The First Reunion
Last time in Ayame's Legacy, we finally come back from a two and a half year hiatus between major events and focus on Takami taking a certain task in Helia. Though he was very wary of staying in town due to a certain princess arriving soon. Who knows how well she'll meet him? I DO. YOU DON'T. So read and find out~
The sun shines down on Helia's crystal clear waters, just as it does any other day. However, it was anything but an ordinary day, for it was the day Alacia, beloved princess of Helia, would make her long-awaited return to her kingdom to attend the Corona Tournament. Even if Takami played such a trivial part in the tournament, he was reduced to a bundle of nerves before it even started. He woke up late for breakfast and barely accomplished anything during his daily morning training. In an attempt to calm himself, he tries soaking in a warm bath, only to have it interrupted by a certain someone popping in on him.
"How come you are so wound up today, Taka?" Ayame asks while sitting on the rim of the bathtub, her lower legs now submerged in the water as well as the tip of her tail.
"Go away, Ayame; I'm attempting to bathe in the little bit of peace I'll get to day." He says flatly, not letting the vixen get under his skin just yet.
"There's no reason to be nervous about Alacia. She was the most level headed of anyone back then. It's highly unlikely that she'd hold any bad thoughts about you." And just like that, she read him like an open book.
"I don't see why she wouldn't. I only abandoned her, along with everyone else in the city as well as Falx." Takami's eyes close as he sinks further into the water until only his head was above the rippling surface.
"Chalk it up under a woman's intuition, but I think I am going to be right later on today." She smiles at him as her tail wiggles around the water, making more ripples in it.
"Last time I checked, you were a Renamon…" That earned him a light wet smack on his face from Ayame's tail.
"A Renamon with the allure of a woman~" She corrects him and giggles as she moves to walk out the bathroom.
'She is in an awfully good mood… Oh dear god, what does she know?!'
Later on in that early afternoon, the sun seems to shine even brighter down on Helia, almost every citizen who could fit were out in the streets as a group of military officers make their slow march from the city entrance to the palace. In the center of the procession is a small motorized float toting none other than the princess the citizens adored: Alacia Falenas. She takes special care to smile and wave to the joyous crowd, just like she was taught as a young girl.
Once Alacia reaches to the palace, six members of the Helia Blades' Elites salute her as she approaches her father and mother waiting at the summit of stairs that lead into the palace. "Welcome back, dear. I trust your time in the realm of humans was as fruitful as you thought it would be," Ira says with a smile while wrapping her arms around her maturing daughter.
Alacia returns her hug with one of her own, "I've got to say, humans are quite the strange bunch… doing things that seem detrimental to themselves but then always trying to fix it. It reminds me of our city's early history I read about once." She smiles to her mother before looking around behind her. "Speaking of humans, I heard rumors of one human in particular seeking entrance into the Blades. How… has he fared?"
Ira knows exactly what she means, "Pretty well, according to Frey. But perhaps you are better off seeing for yourself. He's off duty today and will probably be somewhere around the castle. My best bet would be the courtyard. He was known to spend a lot of free time there." Alacia nods and thanks her mother before setting off to find the person in question.
A gentle breeze rolls over the vast courtyard, carrying a few leaves off from the grove of trees. But instead of enjoying the feel of the lush grass growing from the ground, Takami instead lays out over on a stone bench, flat on his back as he stares up into the cloudless sky.
"Looks like mother has really good hunches." A feminine voice says from beyond his field of vision. "Can't blame you though; it's too nice of a day to stay inside."
Takami says nothing as he felt the bench lightly rock from the newcomer sitting down. Whoever it is was a few inches away from him, but her long brown hair swayed into his field of vision with the wind. The woman continues to talk, "You know, this used to be our –my brother and I's- favorite spot to pass time when we were younger. It was really nice to just sit and talk with him; asking questions about our parents before I was born, what he thought of some of the maid's hairstyles and even his favorite foods. But he only opened up a lot if I was a good princess and followed through my chores and lessons each day." Halfway through her monologue, she had begun stroking Takami's head gently, her fingers running lightly through his hair.
"…Why are you even speaking to me, Alacia. Things are never going to be the same as back then. Not after I fai-"
"Who said I wanted things to go back to the way they were?" She asks, causing Takami to shift some to look more toward her, now seeing all of Alacia. She continues stroking his hair as she smiles while looking off into the distance. "Back then, we were all just kids who got involved in some intense things. Not every encounter can be as happy as seven young kids at camp for the summer going off to a digital land. There are some things kids just can't do." Her smile fades a bit, "Kids can't always see the light in things. Kids can't always make the hard choices they don't want to make. Kids can't always acknowledge when they do something wrong… And kids can't always forgive easily." Her hand now moves to caress his cheek gently as she looks down at him. "You have been a man for a long time, Takami; even if you can't see it yourself. I don't know if I can make such decisive decisions like you did –like the woman my parents want me to be- but I'll be counting on you to be a good example for me. Can you do that for me? I'd really appreciate it if you could."
For a few moments, Takami simply looked up at her before she made a motion for him to sit up. Once he does, she scoots closer and then lowered his head once again to rest on her lap, causing a smile to spread on his face. "A man, huh…? Well as a man, it's my job to give everyone a positive role model, both young and old. But for now, I suppose you will do. So how was your trip back to the digital world? Hopefully a less bumpy ride than plummeting from the sky."
Alacia laughs some as her hand continues its gentle stroking through his hair, "Oh much better. The welcome was an improvement than someone swinging a sword or shooting fireballs at me."
In the distance, Ayame along with Frey smile as they watch the two converse. "This went much better than I expected." He says while stroking his beard. "He isn't moping and she isn't yelling. Wonderful!"
"Hmph… somebody better answer that phone," Ayame says as she turns to walk off.
"... What do you mea-"
"Because I totally fucking called it~"
End of the third chapter of Ayame's Legacy. I'm a terrible procrastinator :D But it's hard to start a story if you can't make up your mind on how to finish it. Hopefully no more bumps in the road will show up and we can probably get another chapter out before the end of the year. But that is being ambitious :P Stay tuned. Also, add a review if you can.