Chapter 10 is here and ready to be read!
Ha, you guys thought it was going to be Nai, right? Well, sorry to disappoint. But you guys weren't completely off. You'll know once you read.
Enjoy ~nya!
The figure stood up and continued to applaud, eye sparkling. "Bravo! That was amazing! It was so pretty!"
Yui couldn't help but smile at the girl who looked at her with adoration for her music. Her pink hair was nicely braided to frame her child-like face. And her darker pink eyes could barely contain the emotions whirling inside her. Yui decided to entertain this girl and curtsied with a smile.
"Thank you very much," she responded to the compliment. "And who are you, miss?"
"My name is Eliska! I doubt you'll forget me because everyone talks about how lovely I am!"
"Well, my name is Yui. What is a sweet girl like you doing all alone out here?" Yui asked, ignoring Eliska's statement that made her sound slightly like Kiichi.
"Oh! My grandfather has business in this city. But it was tragically boring, so he instructed me to go sightseeing nearby, taking a servant with me of course. But I ditched him once I heard your music! I just had to see where it came from! Play more for me!"
The girl's enthusiasm was overwhelming, and the comment about a servant was a bit much. But she had time to kill before getting back on the airship, so she could entertain herself and the girl for a while longer. "Alright, but you'll need to sit next to me for this next piece. I might add a little singing in there if you do."
Eliska nodded happily and skipped up to the stage, taking a seat on the bench and staring and the piano keys as if expecting them to magically generate music. Her wide smile remained and Yui was tempted to worry if it was a permanent feature. She once again laid her fingers on the black and white keys, inhaling for a few moments before pressing her fingers down and singing the first note in a soft voice.
You are my sunshine.
My only sunshine.
You make me happy when skies are gray.
You'll never know, dear, how much I love you.
Please don't take my sunshine away.
The echo of the final note was the only sound to fill the room. As the older girl looked up from the keys to the pink-haired girl, she noticed that her eyes were sparkling. "I love that song!" she exclaimed. "I want to sing it too!" Unfortunately, as she began to play once more, Eliska's voice, for the lack of a better term, was not the most polished. She sang off key a few times and some of her words didn't line up with the notes being played. Yui grit her teeth and reminded herself over and over in her head that yelling at a kid wouldn't be worth it. Lucky for her, the song ended and Eliska was back in her own little world, excitedly commending herself on how great she was.
A buzzing in her boot made the blonde stand up from her seat. "I have to go now," she said to Eliska and closed the lid to the piano.
"What? No!" the younger girl protested and stood up as well, grabbing onto Yui's arm. "You can come back with me! You can play on a piano all the time and we can have fun! Much more fun than wherever you have to go!" The pinkette attempted and failed in vain to tug her new fixation with her.
"I'm sorry, Eliska," Yui said, patting the girl's head with her free hand. "But I have a duty I must fulfill. We might meet again, one day." Eliska loosened her grip slightly at those words, allowing Yui to break free and wave goodbye and she left from the backstage exit, deep pink eyes watching her go.
"So this is where you ran off to," Eliska's servant, Uro's, voice stated with a slight chuckle. "Whatever could you find so interesting in here?"
Eliska continued to look towards where the girl she had just met exited, not even sparing a second of a glance toward the older man. "Hey," she piped up, still refusing to turn towards him. "You said I could have anything if I wanted it, right?"
"Why, of course. You deserve anything and everything."
"Good. Because I want something more than anything I've ever wanted in my life." Eliska hopped of the stage and strode towards the exit. She softly sang to herself on the way. "You are my sunshine. My only sunshine…"
Yui entered the airship and gave a smartass remark to the sheep before walking past them. "I'm back," she said to no one in particular.
The blonde immediately made a b-line for her room, just wanting to take a quick nap before getting to work on any assignments. She smiled softly as she tread down the halls. Why wouldn't she be? She was fairly quickly getting her life back. Her long period of absence had left an effect on her. The days at the mansion were even more depressing because her whole lifestyle flipped upside down. She was forced to abide by their rules, their standards, and their habits. Dress like this. Make me that. Give it now. It was just constant nagging and demanding. Slowly, Kyouki was more aggressive in trying to surface those days, but Yui managed to hold her down. She was never so aggressive before. So what made those days any different? Was it because of the vampire species in general? Either way, she didn't want to dwell on it forever. Her life was finally getting back on track. And there were no near death experiences as of late to mess it up. That was something she was actually grateful for.
"Oh! Hey rookie!" Yui exclaimed, calling out to Gareki from across the corridor, striding her way closer. "Gotta tell ya, horns definitely suit you." Her hand covered her mouth as a snicker escaped her lips.
"Yeah, laugh it up," the black-haired boy said with irritation. "I didn't want to be dragged into it anyway."
"Before I forget, I'm going back into town to get some things and doing a quick sweep of the abandoned village nearby. I want you to come along as an extension of your training."
"Do I have a choice?" Gareki raised an eyebrow, feeling he knew the answer to that already.
"Nope! I'll see you at the ship's entrance in the hour. Gotta check on something real quick."
"Fine." The two turned away to go in their respective directions.
"Gareki!" Nai's voice called out, growing as the owner got closer. The younger boy smiled as he stopped right in front of his "caretaker," for the lack of a better word. "I forgot to tell you! I heard something from far off, but it was a piano and it was really pretty. Can we go see that show when we come back here?"
Yui scurried away from the conversation, a hint of a blush on her face. She wasn't used to compliment. She rushed to her room and quickly closed the door. She just couldn't seem to push down the anticipation growing in the pit of their stomachs. The blush that stained Yui's cheeks intensified as she thought of the fun time she and her trainee had in the last town. It filled her with joy on a level she never thought was possible. But she knew better than to hope. Her life was short. No good could come out of getting closer than she already was. Yui slapped her cheeks as she attempted to steal her heart and soul. This was for a purpose. Show Gareki how patrol works and how to gather specific parts for fixing his gun. She wasn't going any farther. The denial was eating her alive.
"La! La! La! La~!" Eliska sung her own little tune, dancing around the flower patches in the garden with a huge smile. "You are my sunshine! My only sunshine! You make me happy when skies are gray~!" She honestly kept up singing that song for hours.
Uro watched silently as the young lady twirled and sang around the large area. He was slightly aware of what had transpired while Eliska was out and about. It was quite easy to sense if she was ever if danger and even easier to "save" her. It was his job to make sure she didn't die, as stated by her grandmother.
"But Lady Eliska," Uro spoke, halting said girl's singing as she turned to him, "I thought Karoku was the love of your life. You wanted his attention and love above all else."
"Psh! Karoku's old news to me now!" Eliska turned away and hugged herself, blushing. "If only you heard it. Her voice was so beautiful and charming. And the way she played that piano… I was swept off my feet!"
"Then I'm sure we could hire a professional to come by and–" the servant tried to reason before being cut off.
"No!" the pinkette protested, taking up a defensive position. "That's not the same! I. Want. Her! Yui is way better than some stupid lady you can just hire to play for me! She was so pretty and sweet and warm. UGH! Don't you get it?! I want her to be mine; all mine! Everyone but me is undeserving of her presence." Suddenly, Eliska gasped, placing her hands over her heart. "Could it be…? Is this what it's truly like…to be in love? I never heard of this kind of thing between two girls before… I have to see her again, to really know for sure!" The girl rushed back into the house, her mind set on her glorious plan. Wait for me Yui, she thought with glee. If this is real, I'll have you yearning for me in no time!
Yes, I went there. I saw a few people guessed Nai would show up. And I thought to myself, that's good and all, but Gareki keeps Nai close since he has a tendency to get into all sorts of trouble. So Nai by himself didn't seem all that right.
Two other things are that I want Gareki to find out about the piano later. And this idea was already in my head. This is an alternate universe, so I can go where my inspiration takes me. Plus, I really wanted to stir up some drama by making Yui the object of the enemy's desires while she wants another. Well, in a romantic sense anyway, and a somewhat pure desire.
Ugh. If only I was a decent artist, I could so create some love triangle concept art or something with Yui's arms being tugged at by Eliska and Gareki. Or Yui in battle gear. That'd be so awesome to put as my story image. ANYWAY, that's enough of my rambling. I'm started Chapter 11 as we speak. So until then! Kitten is signing out!