disclaimer: I do not own Soul Calibur, Soul Edge, Taki or Sophitia. These all belong to NAMCO.
Such a pity; they won't let me have them. Oh well. But this fanfic is mine.
Requietum
by jin long
jin_long@lycos.com
Chapter 13
"I love you."
Taki stared for a very long time at the roof of the hovel. She didn't feel like moving, nor did she
feel like waking the Greek sleeping on top of her. Still not taking her gaze off the roof, she moved
a hand to Sophitia's blonde hair and began to stroke it gently. The Greek murmured in her sleep
as the fingers felt through her golden hair.
I love you, the Greek had said. Taki closed her eyes. It was almost like being in a dream, and she
wasn't even sure it wasn't such. She opened her eyes again. And they had kissed. She assured
herself that the Greek did not mean for much with that kiss. It did not mean what it meant back in
Japan.
But it was still a sign of very intimate affection. And she had returned the kiss, Taki knew.
Enthusiastically, at that. Did she have the same feelings the Greek girl had for her, she wondered.
If only the whole situation were a demon. She would have known how to deal with it and all those
emotions that just seemed to be near bursting within her. This was... this was just to much to deal
with right now.
"Do I love you too?" she wondered out loud to the sleeping Greek. She'd eschewed much human
contact over the years ever since... ever since she'd lost one of her family that was close to her.
Am I afraid, Taki thought. Am I afraid of the pain that comes when I lose someone I care about?
And what I feel for you, Sophitia - Is it protectiveness?
Is it the emotion that many say turns people into fools?
Or am I feeling guilty? Am I acknowledging what I have had in my heart and my mind for years?
Do I care for you because you are you, or because you remind me of someone? Taki let her hand
rest on Sophitia's head, breathing in slowly. It wouldn't be fair to you, Taki thought, if I appeared
to reciprocate if I really didn't.
She closed her eyes to a long-forgotten memory.
The blonde-haired, blue eyed girl was there, and she finally had a name for the memory and the
face she sometimes saw in Sophitia's own. It was someone she knew long ago, someone she
knew so well.
If she hadn't rushed her decision, if she'd paused to think... if... if... Taki breathed in deeply. She
wanted to forget so badly. She wanted to lock that memory and the emotion she'd felt so long
ago deep in the furthest reaches of her heart.
Foreigners, she thought. Foreigners on Japanese shores. There's a reason, a reason they are
killed...No, how can I think such things?! It was my fault, my fault for... for being too human. For
feeling...
Taki pushed the emotion associated with the memory back into the depths of her mind. Easing
herself out from under Sophitia, Taki located the upper half of her clothes and dressed quickly,
as if to not lose herself in her thoughts. She breathed softly, running her fingers down her stitched
wound, then turned to leave.
She paused briefly, then turned to eye Sophitia, still completely asleep. Without a word, she walked
back to the Greek and eased her up until her head rested on the pillow. Taki then raised the blanket
to Sophitia's shoulders, tucking it in snugly around the Greek, who mumbled in her sleep but didn't
wake.
Satisfied that Sophitia would be warm for the moment, Taki exited the room and then the hovel.
------------------------
Sophitia found her under a tree, seated and lost in her thoughts. Taki didn't flinch as the Greek sat
down beside her, barely even taking notice. She didn't feel like talking. What would she say anyway,
Taki wondered. What would she tell this girl? She couldn't find anything to talk about, so she kept
herself thinking.
She could sense an aura of nervousness about Sophitia. So, maybe she hadn't been dreaming after
all, if how this Greek was acting was any indication of it.
She continued watching the village folk go about their daily business as she remained still as the
stones at her feet. She'd been practicing her katas earlier, trying to push the emotions from her
heart and the memories from her mind. Taki had quit after a while, as it didn't seem to work.
Most of all, she was trying to seal away the emotions and the feelings she knew she had for this
foreigner at her side.
Why was it so different with Sophitia? Why did she even care what Sophitia felt, Taki wondered.
During that journey she'd undertaken, she hadn't cared what anybody else had felt. Not even when
she was in Japan did it matter what other people felt for her. Kill a demon, have some fun with
someone, then depart come the crack of dawn and leave someone with a broken heart - it had
always been like that, and she hadn't cared to change that.
She looked at Sophitia briefly, still at a loss for words. Was it worth it, anyway, to care for someone? Was
it worth it if it was so easy for them to die? I am a wanderer anyway, Taki thought. No commitment, in and
out of anyone's life as I please. And I like it that way.
You are afraid, her mind told her. Don't lie to yourself.
Afraid?
Yes, her mind replied. You are. Because it hurts, doesn't it? To lose someone who means so much to you,
and by your own hand at that. You don't want to feel the pain of loss again.
Taki heard Sophitia shift her position. "This is... very uncomfortable, isn't it?" The Greek picked up a blade
of grass and eyed it idly. "It's totally pointless, isn't it? I'm..." Sophitia sighed. "I... it was ridiculous..."
Taki turned to the Greek, already sensing that Sophitia had already set herself up for rejection. No,
Taki almost replied. Who wouldn't want to love and be loved by you? She stared for a moment at the
Greek, watching Sophitia's blonde hair as the breeze caused it to flutter in the air.
"I mean, I... I totally understand... I..." Sophitia began to stammer, an obvious sign of nervousness.
"I guess... I guess I would be too..."
"Sophitia."
The Greek abruptly stopped speaking as Taki stood up. "Let's go for a walk, okay?" the ninja asked.
--------------------
The sun was setting as they walked through the fields, the soft breeze blowing through their hair. Taki ran
a hand through her ebony hair, wondering what to say as the Greek came up beside her. She squinted at
the setting sun, asking the kami, if they were here in this foreign land, for guidance. She needed it so much
right now.
"It's been a long time," she heard herself say.
From the corner of her eye she saw Sophitia looking up at her, listening intently. Then she heard herself
continue. "When I was younger, a foreigner much like you came into my life. I'll never forget. She had
blonde hair and blue eyes, just like you, Sophitia. I remember so well..."
-------------------
Foreigners were often killed if they were found on Japanese shores. But not this girl. Toki had taken
her from the sea and had taken her as his own. At first, Taki had not taken to her, unlike many of
her adopted siblings. Maybe it was because the girl was younger than her, at least by a year.
Eventually, however, she had come to love this foreigner, Aoi they called her, as a sister would.
She helped to train this blonde child as she did the other orphans Toki took in. Such was the duty
of those who were older among the Fuuma ninja. The girl seemed to have the talent Toki always
searched for in his students, and she was indeed exceptional in skill despite being of foreign blood.
Time passed, and the time for her first demon hunt had arrived. It was the first time she took Rekki-
maru in her hands, Taki remembered. The unholy entity had taken to a palace of a long-forgotten
aristocrat and had preyed upon a nearby village.
The battle had been awesome, to say the least, an almost daunting venture. It was the first time she'd
ever battled a demon, and the same could be said of her siblings. After so much struggle they had finally
weakened the wrathful entity and she was about to deal the final blow.
But it had fooled them. As soon as her blade entered the demon's heart it possessed Aoi, taking full
control of the girl's body and mind. Employing the skills it had stolen, it set itself upon the rest of the
Fuuma ninja. Taki could only watch as some of her family were slain, for she could not raise her blade
against her own sibling, as her brothers and other sisters could not do as well. Even Toki, he of the cold
words and actions, could not stand against one of his favorite pupils and daughters.
It was an unbearable situation. There was only one way to kill the demon now, and that was to kill Aoi.
It was a choice of which of her family to save - the lone girl, or the only man she called father and her
other siblings. With a flash of the blade the decision was made, and Taki felt the tears form in her eyes
as Aoi fell upon her, Rekki-maru deep in the blonde girl's heart.
"I always thought I was weak. Too weak to kill demons. And once it discovered that one thought, that
one truly fragile link, it had me." Aoi's words echoed in her ears. "I'm sorry, Taki. So sorry for
everything. So sorry for not believing both you and master."
She died for thinking she was too weak to kill.
And she had been Taki's first kill, demon or otherwise.
--------------------
"Taki....." Sophitia whispered.
Taki breathed in deeply. "You see, it isn't you. Who would not want to be loved by you?" Her fingers
twitched out of nervousness by her side. "It's me. I... I've been afraid for so many years... I..." Taki
took a deep breath, exhaled, then continued. "I stopped caring for other people. I did not want to
invest my emotions in someone because..... because in this world, it is so easy for anyone to die."
She turned to Sophitia and reached for the Greek's hand, taking it in both of her own. "I thought...
I thought I'd forgotten... I wanted to forget....." Taki breathed softly, trying to steady herself. "But
then I met you and you... you grew on me, and then you told me you loved me... I..."
Taki closed her eyes. "Everything..... everything is so difficult right now..... My own clan wants to kill me,
and I'm afraid if I get attached to you, I....." She gulped. "Sophitia..... I love you. Even if you will be gone
from me when we get to Greece... I..."
"I'm willing, just this once, to risk my emotions for someone on my journey," she finished, looking into
the Greek's azure eyes. "I don't want to be afraid anymore....."
Taki leaned closer to Sophitia such that their lips were almost touching. She could feel Sophitia's warm
breath on her skin, and it felt wonderful. The Greek girl's hands travelled the spread of her back, her skin
tingling where Sophitia's fingers touched. Sophitia then raised one of her hands to Taki's face, stroking the
ninja's cheek gently.
Taki did the same, stroking the Greek's cheek as well, gazing into Sophitia's sapphire-blue eyes, feeling
contentment at the young foreigner's gentle smile. "I love you, Taki," Sophitia said, blushing slightly at
how close their faces were. Then, she closed her eyes and raised her lips to Taki's own.
They kissed very tenderly and softly, lost in the breeze and the feel of the fading sun's warmth.
*jin long's notes*
for once, i don't have much to say other than --- have a look and review my other fic, Calibur Academy!
go, speed racer. go, speed racer. go, speed racer, GO!
Such a pity; they won't let me have them. Oh well. But this fanfic is mine.
Requietum
by jin long
jin_long@lycos.com
Chapter 13
"I love you."
Taki stared for a very long time at the roof of the hovel. She didn't feel like moving, nor did she
feel like waking the Greek sleeping on top of her. Still not taking her gaze off the roof, she moved
a hand to Sophitia's blonde hair and began to stroke it gently. The Greek murmured in her sleep
as the fingers felt through her golden hair.
I love you, the Greek had said. Taki closed her eyes. It was almost like being in a dream, and she
wasn't even sure it wasn't such. She opened her eyes again. And they had kissed. She assured
herself that the Greek did not mean for much with that kiss. It did not mean what it meant back in
Japan.
But it was still a sign of very intimate affection. And she had returned the kiss, Taki knew.
Enthusiastically, at that. Did she have the same feelings the Greek girl had for her, she wondered.
If only the whole situation were a demon. She would have known how to deal with it and all those
emotions that just seemed to be near bursting within her. This was... this was just to much to deal
with right now.
"Do I love you too?" she wondered out loud to the sleeping Greek. She'd eschewed much human
contact over the years ever since... ever since she'd lost one of her family that was close to her.
Am I afraid, Taki thought. Am I afraid of the pain that comes when I lose someone I care about?
And what I feel for you, Sophitia - Is it protectiveness?
Is it the emotion that many say turns people into fools?
Or am I feeling guilty? Am I acknowledging what I have had in my heart and my mind for years?
Do I care for you because you are you, or because you remind me of someone? Taki let her hand
rest on Sophitia's head, breathing in slowly. It wouldn't be fair to you, Taki thought, if I appeared
to reciprocate if I really didn't.
She closed her eyes to a long-forgotten memory.
The blonde-haired, blue eyed girl was there, and she finally had a name for the memory and the
face she sometimes saw in Sophitia's own. It was someone she knew long ago, someone she
knew so well.
If she hadn't rushed her decision, if she'd paused to think... if... if... Taki breathed in deeply. She
wanted to forget so badly. She wanted to lock that memory and the emotion she'd felt so long
ago deep in the furthest reaches of her heart.
Foreigners, she thought. Foreigners on Japanese shores. There's a reason, a reason they are
killed...No, how can I think such things?! It was my fault, my fault for... for being too human. For
feeling...
Taki pushed the emotion associated with the memory back into the depths of her mind. Easing
herself out from under Sophitia, Taki located the upper half of her clothes and dressed quickly,
as if to not lose herself in her thoughts. She breathed softly, running her fingers down her stitched
wound, then turned to leave.
She paused briefly, then turned to eye Sophitia, still completely asleep. Without a word, she walked
back to the Greek and eased her up until her head rested on the pillow. Taki then raised the blanket
to Sophitia's shoulders, tucking it in snugly around the Greek, who mumbled in her sleep but didn't
wake.
Satisfied that Sophitia would be warm for the moment, Taki exited the room and then the hovel.
------------------------
Sophitia found her under a tree, seated and lost in her thoughts. Taki didn't flinch as the Greek sat
down beside her, barely even taking notice. She didn't feel like talking. What would she say anyway,
Taki wondered. What would she tell this girl? She couldn't find anything to talk about, so she kept
herself thinking.
She could sense an aura of nervousness about Sophitia. So, maybe she hadn't been dreaming after
all, if how this Greek was acting was any indication of it.
She continued watching the village folk go about their daily business as she remained still as the
stones at her feet. She'd been practicing her katas earlier, trying to push the emotions from her
heart and the memories from her mind. Taki had quit after a while, as it didn't seem to work.
Most of all, she was trying to seal away the emotions and the feelings she knew she had for this
foreigner at her side.
Why was it so different with Sophitia? Why did she even care what Sophitia felt, Taki wondered.
During that journey she'd undertaken, she hadn't cared what anybody else had felt. Not even when
she was in Japan did it matter what other people felt for her. Kill a demon, have some fun with
someone, then depart come the crack of dawn and leave someone with a broken heart - it had
always been like that, and she hadn't cared to change that.
She looked at Sophitia briefly, still at a loss for words. Was it worth it, anyway, to care for someone? Was
it worth it if it was so easy for them to die? I am a wanderer anyway, Taki thought. No commitment, in and
out of anyone's life as I please. And I like it that way.
You are afraid, her mind told her. Don't lie to yourself.
Afraid?
Yes, her mind replied. You are. Because it hurts, doesn't it? To lose someone who means so much to you,
and by your own hand at that. You don't want to feel the pain of loss again.
Taki heard Sophitia shift her position. "This is... very uncomfortable, isn't it?" The Greek picked up a blade
of grass and eyed it idly. "It's totally pointless, isn't it? I'm..." Sophitia sighed. "I... it was ridiculous..."
Taki turned to the Greek, already sensing that Sophitia had already set herself up for rejection. No,
Taki almost replied. Who wouldn't want to love and be loved by you? She stared for a moment at the
Greek, watching Sophitia's blonde hair as the breeze caused it to flutter in the air.
"I mean, I... I totally understand... I..." Sophitia began to stammer, an obvious sign of nervousness.
"I guess... I guess I would be too..."
"Sophitia."
The Greek abruptly stopped speaking as Taki stood up. "Let's go for a walk, okay?" the ninja asked.
--------------------
The sun was setting as they walked through the fields, the soft breeze blowing through their hair. Taki ran
a hand through her ebony hair, wondering what to say as the Greek came up beside her. She squinted at
the setting sun, asking the kami, if they were here in this foreign land, for guidance. She needed it so much
right now.
"It's been a long time," she heard herself say.
From the corner of her eye she saw Sophitia looking up at her, listening intently. Then she heard herself
continue. "When I was younger, a foreigner much like you came into my life. I'll never forget. She had
blonde hair and blue eyes, just like you, Sophitia. I remember so well..."
-------------------
Foreigners were often killed if they were found on Japanese shores. But not this girl. Toki had taken
her from the sea and had taken her as his own. At first, Taki had not taken to her, unlike many of
her adopted siblings. Maybe it was because the girl was younger than her, at least by a year.
Eventually, however, she had come to love this foreigner, Aoi they called her, as a sister would.
She helped to train this blonde child as she did the other orphans Toki took in. Such was the duty
of those who were older among the Fuuma ninja. The girl seemed to have the talent Toki always
searched for in his students, and she was indeed exceptional in skill despite being of foreign blood.
Time passed, and the time for her first demon hunt had arrived. It was the first time she took Rekki-
maru in her hands, Taki remembered. The unholy entity had taken to a palace of a long-forgotten
aristocrat and had preyed upon a nearby village.
The battle had been awesome, to say the least, an almost daunting venture. It was the first time she'd
ever battled a demon, and the same could be said of her siblings. After so much struggle they had finally
weakened the wrathful entity and she was about to deal the final blow.
But it had fooled them. As soon as her blade entered the demon's heart it possessed Aoi, taking full
control of the girl's body and mind. Employing the skills it had stolen, it set itself upon the rest of the
Fuuma ninja. Taki could only watch as some of her family were slain, for she could not raise her blade
against her own sibling, as her brothers and other sisters could not do as well. Even Toki, he of the cold
words and actions, could not stand against one of his favorite pupils and daughters.
It was an unbearable situation. There was only one way to kill the demon now, and that was to kill Aoi.
It was a choice of which of her family to save - the lone girl, or the only man she called father and her
other siblings. With a flash of the blade the decision was made, and Taki felt the tears form in her eyes
as Aoi fell upon her, Rekki-maru deep in the blonde girl's heart.
"I always thought I was weak. Too weak to kill demons. And once it discovered that one thought, that
one truly fragile link, it had me." Aoi's words echoed in her ears. "I'm sorry, Taki. So sorry for
everything. So sorry for not believing both you and master."
She died for thinking she was too weak to kill.
And she had been Taki's first kill, demon or otherwise.
--------------------
"Taki....." Sophitia whispered.
Taki breathed in deeply. "You see, it isn't you. Who would not want to be loved by you?" Her fingers
twitched out of nervousness by her side. "It's me. I... I've been afraid for so many years... I..." Taki
took a deep breath, exhaled, then continued. "I stopped caring for other people. I did not want to
invest my emotions in someone because..... because in this world, it is so easy for anyone to die."
She turned to Sophitia and reached for the Greek's hand, taking it in both of her own. "I thought...
I thought I'd forgotten... I wanted to forget....." Taki breathed softly, trying to steady herself. "But
then I met you and you... you grew on me, and then you told me you loved me... I..."
Taki closed her eyes. "Everything..... everything is so difficult right now..... My own clan wants to kill me,
and I'm afraid if I get attached to you, I....." She gulped. "Sophitia..... I love you. Even if you will be gone
from me when we get to Greece... I..."
"I'm willing, just this once, to risk my emotions for someone on my journey," she finished, looking into
the Greek's azure eyes. "I don't want to be afraid anymore....."
Taki leaned closer to Sophitia such that their lips were almost touching. She could feel Sophitia's warm
breath on her skin, and it felt wonderful. The Greek girl's hands travelled the spread of her back, her skin
tingling where Sophitia's fingers touched. Sophitia then raised one of her hands to Taki's face, stroking the
ninja's cheek gently.
Taki did the same, stroking the Greek's cheek as well, gazing into Sophitia's sapphire-blue eyes, feeling
contentment at the young foreigner's gentle smile. "I love you, Taki," Sophitia said, blushing slightly at
how close their faces were. Then, she closed her eyes and raised her lips to Taki's own.
They kissed very tenderly and softly, lost in the breeze and the feel of the fading sun's warmth.
*jin long's notes*
for once, i don't have much to say other than --- have a look and review my other fic, Calibur Academy!
go, speed racer. go, speed racer. go, speed racer, GO!