Disclaimer (short and non-witty version): I don't own Shadow Hearts or any
of the characters portrayed in the series.
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The gentle rocking of the train had lulled Yuri and Alice to sleep as they traveled to visit her mother in Zurich Switzerland. It had been a rough year for both of them. Fighting what seemed to be unceasing hordes of demons and monsters as well as coming to terms with Yuri's own inner demons. However, they had made it through and their adventures had culminated in saving the world from an alien god. How they had been able to pull that feat off Yuri was still unsure.
What mattered to Yuri now was getting to know Alice even better. He thought this task should be much easier to accomplish now that they were no longer being stalked by mad men bent on ruling or destroying the world. They were finally going to be able to do the mundane activities average couples enjoyed everyday. Walks through the park, picnics, and they would, at last, be able to spend more than ten minutes alone at a time. Yuri had enjoyed the company of all of their travel companions, however towards the end of their trip he had become increasingly aggravated with the lack of privacy available to him and Alice. A couple of special moments had almost taken place between them only to be inadvertently cut short by one or more of their friends barging in.
The rocking of the train finally ceased as they reached their destination, Zurich. Yuri slowly opened his eyes and moved his line of sight to the girl still asleep on his shoulder. The soft light shining through window made her facial features look even more delicate than usual and gave her light blonde hair a silvery glow. Yuri mused to himself that it felt like he had an angel or some type of Greek goddess resting upon his shoulder.
"Alice..." Yuri whispered. "We're here."
Alice's eyes stayed closed.
"Alice," Yuri said a bit louder and moved his right hand to gently begin shaking her shoulder.
Her eyes still stayed closed and she did not stir. Yuri felt a surge of dread flow into him.
'Oh please God, don't let her...'
He thought that they had taken care of the masks and annulled Alice's deal with them, but what if they and Atman had somehow come back to claim Alice's soul.
Yuri grabbed both of Alice's shoulders and began to shake her much more roughly.
"Alice! Wake up!"
Alice sat up quickly and looked around the train compartment.
"Huh, what...what's going on?"
Several passengers who had already collected their luggage and were heading out of the train compartment turned their heads to look at the commotion Yuri had caused. An older woman traveling by herself clicked her tongue and mumbled something about obnoxious young people.
Once Alice had gained her bearings she turned to Yuri and examined his face.
"Uh, Yuri are you alright?"
Yuri let out a small, self-conscious chuckle and shook his head.
"Oh uh yeah Alice. I guess I'm still just a bit stressed out."
Alice gave a final skeptical glance in Yuri's direction and then moved her eyes to the small bag at her feet.
"Well, we had better get going if we are going to have dinner at mother's."
Alice stood up with bag and straightened out her skirt, brushing out the wrinkles. Yuri took a deep breath and then quickly followed her as she exited the train.
Once they were outside and Yuri had collected their remaining luggage Alice turned toward him.
"Yuri, are you sure you're alright? When I woke up you just looked so distressed. You know you can tell me if something is bothering you." Alice smiled reassuringly and patted Yuri's arm.
Yuri smiled back, but knew there was no way he was going to divulge the truth to her. There was finally a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere surrounding them and he wasn't going to risk upsetting it by bringing up the now null and void death deal she had made with those stupid masks.
"I guess I'm just kind of nervous about meeting your mother."
Alice seemed to relax a bit after hearing this response and her smile grew wider.
"Now, Yuri I've gone over this with you. My mother will love you just as long as you act like the gentleman I know you are."
Yuri attempted to stifle a chuckle, but Alice quickly noticed and turned to face him, her expression changed from amusement to concern.
"Yuri, please, it's important that you make a good first impression. Now that means no cursing or using the Lord's name in vain or chewing with your mouth open or-" Yuri quickly cut Alice off before she could continue.
"Yeah, yeah we've already been over all of this." Yuri had only paused for a second before Alice quickly jumped in again.
"Oh, and I almost forgot to mention no inappropriate touching."
Following Alice's last statement Yuri quirked an eyebrow.
"What do you mean by that?" Yuri responded with as innocent an expression as he could muster. He knew he would be able to have some fun embarrassing and aggravating Alice with the impending subject.
Alice began to glance around the train station. She looked at the bags Yuri had dropped at their feet, the clock over the station exit door, almost anywhere but in Yuri's eyes.
"Well, it's just that sometimes your hands seem to wander to places that they have no business being." Alice's tone was serious and she was sure to emphasize the last words she spoke. However, Yuri was having a very hard time maintaining his innocent façade as well as stifling a devious smile. He took a step closer to Alice so they were now only inches apart.
"So you're saying I shouldn't do something like this?" Yuri said in a sincere tone as he reached around and placed his hand on Alice's lower back and then quickly moved it lower.
Alice's jaw fell open as Yuri's hand lingered over her backside. But, a couple of seconds later she overcame her initial shock at his action, swatted his hand away, and took several steps back from him. Her face grew red as she searched for the words to articulate just how outraged she was at the liberty his hand had just taken. Yuri realized that was in for it when Alice narrowed her eyes at him.
"Yuri! How...how dare..." Instead of finishing the sentence Alice made an angry noise, turned towards the stations nearest exit, and marched off.
Yuri was left standing with all of the luggage as well as the small bag Alice had been carrying. He scrambled to quickly gather all of the bags together and catch up with Alice as she stormed out of the station.
'Oh man, I hope she gets over this before we get to her mom's place' Yuri thought following after Alice as she pushed through the station exit doors.
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End of chapter one. Thanks for reading and please review if you don't mind. I think that Yuri's pretty well in character, but I'm a little less sure about Alice.
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The gentle rocking of the train had lulled Yuri and Alice to sleep as they traveled to visit her mother in Zurich Switzerland. It had been a rough year for both of them. Fighting what seemed to be unceasing hordes of demons and monsters as well as coming to terms with Yuri's own inner demons. However, they had made it through and their adventures had culminated in saving the world from an alien god. How they had been able to pull that feat off Yuri was still unsure.
What mattered to Yuri now was getting to know Alice even better. He thought this task should be much easier to accomplish now that they were no longer being stalked by mad men bent on ruling or destroying the world. They were finally going to be able to do the mundane activities average couples enjoyed everyday. Walks through the park, picnics, and they would, at last, be able to spend more than ten minutes alone at a time. Yuri had enjoyed the company of all of their travel companions, however towards the end of their trip he had become increasingly aggravated with the lack of privacy available to him and Alice. A couple of special moments had almost taken place between them only to be inadvertently cut short by one or more of their friends barging in.
The rocking of the train finally ceased as they reached their destination, Zurich. Yuri slowly opened his eyes and moved his line of sight to the girl still asleep on his shoulder. The soft light shining through window made her facial features look even more delicate than usual and gave her light blonde hair a silvery glow. Yuri mused to himself that it felt like he had an angel or some type of Greek goddess resting upon his shoulder.
"Alice..." Yuri whispered. "We're here."
Alice's eyes stayed closed.
"Alice," Yuri said a bit louder and moved his right hand to gently begin shaking her shoulder.
Her eyes still stayed closed and she did not stir. Yuri felt a surge of dread flow into him.
'Oh please God, don't let her...'
He thought that they had taken care of the masks and annulled Alice's deal with them, but what if they and Atman had somehow come back to claim Alice's soul.
Yuri grabbed both of Alice's shoulders and began to shake her much more roughly.
"Alice! Wake up!"
Alice sat up quickly and looked around the train compartment.
"Huh, what...what's going on?"
Several passengers who had already collected their luggage and were heading out of the train compartment turned their heads to look at the commotion Yuri had caused. An older woman traveling by herself clicked her tongue and mumbled something about obnoxious young people.
Once Alice had gained her bearings she turned to Yuri and examined his face.
"Uh, Yuri are you alright?"
Yuri let out a small, self-conscious chuckle and shook his head.
"Oh uh yeah Alice. I guess I'm still just a bit stressed out."
Alice gave a final skeptical glance in Yuri's direction and then moved her eyes to the small bag at her feet.
"Well, we had better get going if we are going to have dinner at mother's."
Alice stood up with bag and straightened out her skirt, brushing out the wrinkles. Yuri took a deep breath and then quickly followed her as she exited the train.
Once they were outside and Yuri had collected their remaining luggage Alice turned toward him.
"Yuri, are you sure you're alright? When I woke up you just looked so distressed. You know you can tell me if something is bothering you." Alice smiled reassuringly and patted Yuri's arm.
Yuri smiled back, but knew there was no way he was going to divulge the truth to her. There was finally a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere surrounding them and he wasn't going to risk upsetting it by bringing up the now null and void death deal she had made with those stupid masks.
"I guess I'm just kind of nervous about meeting your mother."
Alice seemed to relax a bit after hearing this response and her smile grew wider.
"Now, Yuri I've gone over this with you. My mother will love you just as long as you act like the gentleman I know you are."
Yuri attempted to stifle a chuckle, but Alice quickly noticed and turned to face him, her expression changed from amusement to concern.
"Yuri, please, it's important that you make a good first impression. Now that means no cursing or using the Lord's name in vain or chewing with your mouth open or-" Yuri quickly cut Alice off before she could continue.
"Yeah, yeah we've already been over all of this." Yuri had only paused for a second before Alice quickly jumped in again.
"Oh, and I almost forgot to mention no inappropriate touching."
Following Alice's last statement Yuri quirked an eyebrow.
"What do you mean by that?" Yuri responded with as innocent an expression as he could muster. He knew he would be able to have some fun embarrassing and aggravating Alice with the impending subject.
Alice began to glance around the train station. She looked at the bags Yuri had dropped at their feet, the clock over the station exit door, almost anywhere but in Yuri's eyes.
"Well, it's just that sometimes your hands seem to wander to places that they have no business being." Alice's tone was serious and she was sure to emphasize the last words she spoke. However, Yuri was having a very hard time maintaining his innocent façade as well as stifling a devious smile. He took a step closer to Alice so they were now only inches apart.
"So you're saying I shouldn't do something like this?" Yuri said in a sincere tone as he reached around and placed his hand on Alice's lower back and then quickly moved it lower.
Alice's jaw fell open as Yuri's hand lingered over her backside. But, a couple of seconds later she overcame her initial shock at his action, swatted his hand away, and took several steps back from him. Her face grew red as she searched for the words to articulate just how outraged she was at the liberty his hand had just taken. Yuri realized that was in for it when Alice narrowed her eyes at him.
"Yuri! How...how dare..." Instead of finishing the sentence Alice made an angry noise, turned towards the stations nearest exit, and marched off.
Yuri was left standing with all of the luggage as well as the small bag Alice had been carrying. He scrambled to quickly gather all of the bags together and catch up with Alice as she stormed out of the station.
'Oh man, I hope she gets over this before we get to her mom's place' Yuri thought following after Alice as she pushed through the station exit doors.
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End of chapter one. Thanks for reading and please review if you don't mind. I think that Yuri's pretty well in character, but I'm a little less sure about Alice.