Hello guys ^^
…I tried to update in March but well... Anyway, thank you all for all the ideas! :D I'll probably start using them next chapter. ;)
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Disclaimer: I don't own SnS.
Chapter 25: To fight the regenerating fire
Is she...trembling?
It was the first time that Sōma had seen Erina in such a state. Just what could have happened for her to end up like that...?
Hmm. It probably had something to do with the file she was holding, right?
...just what could it be about?
Stepping forwards, Sōma gently but firmly took the file out of her grasp. Letting his eyes roam over it, he tried to see what could have been the cause of that reaction and a name caught his attention.
"Nakiri...Azami?" he whispered and this seemed to get through the heiress who suddenly took a step back, terror still written all over her face.
Light seemed to penetrate her purple eyes as she shakily looked up and recognition shone into them. "...Yukihira...-kun ?" she whispered on a breath as she finally seemed to take notice of her surroundings.
"Hey." Sōma replied with a small smile, "You disappeared for a while so I was looking for you," he explained and Erina slowly nodded in acknowledgment, seemingly a little less terrified than she had been a few moments ago. However, she didn't answer verbally and Sōma decided to place the file on the desk before turning back toward the shivering girl with a gentle smile. "Then, let's go back to our rooms." he proposed casually and without waiting for an answer, stepped toward his 'girlfriend' before bending down to take her in his arms, wrapping his arms under her thighs. Then, he picked her up, eliciting a small surprised "Eh?" from Erina.
Ignoring it, he started to make his way to the door as Erina struggled a bit against his embrace.
"Let me go." she demanded quietly with a hint of embarrassment laced with slight irritation as she tried to push him away which brought a relieved grin on Sōma's lips. If she could muster such emotions then she would be just fine.
But this and that were two different stories.
"Nope, can't do." he answered nonchalantly as he closed the library's door behind them and began to make his way to their rooms. "And if you move too much, we're both gonna fall down the stairs."
"I can walk..." Erina protested one more time to which Sōma calmly replied with a slight teasing "I know."
After that, Erina stopped struggling and merely let him carry her to her room, unable to care more about it at the moment. And if she was being completely honest, she was rather glad for his warmth at the moment...her blood was starting to warm up once again after turning so cold earlier. For now, she'd allow him to keep carrying her.
Just for now though. Erina thought as she buried her face in Sōma's neck and clenched her fists around his shirt.
Just where could she be? Alice thought as she closed the door of Erina's room and paused in the corridor to think for a second. She wanted to know more about the rose's story but she just couldn't seem to find Erina anywhere.
Hmm...maybe Ryō-kun saw them. she thought as she crossed the corridor to her own room, intending to use the door connecting their two rooms but she never got the chance because just as she was about to, she heard heavy footsteps coming that way and her curiosity got the better of her. Peeking through the door, she waited for a while and when she finally discovered the origin of that noise, her red eyes widened in surprise.
Rounding the corner were Erina and Sōma. This alone wasn't really that surprising but the thing was that Sōma was carrying Erina in his arms and the latter was actually clinging onto him without putting up a fight or protesting. Now, that was new. And was she actually...trembling? ...Erina was? ...what could have happened...?
Alice watched the two of them in concern until they disappeared into Sōma's room. Should she go as well...? An image of her cousin clutching Yukihira-kun's shirt came back to her mind and she decided otherwise. Maybe she'd be fine with just Yukihira-kun for now...
But now, she had to take her mind off it. Closing her door, she frowned before sighing and opening the door leading to Ryō's room. He'd probably be able to distract her for the time being.
Now what? Sōma thought as he closed the door behind them. Maybe it's better if we stay in my room for the time being. I don't really feel like leaving her alone when she's in that state...
Letting his golden eyes rest on the slightly shivering girl, Sōma reaffirmed his hold on her and headed for his bed. Then sitting down on the edge, he installed the blonde in his lap and tightly wrapped his arms around her shivering form. Erina merely buried her face in his chest in response, trying to stop herself from trembling any longer.
It took her a long time before she finally succeeded and even when she did, she couldn't bring herself to break free from Sōma's embrace for some reason so she decided to stay like that for a while longer.
Or at least that was the plan but it seemed like Sōma had another one in mind.
"You're feeling better now?" he asked softly, pulling away a bit to be able to look at her but Erina kept her head low so he found himself unable to see her face. Sighing in defeat, he fell back into his former position, giving her a squeeze while he was at it. Sōma let the silence hang around them for a while before he spoke up again.
"What happened?" he asked in a gentle tone but as soon as he uttered the two words, he felt Erina's body tense in his arms.
Maybe he shouldn't have asked...but he was concerned about her and wanted to help her get over it somehow. Though he wouldn't insist. If she wanted to talk then she would and if she didn't, he wouldn't pry. It didn't really have anything to do with him after all and he wasn't the type to force her to talk about it so it all came down to her.
Silence fell upon them once again and Sōma was beginning to wonder if Erina would talk at all when he heard her take a deep breath in so he decided to keep waiting quietly.
After five more minutes or so, Erina finally started to talk.
"I- Nakiri Azami...he's my father." she started in a quiet voice, taking a small pause before continuing. "This document followed his whereabouts...it said that he's...he's back in Japan." she stated and as the words left her tongue, she started to shiver once again.
Sōma briefly wondered why that was such a bad thing but he guessed every family had their own circumstances. And seeing how scared she seemed to be after learning that fact, something must have happened between them...he highly doubted they had a good relationship.
Gripping Sōma's shirt even harder, Erina burrowed her face in his chest in an attempt to calm herself a bit. After a while, she managed to get some composure back and tried to explain further.
"A little after Alice went back to Denmark, he...started to teach me about...cooking." she started in a trembling voice, barely above a whisper and then, as if she had opened the tap, the words kept flowing and before she even realized it, she had told him everything, her training, her father's words, her trauma, her fear of the consequences that would follow should she disobey, everything.
As she talked, Sōma listened silently without pressing her, he let her discharge her heart of its burden, only holding her and staring at the wall facing him. Her family really was messed up. No wonder she had ended up like that. In the end, she only was a fragile and scarred girl who was putting on a strong front.
When she was done talking, Erina fell silent once again and Sōma tightened his hold on her a little in support instead of offering words of empty comfort that he couldn't bring himself to muster. What did you even say in this kind of situation anyway? He wasn't sure as he hadn't really been in this kind of situation before. So he preferred to offer his silent but more physical comfort in lieu of words.
As time passed, Erina's trembling slowly faded as she was held close to Sōma's warm body and gradually began to relax, letting the new facts fade away from her mind, storing them in a far corner for the time being.
Sōma continued to hold onto the blonde as his thoughts wandered around the things she had told him. He didn't think he could do anything to help at this point but it would be nice if she could confront her father without being afraid at some point.
Speaking of fathers, he wondered what his own dad was up to right now. Last time he had heard from him, he was...where again? Somewhere in Europe if he recalled correctly...Spain maybe? Ah no, France. He had been in France at the time. ...or maybe he had just planned to go there afterward. It didn't really matter that much anyway since he seemed to be moving a lot across the world.
But he kinda wondered how he was doing and how he had met and chosen his mother. Maybe he'd give him a call later...
When Sōma refocused on his surroundings, the first thing he noticed was that Erina had stopped trembling. Heaving a sigh of relief, he kept on holding her for a while longer before her even and calm breathing caught his attention.
Did she...
Pulling away enough to see her face and lifting up her chin a bit, he was met with the sleeping face of a Nakiri Erina.
... Seriously...?
It wasn't the first time that she had fallen asleep on him (though the first time had been much more surprising considering the fact that they had been in motion) but still... This time, it was even worse since they were in his room, on his bed.
...was this some kind of test or something? It was way too tempting to just kiss her here and there but well, he couldn't really just take advantage of her like that now, could he...
Golden eyes slid on rosy plump lips and stayed there for a while as their owner briefly wondered what they would taste like against his own. Shaking his head a bit to dislodge the thought, Sōma sighed and decided to take her to her own bed instead. He didn't trust himself not to do anything at all if he had to sleep next to her all night long in his own room and she needed to rest after going through all those emotions.
After readjusting his hold on the now sleeping girl who pressed herself even closer to him in response causing Sōma to stop in his movements for a second before regaining his senses, the redhead stood up and stepped towards the door connecting their two rooms. Freeing one of his hands, he opened it and stepped into the blonde's room.
Making his way to the queen bed standing in the center of the room, he pulled the sheets open and delicately placed the sleeping girl in them. Then, he put the sheets over her - or rather he tried to. He found the task impossible when he was faced with the fact that the blonde had yet to let go of him. Looking up at her face, he noticed her peaceful expression was now gone, replaced by a deep frown. Was the bed too cold for her? That was one very plausible explanation and one he confirmed a few seconds later when he tried to detach her from him only to be pulled towards her instead.
Losing his footing, Sōma fell on the bed, barely managing not to hit the girl in the process. Using his hands to regain some balance, he succeeded in lifting up from the bed, if only a bit since Erina was set on keeping him - or rather his warmth - as close as she possibly could. Somehow, he couldn't bring himself to shake her off with more force than what he was already using.
After a while of trying in vain, he stilled over her as he looked down at the still slumbering girl.
... Now what?
He couldn't really spend the night with her...it'd be too troublesome since she probably wouldn't remember much in the morning and would certainly snap at him as she usually did. He sweat dropped at the thought and weighed his options. He could forcefully shake her off or stay. Hmm. Or maybe he could stay for a bit until the bed warmed up enough for her to not stop him again...? That sounded like a plan.
Nodding in satisfaction, Sōma carefully settled next to the clinging girl who immediately scooted closer until she was resting flush against his body. Sōma's golden eyes widened in surprise as blood started to head towards the extremities of his body. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on keeping it in his normal course, preventing it from being redirected south. It wouldn't do him any good if a...problem popped up in this situation after all.
After a few minutes, he completely calmed down and allowed himself to open his eyes again, letting them rest on his sleeping princess. Sōma stared at her in silence, noting her relaxed features, the slight opening created by her parted lips, her delicate usually furrowed eyebrows. All of this made him acknowledge the fact that she almost always seemed on edge when she was awake for some reason (conveniently not realizing that it could be considered his fault half of the time) and frankly, that relaxed face suited her much better. She just looked adorable like that, Sōma thought as he lovingly brushed a strand of hair away from her face before letting his arm hang loosely around her waist and let himself relax once again. It didn't look like she was going to let go anytime soon so he'd be there for a while anyway, better make his stay as comfortable as possible. Plus, he was getting kinda tired now, Sōma thought as he yawned silently.
Just a little nap then. he thought before allowing his eyes to close once more, welcoming the accompanying darkness and the even breathing that slowly lulled him to sleep.
The sound of rustling sheets filled the morning air as the girl lying in the bed started to turn around, close to waking up - or at least she tried to but found the task harder than it should have been due to the...warm thing around her waist and...legs? Actually, it surrounded her whole body and prevented her from moving too much. Frowning in discontent, Erina cracked one of her purple eyes open.
Her vision slowly focused on the...thing in front of her and soon, she discovered a sleeping face. Her frown deepened as her mind slowly started to whirl as her eyes traveled said face in search of distinctive features before zooming on a red scarred brow.
... Eh?
Erina's other eye popped open and she stared at it, too baffled to even begin to process just what was happening. When the sight in front of her didn't change, her mind cleared up in a flash and she rapidly freed herself from his grasp and scooted away as far as she possibly could, almost falling off the bed in the process.
Yukihira Sōma!?
Erina could only stare at him in silence, wide-eyed and unable to even begin to comprehend the situation. Why was he here? Why was he sleeping in her bed? How did this happen? Just what was going on?!
Those were the questions circling in her mind as she felt panic slowly rise in her being before it stopped all of a sudden when flashes from the night before came back to mind. For what felt like a little eternity, Erina stayed in a perfectly frozen state, unable to even move at the light of exactly what had happened during the previous night. Then, mortification crashed upon her and she fervently wished for the ground to open beneath her and swallow her whole. The idea was way more attractive than the prospect of having to face the redhead after acting like that...
As if hearing that last thought, the boy stirred in his sleep, making Erina flinch as her mind started to whirl once more. What was she supposed to say? What was she supposed to do? Honestly, she didn't want to have to confront him at all after he had seen her at her weakest and didn't really know how to act around him now. Though that particular fact wasn't really something new now that she thought about it...
Ever since he had started to act differently, getting more touchy-feely and all, she didn't really know what to do with him even if she had to admit that it worked out well for their cover. But was that really all it was...? The thought had popped out once or twice before and she couldn't really answer assuredly that it indeed was only that. Or maybe she didn't really want it to be - what was she even thinking? There was no way it was like this so there was no point in even thinking about it, and she certainly couldn't find herself thinking that it wasn't.
Shaking her head to remove all thoughts going that way, Erina refocused on the problem at hand, Yukihira Sōma as always. But this time was actually worse since she woke up with her own limbs entangled with the boy's...how did that even happen, she couldn't even begin to answer that. Not that she had any memory going further than her being lulled to sleep by Sōma's breathing while in his lap and arms and -
POOF
Color blossomed on Erina as blood rushed to her head, not stopping before her face was completely red and even then, steam seemed to erupt from her being as embarrassment consumed her. How could she even allow something like that to happen?! That was such a disgrace...but if she was being completely honest with herself, she'd have to admit that she couldn't bring herself to really regret it. Somehow, she felt much better after talking to him. Maybe it was because he didn't interrupt her or showed pity, simply listening to her talking in his arms, or maybe it was simply the fact that he had been there, she didn't really know but she was still kind of grateful anyway.
Not that she'd ever actually admit it. She still had her pride and she wasn't about to say something like that to him.
Anyway, she still had to decide what to do with him. It wasn't as if she could just up and leave considering the fact that this was her room. A quick glance around her easily confirmed that fact.
Hmm.
Her blush slowly started to recede and a sigh escaped her lips. Honestly, it would be so much easier if he was the one who just upped and left...maybe he would. Or she could just push him out of the bed. That didn't sound too bad.
Erina carefully approached the still sleeping boy and extended her hand, readying herself to push him off when she got distracted by his golden eyes. They really were just like endless pools of molten gold, so deep and so unreadable - or maybe she just couldn't identify the emotions that seemed to pass through them. Some were there for longer than others but at the bottom of them all, there was something she quite couldn't put a name on, like some sort of protection, a barrier that prevented her and the others to go any further, the fake bottom that isn't really one. Maybe one day, she'd be able to go behind that seemingly bottom but for now, she only could watch as slight curiosity floated in those pools under a layer of sleepiness -
Wait.
Golden eyes...? Last time she checked, you couldn't actually see irises behind closed lids so why was she -
The current situation slowly dawned on her and all she could do was stare. Silence fell on them as they stared right into the other's eyes but as soon as the moment came, it was gone, broken by Sōma's voice.
" 'Morning." he greeted with a stifled yawn before he allowed his eyes to leave her and slide over his surroundings. Looking back at her, he sent her a sheepish grin before saying "Looks like I fell asleep." stating the obvious.
"I could see that but why were you in my bed in the first place?!" Erina demanded as she watched Sōma sitting up, matching her current position.
"Well," he started after rubbing his eyes in a gesture that she could only describe as cute and she hated herself for thinking of him like that, "I hadn't really planned to stay after taking you to your room but you wouldn't let go." Sōma explained with an half-teasing, half-sleepy voice and Erina could do nothing but blush in renewed mortification. She silently cursed her sleeping self for being so clingy.
Sōma stared at her for a while before a glint of mischief appeared in his eyes and she just knew she wasn't going to like the next thing that was going to leave his mouth. She was proven right when he spoke up again.
"No good morning kiss for your boyfriend?"
Next thing he knew, a pillow was flying his way and he lifted his arms to block it before it could crash square on his face, laughing. He barely made it in time and grinned at her when the pillow fell in his lap, calmly meeting her heated and embarrassed glare. The look in his eyes clearly said that he was having fun with this whole situation, at her expense of course.
"How heartless." he teased before leaning towards her and brushing his lips on her cheek. That resulted in the deepening of the red now marring her face and of her glare. Seeing this, Sōma grinned in satisfaction before sliding his legs over the edge of the bed, preparing himself to get up. "Well, I guess I should go back to my own room now. I slept really well." he declared as he sent her a teasing grin above his shoulder, "Tell me if you want to sleep with me again." he winked and the blonde sent another pillow flying his way which elicited a laugh from the redhead once again.
This guy... Erina thought in aggravation. He's really got a lot of guts.
But if she was being completely honest, she'd have to admit that she slept really well herself. She couldn't even remember the last time she had slept with someone besides her. Maybe with her mother when she was younger but she sincerely couldn't recall. Her mother had been gone for so many years that she barely remembered her except for the pictures and portraits that hang around the manor.
That aside, she was kinda thankful for his presence. She didn't know how she would have reacted if she had woken up alone in the morning. Knowing that her father was back in Japan and could come back into her life at any time was terrifying enough on its own and surely would have given her some nightmares if she had been alone.
Biting her lower lip as she watched Sōma walking towards his own room, she hesitated before murmuring a sincere "Thanks" just as he was about to exit her room. The only indication that he had heard her was the slight flatter in his steps as he crossed the threshold accompanied by a small nod of his head before he disappeared behind the now closed wooden door.
On the other side of the door, Sōma finally dropped the too calm facade and allowed the recent events to fully dawn on him.
...crap.
He wasn't supposed to fall asleep and spend the night with her. He had just planned to take a small nap while waiting for the bed to warm up enough for Erina to let go of him more easily but it obviously hadn't gone that way.
...somehow, he couldn't bring himself to actually regret it even if it could've been bad. It wasn't and he really had had a good night sleep. Maybe he had been more tired than he had thought or he had just been that comfortable with the girl beside him, he wasn't sure but the fact was that he had ended up spending the whole night in her bed.
... Well, shit.
It wasn't like he could change anything now and he wasn't even sure he would have if he could. After all, he really didn't regret it. That and he really hadn't wanted to leave the girl alone last night so well.
That said, he was surprised when he woke up earlier to find out that he had never left. Honestly, he had half expected her to push him out of the bed but she hadn't. Maybe she just hadn't wanted to take the chance to possibly hurt him in the process and that thought kinda warmed his heart. Maybe she had feelings for him too...? Could he actually believe that? He didn't know, the only thing he knew for sure was that she didn't hate him. Now, would she come to love him as well? That was the real question.
But that wasn't really all that important right now. For now, he was more worried about her father and how he could affect her by the mere notion of his presence in the country. That certainly wasn't reassuring but she had seemed fine in the morning so he guessed he was able to help, at least a little.
Somehow, he really didn't want to see how she would react if they were to actually meet.
Hmm...it should be fine now, right?
Alice nodded to herself before knocking on the door standing closed in front of her.
"Come in!"
Upon hearing this, the white-haired girl reached for the doorknob and twisted it, pushing the door open and entering the room.
She was instantly met with surprised golden eyes which looked at her as if wondering why she would be there. Alice didn't answer the unspoken question immediately, closing the door instead before turning back around to face the red-haired teen.
He looked at her in wonder for a while longer before finally asking, "What is it, Nakiri?"
"Well," Alice started, putting both her hands behind her back as she stepped inside and sat up on the couch not far from her, "I saw you two coming in your room last night and I was wondering what happened with Erina." Alice finished in a light tone as she leveled him with an expectant gaze that put much more weight into her inquiry.
On the other end of her gaze, Sōma stiffened for a moment before relaxing again. There was no way she actually knew he had been with Erina until recently after all. She was probably talking about what happened last night before he carried Erina upstairs. Relieved, he parted his lips to answer.
"Oh that..." Sōma let out as he scratched his neck, he figured she had the right to know, being her cousin and all, and she seemed a bit worried so well. "That's - Nakiri found a document about her father's whereabouts in the library last night. Apparently, he's back in Japan." he simply stated as he let his hand fall back to his side and into his pocket.
This time, it was Alice's turn to stiffen at his words. She obviously knew what that meant - or rather could mean for the blonde and she didn't seem to be overjoyed with the news either even if she hid it better than her cousin.
...that certainly explains Erina's behavior. Alice thought as she gave him a slight nod and met his gaze squarely. "... How much did she tell you?" she asked warily after a while.
"Hmm...pretty much everything I guess." Sōma simply answered as he tried to read her.
Alice's eyes widened a bit at the piece of information and he assumed she hadn't expected that. He was absolutely right about that. Indeed, Alice was quite taken aback. She certainly hadn't thought that Erina would just tell him everything...did she even know what that meant? Alice highly doubted it. Somehow, it seemed like Erina just subconsciously refused to acknowledge the feelings that were clearly there and she wasn't sure why.
"I see..." Alice slowly declared with a sense of finality as she stood up from her seat and started to make her way towards the door.
She wasn't sure why but she knew one thing for sure, Erina would have to acknowledge them at some point. And she didn't mind helping her with that, Alice thought as a small cunning smirk stretched her lips.
Just as she was about to cross the threshold, she stopped in her tracks and gave the redhead a teasing look from over her shoulder.
"By the way, you two were really cute cuddling together in your sleep like that." she stated with a grin which grew larger when she spotted pink dust on Sōma's cheeks. Then, she let out a giggle as she finally exited the room, leaving a discountenanced Sōma in her wake.
The redhead could only watch the door close and hear it click shut, letting silence engulf the room once more as her parting words still hang into the air.
... Well, shit.
Tbc… Hope you enjoyed :)
Answers to guest reviews:
Devil: Couldn't resist. XD My bad. ^^' Glad you enjoyed it ;)
Guest: I'm really happy to know you're enjoying my works. ^^ …sorry for the extra long wait…I update once a month recently so well, only checking at the end of the month might do the trick ^^' …why siblings XD I'd hate it if they were related so don't worry about that ;)
Urself: *bursts out laughing* XD What are you insinuating? XD ;)
Kaito1412: Good guess! :D Only Azami could do that to Erina.
Selpi: Hmm…sadly the kiss on the lips will have to wait a bit more but I'll be sure to have them go on a date of sorts. ;) And the jealousy of course, because jealousy is always fun. XD Glad you enjoyed this chapter as well. ^
Irza: Well, I guess this chapter pretty much answered it. ;) Yeah, I like it when she opens up to him as well. ^^ A little bit more each time. x)
Sorina: :D Really? :D ^^ XD I'm glad you liked it that much. x) Sorry for the wait ^^' and I'll do my best. ;)
Ryn kun: Her father. :/ That happens during the festival arc, at the end of it but for this fic, she hadn't met him yet. She is, isn't she? :D XD I love it when she blushes around him. ;) Really? I'm super happy if it could brighten your days :D ^^
Atsuko: Here is chap 25 :) Sorry for the wait ^^'
Thanks to all the guest reviewers and the registered ones :D PantherSeraphin, HelL4DAluCarD, BlackZ3r0, silentworld94, that-girl-on-the-corner, raydark182, sarara1.8, The Emblem of Ice, WolfKinx, cherryblossom321, OrangeSpark5555, acpeters, Generation Zero, ChaosOmega8, madeyemoody95, HiragaSaito16, Chunkybucket, MariTami, BeautifulLotus, Skytte, Sasubae, kiba zero, Percabeth's Conjugal Love, RaidenUzumaki14 and mingxingxing
I love reading what you have to say so really, thank you all for sharing your thoughts with me. ^^
That said, I'm starting my internship again soon so well. But I'll do my best to stick to at least an update a month. :)
Ja ne~