Chapter 9
Crimson World
Her consciousness returned to her in increments.
She could vaguely remember hearing, and then flinchingly feeling, the painful bite of frozen steel cut deeply into her flesh. It reminded her uncannily of the mortal attack Larva had inflicted upon her so many years ago………
Larva………
Her mind crept outwards imperceptibly for him within the Darkness of her being. It was in vain. Her mind was drained, and she could concentrate barely enough to breathe as it was. What was this sensation that was encroaching so boldly across her body? What flame could possibly burn her so completely?
"Miyu……."
She gasped as the fire pitched. Lips so soft, so familiar, were at her throat, caressing and bringing with them such a welcome lassitude; she fell into the dark embrace. Who was this being? What was this fever?
She had to have died. Nimble fingers were at her head, and suddenly, the chafing ribbons, darkened to black-scarlet, were gone from her completely. Her mahogany hair swayed slightly in the nonexistent winds of the surrounding world.
She wanted to open her eyes so badly. She wanted the unknown Darkness to abate. All she wanted was to see with her eyes unclouded by fear and subject to pain. She wanted to see this creature that had sought her out and brought to her emotion and desire as she had felt only once before.
"Then open them………"She heard so powerfully the silken challenge, and chafed against herself to do as it so wished as she. But suddenly something else entered into her thought, something she had never felt before: fear.
What would she see as she opened her eyes? What was there even to hope to see? Anything and everything that might have swayed her had already disappeared in an instant: one in the doleful gust of the wind, another on the bite of a strike. So she fought not only her intense desire to see and not see, but, too, the sudden impulse that what she would see upon opening them was not something she wished to see.
"Open them………"Again the silken voice cowed her, and with it she felt slender hands caressing her face. It faintly outlined with gentlest prowess her jaw, her eyes, her lips. And then once more the unknown aggressor took them as theirs, and she could hardly protest.
The fiery pitch of what she felt as the lips of another conquered her own was undeniable. She could only feel her body submit to the greater being to whom she was now at the mercy of, and realizing it with a passion she could not say she had ever known, a tear slipped down her cheek.
What Guardian was she? She was so weak, so easily swayed and taken by surprise. She had no right to all that she had once claimed. Her punishment now was only fitting, even if it destroyed her.
She felt the body of the other stiffen suddenly and draw back, and for the first time in what she felt as eternity, she stood of her own will. She felt the flame and power of old rise as bold and outrageous as never before, and suddenly the fear was bidden away at the mere insistence of a moment. If she truly were so worthless and easily beguiled, then at least she would meet her ill Fate with honor.
But as her golden eyes encountered that which was before her, the fury was gone and all that remained was the dull blow of shock. It can't be……..
His ebony cloak hung loosely to his frame in the stagnant airs of her crimson world, not so unlike his ethereal eyes which could always catch her unaware and keep her immobile. His silver hair alighted with intensity unmatched, his slight smirk as she had first seen it taking her breath away. It could not be, yet it was.
"Larva?"
Miyu's voiced echoed tremulously in the empty world where none but themselves could hear. Yet still she held back, her vehement whisper catching on a current of what might have been and escaping. She caught herself and decided for better. She reached outward with fumbling, untried fingers and caught the silken robe that should not have been there.
She gasped as the strong arms of her once-love encircled her within their expanse. It was him. She could never deny it, and another hot tear streaked down her flushed cheek. He took her cheek into his hand and clasped it reverently as he cast aside her tear.
"Why do you cry, Miyu?" he asked so plaintively, she could not hold back her answer.
"I thought you were dead," she whispered as she buried her face into his warm chest, so welcoming in her shock. Larva bent his own face to her ear to return to her the pleasant sound of his voice, so familiar and yet so hungrily longed for.
"Once, perhaps," he admitted honestly, "but never again." She faced upwards at his words. How could she have forgotten?
Her blood flowed in his veins as surely as his did in hers. They were bound like no others. There was no way that one could exist without the other. But there was also no way that one could die without the other.
She suddenly felt the unquestionable love of always and sharp pang of desire stir within her, and she dared to answer it. With a bold upward motion and wrap of her arms, the kiss she had been longing so desperately for came in an unmediated rush.
She felt Larva's shock as he mutely returned her gossamer caresses, but suddenly he, too realized the intense desire he had been denying for so long. A passionate kiss followed, with each luxuriating in the other, pitches and throes of desire and pleasure leading them to ends of which they could only imagine and yet have no inkling towards.
Flames began to consume Miyu, and suddenly memories of everything flooded towards her, making the fire of what she was now partaking of all the more pungent.
His glittering katana, so painstakingly crafted by the last of the bird shinma, clanged painfully upon the granite, throwing countless sparks into the mundane night. He roared at the injustice and the realization of what must have transpired.
The ebony cloak had flashed only an instant as she had fallen from her own weakness in a pathetic heap. He had meant to finish her and relish in her crimson blood as it would drench his precious sword Yugure no Tori, Bird of Nightfall. But the bastard he had thought dead had burst from the air and stolen her in a rush of whispering silks and was gone once more.
Miyu shifted easily in Larva's embrace as he eased his hand through her hair, taking pleasure in the silkiness of it as he delved more deeply into her lips. Her kimono was slipping precariously of her startling pale shoulder, and he could not help but be unnervingly aware of it……….
"Miyu, you have a choice," Miyu's mother had told her so many years ago, it seemed surreal to be true. "What color kimono do you want me to get you, since the time has come for you to get a new one? Red or white?"
Miyu chafed at the decision and choices, not fully understanding their underlying meanings. Red was pretty enough, but it was more of something you saw on a bride, binding of her vows, binding to the man she chose, or most anything really. White, well she scoffed at that. It was the color of the dead and of mourning. Neither was appealing, so she remained silent. Better her mother chose for her.
"I will get you both, Miyu," she had said so casually, feigning understanding for her daughter's indecision. "For both shall be your Destiny……."
Miyu inhaled sharply as Larva kissed the juncture of her neck and shoulder so delicately, as if it were never there. She sighed deeply as she continued to lean deeply into him, far more than would ever have been considered seemly. Her kimono slipped even more and despite any thoughts she may have had before as she had seen it occur to humans occasionally, it suddenly mattered very little and tremendously much all at once. Neither sought to repair it……..
"Larva, will you really stay beside me forever?" she had inquired childishly of her newly acquired protector. For some reason her aloof reserve seemed to dissipate whenever she was beside him, but she did not really seem to mind.
Larva smiled beneath his ivory mask, grateful suddenly for its versatile forms of protection, especially against the prying eyes of a certain Guardian with whom he found himself unerringly calm and amazingly aflame. "I have little choice in the matter, Miyu. But regardless, I will remain beside you for as long as you desire me."
She had blushed then at the perhaps unintended implications of the statement, said so casually under simple circumstances. Yet why did she suddenly feel so elated at the words inside herself?
"Then you will stay beside me forever."
Larva shivered warmly despite himself at the sudden realization that the strangely pillowed ground was suddenly at Miyu's back; he delicately positioned awkwardly above, just barely coming to the understanding of the implications of what their moments together had been leading unerringly towards.
Miyu's face was flushed, her lips so beautifully full and crimson, as the golden orbs of her eyes bored expectantly into his own. What could he possibly decide with such a treasure so openly accessible to him? Oh so many things.
He leaned downwards then, and placed his lips deftly over hers, and though heated indecision had suffocated him but moments before, everything was answered in a moment.
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Hey, everyone. Sorry this last chapter took so long to get updated. was working against me. For two weeks, I couldn't access my account. And then last week it said it couldn't update for reasons beyond me. But better late than never, right?
I really hope you guys all liked this chapter since it was painstakingly written. It was surprisingly difficult to write about eh- hem, without being brutally obvious, so do tell me what you think.
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Review Responses
BlueDragonsGirl: I confused you…..? NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! J/K. So sorry, BlueDragonsGirl. I really didn't mean to be confusing, but I guess the last chapter was a little hard to follow. But as for Aya raping Miyu…… Let's leave it at, he came very close…..
Tankbbg: OMFG! You OMFG-ed me! How dare you……. J/K. Well, I did tell you my updating could go both ways. I just apparently chose the way you didn't like…… ::sweat drop:: And just for personal reference…… You liked this chapter…… The chapter in which Miyu is all sorrowful, resentful, beaten, and nearly raped……. OMFG! Me too! (Isn't it so fun being cynical and psychotic?)
Jenny: You learn too well the ways of sarcasm, cunning, and cynicism……. I'm so proud of you……. So…… How is the "Kill Aya" manga series coming along?
Stormyrose: Short and dramatic……. Hmmm……. I don't know whether to be insulted or flattered……. The last chapter wasn't intended to be either lengthy or melodramatic……. So I guess I must be doing pretty well for myself……. By the way, so sorry Aya is no longer as beloved……..
Nemyinai: I'm sorry I killed Larva for so long….. That was mean of me. But look on the bright side, he made a very……. Er…….. good (?) comeback. And thanks for the compliment. I'm glad you like my style. Sometimes I worry that I overdo it. Thanks.