Disclaimer: Me saying I own Samurai Deeper Kyo is like a midget saying they're tall…. Or something like that… Oh you know what I mean; I don't own it.
Love or pride?
Author: Mickey Sin
"Talking"
"Thinking"
Flashbacks, ect.
(123456789) Separates certain parts of the story.
Chapter 4:
When Yuya woke up she saw that Akira was still asleep, well that's what it looked like at least. So she decided to do the polite thing and sit and wait for him to show some sign that he was awake.
"Up already?" Words suddenly poured from his mouth. "Did you get enough rest?"
Yuya, who had still been waiting patiently on the futon, jumped at least 5 feet. "Y-yeah! I'm up! I-I thought you were still sleeping." Yuya steadied herself on the bed; she had almost fallen over when Akira had spoken.
He stood to his feet and put both swords behind him in their respective places. "Well then, we have quite a ways to go. Might as well start out early."
With that decided they both prepared their things and started to head out. They had decided to get something to eat; this time from a small shop, Yuya really didn't want to go to The Brothel Bar ever again.
Then they had followed the path out of town, with a group of giddy girls following Akira all the way to the end of town. Yuya let out a sigh of relief when the silence returned; those whores and perverts were just too much for her.
According to a local villager they had to backtrack through the forest to hit the nearest town; but they had traveled farther than either of them had thought. The villager had told them it would take 2 or so days to get there from that town. So there they were, following the path that would lead them back into the forest. They were going in circles, literally.
"I can go by myself if you have something to do or somewhere to be." Yuya suggested politely to Akira, he had helped her out so much and she hadn't even bothered to ask him if he was doing something of importance. He had been walking through the forest; it couldn't have been for no apparent reason, could it?
"It's alright. I would feel bad if I left you out here alone without a weapon or any means to protect yourself. What would happen if more men came after you, like the one from the other day?" He replied. "Besides...I have a feeling that if I follow you, I might just find what I'm looking for as well."
"What you're looking for? Do you mean Kyo?" Yuya's curiosity got the better of her and she had to ask. Akira and her hadn't talked about what his plans were and she had only been able to gather small clues; but they had 2 or so days to spare, perfect timing for him to explain.
"No, I wouldn't say that exactly." That was all he gave her as the two fell into silence.
Yuya thought for a moment before a new question came to mind, "Then what would you say exactly?"
Akira turned his head to smile at her. "I guess it's a mystery to me, just as it is to you."
"What the..." Yuya stopped dead in her tracks as she tried to process that bit of information and tried her best to piece everything together to figure it out for herself, but that wasn't going to happen. "That doesn't make sense... what are you talking about? Are you trying to say that you don't know what you're looking for?" (A/N: And the game of 20 questions continues!) Yuya cocked her head as she waited for an answer to each and every one of her questions; but those answers, she was sure weren't going to come.
And she was right. The man of ice kept his peace. He would say nothing of his intentions...at least not for now. In truth, Akira really wasn't sure what it was that he was searching for either. But he had a hunch...
Yuya decided just to accept Akira's silence and continued walking in her own silence; she had some of her own thoughts to sort out, and if Akira wasn't talking she wasn't either... for once.
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Kyo had grown tired of waiting; she obviously wasn't coming back. The others still had hopes that she would return; they could wait, Kyo was leaving. Kyo grabbed his sword and walked out of the inn and towards the outskirts of town. This girl had been nothing but a burden to him since he had awoken. He would've killed her long ago if it wasn't for… wasn't for…
… Why didn't he kill her? Had he really gotten softer? He had killed thousands of men with out a single shred of remorse, without any since of regret; in fact he had enjoyed killing. Then one little girl with an impossible goal came along and he couldn't kill her?
Kyo broke from his daze and stopped walking, seeing everyone in front of him. "Where are you going Kyo?" Benitora opened his big mouth first and Okuni instantly attached herself to Kyo's arm.
"Now now, Kyo… going off to save Yuya all by yourself and leaving us out of the fun… shame on you!" Yukimura was enjoying his drink as usual with Sasuke close by. Kyo just glared at his odd group of followers before continuing his walk, only to have everyone walk backwards in front of him until he stopped again in annoyance.
"Who said I was even going to look for ugly?"
"Oh Kyo we all know you are, it's written all over your face." Yukimura swayed back and forth as Sasuke tried to follow his motions to catch him if he fell in drunken stupidity.
"If you're going to save Yuya-han we're going too!" Benitora said with confidence clearly in his tone. Kyo said nothing, but started to walk with the others naturally following. Kyo had so many things he could've said to shut them up about ugly, but he had better things to do.
After all, didn't Akira say he wanted to fight? … Or maybe Kyo just wanted to fight? Either way Kyo was going after Akira…
… And Yuya had nothing to do with it!
(123456789)
Its funny how time flies when you're trapped in deep thought; Akira and Yuya had almost made it to the village when they had stopped to set up camp. It was a quiet, peaceful, comfortable night. Not like the last time they had slept outside when Yuya was freezing.
Akira hadn't said much either, Yuya had thought about asking him what was wrong; but she'd just get dragged in circles again. Something else was bothering her more than Akira's change in mood though; would Kyo and the others really be waiting for her? After all this time?
Kyo was probably looking for the perfect excuse to leave her; after all according to him she was useless. Where would she go if they left her? What would she do if she was left alone like that? Yuya felt a ping of hurt go through her heart with that thought, she almost wanted to cry; but she was sure Akira would be able to notice if she started crying. So Yuya forced herself to fall asleep, with the question of 'what would happen next', fresh on her mind.
(123456789)
When Yuya awoke in the morning she noticed that Akira was up and leaning up against a tree.
"Good morning. Finally up, I see." He spoke.
"Yeah, good morning." Yuya said through a sudden yawn. No matter how much sleep you get you always seem to want more. "How far from town are we?" Yuya still had that thought that Kyo could have left her. She had to find out... soon.
Standing up, Akira motioned through the trees. "It should only be about a half an hour's walk down that way. It won't be long."
Yuya didn't say anything; she just followed Akira through the forest. In a way, she didn't want to know if the group had left her or not; funny thing is, she never really thought about it till last night. She had always thought Kyo would just be there, sword in hand and smirk in place.
Yuya snapped out of her thoughts when they came to the edge of a village right out of the trees. The villager had been right, it was fairly close. Now they just had to find the inn, now came the time when she would find out what to do next.
(123456789)
"Gone? When did they leave!" Yuya was once again yelling at innocent inn keepers. He had just told her that Kyo and the group had moved on; and now she wanted information.
"They- they left yesterday. I don't know where they went... but perhaps you'd like a room for tonight? I'm sure you're journey has been, and will be, quite long." Yuya listened to the man speak and she knew one thing for sure; this man was one hell of a salesman.
Yuya didn't pay much attention to the time of day, which was still morningish, or anything else they need to focus on; she just nodded to take the room and walked slowly behind a woman showing them the way.
Yuya's bad day got a little worse when she noticed that she had gotten the same room Kyo had just a few days ago, while Akira got the one next door. That was just great.
"It's fairly early in the afternoon, but you look tired." Akira broke her thoughts. "It might be best if you just rest for the remainder of the day."
"Huh? Oh yeah, I think I will." Yuya sat down with her back leaned up against the wall and waited for Akira to leave so she could think in peace. After all her so called 'friends' had left, why no him to?
He closed the door quietly, retiring to his own room to rest from their weary journey.
Now that Yuya was alone she had time to stop and think. Kyo had actually left her; and this all brought Akira's question back to her mind...
"Tell me...what is it that you plan on doing now?"
She still didn't have an answer to that; in fact, she was even farther from an answer now than she was before. She didn't really know what she expected of Kyo. He had always told her that he would leave her if she fell behind, or tell her he didn't care… she never really thought he was serious though; well., until now that is. But why was she so upset about this? She was strong and independent; she could take care of herself.
But then of course, she still wanted to take revenge for her brother's death… but was that really the reason she followed Kyo; or was it an excuse?
"Since when did I stop thinking of my brother's revenge, and start thinking about Kyo?"
Either way those questions were answered Yuya still found her eyes filling with tears as she thought of the past events between her and Kyo; they may not have been the best memories, but with Kyo being involved… they were better than nothing.
Then a new thought came to mind… Akira. Why is it that she looked to him for comfort? When Kyo had gone off with that whore, Yuya wanted someone to help her forget, when she ran she wanted someone to find her… but why did she lean on Akira for all this support? The jealousy, anger, and loneliness? And another thing, why did he let her move all that weight from her shoulders to his?
Yuya wanted to scream from the frustration of it all. And as much as she tried to hold her tears back, she still felt a single tear roll down her cheek. It didn't stop there, though. Soon more and more tears followed. She just couldn't hold them in anymore. It was getting to be too much.
On his way outside, Akira walked by Yuya's door. He paused suddenly, as the sound of the young girl's crying filled his ears. "Yuya...?" His hand reached out to grasp the door handle. This was a weak moment for her, and no doubt she wouldn't want him to see her in that state. But could he just ignore her sobbing?
As Yuya bit back more cries, she unexpectedly felt the weight of a hand on her shoulder.
Yuya snapped her head up to see Akira standing above her. "Akira?"
"Yuya-san." His voice was filled with nothing but concern. "Yuya-san, are you alright? I heard your crying..."
"I... I'm fine!" She yelled; but not at Akira, at herself. But Akira had no way of knowing that, and now Yuya felt even worse. There she was making the guy that was concerned for her think she yelled at him. "I'm... sorry." She said dropping her head and squeezing her eyes shut to try to stop the tears.
He smiled and sat down next to her. "You know...talking about what's bothering you sometimes makes things easier. It's hard to keep everything to yourself all the time, especially when everyone expects you to be strong. You may not want to talk about it, but I'm here to listen if you need me." Akira turned to face her. "Don't think you have to bear all this alone."
Yuya only continued to cry into her hands for a moment before she turned and buried her face into Akira's gi. She was trying not to put her burdens on his shoulders, but now her she was crying on his shoulder, using him for strength once again. "They... They left me! ... How could they do this! Why would they do this!" Yuya just didn't understand, of course she knew that Akira probably wouldn't be able to help with any of this, but she just had to voice the questions.
Maybe if she asked them enough times, the answers would somehow come to her.
Akira honestly had no idea what to do. He had never been in a situation like this before, so naturally it felt a bit awkward. Even so, the sound of Yuya's sobbing was something he had quickly come to dislike. But it couldn't be helped, and so he was content to just let her cry, leaning on him for support. "Don't worry about it so much." Akira spoke gently to her. "I have a feeling that things will turn out alright. You can...call it a hunch."
"A hunch?" Yuya asked between sobs. "How do you know everything will be alright? What am I gonna do now?... Can you tell me that?" Yuya asked the last part a little quieter as she squeezed Akira's gi in her fist out of frustration. She didn't mean to yell at him, or question him; but if he had a feeling things would be fine, if he had a hunch... she wanted to know why. And people, who are emotionally breaking down, aren't exactly calm.
"Sorry, I can't help you with that. You are going to have to find things out for yourself; because that's the only way we can learn." He placed a hand on her head. "But I'll be here with you, Yuya-san. I'll be here until you find your answers. Because I-"
"Ha Ha! I found you!" Yuya looked up when she heard someone literally burst through the door. Well, that was an odd way to make her stop crying; but it worked. She blinked at the man in confusion.
"Who the hell are you?" She asked letting go of Akira.
The man smiled and cleared his throat. "I am Kaynoyukioh…. I am honorable, loyal to my friends, handsome, strong…"
"Ok I got the point... you can shut up now." Yuya half said half demanded rolling her eyes.
"How rude!" Kaynoyukioh pushed his glasses up with his middle finger before crossing his arms.
"So what the hell do you want?" Yuya asked tiredly. She had drained her self mentally, physically and emotionally from all her damn crying.
"Well I was getting to it before I was so rudely interrupted! ... I want you!" He said taking out small dagger. "Now come with me so I can finally finish my plans and destroy Demon Eyes Kyo! I advise you not to resist or I will not hesitate to kill you."
Yuya could only blink at these demands. This guy was going to piss her off if he didn't leave... now.
Akira could only let out an irritated sigh. This man was clearly a moron, and would therefore pose the same type of threat as maybe...a bug or something. A bug with a dagger.
"Excuse me, but I cannot allow you to take Yuya-san with you." He unsheathed his swords. "Now please leave or die quietly."
"No one told me that the blonde woman had a body guard! My god woman, what kind of favors do you do to receive this kind of protection? My plans are ruined AGAIN!" The man dropped his dagger and rubbed his temples in frustration.
Raising his sword to the intruder's throat, Akira spoke. "Plans? What plans?"
The man began to shake due to the blade at his throat, but smiled anyways. "My plan... do you really wanna know?"
Kaynoyukioh made the brave action of raising his hand to push his glasses up... again. "I plan to bring down Demon Eyes Kyo."
"You? You think you can defeat him? Very unlikely. Especially with such a poor excuse for a weapon." He replied.
"I don't need to be better, or more skilled as long as the person is distracted... that's why I need that girl." He explained trying to back up from the blade.
"You want to use Yuya-san to get to Kyo? How utterly unoriginal."
"And do you have a better idea to defeat the thousand man slayer?"
"If I did, I wouldn't bother to let you in on it. I have my own reasons for wanting to defeat him. And I'll succeed." He shot back.
"Do you know how many men have tried, what makes you think that a blind man like yourself and your little sword can do it... and are you trying to tell me that you are not using that girl to get to Kyo as well?"
In mere seconds both of Akira's swords were placed up to his neck, cris-crossed. "Yes...what can a blind man do? I wonder...perhaps you would like to find out just exactly what my silly sword is capable of. I'd be happy to rip out your throat so that I no longer have to listen to your senseless babble."
"Heh heh heh. Perhaps I miss judged you and your silly sword." Kaynoyukioh spoke nervously. "I will leave the girl alone, but you never answered my question... do you not plan on using the her as well?" He repeated backing up some. "I will leave with that said, but this is not over." He turned to leave.
Akira contemplated the appealing thought of lopping his head off then and there. But as much fun as that would be, it would do nothing to solve their problems. Besides, he was of no threat. Yuya could probably even take him on if she had her gun. In the end, Akira simply put his weapons away.
Kaynoyukioh left as quickly as he had come leaving Yuya and Akira to think about everything that had just happened. Well, at least Yuya wasn't thinking about Kyo anymore.
"I think I'm going to lie down." Yuya said before following her words with actions and laying down on the futon. She didn't even wait for a response as she closed her eyes; soon falling asleep.
Akira stood briefly by the bed, and then proceeded to go out and do what he had originally come out of his room to do. Once outside, he was met by the cold night air. Not that it bothered him any. There were things to be done, and so he wouldn't return to the inn until he saw to them. "Now...where do I begin?" With a slight grin, he started off into the quiet town.
(123456789)
Yuya awoke a few hours later to see Akria sitting up against the wall near her bed. "Have you been here the whole time I was asleep?" Yuya asked as she sat up and looked around the room.
"No, I went out. You've just been sleeping for a while."
"Oh. Well, where did you go?"
He decided to be frank with her. "I went into town to see if anyone had seen Kyo and the others."
This surprised Yuya quite a bit, but it also made her happy. "Did you find anything?" She asked with hopefulness.
"As a matter of fact..." He paused dramatically.
Yuya perked up a little more, but she was impatient when it came to dramatic pauses. "Well?"
"Two peddlers said they saw a 'band of strange people' leaving town a few days ago. They headed east."
"Oh, so do we follow them?"
"You do want to see them again, don't you? Isn't that why we came here?" He asked her.
"Yeah." She said quickly standing up to get ready to leave. "Let's go then!" She said walking out of the room.
Akira stood as well, hurrying to keep up with her quick pace.
(123456789)
"I hope this is east." Yuya said to herself still walking ahead of Akria.
"It is."
Yuya paused for a moment before continuing her previous pace. "Good." She scanned the trees left and right, up and down for any signs of the group. Desperate… that was an understatement.
(123456789)
The whole group had pretty much separated, Okuni had gone with Benitora, by Kyo's orders; Yukimura with Sasuke, by Yukimura's request and Kyo had gone a separate direction for some peace and quiet. At least, that what he had told himself. The fact that they had waited for Dog-face just to find out that she was traveling with Akira… Kyo found himself getting a little more irritated than he should.
Then he heard Yuya's voice, soon followed by Akira's.
"I hope this is east"
"It is."
He got a little closer to see them walking through the trees, but he made no effort to make his presence known; though he was sure Akira already knew. So it was true, she was traveling with Akira. For some reason, it made Kyo's blood boil.
Yuya's quick pace caught up with her and she found herself falling. Only this time Akira wasn't close enough to catch her, and that meant that she had an unpleasant meeting with the ground. She felt her ankle twist and a sharp pain shoot through her entire leg. "Damnit! I don't have time to get hurt!" Her eyes began to fill with tears from the sharp pain.
"Yuya-san! Are you alright?" He knelt down next to her.
"I'm fine." She said as she tried to stand up, but the pain was too much and she fell back down.
"Let's take a break. It seems like you've hurt yourself."
"It's just my ankle, I'm fine." Hell, who was she kidding, they needed a break. "Thank you." Yuya had so much to thank Akira for, she couldn't just name one specific thing. However, she also had one other point to bring up. "Akira there's something I have been meaning to ask you... that guy had asked you if you were using me to get to Kyo and well... are you?"
He was a little taken aback by the sudden question, but he had thought she might ask something of the sort. "Heh...I figured we'd be talking about this eventually." Akira sat back on the ground. "Would it be strange if I said I wasn't traveling with you to get to Kyo?"
"Now that I think about it yeah, it would be strange... I mean why else would you be traveling with me, if it's not to get to Kyo?"
"Maybe I wanted to be near you because I was curious. Maybe I was just as confused as you."
"Confused about what?"
He ground his hand into the dirt. "When I first met you, Yuya-san, I couldn't believe that such a woman would wish to travel with Kyo. I could see the past being redone all over again. And so I asked you to come with me. But you turned me down with as much determination as you always had. And since then, I couldn't help but wonder...what would it have been like if you said yes? Would we go on like this? Could I fulfill that promise I made to you? Could I make you truly happy?" Akira paused. "I was only being selfish. I wanted to know...and I guess I found my answer."
"What answer is that?"
"Yuya-san…" He turned to face her. "I think I'm falling for you."
Yuya was in complete shock; she didn't know what to say. She had grown to have strong feelings for Akira, but she still had feelings for Kyo didn't she? So what should she say, what could she say? Her heart was torn. "Akira... I don't really know what to say. Through out this time that we have been traveling together, I have come to have feelings for you too, but I don't know exactly how strong they are... I know that when I'm around you, I smile a lot more and I feel important and wanted... but..."
Akira left her little time to finish. Within seconds he had closed the gap between their faces, placing a gentle kiss on the unsuspecting girl.
(End of Chapter 4)
Mickey Sin: Ok sorry about cutting it off right there, but it seemed like the perfect place to end the chapter to me; don't you agree? Anyways, the next chapter will be coming soon. I hope you all like this story despite the odd things that seem to be happening. Well, I hope to see you for the next chapter. BYE!
Editor's Note: UWAH! (yells). It was so wonderful! Romantic and sweet…just how I like it. And there were a lot less things to correct in this chapter, congratulations! I must say that this story is awesomeness. Even though I'm an avid Kyo/Yuya fan, I cant help but love this pairing too. It has a certain sweetness to it.
foxmagic
Reviewer Responses:
foxmagic: Yeah, I know you read that about 10 times; but you know you love it so shut up! Lol just kidding… And do you have to brag every time you get the first review? Geez! Anyways, thanks for all your help and support. Can't wait till Thursday… Seattle here we come! WOOT!
yami1: Thank you so much for your review. I am glad that you loved the last chapter, I worked a little harder on it and I am starting to get a plan worked out for the story. I had some help though… well, thanks again. Hope you liked this chapter just as much as the last. Buh-Bye!
KittySamurai506: Heh heh you caught me. I am pinkpartystraws, proud owner of The Brothel Bar on Gaia. Believe it or not Yuya/Kyo is my favorite paring as well, I just wanted to do something a little different. I am very glad that you find my story enjoyable, thank you so much for your review. TTFN (ta-ta for now!)
KaraQ: Do you really think it was worth the wait? The best chapter so far? Yay, I'm so happy! You made my day! Well, Kyo/Yuya is one of my favorite parings, but Yuya is getting a little fonder of Akira… gotta give my story some originality right? I was really happy to hear that you like the way the story is going, I am always worried that people won't like it. To answer your question, I don't know where you can download SDK. In fact I have been searching for a place to do that as well. If I ever find a place I will be sure to let you know. Don't worry about babbling, I do it all the time. Well, hope you enjoyed the fourth chapter as much as the third… thanks again for your review!
Streetwise Girl: I was really glad to hear that you thought my story was good, I am always worried that I am going to make a character OOC. I guess I'm just paranoid. Akira is a favorite of mine too; of course I have a few favorites. Thanks for your review; it motivates me to hear that you think my story is too good to stop. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, bye!
Thanks again to all of my reviewers!
foxmagic
ravenfett
LadyWater
yami1
Ginny-cry
Violetjewelz
The Muses Tk and Zv
KaraQ
Streetwise Girl
KittySamurai506
