K, so maybe I lied when I said that ASAP could be awhile.oh well! Enjoy!
Oh, and Fanged Bandit 19, I'm getting there, just give it a rest, would ya!
Amber woke the nest morning in pain. Everything was sore and hurt like hell. She rose up out of bed and was surprised to find herself in Tasuki's shirt until she remembered the events of the previous day. Blushing, she changed into jeans and a T-shirt, folding the linen neatly and placing it on the bed. She padded lightly down the hall, only to run into Solei coming from the other direction, sweaty and grinning like a maniac.
"Could you wash Tasuki's shirt for me?" she asked her voice barely above a whisper. Solei's grin widened. Then she nodded.
"I must inquire as to why." She said. "You want it to still smell and feel like him, to feel him against you..." she trailed off, slipping into Amber's room, grabbing the shirt, and slipping out before Amber could slaughter her for the simple comment. Amber started to follow her, but decided against it, choosing instead to take a long relaxing bubble bath to relieve her aching muscles.
Kamai awoke restless, her mind still replaying the previous night, her heart still in denial. She rose in a single fluid motion, amazed that her body did not protest. She stared down at herself and her eyes narrowed in disgust at the sight of the long black dress. She slid out of it quickly and put on her vest and pants, pulling her hair up into a ponytail to keep it out of her face as she trained. Grabbing her knifes as she pulled on her boots; Kamai slipped out the door, her soft leather boots treading silently on the polished rosewood floors. She ran lightly through the corridors, carefully opening the screens to the outside. The sun had not yet begun to rise as she crossed the dew-coated grass. She removed her knives and hung them in a sling on a tree-branch. She unsheathed her long sword, catching the sun's first rays on its snowy blade. She heard another sword being drawn and she turned to face Nakago, her blade flicking up in salute. He repeated the gesture, then stepped into a ready position. Solei grinned inwardly and brought her own sword up. No sooner had she done this, then he attacked, his blade flying and she parried it easily. As the sun rose, they fought. Each attack a bit faster, a touch more complex, both trying to see how good the other was. Just as the sun was finishing its ascent, Solei tripped, her usually perfect footing failing her. She lost her sword as Nakago flicked it out of her hand and she swept him as she fell, intent upon continuing the fight despite her lack of a weapon. He fell on top of her, his sword at her throat. He smirked, his sword unmoving.
"I believe, fair lady that I win." Solei was caught between a furious blush and a laugh, but decided against both, returning his smirk with an identical one.
"I would beg to differ, my lord." He raised an eyebrow. Kamai's smirk widened and her eyes flicked to her right hand, which held a knife to his chest. Nakago's face returned to its usual mask.
"They're watching. Let's give them something to watch." Only when he spoke did she realize how close they were, and that it wasn't the wind ticking her ear, it was his breath. His lips brushed the sensitive flesh behind her ear and she shivered at his touch. He found a particularly tender spot behind her earlobe and she tried vainly to stifle a slight whimper. His kisses trailed lightly down her jaw to her lips and once more she was surprised. Not only by the gentleness of his caress, but of the fire that spread through her when he even touched her, let alone kissed her. Carefully he parted her lips with his tongue, obtaining entrance into her mouth. It was a lover's caress, soft and gentle. She melted as he continued in his sensual assault on her mouth. A thought briefly flickered through her mind about how many girls had felt the flames, and had melted similarly, but quenched it almost as quickly. She shifted oh-so slightly beneath him, needing air. Nakago, sensing that the need for a show was over and that things were progressing in a slightly awkward direction, expertly tapered off the kiss and rose, flicking his sword as if to rid it of blood. Kamai also stood, head swimming and unconsciously repeated the same gesture with her own sword, such a thing common for warriors rather than wiping it clean. Nakago ran his thumb almost affectionately over her temptingly kiss- swollen lips, then bowed to her mockingly, winking to her as he had to the spy.
"A draw, my lord?" she asked, her lavender eyes dancing as she curtsied in return. He chose to throw her own words back at her.
"Perhaps." She fought to keep her face straight.
"Perhaps, indeed." She went to retrieve her knives from the tree, and when she returned, he was gone, like a wraith disappearing in the night. She let the smile break loose and walked back down the hill towards her grandfather's shrine, he had taken both kisses from her, she had not given them, but they had FELT real, not phony. Solei walked down one of the hallways to run into Amber.
"Could you wash Tasuki's shirt for me?" Amber asked. Solei's smile widened.
"I must inquire as to why." She answered. "You want it to still smell and feel like him, to feel him against you..." She slid into Amber's room and slipped back out, leaving before Amber could smash her into a pulp. She started a load of whites with the shirt and stripped off her sweaty attire, putting in a separated pile for almost immediate washing. Carefully wrapping a towel around herself, she let her hair down over her damp shoulders and went out into the hall to the bathroom to take a shower before starting breakfast.
Jaime went back to the shrine, intent upon apologizing to Solei. He knew she often trained on the hill in the mornings, so he went to watch. When he arrived, he saw her bow to a blond guy, then cross swords in preparation. He watched each blow, each parry, wondering if the guy could even come close to her skill. As he observed the mock-battle, the swords increased in speed, and both fighters upped their speed. Suddenly, he saw Solei drop to the ground, and he stifled a cry. A pair of ice blue eyes belonging to Solei's opponent caught his gaze and winked. As he watched, the two kissed passionately, and he stalked away, a tight smile on his face. A bouquet of white lilacs and white tiger-lilies fell to the ground, her favorite flowers not given in apology.
The sounds of Tasuki's snores rumbling loudly throughout the room woke Nuriko up. He got up, unable to fall back asleep, and brushed out his long violet hair. As he tied off his braid, he heard footsteps padding lightly outside his door and opened it to see who it was. He caught a glimpse of a navy-blue towel and blond hair. Before the person disappeared around a corner. He shook his head, then followed, curious as to where the person was going clad only in a towel. Quickly he lost his way in the maze of hallways. He opened the nearest door and saw Solei, about to drop her towel and step into the waiting shower. Nuriko slipped out the door swiftly, but as he closed the door he heard her start muttering with a shocked look on her face.
"Perv." Was the only word he heard as he closed the door, and he cringed at it, promising to make it up to her later.
Solei was still swearing fluently as she stepped out of the shower fifteen minutes later. After toweling her hair dry to the best of her ability, she realized that she had forgotten to grab fresh clothes out of the laundry room.
"Great. Just Great" she muttered to herself. More curses spilled from her as she re-wrapped the towel around her slender form. She opened the door a crack and saw that the hall was empty. She raced out of the bathroom and into her room; her face still red after seeing Nuriko clad only in his boxers. She slid down her wall
"Gods, they're hot..." she trailed off quietly. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the wall. She saw Nakago's face, a slight smile twitching at the corners of his mouth and his eyes twinkling the colour of the summer sky. A small sigh escaped her lips and she got dressed, gathering the much-hated dress and hanging it up to destroy later. Solei entered the kitchen and began chopping up ham and vegetables for omelets. She mentally asked Amber to wake Tasuki and ask the others what they wanted on their omelets. Amber grinned back; her expression translated through their mental link.
'How do you know the other two are awake?' Kamai felt herself going red.
'I trained with Nakago and I passed Nuriko in the halls as I went to take a shower.' She could feel Amber's disbelief, but she stuck to her story, telling Amber to get a move on. 'What do you want on your omelet, Amber?'
'Ham and cheese.' Came the response a moment later. Solei began fixing the batter for the omelets as Amber went to ask the others. Solei's ears lengthened into long, tapering appendages, poking out of her hair. They flicked in the direction of Tasuki's room, anticipating his awakening to be entertaining to say the least. Even without the aid of her ears, however, she would've heard his swearing loud and clear.
'How did you wake him up?' She could once more feel Amber's grin.
'The old fashioned way. With a bucket of water.' Solei shook her head in amusement, then retracted her ears quickly as she heard footsteps approaching. She knew who it was without turning from her ingredients, and she tried to keep her voice level.
"Good morning, Nuriko." He had been trying to surprise her, but now that plan was out the window, gone once she had called him by name without turning and in a perfectly flat voice. He decided after a moment's deliberation to continue with his plan.
"Morning, Kamai." She stiffened as he said her name for herself, her knife pausing for an instant before resuming its rhythmic chopping.
'He has no right to call me that.' She thought to herself. 'It's too...too...' she fumbled for the right word. 'Too...intimate!' She poured the egg mixture for Amber's omelet into the waiting pan and spread it around expertly. He shifted uncomfortably in the silence.
"Look, about earlier..." she stopped him, her eyes not moving from the pan.
"Forgotten." He tried again.
"I just wanted to say," She cut him off before he finished, intent upon stopping the scene from progressing into a kiss, knowing that interruptions were common in her kitchen.
"Forgiven." Relief etched itself across his face, and he smiled freely, awkwardness forgotten. He came closer.
"Anything I can help you with, Kamai?" His use of her name irked her, but she made no comment on it.
"Set the table for five and tell me what you want on your omelet." He thought as he gathered the plates, then spoke.
"Whatever you want to put on it." She slid Amber's breakfast onto the top plate that Nuriko held before speaking.
"Leave the other plates here, take Amber's to the table, there's place- cards with names for where things go. And, please, be serious, Nuriko. What do you want on your omelet? I don't know you that well." She was slightly agitated at him, but poured another egg mix.
'Ahh, but I want to know you better' he thought while he responded. "Only what you deem worthy." She rounded on him, still annoyed at his use of her other name.
"Would you stop being so damn cryptic!" she exclaimed. "I'm trying to make you breakfast!" She waited, holding his gaze with smoldering eyes. He looked away first.
"Sorry. Ham, cheese and tomato." She took a deep breath to calm herself, then turned to gather the ingredients.
"I shouldn't have yelled, Nuriko. Sorry, but you have to give me a straight answer when it comes to food. Yes, I'll take my chef's due, but you need to help me out until I get to know your tastes better." She took another plate from the stack and slipped his omelet onto his plate.
"Here." She said, mentally asking Amber what Tasuki and Nakago wanted on their omelets. Amber did not respond.
'Amber? AMBER!' She heard her friend scream, and she knew it wasn't because of her mental yell. Turning off the stove, she raced out the door and down the hall towards Tasuki's room.
Amber crept into Tasuki's room quietly, bucket of ice water poised and ready. She grinned, grimacing slightly at his snores.
'3, 2, 1...' She launched the bucket of water at his peacefully sleeping form and raced out the door, hiding behind the door-jam as he began to curse in four languages. Her eyes went wide and she began taking notes as he progressed beyond the outer ranges of her vocabulary. She heard Solei's voice in her head.
'How did you wake him up?' Amber grinned.
'The old fashioned way. With a bucket of water.' She felt her friend's mental laughter before a pair of strong arms grabbed her from behind.
"What the-" she started to ask, but one of the hands covered her mouth. A low voice whispered in her ear.
"What did you have in that bucket, Amber?" She relaxed as she heard Tasuki's voice, but realized all too quickly that he was only wearing his pants
"Water." She mumbled innocently into his hand.
"Oh. Don't do it again." She nodded, and his hand dropped. She heard Solei's voice vaguely calling her, but failed to understand what she was asking. Her consciousness slowly started slipping away, and a blue sea engulfed her. She heard Solei's voice clearly now, yelling her name. She did the only thing she could as she disappeared into the portal. She screamed. Loud.
He was in the castle again. He was walking up a long, spiral staircase towards a single oak door. He opened the door and saw a figure in a long red dress facing the window away from him. This was the princess. Who was she? She started to turn around, her dress rustling and her face came into view. Just as he was focusing in on who she was, a violent explosion of cold rushed over him. Waking him up and ruining the ending to his dream yet again. He caught sight of Amber as she disappeared around behind the door, yelling curses at his vicious awakening. He toweled off, still cursing, and crept up behind Amber.
"What the-" She started to talk, but he folded her into his arms, covering her mouth with a hand.
"What did you have in that bucket, Amber?" He felt her relax in his arms, then stiffen slightly against him. Her lips moved sensuously against his palm as she answered.
"Water." He barely deciphered the word through his hand.
"Oh. Don't do it again." She nodded, her hair brushing against his bare chest. He released his hold on her and she turned to face him, her eyes strangely blank. A sudden flash of blue around Amber made him start, and as she began to disappear she screamed as loud as she could. Tasuki, retaining some sense, tried to pull her out, but was instead sucked in with her, blue obscuring his vision until he knew no more.
Well? Tell me what you think. Or tell me anything at all, it doesn't really matter. Ta-ta!
Amber woke the nest morning in pain. Everything was sore and hurt like hell. She rose up out of bed and was surprised to find herself in Tasuki's shirt until she remembered the events of the previous day. Blushing, she changed into jeans and a T-shirt, folding the linen neatly and placing it on the bed. She padded lightly down the hall, only to run into Solei coming from the other direction, sweaty and grinning like a maniac.
"Could you wash Tasuki's shirt for me?" she asked her voice barely above a whisper. Solei's grin widened. Then she nodded.
"I must inquire as to why." She said. "You want it to still smell and feel like him, to feel him against you..." she trailed off, slipping into Amber's room, grabbing the shirt, and slipping out before Amber could slaughter her for the simple comment. Amber started to follow her, but decided against it, choosing instead to take a long relaxing bubble bath to relieve her aching muscles.
Kamai awoke restless, her mind still replaying the previous night, her heart still in denial. She rose in a single fluid motion, amazed that her body did not protest. She stared down at herself and her eyes narrowed in disgust at the sight of the long black dress. She slid out of it quickly and put on her vest and pants, pulling her hair up into a ponytail to keep it out of her face as she trained. Grabbing her knifes as she pulled on her boots; Kamai slipped out the door, her soft leather boots treading silently on the polished rosewood floors. She ran lightly through the corridors, carefully opening the screens to the outside. The sun had not yet begun to rise as she crossed the dew-coated grass. She removed her knives and hung them in a sling on a tree-branch. She unsheathed her long sword, catching the sun's first rays on its snowy blade. She heard another sword being drawn and she turned to face Nakago, her blade flicking up in salute. He repeated the gesture, then stepped into a ready position. Solei grinned inwardly and brought her own sword up. No sooner had she done this, then he attacked, his blade flying and she parried it easily. As the sun rose, they fought. Each attack a bit faster, a touch more complex, both trying to see how good the other was. Just as the sun was finishing its ascent, Solei tripped, her usually perfect footing failing her. She lost her sword as Nakago flicked it out of her hand and she swept him as she fell, intent upon continuing the fight despite her lack of a weapon. He fell on top of her, his sword at her throat. He smirked, his sword unmoving.
"I believe, fair lady that I win." Solei was caught between a furious blush and a laugh, but decided against both, returning his smirk with an identical one.
"I would beg to differ, my lord." He raised an eyebrow. Kamai's smirk widened and her eyes flicked to her right hand, which held a knife to his chest. Nakago's face returned to its usual mask.
"They're watching. Let's give them something to watch." Only when he spoke did she realize how close they were, and that it wasn't the wind ticking her ear, it was his breath. His lips brushed the sensitive flesh behind her ear and she shivered at his touch. He found a particularly tender spot behind her earlobe and she tried vainly to stifle a slight whimper. His kisses trailed lightly down her jaw to her lips and once more she was surprised. Not only by the gentleness of his caress, but of the fire that spread through her when he even touched her, let alone kissed her. Carefully he parted her lips with his tongue, obtaining entrance into her mouth. It was a lover's caress, soft and gentle. She melted as he continued in his sensual assault on her mouth. A thought briefly flickered through her mind about how many girls had felt the flames, and had melted similarly, but quenched it almost as quickly. She shifted oh-so slightly beneath him, needing air. Nakago, sensing that the need for a show was over and that things were progressing in a slightly awkward direction, expertly tapered off the kiss and rose, flicking his sword as if to rid it of blood. Kamai also stood, head swimming and unconsciously repeated the same gesture with her own sword, such a thing common for warriors rather than wiping it clean. Nakago ran his thumb almost affectionately over her temptingly kiss- swollen lips, then bowed to her mockingly, winking to her as he had to the spy.
"A draw, my lord?" she asked, her lavender eyes dancing as she curtsied in return. He chose to throw her own words back at her.
"Perhaps." She fought to keep her face straight.
"Perhaps, indeed." She went to retrieve her knives from the tree, and when she returned, he was gone, like a wraith disappearing in the night. She let the smile break loose and walked back down the hill towards her grandfather's shrine, he had taken both kisses from her, she had not given them, but they had FELT real, not phony. Solei walked down one of the hallways to run into Amber.
"Could you wash Tasuki's shirt for me?" Amber asked. Solei's smile widened.
"I must inquire as to why." She answered. "You want it to still smell and feel like him, to feel him against you..." She slid into Amber's room and slipped back out, leaving before Amber could smash her into a pulp. She started a load of whites with the shirt and stripped off her sweaty attire, putting in a separated pile for almost immediate washing. Carefully wrapping a towel around herself, she let her hair down over her damp shoulders and went out into the hall to the bathroom to take a shower before starting breakfast.
Jaime went back to the shrine, intent upon apologizing to Solei. He knew she often trained on the hill in the mornings, so he went to watch. When he arrived, he saw her bow to a blond guy, then cross swords in preparation. He watched each blow, each parry, wondering if the guy could even come close to her skill. As he observed the mock-battle, the swords increased in speed, and both fighters upped their speed. Suddenly, he saw Solei drop to the ground, and he stifled a cry. A pair of ice blue eyes belonging to Solei's opponent caught his gaze and winked. As he watched, the two kissed passionately, and he stalked away, a tight smile on his face. A bouquet of white lilacs and white tiger-lilies fell to the ground, her favorite flowers not given in apology.
The sounds of Tasuki's snores rumbling loudly throughout the room woke Nuriko up. He got up, unable to fall back asleep, and brushed out his long violet hair. As he tied off his braid, he heard footsteps padding lightly outside his door and opened it to see who it was. He caught a glimpse of a navy-blue towel and blond hair. Before the person disappeared around a corner. He shook his head, then followed, curious as to where the person was going clad only in a towel. Quickly he lost his way in the maze of hallways. He opened the nearest door and saw Solei, about to drop her towel and step into the waiting shower. Nuriko slipped out the door swiftly, but as he closed the door he heard her start muttering with a shocked look on her face.
"Perv." Was the only word he heard as he closed the door, and he cringed at it, promising to make it up to her later.
Solei was still swearing fluently as she stepped out of the shower fifteen minutes later. After toweling her hair dry to the best of her ability, she realized that she had forgotten to grab fresh clothes out of the laundry room.
"Great. Just Great" she muttered to herself. More curses spilled from her as she re-wrapped the towel around her slender form. She opened the door a crack and saw that the hall was empty. She raced out of the bathroom and into her room; her face still red after seeing Nuriko clad only in his boxers. She slid down her wall
"Gods, they're hot..." she trailed off quietly. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the wall. She saw Nakago's face, a slight smile twitching at the corners of his mouth and his eyes twinkling the colour of the summer sky. A small sigh escaped her lips and she got dressed, gathering the much-hated dress and hanging it up to destroy later. Solei entered the kitchen and began chopping up ham and vegetables for omelets. She mentally asked Amber to wake Tasuki and ask the others what they wanted on their omelets. Amber grinned back; her expression translated through their mental link.
'How do you know the other two are awake?' Kamai felt herself going red.
'I trained with Nakago and I passed Nuriko in the halls as I went to take a shower.' She could feel Amber's disbelief, but she stuck to her story, telling Amber to get a move on. 'What do you want on your omelet, Amber?'
'Ham and cheese.' Came the response a moment later. Solei began fixing the batter for the omelets as Amber went to ask the others. Solei's ears lengthened into long, tapering appendages, poking out of her hair. They flicked in the direction of Tasuki's room, anticipating his awakening to be entertaining to say the least. Even without the aid of her ears, however, she would've heard his swearing loud and clear.
'How did you wake him up?' She could once more feel Amber's grin.
'The old fashioned way. With a bucket of water.' Solei shook her head in amusement, then retracted her ears quickly as she heard footsteps approaching. She knew who it was without turning from her ingredients, and she tried to keep her voice level.
"Good morning, Nuriko." He had been trying to surprise her, but now that plan was out the window, gone once she had called him by name without turning and in a perfectly flat voice. He decided after a moment's deliberation to continue with his plan.
"Morning, Kamai." She stiffened as he said her name for herself, her knife pausing for an instant before resuming its rhythmic chopping.
'He has no right to call me that.' She thought to herself. 'It's too...too...' she fumbled for the right word. 'Too...intimate!' She poured the egg mixture for Amber's omelet into the waiting pan and spread it around expertly. He shifted uncomfortably in the silence.
"Look, about earlier..." she stopped him, her eyes not moving from the pan.
"Forgotten." He tried again.
"I just wanted to say," She cut him off before he finished, intent upon stopping the scene from progressing into a kiss, knowing that interruptions were common in her kitchen.
"Forgiven." Relief etched itself across his face, and he smiled freely, awkwardness forgotten. He came closer.
"Anything I can help you with, Kamai?" His use of her name irked her, but she made no comment on it.
"Set the table for five and tell me what you want on your omelet." He thought as he gathered the plates, then spoke.
"Whatever you want to put on it." She slid Amber's breakfast onto the top plate that Nuriko held before speaking.
"Leave the other plates here, take Amber's to the table, there's place- cards with names for where things go. And, please, be serious, Nuriko. What do you want on your omelet? I don't know you that well." She was slightly agitated at him, but poured another egg mix.
'Ahh, but I want to know you better' he thought while he responded. "Only what you deem worthy." She rounded on him, still annoyed at his use of her other name.
"Would you stop being so damn cryptic!" she exclaimed. "I'm trying to make you breakfast!" She waited, holding his gaze with smoldering eyes. He looked away first.
"Sorry. Ham, cheese and tomato." She took a deep breath to calm herself, then turned to gather the ingredients.
"I shouldn't have yelled, Nuriko. Sorry, but you have to give me a straight answer when it comes to food. Yes, I'll take my chef's due, but you need to help me out until I get to know your tastes better." She took another plate from the stack and slipped his omelet onto his plate.
"Here." She said, mentally asking Amber what Tasuki and Nakago wanted on their omelets. Amber did not respond.
'Amber? AMBER!' She heard her friend scream, and she knew it wasn't because of her mental yell. Turning off the stove, she raced out the door and down the hall towards Tasuki's room.
Amber crept into Tasuki's room quietly, bucket of ice water poised and ready. She grinned, grimacing slightly at his snores.
'3, 2, 1...' She launched the bucket of water at his peacefully sleeping form and raced out the door, hiding behind the door-jam as he began to curse in four languages. Her eyes went wide and she began taking notes as he progressed beyond the outer ranges of her vocabulary. She heard Solei's voice in her head.
'How did you wake him up?' Amber grinned.
'The old fashioned way. With a bucket of water.' She felt her friend's mental laughter before a pair of strong arms grabbed her from behind.
"What the-" she started to ask, but one of the hands covered her mouth. A low voice whispered in her ear.
"What did you have in that bucket, Amber?" She relaxed as she heard Tasuki's voice, but realized all too quickly that he was only wearing his pants
"Water." She mumbled innocently into his hand.
"Oh. Don't do it again." She nodded, and his hand dropped. She heard Solei's voice vaguely calling her, but failed to understand what she was asking. Her consciousness slowly started slipping away, and a blue sea engulfed her. She heard Solei's voice clearly now, yelling her name. She did the only thing she could as she disappeared into the portal. She screamed. Loud.
He was in the castle again. He was walking up a long, spiral staircase towards a single oak door. He opened the door and saw a figure in a long red dress facing the window away from him. This was the princess. Who was she? She started to turn around, her dress rustling and her face came into view. Just as he was focusing in on who she was, a violent explosion of cold rushed over him. Waking him up and ruining the ending to his dream yet again. He caught sight of Amber as she disappeared around behind the door, yelling curses at his vicious awakening. He toweled off, still cursing, and crept up behind Amber.
"What the-" She started to talk, but he folded her into his arms, covering her mouth with a hand.
"What did you have in that bucket, Amber?" He felt her relax in his arms, then stiffen slightly against him. Her lips moved sensuously against his palm as she answered.
"Water." He barely deciphered the word through his hand.
"Oh. Don't do it again." She nodded, her hair brushing against his bare chest. He released his hold on her and she turned to face him, her eyes strangely blank. A sudden flash of blue around Amber made him start, and as she began to disappear she screamed as loud as she could. Tasuki, retaining some sense, tried to pull her out, but was instead sucked in with her, blue obscuring his vision until he knew no more.
Well? Tell me what you think. Or tell me anything at all, it doesn't really matter. Ta-ta!