So sorry this took such a long time! I've been writing so many little YohxAnna drabbles and those darn plot ideas are colliding with me head-on all the time! I can't seem to get them to stop! Darn things...at this rate I'll never finish a single chaptered story! Please check out my profile about my story Both Sides and tell me if you like it?
Plus, two extra story ideas that aren't exactly pending...but I might consider if people like them.
Sisters: Mari and Anna are sisters, orphaned by a renegade group of bandits who attacked their parents' coach while they were on holiday. Sent to a middle-class orphanage, they are adopted by the Asakura family as companions for the brothers, Hao and Yoh Asakura. Their job? To act as escorts to the two noble-born guys. And no, they can't fall for them.
Holidays: A series of scenes between couples PirikaxRen, TamaoxHorohoro, and favorite love triangle YohxAnnaxHao during the holidays of the year starting with Valentine's Day and ending with New Years!
But of course, that's not what I'm here to be telling you about! On with the story!
Cobalt Rose
And of course, I don't own. Standard disclaimers apply (unfortunate but true...)
A Castle's Hospitality
Dinner is Served
Yoh glanced at the others. Horohoro seemed slightly preoccupied with the girl who had led them there, Ren was brooding, but wasn't he always…and Lyserg was quiet. Seeing that no one else seemed to be willing to make a move, he pulled up a chair on the far end of the table and sat. The others quickly found their seats, as did the strawberry haired girl who had led them there.
"There's really no need to sit so far away," remarked a musical voice from the other end of the table. They didn't see exactly what happened, but they certainly felt it. In a second the table was a great deal shorter than it had been, and Yoh found himself trying to see the girl shrouded in darkness. On his left, Ren and Lyserg gave him uneasy looks, while Horohoro stared intently at his plate to his right. The heavenly aroma of food that had wafted by them so deliciously as they had entered the room increased. Spices tempted his nose and he could feel saliva as it rushed to his mouth.
For a time there was little noise as the travelers ate away at the food. A knock on the chamber doors made everyone look up. A manservant, dark brown-black hair messily and yet tastefully arranged, walked to them with a silver soup tureen, trailed by two little identical twin girls. "The soup is delicious miss," complimented Yoh when they had been served.
Anna could feel herself smiling slightly. What was it about this young man that made her feel this way? "Please, I am Kyouyama Anna of Akito and I would prefer if you called me just Anna. We are, after all, only eight. This," she continued, "is Pirika, my cousin of Ainu, Jeanne, my cousin of Orin, and Tamao, my cousin of Imzu," motioning to each girl in turn.
"A pleasure to meet you," he answered, his eyes still trained on the shadowy figure on the other side of the table. "I am Asakura Yoh, and my fellow wanderers are Tao Ren, Diethyl Lyserg, and Usui Horohoro."
"Wanderers you say?" asked Pirika curiously. "Why do you wander? And for how long?"
"We have all been friends from our childhood, and wished to see the world. From there it was just a matter of planning," answered the Tao.
There was a lull in the conversation as they resumed eating. Lyserg could feel the constant unease between his fellows. As a rule, they were openly honest about their profession as vampire hunters, but something about these women put them all on their guard. Perhaps it was that they were four girls living in a supposedly abandoned castle, that they showed the outward symptoms of most vampires, or that none of them could make out the Lady who sat at the head of the table. Whatever the reason, they all felt that a little dishonesty would be in order.
"Do you not get lonely in this big castle all by yourselves?" Horohoro asked bluntly as he bit into a pork rib.
Pirika raised an eyebrow at the forwardness of his question. "We don't often get visitors, so there are times when we are lonely yes, but we have a spectacular library, and there is much to do in this castle. After all, we haven't finished fixing it up yet," she told him a touch tartly.
"Library?" Lyserg asked, suddenly interested.
"Of course," Jeanne replied. "Lady Anna is very fond of books, as I myself am, and we have many books to read. The previous owners left us the library, and because they loved collecting books, our library is quite expansive."
"I do not wish to be rude, but would it be possible to visit your library after dinner?"
Jeanne blinked at the question and her eyes flickered over to Anna for a second before nodding. "Of course," she answered him, her voice soft as new velvet. "It would be my pleasure to lead you to the library."
Silence…It's too quiet, Anna thought to herself. Perhaps I could make things a little more interesting… "Even wanderers must eat and sleep. Where do you get money for your travels?" she asked in an all-too-innocently interested voice.
"It's my money," Ren told her shortly. He was feeling increasingly wary of this shadowed woman who sat at the head of their table.
"Do not speak to Lady Anna in that way!" Pirika said angrily.
Ren looked startled a moment and a smirk slowly curled around his lips. "You are a very spirited woman. Admirable."
Pirika's glare could have burned a forest down to ashes but it did nothing to the Tao.
"Maa maa, Ren, Pirika-san, there is no need to argue over the dinner table…" Yoh said, trying to calm down his friend and the blue-haired girl.
Anna just laid a hand on Pirika's wrist and whispered, "No need to get all worked up, but you can pay him back for it later when we feed."
Pirika nodded imperceptibly as a smile reasserted itself on her features.
"I must apologize for my curiosity," Anna said calmly. "I have not traveled around the world in a long time and I take an interest in travelers."
Yoh imagined he saw a flash of pearly white teeth beyond her pink lips. "We are traveling on Ren's money," Yoh explained to her, falling back on the vampire hunters' standard fib about their pasts. "We've all been friends since we were little kids, and when Ren's parents died, they left him a pretty big inheritance. As a result, we've been traveling for a few years on his money."
Anna raised an eyebrow. "I see," she said, letting the words roll softly over her tongue like syrup. "Well, that very interesting, but as dinner is finished…perhaps you would like to move on to dessert?" she asked, a seductive smirk curling around her lips as her eyes rested on Yoh.
Yoh blinked in surprise as he felt his fascination for the shadowy maiden increase at her sultry words. For a moment he wondered if she was talking about him, but a large, spun-sugar contraption followed by plates and platters piled high with every imaginable sweet and confection were laid down upon the table by silent servants, and his musings were interrupted abruptly by his blue-haired friend.
"Sweets!" Horohoro cried happily, forgetting his manners a moment. The next second, over the clatter of silver dishes, he swiftly apologized for the breach. Much to his surprise, the Lady showed no annoyance, but the strawberry-haired one next to her blushed and offered to take him to the kitchens after dinner. The kitchen staff would provide the travelers with whatever food they would need until they reached the next city.
To him, the prospect of being in a place where food was made was more than enough to persuade him. Not to mention the girl who offered was sweet and delicate, like a perfect confection herself. Scolding himself for thinking like that about a stranger, he accepted her offer and promptly polished off several éclairs and three slices of blueberry pie.
Not everyone was quite as attracted to the dessert as Horohoro. Tamao herself nibbled quietly at some cookies, trying not to let herself be distracted by the way one Usui Horohoro enjoyed his dessert. She tried not to sigh as she looked wistfully down at the cookie she had been eating. Usually she was in charge of preparing the four coven members with their daily meals, the servants generally doing the cleaning and organizing of the house, but with guests, Lady Anna always felt that their large retinue of nightly servants would be the ones making dinner. Her eyes flickered over to her favorite dessert, icy sherbet in tropical flavors, but it was lying near Horohoro, who was preoccupied with brownies, vanilla ice cream, and a lot of chocolate syrup, and didn't look like it could be reached.
Tamao sighed quietly, munching the cooking as she gazed longingly, albeit surreptitiously at her favorite dessert, when it started moving towards her slowly. Looking up, she found Horohoro pushing the small bowl of icy sweetness towards her with a grin.
"You looked interested," he told her quietly, under the murmur of conversation that buzzed around them both. "Besides, you finished your cookie." He flashed her a grin and went back to his own dessert.
Blushing, Tamao picked up the small sherbet spoon and, with a quiet thanks to the blue-haired traveler, she slowly ate her favorite dessert, savoring every bite.
"Coffee or tea?" Anna asked as the dessert dishes were being cleared away some time later. "Or if there's any other drink you would prefer…brandy, red wine, or nonalcoholic fruit cocktails?"
"Fruit cocktails!" Yoh could feel his grin widening at the thought of one of his favorite drinks. As a rule vampire hunters didn't drink alcohol because it messed with their abilities, the same as coffee or caffeinated tea did. On one hand, it could be annoying because there were no available caffeine sources to wake you up when you had to spend all night on a vampire hunt, but Yoh's love of fruit drinks was boundless. Especially if they included oranges.
Ren and Lyserg both requested decaffeinated tea, and Horohoro decided on a strawberry fruit cocktail, while Yoh asked for an orange fruit cocktail. Anna nodded and asked a tall, blond serving man to prepare their orders, telling him that she and the girls would have "the usual." The usual turned out to be sweet iced tea for Pirika, hot chocolate for Tamao, Earl Grey with lemon for Jeanne, and Anna's favorite passion fruit cocktail.
Yoh glanced curiously at Anna's drink. The swirls of pinkish-red against clear were muted by the frosty mist covering the outside of the glass. From behind the paper umbrella perched on the ice cubes, Yoh could see a cherry sitting at the top, right in front of the straw that pulled the cool liquid past soft, pink lips. He could feel a blush rising to his cheeks as he told himself it wasn't right to be so attracted to a woman…girl…maiden…lady…that he didn't know. Heck, he was having a hard time figuring out what exactly to call her in his mind.
"It's a beautiful drink, Lady Anna," he said, complimenting her beverage of choice. "But what is it made of?"
Anna couldn't help but smirk, just a little as she said, "A little lemon juice, soda, cranberry juice, and passion fruit syrup." A small breeze from an open window caused the lamps in the room to flare up for a moment and illuminate her pale face, gleaming, golden hair, and crimson-chocolate eyes that held a hint of amethyst just as she whispered in a voice loud enough to reach Yoh's ears in a sultry whisper, "It's called Innocent Passion."
Yoh hoped she didn't notice the way his cheeks were flushing lightly. He imagined she could hear his heartbeat speed up at her seductive words, and he could feel his body reacting to her whisper. Beautiful… The glimpse of her face that he had seen made him stop dead. He fought to keep the situation in control by inquiring at what drinks he and Horohoro had been given.
"Yours is called an Orange Cocktail, a mix of sweet, fresh orange juice and tangy lemon juice, well blended with crushed ice and garnished with a cherry. Horohoro's is made of lemon juice, pineapple juice, strawberry puree, whipping cream, and caster sugar. Doesn't the shade it makes resemble Tamao's hair color?" The girl in question blushed prettily and murmured something inaudible. "It's called," Anna said, glancing from Tamao to Horohoro and raising her own glass and kissing the brim, "a Strawberry Kiss."
She has got to stop…he pleaded with whatever or whomever happened to be listening at the time. Part of him wanted her never to stop speaking to him about seductive drinks in that delicious voice of hers, but if she kept this up it was going to drive him crazy. And kissing the brim of her own glass while telling him about a drink known as "Strawberry Kiss" was pushing him straight to the edge.
Thankfully, Anna decided to stop her seductions for the moment and let the others drink their beverages in peace. As they all got up, leaving the table with empty glasses the lights slowly started to shine brighter, and she spoke. "It is nice to have guests after such a long period where no one has managed to visit us. It would be nicer if the guests were a little more truthful though. Isn't that right vampire-hunter-sans?" she asked mockingly.
Yoh and co. tensed at Anna's words. "What makes you think we are vampire hunters Anna-san?" asked Lyserg calmly, keeping the adrenaline rushing through his body out of his voice.
"A normal traveler might bear marks of his travels, as scars and such, but the palms of your hands are all almost imperceptibly by the scars that come from wielding standard silver weaponry," Jeanne told him as she set down her teacup and rose as well.
"Every single one of you ordered a drink that had neither caffeine nor alcohol in it; a common practice of vampire hunters because caffeine and alcohol dull your senses in tracking vampires," Tamao added quietly. She too was standing.
"And, you are all wearing identical silver chains around your necks that, if you look closely, protect the pulse point that blood vampires feed from as well as the aura tapping point and the base of the neck where energy vampires feed from," Pirika chipped in.
Lyserg and Horohoro traded uneasy glances as Ren clenched his teeth, looking at the beautiful, sky-blue haired girl whose eyes were filled with mocking accusations. Yoh just smiled easily. "We apologize, Lady Anna," he told her sincerely. "We were not certain of how you would react if we said we were vampire hunters."
Anna let herself smile as she replied, "Do people not thank you for your work?"
Yoh grinned ruefully. "If we were like most vampire hunters they would. We do not kill vampires. At least," he amended slowly, "we do not kill unless it is necessary."
Instantly, it was the girls that were tensed and yet intrigued, each thinking their own thoughts, but all thinking one same, central thought within the melee of others. They don't kill vampires unless it's necessary? What vampire hunter acts like that? They are different…why?
Anna was the first to appear to relax. "That is indeed reason enough to be cautious. I believe we must apologize for our behavior then." She paused before tilting her head to one side slightly as she glanced from Yoh to Ren. "I realize that Jeanne and Lyserg will be going to the library, and Tamao and Horohoro will be visiting the kitchens, but is there anyplace either of you would like to visit before we all turn in for the night?"
"Is there a balcony or tower where I could look out over the forest? To plot out the path to our destination," Ren explained, catching the curious glance Pirika threw him.
"I will be willing to lead you," Pirika told him. "The best tower is near my rooms at any rate so that I may retire easily after I escort you."
Ren nodded.
"I would like to visit the gallery," Yoh said quietly.
"Very well," Anna answered him.
The lights that had been slowly growing brighter during the whole exchange now flared up, illuminating the dining hall fully. For the first time since their arrival, the four vampire hunters looked at the vampire maidens that had always been partly shrouded in shadows, and stopped dead, mesmerized.
Ok, so it's not exactly a cliffie...but a half-cliffie you could say? I haven't written what the guys think of our lovely vampire ladies. That comes next chapter...which will also be the last chapter! Don't worry...too many other Shaman King fics lining themselves up in my brain for anyone to worry about me not writing them...
And to all anonymous reviewers (at least, the ones who aren't on and so can't submit signed reviews...) please leave an email address? If you have a suggestion I like or something, I might want to email you and ask you about it so that I could add it to one of my fics. Thankies! Oh..and...please press that nice button down there that says Go and review me! I'm getting so shameless about reviews it embarrassing...
Cobalt Rose / Tenri Kage
