The Ascension of Brave Vesperia! Chapter Three
Hey guys, most of my reviews are asking for a Yuri Sodia pairing, now I wish to cater to this for you, but it won't be the main pairing. Even if no Yuri x Sodia moments appear in the near future, I will keep your words in mind and perhaps it'll come up sooner. Now the Yuri x Kaufman did sound interesting but I have a more interesting pairing for her, which is quite tortuous for another person.
Finally I must say, I do prefer Flynn x Sodia :S
Knight Woman
Once Yuri awoke from his 'nap' he discovered that his attempts to mask his reddened face actually resulted in him sleeping until night-time. This was particularly annoying to the young hero, because he knew he'd just wasted his one day of rest before having to go on a multitude of jobs.
"This sucks, now I'm going to be up all night" Yuri complained as he turned to see his faithful partner Repede, sleeping soundly. "Don't tell me he's been out all day as well" Yuri muttered in surprise as he got off the bed.
"Hey, Repede, wake up" Yuri told his dog as he shook to canine, who growled in response, ready to bite, that is until he saw Yuri's face, at which he went silent. "Ha, sorry for waking you Repede, but it's kind of boring being on your own" he told the dog who seemed to accept his excuse before getting up and stretching out his body.
"It's strange though, I wonder why Estelle didn't wake me" Yuri said out loud, something Repede was thinking as well, though it was in the thought of 'why didn't that clingy girl 'attack' me in my sleep to wake us up?', if you couldn't tell, Repede didn't think very highly of the pink haired princess.
However all Repede could do was a curious growl, making Yuri laugh a little as he went over to his wall. "I think Claiomh Solais for today" he murmured as he took the sword off the wall. "Maybe I can annoy some Knights on duty" he suggested mischievously with a broad smile.
Repede who seemed to find the suggestion quite interesting ran to his master's side as the man left the room. The two used to do this all the time and it had permanently etched itself in the memory of the loyal canine.
Using their expert sneaking skills which they had both honed over the years, the pair successfully got out of the castle without being noticed, or so they thought. As the pair walked out of the main gates of the castle, a familiar voice caught Yuri's attention stopping him instantly.
"Yuri Lowell" the person said coldly and the sound of a sword being drawn was heard. For a split second Yuri considered running, but he knew this person would continue to pursue him everywhere; it was no use trying to escape.
"Here to stab me again?" Yuri said in a mocking tone making the woman behind him flinch, the sound of someone shaking was heard, he knew he had her rattled.
"Don't say that so loudly!" the woman scolded. It was true, this woman Sodia Valeria had stabbed Yuri Lowell before in the past, and was the reason for his disappearance atop the Enduring Shrine of Zaude.
Her short brown/dirty blonde hair was braided on one side, her eyes were a beautiful violet and underneath one of these eyes was a small beauty spot. Sodia was seen as quite beautiful but her harsh exterior often drove people away from her, Yuri understood these people, after all Sodia was crazily obsessed with his best friend.
"Oh right" Yuri replied a small smirk on his face, "sorry about that" he apologised, the action surprised Sodia who sheathed her sword warily.
"What are you doing out at this time Lowell" she said harshly, glaring into the back of his head as if she was trying to burn a hole into it.
"Taking a midnight stroll under the stars" Yuri said sarcastically, it was partly true. After all he was intending of strolling under the stars whilst taunting knights, knocking a few unconscious and generally having fun the typical Yuri way, also known as fighting.
"You need your sword for that do you?" she asked suspiciously, she'd calmed down relatively enough, she wasn't going to stab him now. That would just make her a criminal like Yuri, not that she had any right to call anyone a criminal.
"Ah you caught me" Yuri said sarcastically once again. "I was planning on doing some training, I slept all day you know" he said as he stretched him arms, cracking his shoulders a little to add some emphasis to his claims.
"I don't particularly care for your games Lowell" Sodia said harshly again.
"Sheesh what is with this girl" Yuri thought tiredly, he had never met anyone more stubborn than himself in his life, well besides Flynn. His intention was just to fight a few knights, but no Sodia had to arrive at the worst time, just like always.
Sighing slightly, Yuri turned around to look at the woman for the first time, causing Sodia to flinch slightly and jump back a pace to increase the gap between them. Her reasoning was that if the man was about to attack her, she'd be better of being further away.
"What are you doing?" Yuri asked the woman who was gripping the hilt of her sword anxiously. After all she was always suspicious of Yuri Lowell.
Sodia didn't reply.
Yuri felt like laughing as it was the only response that he felt was suitable to the situation. What had he done to annoy her so much, sure he was friends with Flynn but she was too much at times. Sighing once more Yuri covered his eyes with his hand. He had to think of a way out of this situation, he'd surely be thrown in jail if he mentioned his real intentions, but he still wanted to beat on a few knights.
"How about you?" Yuri piped up pointing at Sodia who raised an eyebrow.
"Eh?" she squeaked confusedly, not understanding what the black haired man meant.
"Training" Yuri said with a small smile. "I'm sure you've sparred a few times with Flynn so how about you step it up a notch?" Yuri goaded, playing on Sodia's respect for her beloved commandant.
"You've got a lot of nerve" Sodia said, sounding slightly impressed, but more pissed than anything. "Alright then Lowell" she agreed with a small menacing smile, it was at this moment that Yuri saw slightly past her cold exterior and into Sodia's true self.
"Let me guess" Yuri said with a taunting smile. "You'll make me eat my words?" he finished making Sodia laugh slightly, it wasn't an amused laugh, it was more like an annoyed chuckle.
"Exactly" she confirmed and walked past him and into the main street, which was wide enough for a one on one spar. Yuri understanding her for the first time followed as did Repede.
"You sure you want to fight in the streets, what if someone sees us?" Yuri asked the woman who stared back at him with a cool expression.
"That won't happen, nobles don't leave their homes at night ever since the barrier Blastia disappeared" Sodia informed the man who raised an eyebrow, seemingly impressed at her judgement.
"Interesting" Yuri said to himself with a small grin.
"Don't get any funny ideas Lowell, if I or anyone else for that matter catches you marauding around the Royal Quarter you know what'll happen" Sodia warned as she drew her sword quickly, her excitement was visible, even if she looked as cold as ever.
"Fine then, but don't think I'll go easy on you because you're a woman" Yuri said as he flung the sheath of Claiomh Solais to the side recklessly, the bright silver sword gleamed under the street lanterns.
"Heh just you wait Lowell" Sodia said in a mix of excitement and contempt as she dashed towards him at lightning pace, slightly surprising Yuri.
"She's fast!" he thought in shock as Sodia closed the gap in mere milliseconds, her running speed was on par with Flynn, Yuri wasn't expecting that. No parameters had been set on how they would conduct their 'training' so Yuri had to make sure he didn't let her touch him, he didn't know how far she would go, that's the problem when training with real swords, but it also makes it more enjoyable.
Being caught by surprise Yuri had no choice but to dodge the woman's attack as he hadn't the time to adjust himself to block efficiently. As the imperial knight sword came crashing downwards, Yuri rolled to the side and got to his feet instantly, backstepping a few times to widen the gap.
Sodia however didn't plan on giving up so easily and followed his movements, intending to never let him get a chance to fight back; she knew all too well that despite his attitude, Yuri could match even Flynn.
Another slash, this time horizontally made Yuri backstep again, she followed up with a downwards slash which he dodged once again, it was infuriating to the woman. "How fast is he?" she truly wondered as she thrust her sword forward.
Seeing this Yuri sidestepped agilely as he brushed away her sword with his Garm Fang causing her to stumble. His eyes glistened as he saw his window of opportunity, which he made sure to capitalise on.
As Sodia stood off-guard, Yuri stepped inside and powerfully crashed his sword into hers with a precise attack to the underside of her blade. The force was powerful enough to send the weapon flying from her grip and across the paved floor of the Royal Quarter.
Sodia not one to give up easily bit her lower lip in frustration as she saw the black-haired former criminal step closer and closer to her. She thought of diving for her sword, but that wouldn't win her the match. She had completely underestimated him and she'd admit that, but she still wasn't going to give up.
Yuri grinned he was sure he'd won the match, expecting Sodia to be like most nobles who once they knew they were bested would step down, he should have known better from previous experiences with the woman.
As he pointed his sword down at her he thought he won but the smirk on Sodia's face said otherwise. "What are you" Yuri began to question as he saw Sodia swing her leg which collided with the face of Yuri's sword, sending the man's sword flying as well.
Before Yuri had a chance to react to what was happening, Sodia had already gotten into a crouching position and jumped up, head butting Yuri under his chin sending him crashing onto his back, making him grunt as he landed.
"Thought you wouldn't go easy on me?" Sodia mocked as she approached the man whose head was spinning from the impact.
"I'm not!" Yuri replied as Sodia climbed on top of him and punched him in the jaw. "Damn she punches hard" he thought as he felt blood fill his mouth.
"Then why didn't you finish me when you had the chance?" Sodia said as she pulled back her fist.
"I don't kill good people" Yuri shouted back angrily stunning Sodia momentarily which gave Yuri a chance to use his strength to knock Sodia off him.
Now the tables were turned, he climbed on top of her and paid her back for the punch, giving her one with his sword hand, he didn't want to impale her with his Garm Fang after all. She too, much like Yuri grunted from the punch she received.
Feeling that he'd paid her back he got to his feet, surprising Sodia even more. "Besides we were just sparring" he informed the woman, who'd obviously gotten caught up in the fight a little too much.
The words were a slight wound to her pride, as was his reluctance to hit her a second time. "Hmph" the woman huffed as she got to her feet and picked up her sword, she was furious. "Then let us continue" Sodia offered in an angry tone.
"Sure" Yuri replied and picked up his sword, ready to resume the spar. "No killing" Yuri added making the woman nod before charging at him again.
(Scene Change)
After a few hours of sparring, Yuri felt a small amount of respect for the female knight. If anything her stamina was amazing, he guessed it came from travelling the world with Flynn. Over the course of their spars, Sodia never won but she had come close on multiple occasions, making him wonder how she hadn't made captain yet, surely she was more competent than someone like Cumore.
As the two sat panting Sodia smirked. She too had learnt about her nemesis, Yuri was strong, unbelievably so. He possessed natural talent with a sword which was obviously taken further by hours of strenuous practice. It earned her respect, but it didn't mean she thought of him any differently.
"You should probably visit Estelle when she wakes up, her healing removes small wounds like these without any problems" Yuri suggested to the female knight who was sitting slouched against a lamp-post.
"Silence Lowell" Sodia warned making Yuri smirk.
"Fair enough" Yuri replied, taking delight in her glare, after all she had just told him to be quiet. "Well thanks to you I'm tired enough to get some more sleep" Yuri told the woman who raised an eyebrow. "Thanks" he offered before turning to Repede. "Let's go boy" he told the dog who'd been spectating the entire time.
As the two walked through the main gates of the castle Sodia smirked a little to herself and got to her feet. Maybe she would take his advice.
(Scene change)
Yuri woke up to feeling like crap. His face was swollen and his stomach was bruised, he noted that he really shouldn't piss Sodia off unless he was face to face with her. He should have known that anyway, after all he was stabbed by her in the past.
Yuri just lay in his bed lazily, he knew that Judith would be arriving soon but he just couldn't be bothered to move, the previous night having taken more out of him than he had expected. "How did I exhaust a day's worth of energy in the space of two hours?" he asked himself as he felt something nuzzle his hand.
Looking to his side, Yuri spotted Repede at the side of the bed. "Morning Repede" Yuri said to the dog who looked sleepy, after all, Yuri may have expended all of his energy, but Repede had done nothing.
As Yuri pet Repede he heard a knock at the door. "Come in" he called out, and in response he heard the door open, Yuri didn't turn around to see who it was though.
"Lowell" a voice called out making Yuri flinch.
"Sodia?" Yuri asked dubiously rolling over to see Sodia standing at the door, her injuries healed, next to her was Estelle who was blushing slightly at Yuri's half naked form. After all Yuri slept in his boxers nothing else.
"I brought the princess to heal your wounds" Sodia said with a hint of pride, after all she caused those wounds.
Yuri just looked at her with wide eyes, "is she being c-considerate?" he thought feeling perplexed, the knight understood this instantly, Estelle not so much since she was covering her flushed face with her hands.
"Don't take it the wrong way Lowell" Sodia said as she shifted her eyes to the side. "I'm just paying you back" she finished, this made sense to Yuri. With that said Sodia turned around, "have a good day Lowell" and with that she disappeared, not before bidding the princess a good day as well.
"What's going on here?" Yuri said out loud making the princess laugh slightly.
Still hiding her face in her hands, Estelle answered for the confused man. "Miss Sodia came to me this morning, she told me that you two had been training" Estelle said, her voice turning slightly bitter at the word 'training', Yuri failed to notice this.
"She told me that you had injuries too so she accompanied me here" Estelle continued before whispering, "She didn't have to", Yuri didn't hear this though.
"Let me get ready" Yuri told the princess who probably wouldn't look at him whilst half-naked, just as he was about to go fetch his shirt the princess stopped him.
"N-no, it's alright" Estelle wavered as she walked into the room unsteadily, Yuri wasn't sure how he should respond, his options were, sarcastic, teasingly or normal, to be honest all of them were tempting.
"Are you sure Estelle?" Yuri questioned with a small smirk, Estelle swallowed slightly and nodded as she approached his bedside.
"Y-yes" she told him as she removed her hands completely from her face to see Yuri smiling at her making her face go bright red, she began to shake slightly, but she remained firm, Yuri found this unbelievably cute so he couldn't respond.
She surveyed his injuries and noticed swelling on his jaw, a black eye and something that seemed like a bite mark. "Wait a bite mark?" Estelle thought in confusion and slight sadness, what in the world was he doing?
She saw him wince slightly and move a hand to his abdomen, this made her swallow once again. "Y-Yuri, c-c-could you remove the b-b-bedsheets" she stuttered making the man laugh softly and nod, slowly removing the sheets from his stomach making sure not to remove them from below the waist.
His toned body was bruised quite heavily which made Estelle gasp, though to be honest, Sodia had worse injuries. "Does anything else hurt?" Estelle asked the man as she stretched out her hand to touch his abdomen, sighing dreamily when she felt the contours of his abs.
Wincing slightly, Yuri shook his head. "No, just this and my face" Yuri admitted, but Estelle didn't completely hear him, she was entranced right now.
As she stroked the muscles she gently applied healing artes, only she, who could use magic without any form of Blastia could use healing magic now, but it wouldn't be too long until the mages created more efficient BMB's.
Yuri felt the pain gradually subside, when Estelle finished she hesitantly removed her hand and giggled slightly, face still flushed. Afterwards she moved onto to healing his face, her gentle touches quickly healed the man, leaving him sitting on the bed without a single scratch. "Thanks Estelle" Yuri said appreciatively as Estelle pulled her hand away.
"You're welcome" she replied with a bright smile making Yuri's face heat up, only slightly though.
"Hey Estelle, I'd love to continue talking but could you leave the room for a minute, I'd like to get dressed" Yuri asked the woman who nodded and walked to the door unsteadily, head still light as a feather; she was absolutely giddy right now.
Yuri quickly got to his feet and looked down at Repede who was staring at him accusingly. "What?" he question the dog who looked away, Yuri was sure that Repede was laughing at him.
Scratching his neck slightly as he walked to the wardrobe, Yuri grabbed the first thing he could get his hands on, which just had to be his Paladin uniform. Sighing slightly Yuri wanted to put the outfit back in, but it wasn't like his other clothes were suitable either.
He possessed an outfit that he referred to as 'tank top lover', an outfit that made him look like an assassin which he called his 'dark enforcer' uniform. A weird costume from when he performed in a play on Nam Cobanda Isle which he dubbed 'the improvisionist' and a classic knight uniform which was forced onto him by Drake Dropwart.
"It's only temporary until my clothes get washed" he muttered as he turned to his classic black jacket and trousers. "... And re-sewn" he finished as he noticed the tears all over it.
Wasting no time Yuri dressed in the black, gold and grey outfit, it was far too classy for his tastes. He preferred things much simpler, but if he was honest, this was probably his second most simple outfit.
He then quickly put his hair into the ponytail he wore with this specific outfit. Once finished he quickly opened his wardrobe and pulled out one of the many other weapons he owned, often or not he kept them because they went with his outfit, Yuri was weird like that.
The weapon he pulled out was his Real Knights Sword, which was gold and silver in colour with a brown leather sheath. Once finished he opened the door and watched as Estelle's face morphed from a normal expression to bright eyed and smiley, a small tint of pink on her face.
"You look quite handsome in that outfit Yuri" Estelle gushed, she always liked it when Yuri dressed in his paladin outfit, it made him look noble and graceful, kind of like a knight, she wished that he'd be a knight just for her, but that was just a childish fantasy.
"Gee thanks" Yuri said sarcastically, she may have liked the outfit, but Yuri didn't. It was at that moment that he noticed a small suitcase next to Estelle's leg, intrigued by it he asked her what it was for.
"Oh this" she replied with a smile. "I packed my stuff last night" Estelle said as she giggled slightly. Yuri face took on a look of confusion but Estelle took it differently. "Don't worry, Ioder and Flynn says it's okay" Estelle assured the man who had question marks forming around his head.
"What's okay Estelle?" Yuri asked, Repede asked this as well with a small bark.
"I'm coming with you of course!" Estelle said with a bright smile making Repede growl sadly and Yuri blanch confusedly.
(End Chapter)
Wow I haven't updated since October, go figure. I responded to requests of Sodia being part of Yuri's harem, but it will take time. It was hard writing a scene where Sodia literally wanted to MURDER Yuri. Making them fight was the best I could do.
Estelle being her regular cute self, damn I love that girl, she is so sweet, d'aww. Yuri in his true knight costume, don't worry it won't last forever.
The first job may start next chapter so look forward to it.
P.S. I am currently writing a fanfiction for Sodia and Flynn and I would love for you to read it, leave reviews if you can
Planned/Potential Pairings:
Karol x Nan (Obviously)
Yuri x Estelle
Yuri x Judith
Yuri x Sodia
Sodia x Flynn
-x-
Reviews would be appreciated and may make me update quicker this time around, please tell me what you liked about the chapters and tell me where I can improve, thank you.
-Aquilon (January 17th 2012)