AN: Whee! I could be in Boston right now but it was $300 o.o XP Blah. So I'm gonna update! ::hums::
Disclaimer: Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne does not belong to me.
~*^-^*~
Maron stumbled backwards, out of Noin's arms. She backed up until her back was pressed into a tree. She was trapped. Noin smirked, amused.
"Am I that frightening, Maron?"
"B-but you're…dead." She emphasized the 'dead' as she pointed at him. She remembered that day clearly. Noin had saved them all, and had died as a result. Even offering a farewell.
"Ahh, that. Jeanne D'arc has informed me that my job is not done yet. I was sent back for a time."
"Not done? What do you mean? There haven't been any demons since…." She waved her hands in the air, trying to express what she couldn't put in words. Noin chuckled and shrugged.
"I do not know the intention of my mission yet." There was a fierce, dark, hunger in his eyes that made Maron want to escape. Smirking, he stalked towards her, his hips swaying tauntingly.
"S-stay away!" She held her arms out in front of her and pushed at his chest. He didn't even budge. She gasped when he put his hands on either side of her body, preventing her from running.
"I've missed you, Maron."
"H-hold it! What about Jeanne D'arc!?" But he wasn't listening anymore. He leaned forward, eyes closed and lips parted. Maron shook her head and struggled to break out of his grasp.
"Maron!"
"Ch-Chiaki?" Maron looked over Noin's shoulder. Noin had stopped his advance, and before she could move, he was off her and in front of Chiaki.
"Nagoya-kun. Nice to see you again." Noin's grin spread when Chiaki frowned in distaste. They were certainly fun to tease.
"I was juts talking to Maron. Haven't seen her in a long while." He glanced back to Maron, who shrank away in return. Chiaki's eyes narrowed.
"Well, I must be off. We'll meet again, Maron." His eyes hinted something dark and secretive, and Maron had to shudder. He snapped his fingers and he was gone, justv like that. Maron blinked, looking at where he had just been.
"Maron, are you okay?" Chiaki approached her and looked for any visible signs of abuse. Maron waved him off, tired and feeling dizzy once again.
"Fine. Fine."
Chiaki placed the back of his hand against her forehead and hissed, pulling away. Maron blinked sleepily.
"You're sick. Let's go."
"Go? Go where?" Maron leaned heavily into his side, using him as a crutch as they stumbled home.
~*^-^*~
"In you go."
Chiaki pulled back the covers on Marons' bed and waited for her to slip in before covering her up to her chin. Maron stared at him through heavy lidded eyes, her cheeks flushed.
"I'll get you some medicine. Then, You're staying in bed. Got it?" He left the room and appeared a few minutes later with a glass of water and two tablets. Maron mumbled something along the lines of 'thanks' before taking the pills and then laying back down.
Chiaki had just flipped off the light when he heard a yawn and Maron spoke. Her voice was quiet and he had to strain to hear her.
"Arigatou."
Despite himself he smiled and slowly left the room. He took one last look around the apartment he had been in so many times before and sighed. Before he stepped completley out, he whispered, "Gomen, Maron."
~*^-^*~
Maron awoke the next morning feeling much better than she had been yesterday. Slipping out of bed, she stretched her arms above her head. She hadn't remembered going to bed. Hadn't remembered anything except a confrontation with Noin, really. Did Noin take her home?
"Noin took me home?" It sounded strange, even to her, but she couldn't figure out any other possible explanation. Why had he helped her? Frowning, she dressed and left her apartment to think.
"Maron-san!"
Yashiro ran down the hallway towards her and Maron immediately felt sick again. Forcing a weak smile, she stopped to let the girl catch up to her.
"Ohayou!"
"Ohayou." Maron really didn't want to talk to her now. Not ever, actually. She grit her teeth and offered an over-ecstatic smile.
"Ne, ne! I was just going out shopping for wedding invitations, do you wanna come?"
Maron started choking and Yashiro panicked and began to hit her on the back. Once the shock subsided, Maron straightened.
"Maron-san, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. And I'd rather not., I'm busy."
"But-"
Maon hurried down the hallway and opted for the stairs to avoid another confrontation with Yashiro.
"Wedding invitations?" Maron's throat constricted as she leaned against a wall in the stairwell. She didn't want to think about it. It made her sick. After she had given herself to him, body and soul, he tossed her away like a used dish cloth.
(AN: Gomen! But just incase you didn't read the manga, I'm tying in some of it now. That above, about sharing body and soul, was from the manga. Just had to clear that up.)
"Chiaki…" She sniffled and hurried out of the stairwell and out of the apartment complex. Head bowed, she ran, dodging bodies and stands.
"Maron?"
A hand caught her and she gasped, angrily struggling against it. Turning, she beat her captor weakly with her fists.
"Let me go! Let go! Please…"
She gasped when she looked up. Noin stared back at her, puzzled. She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could he was tugging her down the street, across traffic, and to the park where they sat down on a bench.
Maron sniffled and curled into a ball, her chin resting on her knees. Noin stared at her, waiting patiently for an explanation.
"Arigatou."
"Huh?"
"For helping me home, yesterday." She felt a blush taint her cheeks and looked up at him. Noin blinked.
"I, didn't help you. You left with Chiaki-kun. Are you feeling all right?"
Chiaki had helped her!? Why didn't she remember that? Maron felt herself flush even more and bowed her head. Maybe it was because she didn't want to acknowledge his help.
"Oh." Was all she could manage to say. Noin cleared his throat and she glanced back at him.
"What's got you so upset?"
"Upset?"
"When you were running just now."
Maron grew silent and bit her lip. What did she tell him? The truth? Would he believe a lie? Probably not.
"I…..umm, Chiaki's getting married." She mumbled, her face hidden by her hair. Noin's eyes widened.
"Married!?" He looked at her incredulously. Was this the same Chiaki he had competed against? The same one who had barged in on his advances on Maron and threatened to kill him? That Chiaki? Maron nodded, as if reading his thoughts.
"To Yashiro…He didn't wait for me." Maron sniffled, fresh tears threatening to fall. Noin took a deep breath. Slowly, hesitantly, he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her against him. Silently, she buried her head in his jacket and cried.
She smelt faintly of lilies, and Noin relished in the scent. He remember everything about her. The smoothness of her skin, the warmth radiating from her body. He had forgotten what it had been like to hold her. And now she was willingly in his arms. Was this finally his chance? Could he have Maron?
At that moment, he promised himself that he would do everything in his power to make Maron happy. And she would be his.
Unbeknownst to either of them, a pair of angry eyes watched silently from behind a tree.
~*^-^*~
AN: Whooo, a little conflict now. I'd like to remind you that this is Maron X Chiaki. Just throwing in some Noin X Maron. Even more so in the later chapters ^-^ I just don't have the heart to cast Noin out in the cold and make him all evil.
I love him so I'm gonna involve him in the story, further adding to the ever growing love….not triangle….octagon maybe? XD Well, let's just say problems will arise between Yashiro, Maron, Chiaki, and Noin ^-^
~Neoshipper~