Title:Faerie Confrontations
Part: chapter3
Author: Nanako
Genre: Fantasy, Alternate Universe, Romance
Pairing: RuHana, HanaFuji(Hanagata),MakiFuji, SenKosh, MitMiyaKo, AkaAya
Rating:PG
E-mail:ishpoof@i-manila.com.ph
Warning: the characters are sometimes ooc, and there is a lot of Haruko bashing in this fic
Disclaimer: Slam Dunk is Takehito Inoue's and will never be mine (sob)
Dedicated to Nagyra, who brought me back from writer's block land, Afuna, you know why already ^^, And to Yen, thanks for everything
CHAPTER 3
Relationships
"Majesty?"
Fujima entered the dining hall casually and waved a dismissive hand at the servants who were bowing before him. "I will eat my breakfast later, I would like to go around the city for a while," he informed them.
"And what would his majesty like for breakfast today?'
"I'll have anything. As for my cousin, ask her what she wants after she gets up from her beauty sleep." When the servants didn't seem to have anything else to say, the prince bade them goodbye and walked out of the room.
It has been a week since he had summoned Haruko to come over to discuss some things about the trading system between his country and hers. And, after a whole week of discussing and debating with her, Fujima felt very tired.
It was still early in the morning and, hardworking as they are, most of the citizens of Greendale's capital - Katia's Haven were still asleep.
The prince Fujima himself had named the city after his late mother - Princess Katia - who loved the fields as much as her son did.
Both of Faerie's suns had not yet risen and would not for another half hour, the prince realized as he walked along the palace gardens on his way to the palace gates.
The garden was a smaller version of the largest, most extravagant palace garden Haruko's servants maintained back in Flores. And, while it was Haruko's servants who maintained her garden, Fujima personally took care of this garden, which his mother left him. And would not forgive anyone who has any intention of destroying the garden he and his mother love dearly.
A few meters away from the gates, the palace guards assigned to guard the door spotted and bowed before him.
He again waved a dismissive hand and the guards made way for him to pass.
As soon as he was out of the palace gates, the prince stood still for a moment. When was the last time he had gone out of the palace? When was the last time he spent time with his people out in the field?
He could no longer remember.
He had been so busy with matters of state that he nearly forgot about his people. It was about time he visited them again.
He closed his eyes and focused his energy, and soon green angel wings sprouted from his back. His majestic wings enveloped him and, after a while, Fujima, as well as his wings, disappeared.
Fujima reappeared kilometers away from the palace a few seconds later. He took a deep breath and reveled at the breathtaking scene of the fertile fields before him.
Although the people of Greendale, especially in the capital, Katia's Haven, are the most hardworking faeries in the whole of Faerie, nobody would be up at such an unholy hour. So, as much as Fujima would've loved to spend a few minutes of his time to be with his people and work with them, he couldn't, for now.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Maki groggily opened his eyes and groaned when he realized that the two suns had not risen yet.
He sat up on his bed and stretched his limbs. His loyal pet, Ebony, then came barging into his bedroom, again, pleased at having awakened his master effectively. Ebony was a tryst, an animal which resembles a wolf in all aspects.
He patted Ebony's head and asked, "Do you know that you always wake me up before the suns rise?"
Ebony just wagged his tail in response.
Maki sighed and said, "Oh well, it won't hurt to check up on the crops this early in the morning, since there is no use going back to sleep again."
With those words said, the well - tanned, very masculine, and utterly good looking ...faerie / farmer, got up from bed.
After eating a simple breakfast, bathing, and all the other "morning stuff", Maki put on a plain brown robe and, along with Ebony, went out of his house.
As soon as Maki left his house, he spotted a man looking over the fields, HIS field. Although it was still very dark, he could not mistake the silhouette of another person.
Ebony, too, spotted the man and was about to approach the stranger when Maki placed his hand on the animal's head.
The tryst looked up at his master questioningly.
"Don't Ebony," Maki whispered. "We don't know who he is. I know he's trespassing into our field but we can't really be sure if he has cruel intentions right? He may just be lost."
After telling his pet to stay where he was, Maki approached the stranger with long calculated steps.
His steps were silent, so silent that you could easily mistake him for an assassin rather than a farmer. And he moved with finesse that he can be easily be mistaken for a nobleman instead of a farmer.
The unsuspecting stranger didn't even notice the farmer as he approached him. For the stranger was too busy looking at the filed, enthralled at the beauty of everything there was in the simple field owned by Maki.
But when Maki was but a few more steps away from the unknowing stranger, a faint sound reached his ears. It was the mild rustling of leaves to the untrained ear, but Maki knew precisely what it was even with his eyes closed.
It was a winged creature that goes by the name of amond. These were dark and vile creatures. Creatures which would go after unsuspecting villagers and devour them, especially during the night.
"Damn it," Maki cursed under his breath as he hid behind a bush and watched as the winged creature rose from the trees a few meters away from him.
He was careful not to move and was relieved that the creature steered away from the place where he was hiding. But his relief was short lived, as a new terror gripped is heart when he realized that the creature was really targeting the youth who had strayed into his field.
He didn't know if the stranger was capable of defending himself against the creature, and because amonds are very good in cloaking their own energy, even very powerful faeries have a very hard time sensing their presence.
So, without thinking twice, Maki leaped out from his hiding place, screaming "Get down!" as he pushed the youth to the ground. When they were down, his violet wings of the water level automatically unfurled from his back as he fired an energy ball from his outstretched right hand.
The creature was quick, but the farmer's energy ball was faster. The accurately fired shot singed one of its wings. Screeching in pain, the creature flew away in an awkward pattern and disappeared into the distant woods at the far edge of the village.
Maki sighed in relief as the creature disappeared. "We were very lucky, that was just a fledgling. I..."
Maki's words caught in his throat as his eyes finally looked down at the youthful face of the man he was pinning under him.
And the twin suns of Faerie chose this exact time to rise, illuminating both men's features for the other to see clearly.
Wide azure depths drowned him and the farmer could not help but blush at the intense gaze the equally blushing brunette he was pinning on the floor, was giving him.
"Um." the brunette started, also seeming to have difficulty in talking. His blush deepened but he managed to choke out, "Could you please get off of me?"
Maki was brought back to his senses and immediately stood up, away from the youth, yet, still enthralled by the equally beautiful and handsome face. And, as he looked back at the handsome stranger, his tanned cheeks darkened with a light blush.
The youth fixed his dirtied green robe and shifted nervously under Maki's intense gaze. "Um...thanks for saving me. I was so dazzled by the beauty of this field that I was unable to sense that creature's approach."
"It was nothing," replied Maki, now looking down to hide the evident blush on his cheeks. Then, remembering what his initial intention had been for approaching the stranger in the first place, Maki asked, "May I know who you are? And what you are doing in my field?"
"Oh!" the stranger exclaimed. "I am sorry sir, but I seem to have forgotten my manners. I am very sorry for entering your field without due permission. I just wanted to get some time off the palace grounds. I has been a while since I have visited the fields. And, my name is 0Kenji. Fujima Kenji."
It didn't take long for Maki's brain to process this new information. He fell upon his knees immediately and said, "Oh your majesty! I am so sorry for the way I had acted earlier! I seemed to treat you as my equal when you are far greater than I am! Oh please forgive me, my lord!"
When the farmer had fallen to his knees, Fujima immediately rushed to his side and tried to help him up.
But the farmer stubbornly refused. "Nay my lord," he said. "A simple farmer like I, have not the right to stand in your presence like some nobleman. I am not suited to even stay in the same place as you my lord."
"Oh for heaven's sake!" the prince exclaimed as he finally used force to pull the farmer to his feet. "Will you look at me?!"
Taking in the annoyed tone of the prince, Maki obeyed. The deep blue eyes of the prince were filled with wonder, surprise, question and hurt when Maki met his eyes.
Fujima looked back at the farmer and asked in a soft, almost unsure tone, "Are you that scared of me? Of us? Of any monarch?"
"Nay sire," Maki replied, trying to look away again, but was in vain as the prince's eyes seemed to take a firm grip on him. "I just pay my due respects. A commoner like me is in no position to talk with his majesty in this manner. It is a must that I, at least, kneel."
"Whoever decreed that?" Fujima asked, exasperated.
"A decree need not be issued sire. It is common practice."
"And it is also common practice that a faerie repay the person who has saved his life, or at least save him from any injury."
Before Maki could even utter another word, Fujima placed a finger on his lips to silence him. He smiled up at the farmer and said, "Come with me to the palace. It is the least I can do to repay you."
"But...!"
"No buts," corrected the prince softly. "Now what is your name?"
"Maki, sire. Maki Shinichi."
"Maki Shinichi ... it has a nice sound to it," said the prince. "Would it be alright if I called you Shinichi?"
"Oh it would be an honor sire!" exclaimed the farmer.
"AND you have to stop calling me that. From now on, it's Kenji. If you don't call me that I might have to punish you."
Maki swallowed hard. He knew he had to pay the prince his respects. He was, after all, a mere commoner. But he didn't think the prince was joking when he threatened to punish him if he didn't stop calling him formally.
"But si...Kenji what about my field? Who will take care of my crops? And what about Ebony?"
"Ebony?"
As if on cue, the black tryst came forward and like a good puppy, sat down in from of the prince.
"Oh a tryst!" the prince exclaimed. "Is this Ebony?"
Maki nodded.
"He stays with us in the palace," the prince said immediately. "As for the field, we'll come here everyday to take care of it." He looked at Maki with a big smile on his face, "It has been such a long time since I have had the opportunity to take care of a field aside from the garden I keep in the palace. Do not worry, I won't burden you. I do know how to toil in a field."
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sakuragi woke up early the next morning, and it was very rare for him to do so. Back home he won't wake until Akagi punches the living daylights out of him, but now, he finds himself awake even before the twin suns came up.
The little sakura blossoms were a welcome sight to his still groggy eyes and Sakuragi loved the fragrance they brought with them.
"You're up early."
Sakuragi looked at the source of the voice and found Rukawa sitting on a chair beside his bed. The said boy was wearing a navy blue cloak and was wearing a pair of reading glasses.
He was reading a book when Sakuragi woke up. And as soon as the redhead woke up, he closed it and set it down on the table beside Sakuragi's bed.
"Speak for yourself Kaede."
Rukawa raised a brow and removed his glasses. He folded them and they disappeared. "I'm always up early. Anyway, have you practiced what I taught you last night?"
"Of course I did," said the redhead.
"Prove it."
Sakuragi looked at the normally silent boy and asked, "Don't you trust me?"
Rukawa sat back on the chair, folded his arms across his chest and crossed his legs. "I trust you, but I do believe that you, a certified genius, won't be troubled by such a "simple" task?"
"Hmph! A genius is never afraid of any task!"
"Do it then."
Sakuragi closed his eyes and tried to remember what the other boy taught him last night. He closed his mind to any exterior sound or movement and looked for Rukawa's presence through his mind. ^Is this enough?^
^Enough, yes. But you still need practice. You can't close your eyes every time you need to communicate with my mind. But this will do... for now.^
Sakuragi opened his eyes and met the blue eyes if his teacher and friend. It was only in the most seldom of moments that Rukawa would praise him. And every time he did, Sakuragi felt his heart swell and a strange feeling of happiness engulf him.
But...
"Why are you really here Kaede? I know you won't waste time here to see if I've mastered what you taught me 1st thing in the morning when you could do so later in the day."
"There is no hiding from you is there?" Rukawa asked, a small smile gracing his lips. "Haruko's coming back from Greendale today. And I estimate she will be in Flores by tomorrow afternoon. And because of that, we must return to the capital before she arrives. I do not want to explain to her why we were staying in my villa when we should have stayed at her palace."
"But you can teleport us there without any hassle any time right?"
"Yes, I can."
"Then there is no problem, is there Kaede?"
Rukawa shook his head and stood up. "None at all. Go take your bath and get dressed. I'll be waiting for you in the dining hall. Also, I have a surprise for you."
Sakuragi's eyes brightened and his whole face lit up. "Really?"
"Yes. But it will have to wait until after breakfast."
And before the redhead could even ask another question, Rukawa disappeared.
"Kaede? Kaede! Damn that fox!" Sakuragi cursed loudly. He closed his eyes again and did what he did earlier. ^Damned fox!^
^Curse me later Hanamichi. You won't be able to know what your surprise is until after breakfast.^
Then, Rukawa's presence was gone.
Sakuragi knew that cursing the other would not help, especially if the said person could not even hear him. He'd rather curse him later. Besides, he was already anxious to get out of bed, get into his bath and change into some new clothes, not to mention get some breakfast.
He stood up from the bed and went to his bathroom.
'This surprise better be good Kaede,' he thought, with a small smile on his face.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
When Sakuragi finished, he proceeded to the villa's dining room and found Rukawa already there, waiting for him.
"You'll get the surprise AFTER you finish breakfast," Rukawa said to him before the redhead could even say a word. "I already finished my breakfast a short time ago."
Sakuragi sighed. When Rukawa didn't want to talk, he really will not talk. And even Sakurgai could not badger him enough to get even the tiniest leak. Badgering Rukawa when he does not want to talk was utterly futile, and this theory, Sakuragi had himself tried, tested and proven.
So he sat at his usual seat, right in front of Rukawa and looked on as his meal magically appeared on his part of the table.
Rukawa's villa didn't house any servants and is run totally by magic, as Rukawa had already explained to the redhead a few days back. This made the villa different from the others. Because all the other palaces of the monarchs, were filled with servants, who seldom use magic to run it, and the monarchs themselves barely used magic to add their own little touches to their palaces.
Sakuragi, even though he knew only little about magic except what Rukawa taught him, could not even begin to imagine how much magical power Rukawa had to use just to keep this place up and running.
As soon as all his food and utensils had appeared, Sakuragi wasted no time in gobbling it all up. The less time he wasted eating whatever food Rukawa gave him, the faster he'll be able to know what surprise the other boy had for him.
Rukawa looked on as the redhead quickly finished up his food like a famished man, his amusement barely hidden from his face.
"Are you that excited?"
The redhead ignored him. At the moment, Sakuragi's only interest seemed to be finishing up all his food.
Rukawa shook his head and simply waited for the redhead to finish. It was not a long wait, though.
"I'm done," Sakuragi declared, setting his utensils down.
"I can see that," replied Rukawa, waving his hand to make the utensils disappear. "I've never seen anyone devour his breakfast that fast, not even your usual self is any competition."
"Of course," said Sakuragi. "I am very excited. And when I'm excited, I do things very quickly."
"And here is the proof," said Rukawa. He stood up and sat down on the chair beside the redhead. "Close your eyes Hanamichi," he instructed.
The redhead did as he was told. Once his eyes were closed, he felt Rukawa hold his hands in both of his. "Ka...Kaede?"
"Shh...Don't worry. Just keep your eyes shut and don't open them until I tell you to," said Rukawa softly.
The redhead silenced and waited. He felt the all too familiar warmth of Rukawa's wings surrounding him. Although he himself had never seen them before, he was very sure that the warmth he felt emanating from the other boy was from his source of power, his wings.
A few seconds later, he heard Rukawa whisper, "You can open your eyes now."
He did. "Where...are we?"
Rukawa smiled and helped the seated redhead to his feet. "You like it?"
"It's even better than my room Kaede!" the redhead exclaimed as he looked at his surroundings.
Endless rows of Sakura trees surrounded the small clearing where both boys were standing in. It was a vast forest filled with trees that the redhead loved.
"We are still in Granfel," said Rukawa calmly as he conjured two chairs, one for himself and the other one for the redhead. "But this is a place that only I know of, at least I think so." He sat down on one of the chairs and continued, "I don't know if the others who know of this place are still alive. There were wards protecting this place before I found it, very strong wards, as if someone wanted this place protected very badly..."
He looked back at the redhead and frowned as he realized that the redhead had his back turned to him and was probably not listening to a word he was saying at all.
"Hanamichi?"
The redhead stopped looking at the forest and turned to face him. "Kaede, didn't you hear anything?"
"I heard myself."
"Not that!" The redhead took a deep breath to calm himself down and asked the other boy, "I meant, did you hear anything else aside from your own voice?"
Rukawa shook his head, "No."
"That's weird," muttered the redhead.
"Did you hear anything?" asked Rukawa. "What did you hear?"
Sakuragi scratched his head as he tried to look for the right words. "I didn't really HEAR anything. It was like hearing someone else's mind voice, but I don't know who it was."
Rukawa considered what the redhead said. "What did it say?"
"I can't really understand what it said..." Sakuragi replied, sheepishly. He expected Rukawa to make fun of him, that he was a self- proclaimed genius who could not even understand a simple message sent to his mind, and he was already ready to insult his companion if ever the snide remark came.
But the remark never came.
And Sakuragi was very much surprised when he saw the serious blue eyes of Rukawa locked on him. Rukawa always made fun of him ever since they stayed in his villa, but he would make up to the redhead immediately. This seriousness just wasn't like him.
It reminded Sakuragi of the detached and cold hearted Rukawa, fiancé of Princess Haruko; who was the total opposite of Kaede, his teacher, mentor and very close friend.and.maybe something more...
"Kaede, what's wrong?"
Rukawa approached him and placed his right hand on the redhead's forehead. Sakuragi didn't flinch and stayed as he was. But he found his voice to ask, "What are you doing Kaede?"
"Close your eyes Hanamichi," he instructed softly. "This won't take long."
He had stayed by Rukawa's side long enough to trust the faerie with his life. This time was no different.
As soon as he had his eyes closed, he felt the familiar warmth again. But this time, he felt it delve deep into his thoughts. Rukawa was reading his memories like an open book.
But as quickly as the faerie entered, he exited.
"K...Kaede?"
"You can open your eyes now Hanamichi, I'm done."
He opened his eyes, "That was fast."
"Because the memory was recent," explained Rukawa. "The more recent the memory, the easier it is to SEE."
"So?"
"Come with me," Rukawa instructed to the redhead as he made the chairs disappear with a simple wave of his hand.
"You understood it?!"
"A little bit. Come on, hurry," Rukawa said, disappearing into the forest.
Sakuragi was about to demand that Rukawa tell him what the fuzzy message meant, but thought otherwise as he saw the other boy disappear into the forest. There was no way he would allow himself to get lost.
"Kaede, wait!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
It didn't take a while for Sakuragi to catch up with Rukawa. He wanted to know what the message meant, but with the look on Rukawa's face, he was sure that the other boy had no intention of talking at the moment. So Sakuragi decided to walk with him, quietly.
After walking for a little while, Rukawa finally stopped in front of two Sakura trees.
"We're here. Stand back Hanamichi."
"Why...what?"
"Just stay back, you'll see."
Sakuragi followed his instructions. And as soon as the redhead was a few steps behind him, Rukawa knelt down on the floor on one knee. He placed his right hand on the ground, palm down. He muttered something so softly that Sakuragi could not make out what he was saying.
Nothing happened at first. But soon, a golden glow was emanating from the place where Rukawa was touching the ground. Then the golden shimmer spread out on the ground to form a big circle around Rukawa.
With this done, Rukawa stood up and turned to the redhead. "Come here Hanamichi."
Sakuragi slowly stepped into the circle and the golden shimmer brightened. "What's going on Kaede?" he asked, as he cautiously went closer to Rukawa.
"Don't worry about it Hanamichi," assured Rukawa, as the redhead reached him.
Though unsure of what was happening, Sakuragi made his way to the faerie until he made his way to the very center of the golden circle.
When Sakuragi reached the center, Rukawa positioned himself behind the redhead. He then put his arms around Sakuragi and held both of the redhead's hands.
"K...Kaede?!" stammered Sakuragi, blushing. Rukawa had been holding his hands most of the time during his training. But with this position, Sakuragi had his back pressed against Rukawa. And THIS, he was not used to.
"Shh.relax Hanamichi," he whispered, with his forehead pressed against the redhead's back. "Your body's too tense."
"That's because you're so close," the redhead muttered under his breath. It wasn't supposed to reach Rukawa's ears, but due to their close proximity, there was no chance it would go unnoticed by the faerie's keen ears.
Rukawa smiled and asked in a low, almost seductive way, "And why would you be tensed when I'm close to you?"
He felt the redhead tense more in his arms. "Didn't expect me to hear that, did you?" he asked the furiously blushing redhead. He KNEW the redhead was blushing furiously, without even looking at his face. When the redhead did not say anything, he continued, softly, "Don't worry, I like you too. Now can you please relax so that we can get this over with?"
Sakuragi's body tensed even more at what he said, but he gradually relaxed as he digested the information.
When Rukawa felt that Sakuragi was already relaxed, he made his hold on the redhead's hands firmer. Not sensing any sort of negative reaction from the readhead, he continued.
Since Rukawa did not give him any instruction to close his eyes, Sakuragi decided to keep them open. And when he felt Rukawa tighten his hold on his hands, he felt the familiar warmth enter his body, gently molding into his very being.
Rukawa then guided his right hand to point directly at the small space between the two trees. And from his hand, a golden light appeared. The golden light flickered for a moment but stayed glowing. Then the light slowly extended towards the space where Sakuragi's hand was pointing at the moment.
The golden light seemed to take forever to hit the space between the trees. But when it did, the whole scenery around both of them disappeared, and was replaced by what seemed to be a cave of some sort.
Rukawa loosened his hold on the redhead's hands. And almost instanly, Sakuragi's legs gave way beneath him and he nearly crashed to the ground. But Rukawa was immediately beside him, and was able to stop his faint body from falling.
"Kaede?" he asked weakly as Rukawa cradled his limp body. Rukawa settled both of them on the ground. "What happened?"
"Shh..." said Rukawa, placing his right index finger on the redhead's mouth. "Don't talk yet." He took a deep breath and continued, "Whoever cast the spell to protect and ward this cave was very powerful. Even I was unable to sense it, although I've been here countless times before. But, the mind voice you heard earlier, that was the cave, or something else inside it, calling out to you. You could not understand it since the message you heard was the specific coordinates for this cave. But, powerful as I am, I was unable to destroy or even weaken the ward. So I thought, that you might be able to destroy it."
"Why me?"
"Since you were able to hear the message that I was unable to hear," replied the faerie. "I thought that whatever it was that spoke to you, it needed you here. And that the key to destroying the ward would be you."
"And?"
"Since your powers aren't fully developed yet, you have a lot of untapped potential. I merely searched for the "power" you possessed that clearly responded to the wards protecting this place."
"So we did it?"
"We are inside the cave now, aren't we?" asked Rukawa, gently brushing off a few loose strands of Sakuragi's hair from the redhead's face. "But I did not expect you to loose such a huge amount of energy. I was supposed to lend you a hand, but the wards just won't react to any of my magic. It would only accept yours. I'm sorry that you were nearly drained..."
"It's okay Kaede," said the redhead, smiling up at Rukawa. "I quote, "Whenever a faerie gets drained of his magical power, it will still come back immediately, automatically "recharging" the drained faerie. Although some people naturally recharge faster than others, there has been no record of any faerie suffering from power drainage for more than a week." You taught me that a few days ago right?"
Rukawa allowed himself a little laugh at the words of the redhead. "You do learn quickly," he said softly.
"Iie Kaede," said the redhead, shaking his head. "It's only because you're a very good teacher." Then, his smile slowly disappeared as his face took on a serious expression. "Ne Kaede, about what you said earlier..."
Rukawa face registered surprised at the sudden change of subject but he easily recovered and smiled at the redhead. "I meant every word I said, but if you don't accept me..." He gently caressed Sakuragi's cheek and continued softly, "I will learn to accept your judgment and live with it."
Sakuragi reached up and held the hand which was caressing his face. "And what made you think that I will reject the love you are willing to give me?"
Rukawa's eyes widened at the redhead's words. "You...You're..."
Sakuragi cocked his head to one side and asked, "Is my acceptance that surprising?"
Rukawa recovered from his initial shock and shook his head as if to clear it. But instead of answering the redhead, he just leaned down and his lips descended upon the redhead's.
Sakuragi accepted the raven-haired faerie's kiss, his hands finding their way to Rukawa's back and ran through the faerie's silky black hair.
But just as Rukawa started deepening their kiss, Sakuragi pulled away.
No words were spoken, but the question Rukawa held in his eyes as he looked at Sakuragi was already enough. Sakuragi ran his hand through his hair and replied, "I hate to stop Kaede, but that...that voice...it's calling out to me again."
The questioning look immediately vanished from the faerie's eyes and Rukawa once again had this keen and serious expression on his face. "What's it telling you?"
Sakuragi closed his eyes and his brows furrowed in concentration as he tried to make out what the mysterious mind voice was saying to him. "It's telling me something about...about... a sword," said Sakuragi as he opened his eyes. "That it's hidden somewhere here in this area."
"Can you tell where it is?" Rukawa asked carefully.
Sakuragi nodded slowly. "Somehow I can understand what the voice is saying unlike the one I heard when we were still outside." He began to stand up and said, "Come on Kaede, let's go look for this thing. I can do with one less mysterious voice in my head."
"Are you sure you're okay already?" asked the worried faerie. "You shouldn't move so much if you haven't recovered yet."
"I'm fine Kaede," assured the redhead. "Come on, let's go and get this over with."
Rukawa, unable to dissuade the other from resting until he was fully recovered, had no choice but to tag along. Sakuragi led him through the maze-like cave for a whole half-hour. And just as he was starting to doubt that the redhead actually understood the voice and that they were already lost within the cave, Sakuragi stopped in front of a big stone slab.
The redhead placed his palm on it and tried focusing his energy to it. It was way harder without Rukawa helping him channel his energy. And, whatever he did, the slab didn't budge an inch.
He turned to Rukawa and asked, "Can you get rid of this?"
Rukawa shrugged. "I guess I can." He put his right hand on the stone slab and immediately, the stone slab rolled to its right, revealing a small room.
"This is becoming weird," Sakuragi muttered as the two of them entered the room. "First the outside ward only responds to my power, now this ward only responds to yours."
"There is probably a reason for this," replied Rukawa mysteriously, as he and Sakuragi made their way inside. The little room was like a small temple. There were red draperies all around the room, amidst fiery flames that engulfed the walls of the room. But neither the wall nor the draperies got singed. The mysterious flames were all probably kept here by magic.
"Kaede...that's..."
Rukawa looked at the direction where Sakuragi was pointing and his eyes widened. At the other end of the room, there was a sword, enthroned within fiery flames upon an altar. He turned to Sakuragi and whispered, "Go on, take it."
Sakuragi nodded and went to the altar.
He tried to get the sword while avoiding the fire, but found out that he couldn't. So he looked at Rukawa, who had stayed behind near the entrance shook his head. "Kaede, there's no way I'll be able to get it."
"Yes you can Hanamichi," the faerie assured him. "Reach into the fire, believe in yourself."
"But..."
"You won't get singed Hana. You can do it, trust me."
Realizing that Rukawa would never give him another answer aside from the ones already given him, Sakuragi turned back to the flame covered altar and looked at the sword adorned within. He took a deep breath and plunged his hand into the fire. And to his great amazement and fascination, the fire did not hurt him one bit.
"See? I told you."
Sakuragi wrapped his fingers around the hilt of the sword and took it from the altar. After he retrieved the sword, the flames in the entire room vanished almost instantly.
The long blade was made from finely crafted silver but the hilt was made from the firmest, toughest, yet purest of gold. Sakuragi examined the blade closer and realized that several words were written on it, but they were words he had no way of understanding.
He looked back at Rukawa and asked, "Kaede, can you come over here? There are things written on the blade of this thing. But I can't understand them, maybe you can." But before the faerie could even approach, the sword he was holding began to disappear.
"Kaede? What happened?"
"That was no ordinary sword Hanamichi," said Rukawa as he approached the redhead. "The reason why it vanished was because there was no need for it to be used at the moment."
"What do you mean Kaede?" If possible, Rukawa's answer just made the redhead even more puzzled.
Seeing Sakuragi's puzzled face, Rukawa broke into a small giggle. "There's no need to worry about it so much Hanamichi. You can summon that sword back anytime you need it."
"I can?"
"Yes," replied Rukawa, still with a smile on his lips. "Let's leave this dark cave now, should we?"
author's notes:
Kaede seems to know a lot about Hanamichi that the latter does not even know, now doesn't he? There's a reason for this, will tell after 2 more chapters I guess =) To all those people whom I have disappointed for making such a slow update, I am so sorry! My damn school is taking so much time off my hands, especially this drama club I am currently being the president in.
Notes to reviewers:
kristel - Yeah, I know I have to update real quickly. Sorry for all the delays ^^
Nakkie - Thanks for that review. I'll try to make Hana more lively ne? It's a bit hard for me to write about lively characters, but I will still try my best.
Jo-sen7 - Maki already appeared ^^. Kiyota and Jin probably wouldn't, but I could try to alter some parts to accommodate them. Nope, sorry, don't play dungeon siege ^^
sLL - Hana's level will be revealed in the latter chapters, but that will be a long wait. It will be in the last few chapters that this issue will be really tackled. Hope you will be patient with such a slow writer like me ^^
Afura Cielers and Tina Caps - thanks so much (
tbc
Part: chapter3
Author: Nanako
Genre: Fantasy, Alternate Universe, Romance
Pairing: RuHana, HanaFuji(Hanagata),MakiFuji, SenKosh, MitMiyaKo, AkaAya
Rating:PG
E-mail:ishpoof@i-manila.com.ph
Warning: the characters are sometimes ooc, and there is a lot of Haruko bashing in this fic
Disclaimer: Slam Dunk is Takehito Inoue's and will never be mine (sob)
Dedicated to Nagyra, who brought me back from writer's block land, Afuna, you know why already ^^, And to Yen, thanks for everything
CHAPTER 3
Relationships
"Majesty?"
Fujima entered the dining hall casually and waved a dismissive hand at the servants who were bowing before him. "I will eat my breakfast later, I would like to go around the city for a while," he informed them.
"And what would his majesty like for breakfast today?'
"I'll have anything. As for my cousin, ask her what she wants after she gets up from her beauty sleep." When the servants didn't seem to have anything else to say, the prince bade them goodbye and walked out of the room.
It has been a week since he had summoned Haruko to come over to discuss some things about the trading system between his country and hers. And, after a whole week of discussing and debating with her, Fujima felt very tired.
It was still early in the morning and, hardworking as they are, most of the citizens of Greendale's capital - Katia's Haven were still asleep.
The prince Fujima himself had named the city after his late mother - Princess Katia - who loved the fields as much as her son did.
Both of Faerie's suns had not yet risen and would not for another half hour, the prince realized as he walked along the palace gardens on his way to the palace gates.
The garden was a smaller version of the largest, most extravagant palace garden Haruko's servants maintained back in Flores. And, while it was Haruko's servants who maintained her garden, Fujima personally took care of this garden, which his mother left him. And would not forgive anyone who has any intention of destroying the garden he and his mother love dearly.
A few meters away from the gates, the palace guards assigned to guard the door spotted and bowed before him.
He again waved a dismissive hand and the guards made way for him to pass.
As soon as he was out of the palace gates, the prince stood still for a moment. When was the last time he had gone out of the palace? When was the last time he spent time with his people out in the field?
He could no longer remember.
He had been so busy with matters of state that he nearly forgot about his people. It was about time he visited them again.
He closed his eyes and focused his energy, and soon green angel wings sprouted from his back. His majestic wings enveloped him and, after a while, Fujima, as well as his wings, disappeared.
Fujima reappeared kilometers away from the palace a few seconds later. He took a deep breath and reveled at the breathtaking scene of the fertile fields before him.
Although the people of Greendale, especially in the capital, Katia's Haven, are the most hardworking faeries in the whole of Faerie, nobody would be up at such an unholy hour. So, as much as Fujima would've loved to spend a few minutes of his time to be with his people and work with them, he couldn't, for now.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Maki groggily opened his eyes and groaned when he realized that the two suns had not risen yet.
He sat up on his bed and stretched his limbs. His loyal pet, Ebony, then came barging into his bedroom, again, pleased at having awakened his master effectively. Ebony was a tryst, an animal which resembles a wolf in all aspects.
He patted Ebony's head and asked, "Do you know that you always wake me up before the suns rise?"
Ebony just wagged his tail in response.
Maki sighed and said, "Oh well, it won't hurt to check up on the crops this early in the morning, since there is no use going back to sleep again."
With those words said, the well - tanned, very masculine, and utterly good looking ...faerie / farmer, got up from bed.
After eating a simple breakfast, bathing, and all the other "morning stuff", Maki put on a plain brown robe and, along with Ebony, went out of his house.
As soon as Maki left his house, he spotted a man looking over the fields, HIS field. Although it was still very dark, he could not mistake the silhouette of another person.
Ebony, too, spotted the man and was about to approach the stranger when Maki placed his hand on the animal's head.
The tryst looked up at his master questioningly.
"Don't Ebony," Maki whispered. "We don't know who he is. I know he's trespassing into our field but we can't really be sure if he has cruel intentions right? He may just be lost."
After telling his pet to stay where he was, Maki approached the stranger with long calculated steps.
His steps were silent, so silent that you could easily mistake him for an assassin rather than a farmer. And he moved with finesse that he can be easily be mistaken for a nobleman instead of a farmer.
The unsuspecting stranger didn't even notice the farmer as he approached him. For the stranger was too busy looking at the filed, enthralled at the beauty of everything there was in the simple field owned by Maki.
But when Maki was but a few more steps away from the unknowing stranger, a faint sound reached his ears. It was the mild rustling of leaves to the untrained ear, but Maki knew precisely what it was even with his eyes closed.
It was a winged creature that goes by the name of amond. These were dark and vile creatures. Creatures which would go after unsuspecting villagers and devour them, especially during the night.
"Damn it," Maki cursed under his breath as he hid behind a bush and watched as the winged creature rose from the trees a few meters away from him.
He was careful not to move and was relieved that the creature steered away from the place where he was hiding. But his relief was short lived, as a new terror gripped is heart when he realized that the creature was really targeting the youth who had strayed into his field.
He didn't know if the stranger was capable of defending himself against the creature, and because amonds are very good in cloaking their own energy, even very powerful faeries have a very hard time sensing their presence.
So, without thinking twice, Maki leaped out from his hiding place, screaming "Get down!" as he pushed the youth to the ground. When they were down, his violet wings of the water level automatically unfurled from his back as he fired an energy ball from his outstretched right hand.
The creature was quick, but the farmer's energy ball was faster. The accurately fired shot singed one of its wings. Screeching in pain, the creature flew away in an awkward pattern and disappeared into the distant woods at the far edge of the village.
Maki sighed in relief as the creature disappeared. "We were very lucky, that was just a fledgling. I..."
Maki's words caught in his throat as his eyes finally looked down at the youthful face of the man he was pinning under him.
And the twin suns of Faerie chose this exact time to rise, illuminating both men's features for the other to see clearly.
Wide azure depths drowned him and the farmer could not help but blush at the intense gaze the equally blushing brunette he was pinning on the floor, was giving him.
"Um." the brunette started, also seeming to have difficulty in talking. His blush deepened but he managed to choke out, "Could you please get off of me?"
Maki was brought back to his senses and immediately stood up, away from the youth, yet, still enthralled by the equally beautiful and handsome face. And, as he looked back at the handsome stranger, his tanned cheeks darkened with a light blush.
The youth fixed his dirtied green robe and shifted nervously under Maki's intense gaze. "Um...thanks for saving me. I was so dazzled by the beauty of this field that I was unable to sense that creature's approach."
"It was nothing," replied Maki, now looking down to hide the evident blush on his cheeks. Then, remembering what his initial intention had been for approaching the stranger in the first place, Maki asked, "May I know who you are? And what you are doing in my field?"
"Oh!" the stranger exclaimed. "I am sorry sir, but I seem to have forgotten my manners. I am very sorry for entering your field without due permission. I just wanted to get some time off the palace grounds. I has been a while since I have visited the fields. And, my name is 0Kenji. Fujima Kenji."
It didn't take long for Maki's brain to process this new information. He fell upon his knees immediately and said, "Oh your majesty! I am so sorry for the way I had acted earlier! I seemed to treat you as my equal when you are far greater than I am! Oh please forgive me, my lord!"
When the farmer had fallen to his knees, Fujima immediately rushed to his side and tried to help him up.
But the farmer stubbornly refused. "Nay my lord," he said. "A simple farmer like I, have not the right to stand in your presence like some nobleman. I am not suited to even stay in the same place as you my lord."
"Oh for heaven's sake!" the prince exclaimed as he finally used force to pull the farmer to his feet. "Will you look at me?!"
Taking in the annoyed tone of the prince, Maki obeyed. The deep blue eyes of the prince were filled with wonder, surprise, question and hurt when Maki met his eyes.
Fujima looked back at the farmer and asked in a soft, almost unsure tone, "Are you that scared of me? Of us? Of any monarch?"
"Nay sire," Maki replied, trying to look away again, but was in vain as the prince's eyes seemed to take a firm grip on him. "I just pay my due respects. A commoner like me is in no position to talk with his majesty in this manner. It is a must that I, at least, kneel."
"Whoever decreed that?" Fujima asked, exasperated.
"A decree need not be issued sire. It is common practice."
"And it is also common practice that a faerie repay the person who has saved his life, or at least save him from any injury."
Before Maki could even utter another word, Fujima placed a finger on his lips to silence him. He smiled up at the farmer and said, "Come with me to the palace. It is the least I can do to repay you."
"But...!"
"No buts," corrected the prince softly. "Now what is your name?"
"Maki, sire. Maki Shinichi."
"Maki Shinichi ... it has a nice sound to it," said the prince. "Would it be alright if I called you Shinichi?"
"Oh it would be an honor sire!" exclaimed the farmer.
"AND you have to stop calling me that. From now on, it's Kenji. If you don't call me that I might have to punish you."
Maki swallowed hard. He knew he had to pay the prince his respects. He was, after all, a mere commoner. But he didn't think the prince was joking when he threatened to punish him if he didn't stop calling him formally.
"But si...Kenji what about my field? Who will take care of my crops? And what about Ebony?"
"Ebony?"
As if on cue, the black tryst came forward and like a good puppy, sat down in from of the prince.
"Oh a tryst!" the prince exclaimed. "Is this Ebony?"
Maki nodded.
"He stays with us in the palace," the prince said immediately. "As for the field, we'll come here everyday to take care of it." He looked at Maki with a big smile on his face, "It has been such a long time since I have had the opportunity to take care of a field aside from the garden I keep in the palace. Do not worry, I won't burden you. I do know how to toil in a field."
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sakuragi woke up early the next morning, and it was very rare for him to do so. Back home he won't wake until Akagi punches the living daylights out of him, but now, he finds himself awake even before the twin suns came up.
The little sakura blossoms were a welcome sight to his still groggy eyes and Sakuragi loved the fragrance they brought with them.
"You're up early."
Sakuragi looked at the source of the voice and found Rukawa sitting on a chair beside his bed. The said boy was wearing a navy blue cloak and was wearing a pair of reading glasses.
He was reading a book when Sakuragi woke up. And as soon as the redhead woke up, he closed it and set it down on the table beside Sakuragi's bed.
"Speak for yourself Kaede."
Rukawa raised a brow and removed his glasses. He folded them and they disappeared. "I'm always up early. Anyway, have you practiced what I taught you last night?"
"Of course I did," said the redhead.
"Prove it."
Sakuragi looked at the normally silent boy and asked, "Don't you trust me?"
Rukawa sat back on the chair, folded his arms across his chest and crossed his legs. "I trust you, but I do believe that you, a certified genius, won't be troubled by such a "simple" task?"
"Hmph! A genius is never afraid of any task!"
"Do it then."
Sakuragi closed his eyes and tried to remember what the other boy taught him last night. He closed his mind to any exterior sound or movement and looked for Rukawa's presence through his mind. ^Is this enough?^
^Enough, yes. But you still need practice. You can't close your eyes every time you need to communicate with my mind. But this will do... for now.^
Sakuragi opened his eyes and met the blue eyes if his teacher and friend. It was only in the most seldom of moments that Rukawa would praise him. And every time he did, Sakuragi felt his heart swell and a strange feeling of happiness engulf him.
But...
"Why are you really here Kaede? I know you won't waste time here to see if I've mastered what you taught me 1st thing in the morning when you could do so later in the day."
"There is no hiding from you is there?" Rukawa asked, a small smile gracing his lips. "Haruko's coming back from Greendale today. And I estimate she will be in Flores by tomorrow afternoon. And because of that, we must return to the capital before she arrives. I do not want to explain to her why we were staying in my villa when we should have stayed at her palace."
"But you can teleport us there without any hassle any time right?"
"Yes, I can."
"Then there is no problem, is there Kaede?"
Rukawa shook his head and stood up. "None at all. Go take your bath and get dressed. I'll be waiting for you in the dining hall. Also, I have a surprise for you."
Sakuragi's eyes brightened and his whole face lit up. "Really?"
"Yes. But it will have to wait until after breakfast."
And before the redhead could even ask another question, Rukawa disappeared.
"Kaede? Kaede! Damn that fox!" Sakuragi cursed loudly. He closed his eyes again and did what he did earlier. ^Damned fox!^
^Curse me later Hanamichi. You won't be able to know what your surprise is until after breakfast.^
Then, Rukawa's presence was gone.
Sakuragi knew that cursing the other would not help, especially if the said person could not even hear him. He'd rather curse him later. Besides, he was already anxious to get out of bed, get into his bath and change into some new clothes, not to mention get some breakfast.
He stood up from the bed and went to his bathroom.
'This surprise better be good Kaede,' he thought, with a small smile on his face.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
When Sakuragi finished, he proceeded to the villa's dining room and found Rukawa already there, waiting for him.
"You'll get the surprise AFTER you finish breakfast," Rukawa said to him before the redhead could even say a word. "I already finished my breakfast a short time ago."
Sakuragi sighed. When Rukawa didn't want to talk, he really will not talk. And even Sakurgai could not badger him enough to get even the tiniest leak. Badgering Rukawa when he does not want to talk was utterly futile, and this theory, Sakuragi had himself tried, tested and proven.
So he sat at his usual seat, right in front of Rukawa and looked on as his meal magically appeared on his part of the table.
Rukawa's villa didn't house any servants and is run totally by magic, as Rukawa had already explained to the redhead a few days back. This made the villa different from the others. Because all the other palaces of the monarchs, were filled with servants, who seldom use magic to run it, and the monarchs themselves barely used magic to add their own little touches to their palaces.
Sakuragi, even though he knew only little about magic except what Rukawa taught him, could not even begin to imagine how much magical power Rukawa had to use just to keep this place up and running.
As soon as all his food and utensils had appeared, Sakuragi wasted no time in gobbling it all up. The less time he wasted eating whatever food Rukawa gave him, the faster he'll be able to know what surprise the other boy had for him.
Rukawa looked on as the redhead quickly finished up his food like a famished man, his amusement barely hidden from his face.
"Are you that excited?"
The redhead ignored him. At the moment, Sakuragi's only interest seemed to be finishing up all his food.
Rukawa shook his head and simply waited for the redhead to finish. It was not a long wait, though.
"I'm done," Sakuragi declared, setting his utensils down.
"I can see that," replied Rukawa, waving his hand to make the utensils disappear. "I've never seen anyone devour his breakfast that fast, not even your usual self is any competition."
"Of course," said Sakuragi. "I am very excited. And when I'm excited, I do things very quickly."
"And here is the proof," said Rukawa. He stood up and sat down on the chair beside the redhead. "Close your eyes Hanamichi," he instructed.
The redhead did as he was told. Once his eyes were closed, he felt Rukawa hold his hands in both of his. "Ka...Kaede?"
"Shh...Don't worry. Just keep your eyes shut and don't open them until I tell you to," said Rukawa softly.
The redhead silenced and waited. He felt the all too familiar warmth of Rukawa's wings surrounding him. Although he himself had never seen them before, he was very sure that the warmth he felt emanating from the other boy was from his source of power, his wings.
A few seconds later, he heard Rukawa whisper, "You can open your eyes now."
He did. "Where...are we?"
Rukawa smiled and helped the seated redhead to his feet. "You like it?"
"It's even better than my room Kaede!" the redhead exclaimed as he looked at his surroundings.
Endless rows of Sakura trees surrounded the small clearing where both boys were standing in. It was a vast forest filled with trees that the redhead loved.
"We are still in Granfel," said Rukawa calmly as he conjured two chairs, one for himself and the other one for the redhead. "But this is a place that only I know of, at least I think so." He sat down on one of the chairs and continued, "I don't know if the others who know of this place are still alive. There were wards protecting this place before I found it, very strong wards, as if someone wanted this place protected very badly..."
He looked back at the redhead and frowned as he realized that the redhead had his back turned to him and was probably not listening to a word he was saying at all.
"Hanamichi?"
The redhead stopped looking at the forest and turned to face him. "Kaede, didn't you hear anything?"
"I heard myself."
"Not that!" The redhead took a deep breath to calm himself down and asked the other boy, "I meant, did you hear anything else aside from your own voice?"
Rukawa shook his head, "No."
"That's weird," muttered the redhead.
"Did you hear anything?" asked Rukawa. "What did you hear?"
Sakuragi scratched his head as he tried to look for the right words. "I didn't really HEAR anything. It was like hearing someone else's mind voice, but I don't know who it was."
Rukawa considered what the redhead said. "What did it say?"
"I can't really understand what it said..." Sakuragi replied, sheepishly. He expected Rukawa to make fun of him, that he was a self- proclaimed genius who could not even understand a simple message sent to his mind, and he was already ready to insult his companion if ever the snide remark came.
But the remark never came.
And Sakuragi was very much surprised when he saw the serious blue eyes of Rukawa locked on him. Rukawa always made fun of him ever since they stayed in his villa, but he would make up to the redhead immediately. This seriousness just wasn't like him.
It reminded Sakuragi of the detached and cold hearted Rukawa, fiancé of Princess Haruko; who was the total opposite of Kaede, his teacher, mentor and very close friend.and.maybe something more...
"Kaede, what's wrong?"
Rukawa approached him and placed his right hand on the redhead's forehead. Sakuragi didn't flinch and stayed as he was. But he found his voice to ask, "What are you doing Kaede?"
"Close your eyes Hanamichi," he instructed softly. "This won't take long."
He had stayed by Rukawa's side long enough to trust the faerie with his life. This time was no different.
As soon as he had his eyes closed, he felt the familiar warmth again. But this time, he felt it delve deep into his thoughts. Rukawa was reading his memories like an open book.
But as quickly as the faerie entered, he exited.
"K...Kaede?"
"You can open your eyes now Hanamichi, I'm done."
He opened his eyes, "That was fast."
"Because the memory was recent," explained Rukawa. "The more recent the memory, the easier it is to SEE."
"So?"
"Come with me," Rukawa instructed to the redhead as he made the chairs disappear with a simple wave of his hand.
"You understood it?!"
"A little bit. Come on, hurry," Rukawa said, disappearing into the forest.
Sakuragi was about to demand that Rukawa tell him what the fuzzy message meant, but thought otherwise as he saw the other boy disappear into the forest. There was no way he would allow himself to get lost.
"Kaede, wait!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
It didn't take a while for Sakuragi to catch up with Rukawa. He wanted to know what the message meant, but with the look on Rukawa's face, he was sure that the other boy had no intention of talking at the moment. So Sakuragi decided to walk with him, quietly.
After walking for a little while, Rukawa finally stopped in front of two Sakura trees.
"We're here. Stand back Hanamichi."
"Why...what?"
"Just stay back, you'll see."
Sakuragi followed his instructions. And as soon as the redhead was a few steps behind him, Rukawa knelt down on the floor on one knee. He placed his right hand on the ground, palm down. He muttered something so softly that Sakuragi could not make out what he was saying.
Nothing happened at first. But soon, a golden glow was emanating from the place where Rukawa was touching the ground. Then the golden shimmer spread out on the ground to form a big circle around Rukawa.
With this done, Rukawa stood up and turned to the redhead. "Come here Hanamichi."
Sakuragi slowly stepped into the circle and the golden shimmer brightened. "What's going on Kaede?" he asked, as he cautiously went closer to Rukawa.
"Don't worry about it Hanamichi," assured Rukawa, as the redhead reached him.
Though unsure of what was happening, Sakuragi made his way to the faerie until he made his way to the very center of the golden circle.
When Sakuragi reached the center, Rukawa positioned himself behind the redhead. He then put his arms around Sakuragi and held both of the redhead's hands.
"K...Kaede?!" stammered Sakuragi, blushing. Rukawa had been holding his hands most of the time during his training. But with this position, Sakuragi had his back pressed against Rukawa. And THIS, he was not used to.
"Shh.relax Hanamichi," he whispered, with his forehead pressed against the redhead's back. "Your body's too tense."
"That's because you're so close," the redhead muttered under his breath. It wasn't supposed to reach Rukawa's ears, but due to their close proximity, there was no chance it would go unnoticed by the faerie's keen ears.
Rukawa smiled and asked in a low, almost seductive way, "And why would you be tensed when I'm close to you?"
He felt the redhead tense more in his arms. "Didn't expect me to hear that, did you?" he asked the furiously blushing redhead. He KNEW the redhead was blushing furiously, without even looking at his face. When the redhead did not say anything, he continued, softly, "Don't worry, I like you too. Now can you please relax so that we can get this over with?"
Sakuragi's body tensed even more at what he said, but he gradually relaxed as he digested the information.
When Rukawa felt that Sakuragi was already relaxed, he made his hold on the redhead's hands firmer. Not sensing any sort of negative reaction from the readhead, he continued.
Since Rukawa did not give him any instruction to close his eyes, Sakuragi decided to keep them open. And when he felt Rukawa tighten his hold on his hands, he felt the familiar warmth enter his body, gently molding into his very being.
Rukawa then guided his right hand to point directly at the small space between the two trees. And from his hand, a golden light appeared. The golden light flickered for a moment but stayed glowing. Then the light slowly extended towards the space where Sakuragi's hand was pointing at the moment.
The golden light seemed to take forever to hit the space between the trees. But when it did, the whole scenery around both of them disappeared, and was replaced by what seemed to be a cave of some sort.
Rukawa loosened his hold on the redhead's hands. And almost instanly, Sakuragi's legs gave way beneath him and he nearly crashed to the ground. But Rukawa was immediately beside him, and was able to stop his faint body from falling.
"Kaede?" he asked weakly as Rukawa cradled his limp body. Rukawa settled both of them on the ground. "What happened?"
"Shh..." said Rukawa, placing his right index finger on the redhead's mouth. "Don't talk yet." He took a deep breath and continued, "Whoever cast the spell to protect and ward this cave was very powerful. Even I was unable to sense it, although I've been here countless times before. But, the mind voice you heard earlier, that was the cave, or something else inside it, calling out to you. You could not understand it since the message you heard was the specific coordinates for this cave. But, powerful as I am, I was unable to destroy or even weaken the ward. So I thought, that you might be able to destroy it."
"Why me?"
"Since you were able to hear the message that I was unable to hear," replied the faerie. "I thought that whatever it was that spoke to you, it needed you here. And that the key to destroying the ward would be you."
"And?"
"Since your powers aren't fully developed yet, you have a lot of untapped potential. I merely searched for the "power" you possessed that clearly responded to the wards protecting this place."
"So we did it?"
"We are inside the cave now, aren't we?" asked Rukawa, gently brushing off a few loose strands of Sakuragi's hair from the redhead's face. "But I did not expect you to loose such a huge amount of energy. I was supposed to lend you a hand, but the wards just won't react to any of my magic. It would only accept yours. I'm sorry that you were nearly drained..."
"It's okay Kaede," said the redhead, smiling up at Rukawa. "I quote, "Whenever a faerie gets drained of his magical power, it will still come back immediately, automatically "recharging" the drained faerie. Although some people naturally recharge faster than others, there has been no record of any faerie suffering from power drainage for more than a week." You taught me that a few days ago right?"
Rukawa allowed himself a little laugh at the words of the redhead. "You do learn quickly," he said softly.
"Iie Kaede," said the redhead, shaking his head. "It's only because you're a very good teacher." Then, his smile slowly disappeared as his face took on a serious expression. "Ne Kaede, about what you said earlier..."
Rukawa face registered surprised at the sudden change of subject but he easily recovered and smiled at the redhead. "I meant every word I said, but if you don't accept me..." He gently caressed Sakuragi's cheek and continued softly, "I will learn to accept your judgment and live with it."
Sakuragi reached up and held the hand which was caressing his face. "And what made you think that I will reject the love you are willing to give me?"
Rukawa's eyes widened at the redhead's words. "You...You're..."
Sakuragi cocked his head to one side and asked, "Is my acceptance that surprising?"
Rukawa recovered from his initial shock and shook his head as if to clear it. But instead of answering the redhead, he just leaned down and his lips descended upon the redhead's.
Sakuragi accepted the raven-haired faerie's kiss, his hands finding their way to Rukawa's back and ran through the faerie's silky black hair.
But just as Rukawa started deepening their kiss, Sakuragi pulled away.
No words were spoken, but the question Rukawa held in his eyes as he looked at Sakuragi was already enough. Sakuragi ran his hand through his hair and replied, "I hate to stop Kaede, but that...that voice...it's calling out to me again."
The questioning look immediately vanished from the faerie's eyes and Rukawa once again had this keen and serious expression on his face. "What's it telling you?"
Sakuragi closed his eyes and his brows furrowed in concentration as he tried to make out what the mysterious mind voice was saying to him. "It's telling me something about...about... a sword," said Sakuragi as he opened his eyes. "That it's hidden somewhere here in this area."
"Can you tell where it is?" Rukawa asked carefully.
Sakuragi nodded slowly. "Somehow I can understand what the voice is saying unlike the one I heard when we were still outside." He began to stand up and said, "Come on Kaede, let's go look for this thing. I can do with one less mysterious voice in my head."
"Are you sure you're okay already?" asked the worried faerie. "You shouldn't move so much if you haven't recovered yet."
"I'm fine Kaede," assured the redhead. "Come on, let's go and get this over with."
Rukawa, unable to dissuade the other from resting until he was fully recovered, had no choice but to tag along. Sakuragi led him through the maze-like cave for a whole half-hour. And just as he was starting to doubt that the redhead actually understood the voice and that they were already lost within the cave, Sakuragi stopped in front of a big stone slab.
The redhead placed his palm on it and tried focusing his energy to it. It was way harder without Rukawa helping him channel his energy. And, whatever he did, the slab didn't budge an inch.
He turned to Rukawa and asked, "Can you get rid of this?"
Rukawa shrugged. "I guess I can." He put his right hand on the stone slab and immediately, the stone slab rolled to its right, revealing a small room.
"This is becoming weird," Sakuragi muttered as the two of them entered the room. "First the outside ward only responds to my power, now this ward only responds to yours."
"There is probably a reason for this," replied Rukawa mysteriously, as he and Sakuragi made their way inside. The little room was like a small temple. There were red draperies all around the room, amidst fiery flames that engulfed the walls of the room. But neither the wall nor the draperies got singed. The mysterious flames were all probably kept here by magic.
"Kaede...that's..."
Rukawa looked at the direction where Sakuragi was pointing and his eyes widened. At the other end of the room, there was a sword, enthroned within fiery flames upon an altar. He turned to Sakuragi and whispered, "Go on, take it."
Sakuragi nodded and went to the altar.
He tried to get the sword while avoiding the fire, but found out that he couldn't. So he looked at Rukawa, who had stayed behind near the entrance shook his head. "Kaede, there's no way I'll be able to get it."
"Yes you can Hanamichi," the faerie assured him. "Reach into the fire, believe in yourself."
"But..."
"You won't get singed Hana. You can do it, trust me."
Realizing that Rukawa would never give him another answer aside from the ones already given him, Sakuragi turned back to the flame covered altar and looked at the sword adorned within. He took a deep breath and plunged his hand into the fire. And to his great amazement and fascination, the fire did not hurt him one bit.
"See? I told you."
Sakuragi wrapped his fingers around the hilt of the sword and took it from the altar. After he retrieved the sword, the flames in the entire room vanished almost instantly.
The long blade was made from finely crafted silver but the hilt was made from the firmest, toughest, yet purest of gold. Sakuragi examined the blade closer and realized that several words were written on it, but they were words he had no way of understanding.
He looked back at Rukawa and asked, "Kaede, can you come over here? There are things written on the blade of this thing. But I can't understand them, maybe you can." But before the faerie could even approach, the sword he was holding began to disappear.
"Kaede? What happened?"
"That was no ordinary sword Hanamichi," said Rukawa as he approached the redhead. "The reason why it vanished was because there was no need for it to be used at the moment."
"What do you mean Kaede?" If possible, Rukawa's answer just made the redhead even more puzzled.
Seeing Sakuragi's puzzled face, Rukawa broke into a small giggle. "There's no need to worry about it so much Hanamichi. You can summon that sword back anytime you need it."
"I can?"
"Yes," replied Rukawa, still with a smile on his lips. "Let's leave this dark cave now, should we?"
author's notes:
Kaede seems to know a lot about Hanamichi that the latter does not even know, now doesn't he? There's a reason for this, will tell after 2 more chapters I guess =) To all those people whom I have disappointed for making such a slow update, I am so sorry! My damn school is taking so much time off my hands, especially this drama club I am currently being the president in.
Notes to reviewers:
kristel - Yeah, I know I have to update real quickly. Sorry for all the delays ^^
Nakkie - Thanks for that review. I'll try to make Hana more lively ne? It's a bit hard for me to write about lively characters, but I will still try my best.
Jo-sen7 - Maki already appeared ^^. Kiyota and Jin probably wouldn't, but I could try to alter some parts to accommodate them. Nope, sorry, don't play dungeon siege ^^
sLL - Hana's level will be revealed in the latter chapters, but that will be a long wait. It will be in the last few chapters that this issue will be really tackled. Hope you will be patient with such a slow writer like me ^^
Afura Cielers and Tina Caps - thanks so much (
tbc