"Lilie, you look pale... are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine Pique... just feeling a little sick. It's nothing to worry about really! -Oh, I get it! You're trying to create a mature amateurish school girl bond and attitude! How cute!"
"Ah- no, it's just you look like you're about to puke... oh God, Lilie? Get her a bucket!"
"Fakir, you sure you're okay to go to school today?" Ahiru asked, slipping on her outer jacket.
"I don't know," he replied bluntly.
"Fakir... Well, we should go. Yakigo-sensei will scold us if we're not there! Come on!" She tried to sound enthusiastic.
"Okay." He took the hand she was holding out, and she dragged him out to the Academy. Ahiru thought it would be sensible to avoid school (while he still attended) for a while, seeing as she had other issues to take care of. Honestly, she wanted to stay as close as she could to Fakir, but his guardian had insisted for her to rest. It was possible she could over-strain herself if she was on guard of Fakir 24-7, so he saw to it she got a break.
Once Ahiru dropped Fakir off at the Academy, she waved to his back and turned to the blacksmith. She walked past an alleyway, only to stop at the sound of sobbing resounding from inside it. Out of sheer curiosity, the duck-girl peered her head round the wall, revealing a small feminine figure, leaning on the brick wall and sobbing into her lap with her legs tucked up to her chin and arms hugging them. Ahiru stepped toward her, stopped by the faint image of a green male put an arm around her.
"That's right... cry to your hearts content. He would never accept someone like you, a useless, good for nothing tramp. No matter how much you pour your love into your work, it'll never work," the emerald figure told her firmly.
"Is that... one of Fakir's heart shards?" Ahiru questioned herself recognizing the hairstyle of the so called comforter. Whizzing round the corner, she pulled into another alleyway. Once certain she was visible to no one, she pulled out her glittering pendant and closed her eyes. A familiar warmth flowed through her body, simulating the darkness. She opened her eyes as her limbs stretched out and a crystal white tutu swam up her form. A silver tiara with a green gem in the center rested upon her head, surrounding the out of place flick of hair that refused to join the rest. Delicate pink point shoes danced up her legs, curving round the fragile skin. The captivating pendant clinging to her neck line morphed into a butterfly shape, 4 green diamonds sprouting from the center. It was like an updated Princess Tutu.
"Tell me, young miss... what troubles you so?" the elegant prima donna spoke softly as she drifted to the ground in front of the heart-broken child. The girl and shard gazed up in awe at her beautiful figure, gasping as her warm glow seemed to blind them. If heart shards can be blind that is.
"H-he never accepted my love... he went off with someone else! And... he left- he left me t-to deal with the pain!" the flaming child whimpered between shaky breaths, tears kissing her pale facial skin. (I think I'm going through a phase of synonyms.)
"Unrequited love can be a pain, like a withering flower put to rest," Princess Tutu replied solemnly. 'Yeah, Mytho. A withering flower,' she thought wryly. 'Ah, I mean I'm glad he's happy!'' Shaking away the thought, she continued, "Yet, if you learn to move on and forget the pain, even if it's difficult, that flower will bloom again in the most unlikely places." (*) 'Yeah, because I never thought I'd fall in love with a jerk like Fakir. Ack- I mean, um...'
"How true..." the girl innocently replied. The shard merely snorted, being one of Fakir's, it was clearly un-amused at the soppy speech. In any case, it dissolved into a cloud of shimmering dust and landed gently in Tutu's palms. She spared a curtsy, before dashing off, her pace never losing its elegance or enthusiasm.
Ahiru once again emerged from the dark alleyway, now wearing her typical weekday clothes. Or, just some clothes she was borrowing from Rachel. She decided it would be best to meet up with Fakir after school, and return the emotion to him then in the form of Tutu.
Fakir stood patiently (because puppets don't need patience.) outside the school gates, waiting for his 'escort'. When she finally appeared, he gathered she was not in her original form. The graceful, unmistakable figure of Princess Tutu dashed up to face him, smiling nervously. "Fakir, I brought a piece of your heart..." she whispered.
"Okay," he replied calmly. As she reached out to present the jewel to him, a gust of wind swerved around Tutu's fragile hand, blinding her vision.
"That belongs to me, thief!"a seemingly recognizable voice empathized each pronunciation and echoed through the crisp evening air.
"Azure-san?" Tutu asked, answered when the princess appeared in front of them.
"The one and only," she replied wryly. Grinning almost mischievously, she stretched her pale arm out to grasp the shard, of which was now being held captive by the miniature tornado. "Look, dear knight, that tramp is of no importance to you. She just wants your love for herself, thus gathering your heart in hope you'll return her burning desire. Of course, I can take away the pain. Love only me, and forget that poor excuse for a princess!" Azure's voice shattered the air, shielding the distant melody of the wind.
"Yes..." Fakir replied slowly, gathering his limbs and heading towards the graceful figure.
"Fakir, no! She's the one who made you like this! Wake up, don't listen to her!" Tutu began to become fierce, her voice penetrating other's ears.
Azure looked like she just got kicked in the face, of which scrunched up uncomfortably as tears began to cascade down her soft cheeks when Fakir stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face the rose-haired heroine. "Fakir... WHY? E-even though... even though I love..." her cries of protest were cut of by two small, brown, red chested birds landing sharply on her shoulders. Even though I love you so much... you remain oblivious to how much pain that causes me.
Azure's figure soon dissolved into a cloud of its own, the two robins fluttering along with it. Tutu ran over to Fakir, eager to return the small shard that the princess dropped in her dramatic exit. She once again raised her arms, and let the knight be partly restored. Gasping, Fakir raised his head to meet her gaze.
"Ahiru... I remember- that's you, in there, A-Ahiru..." his head lolled forward, his dark bangs casting shadows over his unreadable face. "You should have saw this coming. Now I'll be in pain, and you can't do anything about it," he continued with a change of tone. His dull eyes gained a small amount of light, and a single tear rolled down his cold cheek.
Gasping, the ballerina reached out to touch his face when he turned harshly. She recalled the actions and behavior of the shard in its earlier form, it seemed to have a stuck up feel-bad-about-your life attitude, the feeling of... guilt? It was a possibility. But it was making herself feel more guilt than he, so what could it have...?
Fakir's body slumped to the ground, losing conscientiousness. Tutu grasped his shoulders as to keep his form stable, then held him close, sobbing his name repetitively.
(* I used that speech about the flower blooming in a manga I'm writing, I feel like a total sap. lol. please review, reviews are like my meals. they... satisfy me.)
shout out to shippofan2k for all the attention you've paid to this! thank you!