Le Matin Lumière

This chapter has been Beta'd

One step... another step and a small hop.

The blonde gave a small giggle as she jumped over the gap between the two houses, making her way through the city. Did anyone who was awake this early in the morning notice her up there? No, why would they? She didn't want them to see her up here; making it that they wouldn't notice her.

With a smile, she sped up her running when she landed on the roof of the palace. Glancing at the sky, she let out a hum as she figured out the time. She had a few hours before she would need to meet back up with Maman. That was, of course, more than enough time for her. Smiling, Nui couldn't help but take appreciate the view she was granted being this high up. It was beautiful. Even the palace she stood on was a beautiful piece of work. How long had it been since she'd actually been in it though? Six years, more or less.

Well, it was time to change that, she decided as she took out a long rope.

Tying one end of the rope around her waist, and the other end to the roof, she opened one of the glass panels on the ceiling, with the ease of an expert. Peering down, Nui had to stifle a giggle at the sight she was given.

Below her was a small circle of guards, all armed to the teeth. They were all facing towards the walls as they stood close together, within the circle they made, sitting atop a soft looking purple velvet pillow was a golden, gem encrusted box. The prize Nui was looking for.

How foolish of these guards, they wanted to protect that treasure, yet they aren't even watching it? All they did was have their backs to it, its a miracle no one had already stolen that small locked box yet. She would have the honor to be the first to take it, and it would be their own faults for not being capable of stopping her.

She was quiet as a mouse as she came down from the ceiling slowly and steadily, and as ever, careful. Pausing when she was right above the box to look around, a wide smile broke across her face as she snatched it and began to pull herself. She was extra careful not to drop the box. The kings greatest treasure was inside of here, worth a fortune, worth several fortunes actually. It wasn't until she was near the top that she finally stopped and let a new sense of pride wash over her.

At the large double doors a woman dressed in white pants and a matching uniform shirt stood, staring up at her with one hand on the hilt of her sword. Her eyes were filled with shock, which a second later turned to cold anger. Nui knew who this woman was, though she doubted she knew who Nui was.

"Thief!" she yelled out at Nui, catching the guards attentions and Nui's smile grew as she saw the pitiful men stumble in shock at seeing her hanging so high above them, "Come back down here, now!"

Despite the authority in her voice that would have had a weaker man ready to obey out of fear, Nui just tapped her chin with her free hand, swinging a little from where she hung, "Hmm...nah!" Sticking her tongue out playfully at them, she finished the final pulls and climbed back onto the roof. Quickly cutting the rope and taking off running. She didn't even look at where she was going when she jumped from the palace roof onto that of a close building. Maybe it was a shop, but she didn't care what it was. The guards would be after her in no time and the game of chase would start.

Oh, but the fun was just beginning.

Sweet dreams, flitting about like clouds in the early morning day. The morning suns light slipping into the room through the closed blinds as it rose, wasn't nearly enough to wake the sleeping youth huddled under several blankets and quilts.

It was the entrance of two small lizards, a one-eyed one with a red cloth tied around his neck, the other wearing one in blue, that would wake the sleeping being. They, awoken by the light, climbed from the basket hanging on the wall. Landing on the bed with a soft inaudible thud, they scuttled towards the top where only a mop of black hair wasn't covered completely by the blankets. Exchanging a glance they got on either side of the bump, and crawled under the blankets.

Seconds later the blankets were thrown off as the child under let out a cry of alarm. Letting out a breath of relief realizing there was no immediate danger, she glared at the two smug looking reptiles.

"Senketsu! Junketsu! Why'd you do that?" she demanded, rubbing her ears where they had stuck their tongues in. Her glare softened after a moment, before widening in surprise and running to a calendar she had on the far side of the wall. "Why didn't you wake me earlier? They'll be home today! I have to make sure everything's spotless!" she yelled, examining the relatively clean room.

Ryuko didn't have many things to begin with, a few stuffed toys, a couple of books; all but one far above her reading level, was all that she possessed. If she was bored, she'd usually help her sister with sewing, running back and forth collecting things for her or depositing things. If she wasn't helping her, Ryuko would play with her two friends, Senketsu and Junketsu. Their unnatural intelligence made them fun playmates and they usually helped clean up after they played.

It was her sisters work room that was the only one that was ever a trouble to clean, because it was filled with needles, thread, and strips of cloth strewn haphazardly around it.

But for the most part, Ryuko had kept it clean while they were gone, so all she would have to do would be to dust and sweep. She'd done her best to organize her sisters room as best as she could, and shuddered at the thought of having left it in any state she may think of as a mess. She loved her sister, that was not to be doubted at all, and her sister loved her but...

Anger and Nui was not a pleasant mix.

That was something she's learned several times, and she could still feel the sensation of the bruises and cuts gained from being on the receiving end of her wrath. But that was just because she'd messed up, broken something of Nui's, misplaced something, or done something in general to upset her older sister. Nui didn't want to hurt her, but if Ryuko did something bad, she had to learn one way or another and Nui had an awful time controlling her temper.

Her mother was always there afterwords though, to dry her tears and make her feel better. Plus, her injuries never lasted more than a few minutes at a time, so as her mother said, any harm inflicted upon her by Nui was a trivial thing. She'd learned over the years how to not anger her sister anyways, how to be careful around her so that she wouldn't have to risk getting hurt in the first place.

But that was enough of that, Ryuko decided as she grabbed a broom and got to work. She had to clean and make this place look spotless for her mother and Nui, and with the help of her friends, she would be able to get done before they got home.

Perhaps a few hours later, she had just finished ringing out the cloth she used to wipe away the dust when she could hear a voice calling for her from outside.

"Oh, Ryuko!"

With a wide smile, she dashed across the room to her window, peeking her head outside, "One moment!" she yelled to the one below, before going back in and grabbing the rope ladder that was nailed to the window sill. Carefully she lowered it out the window, not too fast so it would hit her mother, but fast enough that patience didn't run dry. When that was done she stepped back and waited with excitement for her mother to climb up.

Bright lights were the first to arrive, and she had to bring up an arm up for a minute to shield her eyes from her mothers unnaturally bright hair. But when that passed, she ran into the tall woman's open arms with pure joy and happiness at her return.

"Welcome home, Mommy!" the six year old exclaimed, throwing herself bodily into Ragyo, who easily caught her and spun her once, twice, three times before holding her in her arms in a loving hug. Ryuko's smile only grew as she nuzzled against her in response. "How was your trip? Where's Nui?" she added the last part upon noticing that the blonde hadn't come up.

Ragyo just smiled gently, "I'm glad to see you're alright, sorry for leaving you for so long," she said, giving her another squeeze before placing her down on the ground, "Nui ran off to do something, I don't know what. She'll be back later, so don't fret."

With that, the woman began walking, with Ryuko hot on her heels, examining each room to ensure that it was all clean and in the condition she'd requested when she and Nui had left a few days ago. Her heels making a soft clicking sound with each step, growing louder when they went down the stairs of their home. When she was satisfied with how the tower looked, she turned back to Ryuko and patted her head affectionately, "You're such a good girl keeping everything clean; this place is nearly spotless! As a reward, I think I'll make you your favorite for dinner, how does that sound?"

The child's mouth nearly began watering at that idea. To be honest, she'd only been eating bread and jam the last few days, being the only thing in her reach. It wasn't much and wasn't filling, so this was a reward she was delighted to have.

"Your hair is an unruly mess, have you brushed it at all while I was gone?" Ragyo said, changing the topic and tsk-ing slightly as her finger found a knot in her youngest daughters black hair. "Come, lets go to the family room, I'll have to fix it," she gave the red strand a playful tug as she said that. A visible sign of the flower leaving its mark on Ryuko, just as it had with Ragyo's own brightly colored hair. She didn't even have to say anything else, Ryuko knew what to do and ran into the next room.

By the time Ragyo entered, Ryuko had already managed to push the elders heavy but soft chair over by the fire place, a stool in front of it and a brush on the arm of the chair. The elder Kiryuin couldn't help but chuckle at the sight, oh how obedient her daughter her was. Grabbing the stool that Ryuko sat atop and pulling it and the child closer to herself, she began running the brush through her hair. Being careful to not cause pain but to ensure the knots got out.

"Mommy...?" Ryuko began, hesitantly at first, Ragyo made a hum in response and the child stumbled over what to say. Spying Junketsu and Senketsu in the rafters above, moving their small front feet to try and urge her to continue with the request she'd been dying to ask for as long as she could remember. Taking a deep breath she managed to ask her question, tentatively and worried of how she may react, "Can...well both you and Nui get to go outside so I was wondering if you can...take me outside too?"

Ragyo paused her actions, brush held up in the air as she digested what her daughter had just asked. A second later she brought it down, "Oh, Ryuko. Why the sudden interest in the outside? Aren't you happy being in here, where you're safe and sound?"

"That's just it," Ryuko said finding herself growing a bit more confident in her request, "You and Nui get to see all the things on the outside, meet so many people and see so many things...I want...I just want to see something new...do something new."

Sighing, Ragyo picked Ryuko up, placing her on her lap and wrapped her arms around her. It wasn't long until she felt Ryuko quickly relax into her grip. "Tell me, Ryuko. Why is it that the three of us live in this tower far from everyone else?" she asked softly, running her fingers through the young girls hair, "Just humor me for a moment."

She was quiet for a moment before answering, "Because...outside it's dangerous, especially for people like us. They'd want to take advantage of our gifts and ability, or hurt us because they fear us," Ryuko said softly. Above them, Junketsu had to hold Senketsu back from jumping down to offer some help, knowing that if Ragyo saw them, they'd be thrown out. Or give them to Nui to play with which was the worst thing that could happen.

Ragyo smiled gently, "Exactly, the worlds scary out there and dangerous, with nasty people who would hurt you without a second thought," she said, rocking the girl gently in her lap, "I didn't allow Nui out of here until she was nearly thirteen years old, capable of defending herself against these people. You...you're too young to face the evil in this world."

Her attempts at arguing fell silent, her will to fight her mother on this topic gone as she tried to just relax in her mothers hold, finding herself growing sleepy from the gentle rocking motion.

"Stop her!"

Nui could still hear them yelling at her as she ran, perhaps she'd bitten off more than she could chew robbing from the palace. Any sane person would have stopped running at this point and surrendered, but Nui wasn't exactly sane. She wasn't normal either, so instead of having grown tired from running from the guards and their horses, she was still in great condition. It helped to have magically enhanced genes giving her unnatural stamina, strength and speed. It was for that reason that she was able to stay ahead of the guards this entire time.

Though it would seem that they were gaining on her.

She didn't even need to glance back to see who was at the front of them all. Riding a white horse, thick eyebrows downward and a scowl fitting her face as always was the very same woman who had been the first to spot Nui at the castle. She would yell at the others around her, spitting out orders but her eyes never once left Nui. It wasn't surprising that she would lead the guards in the case, not at all.

But even if it wasn't a surprise, words could not describe the excitement that filled the blonde at knowing she was in the chase. It made it more fun.

A wide smile spread across her face as Nui doubled her efforts. Intending to lose the soldiers, all but one at least. All but a certain one.

It wasn't hard to do so actually. A few turns into hard to get places, and a more dangerous route to run through and the guards slowly began to hold back and end the chase. All but her intended quarry and as before, it was to be expected. She had what the woman wanted tucked under her arms, and nothing was going to stop her from getting it back. Not even when she lost her horse and was stuck chasing Nui on foot would she stop the chase.

That was exactly what Nui was hoping for.

They were to far from the city now, closer to Nui's home than the others. Trees and the undergrowth having gotten thick, and the light starting to grow dim making it even harder for someone unfamiliar with the area to maneuver. When Nui could hear the rushing water, she knew it was time to end this game, before Maman started wondering where she was.

A few leaps and bounds had found her at the source of the sound, a waterfall with the other across from her, pitch black sword drawn and pointed at Nui.

"Who are you?" she demanded, taking a menacing step forward. The dangerous aura she let off would have had any other person curling up in fear, but Nui wasn't a normal person, "Do you have any idea what you stole? Return it now!"

Nui smiled, tapping her chin with a finger and leaning back, "I took...a very important treasure from the palace," she explained cheerily, if not a little condescending to the other, giving a small giggle as she rocked back and forth on her heels, "But, return it? I'd rather not."

That was all the other needed to hear before she lunged forward. Had Nui's reflexes not been so quick, she would have lost a hand to that, but instead the blade sliced through air as she spun out of the way.

"Nice try!" she said, dodging another attack, "Ooh, you almost got me that time!"

Despite her smile, she had to admit, the other was skilled, very skilled with that sword. She'd always been pretty good with it when they were kids, but Nui hadn't expected her to get this good at it. It was more effort to evade each attack than she expected. She may be good...but Nui was better.

Adjusting her grip on the box, she brought an arm up to let the sword slice into it. The pain she felt she hid behind a smile as she gripped the sword, wrenching it from her opponents grip as the warm red liquid slid down her arm and dripped onto the ground.

"I think you've lost something," Nui said, tossing the sword into the waterfall and waving it goodbye as it vanished from sight before turning to the other wide a wide smile, the pain was starting to ebb away by now, and was no doubt healing, "What'll you do now? Oh, I know! You should join your favorite sword!"

Faster than the other could react, Nui lunged forward and shoved her. That was enough to cause her to lose her balance, arms waving in a frantic and useless attempt to regain balance, but it wasn't any use as she fell backwards into the rushing water

"Bye, bye!" Nui yelled as she saw her struggle to fight against the current, waving as the woman disappeared over the edge of the waterfall. "Now that that is over with, I should be heading back home, Maman must be wondering where I am, and little Ryuko must be worried sick!" she said to herself, as she began skipping in the opposite direction.