Chapter 1: Making Up For Lost Time

I don't own Shadow Hearts, Alice Elliot or Yuri Hyuga, damn it all!

Nemeton Monastery, outside of Aberystwyth, stood on a craggy cliff overlooking the far western shores of Wales; below, the Irish Sea crashed and pounded its eternal ire against the cliff wall.  The monastery's imposing structure, built up over the centuries, had seen pagan, priest and prisoner.  In its last incarnation the buildings, constructed on an ancient pagan worship site, had gone from a prison to become a home for Patrick Haywood and his wife Elaine and degenerated into a carnal pit of torture and murder.  Finally the history of Nemeton came to an end with a devastating fire that destroyed the church, leaving only wrack and ruin as a legacy.  The spirits of this vitiated holy place had been exorcised and the greater ones sealed over a decade ago, but a few lingered on, developing a thirst and hunger for the living.  Thus when the newcomers arrived at the main underground entrance, they were met with an assortment of foes. 

            Yuri Hyuga, Harmonixer and Fusionist, cursed and grumbled as he methodically eliminated each dead or cursed spirit that attacked his small party.  Neither of his companions was equipped to handle either the strength of these foes or their magic.  Darkness class magicks, Light class magicks; both were used nearly exclusively against him.  Being Darkness class he had his vulnerabilities, but as he was also a fusionist he didn't worry, however his young companion Halley, as a young Air class warlock was not strong enough to resist the negative energies used by the creatures.  That is where Alice came in.  Alice was a Light class Exorcist but was barely strong enough to handle what came at her, however she did have the magickal ability to resuscitate the recently demised; a handy skill in this line of work!

            They methodically checked each cavern opening and narrow corridor that presented itself; they knew that the warlock Albert Simon and his prisoner, Koudelka Iasant, were somewhere ahead in the underground remains of Nemeton, but the exact location was unknown.  Moreover they discovered that magickal seals had been placed that they had to undo in order to progress further into the ruins.  This frustrated Yuri no end as his patience was nonexistent.  But both Alice and Halley patiently worked to decipher the cryptic notes left by Koudelka almost fifteen years before, in order to open the way ahead.  One such seal puzzled them both, a scarlet seal set on a  natural bowl of boiling water; it was Yuri's idle scraping of the dirt covered floor that gave Alice the clue they needed to open it.  Yuri received for his unknowing inspiration a small black stone.  Alice had refused to touch it, its mere presence disturbing her with its negative energies.  But Yuri merely shrugged and put it in his trench coat pocket.  That stone would later gain him a powerful fusion monster.  But that would be after they fought Albert Simon.  And Simon himself would not be an easy win; he was also of Darkness class, and a powerful warlock who had been around this world for nearly 700 years.  Furthermore he had plans to wipe out all life on earth, to "remake this vile world in God's image".  He had to be stopped and Yuri and his friends were there to do just that. 

            The combat did not go as they had expected.   Their initial goal of freeing Halley's mother Koudelka succeeded.  However in the combat to stop Simon, the magickal energies released fueled a signaling device that Albert had been trying to raise with Koudelka's unwilling assistance:  The Float, Neameeto.  This ancient temple or "float" as Simon called it, would signal a God from the Outer Reaches; a God of Judgment on all mankind and humanity's ultimate destruction.  And with a taunting laugh, the warlock Simon issued his ultimatum: seven days until God descends to Earth; seven days to live.

            However, Yuri and his companions put paid to Simon's plans.  Yuri put an end to Simon himself, killing the Cardinal turned warlock with his own hands, and then turned to face the Meta-god that Simon had summoned.  That threat too they removed.  Bloodstained, tattered and exhausted, the troupe returned to Earth and a return to their abandoned lives.  A little over a year had passed since their adventure had begun and they were anxious to return to whatever paths they were traveling; all except Yuri.

            He followed Alice.  He had protected and cherished her for the past year, not daring to hope that she had any feelings for him.  True, he had admitted his juvenile feelings to the young exorcist while they were at Nemeton, but she had not responded. However she did ask him to return to Zurich with her to meet her mother.  He thought at first it was just that, meeting the surviving parent, but as they boarded the ferry to France he took matters into his own hands.

            The wind was blowing stiffly in the channel and Yuri, never one for water crossings, was hanging over the side of the ferry threatening the fish with his lunch.  Alice sat in a deck chair behind him, watching him sway too and fro with the ship and wondering silently to herself how long it would be before Yuri got his sea legs.  So far, in crossing the channel twice it hadn't happened.  But she remembered he hadn't faired well in crossing the Yellow Sea in China either. 

            "Yuri, why don't you lie down; you might feel better."

            Yuri groaned and gurgled in response, but turned around, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

            "I'll be all right; nothing left now," he said with a sheepish grin. 

            "I told you not to eat kippers before we sailed," Alice said with a grin.  "But you wouldn't listen."

            Yuri chuckled.  "Yeah, well you know me."

            "Uh-huh," Alice said.  "Stubborn."  Alice's sharp comment was mitigated by her warm smile.  "Well, come sit by me at least; you'll still be close to the railing."

            Yuri grinned affably before joining her on a deck chair.

            "Sorry, Alice.  I listen next time, all right?" Yuri offered, thick traces of his Russian accent making itself heard.

            Alice nodded.

            "Actually, there is something I wanna ask you, since we're on the way to meet your mama," Yuri started, looking askance at the beautiful girl sitting next to him.  He liked being close to Alice but often found her proximity a major bodily distraction.

            "What is that, Yuri?"  Alice looked up at her friend and could not help smiling again; his hair had grown longer these past few weeks and now looked like a messy brown mop; and his eyes which, tending toward amber most of the time and occasionally changing to reddish black - but mostly when he used his fusion ability - were now looking at the deck while his hands, scarred and bruised from fighting, fretted with a loose thread on his trench coat.

            "Well, I kinda wanted to …" he looked up to see Alice's ice-blue eyes staring at him and his knees got weak.  'Good thing I'm sittin' down,' he thought.  "Well, it's just that …" the soft lips that resembled a flower bud opened and he felt his heart skip a beat before settling into a rapid tattoo.  'Oh God, I can't do this,' he turned away and looked out at the ocean swells of the channel and felt queasy.  'No, I can't look there either, damn!'  Finally he looked up at the lady and offered a lopsided grin.

            "I'm not very good at this stuff," he said, and reached into the pocket of his trench coat and pulled out a small paper wrapped box.  "If you'll have this …" he dropped it into Alice's hands.

            Alice looked down at the small box.  Slowly she opened it and gasped when the gray light of day reflected on a small diamond ring.

            "Yuri!"

            "Yeah, I know it's not much; I couldn't get a bigger one … I spent all my money on supplies for the trip to the Float.  But … well, if it's okay with you, I'd like to give it to you, 'cause …" his voice faded to soft mumbling.

            Alice removed the ring and held it in her hand, looking from it to Yuri who had once more bowed his head. 

            "Yuri, this is … this is an engagement ring!"

            "Yeah, I know," he said, voice muffled.  "The clerk tol' me."

            Alice swallowed, thinking how best to handle this; Yuri was not one to make speeches, could barely articulate his feelings at the best of times.  This must be killing him!  Finally she took one of his hands and placed the ring in it, giving it back to him.

            Yuri looked down at the tiny thing, his heart lurching in his chest.

            "Yuri … I – I think it would be better if …"

            "You don't want it, do you!" he said suddenly.

            "No, it's not that!" Alice said quickly, forestalling an outburst.  "I just think it would be better if you put it on my finger," and she offered her left hand, fingers open to accept the ring.

            Yuri looked at the hand, then down to the ring and then chuckled.  "I'm so stupid sometimes!" he laughed and then placed the ring on her finger.

            "Will ya marry me, Alice?" he finally asked.

            For her part, Alice was grinning, her eyes sparkling with the first happiness she had felt since before her father's murder over a year ago.

            "Yes, Yuri.  I will."

            The rest of the trip to France was lost for Yuri; he spent it alternately staring at Alice and staring at his hands.  He'd never been this nervous or excited before.  He'd actually asked her to marry him; and she had said yes!  His heart raced and his breathing sometimes stopped altogether until he'd mentally start and order himself to breath.  Altogether it was a wonder he survived to dock at La Havre.

            Alice took their paltry baggage, Yuri's small satchel and her carpet bag, and led the way to the train station, Yuri staggering behind her, just grateful to be on dry land.  Once aboard Yuri, apologizing for everything he had never done stretched out on the seat and fell sound asleep.  Alice sat next to him, her shoulder acting as a pillow for Yuri's head, and read from her book.

            When they arrived at Rouen they quickly transferred trains and were on their way to Paris.  Yuri grumbled a little over the precipitousness of the train travel, but was placated when Alice reminded him they would have a full day to wander Paris before their train departed for Zurich.  As the train pulled out of Rouen, Yuri plied Alice with questions about Paris; where to eat, where to sight-see, where to walk hand in hand and smooch.  Alice giggled, especially over Yuri's desire to 'neck', but promised they would visit some lovely spots before their train left.

            "Good, 'cause I need to stake my claim before we get to your mama's, 'cause I'm sure she won't let me once we're there," he said with his usual lopsided grin.  Alice frowned at the 'staked claim' comment but let it slide, knowing Yuri's command of English was little better than a ten year old, curse words not-with-standing.  It had been a miracle of cooperation that the group had ever understood each other!  Fortunately they all shared at least one language in common and Margarete and Yuri could often be heard nattering in Russian or Japanese.  Alice was glad Margarete had been such a good friend to Yuri, sharing closeness with the young fusionist that must have made their long trip from China a blessing instead of a curse.  Alice had often stomped her feet in frustration trying to get a point across to Yuri, who just could not or would not understand.  She knew quite well he wasn't as stupid as he pretended to be, but often found his real stupidity endearing. 

            Finally the train pulled into Paris, and Alice jostled Yuri awake from his second nap.  He mumbled an expletive, realized slowly where he was and apologized for the swear word.  Alice ignored the whole thing, well used to the fact that, as Yuri admitted, he was not a morning person.  Instead she snagged the baggage and headed off the train, letting Yuri follow at his own speed. 

            The morning was well along and the sky, although a bit hazy, was still clear and beautiful.  Paris in early fall was just as beautiful as in the spring and Alice sniffed the air, catching the scents of flowers, new-cut grass and confections. Yuri joined her and she handed the bags to him and started off at a quick walk.

            "Hey!  Why so fast?" Yuri asked, fumbling with the bags.

            "It smells heavenly and I want some.  Come on!"  Alice was out of the station and half way down the block before Yuri could catch up with her.

            "What is so damned important, woman?" he growled but when Alice smacked him with the back of her hand he relented.  "Okay, what is so important, Alice?" he said again.

            "Confections.  I smell confections and coffee.  I have dreamed of them since China," the diminutive exorcist said with a nearly rapturous expression on her face.

            "Con – confessions?" Yuri asked.

            "You'll love them!"

            The train station faced the Place de Columbie and Alice made quick strides toward the small shops located a block away on Rue Guy de Maupassant; there she found the tantalizing fragrance of which she had dreamed.  A small confectionary serving fresh baked éclairs and Italian coffee, served hot, thick and with cream and sugar.  Alice's mouth was watering as she stepped into the small shop, her nose twitching with the delectable scents offered up by the baker.  After a few moments she emerged to take a table and Yuri joined her.  He shoved their bags under the small table and looked at Alice, inspecting her like a bug.

            "Are you all right?  You are behaving strangely, Alice."

            "Trust me, Yuri.  You'll like this," she said and then smiled as the waiter brought their tray with éclairs and coffee.

            Alice picked up a small chocolate and cream éclair and bit into it, the chocolate coating her lips and the cream oozing out to dribble down her chin.  Yuri watched this in fascination, even to running his finger down her chin to catch the drips.  Alice smiled and offered him a bite.

            "Uhm, I'm not sure about this," he said, scowling as more cream filling dribbled down onto the china plate.

            "Try it, please," Alice begged.

            With trepidation Yuri took the offered confection and cautiously brought it to his nose to sniff it.  When the smell of chocolate and cream didn't offend, he bit into it.  Instantly his face was covered in warm melting chocolate and the cream filling was pouring over his chin.  Alice giggled at the sight, confirmed in her estimation that Yuri was not a neat eater.  For his part, Yuri took another bite, chewing thoughtfully, running his tongue over and through the mess of chocolate, pastry and cream before slipping out and catching a few dribbles as they ran down his chin, further smearing himself.

            "Uhmmm, good," he mumbled through the mess.

            "See.  Just like 1000 year old eggs," Alice said with a laugh.  "Have to try it, Yuri.  Now try the coffee."

            Yuri watched as Alice put a few drops of cream into her small cup of black liquid, and then added a generous spoonful of sugar.  She then took a small sip, eyes half-lidded in pleasure.

            "This is one of God's permissible sins, I think," she said.  "The coffee, not necessarily the pastry," she said then giggled.  "Come on Yuri, drink!"

            Yuri put down the remainder of his pastry and picked up the small china cup, swirling the contents before drinking down the entire cup in one gulp.

            "Yuri!"

            Yuri's expression slowly changed from curiosity to shock as the strong dark liquid hit him; suddenly his heart was racing and he tossed down the cup, gripping the edge of the table, his face a ruddy color.  After a moment he caught his breath and scowled at Alice.

            "Dirty trick, Alice.  What the hell was that?"

            "Espresso coffee.  It's a treat, Yuri, and very popular."

            Yuri wiped his face with his coat sleeve and looked at the small upended cup lying on the table.  "My heart is beating really hard; it's poison!" he exclaimed.

            "No, it's not.  It's coffee.  It does that.  It will pass.  Just sip it next time," Alice said and demonstrated with a small sip of her own cup.  But Yuri refused to drink anymore of the concoction, being content instead to watch the young ladies walking down the street, the cute young waitress serving the next table over and, of course, Alice.  The first one Alice ignored, but when she noticed Yuri's eyes widen at the young serving girl's backside, her foot met Yuri's shin and that worthy winced.

            "You're engaged now, Yuri."

            "Just 'cause I ain't buyin' doesn't mean I can't look," he grumbled.  Too late he realized Alice heard and he hung his head.  "I didn't mean it that way."

            Alice scowled at him, her blue eyes flashing icicles.  "Yes you did.  I would rather you be truthful and honest, Yuri."

            "But what did truth and honest ever get me?" he said, thinking back over fourteen years of fending for himself; neither truthful nor honest had played a part in his life at all.  But Alice didn't know that.

            Rising, Alice put some coins on the table.  "Truth and Honesty are the foundations of relationships, Yuri, including marriage.  And I would rather not argue.  Let's try to enjoy the day, shall we?"

            Yuri nodded and took up their bags and followed Alice out along the boulevard.

            The freighter Long Chance out of America had pulled into the port just after sunrise, the local icebreaker crunching an opening in the clogged harbor.  The local dockworkers and longshoremen were already lined up waiting for work assignments, and they weren't alone.  A few of the local women were there as well, ready and willing to offer up their skills for any willing sailor with money.  And behind and through the entire crowd were the urchins, no few of whom were pickpockets and thieves.  One tousled haired boy stood a little apart, watching the movements of the crowd, checking their feelings.  This time of year it was rare to find a ship in port; the ice flows were usually blocking the harbor until well into late March or early April; to use the expensive icebreakers must mean more than just cargo.  The boy, barely thirteen, lean and dressed in over-sized men's work clothes, moved down from his hiding place beside a stack of pallets.  He was momentarily exposed to all eyes before he ducked into the shadows next to the Harbormaster's office.  Here he waited and listened; if he could trade with some dock worker for a few hours of hard work on the ship, he might be able to eat today. 

            He listened carefully as the Master went over the ship's cargo manifest with the Mate, itemizing which things needed to be unloaded first from which holds.  There were crates and pallets with bolts of cloth, foodstuffs and liquor. There were barrels of oil and that rarest of rarities, passengers.  Along with the cargo, the captain had the newest arrivals to Siberia's frozen shores, the American consul.  His visit would be short, but rather than wait for the passenger liner to arrive next month, he had bought passage for his wife and daughter on the freighter in order to get a head start on his work.  Vladivostok was not his favorite stop, so the sooner he finished, the better, to his mind.

            The boy listened and nodded; that explained the early arrival.  Then he heard the other news the Mate brought.  Japan and Russia had been exchanging words for months; the Japanese wanted the Russians out of China, wanted concessions in Asia and the maintenance of the railroad; the Russians were not interested in listening.  To the Captain of the freighter, it looked like war was coming.  To Yuri Ivanovich this was not good news.  Yuri, who had another name which he never spoke, who never spoke in the other language he had known since birth, the language of his father, began to worry.  Life had been difficult enough these past two years since his arrival in Vladivostok.  He had run afoul of gangs, thieves and the local authorities more times than he could count; and now the army or navy?  Yuri shook his head.  Maybe it was time to move on; maybe to Dal'negorsk or inland to Ussuriysk or maybe Changchun in China.  He had left Ussuriysk two years past and maybe they wouldn't recognize him but if they did --?  There would be time to think of that later, for now he needed work.  His stomach growled, putting a punctuation mark on that thought. 

            Slipping back toward the crowd, Yuri slid into line with some burly workers, hiding himself between their larger frames.  The workers didn't seem to mind, he was only a boy after all, and their larger sizes afforded him shelter from dangerous eyes.  He managed to convince another workman to allow him some labor, and for a few hours that day he lumped cargo, stacked crates and ran errands.  By the time of early sundown he had made a few Roubles and, clutching those coins for dear life, fled the port for the back streets and alleys.  He had a small room that offered shelter and no more in the back of an old church; the church had long lain derelict and, even if Yuri gained a small satisfaction at using the once hated building, it still was a church; no heat, no running water and no light. But Yuri Ivanovich could survive without those amenities; he had done so for three years, since the death of his mother left him abandoned in winter.  His father was … well, Yuri did not know, but he vacillated between wanting to find him and wanting to kill him for abandoning him and his mother to the monsters.

            Pulling out the thin blanket he kept stashed under a box in a dark corner of the church cellar, he wrapped up and began to eat; the bread was stale and the potato nearly rotten, but it was better than nothing and was all he was likely to get in this horrible city.   The shop keeper made a point of not serving the urchins and orphans that ran the back alleys, which made him a target for more than one gang of kids, but Yuri had always been fair with him so he got what leftovers were available.  When Yuri first arrived in Vladivostok he had run with such a gang, until he realized that he was low man on their support list; meaning anything he earned went to someone else and he got nothing. The first time he refused to turn over his earnings he got the crap beat out of him, and he now kept a low profile.  Pyotr, the leader of the local thugs, had it in for him and Yuri dared take no chances; one on one fighting he could handle and could probably beat the little snot, but where Pyotr went the rest of his gang went too, and twenty to one odds were too steep.  Finishing the bread and potato in a few bites, he curled up as small as he could and went to sleep.  Tomorrow was another day and he needed to be out early in order to find work.

            Work found him the next day as he made his way to the docks.  There would be no cargo lumping for him this morning; instead he caught sight of a carriage pulling up to the hotel.  From the warm interior of the hotel came several people, one a woman; it was she who mounted the carriage and bade the driver take her … Yuri could not make out the location.  But where his ears failed him, his eyes did not.  Hanging from underneath the carriage struts Yuri could make out a large shadow; the carriage had an unknown passenger.  Yuri knew instantly that it had to be one of the local thieves and knew that the woman was in danger.  They would not hesitate to snuff her if she struggled.  More than likely they would take her valuables and if she was worth something, demand a ransom.  Yuri was sure the only woman worth anything in that hotel was the consul's wife or daughter.    And as the carriage pulled away Yuri slipped back into a side street, eyes scanning quickly for a dark doorway.

            It was chancy, doing it during the day.  The sky was not bright this morning, with clouds scudding across the expanse of forever, bringing in the promise of more snow.  But even clouds could not conceal an apparition as it darted and flew from rooftop to rooftop following a carriage on the street below.  With its dark, evil visage, red eyes and black leathery wings, Yuri's monster was a major cause of alarm.  It was what had driven him from Ussuriysk two years before.  He had used the monster to free himself from the local authorities, their chains and whips no match for his monster's strength and cunning.  His escape had not been without hazard or death however, and he knew that if anyone spotted him here, word would spread and the hue and cry would begin again. 

            Flying and leaping from roof to roof, the monster crossed the town quickly, following the carriage.  Finally it came to a halt and Yuri watched as the lady stepped down and into trouble.  The area was not unsavory; however it was not highly trafficked at this hour and the woman, the daughter actually, found herself surrounded by toughs.  One came from below the carriage, while two more joined from each of the side streets; a total of five thieves and all from Pyotr's gang. 

            Yuri hesitated on the roof across the street from the carriage.  It had stopped at a lady's boutique but at the first sign of trouble the coachman began whipping his shaggy horse to pull away.  With hooves bundled in cloth, the horse took a moment to gain purchase on the icy road then sped away leaving the woman on her own.  That was all the invitation the thugs needed.  They quickly had her surrounded and in another moment, pinned to the ground.   It was now that Yuri acted, leaping from the rooftop, wings spread wide, claws ready. He landed lightly behind the thieves and in a heartbeat had slashed the first one to bloody ribbons. The boy's scream of pain alerted the remaining thieves who looked up into the face of death.  In another heartbeat Yuri had leapt across the girl's prostrate form and slashed another thief, but missed the third.  By now panic had set in and the three survivors fled.

            With a quick glance around Yuri released the monster and returned to his normal lean form.  He bent down to the girl and shook her shoulders, but the girl was unconscious.

            "Ah shit," he muttered in the first words of English he had ever learned.  He pulled the girl off the ground and slung her over his shoulder and started to run.  It was a good fifteen minutes at a quick trot back to the hotel, even while carrying the girl; Yuri was glad to put her down on a lounge in the lobby, telling the concierge what happened.  It was only a few minutes before the consul arrived with his security and his wife.  Yuri told the man what he had seen and that he had luckily happened on the scene before anything happened to his daughter.  The thieves had been chased away by Yuri's saving actions – no mention of a monster – and he returned her to the Western hotel.  The consul scowled, looking Yuri over very closely; the ragged clothing, the spare but muscular body ... this boy was one of them he concluded.

            Yuri had not expected much of a reward and he did not get one.  Instead, the consul had his security escort the young man outside and introduce him to the icy roadway, with a few good kicks added in.  Yuri, bloodied and sore, fled from the hotel, fled from the city and kept on running until he was well outside of Vladivostok.

            "Yuri, are you listening to me?" Alice asked yet again.  The exorcist had stopped walking and was now looking at her young man who had been walking silently, eyes cast down for the past few blocks.

            Yuri looked up, startled.

            "Uhm, yes?"

            Alice shook her head.  "Not likely.  Yuri, what is it?  Are you upset I kicked you?"

            The young man laughed, shaking the leg she had kicked.

            "No.  I was just thinking about what you said.  You know truth and honesty.  I have to admit," he said with a rueful shake of his shaggy head, "that I am not very good at either one.  I've done things ... well, there are good thieves and there are bad thieves; thieves are thieves, but there is no such thing as an honest thief."  He waited for Alice to respond but instead she leaned up and kissed his cheek.

            "I know."

            Yuri looked startled.  "You knew?"

            Alice shook her head.  "No.  But it makes sense.  I've watched you.  You have fast hands."  She giggled.  "Come on, let's go."

            Yuri smiled as he followed her down the street, the delectable swish-swish of her short skirt sending shivers down his spine.

            After an hour of walking they reached a large palace and across the Seine the Tour Eiffel.  Such a tall building Yuri had never seen and could not believe it was even stable.

            "Look!" he said pointing to it as they crossed the river.  "It's all made of wire!  It will fall!"

            Alice found herself giggling at Yuri's reaction, watching him as he approached the tower with trepidation slowly turning to awe.  When he got to the base and touched one of the support struts he gasped, then laughed at his own ignorance.

            "You must think I'm stupid," he said as he rubbed the back of his neck with embarrassment.

            "Not at all.  Come on, let's go further; there's a nice park and we can rest for a bit."

            "Maybe have lunch?" Yuri asked brightly.

            "You just ate éclairs!" Alice said with a laugh.  "How can you be hungry?"

            "You had éclairs; I had a cup of poison," Yuri said with a dark scowl, trying to convince Alice of how serious the matter had been.  But he could not maintain the dark look and when Alice broke into giggles he laughed too.  "Okay, but I am hungry.  Meat,  please?  Or do I have to hunt it, kill it, and dress it myself?"

            Alice's shocked look told him volumes.

            "We are in civilized France, Yuri.  We'll let someone else do that."

            Yuri followed her down the lane trying hard not to laugh, knowing full well that Alice was not as repulsed as she pretended.  He had hunted their supper more than once on the road from China and Alice had never objected, even when supper consisted of rodent. 

            They found a shady spot along the Avenue Pierre and set the bags down.  Alice pointed out a small bistro and Yuri went along to order their food.  Alice had instructed him very carefully on what to say and how to say it, especially since his French was so bad.  His last attempt at ordering food from a restaurant in London had been memorable in its amusement, although the restaurateur had not found 'dog' as an entrée amusing one damn bit!

            Yuri returned shortly with a couple of bags and set them out on his bedroll.  He laughed when Alice realized he'd gotten the order correctly but then she noticed his sandwiches were au juice. 

            "Yuri, how can you do that?" she asked with a grimace as he bit into the extremely rare meat sandwich, sopping with meat drippings.

            He shrugged.  "Sometimes I ate raw; it's not much different."

            Alice toed him with her shoe. 

            "There are times I think you need civilizing, young Harmonixer."

            Yuri grabbed her foot and pulled the shoe from it, tossing it into the grass.  "There are times you need to be more laid back, young Exorcist," he responded.  "Although, laid is a good idea."

            "Yuri!"

            His smirk was thickly smeared across his face and the chuckle that went with it curled Alice's toes.

            "You are a bad man, Yuri Hyuga."

            "Not bad enough or I woulda already."  Yuri had not relinquished Alice's stockinged foot; he ran his thumb down the arch, sending shivers down her spine.  When she tried to jerk it away, he bent down and kissed the toes, one after the other, pausing to kiss the big toe a second time.

            "Yuri, please," Alice said softly.

            "I'd love to," he said cryptically.

            "No, you're embarrassing me."

            Yuri looked up at her before quickly looking around the park. The afternoon crowds were walking, talking, eating, but no one was paying the slightest bit of attention to the young lovers.

            "No one cares."

            "I do," she said.

            "Okay, I won't kiss your toes, but on one condition."  He looked at Alice's blue-blue eyes and waited for her to nod.  "That I kiss you instead."

            Alice opened her mouth to protest but it was too late. Yuri leaned over and put his mouth over hers, drawing her into a kiss.  It only lasted a heart beat, but when Yuri pulled back, Alice was blushing a deep crimson.

            "Oh, now you are embarrassed," he said with a smile.  "I don't kiss that badly, do I?"

            Alice stammered a reply that got lost in her sudden need for a drink.

            "Ah," Yuri laughed.  "It's only a little kiss; and it's not like my hands are under your dress."

            Alice looked up quickly and frowned.  "They had better not be … unless," she hesitated, "unless … I … give … you … permission."  The last part was said between blushes.

            Yuri chuckled and scooted closer, turning to lie down at her tucked-under feet, his head resting on her knees.

            "Do you know how cute you look when you blush?" he asked, looking up at her.

            Alice shook her head.

            "Do you know how cute you look when you're mad?  At me?"

            Again she shook her head.

            "I think you're cute all o' time, but especially when you're mad at me," he finished.

            Alice thought about that for a minute, letting one hand idly wander through his long hair; the crisp locks falling in reckless abandon over his forehead and into his eyes.

            "You need a hair cut, Yuri."

            "I know."

            "Is that why you make me angry?  Because you think I'm cute?"

            Yuri's smile widened.  "Yup.  It's one of your best features; along with your perky butt."

            Yuri saw the hand descending and caught it with his own.  He drew it down to his mouth and kissed the palm, tickling the flesh with his tongue before kissing each separate finger.

            Alice tried to cover her smile, but failed.

            "You did it again, didn't you?"

            "Got what I wanted," he said as he gently sucked on the fingers.

            "You are a pervert, you know that?"

            "Uh-huh," he agreed.  "A regular bad boy; but I would much rather make love to you than to Zhuzhen or Meiyuan."

            "Yuri!  You didn't!"

            "Nope; but then I haven't had you yet either."

            "And I suppose you'll simply add me to your list of conquests?"

            Yuri thought a moment as he ran his tongue between the fingers of her hand.

            "It's a short list," he finally answered.

            Alice decided that responding to that would only give Yuri more ammunition, so she ignored it, instead she watched him make love to her fingers.

            'There are times you really confuse me, Yuri,' she thought.  'I know you've grown up alone, without anyone to tell you right from wrong.  I know that you're probably a lot more experienced than I am.  No, experienced I am not!' she trembled a little at the thought of being married to this man.  He would strip away all her defenses and leave her exposed; could she do it?  Could she go through with marrying such an uncultured, uncivilized barbarian?

            Yuri laid one final kiss on Alice's palm before looking up at her; her expression was pensive and he knew she was deep in thought, probably about some foolish thing he had done.  'Oh well, won't hurt to add one more,' he thought.  He tugged at Alice's arm, pulling her down to look at her face to face.

            "Alice Elliot, I love you," he said softly.

            Alice blushed again, her head turning away slightly, but not before Yuri saw her eyes light up like blue stars.  'Yup, one more thing for you to worry about, Alice.  Will I, or won't I?'  Mentally he laughed, knowing full well the game he was playing was one in his own mind and one likely to get him in trouble if Alice so decided.

            "We – we better get going now, Yuri.  It's getting late and the train will be leaving," Alice said to change the subject.

            "So?  We stay; we play; maybe lay …"

            Alice swatted him.  "I am not paying for tickets so you can act like a perverted sycophant!"  With that she pushed herself to her feet and, bending down to grab her shoe, walked off, hopping to put the shoe back on her foot.

            "Alice?" Yuri called, sitting up on the blanket.  "Alice!  Wait!"  Yuri quickly gathered his blanket and their bags and ran after her.

            At the train station Alice made Yuri wash up in the men's room, threatening to smack him again if he got on the train looking as disheveled as he did now.  The stains on his coat sleeves would not come off, but he washed his face and combed the mop of his hair and, a quick brush of his clothes to remove grass and twigs later, he boarded the train and joined Alice in their seat.  He took the window seat, offering her a wan puppy-dog smile as apology but Alice would have none of it.  With a sigh, he sat and pouted.

            An hour after departure Alice finally relented, signally Yuri she was no longer angry with him with a deep sigh.  She had pulled her book out the moment the train left and began a deep and concentrated reading, ignoring Yuri's obvious presence; and ignoring his despondent sighs.  But now his sighs had died down and he looked thoroughly chastened.

            "Yuri, if you act like that around my mother …" Alice began, "I'm afraid our engagement will be off – permanently.  My mother is a fine Christian woman and a reverend's wife and will not tolerate such familiarity."

            Yuri looked up with shaded amber eyes.

            "I know it.  I am sorry, Alice.  I just get carried away."

            Alice nodded and closed her book, putting it away. 

            "You can sit closer if you wish, Yuri.  Just keep your hands where I can see them," she offered, a small smile turning up one corner of her mouth.

            Yuri's eyes twinkled and he scooted closer. 

            "Okay, Alice."  He placed his hands on his lap but then put them on either side of her, pinning her to the seat.

            "Yuri," Alice warned.

            "My hands are where you can see them," he said with a wicked smile, then leaned in to kiss her.

            Alice mentally sighed.  'It's going to be a long trip.'

            The sun had westered when Yuri and Alice came up for air, the warm oranges and yellows of sunset bathing them both in brilliance.  With a satisfied sigh Yuri sat back and offered his shoulder for Alice's head.  With a yawn she accepted, and nestled close.  Before long the rocking and clacking of the wheels on the tracks was a somnolent and soon they both were sleeping soundly.