Made For Each Other
~*~
"Damn!" A muttered curse soon turned into a shouted one as the wizard searched the house frantically. "DAMN!"
His cigarettes were gone, and he knew who the culprit had to be. "Hiryuu, you little bitch!" he shouted, turning around to go search for the mysterious girl and finding her right behind him, leaning against the wall casually. Absolutely irate, he snarled, "Where the hell are they?!"
"Such a temper," she replied nonchalantly. "And such a foul mouth. You should really learn to control that tongue of yours Luka." She took a step away from the wall and dangled a pack of cigarettes in front of his face. "Is this what you're looking for?"
"Yes!" he roared, trying to snatch the small, square package out of her hand.
But quick reflexes and deft fingers left him grasping at empty air. "These things are terrible for your health, they're going to kill you one day." Her voice was flat and she turned the pack upside down and shook it; nothing came out. It was empty.
With an enraged howl, Luka finally managed to grab the cig-less package from her hands. Ripping it to shreds, he glared daggers at her, his eyes burning. "Just who do you think you are?" he asked her, voice steely and quiet.
Unaffected, she answered back, "I am the golden dragon." And with that, she disappeared into thin air as she had done so many times before.
Howling again, Luka furiously threw the paper scraps at the space where she had been standing moments before. Amid the maelstrom of paper, he caught sight of Neo standing in the doorway, trembling, his eyes wide and fearful. With a tired sigh, the 21st century's greatest wizard shook his head and said in a soft voice, "It's alright Neo, you can come here."
Neo took a tremulous step forward and said in a tiny voice, "M-master…I just wanted to know where you had put A Beginner's Guide to Beginner's Incantations. I can't seem to find it anywhere." The young apprentice's voice calmed as he spoke, and soon was back to normal.
"Look in my lab, on the right side of my workbench, I seem to remember you leaving it there yesterday."
"Thank you." Neo left the room quickly; glad he had not been the object of his master's rage. Luka was not known for his friendliness, or willingness to accept pupils, so he must tread carefully if he ever wished to learn the art of magic.
Watching his trainee's form leave, the dark-haired man slumped to the floor, his back against the wall. This was all becoming too weird for his taste; everything was changing around here, and he didn't know if he liked it. First Hiryuu showed up, then he had gotten sick (he almost never got sick), now he had all these confusing emotions chasing themselves around inside of him. What was going on?
Heaving a gigantic sigh, he leaned his head back against the cool surface of the wallpaper and soon fell asleep, his sculpted chest rising and falling evenly. If he thought things were getting strange now, he was in for a huge surprise when he awoke later that afternoon.
~*~
"Luka! Luka!…LUKA!"
With a start, he awoke to violent shaking and someone shouting his name. Glancing upwards and recognizing the face to be Nell's, he slumped back against the wall once more and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "What the hell was that for?"
The afternoon sunlight slanted in through the windows, splashing the carpet with gold and giving everything in the room a golden glow. Luka saw that Luel, Madame Batolli, Neo, and Hiryuu were also present in the room; all but Luel looked slightly mystified. Hiryuu stood there with her usual easy grace, but there was a note of uncertainty, a curious feel in her aura that Luka did not fail to miss.
Nell's cheeks tinged with pink. "Well…urm…Luel and I well…"
"Yes," Madame Batolli interjected. "Why are we here, Nell?"
Four pairs of eyes stared at the two as Nell took a few steps back into Luel's embrace. "Well," the young alchemist started. "Me and Nell…that is to say- Well…we're…we're engaged."
Stunned silence filled the room before the other two women lept forward, identical squeals leaving their mouths simultaneously. Neo just stood there, smiling at Luel, as Luka remained where he was on the floor, mouth hanging open in surprise. He vaguely registered all three women locked in a tight hug before Luel's anxious face filled his vision. "Luka?" he asked softly, crouching down in front of his brother.
"What?" came the reply, sullen and annoyed.
"I-is something wrong? I mean, are you okay with this? Because-"
But he was cut off. "It's fine. You and Nell will be happy together, I can see it. Congratulations and good luck." He clapped his brother on the shoulder and rose from his former sitting position. As he stood, he caught Hiryuu's eye as she glanced over his way. Their gazes locked for a moment and Luka found himself almost drowning in her violet depths.
But their eye-lock was broken by an excited question from Nell as Hiryuu's attention was diverted back to the situation at hand.
Nostrils flaring as he breathed sharply out his nose, Luka swept out of the room, fully intending on heading down to the drugstore to buy more cigarettes.
Luel watched him go peculiarly; he could have sworn he almost saw sparks fly when his brother and the female wizard had locked gazes. There had been something in their looks, something beyond words that said more then language could ever hope to express.
His train of thought was interrupted by Nell throwing herself into his arms and tightening her own about his neck. "Did you hear that Luel?! Mom and Hiryuu are going to take me shopping for a wedding dress tomorrow!"
The excitement in her voice drove away all but the last traces of thought about the two magic-users. He smiled at his future bride and kissed her nose. "That sounds wonderful, darling." With another squeal, she hugged him once more then pulled him to his feet. Luel also caught Hiryuu's gaze as he rose and his look was hard and questioning. Eyes flashing, Hiryuu glared at him and turned away.
But Luel had caught the faint glimmer in her eye right before she had turned, and he smirked knowingly. Things were going to be different around here from now on, even more so then before.
