The Bride
Author: Silhouette
Email: silhouette_panther@msn.com
Genre: Romance, Alternate Universe
Pairing: Rukawa X OC (Shinya Hiiragashi)
Disclaimer: Slam Dunk does not…. blah (I mean, everybody knows it, right?)
Chapter 3
[A cool voice approached her, "Do you really hate marrying me?"
She stopped dead in her path.]
Did she really hate the prospects of marrying this man? Shinya pondered. She was reluctant initially, and refused to be married to a man whom she had never met before. At the altar, she had fallen in love with the man, with his calm demeanor and perfectly chiseled features. But he had shown himself up to be a cold heartless man who is tyrannical and dictatorial in his moves and he apparently did not like her.
She pursed her lips into a grim line.
"Yes, I hated it!" Shinya gritted her teeth. She then excused herself from the room.
* * *
Rukawa looked at the tall slim figure sweep out of the room and raised his eyebrow, "A little spit-fire." The wedding doesn't seem to be such a bad thing after all. He looked out of the window and peered at the hectares of land that his family owned, which were currently flooded in moonlight. He gazed at the silvery globe in the air, thinking of the many childhood memories where he was lonely and friendless, and he had told the moon of all his troubles. His sight fell back into the garden and his breath stopped.
Shinya sat amidst the delicate shrubbery, fingering the flowers lovingly. Her long dark hair flowed down her back, falling over her curled-up legs, and caressing the lawn. The moonlight silhouetted her figure and Rukawa felt hot blood gushing through his veins. Without control over his limbs, he felt himself walk away the window and out of the room.
* * *
She whispered lightly to the moon, hoping that it would hear what she felt. Of all things, she especially loved the moon. Night after night she voiced out her woes to the elegant phenomenon and poured out her soul to it. "If you would hear me, my moon-lady, you would know that I am not a single bit happy about my marriage. I wished I could have refused it. But I could not. My moon-lady, years after years I've been telling you all my secrets, and now that I'm married, I still have to turn to you." She smiled sadly, "What a joke, isn't it? I can't turn to my husband, because he is my problem." A peculiar prickling feeling came over her heart as she felt her eyes sting with tears again, as it had at the altar. She had fallen badly for her husband but she could not tell him of her emotions.
Rukawa stared at his wife from the shadows, entranced. She looked like a goddess. In the silent night, her voice floated over to him, clear and crisp. He could hear every single word uttered from the desirable lips. Was he really that bad? Her problem? For the first time in his icy-cold life Rukawa pondered over his emotions.
* * *
The moon seemed to wink mischievously. Two hearts, thumping in unison, joined by the ethereal force of mutual love.
* * *
Shinya returned to the room. Rukawa was sitting by the bed, reading a book. He looked up at her, "You are back." She nodded numbly. "Come to bed." She froze in resentment. She had heard about these things from her married cousins. The 'things' that married couples do. Shinya shook her head frantically. Rukawa sighed impatiently and moved towards her swiftly. She felt like screaming when he took her arm and literally dragged her to the bed. "You have to sleep." He stated simply. Shinya bit her lips and pulled the sheets over herself. Unknown to her, Rukawa wore a tiny devilish smile and he took off his robes. Her breath caught in her throat as she felt her mouth go dry, "Er..er.., You are not coming to bed naked are you?" She gasped, with her eyes closed. "Dear wife, it's a long time habit and I don't seek to change it." Rukawa said, turning off the lights.
Shinya squeezed her eyes as tightly as possible as she felt the man ease into the bed, beside her. She could feel the heat radiating from him. She held her breath, expecting the touch to come.
But it did not.
The slow steady breathing from the man beside her told her that he was asleep.
* * *
Shinya don't know whether to sigh in relief or to scream in frustration. Now where did that come from? She actually wanted him to touch her? She yelled at herself mentally. A little shy angel on her shoulder whispered, "He's your husband, darling, he is so charming and so manly. It's nothing wrong to fall in love with him…* giggle * and ache for his touch." A fiery little devil on another shoulder squeaked, "No! Shinya, you hated him, right? You hated him all along and look at his attitude towards you. You told him that you hated the marriage and the only thing he said to you * Hiss * when you came back was, 'You are back'?"
Shinya thrashed up the little images mentally and tried to fall asleep but to no avail.
* * *
The sunlight filtered through the windows, shining on the couple on the bed. Rukawa woke up first (A/N: What a miracle) and he felt a slim arm around his waist. A warm tingling feeling came over him, as he turned round in bed to take a good look at his wife. With make up gone from her naturally gorgeous features, she looked so angelic, so gentle, in the daylight. She shuffled lightly and her eyelids fluttered a little. Rukawa closed his eyes quickly.
Shinya woke up to see an enlarged version of her husband's face and to her horror, they had their arms around each other. What?! She screamed mentally. How come we are hugging? Must be that I missed my bolsters too much, I thought he was my bolster. She tried to take her arms off but found that their position was such that they are practically plastered to each other.
Since she could not make her way out of this embarrassing position, she decided to take a good look at the man she called husband. The sheets had somehow slipped to his waist, exposing much of his firm torso. Shinya blushed deeply, he's got a great bod. Her thoughts returned to reality. But he did not love me. She tensed at this thought.
Rukawa felt it and opened his eyes.
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An army tank had blown up at our military airbase, destroying about half of the site. The cause of this was believed to be an unknown object descending from the skies. Upon inspection, we have determined it to be a cow from California, and it was apparently swept here by a typhoon. The cook is still trying to decide whether we should have beef tonight.
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