Made For Each Other

~*~

Luka awoke the next day to a dawn that was chill and gray. Perfect. Glowering fiercely he kicked open the door to his room and wandered aimlessly down to his lab. The weather mirrored his mood perfectly, for soon after that rain began pelting the house. His face becoming even stormier with the knowledge of the weather, he stalked around the lab, muttering bits and pieces of incantations and watching lights and sparks dance in the air before him.

Finally settling down somewhat, he caressed the spines of his spellbooks as he walked along the length of the bookshelf; not quite sure of what he was looking for, he continued his half-hearted search and finally pulled one off the shelf. The book that Hiryuu had taken earlier was now in his hand, and he sighed and flipped open to the page with the fireball spell. Muttering to himself once more, he held one hand out and was surprised to find a fire kindling the moment he said the words.

Smirking, he tossed the book down and held out his other hand, chanting the incantation once more. An identical fireball sprang to life in this hand as well and he stood there smirking widely, a satisfied light in his golden eyes. The reflection from the flames seemed to set them aglow and drew out an inner passion that could only be seen in the wizard when he was performing spells and using magic.

Happy that he could match her at least in this, Luka stretched and headed back upstairs, planning on grabbing some breakfast, then maybe a smoke and heading downtown for some shopping. The breakfast part went all right, and even the money-finding part for shopping worked out, he had enough for a decent spree, he decided. But when it came to the smoking part, things went horribly wrong. His cigarettes were gone once again. His eyes flared up and his entire body went tense. Furious, he tore off down the hall screaming, "Hiryuu!" as he went.

Finding the girl in the kitchen, calmly making herself breakfast, he stormed over and grabbed her shoulder, roughly spinning her around to face him. "You did it again!" he shouted at her, watching her face go from surprise to amused annoyance. "Why the hell do you keep taking my cigarettes?!"

"I told you, Luka! They're horrible for you, you'll end up dead someday because of them!" She turned back to her cooking.

"Oh, really?!" he questioned, voice lowering in volume somewhat. "And what makes you care so much about my health all of a sudden?"

Shaking her head, she muttered something and threw a dash of salt into her eggs. Growling when he found his question so obviously ignored, Luka whirled away from her and slammed the front door on his way out, missing the sad smile on Hiryuu's face as he left.

And as the door banged shut behind the older man, Neo's words ran through the young girl's mind. "He's not really this cold, he just doesn't trust people easily . . . The two of you are a lot alike, more then you think anyway . . ." Snorting at that, she grew thoughtful as one last fragment of her talk with the young apprentice flew through her mind. "Maybe you should try to understand him better . . ."

Her stomach flipped over at that. " . . . are a lot more alike . . ." Biting her lip, she glanced in the direction of the front door, then hardened her face. There was nothing to understand. Nothing more to it, except for the fact that he was a stubborn S.O.B. Resolving to not let what others said get to her, she sat down and coolly ate her breakfast, wondering what she would do today.

~*~

Still livid, Luka drove his car towards the shops downtown with a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel. He had turned the radio off in favor of listening to the rain drumming on his car and his mind calmed somewhat as the soothing sound echoed in his ears.

For some reason, he found his anger fading slightly. "You'll end up dead someday because of them!" Hiryuu's words drowned out the sound of rain for a moment and Luka found himself almost smiling at the thought. Maybe . . . just maybe . . . she really did care.

Jerking himself out of that dangerous train of thought, the wizard glared even harder at the road unfolding in front of him and moodily tossed a strand of hair over his shoulder. What the hell was he thinking?! Letting a girl like that get to him! She really pissed him off sometimes, trying to run his life like that. Next thing he knew, she would be trying to hold his hand when he crossed the street.

Snorting, he pushed a button grimaced when the blaring music obscured the rain. Stupid girl, she would pay for what she had done. No one annoyed the great Luka Guillaume Reinhardt and got away unscathed. This was the final blow for him, and he was prepared to wage war.

Skidding into the parking lot with an obnoxious squealing of tires, the 21st century's greatest wizard dashed through the falling water as quickly as he could and entered the warm atmosphere of the store. Resolving to forget all about the other wizard for the duration of his expedition, he shoved all thoughts relating to her out of his head. Nothing would spoil his morning any further. Not even the "Golden Dragon".

~*~

Wandering from room to room with a dust rag in one hand and a vacuum cleaner in the other, Hiryuu made sure each room was sparkling clean before she left it again.

After breakfast this morning, she had decided that, having nothing better to do, she would help to pay her way by cleaning the house. It was now several hours later, and the young magic user was beginning to feel the first pangs of hunger. Stopping before Luka's room, Hiryuu decided to come back and clean this and the bathroom after she had eaten some lunch.

Leaving her cleaning items in the hall outside the other's room, she went back into the kitchen and was soon busy with making a sandwich. Hearing the front door open and close, she looked up and saw a bag-laden Luka coming in. "Did you have fun?" she asked dryly, staring pointedly at his many bags.

But the older man ignored her and went down the hall towards his room, not even acknowledging her presence at all. Slightly put out, Hiryuu glared after his retreating form and finished her meal, downing the last of a glass of water. Following the other wizard's steps down the hallway she found his door closed and sighed. Raising her hand to knock, she quickly pulled it back when something akin to an electric shock pulsed through her slender form.

Wincing in pain she called out "Luka! I still need to clean your room. Can I come in?", all the while wondering why he had a magical barrier around his room. "Luka?" she called out again, getting no response.

"Piss off, you little bitch! I don't need you to clean my room or run my life! Why don't you just leave me alone and go back to where the hell ever it is you came from?!" There was a sharper, more biting undercurrent in his voice that the blonde-haired girl had never heard before. It cut deep and she took a step back in surprise.

Anger and hurt swirling inside of her, she choked back a dry sob and shouted, "Fine! You selfish rat bastard!" Spinning on her heel, she went into her own room down the hall and locked the door behind her, unable to stop the flow of tears that ran down her smooth cheeks. Angrily, she wiped them away, only to have them replaced by more.

"Why should I care what he thinks of me?!" she thought, trying her best to ignore the stinging pain in her chest. "He's just an ass anyway!" But her thoughts weren't convincing, and deep down inside she knew that it would hurt just the same no matter what she said.

Sighing, she sank to the floor slowly, not even bothering to try and wipe her tears anymore. There just wasn't any point. Nothing made sense anymore.

~*~

Down the hall, Luka listened as her footsteps faded and the echoes of her harsh words dissipated in his ears. Hardening himself against the tiny pang of guilt in his gut, he took a long drag on the smoking nicotine stick in his hand and tried to forget the wounded tone of voice that she had used.

"Golden Dragon, my ass," he thought and snubbed out the cigarette sharply.