Chapter One: Around Budehuc
Toppo walked along the deck of Budehuc Castle's ship, hands in his pockets. He gazed over the railing, staring at the far off mountains, which wasn't hard because of the beautiful weather, which was a good change from the stormy weather from the night before. Toppo sighed happily. He always enjoyed staring at scenery like this.
Nei had taken Shabon over to Mamie's restaurant for some lunch. Toppo decided not to accompany them, as he wasn't feeling hungry. Toppo wanted to take this time for himself to wander around Budehuc and enjoy his surroundings.
As Toppo looked at the gorgeous mountains, something caught his eye. He focused on the exit to the Northern Cavern, which was somewhat difficult to do because it was so far away. Squinting and shading his eyes from the sun with his hand, Toppo managed to spot six figures standing at the cavern's edge, although the two youngest, a blue-clad male and a Karayan girl, were the only ones actually looking at the scenery. The two oldest of the six looked like they were having a heated argument, and the oldest female was trying to break them apart. The last person, a black haired man, stood aside, watching the argument.
Toppo snickered. It was just Geddoe and his team on another trek through the Northern Cavern.
The juggler decided to start walking around Budehuc castle. In fact, the ship was his first stop. Toppo turned around and walked below deck.
Below deck, Toppo noticed something he hadn't noticed when he first arrived: two children sitting against the wall. The girl was sound asleep, her head resting on the boy's shoulder.
Toppo raised an eyebrow. Rody and Belle? He always thought that Belle had a crush on Hugo. Rody's jacket was draped over her like a blanket, and Rody was gently stroking her hair. Toppo looked at the sleeping girl, wondering how she could sleep until lunch, but then again, he had no idea what Belle had gone through last night.
(A/N: Yes, I know this is a tie-in to my last Suikoden fic.)
When Rody spotted Toppo, he put his index finger to his mouth, indicating Toppo to keep quiet. A really stupid statement to someone like Toppo.
Suddenly, Toppo smiled at Rody. He gave a thumb's up and mouthed 'You da man, Rody' before turning around and walking off the ship.
Toppo walked upstairs, avoiding Ayame's silent glare. The juggler continued walking, going up to the second floor. Toppo turned to walk towards the library. On the way, he spotted Rhett place something into the suggestion box. He also spotted Melville, Alanis and Elliot reading the latest installment of 'Erk's Adventures'. Toppo continued until he got to the library door. Toppo pushed open the door and walked in.
Inside, Eike was standing close to the bookshelf, as usual. Watari was, surprisingly, sitting at a table, reading a book. Toppo spotted Ernie in her corner of the library, waving at the juggler, motioning him to come over. Toppo decided to see what the young scholar had to say, so he walked over to her.
"Toppo, I've got great news!" Ernie said quietly. "I've gotten better in my work, so I can raise your Earth Magic a level higher!"
Toppo grinned and raised an eyebrow. The better he was for using his Earth Rune, the quicker he could pull off the magic to wipe out enemies with an Earthquake or use defensive skills to protect Nei and Shabon. Almost immediately, Toppo nodded his head, telling Ernie that he wanted to raise his skill.
Using her lightning quick teaching ability, Ernie had raised Toppo's ability to use his Earth Rune. Toppo smiled and nodded once, thanking Ernie for her help.
The juggler turned around and walked towards the bookshelf, plucking an adventure novel from it. For several days, Toppo had been reading two chapters of the same novel every time he picked it up. He walked over to the table with the book and sat down across from Watari, whom was still reading his book, which turned out to be 'Romeo and Juliet'. Toppo raised an eyebrow. He never would've imagined that Watari read romance novels. As Toppo started to read the novel from chapter eleven, he heard Watari.
"Hey." Watari said, not taking his eyes off his book.
Toppo waved his left hand once, greeting the silent ninja.
Before Toppo knew it, it was quarter to one. Toppo looked up from his book and stared at the clock on the wall. When he saw the time, his eyes sprang open. He was supposed to meet Nei and Shabon at the restaurant five minutes ago! Toppo jumped from his chair, ran to the bookshelf, placed the novel back and rushed out the door, avoiding the curious stare from Eike.
Toppo bolted past Arthur's bulletin, where several of the kids in the castle had gathered to read the serial novel, and rushed down the stairs. However, once he reached the bottom of the stairs, something made him stop.
"TOPPO!"
Toppo tried to stop, but he was going so fast that it made it difficult. And the fact that he was running on the newly-polished marble floor only made it worse. Before he knew it, Toppo was on his back. The silent juggler looked at the source of the voice.
"Toppo! I've got great news!" Jefferson said as he walked from the room he made residence. "I've come up with a new title to give you!"
The juggler growled as he stood to his feet. He was NOT in the mood for another minute with Jefferson. In the blink of an eye, Toppo ripped a ball from his belt and hurled it through the air, sending it soaring straight towards the insane military man. The projectile found it's way to Jefferson's forehead, sending him to the floor. The ball bounced from Jefferson's forehead back into Toppo's hand. Toppo put the ball back as he turned around and continued running.
Toppo turned the corner that led towards the Infirmary. He figured that it would be quicker if he went through Anne's tavern and down the steps that went directly to the restaurant. Bad choice. He noticed a young woman walking out of the tavern door, reading several sheets of paper. She had brown hair and wore a nurse's outfit. Toppo's eyes sprang open as he tried to stop himself. Alas, he was still on the marble floor, so his attempts of stopping ended in vain. Toppo collided with Mio as they both fell to the floor with a dull 'thud', Mio's papers scattering everywhere.
Mio looked at who had collided with her, and the instant she saw Toppo, her eyes widened. "Toppo! Oh, I'm so sorry!" She said as she started to pick up her papers. "I should've been paying more attention to where I was going!"
"...No, I should apologize..." Toppo said softly as he helped Mio pick up her papers. He wasn't in the habit of speaking in public, but he figured that the least he could do is apologize.
Toppo picked up half of Mio's papers and handed them to her. After receiving them, Mio quickly sorted the papers she held and sighed, satisfied. She apologized to Toppo one more time before turning around and walking towards the Infirmary. Toppo watched Mio until she vanished through the Infirmary door. After she was gone, Toppo opened the door to the tavern and walked inside.
Inside the tavern, Toppo saw Anne serving drinks to Leo, Mua and Wan Fu. However, just as he was about to walk out the door, he heard yet another voice.
"Ah, Toppo!"
Toppo groaned as he turned around. He was really starting to hate these interruptions that hindered his progress to the restaurant. He saw a masked man with a coat walking up to him.
"Toppo, you're just the person I wanted to see!" Nadir stated. "I'm doing several plays in a few days, and I'm having a very special audience. I'm looking for only the best actors, and I'd like you to play the part of Romeo in 'Romeo and Juliet'."
Toppo raised an eyebrow, which told Nadir he was wondering why the director chose him.
"Although you only speak when you act, you do both with amazing skill." Nadir said. "I've done 'Romeo and Juliet' many times in the past, and from what I've seen, you're the best Romeo I've seen here."
Toppo blushed. He didn't think he was THAT good.
"In fact, everyone I've given a script to is really trying to improve their acting skills to impress my audience." Nadir paused for a few seconds. "Will you do it?"
Toppo scratched his chin, thinking the whole thing over. After a few seconds, Toppo looked back at Nadir and nodded.
If Nadir wasn't wearing the mask, Toppo would be able to tell that he was smiling. "Oh, thank you, Toppo!" Nadir exclaimed. "Here, I'll give you the script."
Nadir handed Toppo several sheets of paper. As soon as he had them, Toppo nodded his head once, thanking Nadir. With that, Toppo turned around and ran out the door.
Outside, Toppo quickly turned to his right, charging down the stone steps so fast it felt like he was going to trip. At the bottom of the steps, Toppo quickly made another right, running towards the restaurant. He quickly spotted Nei and Shabon sitting at one of the tables, Shabon swinging her feet under the chair playfully. Toppo smiled as he ran towards his two female partners.
Despite what some people might have though, Toppo wasn't in love with Nei. He DID love her, but as a younger sister. He always feared for both Nei and Shabon's safety, so it gave him every right to be worried every time Nei went on a date with Roland or when Shabon went to play with some of the other kids.
Nei saw Toppo running towards the tale she and Shabon were sitting at, and smiled. "You're a little late, Toppo." Nei said as Toppo screeched to a halt beside the table.
"...Sorry..." Toppo said quietly. "...Lost track of time."
"What's that you've got in your hand, Toppo?" Shabon asked as she pointed to the several sheets of paper under Toppo's left arm.
Toppo suddenly remembered the script as he puled it out to show Nei and Shabon. "...A script." He said softly. "...Nadir gave it to me...I'm going to be playing Romeo in a few days for a special audience."
"Really?!" Shabon asked excitedly. She quickly turned to Nei. "Did you hear that, Nei?! Toppo's gonna be Romeo!"
"I heard that." Nei told Shabon with a smile. She looked up at Toppo. "Who's Juliet?"
Toppo was about to answer when he stopped. Nadir hadn't told him who was playing Juliet. Toppo looked at the cast list on the script. Apparently, the play was quite longer than normal, and had several new characters in it. He saw that Percival and Beecham were playing the guards, and Mamie the nurse. Toppo looked at who was playing Juliet, and once he did, his eyes widened.
"...Mio..."
To be continued...
Author's notes: Now, I'm sure that some of you think Toppo would be in love with Nei, but I just think that there's too big a gap in ages. From what DEL wrote on her site, Toppo is 33 and Nei is 19. In my book, that's too big an age difference. I wanted to give Toppo a girlfriend, and I figured that since Mio was closer to his age (27) and was a widow, I thought they'd make a cute couple. And I've seen some people pair Mio up with Mike. No offense, but I just think Mio deserves more that the man with the fake laugh.
Now, before you guys get on me about what I've said in the past, let me explain. Yes, I know I said I was planning to do a Juan songfic as my next Suikoden fic, but don't worry. I'll have the fic up as soon as I find the flippin' lyrics. -_-
Oh, and one more thing. DEL, is it alright if, in a future chapter, I make a reference to one of your fics? It would be your 'Unhappy Childhood' fic and I'd be writing about Guillaume being reminded of his mother. Is that alright with you?
Please read and review!
Toppo walked along the deck of Budehuc Castle's ship, hands in his pockets. He gazed over the railing, staring at the far off mountains, which wasn't hard because of the beautiful weather, which was a good change from the stormy weather from the night before. Toppo sighed happily. He always enjoyed staring at scenery like this.
Nei had taken Shabon over to Mamie's restaurant for some lunch. Toppo decided not to accompany them, as he wasn't feeling hungry. Toppo wanted to take this time for himself to wander around Budehuc and enjoy his surroundings.
As Toppo looked at the gorgeous mountains, something caught his eye. He focused on the exit to the Northern Cavern, which was somewhat difficult to do because it was so far away. Squinting and shading his eyes from the sun with his hand, Toppo managed to spot six figures standing at the cavern's edge, although the two youngest, a blue-clad male and a Karayan girl, were the only ones actually looking at the scenery. The two oldest of the six looked like they were having a heated argument, and the oldest female was trying to break them apart. The last person, a black haired man, stood aside, watching the argument.
Toppo snickered. It was just Geddoe and his team on another trek through the Northern Cavern.
The juggler decided to start walking around Budehuc castle. In fact, the ship was his first stop. Toppo turned around and walked below deck.
Below deck, Toppo noticed something he hadn't noticed when he first arrived: two children sitting against the wall. The girl was sound asleep, her head resting on the boy's shoulder.
Toppo raised an eyebrow. Rody and Belle? He always thought that Belle had a crush on Hugo. Rody's jacket was draped over her like a blanket, and Rody was gently stroking her hair. Toppo looked at the sleeping girl, wondering how she could sleep until lunch, but then again, he had no idea what Belle had gone through last night.
(A/N: Yes, I know this is a tie-in to my last Suikoden fic.)
When Rody spotted Toppo, he put his index finger to his mouth, indicating Toppo to keep quiet. A really stupid statement to someone like Toppo.
Suddenly, Toppo smiled at Rody. He gave a thumb's up and mouthed 'You da man, Rody' before turning around and walking off the ship.
Toppo walked upstairs, avoiding Ayame's silent glare. The juggler continued walking, going up to the second floor. Toppo turned to walk towards the library. On the way, he spotted Rhett place something into the suggestion box. He also spotted Melville, Alanis and Elliot reading the latest installment of 'Erk's Adventures'. Toppo continued until he got to the library door. Toppo pushed open the door and walked in.
Inside, Eike was standing close to the bookshelf, as usual. Watari was, surprisingly, sitting at a table, reading a book. Toppo spotted Ernie in her corner of the library, waving at the juggler, motioning him to come over. Toppo decided to see what the young scholar had to say, so he walked over to her.
"Toppo, I've got great news!" Ernie said quietly. "I've gotten better in my work, so I can raise your Earth Magic a level higher!"
Toppo grinned and raised an eyebrow. The better he was for using his Earth Rune, the quicker he could pull off the magic to wipe out enemies with an Earthquake or use defensive skills to protect Nei and Shabon. Almost immediately, Toppo nodded his head, telling Ernie that he wanted to raise his skill.
Using her lightning quick teaching ability, Ernie had raised Toppo's ability to use his Earth Rune. Toppo smiled and nodded once, thanking Ernie for her help.
The juggler turned around and walked towards the bookshelf, plucking an adventure novel from it. For several days, Toppo had been reading two chapters of the same novel every time he picked it up. He walked over to the table with the book and sat down across from Watari, whom was still reading his book, which turned out to be 'Romeo and Juliet'. Toppo raised an eyebrow. He never would've imagined that Watari read romance novels. As Toppo started to read the novel from chapter eleven, he heard Watari.
"Hey." Watari said, not taking his eyes off his book.
Toppo waved his left hand once, greeting the silent ninja.
Before Toppo knew it, it was quarter to one. Toppo looked up from his book and stared at the clock on the wall. When he saw the time, his eyes sprang open. He was supposed to meet Nei and Shabon at the restaurant five minutes ago! Toppo jumped from his chair, ran to the bookshelf, placed the novel back and rushed out the door, avoiding the curious stare from Eike.
Toppo bolted past Arthur's bulletin, where several of the kids in the castle had gathered to read the serial novel, and rushed down the stairs. However, once he reached the bottom of the stairs, something made him stop.
"TOPPO!"
Toppo tried to stop, but he was going so fast that it made it difficult. And the fact that he was running on the newly-polished marble floor only made it worse. Before he knew it, Toppo was on his back. The silent juggler looked at the source of the voice.
"Toppo! I've got great news!" Jefferson said as he walked from the room he made residence. "I've come up with a new title to give you!"
The juggler growled as he stood to his feet. He was NOT in the mood for another minute with Jefferson. In the blink of an eye, Toppo ripped a ball from his belt and hurled it through the air, sending it soaring straight towards the insane military man. The projectile found it's way to Jefferson's forehead, sending him to the floor. The ball bounced from Jefferson's forehead back into Toppo's hand. Toppo put the ball back as he turned around and continued running.
Toppo turned the corner that led towards the Infirmary. He figured that it would be quicker if he went through Anne's tavern and down the steps that went directly to the restaurant. Bad choice. He noticed a young woman walking out of the tavern door, reading several sheets of paper. She had brown hair and wore a nurse's outfit. Toppo's eyes sprang open as he tried to stop himself. Alas, he was still on the marble floor, so his attempts of stopping ended in vain. Toppo collided with Mio as they both fell to the floor with a dull 'thud', Mio's papers scattering everywhere.
Mio looked at who had collided with her, and the instant she saw Toppo, her eyes widened. "Toppo! Oh, I'm so sorry!" She said as she started to pick up her papers. "I should've been paying more attention to where I was going!"
"...No, I should apologize..." Toppo said softly as he helped Mio pick up her papers. He wasn't in the habit of speaking in public, but he figured that the least he could do is apologize.
Toppo picked up half of Mio's papers and handed them to her. After receiving them, Mio quickly sorted the papers she held and sighed, satisfied. She apologized to Toppo one more time before turning around and walking towards the Infirmary. Toppo watched Mio until she vanished through the Infirmary door. After she was gone, Toppo opened the door to the tavern and walked inside.
Inside the tavern, Toppo saw Anne serving drinks to Leo, Mua and Wan Fu. However, just as he was about to walk out the door, he heard yet another voice.
"Ah, Toppo!"
Toppo groaned as he turned around. He was really starting to hate these interruptions that hindered his progress to the restaurant. He saw a masked man with a coat walking up to him.
"Toppo, you're just the person I wanted to see!" Nadir stated. "I'm doing several plays in a few days, and I'm having a very special audience. I'm looking for only the best actors, and I'd like you to play the part of Romeo in 'Romeo and Juliet'."
Toppo raised an eyebrow, which told Nadir he was wondering why the director chose him.
"Although you only speak when you act, you do both with amazing skill." Nadir said. "I've done 'Romeo and Juliet' many times in the past, and from what I've seen, you're the best Romeo I've seen here."
Toppo blushed. He didn't think he was THAT good.
"In fact, everyone I've given a script to is really trying to improve their acting skills to impress my audience." Nadir paused for a few seconds. "Will you do it?"
Toppo scratched his chin, thinking the whole thing over. After a few seconds, Toppo looked back at Nadir and nodded.
If Nadir wasn't wearing the mask, Toppo would be able to tell that he was smiling. "Oh, thank you, Toppo!" Nadir exclaimed. "Here, I'll give you the script."
Nadir handed Toppo several sheets of paper. As soon as he had them, Toppo nodded his head once, thanking Nadir. With that, Toppo turned around and ran out the door.
Outside, Toppo quickly turned to his right, charging down the stone steps so fast it felt like he was going to trip. At the bottom of the steps, Toppo quickly made another right, running towards the restaurant. He quickly spotted Nei and Shabon sitting at one of the tables, Shabon swinging her feet under the chair playfully. Toppo smiled as he ran towards his two female partners.
Despite what some people might have though, Toppo wasn't in love with Nei. He DID love her, but as a younger sister. He always feared for both Nei and Shabon's safety, so it gave him every right to be worried every time Nei went on a date with Roland or when Shabon went to play with some of the other kids.
Nei saw Toppo running towards the tale she and Shabon were sitting at, and smiled. "You're a little late, Toppo." Nei said as Toppo screeched to a halt beside the table.
"...Sorry..." Toppo said quietly. "...Lost track of time."
"What's that you've got in your hand, Toppo?" Shabon asked as she pointed to the several sheets of paper under Toppo's left arm.
Toppo suddenly remembered the script as he puled it out to show Nei and Shabon. "...A script." He said softly. "...Nadir gave it to me...I'm going to be playing Romeo in a few days for a special audience."
"Really?!" Shabon asked excitedly. She quickly turned to Nei. "Did you hear that, Nei?! Toppo's gonna be Romeo!"
"I heard that." Nei told Shabon with a smile. She looked up at Toppo. "Who's Juliet?"
Toppo was about to answer when he stopped. Nadir hadn't told him who was playing Juliet. Toppo looked at the cast list on the script. Apparently, the play was quite longer than normal, and had several new characters in it. He saw that Percival and Beecham were playing the guards, and Mamie the nurse. Toppo looked at who was playing Juliet, and once he did, his eyes widened.
"...Mio..."
To be continued...
Author's notes: Now, I'm sure that some of you think Toppo would be in love with Nei, but I just think that there's too big a gap in ages. From what DEL wrote on her site, Toppo is 33 and Nei is 19. In my book, that's too big an age difference. I wanted to give Toppo a girlfriend, and I figured that since Mio was closer to his age (27) and was a widow, I thought they'd make a cute couple. And I've seen some people pair Mio up with Mike. No offense, but I just think Mio deserves more that the man with the fake laugh.
Now, before you guys get on me about what I've said in the past, let me explain. Yes, I know I said I was planning to do a Juan songfic as my next Suikoden fic, but don't worry. I'll have the fic up as soon as I find the flippin' lyrics. -_-
Oh, and one more thing. DEL, is it alright if, in a future chapter, I make a reference to one of your fics? It would be your 'Unhappy Childhood' fic and I'd be writing about Guillaume being reminded of his mother. Is that alright with you?
Please read and review!