I have not created the Tenchi Muyo! characters in this story. They are property of AIC, Pioneer and Masaki Kajishima.
Chapter 1 - Duties of a Prince
All was silent except for a low whisper. The air around him was warm and full of moisture. The powerful smell of grass and wood made the young man feel like he was sitting in the middle of a several thousand years old forest that covered an entire planet.
Throughout these centuries the trees had gained a wisdom that was impossible to assess for a person. Not even a Juraian, who had a much longer lifespan could evaluate the trees knowledge. But there was something he could do. He could listen to them. And when his concentration was completely focused on their low voices, he might even understand them.
But the young man with the dark purple hair hadn't come here today in order to hear what the ancient voices had to say. He had been listening to the meaningless talk of the forest since he was a little child. Now that he was on the verge of adulthood he wanted more. And he knew there was more to gain. Yarasho, his friend and intimate, was only a few years older but he had made his first contact long before his coming of age.
Azusa felt a wave of anger welling up inside of him. It wasn't fair, as it wasn't supposed to be like this. He was the son of the emperor and of all members of the royal family the heir to the throne should be the first to link to his wooden partner. Besides, Azusa had been the one of them who had always looked forward to finally get his very own tree-ship.
He completely gave up his concentration, stretched his legs and leaned back on his arms which he had crossed behind him. Tomorrow he was going to obtain his ship. Ready to lift off the vessel was waiting somewhere in the royal hangar. But it was merely an empty shell lacking the most important quality of a Juraian ship, its heart and power source. As long as Azusa was unable to bond with one of the seedlings, it couldn't be implanted and the ship would remain a tree-ship without a tree.
If he didn't want to stand out as a total fool on his birthday ceremony this evening, today was his last chance to bond. Right now only Yarasho knew that he hadn't been able to find his partner yet. But this evening it would be the main subject.
Azusa sighed. Maybe he was doing something wrong. Although his parents had told him so, maybe concentration wasn't that important. He closed his eyes and relaxed.
Again he felt the warm, moist air playing around his face, smelled the scent of the green and heard the trees whisper. But nothing more. Azusa tried to stay calm, tried to hold back the fury and disappointment. He didn't succeed. His mind returned from the peaceful old forest to the nursery. The whisper grew silent.
'Well...' Azusa stood and walked to the end of the platform. His resolute gaze wandered across the large green basins and the trees growing within. 'I will not leave until I've bonded to one of you.'
The young prince sat back down, his legs dangling over the ledge, and concentrated again. He was determined to get what he desired at any costs.
Right then he couldn't imagine that there would ever be anything more important to him than his bonding.
Someone knocked at the huge wooden door impatiently.
"Azusa, what's keeping you in there so long? Hurry up. Everyone is waiting," a deep and very impatient voice shouted from outside.
"Don't rush me. I can't do any faster," came the instant reply.
Yarasho leaned against the door, perfectly relaxed on the outside, but in fact he was quite worried. It was uncharacteristic for his younger friend to not be on time to such an important occasion, especially since he knew how mad his parents would get at his unfitting behavior.
Suddenly there was a loud crash inside. It sounded almost like a table had been knocked over and collided with another piece of furniture. Yarasho heard Azusa cursing inside but spared himself any further comment. Only when a number of hangers clattered to the floor he felt obliged to offer his help.
"Hey, everything all right in there? Or do you need a hand wrecking your furniture by any chance?"
"Stop talking nonsense, Yar. All I'm trying to do is find the right clothes. If you're so obsessed with being the first who arrives at the main hall, go ahead already!"
"I'm not obsessed with being the first. I just wanted to remind you that it's not suitable for the crown prince to be by far the last," Yarasho pointed out. But it didn't seem like Azusa was listening to him, because another series of curses about the absence of the chamber boy from inside was the only response.
After another couple of minutes the door finally opened and a well dressed yet grim looking Azusa stepped out.
Yarasho bowed to him. "Your highness. I'm glad you decided to join your own birthday ceremony."
Azusa gave him a dark look and simply walked past him.
"Hey, better get rid of that look. Tonight is very important." Yarasho easily caught up with his friend. As he moved to walk beside him Azusa gave him a serious glare.
"I know about the importance of the ceremony." Seconds passed in which neither of them spoke a word, then Azusa went on in a more friendly manner. "I'm not mad or anything. Just a little bit tired."
"Tired?" Yarasho laughed. "This might possibly be the single most important occasion in your entire life and you are tired? Everyone is expecting you to hold a moving speech. Your parents want you to get in touch with the council and other royal family members and... " he moved closer and lowered his voice. "... a whole lot of girls are waiting to dance with you."
Azusa emphasized his thoughts at the prospect with a snort.
"Just spare me with them. Maybe I'm not tired. Maybe I'm annoyed."
The entrance to the ceremony hall appeared at the far end of the corridor and Yarasho slowed his pace, forcing Azusa to do the same.
"What do you mean annoyed? Let me tell you this. A lot of people would give everything just to be in your position. As the crown prince and future Emperor of Jurai you have absolutely no reason of being unsatisfied with your situation."
Azusa knew that his friend was only trying to help him, but he still had to make room for his anger. Never had Yarasho been under the same pressure he was feeling now.
"Thanks for reminding me who I am. If it hadn't been for you, I might have forgotten." He gave him a sardonic smile and hurried towards the entrance.
"Dear members of the royal family, dear council members. Ladies and gentleman. I thank you for honoring me with your presence at this special occasion."
Azusa made a pause and glanced over the audience. Most of the spruced up people were unknown to him. Probably his parents would introduce every single one to him this evening. But until then he would ignore them and concentrate on the ones he knew. One of them, standing near the pedestal, was his friend Yarasho. It seemed like he wanted to tell him something. Just as Azusa realized what Yar's gesture meant, he was nudged by his mother ever so slightly.
"Go on," she whispered harshly and Azusa obeyed.
"Eons ago the goddess Tsunami herself handed a couple of seeds to our ancestors, hoping that they would give them strength and lead them into a bright future. The seeds have become trees and Jurai is now a flourishing empire. Thanks to the wise rule of the emperor and the council we have abolished crime and poverty. And protected by the most powerful fleet in the universe the people of Jurai and all its colonies can live a carefree life without any worries."
Some of those present nodded in appreciation. But Azusa hadn't expected any different, because he only told them what they wanted to hear.
"But today like in the past the holy trees are guiding us. They remind us of where we come from and what we once were. They are sharing their wisdom with us and help us in our most difficult decisions. For us they are a powerful intelligent vessel and a prudent partner."
At this point Azusa realized that most of the people did not quite understand where he was going. Only a quarter of them were members of royal families, who were able to bond to trees. So, not wanting to stir envy, he decided to cut short his praise.
"Today I'm not only becoming an adult, I'm also ready to get my own tree-ship. I have waited long and at times impatiently for this moment. Now I want to thank every one of you for celebrating this day together with me. May my ship help me to expand my mind so that one time I will turn into an emperor as wise and just as my father."
The applause lasted nearly three minutes. Within this time Azusa bowed once and received an appreciative glance from his parents and an amused one from Yar.
Another full hour passed until he finally got the chance to talk to his friend. Azusa was standing at the rim of the dance floor when Yarasho came to meet him.
"Great speech. I didn't know you're such a phony. With all this talk of Jurai's power you almost sounded like your father." Yarasho laughed and gave Azusa a friendly pat on the shoulder.
"What did you want me to tell them? That the Galaxy Police actually poses a threat to our hegemony with its current growth rate? Should I have told them that we don't know if the odds would really be in our favor, did it come to a conflict?"
"Hey, we're not preparing for war. So stop talking like that. Our ships are still light-years ahead of them anyway. They won't dare to meddle with our affairs."
Azusa nodded. "I hope so."
"Well than..." Yarasho continued after a short pause. "I'm gonna go and dance some more. After all your parents have invited some really beautiful girls." He winked ambiguously but Azusa was too surprised to notice.
"You're not going to dance with your girlfriend?"
"Hell, I can't dance with Sanara all the time. And besides, I know that you don't like dancing with girls you don't know, so I leave her to you. Enjoy yourself." Before Azusa was able to object Yarasho waved his goodbye and headed for the dance floor.
Azusa watched him dancing with the daughter of the council's chairman for a while. Then he decided to make the best of this terrible night and started looking for Sanara.
The empress was satisfied with the evening. She had been worried that her son would mess up his speech. Sometimes he had a tendency to act like the child of a commoner and not like the young prince of noble blood he was, but the contents of his speech had been exactly what she had hoped for him to say. Several people had congratulated her on such a kind and intelligent son. And although she would never admit it, she was just a little proud of him herself.
Her son had grown up and she suddenly had the certainty that he would once become a ruler as good as her husband. Her gaze moved over the dancing people as she looked for Azusa. The musicians were playing a slow waltz and she wondered who it was her son was dancing with right now.
She saw Yarasho, the only son of the family second to the throne of Jurai, dancing with the preceptor's eldest daughter. She was indeed a very beautiful young woman and the empress wished that her son would have at least a tiny bit of the interest in women that Yarasho had.
It was a too bad that only a few girls of royal blood were of Azusa's age. Of course her husband and her had already chosen the future empress. And now as their son had entered the world of adults it was about time to tell him. But since Azusa didn't seem to care much about the other sex they had decided to try and make it as easy on him as possible.
The last accords of the waltz faded and she noticed her husband, who had been talking to one of the guests all the time, making his way towards her. At the same time her gaze met Azusa. He bowed to Sanara, waved his goodbye somewhat inappropriately and left not only the dance floor but the celebration hall as well.
The empress ran her hand over her dark green hair, trying to suppress her anger.
"Anything to worry about, darling?" Her husband walked up to her side and tracked her gaze curiously.
"Your son left a minute ago." She could see his face turning a darker shade.
"Shall I sent some guards taking him back?" The question was a rhetorical one, because he knew that his wife would agree.
But much to his surprise she thought for a moment and refused.
"No. Let matters take their own course. Azusa is grown up now. We should let him take responsibility for his actions from now on."
A looked at her seriously and slowly shook his head. "I will be lenient this time. But I doubt that Azusa is willing to take responsibility."
Azusa slowly walked down one of the long corridors, headed for his chamber. It was almost midnight and though the celebration would last for at least another hour he hadn't been able to stand the dancing and talking anymore. Therefore he had decided to leave.
On the one hand he felt guilty but on the other it felt good to be rid of the royal crowd. Having to pay attention to every word he said really demanded a lot of concentration. And since he had been concentrating nearly the whole day, Azusa felt totally worn out by now.
The way back to his room seemed to be twice as long as usual. But he was unable to walk any faster. Visions of a soft, comfortable bed crossed his mind and made the corners of his lips move up into a silly smile. But it quickly disappeared as he recalled the current condition of his chamber.
Perhaps he was lucky and the misguided chamber boy had finally remembered his tasks, otherwise he would simply throw everything to the floor and take care of it tomorrow.
He reached the door and listened carefully for a moment. Low sounds were coming from inside his chamber, like somebody was rummaging through it. For a second the thought of calling for the guards entered Azusa's mind, but then he remembered who he was and extended his hand to operate the opening mechanism.
The door hadn't opened completely when Azusa already jumped inside, prepared to take on the intruder. But a high pitched scream threw him off balance and his smooth entrance turned into a clumsy stumbling. He had a hard time trying to keep himself from falling but finally he managed to restore his balance.
"What are you doing here?" he asked harshly, angry about his own misjudgment.
The young woman standing in the middle of the mess he had produced several hours ago blushed and she lowered her head so that her long black hair was covering her face.
"I'm sorry, sir." Her voice was no more than a whisper. "I was told you would be at the celebration until past midnight, sir."
"Well. As you can see, I'm not. Who told you?" Azusa still had no idea of why this girl had entered his room. She was dressed like a chamber maid but Azusa had never seen her before. She seemed slightly surprised by his question.
"Your mother, her highness the empress." She said like she was telling him something he was supposed to know already.
But Azusa hadn't known. And even now he thought it unlikely that she was speaking the truth. The mere thought of his mother sending a chamber maid to his quarters was preposterous. The empress had made no secret of being very concerned about his female acquaintances. The only reason he could think of for her to choose a chamber maid was, that there weren't any boys left to do the job. And that was indeed most unlikely.
"Do you want me to leave?" She let the blue Juraian robe she was carrying over her arm slip back down to the bed and made a step towards the door. But Azusa's broad shoulders were blocking the exit and he was not about to move. Her deep brown eyes looked at him expectantly.
"Should I go or ..." Her gaze traveled over the scattered clothes. "... do you want me to stay and..."
"No!" Azusa interrupted her and his loud voice left no doubt about exactly how unpleasant her presence was to him. She stared at him and he could see that she was taken aback by the harshness in his voice.
"I mean... You don't have to tidy up my room now. I'm sure the chamber boy can do it tomorrow just as well," he continued in a conciliatory manner and cleared the way to the door, but she only gave him a blank look.
"As you wish, sir. Then I will return tomorrow." The young woman bowed and was about to leave the room when Azusa spoke up again.
"Are you trying to play a joke on me?" he asked, struggling to keep his voice even.
"I'm not joking," she replied. "I'm your new chamber maid from now on. I hope you will be satisfied with my work, sir."
Azusa's jaw dropped open. "That's impossible," he barely managed to say.
The woman smiled, walked out of the door and turned around once more.
"May I suggest that you ask the empress to replace me by a boy if you are having difficulties with a girl doing this job for you? Good night, sir." She said in a serious tone, that stood in stark contrast to the mischievous smile playing around her lips. Then she turned and walked away.
Azusa watched her disappear down the hallway and closed the door.
He was confused, but soon his fatigue threatened to overwhelm him and he decided to think about the new situation tomorrow. With a couple of swift movements he threw the remaining clothes down from his bed and started taking off his Juraian celebration robe.
Some minutes later he was lying down, ready to drift off into the realm of sleep.
"What a strange day. It definitely was something special..." he thought and closed his eyes.
A strange feeling overcame him. He was on his way to his chamber but somehow he felt like he already knew this scene. Azusa stopped in midway and tried to analyze his deja vu. A look back made him aware that he couldn't actually remember where he had come from and as he turned ahead again he realized that he had no idea of what he was going to do in his room either.
"Hey Azusa! You've come so far. Don't stop now. Go!" Yarasho had approached silently and after he had spoken those strange words he disappeared in the same way, even before Azusa had the chance to say anything.
The young prince turned once more, but as he had expected the corridor was empty and so he continued into the direction of his room.
As he was about to open the door, he heard an unusual sound from inside. His curiosity peeked, Azusa pressed his ear against the strong wooden door and was surprised to find that somebody seemed to be crying in his chamber. It sounded like a child weeping over a terrible loss.
Normally Azusa would have gotten quite angry if he had found some crying kid sitting in his room, but now he just felt sorrow and pity. He opened the door and was shocked.
The room that had always served as his peaceful resting place had totally changed. The huge bed, the large wardrobe with the built in mirror, the table and all the other furniture were still just where they had always been, yet the whole atmosphere had changed.
The curtains weren't closed but the room was engulfed in darkness. Although it was possible to see every detail all things seemed to merge with the shadows. Dark purple petals of a flower Azusa recognized, yet was unable to call by its name, were scattered all around the floor. At the first glance their arrangement was totally random but the longer Azusa stared at them the more he got the impression that they were supposed to lead him over to the bed, which was located at the other end of the room right beneath one of the windows.
Then he became aware of the soft crying again. He couldn't see the child in the darkness but the sounds seemed to be coming from the direction of his bed. Slowly Azusa walked over to it, trying to avoid stepping on one of the petals.
But the crying seemed to decrease in volume at the same rate at which he approached the window and when he finally reached his sleeping place it had completely died away and there was nobody there. Instead red candles caught Azusa's eye. They were placed on the bed much like they were surrounding an invisible body, but like the body the flames of the candles had disappeared. All that remained was a shadow of sadness.
Suddenly Azusa felt that he wasn't alone any more.
"Azusa."
The voice was speaking directly to his mind and he couldn't say whether it was male or female. All he knew for sure was, that it was a gentle voice he had never heard before.
"Azusa."
The voice repeated and he felt how his sadness was replaced by contentment at its sound.
"Who are you?" he asked into the darkness.
"I'm the one you have always sought and the one you will never find."
Azusa was confused. "I don't understand."
"But you will. Soon."
Azusa shook his head slightly and decided to give it one more try.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Names are pointless. I understand your wish to give me a name but you don't understand that there is no need for it. Nevertheless I will tell you how to call me. My name is ..."
Azusa heard the name within his mind. It didn't sound like a normal word, more like a combination of different sounds, unknown yet familiar. He wanted to remember the name so he tried to translate it into his own language.
"K... i... r... i... "
Azusa was woken by his own voice and all he remembered about the dream were the first four letters of a name he had never heard before.
Carefully he extended his hand. The ancient bark felt rough and for a second Azusa got the feeling that something within was pulsing. Like the never ending stream of life, he thought and slowly let his hand slide over the mighty trunk.
The sun hadn't been up yet when he had woken from his strange dream. But his thoughts had been stirred and so he had decided to get up. While getting dressed an idea had occurred to him.
Azusa took his hand off the old tree's bark and made a step backwards, so that he was able to watch the treetop. Up in a height of about 20 meters the green web generated by the thick leaf carrying branches got too dense for man's eye to penetrate.
The floating platform Azusa was standing on contained the soil for one of the oldest trees within the nursery. Actually it was forbidden to step on the platforms, but Azusa had ignored the rule. After all he knew that nobody else would enter here at this time in the morning anyway. He sat down on the soft grass covering the soil around the tree and closed his eyes.
Somehow he had hoped that the name he had called in his dream was a hint from his bonding partner. But now he realized that such a thought had been impudent. Kirito was one of the first generation trees and it was said that their place was in the nursery and only there, their task the production of powerful seedlings. Hundreds of years ago they may have served as hearts and power sources for ships but those times had long since passed. They had retried into silence for good.
"May I disturb you?" a female voice asked from behind.
Azusa turned around in shock and saw his new chamber maid standing at the edge of the platform. His expression hardened.
"How dare you step on this platform?" he snapped. "Who let you in anyway?"
But the young woman held his angry gaze, the smile never leaving her face.
"I've been searching for you. Master Yarasho told me you were here and he opened the door."
"Yar?" Azusa repeated. "He should know that only members of the royal family and their guards are allowed to enter the nursery."
"Of course he does," she replied.
Azusa nodded and stared at the young woman. He waited for her to continue and tell him why she had sought him out, but she remained silent, her eyes resting on him.
He noticed that she was really beautiful but banished the thought immediately by clearing his throat audibly.
"Is there any other reason you came here than to desecrate the holy ground?" he asked grumpily.
"Oh, of course. The emperor sent me to remind you to attend today's council session."
"Oh no." Azusa's expression changed into one similar to that of a person suffering from a painful disease. But it took him only a couple of seconds to restore his composure and speak with renewed resolution.
"Tell them I'm not going to participate."
"Well..." The woman didn't seem to be surprised by his answer at all. "What should I tell them as the reason for your absence?"
"Hell." Azusa stood. "Tell them I'm not feeling well. And now leave." He dismissed her with a gesture and walked around to the other side of the tree.
There he sat down, legs crossed, and leaned his head on his folded hands. He had absolutely no desire to waste his time in a boring council session. Of course he knew that his parents would become very angry if he didn't attend and he also knew that it was the obligation of the future emperor to stay informed about the current political situation, but all they did was talk and right now he wasn't in the mood for talk.
Once again he wished he would be able to navigate his own ship. Then he could go on a warrior striving journey for some years, far away from all responsibility.
"It must be difficult to win the trust of such an ancient being." She hadn't left as her new master had instructed. Instead she was now standing in a respectful distance to the huge trunk, looking at Azusa's back.
"Indeed it is," she heard him murmur softly. Aloud he asked. "Why are you still here?"
She ignored his question and he didn't ask again. The young master was obviously lost in his thought. Maybe he believed her to be gone, maybe he didn't care anymore.
For some minutes she considered addressing him again, but then he suddenly spoke up.
"You haven't introduced yourself yet."
"I'm sorry. I totally forgot, because your sudden appearance last night was somewhat frightening."
Azusa murmured something she took as some kind of apology.
"Well, my name is Kiris and I'm glad to be of service from... now... ... on. What's the matter?"
At the same time she had mentioned her name Azusa had turned to face her, giving her a very strange look. Quickly his expression changed from confusion to slight embarrassment.
"It's nothing. I just thought I heard this name before."
"Maybe. My parents always admired Juraian royalty and their trees. I believe they called me Kiris, because it somehow sounded like the name of one of the first generation trees, what was it..."
"Kirito." Azusa said pronouncing the word in a strange way. "That is Kirito," he gestured towards the mighty tree next to them.
"Oh," she said and smiled at the old tree. "Nice to meet you."
Azusa jumped up and was just about to reprimand her for her rude behavior as she looked at him again, very serious.
"I guess it's about time. We have to go."
"What?"
"The council session is going to start soon. And I was ordered to escort you there once I found you."
She could almost hear how his mind was working, searching for a suitable excuse, so he would not have to join the session. Suddenly a mischievous smile appeared on his face and disappeared again as he became aware that she was still looking at him.
"So my parents told you to drag me to those windbags once you found me. Supposing you don't find me, I don't have to go. Simple."
"But I...", she tried to object but Azusa cut her short.
"You will leave the nursery now."
"I won't." There was a resolute sparkle in her eyes. "Either both of us leave or stay. If you force me to go I'll tell them where you are hiding."
"How dare you?" he snapped but thought quick and continued in a more casual manner. "Suit yourself!" He sat down again, his back turned to her. Obviously the conversation was finished for him.
Kiris shook her head and sat down some distance beside him.
The residence of the royal family, a giant estate, severed from colorful everyday life of the capital by an invincible wall on the one side and bordering on the royal woods on the other, was home to many hundred people. Only very few of them had royal blood flowing through their veins, most were officials, guards or servants. But still, the majority of the beautifully furnitured chambers were reserved only for members of the royal family.
One of those rooms was different from all the others. It surpassed most of the them in size, but was totally empty except for some randomly arranged logs on the ground. No painting was decorating the bleak walls, no chandelier brightened the room with its sparkling light. Instead the walls and ceiling featured fluorescent sticks, protected by a thin but resistant wooden net.
Right now darkness reigned supreme in the room and the tensed silence was only broken by his even breath.
He felt the familiar weight of the sword in his hand and was ready to strike from one second to the other now. But he had to be patient. He had to wait.
The sound of steps drawing near filtered in from outside. He moved into position, ready to attack. The door was opened and some of the dim light from the corridor fell inside. He was waiting in reach of the entrance, avoiding the treacherous light. The silhouette of a young man appeared in the door, hesitating a second in suspicion before he entered. He was carrying a weapon as well.
Speed was of the essence now. He had to strike exactly the moment the door was closed and darkness fell. It would be the only way to catch his opponent by surprise.
The door closed and the same instant the dark blue blade of a light sword flared up and licked for Azusa.
Taken over by instincts he dodged to the side and activated his own sword in the same motion. Not a second too soon, because the other blade was already coming for his chest again. Azusa brought up his weapon and parried the powerful blow. With a couple of fast steps he tried to retreat into temporary safety, but his opponent followed swiftly. Again and again the blades clashed and Azusa felt the power of the strikes increasing. He was driven back mercilessly.
Too late he realized that the ground beneath his feet was getting more uneven. The blue blade cut for his head and Azusa tried to block the attack and move back a step at the same time, but his feet met an obstacle, where his body didn't. So he lost his balance, fell backwards over the log, hit the ground and just kept lying there, angry over his own carelessness. However, for his opponent the battle obviously wasn't over yet. In a vertical movement he led his sword directly towards Azusa's unprotected form. Only an inch-wide from his face the blade was blocked by his invincible force field.
"Hey, that's not fair," Yarasho pouted and lowered his sword. The blue glow it had painted on Azusa's face disappeared. But the force field didn't dissolve and seemed to increase in intensity instead. In its pale blue light it was impossible to miss out on the rage that distorted Azusa's face.
"What do you think you're doing? Do you want to kill me?" There was such anger in his voice that Yarasho would have been frightened had he not known Azusa as he did. However, exactly because he knew him that well, he just stood calmly, waiting until the outburst was over.
"Attacking me in the dark. Are you nuts?" Azusa pulled himself up clumsily, until he was facing Yarasho eye to eye. "What if I hadn't put up my force field? Would you have killed me? Speak, dammit!"
He was almost shouting now, but Yarasho answered in a calm and slightly offended tone.
"Let me tell you this. I've been waiting for you for half an hour. We were appointed an hour after the council session. Well..." He looked his friend directly in the eye. "... first, you were supposed to attend the session, what you have not. Second, you let me wait here for half an hour without an excuse. So..." he smiled mischievously. "... I thought you deserved to be scared a little."
Azusa's look darkened and he was about to open his mouth to let lose another tirade, but Yarasho was faster.
"It was only a joke. Of course I had no intention to seriously hurt you. So calm down already."
"I will have my revenge," Azusa forced out through clenched teeth and the force field disappeared. "Lights on!"
Nothing happened.
"I have deactivated the voice interface," Yarasho admitted readily. "It would have been to risky leaving it on. Imagine all you had to do would have been to call out for light and our little fight in the dark would have lost all of its magic."
"You are crazy, Yar," was Azusa's only comment before he turned and searched the wall for the manual control in the glow of his sword.
It didn't took too long and the room was bathed in a dim twilight. Azusa returned and sat down on the log that had made him stumble. Yarasho took his place next to him, leaving some distance, just to be sure.
"So tell me, where have you been all the time? Your little beauty was looking for you. I let her into the nursery, because you're always hiding there."
Since Azusa didn't answer right away, Yarasho continued. "Don't tell me you weren't there. Man, I will never hear the end of it if they find out that I let a servant into the nursery just like that."
"I was there," Azusa said, much like it was answer enough to all of his friend's questions.
"Then I don't understand. The girl promised me to take you to the session. Have you sent her away?"
"No."
Yarasho looked at his friend dumbfounded, but Azusa didn't look at him and stared ahead with an expression made of stone. He didn't like the direction in which the conversation was going. Just as he had made up his mind to suggest his revenge, the young man beside him broke into laughter.
"You all right?" Azusa asked. The reason for his friend's sudden amusement was a mystery to him.
Yarasho gave him a suggestive look, still smiling.
"I got it. You've missed the session, because you had to stay the whole time with that little beauty."
Instantly, Azusa's face was on fire. "It's not what you're thinking."
"What am I thinking? I mean, a beautiful young woman and a powerful heir to the throne... in a forbidden place... together for hours. Much room for fantasy."
"Stop talking like that. She forced me to let her stay. And if you want to know the details, we just sat there in silence for almost an hour. The rest of the time we... talked."
Yarasho lowered his head in disappointment. "Everything else would have really surprised me. You still don't have the slightest interest in women, do you?"
"We've discussed that already." Azusa stood. "Time for revenge."
But Yarasho just ignored the challenge. "But this time it's a perfect opportunity. She's nice and beautiful. And as your..."
Azusa activated his sword. "Stop talking and fight."
"As your chamber maid she won't go against you. I think it's a fabulous opportunity to gain some..."
A fierce battle cry echoed through the room and Azusa's sword came down at Yarasho. He had just enough time to roll to the side before the light blade left a deep gash in the wood.
Yarasho jumped to his feet and caught Azusa's next strike with his own blade.
"I hope you'll show me a better fight this time," he said and for a long time there were only the sounds of two light swords meeting each other again and again.
Chapter notes:
First chapter is done and as you might have noticed the scenes as well as the whole chapter are much shorter than in P&C.
I hope I haven't messed up with the characterization of Azusa, since he is supposed to be as close to the original as possible. All the other characters are thought up anyway. If you like them, I'm glad to tell you that they will carry the story on for the next two chapters. If not, well, up from chapter five new ones will be introduced. So stick to it, the whole thing will get more interesting soon.
I would be happy if you dropped me a review,
Yours Tamrin
BTW, thanks again to Kryo who spent his precious time to work through my writings.