Ch 8: Battles!
DISCLAIMER: IM ALREADY BORED OF THESE DISCLAIMERS… HERE'S A SIMPLE ENGLISH LESSON. CLAIM= MINE. DIS= PREFIX THAT MEANS IN LATIN "APART", BUT THE SIMPLE ENGLISH MEANING IS BASICALLY NOT. SO, 'DIS' + 'CLAIMER' MEANS NOT. MINE.
AN: Gomenasai! I was out with my friends last night, and then I came home to homework for my Saturday class that I conveniently (cough) left for last night…ahem. Forgive me? *Puppy dog eyes* Anyways, here's the battle chapter! I wanted to be evil and split the battles, but I decided against it. Aren't I nice? :D
Recap:
Hikari drew a breath, and yelled, "ALRIGHT! BATTLE BEGIN!"
Sting's POV
As soon as Hikari signaled for the fight to begin, I immediately yelled, "Roar of the White Dragon!"
A laser beam of white magic spiraled towards Lucy and hit.
Or so I thought.
Lucy's voice sounded through the dust and smoke. "Form Two!"
When the smoke cleared, I gaped.
There were now wolf ears and a tail on Lucy's body, blonde like her hair, but streaked with shining gold. She was grinning at me, and I saw that her teeth had all become slight canines. Her fingernails had elongated and sharpened into slight claws. All in all, she looked like a dangerous version of a wolf cosplay.
She yelled, "Howl of the Celestial Wolf!"
A howl permeated the air, and a swirling mass of gold and stars flew towards me. I quickly dodged, but not before I felt the extraordinary magical power behind the attack.
Damn... That was strong. I'll have to watch out...
I retaliated with a Punch of the White Dragon, which she countered with her Slashing Claw of the Celestial Wolf. Our attacks met, fist on claws, and our magic rebounded on us, sending me flying. I skidded to a stop, landing in a crouch. I looked at Lucy, startled to find that she had only been moved back a few feet.
Her eyes were slightly unfocused as she said, "What power... This will be a great fight. Time to step it up! FORM THREE!"
Suddenly, a golden light enveloped Lucy, so bright I had no choice but to shield my eyes. When the light died down, and I was able to see again, Lucy... Wasn't Lucy.
The place where Lucy was standing a few seconds before was now occupied by a majestic golden wolf, streaked with a shining gold that was somehow brighter than her already bright golden pelt.
"Now... Come at me!"
I obliged, shouting "Holy Breath of the White Dragon!"
A larger, stronger version of my Roar of the White Dragon came out of my mouth, striking Lucy dead on. It seemed that she had expected me to rush at her, not roar, and she was flung into tree after tree, which all promptly broke.
Expecting her to be out of commission after my Holy Breath, I started, shocked, when she bounded out of the rubble, injured but still conscious.
Her eyes narrowed, and she flew at me, so fast that I could only watch as she yelled, "Crushing Fang of the Celestial Wolf!" She promptly sank her teeth—which grew larger and was encased in a golden light—into my forearm, clamping her jaws around my arm. I winced at the pain lancing through my arm. She swung her body forward, scrabbling up my body and balancing precariously atop my head, ready to attack again. I pointed my hand at her, and yelled "Holy Blast of the White Dragon!"
She jumped off of my head to avoid the close-range attack—but not before it grazed her left hind leg, as it was singed and smoking.
I smiled. She would now be slower than before, giving me time to retaliate.
She snarled at me, enraged at the fact that I had slightly incapacitated her.
She growled, "Hunting Prowl of the Celestial Wolf!"
She disappeared.
I whipped my head back and forth, trying to find out where she went. My body was tensed for a surprise attack.
"Pouncing Strike of the Celestial Wolf!"
I jerked my head towards the voice, and registered a golden outline of a wolf—Lucy—before it slammed into me, the force and momentum knocking me down.
I felt paws pummeling my head, striking me again and again. I immediately met them with my Punch of the White Dragon.
I unleashed a barrage of high speed punches, throwing in a Claw of the White Dragon for good measure, hoping to hit her body and leave a stigma there, but the attack was deflected with her own Slashing Claw of the Celestial Wolf.
I snarled. Neither of us were losing any ground, but neither of us were gaining any either. We were at a stalemate, and both of us knew it.
We sprang apart, both knowing that we had to end this with one final attack.
I pressed my palms together, concentrating my magic into my hands. I created a hollow between my hands, so that only my fingertips were touching. A ball of magic started forming between my palms. I thrust my hands towards Lucy, and the ball of magic grew bigger and bigger until it was the same size as me. "HOLY RAY!" Rays of light shot out of the giant ball of light magic, all curving towards their target—Lucy.
At the same time, Lucy was preparing her attack. She had reverted back to Form Two. She was concentrating her magic around her in a ring. Her arms were extended towards the sky, palms up. The air around her started to glow. She brought her arms down, level with her shoulders, as if she was going to give my attack a hug. The golden glow around her solidified, turning into a ring full of stars, all spinning around at high velocity. "Starry Night Sky!" She pointed her hands at me, and the stars stopped spinning for a second, showing me just how many had accumulated. It looked like there were HUNDREDS. The stars shot towards me, as fast as lightning.
My Holy Ray collided with her Starry Night Sky, and the crashing was deafening. The brightness of both the attacks meshed together and created a supernova, and I could see the flashes even when I closed my eyes. Both attacks fought for dominance, pushing at each other.
Suddenly, I felt stars pierce my sides, face, arms, and legs and I screamed.
The attack faded, and I was left on the ground, drained of all my magic and covered in wounds.
Hikari yelled, "THE MATCH GOES TO LUCY!"
There was no cheering. No sound. Everyone looked between me and Lucy, and I could almost hear them thinking, The new girl beat Sting Eucliffe?
I heard a sniffle finally shatter the silence, and a whimper as someone—Lector—cried, "Sting-kun... Lost?"
My mind decided to remember the promise I made Lector so long ago—to never lose to anyone to prove that I was the best— and I put my hand on top of my face to hide the accumulating tears.
"I'm...so sorry, Lector."
A soft hand slowly pried my hand off of my face, and I saw that it was Lucy. A worried expression was on her face.
"Please...please don't cry, Sting," she whispered so that only I could hear. "You were really strong! Your Holy Ray almost overtook my Starry Night Sky! You can train with me, and we'll get stronger together! We'll be unbeatable!"
I slowly smiled up at Lucy, grateful for her suggestion. Just then, my mind registered two innocent little words—With me. My face burned red, and I looked away. I pretended it was just embarrassment from being beaten.
I heard Lucy gasp as she inspected my injuries. "Don't move, Sting! I'll take care of this!"
Of course, as soon as she said that, I sat up, almost crying out at the pain from all of the injuries. That was one powerful attack!
"Baka Sting," she muttered softly. "Here, now don't move, okay?"
She stood up, and untangled her blue ribbon from her hair.
What's that supposed to do? Be used as a bandage?
I stared as the ribbon stiffened and transformed into a flute.
She brought the flute to her mouth, and breathed "Healing Sonata."
A soft, sweet melody filled the air and washed over me. I immediately relaxed, the pain going away almost instantaneously. I felt my magic being slowly replenished, and my wounds closing. Five minutes later, I felt as good as I did before the battle.
I sprang to my feet, and looked at Lucy. Her injuries were also healed, and she was securing her ribbon back into her hair.
"How... What? The ribbon..."
As if this was a signal to speak, Lucy was bombarded with questions from everyone in the guild. She looked helplessly at Hikari, who jumped in.
"Oops... I forgot to explain this." She said sheepishly, scratching the back off her head. "Lucy and I are deputies of StarClan and RiverClan, which is one rank below the leader. Since only deputies are allowed to leave the Lunar Lands—which is the name of the Wolvian Realms—we are given weapons that are disguised as things you wouldn't look twice at. I won't tell you what our weapons are—you'll have to figure that out yourself—but I will tell you what they are disguised as. Lucy's weapons consist of her heart shaped earrings, blue ribbon—which you've seen already—and the seemingly empty whip handle that is hanging from her belt. My weapons are my violin, bow, and chain necklace."
So THAT'S why they were reaching for those items before when they were getting ready to fight...
Lucy suddenly grabbed my hand, smiling at me. My blush returned full force, and I ducked my head to try and hide my darkening cheeks.
"Come on, Stingy Bee! Let's go talk to the others about training, okay? I think Hikari will be fine with it, and we will all be stronger in the end!"
And with that, she dragged me towards Rogue, Lector, Frosch, Minerva, Orga, Yukino, and Rufus, me protesting against my nickname all the way...again.
Wow... This is some serious déjà vu!
Rogue's POV
As soon as Hikari shouted "BATTLE BEGIN!" I started analyzing Lucy's attacks so that I was better prepared for Hikari.
Sting started off with a good solid Roar of the White Dragon—which looked like it hit. It apparently didn't, since Lucy's calm voice floated from inside of the smoke.
I raised my eyebrows in surprise—which was reciprocated by the guild in gasps—at Lucy's Form Two. It seems that Wolf Slayers could become the wolves...or at least partially.
"Howl of the Celestial Wolf!"
That attack seems like our Roar... Maybe all of the Wolf Slayer attacks mimic ours? Then this will be an interesting battle... And so will mine.
I watched as Lucy met Sting's Punch of the White Dragon with a Slashing Claw of the Celestial Wolf—and how Sting was flung backwards but Lucy remained standing.
Next to me, Rufus murmured, "I don't remember that ever happening—a time when Sting was outmatched,"
Lector jumped between us and protested, "That's because it never did! Sting-kun can't lose!"
"Fro thinks so too!"
I smiled down at Frosch.
Yukino picked Lector up and patted him on the head. "Lector, there is always a chance of Sting losing—it's just that he avoids it more than most people."
I turned my head back to the battle—and couldn't hold in my gasp when Lucy transformed into her Form Three—a golden wolf.
Orga whistled, long and low, and asked, "Hey Rogue! Can you Dragon Slayers do that?"
I responded negative. "If we could, we'd be unbeatable though,"
Rufus out two fingers to his temple and said, "Memorized. This will be a great attack,"
Our attention was back on the battle when Sting let loose a Holy Breath—that hit Lucy and sent her flying into the bordering forest. A straight line of trees were knocked down from the force of Sting's attack, with Lucy inside the wreckage.
The guild erupted with cheers—until Lucy appeared—injured badly but conscious all the same—from underneath the fallen trees.
She rushed Sting, teeth bared and clamped onto Sting's arm with a Crushing Fang of the Celestial Wolf. I winced in sympathy—that must've hurt.
She swung her body upwards, climbing up Sting's body until she was balanced on his head, claws out and rearing back to slam her paws onto Sting's head.
Sting shoved his palm upwards towards Lucy until he almost smacked Lucy's face and yelled "Holy Blast of the White Dragon!"
Lucy managed to dodge the close-range attack—partially. Her left hind leg was singed and smoking, and I smiled at Sting's luck. She would now be slower than before, allowing Sting to avoid her more powerful attacks.
Lucy snarled at Sting, angered. She growled "Hunting Prowl of the Celestial Wolf!"
She suddenly disappeared.
Everyone's eyes widened at that, and looked to me to see if my eyes could track her. "No, she's not moving fast—I think she turned invisible."
Rufus nodded in confirmation. "My Memory-Make can pinpoint her location through memories of data related to her, and she's over there—right in front of Sting." He assumed his memorizing stance, and memorized the attack.
I looked in front of Sting, not seeing anything until Yukino called out, "There! There's a golden outline of a wolf there! See?"
I saw. That was a great attack—almost like me melting into the shadows. Hiding in plain sight.
"Pouncing Strike of the Celestial Wolf!"
Lucy pounced onto Sting, managing to knock him down. She immediately began pummeling Sting's head with her paws, which were met a second later by Sting's high speed Punch of the White Dragon barrages.
They stayed like that for a minute, exchanging and dishing out attacks, but none of them hit the other.
Lector started chanting, "Sting-kun will win, Sting-kun will win, Sting-kun will win,"
They stopped their attacks, both of them retreating to the far side of the battlefield to end the battle with one final attack. I saw Rufus, ready to memorize any attack that he saw. Yukino was bouncing up and down, excited to see who would win, and Orga was smiling slightly.
Sting was readying his Holy Ray, while Lucy was concentrating on her own attack. She had reverted back into Form Two. Her hands were pointed to the sky, arms extended. A golden ring began to form around Lucy. She brought her arms down, level with her shoulders, hands flung out on either side. The golden ring solidified into a mass of high speed spinning stars. "Starry Night Sky!" She pointed her hands at Sting, and the stars stopped spinning for a second. I was now worried for Sting; those were A LOT of stars.
The stars shot towards Sting, and before it crashed into his Holy Ray, Rufus managed to memorize Lucy's attack. What happened next was too bright to see, and the sounds were so loud my ears rang. Even though we couldn't see which attack won out—we clearly heard Sting's long, drawn out scream and knew who won.
When the attack stopped, and the lights and sounds faded away, a shocked silence hung over all of us as we saw Sting, lying on the floor, completely beaten.
Hikari yelled, "THE MATCH GOES TO LUCY!"
There was an uncomfortable silence and then Lector broke it with his silent sniffles. "Sting-kun... Lost?"
Sting put his hand over his face, and I could just make out that he whispered "Sorry."
Lucy, back to human form, ran over to Sting, and pulled his hand off of his face. She whispered something to Sting, and he smiled.
He looked away from Lucy for some reason, facing us, and I saw that his face was red. We all snickered.
Minerva came over to us and sighed. "Well, I warned him,"
The others, still not used to this Minerva, awkwardly shifted, but I put my stoic mask back on and said "Yeah, you did."
Minerva grinned suddenly and said "I'm really sorry that you have to fight... Hikari,"
I stiffened. What did she mean...?
She narrowed her eyes at me for a second, before relaxing and shaking her head. "Hikari is more powerful that Lucy, I can tell you that. You'll have a hard time, Rogue. Though, you might be able to win,"
Orga came up behind me and clapped me on the back. "Good luck, and show us your power!"
I nodded, and turned my head back to Lucy and Sting. She was telling him not to move, and the baka moved anyways.
She stood up suddenly, and removed her blue ribbon from her hair.
"What's that supposed to do?" Yukino came closer to see.
The ribbon stiffened and transformed into a flute.
No one said a thing. Everyone was too busy staring at Lucy.
She put the flute to her lips and began to play.
The sweetest melody filled the air, seeming to wash all our worried away and leave us rejuvenated. Judging by the expression on Sting's face, he felt the same way.
We watched in wonder as his wounds closed, and he sprang up, scrambling for coherent words as he said "How... What? The ribbon..."
We all snapped out of our shocked trances, bombarding Lucy with questions, who was looking quite embarrassed. She shot a look at Hikari, who immediately launched into an explanation.
"Oops... I forgot to explain this." She said sheepishly, scratching the back off her head. "Lucy and I are deputies of StarClan and RiverClan, which is one rank below the leader. Since only deputies are allowed to leave the Lunar Lands—which is the name of the Wolvian Realms—we are given weapons that are disguised as things you wouldn't look twice at. I won't tell you what our weapons are—you'll have to figure that out yourself—but I will tell you what they are disguised as. Lucy's weapons consist of her heart shaped earrings, blue ribbon—which you've seen already—and the seemingly empty whip handle that is hanging from her belt. My weapons are my violin, bow, and chain necklace."
Those are quite the disguises, especially the earrings and necklace. I'll have to watch out.
Minerva smiled. "I remember Hikari's violin—quite the violent weapon it was,"
Rufus politely asked, "My Lady, will you tell us what the weapons are?"
She shook her head. "Sorry, but it would be better if you found out yourself, wouldn't it? Such is the Sabertooth way,"
She poked me in the side.
"You may get to see it today—Hikari doesn't like holding back. But, she did tell Lucy weapons were a last-resort—so unless she felt threatened, she won't draw her weapon."
Just then, an excited Lucy dragging a protesting Sting came to a stop in front of us.
"Nice battle, Lucy," I said.
She giggled. "Arigato! But you'll have to watch out for Onee-chan! I've only just been unlocked, so my power isn't that high—Onee-chan has been unlocked for almost 2 years now, so ganbatte Rogue!"
Sting stared incredulously at Lucy, and I gulped, now EXTREMELY worried.
"Oh! Before, I asked Sting if he wanted to train, and I was wondering if you wanted to too!"
Orga immediately replied, "YES! Of course,"
Yukino considered for a second before responding, "Sure! I want to see all of your Celestial Spirits too!"
"Of course!"
"This will be a good chance to memorize some high-powered attacks," Rufus conceded. "I'm going."
I nodded slowly. "If Sting is going, I'll go too."
Lucy turned to face Minerva. "Hey Min-chan, I know you don't have to train, so do you want to come as a sort of trainer? Like me and nee-chan!"
Minerva got an evil look on her face, one that we all were way too familiar with. It said 'I'm-going-to-devise-your-own-personal-hell', and we were now all scared witless.
Apparently Lucy was also familiar with it, because she chastised Minerva. "No, Min-chan, please don't kill them,"
Minerva pouted.
Someone tapped me on the shoulder, and I spun around, grabbing their wrist in the process.
Hikari was there, holding her remaining hand up in surrender.
"Woah! Chill dude!"
I immediately released her wrist, flushing red in embarrassment and realization. "...yes?"
"It's our turn to battle! C'mon Shadow!" Hikari cheered and dragged me onto the battlefield.
I looked at her quizzically.
"Yes?"
"Umm... Why do you still have your violin case on your back? I mean, I know it's your weapon, but isn't it heavy? It might weigh you down, and I want a fair fight and—" Oh Kami, I was rambling. I cut myself off before I could embarrass myself further. Why did I get like this around her?
Hikari laughed. "It won't weigh me down, I've had it on for too long! I'm used to it. Besides, it melts into my pelt when I'm in Form Three, so it's weightless. And I'll give you a battle you won't forget!"
I collected myself before replying. "I look forward to it."
I walked to the other end of the battlefield, waiting for Lucy to start the match.
"Alright! Just like last time, all weapons are a last-resort! Ready... BATTLE BEGIN!"
"Form Two!"
Hikari started the match, golden ears and tail out, and I saw they were streaked with blue and green.
She rushed at me—So much faster than Lucy—and proceeded to yell out a Slashing Claw of the Ice Wolf— right in front of my face.
I hadn't been expecting that, so the blow hit me dead on and I felt the deadly sharp claws raking themselves down my face. I flinched in pain.
My hand darted out to grab her wrist, and I wrestled her away from my face. She came at me with another Slashing Claw of the Ice Wolf, but this time I met it with a Claw of the Shadow Dragon. Our attacks negated each other, and for a second I thought that I could defeat Hikari.
The hope dissipated when she attacked again—and the attack was noticeably stronger than the last, and I was forced backwards a few feet. She was only testing my strength?!
"Roar of the Shadow Dragon!"
The close-range attack managed to hit her side as she darted away, Hikari not expecting me to do that and catching her off-guard.
She glared at me, and I gulped. She was on a whole other level of strength, the magic practically pulsing off of her in waves. Oh Kami, what have I gotten myself into?
"Form Three!"
A blinding light enveloped Hikari, and seconds later a wolf was standing in her place, glaring down at me so hard I thought I would catch fire.
She's sending me that wolf stare—the one I didn't want to be on the receiving end of—and I involuntarily shivered. So much for staying on her good side.
"Hunting Prowl of the Nature Wolf!"
Great. Now I can't see her—but two can play that game.
I enveloped myself in shadows, retreating to the edge of the forest. I started looking for Hikari, getting more and more frustrated as all I saw were the guild, its members, and miles upon miles of forest.
"Leer of the Ice Wolf!"
A giant shadow wolf loomed in front of me—its eyes blood-red and piercing my soul. I tried looking away, but I couldn't tear my eyes off of the wolf. I couldn't move at all!
Wait...what? I've been wrenched out of my shadow form!
I felt something slam into the back of my head, and I turned at the last second to face her as she copied me from earlier—"Howl of the Water Wolf!"
The howl smashed me into the ground, as she was poised above me—relentlessly pushing me deeper and deeper until the howl subsided—and I couldn't help it as I cried out in pain. I was left, spread-eagled at the bottom of the hole, looking at the gleam of her blue-green eyes, which were shining brightly, like comets against a night sky. Her paws were raised to strike the final blow—I couldn't allow that.
Through the hazy cloud of pain, I aimed a roar at her face.
Apparently she was expecting resistance, as she darted out of the way, my attack harmlessly spiraling into the atmosphere.
This, however, allowed me to scramble my way out of the deep hole, groaning in pain.
Hikari eyed me with respect and approval.
"Not many people have lasted this long—especially after being literally drilled into the ground,"
I inwardly swelled with pride at that. To be recognized by someone of her magic power—that was no small feat. And I could tell that Hikari wasn't someone who just threw praise around—which made her words all the more precious.
"Which means I should get serious now."
I blanched at that, my already pale skin turning an unhealthy shade of white. W—WHAT?! I started sweating profusely, staring at Hikari in incredulity. Oh Kami, I'm dead.
I decided—since I was almost certain to lose—to go all out with my next attack.
"Waxwing Flash of the Shadow Dragon!"
I rushed at Hikari, wreathed in shadows, and attacked her mercilessly, punching and kicking at such a fast speed my attacks were almost invisible.
She met my punches with her flashing claws, and I managed to get her in a headlock. Well, at least one for a wolf. My hands gathered shadows, getting ready for the final blow, when she simultaneously bit my hand hard and scratched my inner thigh. (AN: yes this does work to get out of a headlock, minus the hand biting and scratching, pinch it instead) I yelped, releasing her from my hold and readied Darkness Blast, (AN: I made this move up; Rogue just doesn't have enough attacks) determined to at least go down fighting.
This, however, was in vain. I watched helplessly as Hikari opened her mouth and howled, "Howling Blizzard!"
A literal blizzard came out of her mouth, blinding and battering me, tossing me side to side as if I was a mere rag doll.
"Darkness Blast!"
I shot my attack blindly, hoping to get lucky and hit Hikari. The black tendrils of magic pierced through the blizzard, seeking out the air in front of me and hopefully hitting Hikari in the process. No such luck.
"Avalanche!"
Hikari's voice sounded through the blizzard, and I looked up as I saw a shadow on the ground—and paled.
Giant chunks of ice and hard packed snow—Was that a frozen boulder?—loomed over me, almost ten times my size and I knew it was about to fall.
I attempted to change into my shadow form and avoid the attack, but as if the avalanche was reading my mind, it promptly dumped itself on me, crushing and freezing me. I couldn't breathe. The ice dug harder and harder into my back, and I felt the sharp pain as the blizzard continued to howl around us. The pile got heavier and heavier, and as one struck my head, the world started spinning around me and everything faded into black.
"—gue? Rogue!"
I groaned as I opened my eyes, shielding them from the sudden brightness as I saw Hikari, Sting, Lector, and Frosch peering down at me, identical worried expressions plastered on their faces.
"Wh—What happened?"
Hikari looked at me apologetically, grabbing my hand and yanking me into a sitting position. I checked myself over, relieved and astonished to find that I had no injuries—externally or internally.
Sting, seeing the unspoken questions in my eyes, said "Hikari healed you with her violin—kind of like what Lucy did with her flute,"
Ah. That's what happened.
"So—I got knocked out?"
Hikari adopted a sorrowful expression, one that made me want to put my arms around her and whisper that it was all right.
What? Did I hit my head too hard? And why do I feel so warm?
"Gomen gomen, Rogue! I knocked you out—gomenasai!"
I chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm fine now. That was one hell of a battle though,"
Sting grinned at me. "Yeah! You got whipped!"
I settled a glare on him. "Like you didn't,"
"I didn't!"
I gave him my nothing face and turned around to face the girls.
"HEY!"
They were laughing at Sting, who was probably pouting at my back, Lector there to cheer him up.
Frosch looked up at me. "Rogue did a great job! But Rogue still lost. Fro is sad,"
I reached out to comfort Frosch, but Hikari beat me to it, sweeping him off of his feet and into her arms.
"Don't worry, Fro! Lucy and I are going to train him until he's as good as us! That is, if he agrees," she said, throwing me a questioning look.
"I already said yes,"
"GREAT! Then let's go tomorrow! It's getting late anyways,"
I nodded, and stood up with everyone else.
"Hey," I started, looking around at the now deserted battlefield. "Where'd everyone go?"
Lucy looked at me. "We told them to go after you fainted, and said that you would be fine."
"Ah,"
Hikari suddenly snapped her head up, looking panicked. "Hey, where are we going to live? We can't look for an apartment now, it's too late!"
Lucy started panicking as well, until I voiced out an idea. "Hey, you can come live with us for a while; we've got an extra room in our apartment, and no one's there."
Where did THAT come from?
Hikari and Lucy were looking at me like I was their savior from above.
"THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!"
Both girls squealed at the same time, latching onto separate Dragon Slayers.
Lucy collided into Sting, whose face was lit up bright red like a Christmas ornament, while Hikari hugged me. I felt my face slowly heating up as she pressed closer, and inhaled her scent. Chocolate and mint... Oh Kami! I feel like a pervert now...
I distracted myself by looking at Sting, who was inhaling deeply and looked like he had just been dropped into Heaven—or the Dragon Realms.
I made a face at him that read, 'You pervert!'
He made a face back, 'You were doing it too!'
My face burned.
'You like her!'
Sting reeled back a little, blinking at me while I stared at him dumbfounded. He did? I was just teasing him!
He stuck his tongue out at me. 'You like her too!'
I turned my head sharply away from him to hide my darkening cheeks. What? I...definitely don't like Hikari! Never! But...
I looked back at the two girls, who were staring at us with increasingly confused expressions, eyes flickering back and forth between us.
Hikari's expression was exceptionally cute, her eyebrows furrowed and her bottom lip sticking out just a bit.
I internally sighed as I lost the battle.
Okay, okay, I DO like Hikari. It's not like she'll ever like me back though...
I was snapped out of my thoughts as Lector and Frosch, already almost out of sight, came flying back and asked, "Are you guys coming, or are you just going to stand? Come on Sting-kun, let's leave!"
Hikari grabbed my hand, while Lucy did the same with Sting. I'm pretty sure both of us blushed so hard we put Lector's fur to shame.
"Come on!" Hikari smiled at me. "Ikezou! It's getting late!"
I smiled back, butterflies fluttering in my stomach.
I looked up at Frosch, who got the message as she swooped down to grab me.
"Race you!"
Hikari looked at me, playfully outraged. "HEY! I don't even know where the apartment is!"
Sting joined me in the air, smirking. "Then you just have to keep up,"
Lucy looked at us, one eyebrow cocked in a playful challenge. "Keep up? You're on,"
"But don't come crying to us when we beat you guys, okay?" Hikari finished.
"Alright then!" Sting yelled.
"Ready... GO!"
AN: And done! I hope you liked the battle scenes…I tried to make them unique and not repeat, but it ended up happening anyways (at least for the beginning). -_-' Now, the boys finally realized they like the girls! *squeal* But Rogue is inexperienced and Hikari is completely oblivious to anything romantic happening to her…I'm looking forward to typing their scene XD
Ja ne,
Kit Kat
