Polarity
Chapter Seven
-Quality Time-
"No, run the drill again." Akito ordered, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He had been training Kyo's soldiers for the past three days now, and they had been some of the most trying days of his life.
It wasn't that the men sucked, because they did have some talent. It was just that they took too long to learn the drills, and were too focused on everything they thought they could do. And the most annoying part of it all was that because they spent all day training, he barely got to see Natsumi. Not that he wanted to see her or anything, it just felt weird, since he had been around her so much upon re-awakening.
He frowned and walked forward. "No!" he shouted, stopping the spar between two of the soldiers. Everyone else stopped to observe what he was going to do, since they liked to watch other people get chewed out instead of it being themselves.
"You have to hold your sword more fiercely." He told one of the men, taking out his weapon and demonstrating. "Otherwise it will be easily knocked out of your hand in battle. And you," he turned to the man's opponent. "Quite second guessing yourself. You have to feel the movements, not think about them. That will only get you killed." Both men nodded, glad for the advice.
"Now start over." He said, clasping his hands behind his back and walking off the field to observe once more. He could see improvement in some of the men already, and noted those who would need special attention. He sighed, wishing that he had been able to get here to help these men sooner.
One of the worst parts about it was that a lot of the soldiers were older than him, technically, and didn't appreciate being told what to do by someone so young. But, he had easily proven his worth when he had disarmed a group of ten men in less than a minute and a half, without using his gift or his weapon, so the complaints stopped there. Now all he had to do was make sure these men would last more than ten minutes in battle. He was actually surprised they had lasted as long as they had.
"You're a pretty fierce leader." Haru commented from his place on one of the nearby tree branches.
Akito smirked slightly and looked at the brunette, who had actually become like a friend to him over the past two days. "In a good way, or a bad way?"
"Isn't that for you to decide?" he retorted, tossing a grape up in the air and catching it in his mouth. "Oh by the way, your lady is becoming irritable."
"She's not my lady." He grumbled slightly. "And what do you mean by irritable? She seems fine to me, for the most part anyways."
Haru rolled his eyes. "You stare at her behind and her breasts at least five times a day. You wait for her for every meal. And you've been considering asking her to join you for dinner alone without everyone else for the past day and a half. She's your lady." He pointed out and then sighed, sitting up from his lounging position. "And why do you think? You are the only person she has any roots with and you're always out here with sweaty men."
He frowned and crossed his arms, hating how his friend knew all this stuff without him ever saying it. Especially the dinner thing. "Well she knows where to find me, if she wants to see me she can always come out here. It's not like I'll tell her to leave."
"God, sometimes I can't believe how stupid you are." Haru shook his head and jumped down from the tree, landing gracefully. "Listen here. Satomi and Kyo are going to the beach later today. I was invited and I'm bringing my lady. You should ask Natsumi if she wants to go and relax with you."
Akito blinked. "But I have to train the men." He said simply, not grasping what the brunette was trying to convey to him.
Haru hit his palm to his forehead and then slid his hand down his face. "Yeah, because hanging and yelling at a bunch of bulky, sweaty guys is so much more appealing than being on the sandy beach with a goddess in slinky swimsuit, showing off her gorgeous body."
"It isn't a matter of which is more fun, it's a matter of priority. They need to be better prepared for the battle to come." He explained.
"Eh," he shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'll just go ask her to come with us, since she doesn't do anything aside from train and go out exploring. It'll be fun with us five. I'm sure some civilian who's out on the beach will keep her company if she gets bored with us." He waved over his shoulder, heading towards the archway into the armory. "See you at dinner."
At this Akito frowned, thinking of some other man touching Natsumi and making her laugh and smile. He'd kill him. Making up his mind, he turned to the men. "Stop!" he shouted, getting their attention. "I have decided that you can have the rest of the day off. You all have worked so hard lately, take this time to relax." He said, earning a bunch of cheers. Ignoring them, he ran off to find Natsumi before Haru did.
He ran back to the palace, searching outside, since he knew she liked to frequent the gardens. Not finding her there, he made his way towards the door before catching a glimpse of her out on her balcony. Smiling at his fortune, he made his way beneath it. Not wanting to shout up to her, he grabbed onto the vines clinging to the wall and began to climb up to the top.
"Hey." He greeted when he reached the top, startling the pink haired woman from her thoughts.
She looked at him oddly and then over the edge. "Where did you just come from? Did you just climb up here?" she asked, returning her curious gaze to his own.
"Yeah." He said, hoisting himself over the edge and onto the balcony with her. "But princes always do stuff like that when they want to talk to the princess." He smiled slightly, reaching out and brushing some of her hair from her face.
She laughed, appearing to enjoy the gesture a bit too much. "You're so corny."
"But you like it." he stated. "Anyways, I gave the men the afternoon off, and I was wondering if you wanted to go to the beach with me. You know…to hang out and stuff." He reached up and tugged on the ends of his hair nervously.
She arched a delicate brow and studied him for a moment. "Why?" she asked, trying to fight the smile that was creeping up her features. "I was under the impression you didn't like to have fun." She snickered, obviously trying to tease him.
"I like to have fun." He pouted, crossing his arms. "Just not very often. Besides, I want to spend some time with you."
"Ok," she smiled, searching his gaze and then looking off. "Well I guess I better go and get changed before they all leave without us." She said, getting down from the edge of the balcony and heading into her room.
"Yeah." He said, following her. "I'll meet you in the hall, I have to put on my swimsuit as well." He said, walking over to the door of her room.
Natsumi watched him leave and smiled to herself, letting out a content sigh. It was odd, the fact that he had actually taken time off from training the soldiers to do something she knew he didn't really want to do. She undressed quickly and pulled out a swimsuit she'd been given and tied it on. It was a pretty simple two piece that was white and tied around her neck. She took out a black, sheer cover up and tied it over her shoulder so that it draped over her body, revealing only one of her shoulders. She slipped on some flip flops and grabbed a towel before heading out of her room and knocking on Akito's door.
He opened it, revealing himself in his swimwear, which consisted of black swim trunks and a black shirt with some sandals, and a towel thrown over his shoulder. "Ready?" he asked, giving her a once over as he stepped into the hall and shut the door to his room.
"Mhmm." She nodded and offered her hand out to him. He took it, unconsciously intertwining their fingers as they walked to the entrance of the palace where everyone else was waiting. Satomi glanced down to their hands when they arrived and smirked, turning away from them and heading out with Kyo not too far behind.
"Well, let's go." She said.
Haru smirked and gave Akito a nod. "Oh, so Akito. This is Tomoyo." He gestured to the dark haired girl beside him. She waved and smiled at him and then at Natsumi.
"It's so nice to be able to meet the sun god and the moon goddess in person."
"A pleasure." Akito nodded as they followed the king and queen. They all headed out to the beach together. Natsumi leaned against Akito slightly and glanced up at him.
"Thanks for asking me to come with you." She smiled happily.
He smiled down at her. "You're welcome. I'm glad I could finally do something right."
The group went down to the beach, where they spent the afternoon playing in the sand and water, getting to know each other better, and actually having a great time. When the sun began to set, they headed back to the castle, all tired from their activities, and some even sporting a few bruises and sunburns, though Akito and Natsumi didn't have to worry about it too much, since they would be fine in the morning. After dining together, each returned to their rooms, having pleasant dreams.
A man with long white hair rushed into the massive throne room that looked as if it belonged in the underworld. He was wearing dark purple robes with a white sash tied around his waist and his hair was pulled back into a pony tail. Oddly colored flames flickered around the dark room, all the way to the throne, where a very pale man set, his greasy black hair falling around his sullen face. "My Lord," he said, kneeling before the decrypted man.
"This better be good Kabuto…" the overlord hissed out, looking down at his servant.
"Well…it's not…good per se." Kabuto began, looking a bit nervous, but not rising from his kneeling position. "We have word from the most eastern part of your kingdom."
Orochimaru's hollow eyes focused intently then on the man and he moved to sit up. "The eastern side?" he asked to clarify.
Kabuto nodded and took a deep breath. "We're not sure how…but the crystalized god and goddess of the Shuensha have awakened. They are causing quite a commotion throughout the land. Word has spread that they could possibly be more powerful than you. There's talk of a Revolution."
The lord stood, sneering. "They are. But only together are they. And what of the weapons that were frozen with them?"
"Well it would appear the goddess does carry around a scythe and the god always has his blade with him." He nodded.
Orochimaru allowed a sick smirk to creep up his grim features. "I have awaited this moment for a very long time Kabuto. There is not a doubt in my mind that those two warriors from old are the god of the sun and the goddess of the moon incarnate. They descended upon children to stop me from fulfilling my destiny."
"But sire," Kabuto began. "If they are a god and goddess, how were they captured? Are they not all powerful beings?"
The distorted king lifted his hand to silence him. "The only repercussion a god has for entering the mortal world as a human is that they lose their memory of what they were in the heavens. Those two foolish children could never bind together. Their hated runs deeper in their veins than their celestial blood can handle."
"Then what will you do?"
Orochimaru snickered and laughed darkly. "Kukuku. I am immortal Kabuto, but my body is finally decaying. I need a new vessel. And what better than the vessel of a god?"
The king walked forward and passed his servant who turned to follow him. They started down the hallways of the dark palace. "You will take one of their body's?"
"I want the boy's. But it's a bit more complex than that. See, this world relies on balance and so long as it has its balance I will be unable of inhabiting the body. The sun and the moon are forever intertwined with one another. Life and death. But ultimately, the sun is the one who gives life to the moon. But the moon is the hope of the sun. They need one another to survive." Orochimaru tried to explain.
"So…what is it that needs to be done?"
"We need to kill the moon." He stated simply.
Kabuto went wide eyed and stopped in his tracks. "Kill the moon? But will that not in turn destroy everything?"
"And?" Orochimaru snapped, glaring at the feeble man. "Once death has been eradicated, there will be nothing to hold be back from exchanging with the Taiyou prince. He only controls life and nothing more. I will have death on my side."
"But sire. How will you kill a deity? She's immortal, she does not die. Not even when struck down. You of all people know this." Kabuto countered.
The immortal waved his concern off. "I have been alive a long time Kabuto. And I have finally discovered how to kill them. The only thing in this mortal world that can kill the moon goddess is if she is run through with her own death scythe. She does not know this, nor does the sun god know he can only be killed with his own sword. If I can get the death scythe the moon goddess will be easy for the picking and with that weapon I can rip the sun god's soul from his flawless body and replace it with my own."
Kabuto nodded and bowed. "Should I ready your horse?"
"No. I will be using my ancient magic…something I haven't gotten to use in many decades." The king smirked and headed off, smoothing out his dark cloak. Finally, he would truly be immortal and possess all the powers of the heavens. He began to laugh, cackling as he disappeared into the mist of darkness.
