Kitsunehime: Uhh . . . How long has it been since last update? -.-;; Sry . . .
Lucivar: *glares* Just when you start to get on track again, kaput!
Kitsunehime: -.- Bug off. I was doing a whole new layout for my site. Check it out, the layout's no longer an eye-burner!
Rin: . . . Riiiight . . .
Kitsunehime. Whatever. Anywho, More fluff! XD Oh, and btw, did anyone get the last sentence of the previous chapter? ^.^; (And thank you to all those who've told me what Harvest Moon is! ^_^ Sounds fun. ^_^)
Kagome: Oh, and you might want to watch out for some of the foul language ahead. -.-;;
To rule the Darkness
ch. 30, Variation One: Watery Realizations
"What's miss prissy doing way out here?" Koryu asked nonchalantly from the shadows.
"Bug off, butt breath," Fahlaing replied testily.
"My breath does not smell like butt."
"Sure it does."
"How would you know?"
*Whump*
Sakuya now sat under the large nearby tree, glaring up at someone in the branches.
"You fag! What you push me down for?!"
"You pinched me! Again!" Inutaishou shouted, him being the one Sakuya was glaring at.
"You were hogging all the room on the branch!"
"There are other branches!"
"That was the best one!"
Fahleing and Koryu decided to leave the two dead weirdos to their argument and went down to the old wooden bridge.
"Ah! Wait, don't go on the bridge! It's — " a villager warned, but, too late. They stepped on the rotted part, which promptly broke under their combined weight, sending them plunging in to the slowly swirling river below.
Sputtering, Koryu surfaced first. Moments later, Fahleing came up, spitting.
"Pleh!"
"Are you all right?" he asked as he swam over.
"Yeah . . . you know you look like a wet dog?" She wrinkled her nose. "And smell like one too."
Koryu gave her a dirty look. "And you — "
"Aah! There's a fish in my kimono!"
O.O Koryu could only stare as she writhed around in the water, trying to get it out. "Uhh . . . y-you're kimono . . . it . . . it's coming off — " But, once again, he didn't have a chance to finish. Fahleing, now laughing since the fish was apparently tickling her, grabbed onto him to keep from sinking. And, all the while, his own kimono was slipping down.
"Get out you godforsaken little . . . !" Then she sighed in grim satisfaction, holding the flopping fish. "Die, you ugly bastard!" But, it wriggled out of her hands and escaped. "Grr . . . Huh, what's the matter with you, dog-face?" Then she took a closer look at Koryu. "What the f – ?! What the hell are you stripping for?!"
He gave her another dirty look, but then averted his yes. After all, her kimono was – cough – pretty much half-off. "Put your clothes back on. For your information, you pulled it down yourself," he said icily.
"Why would I do that?" she retorted. "Only a retarded whore would want to see you naked."
"And you'd have to pay a blind beggar to watch you strip!"
"Blind beggars can't f***king see, you @$$wipe!"
"That's the point, you dumb b*+ch!"
"Look, dickface, you haven't got a brain, and you had better f***kin' well admit it!"
"Look who's talking, $hi+head!"
It wasn't until the miserly old widower who lived nearby yelled at them to shut up that they stopped.
They both stood in the river in an awkward silence, ashamedly pulling their clothing back on completely.
Still standing hip-deep in the river, both of them fidgeted, then turned around, quickly saying, "Look, I'm sorry." They glared at each other.
"I believe I was talking first!"
"Oh really? I think not — "
They both realized exactly where this stupid argument was leading – which was nowhere – and started to laugh.
"I guess we're even then," Koryu said, offering her his hand. "Truce?"
She eyed him impishly. "Maybe." Then she abruptly pushed him over into the water and ran off, laughing. When he came up spluttering and glaring, she stuck her tongue out. "Serves you right, butt breath!"
"Why you — !"
"Nyaah! Catch me if you can!" With that, Fahleing took off, not quite knowing why she felt so mischievous.
"Get back here, you little — "
"Blah! You'll have to move faster than that!"
Stragglers from the main party were the only ones to see the two run by, but took no note of it. After all, it was just another young couple, right? Maybe not . . .
Later, when the moon seemed about ready to sink down into its dark oblivion in preparation for the sun's blazing glory, Koryu finally managed to pin Fahleing down in a grassy meadow nearly in the forest.
"Surrender?" he asked triumphantly.
"Nope. You can't make me," she replied, grinning. "Truce."
"Fine, truce," he said grumpily. He was faking the surliness, of course.
"Uhh . . . You mind getting off me now? Hey, butt breath!"
Koryu looked severely affronted. "For the last time, my breath does not smell like butt."
"Oh yeah? Care to prove that?"
'Was that an . . . invitation?' Koryu thought, staring into her eyes and wondering if it was just the feel of the warm summer night coupled with the full, shining moon.
'Is he actually going to — ' Fahleing thought while a gentle breeze swirled around them, stirring loose bits of flower petal. By now, their clothes were mostly dry. "Well?" she questioned.
Swiftly, he captured her lips with his own. He was mildly surprised to find that she was waiting for it and responsive
It began as a simple touching, but slowly – quickly – neither could differentiate – turned into something . . . more. It was an eternity – it was but an instant – if anyone could tell, it was certainly not them.
Reluctantly, they pulled away, wanting for air.
"Well?" Koryu asked breathlessly.
"Does . . . not smell like . . . "
"I didn't mean that," he said, rapidly returning to his usual self. Or – not quite. "Well, maybe that was half of it but . . . "
Fahleing's mouth turned up slightly at the corners in an oblique smile. "I think I liked it."
"So, are we settling for a plain old truce, or are we friends?" he inquired, rolling of off her and helping her up.
" . . . " She – they both knew – willingly or not, they had fallen for each other. And, whether by sheer ignorance or denial, they both only just realized it. And the thought rather scared them, bravery or no. "I think we can be more than friends," she answered cautiously. "Or we can try to friendship first."
Koryu smiled, a rare occurrence for him. "We'll try."
Fahleing got up too and dusted herself off. "Shall we go? I believe the big closing for the party is beginning soon."
As if on cue, Inutaishou's powerful mind-voice roared at them both.
:Where the hell have you two been?!:
Rolling her eyes, Fahleing let Koryu answer.
:Out and about.:
:Out and about?! *Sigh* Never mind. Just get both your sorry carcasses back over here! We're leaving.: With that, the mind-connection was broken off.
"Did you hear that? He called us carcasses," Koryu informed Fahleing.
"I heard. He's the corpse, not us." Then she grinned. "Him and Sakuya, that is," she amended.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Inutaishou waited until they were all back at the Hall to blow up.
"Where the hell were you two?! And don't give me crap like 'out and about,'! No one could find you, the scent trail was too muddled to track — "
"Can it, corpse-man," Sakuya said, lazily trudging up the stairs. "You sound like an old mother hen." Rather obviously, she winked at Fahleing and Koryu.
"Repeat that!" bellowed Inutaishou.
"Pleh! Old mother hen!"
"Will you shut up for a moment!" Everyone turned to stare at Inuyasha. He smirked and pulled Kagome closer to him. "We have one announcement before you all go to bed."
"Spit it out already," Sakuya grumbled, letting go of the handful of Inutaishou's tail fur she had pulled out.
"W~ell, I think we should wait till tomorrow, so Shippou, Souta, and Kohaku can hear too," Kagome interjected. Inuyasha's smirk got even bigger while he nodded in agreement. He was clearly enjoying making the others die of suspense.
"Aww, come on! Tell meeeeeee!" Rin implored. "Tell us!"
Kagome was catching Inuyasha's glee. "You'll have to wait," she said tauntingly, skipping up the stairs. They all grumbled in annoyance, one and all.
Once again, sorry for the delayed update. -.-
Ja!