Disclaimer: This chapter has some nudity in it, NO LEMON though, so relax,
I don't write that stuff, and whether I do an aside later with the
insinuation I make in this chapter is entirely up to me. (If I do, it won't
be any time soon)
When the trio got back to camp Nina went immediately into the tent and gathered together some wash items. After she had bundled them together she came back out, looked at Ryu and Kray and said, "I'm going to the lake to wash up…" Kray nodded a bit, then said as he looked her over, "your shoulder's still bleeding…" Nina looked at the cut and sighed, "so it is…doesn't hurt too much though." Kray chuckled and shook his head, "Wash it well, I'll tend to it when you get back, it shouldn't go undressed." Nina nodded, "alright, I won't be gone long…" it was then that Ryu spoke up, "Nina," he hesitated a bit, "I don't think you should go alone, things might happen and we wouldn't know…" Nina grinned and said, "why Ryu, is that a CONCERN of yours? Since when did you start caring about little old me?" Ryu flushed crimson, replying, "Well…uh…I…" Nina interrupted with a laugh then smiled, "alright, you can come along, just no peeking OK?" Ryu nodded dumbly and Kray laughed, "Looks like you've got your hands full Ryu, well good luck, I hope you come back WITHOUT a slap mark on your face." Then he nudged Ryu saying, "Go get her tiger!" to him under his breath. Ryu frowned about to retaliate with a remark of his own, but Kray had retreated into the tent still chuckling.
The walk to the lake was a rather quiet one. Occasionally Nina would stop to admire some sort of flower or to listen to a bird sing, but other than the small comments she made about them she said relatively little. Ryu was also silent as he walked along; a brooding young man who seemed lost, and troubled, and as he continued to walk his thoughts went back to what had happened that evening. He had seen Kira again, felt her skin against his own and the caress of her lips. But yet, it HADN'T been her, and the feelings that seeing just her image brought back were again dominating his thoughts and mind. A strangling type of loneliness seemed to envelope him, and as much as he tried to get away from it, he could not. Kira had been everything to him, and when he had lost her, he seemed to loose a part of himself, a part that was most vital, the part that allowed himself to love. He winced as his mind played over her last message to him before he had gone back home so many years ago and it pained him each time it was repeated. She had told him that she loved him and would see him again; she never got the chance. The Imperials had burned and destroyed the village, and with it all traces of the one he had loved. She was dead, never to come back, and the Imperials were to blame. Suddenly a dark voice in his head seemed to say, "Yes that's right, blame the Imperials, it was all their damn fault!" it taunted at him, "You were too slow to save her, but you can redeem yourself, kill them, kill them all!" Ryu gripped at his head as rational kicked in. Why was he thinking like that? Now was not the time! For now he was safe with friends he could trust, they were his only anchors of reality now. "They'll die, just like everyone else you've known and you'll be alone again Ryu, ALONE" the other voice seemed to taunt back. Again the smaller voice of rational said, "They are dependable, trust them…they love you, they will not leave you alone…" the gruff voice countered, "HAW! Yeah right! LOVE?! Give me a break!" The quieter voice tried to counter, "but…" it was about to continue when Ryu suddenly screamed out loud, "shut up, shut up NOW! Go away!!!!" Suddenly the voices were gone and he snapped back into reality. He could hear the echo of his sentence bounce around the trees and fade into existence. Birds had stopped chirping, and suddenly it seemed as everything had stopped. Looking around, Ryu listened to the silence, then he looked over at Nina, she was looking at him, concern all over her pretty face. Suddenly something somewhere deep inside spoke up again to his mind as he stared at her, "she's gorgeous…why didn't you see it before?" Nina seemed to speak "Ryu?" he ignored her, and continued to stare at her, "Her eyes, hair, personality, beautiful…Ryu…you know I'm right…you should love her…" Ryu seemed to wince at the word then mumbled, "I can't…" again the distant voice answered as Nina asked again, "Ryu???" "She loves you, like you deep down inside, you've seen her advances, yet you reject them…why?" He shook his head, "I don't know…" he mumbled again. Suddenly Nina was shaking him. The voice started to trail off, "think about it Ryu…you two seem…destined…for each other." And then as mysteriously as it had come, it was gone.
Ryu came round fully to Nina shaking him, her features even more concerned than before he had screamed out. Nervously she looked at him then said, "you seemed to be talking to yourself, are you Ok Ryu? Did that witch do anything to you while you were with her!?" Ryu shook his head, partly to clear up the fog and partly to get his bearings staright again. "No, everything's Ok, Nina…in fact I should be asking if your Ok…" with that he pointed to her shoulder wound. It had begun to bleed again. Sighing she looked at it then said, "alright, I'll take your word for it…come on let's get to the lake, I need to bathe badly…" Ryu breathed a sigh of relief at effectively changing the subject of discussion then followed his friend down the last of the oath and into the clearing that led to the lake.
The sun shone brightly overhead and beat down on the lake. It was a clear day and the reflection off the water made it sparkle magnificently. When Nina saw this she went wide eyed and squealed, "Oh its all too perfect!" The clearing itself was a sight to behold. Flowers bloomed everywhere and the trees, being able to feed off the water that seeped from the lake looked extremely healthy, their tall branches reaching high into the sky. Even Ryu, who usually didn't take much time to appreciate the scenery, was in awe. He had never seen anything so beautiful. It was like a dream come true. Nina quickly ran down to the waters edge as Ryu trailed behind her quietly. Taking off her traveling boots she waded in to her ankles the creamy white of her skin almost glistening as little droplets of water splashed about her and clung to her legs. She sighed a heavenly sigh and said as she waded back out, "Nice and cool, just the way I like it…" Ryu nodded, "Water out here is usually much nicer than in the populated areas…" Nina nodded, "I'll say, Wyndian water always seemed a bit…flat to me." Ryu raised an eyebrow, "oh?" Nina nodded, "yup, not as clean or refreshing, then she smirked and put her hands on her hips and stretched her wings, "now if you don't mind, please turn around while I get undressed." Ryu blinked then blushed furiously, "uh…shouldn't you go behind a tree or something I mean this is out in the open and…uh…" Nina shook her head, "honestly Ryu we're out in the middle of nowhere, now turn around and look the other way! I won't be long!" Hesitantly, he obeyed, his face still beet red. He could clearly distinguish the sound of the unzipping of her clothing, and this made him go even redder. Suddenly with a fwump! Nina's clothes hit him on the back of the head and stayed there. He blushed even more as the sound of a splash followed. Trying not to show his burning red features, he turned his head sideways a bit then asked nervously, "um…uh…can I turn around now?" As he did so he could hear Nina laugh, "Ok Ryu, go ahead, I'm under the water now." He turned, and sure enough, there was Nina bobbing in the water not far from the shore, her wings tucked neatly behind her. Smiling at him she said, "There that wasn't so bad now was it?" Ryu was silent, and all he could do was blush.
Nina seemed to be enjoying herself out in the lake and as Ryu watched her bathe, something again started to tickle his mind. It was the voice again, "hello? You there?" it said quietly. He nodded, "yeah, I'm here…" It giggled, "Ok, just making sure I hadn't lost you…" Ryu shook his head, "no, I was just woken up last time…" The voice seemed to radiate warmth and ryu seemed to tell it was smiling. It then spoke again, "you know, you can't run forever…eventually you're going to cave…" "Look," he replied quietly, "so I run…big deal, its what everyone does when the situation of love presents itself…natural defense, nothing more…" The voice seemed to sigh then said, "you're such a hard head you know that?" Ryu smirked, "and proud of it…" The voice tutted, "you know, its people like you that eventually get swallowed by their own grief…consumed by the very thing that keeps themselves isolated and alone…" Ryu shook his head again, "its better that way, nobody gets hurt…they're protected that way." The voice laughed bitterly, "and what of Nina? Would you hurt her just to protect her?" Ryu balked, "I never said…" the voice cut him off, "ah but you did, you don't realize that Nina fears you wasting away, she wants to protect you to LOVE you…yet you run…you're not protecting her, you're just causing further injury…" Ryu's jaw twitched, but he said nothing, the voice continued, "look at her…she's sweet, beautiful, bold…everything that Kira was…" Ryu looked out over the water, Nina was there, happily splashing around, and having a genuine good time. Yet, as he sat at the bank watching, he started to notice a sort of gracefulness that she had, even while bathing. Her body seemed to glide along, propelled by an unseen force that seemed to make her seem that much more magical, and to Ryu, even more beautiful. Had he been overlooking such things? Why was he so cold? His jaw twitched again, and the voice spoke again, "think it over Ryu, you'll find what you're missing…soon…real soon…" and with that it was gone again. Ryu only sat there quietly, watching Nina, and then suddenly something in his eyes changed. Instead of Nina there in the water, Kira was there, but something was different, this time she looked like Nina, and not like her old self, and above that it was stepping out of the water, coming toward him. "Ryu…" the image said quietly, "You'll never forget me, not really because I'm inside you, always…you have a heart, just like me, Kray, or…Nina. It continued, "If you forget about it, you're forgetting about the most important part of yourself…you will be truly alone, and your memories of me will fade into empty dreams, with no answers, please Ryu learn to love again…for love so deep only comes once in a blue moon, and if you deny it, you will loose your heart…you will be an empty shell, doomed to waste away, never to love again…" Then the image of Kira seemed to dissolve and there was Nina, staring him in the eyes, her blue into his green. "Ryu?" she asked quietly. He looked at her. She was still undressed and quite naked, but he did not cringe or look away, only just stared into her eyes, his green into her blues. He opened his mouth and spoke, "am…am I hurting you Nina?" Nina looked at him quietly and whispered, "Not in the physical sense Ryu, yet…" Ryu did not break his gaze, "yet what?" he asked, "yet," she continued, "yet…I am dying inside, you seem so cold…so distant…why can't you see that…that, I…I…" she was stammering with the words, but Ryu finished it for her, "That I love you…"
Nina's heart was pounding in her chest as she heard the words. Had he said what she had thought he said? A hand fluttered to her bare chest, as if she was futilely trying to stop the rapid beats of her heart. She had ached and longed for some time for him to say those three words, and now, here he was, saying them. She tried to reply, but the words were caught in her throat. Suddenly, she found herself leaning forward, and then his warm lips met hers. Emotions came crashing in over the dam he had been building within her, and it crumbled, and as they kissed, she put her whole mind, body and soul into it. The kiss started to gain intensity, and Nina's mind was racing. This was really happening! What she had longed and ached for, for so long was finally happening, he loved her and she loved him. She had done the unthinkable; she had broken through Ryu's emotional barriers and buried herself into his heart. As their lips parted and she rested her head onto his chest she said quietly, "Ryu, would…would you like to swim with me?" A finger under her chin lifted her head and eyes to meet his and as she stared into the green pools she already knew his answer. Another fierce kiss touched her lips, and as he dropped his katana from his back, she pulled him into the water.
The sun burned brightly overhead, bearing a silent witness as it shone upon the lake…
Note: Whew Ok sorry this chapter's so short but I decided I needed to get it off my chest, been stewing over it for a while now on how I was going to handle it. Sorry for the inappropriate insinuation, but hey, I thought the time was ripe ^_^ Don't worry the next chapter won't be steamy LEMON; I leave the imagination to all you etcchi people out there! Oh and Ryu/Nina lovers, please don't hate me!
When the trio got back to camp Nina went immediately into the tent and gathered together some wash items. After she had bundled them together she came back out, looked at Ryu and Kray and said, "I'm going to the lake to wash up…" Kray nodded a bit, then said as he looked her over, "your shoulder's still bleeding…" Nina looked at the cut and sighed, "so it is…doesn't hurt too much though." Kray chuckled and shook his head, "Wash it well, I'll tend to it when you get back, it shouldn't go undressed." Nina nodded, "alright, I won't be gone long…" it was then that Ryu spoke up, "Nina," he hesitated a bit, "I don't think you should go alone, things might happen and we wouldn't know…" Nina grinned and said, "why Ryu, is that a CONCERN of yours? Since when did you start caring about little old me?" Ryu flushed crimson, replying, "Well…uh…I…" Nina interrupted with a laugh then smiled, "alright, you can come along, just no peeking OK?" Ryu nodded dumbly and Kray laughed, "Looks like you've got your hands full Ryu, well good luck, I hope you come back WITHOUT a slap mark on your face." Then he nudged Ryu saying, "Go get her tiger!" to him under his breath. Ryu frowned about to retaliate with a remark of his own, but Kray had retreated into the tent still chuckling.
The walk to the lake was a rather quiet one. Occasionally Nina would stop to admire some sort of flower or to listen to a bird sing, but other than the small comments she made about them she said relatively little. Ryu was also silent as he walked along; a brooding young man who seemed lost, and troubled, and as he continued to walk his thoughts went back to what had happened that evening. He had seen Kira again, felt her skin against his own and the caress of her lips. But yet, it HADN'T been her, and the feelings that seeing just her image brought back were again dominating his thoughts and mind. A strangling type of loneliness seemed to envelope him, and as much as he tried to get away from it, he could not. Kira had been everything to him, and when he had lost her, he seemed to loose a part of himself, a part that was most vital, the part that allowed himself to love. He winced as his mind played over her last message to him before he had gone back home so many years ago and it pained him each time it was repeated. She had told him that she loved him and would see him again; she never got the chance. The Imperials had burned and destroyed the village, and with it all traces of the one he had loved. She was dead, never to come back, and the Imperials were to blame. Suddenly a dark voice in his head seemed to say, "Yes that's right, blame the Imperials, it was all their damn fault!" it taunted at him, "You were too slow to save her, but you can redeem yourself, kill them, kill them all!" Ryu gripped at his head as rational kicked in. Why was he thinking like that? Now was not the time! For now he was safe with friends he could trust, they were his only anchors of reality now. "They'll die, just like everyone else you've known and you'll be alone again Ryu, ALONE" the other voice seemed to taunt back. Again the smaller voice of rational said, "They are dependable, trust them…they love you, they will not leave you alone…" the gruff voice countered, "HAW! Yeah right! LOVE?! Give me a break!" The quieter voice tried to counter, "but…" it was about to continue when Ryu suddenly screamed out loud, "shut up, shut up NOW! Go away!!!!" Suddenly the voices were gone and he snapped back into reality. He could hear the echo of his sentence bounce around the trees and fade into existence. Birds had stopped chirping, and suddenly it seemed as everything had stopped. Looking around, Ryu listened to the silence, then he looked over at Nina, she was looking at him, concern all over her pretty face. Suddenly something somewhere deep inside spoke up again to his mind as he stared at her, "she's gorgeous…why didn't you see it before?" Nina seemed to speak "Ryu?" he ignored her, and continued to stare at her, "Her eyes, hair, personality, beautiful…Ryu…you know I'm right…you should love her…" Ryu seemed to wince at the word then mumbled, "I can't…" again the distant voice answered as Nina asked again, "Ryu???" "She loves you, like you deep down inside, you've seen her advances, yet you reject them…why?" He shook his head, "I don't know…" he mumbled again. Suddenly Nina was shaking him. The voice started to trail off, "think about it Ryu…you two seem…destined…for each other." And then as mysteriously as it had come, it was gone.
Ryu came round fully to Nina shaking him, her features even more concerned than before he had screamed out. Nervously she looked at him then said, "you seemed to be talking to yourself, are you Ok Ryu? Did that witch do anything to you while you were with her!?" Ryu shook his head, partly to clear up the fog and partly to get his bearings staright again. "No, everything's Ok, Nina…in fact I should be asking if your Ok…" with that he pointed to her shoulder wound. It had begun to bleed again. Sighing she looked at it then said, "alright, I'll take your word for it…come on let's get to the lake, I need to bathe badly…" Ryu breathed a sigh of relief at effectively changing the subject of discussion then followed his friend down the last of the oath and into the clearing that led to the lake.
The sun shone brightly overhead and beat down on the lake. It was a clear day and the reflection off the water made it sparkle magnificently. When Nina saw this she went wide eyed and squealed, "Oh its all too perfect!" The clearing itself was a sight to behold. Flowers bloomed everywhere and the trees, being able to feed off the water that seeped from the lake looked extremely healthy, their tall branches reaching high into the sky. Even Ryu, who usually didn't take much time to appreciate the scenery, was in awe. He had never seen anything so beautiful. It was like a dream come true. Nina quickly ran down to the waters edge as Ryu trailed behind her quietly. Taking off her traveling boots she waded in to her ankles the creamy white of her skin almost glistening as little droplets of water splashed about her and clung to her legs. She sighed a heavenly sigh and said as she waded back out, "Nice and cool, just the way I like it…" Ryu nodded, "Water out here is usually much nicer than in the populated areas…" Nina nodded, "I'll say, Wyndian water always seemed a bit…flat to me." Ryu raised an eyebrow, "oh?" Nina nodded, "yup, not as clean or refreshing, then she smirked and put her hands on her hips and stretched her wings, "now if you don't mind, please turn around while I get undressed." Ryu blinked then blushed furiously, "uh…shouldn't you go behind a tree or something I mean this is out in the open and…uh…" Nina shook her head, "honestly Ryu we're out in the middle of nowhere, now turn around and look the other way! I won't be long!" Hesitantly, he obeyed, his face still beet red. He could clearly distinguish the sound of the unzipping of her clothing, and this made him go even redder. Suddenly with a fwump! Nina's clothes hit him on the back of the head and stayed there. He blushed even more as the sound of a splash followed. Trying not to show his burning red features, he turned his head sideways a bit then asked nervously, "um…uh…can I turn around now?" As he did so he could hear Nina laugh, "Ok Ryu, go ahead, I'm under the water now." He turned, and sure enough, there was Nina bobbing in the water not far from the shore, her wings tucked neatly behind her. Smiling at him she said, "There that wasn't so bad now was it?" Ryu was silent, and all he could do was blush.
Nina seemed to be enjoying herself out in the lake and as Ryu watched her bathe, something again started to tickle his mind. It was the voice again, "hello? You there?" it said quietly. He nodded, "yeah, I'm here…" It giggled, "Ok, just making sure I hadn't lost you…" Ryu shook his head, "no, I was just woken up last time…" The voice seemed to radiate warmth and ryu seemed to tell it was smiling. It then spoke again, "you know, you can't run forever…eventually you're going to cave…" "Look," he replied quietly, "so I run…big deal, its what everyone does when the situation of love presents itself…natural defense, nothing more…" The voice seemed to sigh then said, "you're such a hard head you know that?" Ryu smirked, "and proud of it…" The voice tutted, "you know, its people like you that eventually get swallowed by their own grief…consumed by the very thing that keeps themselves isolated and alone…" Ryu shook his head again, "its better that way, nobody gets hurt…they're protected that way." The voice laughed bitterly, "and what of Nina? Would you hurt her just to protect her?" Ryu balked, "I never said…" the voice cut him off, "ah but you did, you don't realize that Nina fears you wasting away, she wants to protect you to LOVE you…yet you run…you're not protecting her, you're just causing further injury…" Ryu's jaw twitched, but he said nothing, the voice continued, "look at her…she's sweet, beautiful, bold…everything that Kira was…" Ryu looked out over the water, Nina was there, happily splashing around, and having a genuine good time. Yet, as he sat at the bank watching, he started to notice a sort of gracefulness that she had, even while bathing. Her body seemed to glide along, propelled by an unseen force that seemed to make her seem that much more magical, and to Ryu, even more beautiful. Had he been overlooking such things? Why was he so cold? His jaw twitched again, and the voice spoke again, "think it over Ryu, you'll find what you're missing…soon…real soon…" and with that it was gone again. Ryu only sat there quietly, watching Nina, and then suddenly something in his eyes changed. Instead of Nina there in the water, Kira was there, but something was different, this time she looked like Nina, and not like her old self, and above that it was stepping out of the water, coming toward him. "Ryu…" the image said quietly, "You'll never forget me, not really because I'm inside you, always…you have a heart, just like me, Kray, or…Nina. It continued, "If you forget about it, you're forgetting about the most important part of yourself…you will be truly alone, and your memories of me will fade into empty dreams, with no answers, please Ryu learn to love again…for love so deep only comes once in a blue moon, and if you deny it, you will loose your heart…you will be an empty shell, doomed to waste away, never to love again…" Then the image of Kira seemed to dissolve and there was Nina, staring him in the eyes, her blue into his green. "Ryu?" she asked quietly. He looked at her. She was still undressed and quite naked, but he did not cringe or look away, only just stared into her eyes, his green into her blues. He opened his mouth and spoke, "am…am I hurting you Nina?" Nina looked at him quietly and whispered, "Not in the physical sense Ryu, yet…" Ryu did not break his gaze, "yet what?" he asked, "yet," she continued, "yet…I am dying inside, you seem so cold…so distant…why can't you see that…that, I…I…" she was stammering with the words, but Ryu finished it for her, "That I love you…"
Nina's heart was pounding in her chest as she heard the words. Had he said what she had thought he said? A hand fluttered to her bare chest, as if she was futilely trying to stop the rapid beats of her heart. She had ached and longed for some time for him to say those three words, and now, here he was, saying them. She tried to reply, but the words were caught in her throat. Suddenly, she found herself leaning forward, and then his warm lips met hers. Emotions came crashing in over the dam he had been building within her, and it crumbled, and as they kissed, she put her whole mind, body and soul into it. The kiss started to gain intensity, and Nina's mind was racing. This was really happening! What she had longed and ached for, for so long was finally happening, he loved her and she loved him. She had done the unthinkable; she had broken through Ryu's emotional barriers and buried herself into his heart. As their lips parted and she rested her head onto his chest she said quietly, "Ryu, would…would you like to swim with me?" A finger under her chin lifted her head and eyes to meet his and as she stared into the green pools she already knew his answer. Another fierce kiss touched her lips, and as he dropped his katana from his back, she pulled him into the water.
The sun burned brightly overhead, bearing a silent witness as it shone upon the lake…
Note: Whew Ok sorry this chapter's so short but I decided I needed to get it off my chest, been stewing over it for a while now on how I was going to handle it. Sorry for the inappropriate insinuation, but hey, I thought the time was ripe ^_^ Don't worry the next chapter won't be steamy LEMON; I leave the imagination to all you etcchi people out there! Oh and Ryu/Nina lovers, please don't hate me!