Okay, as a warning, this chapter is ALL FLUFF. Be ye warned. Enjoy and please review.
Tasuki waited until Amber had finished puking to join her in the foul-smelling corner.
"Are ya alright?" he asked softly. She nodded weakly and allowed him to help her up and out of the room. No one was in the hallway, and Tasuki mentally measured the distance to the room Amber had been given. Deciding it was too far for her to walk by herself, he picked her up and started down the corridor.
"I can walk." She was squirming slightly in his arms, a deep blush spreading across her cheeks. He made no signs to put her down, enjoying having her near. "Put me down." Amber was not really trying to get loose, but to keep up face, she had to.
Tasuki looked into her honey eyes. "No." He continued walking. Amber curled closer to him, trying to rid herself of the cold feeling that was drifting near. Tasuki opened the door of the room she was sharing with Des. Setting her down on the bed, he noticed that she was shivering slightly, despite the warm air.
"What's wrong?" he asked, his accent slipping. She glanced up at him in surprise.
"I..." Her gaze fell to her hands, and she inspected their tips. "I killed him..."
Pulling her close, he stroked her hair softly. "S'alrigh', Amber. He woulda killed ya without a thought."
"I feel dirty..." she mumbled into his chest. "Like I'll never be warm again." Her arms snaked around him, trying to gather as much of his body heat as she could. In response, he brought her even closer, resting his head on top of hers. Gently, he rocked her back and forth, murmuring soothing words.The door opened and then closed quickly. Amber did not notice.
"Ya'll be alrigh', pet." Her white ears perked at the nickname.
"What did you call me?"
"Pet." His fingers brushed the tips of her ears. They flicked out of his touch, but he reached towards them again and started to rub them softly. A low purr rose through Amber's throat, and she blushed, yet made no attempt to remove herself from his caress. Her tail curled up and brushed against the arm that was wrapped protectively around her waist, and he tentatively stroked the silky white fur. She started to growl, but her warning did not deter him, and she relaxed against his strong chest in submission.
"AMBER!!!!" Des's voice shattered the moment, and reluctantly, Tasuki let Amber go. She hesitated as his hand lingered on her waist, and, making a quick decision, she grabbed his hand and pulled him up with her.
"Come on!" she said, dragging him down the corridor after her. He followed, curious at the mood swing that had run through the brunette. One minute calm and relaxed, and the next, energetic and bubbly. He would never understand her. Carefully watching Amber as she yanked him through the palace, he decided that he liked her as an enigma, and that he had meant what he had said on the cliff a few days earlier.
"You're far prettier than this bit o' light. It don't shine half as bight as ya'll do." Amber spun at his words, running backwards at top speed.
"Did you REALLY mean that?" The skepticism was clear in her voice, and Tasuki did the only thing he knew of to remove her doubt. He stopped short, her forward momentum ending and flinging her backwards against him. Spinning her in his arms so that she faced him, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. She tensed up and tried to pull back reflexively, but he would not let her leave, and tentatively she allowed him to kiss her, erasing her doubts and putting her mind at ease. Another yell from Des broke them apart, and Tasuki gave Amber a fanged grin.
"Yeah, I REALLY mean that."
Selene shoved them out the door as quickly as she could, rushing to keep them from the raging battle now closed away behind the oaken doors.
"Will they be alright?" Nicole asked softly, her fingers lacing through Ryndacko's gauntlets.
Worry and doubt flickered momentarily through Selene's eyes, and then they grew cold. "If they aren't then the prophecy was wrong."
"How can you be so callous?" Liz asked in disbelief.
"I have to trust that the prophecy was right. Anything else means that I've been dead for hundreds of years." Mitsukake placed his hand on her shoulder and she leaned into him, accepting his support. "I hope they're alright." she whispered.
"I feel useless now!" Des yelled. "What are we supposed to do while they fight?"
Selene shrugged. "Train for a battle that may never come? I don't actually know."
"Why don't you know, teach?" Selene smiled at the name Raya had given her.
"The prophecy's never actually been completely filled before."
Nicole understood. "There have always been a few members missing. With all of us here, we can only wait until Solei returns."
"Or fails to return..." Selene's voice was just above silent.
Nicole made a quick decision. "Standing around isn't going to do us any good. Let's split up and just talk, get a feel for the basics of fighting, maybe." Nods accompanied her words, but no one moved. Nicole laughed. "Fine, I'll split us up." A coy look flickered in her eyes. "Selene and Mitsukake, Ryndacko and myself,"
Selene understood what Nicole was doing and jumped in. "Liz and Hotohori, Raya and Nuriko."
Des raised a hand. "What about me?" it was half whine and half a genuine request.
A voice behind her made her jump. "I'll show you around the gardens if you like." Des spun around and saw yet another guy.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"Chichiri." he answered simply. "And you are?"
"Desaria. Call me Des." Everyone was stunned at her lack of even the tiniest bit of threat, but they let it drop as the two walked of chatting like old friends; Des's smile almost a match to the one on Chichiri's mask. The last thing they heard from her was a quick: "Just let me grab something from the room really fast." before they were out of earshot.
"Well, with that taken care of, let's go!" Raya smiled at Nicole's energy and hesitantly accepted the arm that Nuriko offered her.
'Hey, you said you wanted to know him better.' she told herself silently. 'Now's your chance.'
Nuriko dropped the formalized escort once they were out of other's view, and switched his lead to her hand. She smiled tentatively, still feeling like an outsider. His return smile was unabashedly large, and she giggled softly at him.
He put on a snobby look. "Are you laughing at me?"
She tried to conceal her increasing chuckles. "Not at all..." She bit the inside of her lip to keep from bursting out in a hysterical fit of laughter.
"Are you sure?" He stretched out his neck as he asked and it was too much for Raya's crumbling self-control. She tried to stop once she saw that he wasn't laughing, but once she looked into his eyes her laughter faded without effort. "When I pulled you out of the bushes in the gardens," he paused, trying to get her words right. "You said that "Watching is simply observing to find out more information on something that interests you"" he licked his lips. "Did you mean that I interested you?" Raya felt herself flush and she started fiddling with her hair.
"Well..." Her eyes flicked up and met his before resuming their inspection of the cobblestones.
"Yes..." Nuriko reached out and placed his fingers under her chin, lifting it up and forcing her to look at him.
"Why were you in the tree?" he asked.
"I was hiding from...well..." She pulled out of Nuriko's grip. "This."
"What do you mean?" She wasn't making any sense at all to him.
"I was hiding from the prophecy, alright?" her emerald eyes were pleading, and he wanted to know why she ran. So he asked. She looked at him, startled. "I ran from it because I know what will happen." Tears formed in the corners of her eyes and she tried to leave, but Nuriko brought her back, wiping away the drops.
"So you can see the future. That doesn't mean that it can't be changed." She smiled through her tears.
"I don't want it to change." she whispered. Nuriko wanted to question her silence, but held back, knowing that something was going to happen that would change everything for him. Raya glanced sidelong at him, and came to a firm decision.
'He is the one from my dream and I don't want that to be altered.' Happy with her conclusion she stood on her tiptoes and gave Nuriko a quick peck on the lips before starting to run. Nuriko did not let go of hr hand, and pulled her back.
"It's not very nice to kiss a guy and leave him hanging..." he growled.
Raya smiled. "Fine." She turned to face him and kissed him a second time. Before she could pull away, Nuriko kissed back, pressing his lips against hers. Raya sagged against him happily, trusting his strength to hold her up. When Nuriko ended the kiss, he saw forest green eyes sparking, and knew that loosing Solei had led to something better. He kissed her again. It had led to Raya.
Nicole watched the pairs split off in their separate directions and grinned. "It's good to se young love."
"Would you prefer it if you didn't see it first hand?" Nicole glared at Ryndacko and smacked his chest plate threateningly.
"It's a good thing I like you." Ryndacko bent down and kissed her lightly. He removed his gauntlets and gloves, replacing his hands around Nicole's waist. With another smile, Nicole spun and tweaked Ryndacko's beak-like nose.
"Gotcha."
He grinned widely. "Is that so?" He poked her stomach.
"Yes." She tugged his nose a second time and poked him in the ribs as she pulled back. He let her go and she ran down the corridor, tossing an expectant, loving smile over her shoulder. Ryndacko obeyed the summons and ran after her, all troubles forgotten as he pursued his love.
Hotohori offered Liz his arm, silently thanking Selene for allowing him to go with Liz. She accepted, unsure of proper manners, but all the while sneaking looks at the dark-haired emperor. He led her to a quiet, little used courtyard where he would not be interrupted by his counselors.
"I don't believe we were ever properly introduced." Liz smiled with a slight nod at Hotohori's words.
She extended her hand. "I'm Elizabeth Taira." Hotohori took her hand and placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles that made Liz blush.
"Hotohori." he responded, looking deep into her chocolate eyes. "Nuriko was right.' he thought. 'It DOES seem like she can see into your soul.' Suddenly he realized that he still had her hand, and he lowered it. Starting to let go, he was surprised when Liz gave his hand as squeeze and a smile. In answer he laced his fingers with hers. "What brought you here?" he asked, eager to hear her voice more.
"I wanted to talk to Solei and Amber back at Solei's grandfather's temple, but they weren't home and Des and I met up with Nuriko instead." Her brow furrowed as she tried to recall the events in the proper order. "Amber hollered for Nuriko as he was taking us out to the cliff, and so we ran. Tasuki was fighting a big demon thing and Amber was standing next to a rip in the sky." Hotohori wasn't quite sure he was following her explanation, but he waited to hear it out. "We met up with Solei in Mitsukake's old hut and then we met Selene. The next morning Solei was gone, and we were heading here."
"You had no idea about the prophecy?" he asked gently.
She shook her head. "None whatsoever."
"So you don't know what happens if they succeed?"
Again she indicated her lack of knowledge. "Sorry. Hopefully we don't get sent home to live
'Happily ever after'" She snorted and rolled her eyes.
"What's wrong with that?"
Liz sat down on a bench and looked up at him. "I stopped believing in my 'happily ever after' a long time ago."
"Why?" Maybe this would explain the hint of sorrow he saw in her eyes.
"The guys I like either already have a girlfriend or like someone else." 'Like you probably do.' she added mentally, "and although I love my family, I can't help but feel that they don't let me live as me! They think I'm depressed." She laughed a little at the thought. "I just don't think that it's all sunshine and rainbows."
"I understand your problem." Hotohori said after a moment.
"What do you mean?" Liz's curiosity was peaked, perhaps he DIDN'T like another girl...or guy...
"There was this girl, Miaka..."
'There goes that idea...' she thought ruefully.
"I loved her, but she was in love with someone else..."
"She turned you down, then tried to set you up with someone else right?" Liz spoke from her own experience with one of her friends - Charlotte. She liked Charlotte's boyfriend, and once she had found out, Charlotte had instantly tried to hook her up with some other guys.
Hotohori was surprised at the answer from the dark-haired girl. "Right."
"I know the feeling. They think that they can make you forget one person with another-"
"-but the only thing it does is make you like the first person more." Liz smiled in pleasant shock and tugged on Hotohori's hand that she still held, forcing him to sit beside her. Instantly she leaned against his strong shoulder, taking comfort from someone who understood. They just sat there, and watched as it started to rain.
Do you understand what I meant when I said that it was ALL FLUFF? Okay, Des does NOT like Chichiri, nor does he like her, I just needed her to have someone to wander around with while I gave others fluff. Do you approve of the romance, the pairings? Please let me know. Also, I genuinely want to know how many people are actually reading this story. PLEASE let me know, I'm getting disheartened as I come to the end and I have very few (relatively) reviews that give me feed back. Do you people bother to read my notes? If you are reading, then let me tell you this. I know and thank midnightsoul, FangedBandit19 and I'moncloud9 for their consistant reviews and support, but unless others let me know how they feel, I won't post the final chapters. At all. I'll just leave you in suspense. Dems da Berries. For the three of you, if I don't get reviewed, I'll just e-mail u the last chapters. I have your e-mails. Ja ne.
Solei: She's kinda pissed, so if you DO read the story, PLEASE let her know. It's weird seeing her cynical all the time. Also, she loves to write, and wants you guys to know that this is a LAST RESORT! She doesn't WANT to do this, but lack of support, aside from the previously mentioned 3 is really hitting her hard. Give her support people! Please. For the characters. We want you to know what happens to us!
Thanx. MidnightShade.
Tasuki waited until Amber had finished puking to join her in the foul-smelling corner.
"Are ya alright?" he asked softly. She nodded weakly and allowed him to help her up and out of the room. No one was in the hallway, and Tasuki mentally measured the distance to the room Amber had been given. Deciding it was too far for her to walk by herself, he picked her up and started down the corridor.
"I can walk." She was squirming slightly in his arms, a deep blush spreading across her cheeks. He made no signs to put her down, enjoying having her near. "Put me down." Amber was not really trying to get loose, but to keep up face, she had to.
Tasuki looked into her honey eyes. "No." He continued walking. Amber curled closer to him, trying to rid herself of the cold feeling that was drifting near. Tasuki opened the door of the room she was sharing with Des. Setting her down on the bed, he noticed that she was shivering slightly, despite the warm air.
"What's wrong?" he asked, his accent slipping. She glanced up at him in surprise.
"I..." Her gaze fell to her hands, and she inspected their tips. "I killed him..."
Pulling her close, he stroked her hair softly. "S'alrigh', Amber. He woulda killed ya without a thought."
"I feel dirty..." she mumbled into his chest. "Like I'll never be warm again." Her arms snaked around him, trying to gather as much of his body heat as she could. In response, he brought her even closer, resting his head on top of hers. Gently, he rocked her back and forth, murmuring soothing words.The door opened and then closed quickly. Amber did not notice.
"Ya'll be alrigh', pet." Her white ears perked at the nickname.
"What did you call me?"
"Pet." His fingers brushed the tips of her ears. They flicked out of his touch, but he reached towards them again and started to rub them softly. A low purr rose through Amber's throat, and she blushed, yet made no attempt to remove herself from his caress. Her tail curled up and brushed against the arm that was wrapped protectively around her waist, and he tentatively stroked the silky white fur. She started to growl, but her warning did not deter him, and she relaxed against his strong chest in submission.
"AMBER!!!!" Des's voice shattered the moment, and reluctantly, Tasuki let Amber go. She hesitated as his hand lingered on her waist, and, making a quick decision, she grabbed his hand and pulled him up with her.
"Come on!" she said, dragging him down the corridor after her. He followed, curious at the mood swing that had run through the brunette. One minute calm and relaxed, and the next, energetic and bubbly. He would never understand her. Carefully watching Amber as she yanked him through the palace, he decided that he liked her as an enigma, and that he had meant what he had said on the cliff a few days earlier.
"You're far prettier than this bit o' light. It don't shine half as bight as ya'll do." Amber spun at his words, running backwards at top speed.
"Did you REALLY mean that?" The skepticism was clear in her voice, and Tasuki did the only thing he knew of to remove her doubt. He stopped short, her forward momentum ending and flinging her backwards against him. Spinning her in his arms so that she faced him, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. She tensed up and tried to pull back reflexively, but he would not let her leave, and tentatively she allowed him to kiss her, erasing her doubts and putting her mind at ease. Another yell from Des broke them apart, and Tasuki gave Amber a fanged grin.
"Yeah, I REALLY mean that."
Selene shoved them out the door as quickly as she could, rushing to keep them from the raging battle now closed away behind the oaken doors.
"Will they be alright?" Nicole asked softly, her fingers lacing through Ryndacko's gauntlets.
Worry and doubt flickered momentarily through Selene's eyes, and then they grew cold. "If they aren't then the prophecy was wrong."
"How can you be so callous?" Liz asked in disbelief.
"I have to trust that the prophecy was right. Anything else means that I've been dead for hundreds of years." Mitsukake placed his hand on her shoulder and she leaned into him, accepting his support. "I hope they're alright." she whispered.
"I feel useless now!" Des yelled. "What are we supposed to do while they fight?"
Selene shrugged. "Train for a battle that may never come? I don't actually know."
"Why don't you know, teach?" Selene smiled at the name Raya had given her.
"The prophecy's never actually been completely filled before."
Nicole understood. "There have always been a few members missing. With all of us here, we can only wait until Solei returns."
"Or fails to return..." Selene's voice was just above silent.
Nicole made a quick decision. "Standing around isn't going to do us any good. Let's split up and just talk, get a feel for the basics of fighting, maybe." Nods accompanied her words, but no one moved. Nicole laughed. "Fine, I'll split us up." A coy look flickered in her eyes. "Selene and Mitsukake, Ryndacko and myself,"
Selene understood what Nicole was doing and jumped in. "Liz and Hotohori, Raya and Nuriko."
Des raised a hand. "What about me?" it was half whine and half a genuine request.
A voice behind her made her jump. "I'll show you around the gardens if you like." Des spun around and saw yet another guy.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"Chichiri." he answered simply. "And you are?"
"Desaria. Call me Des." Everyone was stunned at her lack of even the tiniest bit of threat, but they let it drop as the two walked of chatting like old friends; Des's smile almost a match to the one on Chichiri's mask. The last thing they heard from her was a quick: "Just let me grab something from the room really fast." before they were out of earshot.
"Well, with that taken care of, let's go!" Raya smiled at Nicole's energy and hesitantly accepted the arm that Nuriko offered her.
'Hey, you said you wanted to know him better.' she told herself silently. 'Now's your chance.'
Nuriko dropped the formalized escort once they were out of other's view, and switched his lead to her hand. She smiled tentatively, still feeling like an outsider. His return smile was unabashedly large, and she giggled softly at him.
He put on a snobby look. "Are you laughing at me?"
She tried to conceal her increasing chuckles. "Not at all..." She bit the inside of her lip to keep from bursting out in a hysterical fit of laughter.
"Are you sure?" He stretched out his neck as he asked and it was too much for Raya's crumbling self-control. She tried to stop once she saw that he wasn't laughing, but once she looked into his eyes her laughter faded without effort. "When I pulled you out of the bushes in the gardens," he paused, trying to get her words right. "You said that "Watching is simply observing to find out more information on something that interests you"" he licked his lips. "Did you mean that I interested you?" Raya felt herself flush and she started fiddling with her hair.
"Well..." Her eyes flicked up and met his before resuming their inspection of the cobblestones.
"Yes..." Nuriko reached out and placed his fingers under her chin, lifting it up and forcing her to look at him.
"Why were you in the tree?" he asked.
"I was hiding from...well..." She pulled out of Nuriko's grip. "This."
"What do you mean?" She wasn't making any sense at all to him.
"I was hiding from the prophecy, alright?" her emerald eyes were pleading, and he wanted to know why she ran. So he asked. She looked at him, startled. "I ran from it because I know what will happen." Tears formed in the corners of her eyes and she tried to leave, but Nuriko brought her back, wiping away the drops.
"So you can see the future. That doesn't mean that it can't be changed." She smiled through her tears.
"I don't want it to change." she whispered. Nuriko wanted to question her silence, but held back, knowing that something was going to happen that would change everything for him. Raya glanced sidelong at him, and came to a firm decision.
'He is the one from my dream and I don't want that to be altered.' Happy with her conclusion she stood on her tiptoes and gave Nuriko a quick peck on the lips before starting to run. Nuriko did not let go of hr hand, and pulled her back.
"It's not very nice to kiss a guy and leave him hanging..." he growled.
Raya smiled. "Fine." She turned to face him and kissed him a second time. Before she could pull away, Nuriko kissed back, pressing his lips against hers. Raya sagged against him happily, trusting his strength to hold her up. When Nuriko ended the kiss, he saw forest green eyes sparking, and knew that loosing Solei had led to something better. He kissed her again. It had led to Raya.
Nicole watched the pairs split off in their separate directions and grinned. "It's good to se young love."
"Would you prefer it if you didn't see it first hand?" Nicole glared at Ryndacko and smacked his chest plate threateningly.
"It's a good thing I like you." Ryndacko bent down and kissed her lightly. He removed his gauntlets and gloves, replacing his hands around Nicole's waist. With another smile, Nicole spun and tweaked Ryndacko's beak-like nose.
"Gotcha."
He grinned widely. "Is that so?" He poked her stomach.
"Yes." She tugged his nose a second time and poked him in the ribs as she pulled back. He let her go and she ran down the corridor, tossing an expectant, loving smile over her shoulder. Ryndacko obeyed the summons and ran after her, all troubles forgotten as he pursued his love.
Hotohori offered Liz his arm, silently thanking Selene for allowing him to go with Liz. She accepted, unsure of proper manners, but all the while sneaking looks at the dark-haired emperor. He led her to a quiet, little used courtyard where he would not be interrupted by his counselors.
"I don't believe we were ever properly introduced." Liz smiled with a slight nod at Hotohori's words.
She extended her hand. "I'm Elizabeth Taira." Hotohori took her hand and placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles that made Liz blush.
"Hotohori." he responded, looking deep into her chocolate eyes. "Nuriko was right.' he thought. 'It DOES seem like she can see into your soul.' Suddenly he realized that he still had her hand, and he lowered it. Starting to let go, he was surprised when Liz gave his hand as squeeze and a smile. In answer he laced his fingers with hers. "What brought you here?" he asked, eager to hear her voice more.
"I wanted to talk to Solei and Amber back at Solei's grandfather's temple, but they weren't home and Des and I met up with Nuriko instead." Her brow furrowed as she tried to recall the events in the proper order. "Amber hollered for Nuriko as he was taking us out to the cliff, and so we ran. Tasuki was fighting a big demon thing and Amber was standing next to a rip in the sky." Hotohori wasn't quite sure he was following her explanation, but he waited to hear it out. "We met up with Solei in Mitsukake's old hut and then we met Selene. The next morning Solei was gone, and we were heading here."
"You had no idea about the prophecy?" he asked gently.
She shook her head. "None whatsoever."
"So you don't know what happens if they succeed?"
Again she indicated her lack of knowledge. "Sorry. Hopefully we don't get sent home to live
'Happily ever after'" She snorted and rolled her eyes.
"What's wrong with that?"
Liz sat down on a bench and looked up at him. "I stopped believing in my 'happily ever after' a long time ago."
"Why?" Maybe this would explain the hint of sorrow he saw in her eyes.
"The guys I like either already have a girlfriend or like someone else." 'Like you probably do.' she added mentally, "and although I love my family, I can't help but feel that they don't let me live as me! They think I'm depressed." She laughed a little at the thought. "I just don't think that it's all sunshine and rainbows."
"I understand your problem." Hotohori said after a moment.
"What do you mean?" Liz's curiosity was peaked, perhaps he DIDN'T like another girl...or guy...
"There was this girl, Miaka..."
'There goes that idea...' she thought ruefully.
"I loved her, but she was in love with someone else..."
"She turned you down, then tried to set you up with someone else right?" Liz spoke from her own experience with one of her friends - Charlotte. She liked Charlotte's boyfriend, and once she had found out, Charlotte had instantly tried to hook her up with some other guys.
Hotohori was surprised at the answer from the dark-haired girl. "Right."
"I know the feeling. They think that they can make you forget one person with another-"
"-but the only thing it does is make you like the first person more." Liz smiled in pleasant shock and tugged on Hotohori's hand that she still held, forcing him to sit beside her. Instantly she leaned against his strong shoulder, taking comfort from someone who understood. They just sat there, and watched as it started to rain.
Do you understand what I meant when I said that it was ALL FLUFF? Okay, Des does NOT like Chichiri, nor does he like her, I just needed her to have someone to wander around with while I gave others fluff. Do you approve of the romance, the pairings? Please let me know. Also, I genuinely want to know how many people are actually reading this story. PLEASE let me know, I'm getting disheartened as I come to the end and I have very few (relatively) reviews that give me feed back. Do you people bother to read my notes? If you are reading, then let me tell you this. I know and thank midnightsoul, FangedBandit19 and I'moncloud9 for their consistant reviews and support, but unless others let me know how they feel, I won't post the final chapters. At all. I'll just leave you in suspense. Dems da Berries. For the three of you, if I don't get reviewed, I'll just e-mail u the last chapters. I have your e-mails. Ja ne.
Solei: She's kinda pissed, so if you DO read the story, PLEASE let her know. It's weird seeing her cynical all the time. Also, she loves to write, and wants you guys to know that this is a LAST RESORT! She doesn't WANT to do this, but lack of support, aside from the previously mentioned 3 is really hitting her hard. Give her support people! Please. For the characters. We want you to know what happens to us!
Thanx. MidnightShade.