Love. Forever and Eternal - Chapter 3

By: Pyro Prodigy

A/N: Whoa! How long's it been? Yeah, as you can see. I'm under a different author name now. Still the same person though. Here's the long awaited continuation.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* (The Next Day)

I stood on the balcony once more, overlooking the already busy town square down below. Suddenly, there was a noise behind me.

"Early riser?" a familiar voice asked.

I turned around. It was Taichi.

I gave a small shrug as he came to lean on the railing as well.

"Great view of the town from here.." I commented.

Taichi gave a small grin. "You should see it from the star tower. Go up there sometime"

"I'll try to do so, before I go back.." I replied.

Suddenly the morning bells rang.

The young man sighed. "Better go for training.."

"Knight training, am I correct?" I inquired.

"Yeah.. would you like to see where we work out?" Taichi asked.

"Sure!" I answered, grinning enthusiastically.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------

I wiped the sweat from my brow, spinning around and giving a sharp elbow into the knight's stomach. He quickly lost his balance and toppled over. I stood over him, sword gripped tightly. He held up his hands.

"You prevail.."

Grinning, I pulled him up.

"Impressive.." Taichi observed.

I glanced up at the prince. "You think so?" I questioned.

He uncrossed his arms and walked towards me. "You're very skilled. I've been watching the way you've fought with all the other knights, and it doesn't surprise me that you were able to protect Sora and Hikari from those creatures in the forest"

I put my sword away. "Yes, maybe so.. however, if you had not come we'd have surely died." I pointed out.

Taichi shrugged, "You are still more skilled than you think." He was about to go on when he spotted Sora standing by the doorway. Hikari was with her as well.

"I should go. Sora probably wants to talk.." he excused himself and quickly joined her, leaving Hikari by herself.

I looked away for a moment, think about whether I should head over to her or not. After all, from all the sparring with the other knights, I was a bit unclean. Being unclean in front of a beautiful young woman like Hikari, not a good thing.. for me, anyhow. However, she was already walking towards me.

"Oh.. hello, princess" I greeted.

Hikari gave a slightly nervous smile. "I was wondering. I mean.. if you weren't busy or anything.. I mean.. if you would.. umm"

I grinned at the faint blush that came upon her cheeks. "If I would what, Hikari?"

She let out a deep breath. "If you would accompany me in the gardens later on.."

"Later on?" I inquired.

"Yes, because I.. have to talk to my father about something" she replied.

"In an hour or so, then?"

She smiled. "Perfect.."

"I'll see you later then, princess.." I shot her a charismatic grin before going off towards my bedroom to get cleaned up. Giving her a wink before I turned the doorway, I left.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------

I looked into the mirror, trying to tame my spiky hair. Meh.. no use. I'd only gotten out of the shower less than 10 minutes ago, and before that, the armor had been quite hard to get off. But now, I was dressed in a tunic, similar to the one I wore at the banquet, only a dark blue.

Scratching my head as I walked out of my own room, I wondered how I was going to find Hikari's. It would certainly be in the section with the other royalties' rooms. I wandered around the hallways awkwardly. The Yagami's castle was enormous, and one could easily get lost. Turning the corner, my head up in the clouds, I didn't notice Sora turning as well. I fell to the stone floor with a slight thump. Getting up, I offered her my hand, which she gladly accepted.

"Gomen.. I didn't see you coming" I apologized.

"It's alright, Takeru.." Sora replied, "Oh, where are you heading?"

"Umm.. actually.." I gave a sheepish grin, "could you tell me where Hikari's room is?"

This made her raise her eyebrow. "Hikari's room? Why do you want to know..?"

I immediately held my hands up in defense. I didn't mean it that way at all! "N-no.. I need to go find her so I can pick her up.."

Sora's eyes widened.

"No! Not that way!!! I meant pick her up because we were going to take a walk in the gardens! She asked me this morning if I could accompany her, and I just wanted to be a gentleman and go pick her up" In my last statement, I gave her a look that said, ' don't you dare say anything about that '.

She laughed. "Alright Takeru, I trust you anyway. Her room's just down this hallway, last door on the right"

"Arigatou.." I replied. Also, grinning as I waved goodbye. Sora's laughter could be heard while I walked down the large corridor. I shook my head at her, nearing Hikari's door.

Knock. Knock.

"Hikari?" I inquired, waiting for an answer from behind the two large doors.

"Just a minute!" came the reply.

The doors opened a moment later and Hikari's head poked out.

"Oh.. Takeru. It's you. Come on in.. I'll just be a minute"

"No, it's alright.. I'll wait out here" I replied.

The brunette emerged a few minutes later. I felt my breath hitch in my throat. I opened and closed my mouth several times, trying to speak. Finally, I found my voice. "You look.. stunning. I-I mean.. more. stunning than usual, I mean. umm. as always?" I gave her a sheepish grin.

She laughed; probably at my stupidity.

Shaking it off, I offered her my hand. At least I wasn't stupid enough not to know where the gardens were.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------

We paused in the middle of the garden, Hikari sitting down on a bench nearby. I glanced at her, concerned. One minute ago, the two of us were laughing over something Taichi did as a child, and the next, she became silent.

"Hikari.. is there something on your mind?" I asked softly, sitting down next to her.

She kept her glance away from me, not answering.

I put a hand on her shoulder gently. "You're welcome to share. I'll be here to listen."

Hikari looked up and I was slightly startled. Her eyes were watery. ".. Hikari?"

She gave a small sniffle. "I-I'm just worried.."

"About what?" I asked, now wrapping my arm around her shoulders.

She let out a deep breath. "W-what if.. a war does start? What will happen? What about the people.. ? Takeru! So many will be hurt. "

"Shh.. it's alright" I whispered into her ear, bringing her closer.

She buried her head into the crook of my neck, sobbing softly. "But.. what if it doesn't turn out alright?"

I hugged her tightly. "You can't focus on the negative aspects of the future, because nobody knows what will happen. You have to hope for the best.."

Hikari's sobbing quieted. "I'm still afraid.."

"Afraid?" I questioned.

"Yes, afraid. I'm scared of losing the ones I care for, Takeru.. I'm scared of losing my parents, Taichi, Sora, my people.. and you. I'm scared of losing you, Takeru." she confessed.

Me?

"I know we've only known each other for a few weeks," Hikari continued, "but it feels like I've always known you, forever. Whenever I'm with you, I feel different. A-and when I look into your eyes, I lose myself. It's like I've reached the unreachable.. and I'm not ready for it."

I closed my eyes, binding her in my arms gently. Softly, I whispered into her ear. "I promise you, Hikari. You will never lose me. I'll always be right there, by your side, to give you strength. Aishiteru.."

Her arms slowly made their way around my neck, pulling my face down to hers; lips millimeters apart. Words not needing to be exchanged, I closed the small gap between us. Suddenly, everything was gone. only Hikari and myself; a world where the only things that existed were us. I pulled her closer, never wanting to let go. Her soft lips just felt so right with mine. I pulled away after what seemed like eternity, cursing the need which was oxygen. Leaning down and touching our noses together, I made a vow to myself that I would never let any harm come to this girl. My angel.. my very own angel.

"I'll always be there..."

She smiled at me, running her hands through my golden blonde hair. "I've always wanted to do this."

I grabbed hold of her hands and brought them down to my lips, kissing each of her finger tips softly before giving her a peck on the lips. "And I've always wondered what it's like to kiss an angel. Now I know."

Hikari rested her head on my chest, sighing contentedly. Suddenly though, I turned away saddened. Realization hit me. She was a princess.. and I was a mere boy trying to stop a war; belonging to no royal descent whatsoever. My world came crashing down. We would never be allowed to be together.

Hikari noticed my mood's sudden change and put her hand on my cheek, forcing me to face her once again.

"Takeru, what's wrong.?"

I took a deep breath. "There's something I have to tell you.."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*

A/N: HAHAH!!! Can you say cliffhanger?! R&R and I'll post the next one. promise it won't be as long as it took me before. I already have half of it written.