A/N: Well, here it is- the 'one-shot' that first inspired this whole fic… Though when it came to the first chapter, I found I was more in the mood to write for Yoh. I wrote the second chapter shortly after (obsessing over) working on my HoroHoro costume, so I kinda had the blue-haired Ainu on the brain… So now I'm (finally) posting what was originally supposed to be the first chapter: When Faust met Eliza. Whoo.
This Disclaimer Vents in Disgust: If I owned Shaman King, would I really need to be writing fanfiction?
Beginnings
The Trouble with Ribbons
Unruly locks of pale blond bobbed almost comically as the young boy quickly checked left, checked right then waited for a car to pass before he quickly darted across the icy road, pausing briefly upon reaching the opposing curb to reshuffle the three large textbooks balanced precariously in his thin arms. One book, 'The Encyclopaedia of Medical Terminology Vol II', slowly began to slide down his side despite his best efforts to firmly pin the thick book beneath his arm. His attempted dive to catch the grossly oversized text when he finally lost all hope of gripping it only resulted in the loss of all three. The seven-year-olds shoulders slumped in defeat, one small hand rising to push his sliding glasses back up to rest upon the bridge of his pert little nose before running through his ruffled hair in exasperation. 'Stupid books.' A barely audible sigh was the only sound the small German made as he bent down to pick up the offending hardbacks. He couldn't help but notice how absurdly small his hands looked in comparison to the thick manuscripts- obviously, they weren't printed for someone his size to be carrying around. Then again, no other kid his size would be carrying these monsters around No other sane kid anyway. He sighed again as he clutched the medical textbooks tightly to his small body and continued his trek home, his new home, the blue eyes hidden behind his thick glasses glued firmly to the ground. It had been a long, long first day…
n.n
"Class, in celebration of over-crowded classrooms, I'd like you all to meet our newest addition to the student body- his name is Foist VIII-"
"Erm… actually it's 'Faust VIII'…"
"I'm sure you'll all be happy to help make Foist VIII-"
"… F- Faust…"
"- Oh my, all this 'VIII' this and that makes me feel like I'm speaking to royalty (chuckle). Is it okay for me to just call you Foist?"
"…no."
"Alright, as I was saying, I'm sure you'll all be happy to help make Foist feel comfortable in his new class."
"N-no miss, it's not-"
"Foist? Would you like to tell the class a bit about yourself before we begin?"
"But… it's… I'm Fau…s…" he glanced up at his new teachers bright, cheerfully forced smile before gazing out at the expressions of his classmates- varying from bored to cruelly amused at his plight, a few muffled giggles sounding in response to his quiet pleas. But if there was one thing the children had in common, it was their eyes pinned directly on him. He felt his ears become uncomfortably warm as his gaze fell to his feet- he hated being the centre of attention.
"Foist? A few words?" He jumped slightly at the teachers unexpected intrusion into his thoughts. More stifled giggles. He ducked his head again, allowing his dishevelled hair to cover the red staining his cheeks.
"No… I'd rather not…"
n.n
He felt the indignant heat rising in his cheeks simply at the memory. The fact he'd been bumped up three grades, thus making him the smallest member of the class, didn't really help the situation either… Why couldn't he just be home schooled? It's not like his parents were hurting for money- they both had stable jobs at the hospital, and they certainly had no trouble affording the nanny that took care of him in their absence… which was pretty much everyday. He pushed his sliding glasses back up to their proper place as he trudged down the frosty sidewalk. Sometimes it seemed like his parents forgot they were even married, let alone had a child… He shook the thought from his head- it's not like they were bad parents or anything; they made up for the lost time… whenever they were home… Well, now that they were closer to the hospital both his parents practised in, they could pop in during lunch breaks and such, right? That had been the whole point in moving, hadn't it?
A splash of soft pastel pink, standing out like a neon sign against the cold cement, caught his eye. He blinked down at the offending object, staring at the delicate length for a few heartbeats before he finally registered what it was.
A ribbon.
He awkwardly shrugged his books to one arm as he crouched down and plucked it off the sidewalk. A hair ribbon, like the ones he saw the girls in his class wearing. He glanced around the empty street, as if in hopes its owner would magically appear to reclaim the lost ribbon. It didn't look like one of those cheap lengths of fabric you bought at the corner store either… He squinted behind his thick lenses at the silk ribbon, a fine embroidery of little pink roses seeming to dance down its length. Suddenly, a blush rose in his face- such an elegant hair accessory must belong to a really beautiful dignified young woman… He swallowed the lump that rose in his throat at this thought. He had never been very good with… girls… especially pretty ones… He glanced up at the house he'd found the ribbon lying in front of, craning his neck up to try and see if there was an upstairs window or something. His vision was obscured by a flowerbox.
Maybe…
He hopped up the front steps, hesitating briefly before ringing the doorbell. It would be rude to not return the ribbon, besides, maybe he and this… girl… he instinctively bowed his head coyly- he really had never been very good with girls… Well, once he returned the ribbon, maybe he and this girl could be… friends…? Maybe. The house was on his way to school, so he wouldn't have any trouble finding it again. Even if the ribbon didn't belong to whoever lived here, at least he could say he tried. He shuffled his feet uncertainly. But it would be really, really neat if she lived here… Besides, he could just imagine what the other kids in his class would say if they found out he was carrying around a girly pink ribbon… He somehow managed to suppress the horrified shudder.
The door swung open slowly, a middle aged woman peeked out as she dried her soapy hands with a dishcloth, looking straight over his head. He blushed indignantly and squeezed the ribbon tightly, loudly clearing his throat before the woman could close the door again. There was a brief pause before the woman finally looked down to meet his gaze, to which she blinked in surprise.
"May I help you…?" she drawled uncertainly. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his arm was beginning to hurt from trying to hold all his textbooks, besides, his nanny would worry if he came home too late…
"Um, is this your ribbon?" he blurted as he thrust the ribbon out rudely, then felt the heat rise in his cheeks when he realized what he'd done. "I mean- uh…" An unreadable look passed over the womans face, her hands freezing in mid-action as she slowly crouched down to get a better look at the small, embroidered length of fabric, a thin, pale finger reached out to forlornly trace the pattern on the soft pastel ribbon. The awkward moment passed however, when she suddenly stood again, smiling kindly down at the flustered seven-year-old. But her eyes… Her eyes looked so sad…
"It belongs to my daughter. Thank you for bringing it back, she's such a careless girl sometimes." His heart skipped a beat- the owner did live here, of all the freak coincidences! The woman turned back and disappeared within the depths of the house, absently hailing him over her shoulder. "Well, what are you waiting for? Come in, come in- I'm sure she'll be pleased to meet you." Faust gawked. Meet her? He swallowed thickly, the blush already began to creep up his cheeks as he entered the threshold, absently trying (futily) to smooth down his unruly hair and debating internally whether or not he should take off his glasses for the encounter.
The stairs creaked under the combined weight of him and the 'ribbon girls' mother as he followed her up the narrow stairwell. The sound was lost in his ears under the sound of his heart pounding in his chest. Not only was he going to meet this new girl… he was going to meet her… in her ROOM. He unconsciously clutched the small ribbon closer to his chest as he tried to will away the roaring red staining his cheeks. He'd never been in a girls room before… Well, technically, he'd been in his moms- but, well, she was his mom; she didn't really count as a girl. Yet there he was, standing bashfully behind the older woman as she knocked sharply on the door, to be met by a positively angelic voice giving permission to enter. His stomach lurched at the sound of the girls voice; she sounded so… But then the door was opening, and the thought was lost as he physically restrained himself from dropping everything and running.
"Eliza? You have a visito-" anything the older woman said after that point was lost to the little German boy, who suddenly found himself incapable of doing much else besides gawk at the scene that lay before him.
She… was… wow… Pale blue eyes blinked at him in surprise and interest, cream-colour cherub face framed beautifully by her long, wavy golden hair. She looked like… a princess in her pastel pink night-gown (matching her ribbon- which was still clutched tightly in his trembling little fist by the way), sitting bundled up in a home-made quilt beside the open window… And he… and he… he glanced down at his dusty too-large red winter coat, accented wonderfully by his mis-matched socks, and grossly oversized textbooks. Add that with his coke-bottle glasses, the usual abysmal state of his hair, and he was fairly sure his face must have been nearing the shade of a lobster…
He… he looked like… such… a… DORK! He was sure every organ in his body dropped to his feet in that moment of complete and utter mortification, and suddenly he found himself battling the almost overwhelming urge to seek out the nearest dark corner in which to wither up and die. He was drawn from his reverie by this 'Elizas' mother gently tugging his arm, pulling him forward- directly into the line of fire!
…Or at least that's what it felt like to the poor seven-year-old, as suddenly he found himself bare and exposed before the girls unfathomable ice blue depths, with nowhere to hide. He swallowed thickly, trying to will his heart to stop pounding as he cleared his suddenly cotton-dry throat in discomfort. He really, really had never been any good with girls…
"Um… Is this your ribbon?" he managed to stammer out as he held out the length of pale fabric, slightly dirty from lying on the ground and rumpled from being held in his hot little hand. He internally cursed himself at the rather pathetic lack of grace in his offering, and his hand for trembling. He swallowed thickly as he stared at the rather pitiful looking ribbon- if there was one thing he had a natural talent for, it was absolutely ruining what could have been a magical, romantic moment…
But then she smiled…
And then poor Fausts glasses fogged up…
"Thank you." She purred softly as she reached out and took the ribbon from his extended hand, her cool fingertips just barely grazing his knuckles- in that moment, he was sure his heart stopped. Her voice was so… so… wow… He was so caught up in the moment, he completely missed how dangerously moist her eyes had become, even as she continued to smile beautifully out at the world, her voice an elegant whisper. "I was wondering where this had wound up…" The German boy beamed. He felt a hand rest gently on his shoulder, glancing up quickly to meet the rather whimsical smile gracing this 'Elizas' mothers face.
"I have to finish with supper- Are you two okay up here by yourselves?" Faust felt like he'd been turned to stone, his eyes widening behind his thick glasses in complete and utter shock. He was going to be… alone with a girl he just met! He peeked through his ruffled bangs at the smiling angel perched upon her bed, giving a confident nod in response to her mothers question, her hair flowing with the motion like nectar. The seven-year-old wilted inside- alone with a beautiful girl, in her room no less! The older woman nodded in return, giving his shoulder a playful squeeze before slipping back out, the door shutting behind her. For a while the only sound was the creaking of the old stairs as the mother returned to the kitchen. Faust fidgeted. Ho-ly- CRAP! What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to say? It didn't feel right to just turn around and leave… He peeped up at the girl again to find her absently toying with the ribbon he'd returned to her, her pert, pink little lips pursed in thought. He ducked his head into the textbooks held tightly against his chest.
This would be so much easier to handle if she wasn't so freaking CUTE.
"What are those?" he glanced up in surprise, blinking slowly in response to her question. It took a moment for him to realize her curious stare was directed at his medical texts.
"Books." he replied stupidly. Then internally kicked himself for doing so. If nothing else, he sure knew how to make himself look like a drooly moron… To his surprise, relief, and internal melting at the sweetness of it, Eliza giggled softly in response- it wasn't like the cold laughter of the kids in his class earlier that day, somehow, being laughed at by her made him feel… better. He silently gathered his courage for a few heartbeats, smiling sheepishly at the polite girl, before he took a few cautious steps closer to awkwardly and gracelessly flop the books onto the corner of her bed where she could see them better wherehe hovered hesitantly as he debated (battled) internally whether or not he should back away again. The blond girl leaned over in keen interest, a dainty hand reaching out to pick up 'The Human Anatomy- By Mike Oxlong'. His mind reeled- she was so close… her hair smelt like oatmeal and honey… Her head perked up to meet him eye to eye, a bemused smile tweaking the corners of her tiny, pert… pink… round… plush… little lips… He swallowed thickly, his heart was pounding so loudly by now he was sure she could hear it. But if she could, she showed no signs of it.
"Why are you carrying these around?" she quipped as her head ducked down again to investigate the next book, her words playfully flowing like music in the modestly furnished room. The German boy fiddled with the hem of his coat shyly, looking anywhere but at the petite girl sitting before him.
"Well…" he began, mildly surprised at how tiny and clumsy his voice sounded following up her musical jingle. "You see… when I grow up… I'm sorta… going to… be…" his voice died down to a soft, nervousmumble, causing Eliza to lean in to try and hear what he was saying, thus making the poor boy more nervous and thus making his voice drop down to even more of a mumble. Insert vicious cycle here. "… A… a doctor." He finally managed to stutter out. His head snapped up to stare at her in alarm when he felt her suddenly jerk away, an unreadable expression gracing her usually kind visage. She then slowly turned to gaze out the window so he couldn't see her face anymore.
"That's… wonderful for you." Her tiny hands clenched tightly around the ribbon. She sounded so distant all of a sudden, so… sad. The blond boy felt his stomach lurch- had had done something to upset her? He clumsily pushed his sliding glasses back up his small nose as he scrambled for something to say.
"Uh… What about you? What to you want to be when you grow up?" he blinked in surprise when she laughed- but this laugh, this- it didn't sound… right, not like when she'd giggled at him before, this sounded so… almost… bitter, yet still she didn't turn to face him again.
"I'm not going to grow up." Faust blinked again before scoffing lightly, teasingly.
"Everybody has to grow up eventually."
"I'm not going to grow up," her shoulders began to quiver slightly, her tiny hands raising to clutch the pink ribbon close to her chest, still refusing to look at him "The doctor… The doctor told mama I was never going to grow up…" she was so sure that if she looked at him now, she was so sure she would break… she had never… not even in front of her mother… "He said I was never going to… get better…" she gazed down at the muddy ribbon in her trembling hands. "This- it's my favourite you know- it's my favourite, so that's why… I wanted it to be picked up by someone who could actually wear it outside… show it off…it's too pretty to just…" her hands clenched again, hiding the rose-printed strip of silk from view once more. "But mama… mama always finds it…" her voice trailed off, the awkward silence stretching on between the two as the seven-year-old boy gazed at her in quiet shock before he felt an absent smile pull at the corners of his lips.
"If you love something, let it go. If it returns, it's yours. If it doesn't, it never was." Eliza whirled to gape at the blond boy, who simply smiled awkwardly back as he scratched the back of his head. "Or something like that…" The smile slid away slowly, a distant, contemplative look gracing his features as he turned away to stare intently at the corner of her dressing table. "My father- he's a doctor too, so is my mom- my father says that a patient is never beyond saving… until they lose hope. Because if the patient gives up, then they're even beyond the help of a miracle…" he shyly glanced over at the stunned girl, her perfect features wiped clean by bewilderment. For some reason, seeing her like this… it made him… hurt… hurt deep inside, and it was at that moment he realized that he never wanted to see this girl cry. "You- you have to have a dream Eliza… you have to have something to get you through the day… everyone… Everyone needs something to help them look forward to tomorrow… if you lose- if you lose hope… then you'll be… lost." He fumbled over his words, ending inelegantly, tearing his eyes away from her to stare intensely at the floor. He knew what he wanted to say- he knew the feelings bubbling within his chest, he just didn't know the right words… She gawked at him a moment longer- No one had ever… Even her own parents looked at her with such sad, empty eyes… she felt her face flush as she turned to stare out the window again. She'd never…
"I… I think I'd like to maybe… I'd like to be a nurse… when I grow up." Fausts head whipped up to stare at her, gazing lazily out the window as she absently nodded to herself. "The ones at the hospital, the nurses are always so nice to me when I'm there… I'd like to do that for someone else someday." She turned and smiled at him, and she looked just so much prettier when she smiled genuinely… He felt the excitement bubble up from within as he found himself smiling back.
"Really? A nurse? That's great! Oh! I have a really good book at home- a beginners book, I could bring it with me next time I co-" he cut himself off in mid-sentence, visibly wilting as he toyed with the hem of his jacket again, abashed by his forwardness. He internally kicked himself over and over- What kind of first class MORON just rudely invited himself over to other peoples houses without permission? What was he doing, getting so excited about some stupid books anyway? Now she must really see him as a total dork… He didn't even know her, not really anyway. He glanced up at the angelic beauty hiding her gentle smile behind her dainty hand, her eyes giving away her amusement in the wake of his outburst. But he'd like to. He'd like to get to know her… he'd like to do this… just stand at the foot of her bed and talk… he'd like to savour this moment, hold onto it forever and ever. He'd- he'd like to do this everyday… He fidgeted with the hem of his coat again. "Erm, if… if you don't mind, that is…" he felt strangely… naked, exposed and afraid, all because of one simple little statement… Her soft warm voice interrupted him quietly before he could even finish.
"I don't mind at all. In fact, I'd really like that, er…"
"Faust." He found himself responding, smiling shyly at the edge of her bed, not able to look her in the face. "Faust VIII." She glanced down at the ribbon, smiling tenderly to herself as she rolled the name over in her mind- Such a hauntingly beautiful name… she glanced at the boy shyly. No other name would suit him nearly as well…
"Faust…" she whispered faintly, he felt himself blush, his name sounded so poetic when she said it… And if he had gained the courage to gaze up at the young Eliza at that moment, he would have seen the faint red staining her fair cheeks as well…
Ending Rant
Well, after re-writing the end three times, I find myself still squicked, yet unable to think of a better way to do it. Le sigh.
Once again, kudos to all my awesome reviewers- you guys rock my socks! XD
-): As for chapter one, well, in the manga Yoh did say every memory he had of Anna ended with him in tears…So I figured she was the wonderful little hellion we all know and love since birth. As for chapter two… Yeah... that's it… the end… kaput… Is there supposed to be more o.O?
Vash: Thank you for reviewing (again). Hopefully this chapter was a bit more light-hearted and fun to read…If you could slog through all that sap…
LadyGirl: Wow, definently got the pathos going for Horo in the last chapter… As for what happened to HoroHoros dad? Well, no one knows, he just didn't come back ;P Thanks for your review!
Jade Eye's: Wow… after trying it out myself, I've discovered you're right. I really don't exist in ffns search engine…As for Horo, well, I forgot to mention it in the last chapter, but I really meant to put in a quip about him promising to become stronger so he can take care of his mom and sister in his fathers place… It just kind of wound up… being conveniently forgotten…
