Disclaimer: Just wanted to say sorry that Chapter 9 is so late. I've been
busy with volunteer work and my summer assignments. Not to mention painting
my room. Anyway please forgive me and here's Chapter 9, I'm not in such a
hot mood, so Aki-Shinko isn't coming out to say something funny. ENJOY!
Chapter 9 Steam
Things between Aki-Shinko and Shugo stayed on a normal level. That night Shugo didn't let her go, and they stayed together under that willow tree stargazing, and even saw a shooting star. Even in a pretend world, the stars still had a certain calming scent.
Shugo had urgently kept himself from making moves on Aki all night. It was an excruciating task for him, but he did not that this was the time when Aki was most vulnerable, and he definitely did not want to do anything that would cause her extra stress.
On and off Aki would murmur something about Aurora, and Shugo desperately wanted to understand what she was saying. On and on she would say something about being a prophet, and how deeply she hated her sword. Her sword had been tucked away behind the tree, and Shugo would occasionally lean over and take a peek at it, he didn't hate that sword, actually, he was grateful to that sword, cause well, that was the sword he had used to save Aki- Shinko in the first place.
The hours of the night carted on, and when Aki finally fell asleep, Shugo too allowed himself to close his eyes. In the real world, Shugo had actually fallen asleep with the headset intact, still logged into the world the whole time. Shugo didn't really know how long he could stay logged on without having to leave for food or bathroom breaks, or his father could just scream at him to get off. But right now, Shugo was just way too tired to even care.
The Next Day...
Shugo had woken first, and as he stared at the digital clock in the lower corner of the headset, he sighed as it blinked 5:40 AM. He had only gotten about 4 hours of sleep. But, Aki needed him; he had to put up with the insomniac mode, even if it was a pain in the ass.
"Aki?" He called to her rubbing her shoulder gently as she was still asleep against his chest. "Aki are you awake?" she only let out a grumpy whine and he smiled as he rested his head on her shoulder.
For a while, Shugo could only stare out at the lake, and at the bottom of the hill he even saw a fisherman. Who happened actually to be Kei, but Shugo didn't know who Kei was. In his mind he was getting pretty impatient with how long Aki was sleeping, he wanted to scream in her ear to wake up, but damn it why did he have to be the sympathetic guy?
"You know Aki, I never used to be this concerned with anyone in general" He said allowed, even if Aki was a sleeping lump, he just found himself talking...no clue why.
"After my parents go divorced, I began to think, that you only had to look out for yourself, numba one. People may say they love you, but they slowly leave you and take away everything else you loved too. My mom took my sister away from me, and now I never see Jenny anymore. One morning I had just come home from school, and already mom had things in boxes. Jenny had been in her bedroom crying. The legal system is so screwed up, we're seriously treated like property, and we have no say in who WE want to live with. It's like "We'll split everything down the middle, boys on one side, girls on the other" and that's basically how it goes."
He played with a butterfly as it landed on his index and ring fingers.
"But you know, you must be something special Aki because I opened up to you way easier then anyone else. Something about you, you just seemed truly real. A real down to earth girl and someone, who just wanted to make her friends smile. That was a person I wanted to be with. You proved to me many other times, how little you think of yourself. Sometimes I worry that, you don't worry enough, but I see it's just how big your heart is to carry the world on your shoulders and not worry about what you endure. Hikaru is really lucky to have a best friend like you.
When you get better, I want to tell you everything. Its easier talking to someone who, even though I don't know you too well, I know I can trust you, and its way better then talking to all my psychologists and psychiatrists. My father thought I was emotionally unstable after Elsie died. I'll admit, I was in shock, and I did hold a lot of it in, but seriously what guy cries out loud? It's like a given law that we can't. Who could I have talked to anyway? My friends were only giving me sympathy, and I didn't want that, I wanted someone to genuinely listen, my psychiatrists, they didn't understand...so Aki, what makes you so special?"
He asked as he looked down at her sleeping. He gave a small chuckle as he ran his fingers through her hair.
"You're my guardian angel aren't you? My little protector, someone who will always be there for me right but are you allowed to fall in love with your guardian angel?"
There was no response from Aki and Shugo could only laugh.
"I must be some kind of nutcase to be talking to a sleeping girl and myself. Wow, sometimes I even confuse myself with my stupidity."
"You're not stupid Shugo.... you're just a little boy trapped in a soon to be man's body... Your heart aches with your losses, and it's hard to release them all without going out of control...Don't worry Shugo...I'll always be here for you..." Aki finally replied sleepily as she wrapped her legs around his back almost seductively. She nuzzled the side of his cheek and Shugo blushed with embarrassment. He turned a deeper crimson red as she began to nibble at his ear cooingly. "I promise I'll be here for you...." She whispered in his ear. Her breath was cool and frosty, and she nibbled at his ear again. Shugo could feel himself wanting to get physical, but he only tightened his grip around her waist and pulled her even closer.
"Well good morning to you devotee" He replied to her. Aki was sitting up now, hugging his neck and she rested her head atop his. Shugo could only look down at find his face compressed against her breasts and chest; he tried not to laugh and instead calmly replied, "How long have you been awake you?"
"Me? I've been listening to you talk from the very beginning. You poor guy, you're so compassionate yet nothing good seems to come your way. You deserve so much happiness, yet all you see is disappointment."
"You're not a disappointment Aki. In fact, you are probably the best thing that has come my way so far."
Aki looked down at him, shocked, and deeply touched by what he said. She slowly unwrapped her legs and scooted over so she sat beside him. For a moment she hugged at her knees and rested her head upon them looking over at Shugo.
Shugo looked at her, and was amazed to see somewhat of a fondness look in her eyes. Her eyes were dreamy; they were like two pools of fresh spring water. She looked at him, now seriously as she asked him her next question. This question had been on her mind for a very long time, something that keep coming up in her thoughts, like a little voice inside the back of her head.
"Shugo, I'm going to ask you a question, and please, try to answer it the best you can."
"Okay Aki. Shoot."
"Shugo, why do you love me so much? I'm such a klutz and I only put others in danger. It's like there's a black cloud hovering over my head that follows me wherever I go. Why could you love me when you could have any other girl you wanted?"
Shugo was silent for a while, and he looked out ahead of him pondering his answer.
"Well...for one thing, your not false. I mean to say, you to present yourself as anything more than what you are. You don't want to impress people and change for others, you' just yourself. That's something I truly admire about you. You're also very compassionate yourself. Hikaru told me about how you saved her by giving her your only Sprite Ocarina. You'd sacrifice yourself to make sure she was safe. And overall, you're very beautiful. I know, that this is only, a character model and numbers and configured data, but you are beautiful. I love your hazelnut eyes, and your tempest black hair. Your skin is a soft as dove's feathers. I know that your heart is as pure as your mind is." Shugo smiled at her, completely content with his answer.
Aki-Shinko on the other hand, sat there perplexed and yet very joyful
"Thank you Shugo. You're the only person who ever cared about what was on the inside. Even my own parents don't care as greatly about my goals and opinions as you do."
"It's not that hard. I want to know you inside and out, for every flaw and mistake you have made, to every outweighed good within you. I don't care about Aurora and this destiny thing, but I will support you if you really want to find out what she meant."
"Aurora said...that my sword had something to do with unlocking another great secret of the game. That unbeatable monster, like in the past, was only the beginning of another journey. This isn't the Pluto Kiss Virus, or the Legend of the Twilight again. This is something even greater. I just don't want to fail...that's all."
"Unlocking another great secret. Well, sounds like a challenge to me. Don't worry about failing it. Failure is not so much a disappointment as others make it out to be. Maybe it isn't your destiny but you will not know until you try. I know you can do it, I have faith in you."
"Shugo what would I do without you?"
"I dunno, you'd probably bored and miserable right now. Life is just incomplete without me! I'm just too darn cuddly!" He laughed and gloated with a cheesy grin.
Aki laughed as well and then gave him a huge hug.
"My cuddly teddy bear"
Shugo's face then began to turn blue as Aki began to squeeze all the breath out of him. He shook his face furiously as little anime sweat droplets poured from his face. She quickly let him go and smiled as he panted and held his hand to his chest.
"You're lethal with those hugs!" He replied between deep breaths as puffs of breath came out from his mouth. Shugo only looked at her, and for a second they had a moment of silence, then abruptly, the two broke out into a laughing fit.
Aki-Shinko laughed so hard that soon she had tears pouring down her eyes. She wasn't exactly sure anymore if the tears were still from her laughter, or if they were a mixture of the anxiety and overwhelming traumas she had been through.
Shugo watched her sympathetically and he wiped away her teardrops with the back of his palm. She sniffled and he smiled looking at her with precious eyes.
"No more crying okay?"
She nodded feeling his hand against her cheek. Aki wanted to say more, like maybe a thank you or something, but she was completely at a loss for words. Shugo grinned, and then leaned into her mildly as he kissed her sweetly. Aki felt his warm lips press against her, and for a moment, she felt almost complete, like this was a part of her she had been missing out on. He withdrew from her slowly and smiled as their lips danced close bye, and then he continued. His breath grew steamy as their ritual continued and eventually he had cuffed his hand behind her hair as she chafed up against him. Their making out session continued on for a long while as they began to grow more acute and rough.
Aki could only feel her self grow susceptible to his endearing love for her. She felt his hand roam on her stomach and she laughed a little when he lightly traced her skin making it tickle so. Shugo could only feel himself smile as he began to tickle her more, and soon Aki's intense laugher cut off their love as she tried to squirm away from him.
'No, no more tickling, ARG NO" She cried as she crawled on her hands and knees to get away from her, but Shugo simply grabbed her leg and dragged her back over.
"I finally found her weakness! TICKLE FIGHT"
Chapter 9 Steam
Things between Aki-Shinko and Shugo stayed on a normal level. That night Shugo didn't let her go, and they stayed together under that willow tree stargazing, and even saw a shooting star. Even in a pretend world, the stars still had a certain calming scent.
Shugo had urgently kept himself from making moves on Aki all night. It was an excruciating task for him, but he did not that this was the time when Aki was most vulnerable, and he definitely did not want to do anything that would cause her extra stress.
On and off Aki would murmur something about Aurora, and Shugo desperately wanted to understand what she was saying. On and on she would say something about being a prophet, and how deeply she hated her sword. Her sword had been tucked away behind the tree, and Shugo would occasionally lean over and take a peek at it, he didn't hate that sword, actually, he was grateful to that sword, cause well, that was the sword he had used to save Aki- Shinko in the first place.
The hours of the night carted on, and when Aki finally fell asleep, Shugo too allowed himself to close his eyes. In the real world, Shugo had actually fallen asleep with the headset intact, still logged into the world the whole time. Shugo didn't really know how long he could stay logged on without having to leave for food or bathroom breaks, or his father could just scream at him to get off. But right now, Shugo was just way too tired to even care.
The Next Day...
Shugo had woken first, and as he stared at the digital clock in the lower corner of the headset, he sighed as it blinked 5:40 AM. He had only gotten about 4 hours of sleep. But, Aki needed him; he had to put up with the insomniac mode, even if it was a pain in the ass.
"Aki?" He called to her rubbing her shoulder gently as she was still asleep against his chest. "Aki are you awake?" she only let out a grumpy whine and he smiled as he rested his head on her shoulder.
For a while, Shugo could only stare out at the lake, and at the bottom of the hill he even saw a fisherman. Who happened actually to be Kei, but Shugo didn't know who Kei was. In his mind he was getting pretty impatient with how long Aki was sleeping, he wanted to scream in her ear to wake up, but damn it why did he have to be the sympathetic guy?
"You know Aki, I never used to be this concerned with anyone in general" He said allowed, even if Aki was a sleeping lump, he just found himself talking...no clue why.
"After my parents go divorced, I began to think, that you only had to look out for yourself, numba one. People may say they love you, but they slowly leave you and take away everything else you loved too. My mom took my sister away from me, and now I never see Jenny anymore. One morning I had just come home from school, and already mom had things in boxes. Jenny had been in her bedroom crying. The legal system is so screwed up, we're seriously treated like property, and we have no say in who WE want to live with. It's like "We'll split everything down the middle, boys on one side, girls on the other" and that's basically how it goes."
He played with a butterfly as it landed on his index and ring fingers.
"But you know, you must be something special Aki because I opened up to you way easier then anyone else. Something about you, you just seemed truly real. A real down to earth girl and someone, who just wanted to make her friends smile. That was a person I wanted to be with. You proved to me many other times, how little you think of yourself. Sometimes I worry that, you don't worry enough, but I see it's just how big your heart is to carry the world on your shoulders and not worry about what you endure. Hikaru is really lucky to have a best friend like you.
When you get better, I want to tell you everything. Its easier talking to someone who, even though I don't know you too well, I know I can trust you, and its way better then talking to all my psychologists and psychiatrists. My father thought I was emotionally unstable after Elsie died. I'll admit, I was in shock, and I did hold a lot of it in, but seriously what guy cries out loud? It's like a given law that we can't. Who could I have talked to anyway? My friends were only giving me sympathy, and I didn't want that, I wanted someone to genuinely listen, my psychiatrists, they didn't understand...so Aki, what makes you so special?"
He asked as he looked down at her sleeping. He gave a small chuckle as he ran his fingers through her hair.
"You're my guardian angel aren't you? My little protector, someone who will always be there for me right but are you allowed to fall in love with your guardian angel?"
There was no response from Aki and Shugo could only laugh.
"I must be some kind of nutcase to be talking to a sleeping girl and myself. Wow, sometimes I even confuse myself with my stupidity."
"You're not stupid Shugo.... you're just a little boy trapped in a soon to be man's body... Your heart aches with your losses, and it's hard to release them all without going out of control...Don't worry Shugo...I'll always be here for you..." Aki finally replied sleepily as she wrapped her legs around his back almost seductively. She nuzzled the side of his cheek and Shugo blushed with embarrassment. He turned a deeper crimson red as she began to nibble at his ear cooingly. "I promise I'll be here for you...." She whispered in his ear. Her breath was cool and frosty, and she nibbled at his ear again. Shugo could feel himself wanting to get physical, but he only tightened his grip around her waist and pulled her even closer.
"Well good morning to you devotee" He replied to her. Aki was sitting up now, hugging his neck and she rested her head atop his. Shugo could only look down at find his face compressed against her breasts and chest; he tried not to laugh and instead calmly replied, "How long have you been awake you?"
"Me? I've been listening to you talk from the very beginning. You poor guy, you're so compassionate yet nothing good seems to come your way. You deserve so much happiness, yet all you see is disappointment."
"You're not a disappointment Aki. In fact, you are probably the best thing that has come my way so far."
Aki looked down at him, shocked, and deeply touched by what he said. She slowly unwrapped her legs and scooted over so she sat beside him. For a moment she hugged at her knees and rested her head upon them looking over at Shugo.
Shugo looked at her, and was amazed to see somewhat of a fondness look in her eyes. Her eyes were dreamy; they were like two pools of fresh spring water. She looked at him, now seriously as she asked him her next question. This question had been on her mind for a very long time, something that keep coming up in her thoughts, like a little voice inside the back of her head.
"Shugo, I'm going to ask you a question, and please, try to answer it the best you can."
"Okay Aki. Shoot."
"Shugo, why do you love me so much? I'm such a klutz and I only put others in danger. It's like there's a black cloud hovering over my head that follows me wherever I go. Why could you love me when you could have any other girl you wanted?"
Shugo was silent for a while, and he looked out ahead of him pondering his answer.
"Well...for one thing, your not false. I mean to say, you to present yourself as anything more than what you are. You don't want to impress people and change for others, you' just yourself. That's something I truly admire about you. You're also very compassionate yourself. Hikaru told me about how you saved her by giving her your only Sprite Ocarina. You'd sacrifice yourself to make sure she was safe. And overall, you're very beautiful. I know, that this is only, a character model and numbers and configured data, but you are beautiful. I love your hazelnut eyes, and your tempest black hair. Your skin is a soft as dove's feathers. I know that your heart is as pure as your mind is." Shugo smiled at her, completely content with his answer.
Aki-Shinko on the other hand, sat there perplexed and yet very joyful
"Thank you Shugo. You're the only person who ever cared about what was on the inside. Even my own parents don't care as greatly about my goals and opinions as you do."
"It's not that hard. I want to know you inside and out, for every flaw and mistake you have made, to every outweighed good within you. I don't care about Aurora and this destiny thing, but I will support you if you really want to find out what she meant."
"Aurora said...that my sword had something to do with unlocking another great secret of the game. That unbeatable monster, like in the past, was only the beginning of another journey. This isn't the Pluto Kiss Virus, or the Legend of the Twilight again. This is something even greater. I just don't want to fail...that's all."
"Unlocking another great secret. Well, sounds like a challenge to me. Don't worry about failing it. Failure is not so much a disappointment as others make it out to be. Maybe it isn't your destiny but you will not know until you try. I know you can do it, I have faith in you."
"Shugo what would I do without you?"
"I dunno, you'd probably bored and miserable right now. Life is just incomplete without me! I'm just too darn cuddly!" He laughed and gloated with a cheesy grin.
Aki laughed as well and then gave him a huge hug.
"My cuddly teddy bear"
Shugo's face then began to turn blue as Aki began to squeeze all the breath out of him. He shook his face furiously as little anime sweat droplets poured from his face. She quickly let him go and smiled as he panted and held his hand to his chest.
"You're lethal with those hugs!" He replied between deep breaths as puffs of breath came out from his mouth. Shugo only looked at her, and for a second they had a moment of silence, then abruptly, the two broke out into a laughing fit.
Aki-Shinko laughed so hard that soon she had tears pouring down her eyes. She wasn't exactly sure anymore if the tears were still from her laughter, or if they were a mixture of the anxiety and overwhelming traumas she had been through.
Shugo watched her sympathetically and he wiped away her teardrops with the back of his palm. She sniffled and he smiled looking at her with precious eyes.
"No more crying okay?"
She nodded feeling his hand against her cheek. Aki wanted to say more, like maybe a thank you or something, but she was completely at a loss for words. Shugo grinned, and then leaned into her mildly as he kissed her sweetly. Aki felt his warm lips press against her, and for a moment, she felt almost complete, like this was a part of her she had been missing out on. He withdrew from her slowly and smiled as their lips danced close bye, and then he continued. His breath grew steamy as their ritual continued and eventually he had cuffed his hand behind her hair as she chafed up against him. Their making out session continued on for a long while as they began to grow more acute and rough.
Aki could only feel her self grow susceptible to his endearing love for her. She felt his hand roam on her stomach and she laughed a little when he lightly traced her skin making it tickle so. Shugo could only feel himself smile as he began to tickle her more, and soon Aki's intense laugher cut off their love as she tried to squirm away from him.
'No, no more tickling, ARG NO" She cried as she crawled on her hands and knees to get away from her, but Shugo simply grabbed her leg and dragged her back over.
"I finally found her weakness! TICKLE FIGHT"