My Love For You Never Dies
Chapter 14: Welcome back, Mario
Author's note: Based on Super Mario Galaxy mixed with Paper Mario.
I AM BACK! FINALLY! DID YOU MISS ME? I MISSED YOU!
Sorry everyone that I've been gone so long. College is truly the worst. I transferred schools and even moved to another state. You can only imagine how that is. But I have not abandoned this story and will never do so.
Thanks so much with your support! I will do my best to make this story amazing! Sorry, it took so long! I am really busy with my other story and with my life! Please forgive me!
Warning: Don't expect another chapter unless there are 5 or more reviews for each chapter.
Sadly, I don't own Mario. (cries hysterically) OK, I am done. I do own Khira, Mario and Luigi's sister and the story of course! And as of this chapter, I own Howl as well. No, he is in no relation to Howl of Howl's Moving Castle.
On with the story!
To everyone that knew Khira well and even those that didn't know her very well understood that she was the type of woman that hated staying in one place for too long without doing anything.
She currently was gathering wood for the fire in the woods with Sparky on her shoulder. She had to do something to keep her mind distracted from everything she was feeling.
It had been a couple of weeks since they went into hiding. She was curious as to why Bowser and his followers somehow hadn't found them. Whenever she went in the woods to train or gather supplies, she sometimes saw Koopa Bounty Hunters, but for some reason, they never saw her. Whatever kind of magic Howl was using was clearly doing its job. Although Khira had seen the troopas and such wandering around the Twilight Woods and near Howl's living place, they seemed to never sense them. For some reason, Peach still kept sending them there. Even though Howl had erased the trails of their teleportation to this seclusion of the wood, Peach's troops never found them. She hoped that one day she wouldn't see them anymore. For the time being, it seemed as though they were safe.
Even though the party was safe, the rest of the world and their friends weren't.
It angered Khira to no end that they were hiding in the woods like cowards while Bowser and Peach continued their destruction of the Mushroom Kingdom and beyond. If things remained unchanged, their friends would die, their home would be destroyed, and the Peach they knew and loved would be gone forever. This was not how she wanted to end things. She wanted to fight. She wanted to stand up to Bowser and destroy him. She wanted to find another way to save Peach and Mario that wouldn't involve the Mushroom Kingdom losing either one of them.
The sun never shone as it was the Twilight Woods.
It depressed her to no end.
She missed everything about the Mushroom Kingdom. She missed the people. She missed the streets. She missed the House that they all grew up in. She missed the children running around the train station in South Toad Town. She missed the warmth of the sun on her face. She missed the Dojo with her training Master and fellow students. She missed Merlon, Merlow and Merlumina, the people that took them in after their father left. But above all, she missed Shooting Star Summit, the place where she always considered her sanctuary away from the rest of the world. This is where she felt the strongest connection to the Stars and the magic in her body. It's where she always trained. It was where the Stars blessed her with her wish for the strength to protect her brothers when she was young and alone, after her mother's game ended and their father abandoned them.
She clenched her fists thinking about their father.
Her father was a coward. Running away from a situation when things got hard instead of sticking it and fighting until the end.
Khira hated hiding. The people of the Mushroom Kingdom were imprisoned and suffering and here she was hiding. She was behaving just like her father and she despised it. While they were safe, it was unfair that they were safe while the rest of their friends and neighbors were alone and afraid.
They couldn't just keep staying here doing nothing.
They had to find a way to fight back against this demon Davia and free Peach from its influence. Howl clearly knew more about the situation than he was letting on. If he knew all of this, he must have a better solution than hiding in the Twilight Woods forever.
Then her thoughts fell to Mario.
The sooner they got Mario back on his feet, the sooner they could get back to where they were before. She knew better than anyone that fighting Peach, while difficult for her and her siblings, would be inevitable. Peach eventually would find them and try to kill them again. When, not if that happened, all three of them needed to be ready. Mario was the only one who could reach her. The last time they faced her, she saw it. She saw her best friend trying desperately to come back to her beloved. While this Peach wouldn't hesitate to hurt anyone, the real Peach could never hurt Mario. Mario needed to be prepared and strong again. He couldn't keep up his current behavior. They didn't have that kind of luxury anymore.
She sighed.
The best way to start is to stand.
She turned back to the woods as she went to go find her brothers.
Luigi, on the other hand, spent the days in Howl's home keeping his body in shape. Even though he said before back in the Great Tree that staying undercover wouldn't hurt them, in reality, he could see why it was different this time. They were in the process of losing both their brother and their friend all at once. While he wished he could sit still and relish in the fact that Bowser and Peach's armies couldn't find them, he couldn't. As such, as he did since he was a child, followed his sister's example.
Then came the issue of Mario.
For the following weeks, since they escaped the Boggly Woods, Mario hadn't acted differently than he did in the Great Tree. He could barely stand, he never ate or slept, he mostly kept to himself. Khira and Luigi were at their wit's end trying to reach him, but nothing ever worked.
Luigi tried sparring with his older brother, but it was no use. Every time Luigi tried to pull Mario up, he just fell back to the ground like a dead body. Even though Luigi was sympathetic to Mario's feelings, he was also getting tired of this behavior. Mario couldn't keep acting like this.
"ON YOUR FEET LITTLE BROTHER!" Khira screamed at him. "GET THE HELL UP! STOP IT!"
"Still not standing, is he?"
Khira whipped around to see their host. His hair still as messy as ever and his eyes still as piercing and charming.
He irritated Khira to no end.
"No. No matter what we do, he won't snap out of it. He can't keep acting like this."
"You simply don't understand, do you?"
Howl sighed.
"You're refusing to do things in moderation, Khira. A person as scarred as that won't fight or even stand. It's a mental block. You understand that yes? The only person who is going to get him out of this is himself."
"I understand all of that. It's like no matter what I try, I can't get him to snap out of it. I've never seen that look of despair in his eyes until now," Khira said with much sorrow. "It's like I don't even recognize him."
"It's because you've never known the sorrow he's been through."
That infuriated Khira to no end. How dare he act as though he knew anything about her and her life? She had raised two boys on her own with any help and had suffered more than
"You don't know anything about me, Howl. I've lost both of my parents..."
But Howl interrupted her. "Forgive me, I misspoke. I meant to say that you have never known heartache like this poor boy. As such, you cannot help him. You won't be able to reach him as you are now."
How dare he say that. Losing her mother was the worst possible feeling in the entire world. Even now, Khira hasn't fully gotten past it and it's been almost 20 years since she died. She had to brush all that aside to He knew absolutely nothing about her pain.
"How the hell do you know that?" she said.
"Because based on your current self and personality, it's very clear you don't let people into your circle of space that easily," Howl said matter of factly to anger her.
It worked. How dare this man make assumptions about her? They had barely known each other for a few weeks.
"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?"
"You're approaching this incorrectly."
"Then, what would you start with?" Khira asked through gritted teeth.
Howl smirked.
"Getting him to stand on his own of course."
Khira started to retort, but then Howl walked past her and into the area where Mario and Luigi were fighting.
"Big Bro! You have to get up! You have to snap out of this depression of yours! Do you want to save Peach or not?" Luigi said in frustration.
Luigi then looked over his shoulder to see Howl.
"Howl," he said. "What are you doing here? You never come to watch our sparring."
But Howl never even looked him in the eye. He just shoved Luigi back behind him until he fell on his back onto the cold ground. Luigi was too shocked by this action to even say anything. He had barely spoken to Howl.
"Weakling," he said to Mario.
"What?" Mario said in a daze.
Then Howl practically dragged him up off the ground by his collar, making the two men stare at each other face to face.
"I don't know why they waste so much time on you, Mario," Howl said coldly, holding his face close to his. "Mario, you're supposed to be the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom? I don't see it."
"What?" Mario said in confusion, not understanding why Howl was saying these things to him.
"You're just a coward who's running away from his problems," Howl continued. His eyes even icier than when they first met him. "You don't actually give a damn about her, do you? You just prefer to sit here for weeks on end not trying to solve the problem, rather enjoying moping in it completely!"
Mario's eyes widened at this.
"That's not true," he said weakly in defense.
"Liar," he said coldly, almost as if he was utterly disgusted with Mario. Mario looked into his green eyes with shock and fear.
The man who had been their savior, the man who had kept them hidden from the world and their enemy, the one who barely said anything or emoted anything.
This man ended up punching Mario so hard in his face that he landed on the other side of the area. The blast was enough to cause the wind to blow all around Howl, causing his long and messy black hair to flow in the wind. Khira had never seen his face so fully before. It seemed that he was at one point a very attractive man. You would never be able to tell that from the hood and the long hair.
Khira was utterly shocked. She now was seeing a side to the man that she had never known before. She had known upon seeing him that he was very strong, but he had never shown it apart from that blast of wind on the day he saved them. That iciness and fire in his eyes were probably the closest she had ever seen him to who he was in the past.
He said that she had never known true heartache and therefore could not relate to Mario's struggles.
If that was true, then why was it that he seemed to be the only one who could?
"Mario!" Khira shouted in worry from the sidelines.
Luigi was absolutely as shocked as Khira was at Howl's actions.
"Should we do something?" Luigi asked.
Khira considered this and then decided against it.
"No."
"What?"
"Let's see if this method works."
Mario was now bleeding from the mouth and was clutching his jaw in pain. There was no doubt that Howl had broken it. He began screaming in pain at how much the broken bones hurt.
"Do you realize what would happen if the Mushroom Kingdom saw you as you are now? They'd be utterly ashamed to see their hero acting like this. You're the one who they count on in times of trouble and now look at you. Wallowing in the dirt pitying yourself like a coward. Oh, what's the matter? Miss your girlfriend too much? Feel like you've lost her because of your fault? Whether or not those things are true are irrelevant."
"What the hell do you know?" Mario shouted in pain. "You've never lost anyone you care about!"
Howl smirked. "But we're not talking about me, are we? No, I don't think so. Clearly, we're talking about you and your failures!"
And with those words, Howl swiped his hand through the air, launching a gust of wind towards Mario.
"Don't change the subject, boy!"
Mario was hit with the blast from Howl's wind and was hit back into the nearest tree. It blew his hat from off of his head. Mario winced from the pain. It was a lot worse than the pain he felt before. But hearing these words from someone other than his siblings made his emotions that much worse.
When did this happen exactly?
Mario from his position on the ground felt utterly weak. How had he let himself become like this? No matter how much it hurt, this behavior of his was not like him. He recalled back to when Luigi asked him where was the brother he knew was. He didn't even know himself. He still didn't know himself. Had he really let himself fall so far down? Would the Mushroom Kingdom really lose hope if they saw him like this?
Howl began walking toward him.
"Pathetic little human. You know something? I used to be the protector of this land until you came along. The reason I let that position go was that of you and your courage. For a mere human with no magic, your courage and determination to save the one you love were stronger than anything I have ever seen before. And now, look at you. Such a shadow of your former self."
Mario looked down in shame, a tear running down his face. For the past few weeks, the only reason he had cried was that of Peach. Now, he was crying because of what he realized happened to him. Howl was right. He ought to be ashamed of himself. He had let himself become this shell. He had let himself become so weak and so vulnerable. How had this happened?
"How are you going to save the woman you love if you can't even stand up and walk like a man? No, not a man. Like a hero. I've watched you Mario over the years and I've seen you get up time and time again whenever you fall to the ground. No matter how many times Bowser kicks you down, you dust yourself off and you keep going no matter how many times it takes. So why is it that you're sitting there feeling sorry for yourself this time around? The Mario I watched grow up wouldn't waste time. He wouldn't allow himself to remain like this. And above all, he would never give up. Each time he falls, he gets back up and keeps going. Whether he gets thrown into another galaxy, or falls from the sky, or gets framed for a crime he didn't commit, Mario never gives up. He may fall, but he always stands. I refuse to continue to have you as my guest and have you be so indecisive."
Howl raised his arm towards Mario as if to strike him and Khira blocked her gaze. She knew Howl was trying to encourage Mario, but to treat him like this was completely unnecessary. She felt the blast.
"So which do you choose, Mario?! Do you stand up or do you fall?"
Khira heard the blast.
Was Mario alright?
"Pika! Pika!" Sparky said in celebration. Khira gazed up from her blocked gaze as her pet was trying to show her something. Something that she hadn't seen in quite some time.
For the first time since they'd reunited, Khira watched her brother block Howl's attack from hitting his cut and bruised face with his arm. There was a level of fight back and strength that she had missed seeing in her brother. Somehow Howl had struck a nerve within him that Khira and Luigi hadn't been able to do since the family had been reunited. With all of his strength, he pushed Howl away from him.
"You're right."
Khira's eyes widened. What did he just say?
And with these words, Mario began to push himself off of the ground. He faltered several times, but eventually, he stood on shaky legs. You could tell that he was struggling to maintain his stance, but he kept fighting to stand up and the urge to get back on the ground.
Khira felt a tear escape her eye at the sight.
Mario finally got the strength to get up, wiped the tears off his face and Khira recognized that look of determination and courage that she had seen in her brother's eyes several times before. For weeks now, Mario could barely stand up on his own without help. He was too overcome with despair to even try to move on his own. But now, she recognized that fire and spirit in his eyes. That was the Mario she had raised. That was the Mario that she knew all too well.
Mario picked his cap up from the ground and placed it back on his head.
"I choose to stand."
She could tell that Howl had purposely let Mario win at the end of the battle, but she appreciated it no matter what.
Howl smirked in confidence.
"Now, you've gotten up. Don't fall to the ground again, Master Mario," Howl said, surprising Khira at how genuine and sincere he sounded. This was the first time since they had met that Khira had heard such sincerity from his lips. The first time that Khira didn't doubt what Howl was saying. For some reason, at this moment, she saw more of who Howl really was, not the facade he was constantly putting on in front of them.
Despite the pain and the broken jaw and his fighting to stand, Mario felt more like himself for the first time in weeks. He vowed then and there to never allow himself to be so weak ever again.
Howl then pulled his hood up over his head and walked back towards his house, Khira watching him leave and not paying attention to Luigi coming onto the battlefield skipping and jumping at how overjoyed he was to see his brother back.
Khira felt like she knew the man better.
This was a person who had suffered as Mario is suffering right now. He had hidden it well from her before, but this time he couldn't.
But the mystery still remained as to why.
"Hey."
Howl looked up from his book at her. She still wasn't smiling, but she didn't seem like she was as angry and overprotective of herself and her family as she usually was. He was surprised to see such a side to her.
"Is there something you wish to discuss?" he asked, closing his book and throwing his long black hair over his shoulder. This caused Khira to blush, but she turned her head and ignored it.
She hated this man more than anything and regardless of what happened today with Mario, she still didn't trust him. But despite all of that, Khira still had to acknowledge that if it wasn't for Howl, her little brother wouldn't have gotten back on his feet.
"I just wanted to thank you for getting my brother to stand again. Luigi and I have been trying so hard to get through to him since he learned about what happened to Peach. I don't think he would be back on his feet if it wasn't for you. So..."
"Yes?"
"...So..."
"Is this your way of saying thank you?" Howl inquired playfully.
"Yes," Khira grumbled. "I'm not going to say it out loud, but yes."
Howl smiled. "I'll take it. You're very welcome."
Khira eventually looked into his eyes again.
"But how? How is it possible that of all people, you were the one to reach him?" Khira asked in frustration. "You barely know him. You've barely spoken to him."
"It's because I've been in his exact position before. For almost a thousand years, I was the same as him."
Khira's eyes widened. So he was telling the truth. He was an immortal being.
"For a thousand years, I was exactly as he was. I only did and said what I wished someone would have said to me during those years of agony. I knew that only that would be able to reach him."
Khira saw more of who this man really was more in the few hours than she had in the past few weeks. For some reason, she felt the urge to reach out and try to comfort him, but she fought against it.
"It took me so long, but I finally got out of that. I'll spare you the details of the thousand years of pain and solitude. I'm sure you don't want to relive those years of yours either."
"How do you know why I've been through pain?" Khira asked suspiciously.
No matter how in debt she was to him for saving them and for bringing her brother back to them, she still didn't trust him farther than she could throw him. If she wanted to, she certainly could.
Khira wasn't sure why she was asking Howl these things. It seemed like he understood the feeling of having the weight on your shoulders.
"I've been watching you all from afar for some time now. Since my lover died, I became the Guardian of the Mushroom Kingdom."
"So Luigi was right about you. You're the Howl from the legends of the Mushroom Kingdom."
Howl smiled sadly.
"Yes. But over the past few years, I haven't felt the need to do the duties laid out to me as Guardian."
Khira raised an eyebrow.
"You're probably asking yourself, why?"
Khira rolled her eyes.
"What's the point of having a conversation with you if you already know what I'm going to ask or say?" she said in annoyance.
Howl laughed. Khira blushed. It was the first time he had ever laughed in a genuine manner since she met him.
Howl, just who the hell are you?
"The reason for me doing that is because of you and your brothers," he said looking at the ceiling. "Once I saw you three going out of your way to protect your friends and loved ones, I realized that I was no longer needed. I also realized that the people of the Mushroom Kingdom needed to believe in something different than someone like me. They needed people amongst themselves to keep them together. When you three came along, it was the answer to my prayers to the Stars. Since then, I've been watching you protect the Mushroom Kingdom."
Khira raised an eyebrow. The more he spoke, the more her distrust for him grew.
"Well, not that it matters to you, but I would die for Mario and Luigi. If anyone tries to do them harm, I will unleash a wrath of hell among them."
Howl seemed surprised at that.
"You care about them a lot, don't you?" he asked.
Khira sat down in the chair across from Howl and looked at him.
"I would do anything to protect my family. I made that promise to myself when I was very young and I don't intend to break it. Especially under these circumstances."
"Why?"
"I got my powers when I was really little. I think I've always had them, but they didn't fully come until I was six. I caused a huge blast of fire in Toad Town trying to protect my mom from a couple of wild Goombas who entered the town and tried attacking people. As such, people became very afraid of me. But Mom was always very protective of me. She viewed me as I was. When I was seven, Mario was born. It took a lot of toll on my mother's body and as such, I resented him. Even though my mother got better over time, you could tell that Mom was really struggling to make it through day by day. Each day, Dad kept getting more and more distant from us. He hated the fact that his daughter was different and that his son was such a runt. I should have seen then that Dad was pulling away from us. I just hated the baby boy more than anything. I'm ashamed to admit that even now."
Howl seemed very invested in the story.
"Two years later. Luigi was born, and afterward, Mom died. Then to make matters worse, Dad took off and wanted nothing to do with us. We were kicked out of our house because of him leaving." It was hard for her to admit these things. Only Peach really knew the full depth of the story. Not even Mario and Luigi knew what had truly happened. "And so a nine-year-old me, who had barely started to see the world for what it truly is, had to raise two baby boys because her mother's game ended and because her bastard father couldn't be bothered to stay around and watch. At first, I resented Luigi for ending Mom's game. But then the first time I held him, I realized how foolish I had been to resent Mario as I had. As I held my youngest brother, I realized that my mother wouldn't want me to hate them. She loved them so much that she had both in them in the first place. I vowed then and there to always protect these two because that's what Mom would have wanted. So from then on, I had to be the mother, father, and big sister to a newborn and a toddler who hadn't even begun to talk yet. But I vowed then and there to love them and protect them like my Mom would have done and never stoop to the level of my father."
Khira clenched her fists. Even so many years after her father's abandonment, she knew that she would never find it in her heart to forgive him. They had barely survived on the streets as a result of what he did. It wasn't until Merlon came to their rescue that they were able to start really being a family.
"Did you ever see him again?"
Khira scoffed.
"He tried coming back a couple of times, but I refused his help. Mario and Luigi never knew who he was so they didn't understand the difference. They never even saw his face or if they did, they were too young to remember it. They stopped asking about him a long time ago. I want nothing to do with that man. He had his chance to help us and he wasted it. Yes, he did offer us another house but I refused his help. I got a couple of jobs working at the various stores at Toad Town, which was difficult because I had to bring the two of them with me because no one would help us. Not even the King of the Mushroom Kingdom. As such, I had to make do with what we had."
"So how did you all live then?" Howl inquired.
Khira sighed. Those years that the three of them spent trying to survive still haunted her.
"We barely lived. We lived on the streets. We lived in Forever Forest. We even lived on Shooting Star Summit. We lived wherever we could. It wasn't until I turned 11 that the stars finally answered my prayers. Merlon and his children took us in. Merlon foresaw that my powers would be very important to the protection of the Mushroom Kingdom. Merlon allowed us to stay with his children while he trained me to control my powers. I often had to practice my magic upon Shooting Star Summit because Merlon told me that the Stars would allow me to practice this magic. I also took up an apprenticeship with the Master of the Dojo to further train myself. Once I started learning all of these skills, I eventually started to teach Mario and Luigi how to fight too. I knew that eventually there would come a time when Mario and Luigi would have to train themselves. I knew that there was a distance between us because I can use magic and they can't. So the least I could do was teach them how to fight. Everything they know is because of what I taught them."
"It looks like you went through a lot to keep your family alive."
"You said something a couple of weeks ago about me being different from Mario and Luigi. It turns out that you weren't wrong."
"Oh?" he asked.
"When I was 18, that's when I knew I couldn't run from the truth anymore. The truth that I really was different from my brothers. That I was different from all the people in the Mushroom Kingdom. I knew from the beginning, but it wasn't until I turned 18 that I had to force myself to admit the truth. On that day, when I gave my usual prayer to the stars, a blue light came down the sky and enveloped me in it. All I remember feeling is just feeling weightless and feeling like something inside of me was being sealed away. When I woke up, my brown hair had turned silver white. No matter how hard I tried to dye it back to the original color, it never From that day on, using magic definitely became easier, but I realized eventually that it came at a terrible price. Since the day I turned 18, I realize that I've never aged a day since then. My brothers came into this world later than I did, but upon looking at us, you would never know for sure. They were so little when it happened so it never occurred to them that what had happened to me was unusual. I convinced them that it was my choice to dye my hair and they were so young that they believed it without question. Eventually, I had to watch them grow up and become the fine men they are today, but again, at a price. Things got easier once Mario and Luigi grew up and began their fellow careers in saving people and the world. No matter what happens, all three of us will have that in common. But I'll always feel this distance from them. They're older than me physically now and I have no idea why. I'll probably always be like this. Frozen in time. Never moving backward or forwards." She sighed in sadness. "But as long as they're around, I will always find a way to keep going. They're my reason for living."
Howl smiled at her. "So in a way, your brothers gave you the drive to keep going. You suffered and worked and trained just so you could protect them."
Khira nodded.
"My family is everything to me. As much as I hate my mother for dying and my father for running off, there's always a part of me that's grateful to the stars for this because I got to really just watch my brothers turn into fine and respectful young men. If it weren't for such a tragedy, I probably wouldn't be the person I am right now. I probably wouldn't have the bond that I have with my brothers now. I'm hard on them, but only because I love them and want to see them do so much better."
She smiled.
"I'm overprotective because that's how I've been my whole life. Even though I know Mario and Luigi always find a way to solve their problems, I will always worry about them. I had to act as mother, father, and big sister all at once for so many years. As such, I had to experience those feelings of worry always."
"And your magic?" Howl asked.
"I don't know why exactly I have it. Not even Merlon could tell me. He knew it had something to do with an event that happened long ago, but he could never find out what. Every time he tried, it was like something was blocking him from finding out the truth. Because I have magic, everyone was afraid of me. From the first time at age 7 when I accidentally released a blast of energy to protect my mother in the entrance to Toad Town, people knew that I was different. As such, they wouldn't even try to help take in a nine-year-old and two infants. But no matter what, I never gave into my despair. I didn't have the luxury to. So I used whatever I had to to get our lives back. Whether it was training with Merlon or the Master, working multiple jobs, and then eventually having all three of us go on our first mission to save the Mushroom Kingdom, I did whatever I to do."
"How did you get your house back?"
"After the first mission of saving the Princess, she asked me if there was anything she could do to repay us. My request was that our old home be returned to us. A request that she granted. The people that had had that house because of Dad selling it were removed and it was given back to us. We moved back into that house, established ourselves as heroes and we never looked back. The rest is history. Mario and Luigi became heroes using the skills I taught them. While I used my magic and fighting skills to go around helping others. Eventually I changed people's minds about the use of magic."
She pulled out her staff.
"This staff is magical. It was given to me by the stars after my hair turned white. It is a relic that was blessed by the Star Spirits, Moon and Sun and has the ability to generate as much magic as the Star Spirits themselves. They are the ones who taught me how to use my gifts for good. They made me realize that my gifts may set me apart, but that it doesn't make me a monster as everyone once perceived me as."
Howl seemed to conceal some hidden anger at these comments. Something that was not lost on Khira. She had planned this conversation to hopefully figure out more about the mysterious man that was hiding them from Bowser's army.
"Using magic is not a curse. It's a blessing."
That actually made Howl smile. She was shocked to actually see a genuine smile on his face. He frowned at her reaction.
"What?" he asked.
Khira laughed again. "I just didn't know you had the ability to actually smile. Most of the time that I'm talking, you just stare blankly at me or smile in a different way."
"Different way?" he said.
"You know exactly what I mean."
"What if I were to say that I didn't?" Howl asked playfully.
"Cut the dramatics, Howl. We both know that you're hiding something and the way you smile at me is just further proof of that. You may have fooled Mario and Luigi, but you won't win me over that easily."
Howl's eyes widened.
"I should have known that there were some ulterior motives to this conversation," he said in slight annoyance.
Khira was many things, but foolish was not one of them.
"Why are you telling me all of this if you don't trust me?" Howl asked.
Khira smirked.
"Because by knowing me, you know exactly what you're dealing with. Because I want you to know where I stand in regards to you."
She smirked and leaned forward.
"Whether your intentions for saving us were good or bad..." she grabbed his collar, bringing them face to face. "You are more than who you claim to be and your intentions, good or bad, are as well."
She released his collar and stood up.
"So let me make something clear to you in case you weren't listening. I love my brothers more than anything in this life and if anyone tries to put them in harm's way..."
Khira unsheathed her staff, transforming it into a sword and pointed it at his throat in such speed, not even Howl could have stopped it.
"I won't hesitate to cut them down. So, watch yourself."
She sheathed her sword and walked out of his room, feeling the message she was sending was well received.
Howl wasn't prepared for that type of response. Just when he finally thought he was getting through to the young woman and winning her over, it turns out that she still didn't trust him.
"Kya, why did you have to be reborn as such a rebellious and antagonistic woman?" he pondered to himself quietly upon watching Khira leave.
He sighed.
"Oh, well," he said. "I suppose it doesn't matter. As soon as she pulls the Star Sword from its pedestal, we won't have to worry about that anymore."
He shed a few tears and smiled in relief.
"After so long, my love, we will finally be together again. So please, just wait a little longer."
Just what is Howl up to? I guess we will never know the truth.
Oh, come on. You didn't think I was serious, did you?
That's it! I HOPE THAT YOU ENJOYED IT! I hope it was okay.
QUICK NOTE: I decided to change the rating from K+ to T because of the darker elements that the story is going to continue to have. Hope that's okay with everyone!
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UNTIL NEXT CHAPTER!
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Kagomehater4ever