a piece and gave them to the merchant.
"Pleasure doing business with ya!" the merchant smiled before giving the dress to Serena. "Here you go little girly. I bet you'd look pretty in that dress."
"YAY! THANK YOU!" Serena cheered before hugging me. "AND THANK YOU DADDY!"
"Yeah, you're welcome." I got out, laughing weakly, patting her head.
"He just can't say no, can he?" Cordelia giggled.
As the day went on, we continue to roam around the place, and even bought some of the food they had to offer. Some of them are quite exotic, like the rare durian and dragonfruit, and there's even fried scorpion for sale too, much to my wife's dismay.
"Heavens, I didn't know fried scorpion would leave a pleasant taste in my mouth…" Cordelia said, after attempting to eat a stick of three small fried scorpions. "People of the east sure are unique."
"And here I thought Chrom eating bear meat was strange enough." I got out.
"Ewwwww~~~!" My little girls stuck their tongues out, probably disgusted from hearing me saying it.
"But big brother said bears are friends, right Daddy?" Kyoshiro asked me.
"Well… not exactly…" I sweat dropped.
"Huh?" Kyoshiro said confused.
"You'll know when you grow up." I laughed sheepishly, before something caught my eye. I looked towards a shopping stand where they sold… well, to be blunt, they almost look Japanese!
"Step right up, folks! These Kiva merchandise are and was once used by the King of Plegia and Fangire himself!" And of course, our Shepherd Anna has to be the one that promotes it. Thank goodness my Secretary Anna is different from others. "Yep, that's right! This toy sword right here is half the size of the original Zanvat Sword the king once used! And if you purchase more than two Kiva toys, you will get half price off of rare merchandise from the land of Hoshido!"
Hoshido? Why does that sound so Japanese?
"Seems like Anna had outdone herself once again, yes?" Kaa-san said, as lots of foreign buyers purchased the supposedly 'rare' items, getting me back on track.
"I… guess so." I got out, approaching the stand. "Oi, Anna!"
"Huh? Well, if isn't Kuro! How's it going?!" Anna chirped happily. "Been a while, eh? You don't mind me selling these stuffs, right?"
"No, not at all." I blinked. "And… you said, you have merchandise from… Hoshido?"
"Yep! Got a fresh shipment when I got back from my travels!" Anna winked playfully. "A merchant's gonna be alert on fresh stuff, y'know?"
"Well you certainly have. What do you got?"
"Hmmm… let's see." Anna pondered a bit.
"It's quite pretty, isn't it?" I heard Stahl's voice, saying to Yukihana, as she seemed to be interested in one of kimono collection she got.
"Yes, it is."
"They say kimonos are usually worn by noble people!" Little Anna promoted happily. "Also, they were used for coming-of-age, weddings, and whatnot! Interested?"
"Hm…" Yukihana pondered a bit, looking at her pouch for a moment. "Oh my… I don't have enough gold to buy them. Maybe some other time?"
"Not to be rude, ma'am, but these kimonos are selling like hot cakes!" Little Anna informed. "Once they're out, it might take another three months to restock."
"Oh, I see." Yukihana frowned slightly. "I do think they look beautiful…" She then looked at the table and noticed one item in particular. Her eyes widened slightly upon seeing it. It looked to be a sort of seashell necklace with a blue teardrop gem embedded in it. "Where did you get that?"
"From the good ol' Nohr's harbor." Stahl said. "Other than great beaches, they also have some great food. I'm glad I was able to get some of them before Anna stopped me…"
"I told you to cut down on the food!" Anna huffed. "And besides, you need to lose weight!"
"But… that necklace… I've seen it somewhere before."
"You have?" I asked.
"Hai… while Shiro-niisan, Morgan-neesama, and I were traveling in the Outrealms, we ended up in some strange place. It was dark and dreary, and it looked… depressing."
"Was it… this Nohr place Stahl talked about?"
"Hai… and after that, we traveled again until we ended up in another place. It was completely different from Nohr. There were cherry blossoms, and the people were happy. It is there that I met the one who wore this same necklace." Yukihana said, taking the necklace. "The one that taught me how to sing and dance to her ancestral song."
"How do you know?" Cordelia asked.
"There's only one way to find out." Yukihana said, as she slowly breathed in.
Yu~rare yu~rureri~
Uta kata omoi megu~ru hakari~
At that point, the necklace glowed briefly.
"What the-!" I got out.
"I knew it…" Yukihana breathed.
"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you!" Anna chirped up. "This special Dragonstone can only be found around those area, and they're quite special, too! Not many were around, so my sisters were able to dig for it and making a necklace out of it!"
"I see…" Yukihana smiled, recalling her fond memories. "But… this must be expensive, yes?"
"'Fraid to pop your bubbles, but yeah. It came with a hefty price." Little Anna informed.
When I see Yukihana frown a bit, especially not getting the kimono or that necklace, my heart sank. I've never thought about how Yukihana would willing sacrifice something for the sake of others and she had to wait patiently to get a new one. She never asked for anything because of her innocence… and just too kind-hearted.
"Psst, hey, Anna." I whispered.
"Yeah?" Anna blinked. "What's up, Kuro?"
"How much is it?"
"What, you wanna buy 'em?" She blinked even more. "But those are for girls, y'know? Don't tell me you love crossdressing as one?"
I fell down anime style at that. "NO! ARE YOU CRAZY?!"
"Hey, don't mind me with my imagination… although, it would fetch quite a sum of money once I got a picture of ya'… heh, heh, heh…" she chuckled darkly, and I can even see her drooling while she did her signature pose of her forefinger on her chin.
"And I thought Tharja had a dirty mind when it came to Storm…" I deadpanned. "Look, they're for Yukihana okay?"
"Oh~, why didn't you said so earlier, batty?" She grinned happily. "Well, pay up!"
"How much?"
While my family was busying themselves looking at her merchandise, she leaned forward, whispered to me about the price and-
"EHHHHHHHHHHHHH?! That much?!" I gawked.
"Yeah. Hey, don't blame me! Blame the taxes and whatnot!" Anna defended herself.
"Can't you do anything about it and give me a discount? For an old friend of yours?" I pleaded.
"Hm… well, you've been treating my sister very well and she's as chirpy as a new gold…" Anna pondered a bit… until I saw her familiar dark smile on her face. Who knows what this woman is thinking in her head. "I'll tell you what? I can give you some good discount… only if you let my sister record your daughter's singing AND dancing while wearing the kimono and necklace."
"…that's it?"
"Yeah. Oh, and also a picture of you in that kimono, too!" She grinned.
"I KNEW IT!" I snapped comically.
"C'mon, Kuro! You know the deal, right?" She grinned, looking at my pocket. "And something tells me you're pretty much short, too! You do know that we Anna have this thing called 'fund transfer'?"
…
…
…
…
"…I'm surprised you even know what even means." I deadpanned.
"Duh, it's business 101, doofus!" She teased. "How about it? Do we have a deal?" She grinned, extending her hand at me. I knew I'm gonna regret this, since I'm gonna make a deal with a devil… well, a she-devil. But when I recalled my daughter's frowning expression, I knew I don't have much of a choice here...
"Hehhhhhhh… my dignity as King is going to be damned for life, but… okay…" I slumped my shoulders.
"That's the old bat I know!" She said, happily patting my back with some good slaps. "And don't worry about that picture, I'll be sure to put that black bar-thingy over your head, so they won't know who it is! It's foolproof! Anna's pledge as a merchant!"
"You better… my reputation as King is on the line here y'know." I grumbled.
"Nothing to worry about." Anna waved off.
"That's when I worry the most." I sweat dropped.
"Geez, for an old bat who saved the world from Grima, you sure are a worrywart." She shrugged it off before happily approaching towards Yukihana.
"What did both of your discuss about, anata?" Cordelia approached me.
"Uh… well…"
"Was it something serious?"
"Mmmmmmmmmmm…" I pouted before I had her lean in and I whispered what Anna and I talked about.
"You're jesting, my love…" Cordelia blinked stunned.
"I wish I was…" I slumped.
"But, is it worth the pain?" She asked me, as I looked at the corner and saw Yukihana smile, happily holding the said kimono and necklace, both of them are neatly wrapped by little Anna.
"Well… if it's to see that smile, then yeah."
"You're too kind for a Fangire. You know that, right?" She said, comforting me with a smile.
"Yeah, I know."
"I'm truly glad I'm married to someone who is kind-hearted as you." She added, wrapping her arms gently around mine. "Because I can see it in our children."
"Yeah, I can see that." I smiled gently.
"Miss Anna, do you think you can do a favor for me?" Yukihana asked.
"Sure, what's up, Snowflake?" Anna asked.
"Are you going back to Hoshido? I… want to send a letter to my dear friend."
"Y'sure about that?" Anna blinked. "I mean, she might be different than the one you knew from the Outrealm."
"Maybe, but I have to try. There are so many things I want to tell her." Yukihana said.
"Whatever floats your boat, cupcake." Anna shrugged. "Maybe at the end of this month, I suppose? I'll be going there while my hubby and kid would be staying here. But hey, there's always Anna Express, y'know? Selling merchandise isn't the only thing we do! We do mail deliveries as well!"
"Thank you." Yukihana smiled.
"Daddy, daddy! Tomes! Lots and lots of tomes!" Morgana chirped happily, holding my hand and wanted to drag me elsewhere.
"Oh man… Morgana…" I whined.
"Hehe… some things will never change." Cordelia giggled.
"They sure don't." Kaa-san smiled. "Right, Yukina?"
Yukina nodded happily, seeing me being dragged around by Morgana.
Several days later in a foreign country…
"Your Majesty, I have a message." A samurai said, approaching the queen.
"A message?" The queen asked curiously. "From who?"
"Well… it's not actually for you, it's for her…" He said, turning towards a young girl who had long baby blue hair in a white dancer's dress.
"For me…?" She asked.
"Yes, it's from someone named… Yukihana." The soldier said, presenting what appeared to be a letter.
"Yuki… hana?" The young dancer blinked a few times, taking it to her hand. "…Why does her name sound… familiar?"
Fen: Ah yes, foreshadowing at its finest!
TWF: …is that gonna be our new project, dude? O.o
Fen: What do you think? -_-
TWF: But, but, but… we don't know what we're gonna pair it up with! 8O
*DUN, DUUUN, DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNN!*
TWF: *camera does the epic zoom in on my epic face* 8O
Fen: Yes, we do. Here's a hint:
KAIGAN! ORE!
LET'S GO! KAKUGO! G-G-G-GHOST! GO! GO! GO! GO!
TWF: *do the same african dance around Fen-kun while the sequence is being played* :D
Fen: Ughhhhhhhhhh… baka… *facepalm*
