New chapter, new chapter! X3 The Emperor is in this chapter quite a bit, so I wonder what sort of impression people will get of him. Lol!
OH YEAH! Picture! XD I tried to draw Ame-chan and Jin-Shun. But it's a sketch. It's embarrassiiiiiiiiiing . . . I'm so sorry if Ame didn't turn out so sexay. T.T I tried, I really did! It's in my scraps at Deviantart and my username is Hatsu-chan. And the title is Amefuri- Byakko Seven!
Kyia Star- Hmmm . . . could you tell me where it is? I'll try to fix it sometime! X3 I'm sorry. And as for the warriors . . . XD I can't tell you who's who! You're right about Lanva, but I already have been planned his little saga thingy. Lol! I hope you can wait that long:D
Lady Rhian Knightmage- Oh no, your review got cut off! T.T What an evil spot to get cut off too . . . XD lol! –hug- Thank you for reviewing! Hopefully it won't eat up your reviews again in the future. O.o
Suzuno Oosugi- Yes:D You got it! That's exactly what's happening to Toroki right now. Ack, I can't wait to reveal them. X3 X3 X3 I'm so excited! It's so close for meeeee . . lol! –hugs- Thank you so much on the comment about my romance-stuff. It makes me feel a lot better about it:D
Care- Ack! I must be telling the story confused-ly or something. MDHM (Mysterious Dark-Haired Man- the word by Suzuno Oosugi! XD) isn't Toroki but he's holding Toroki captive. T.T I'm sorry if I didn't write it correctly . . . I'll do better in the future! I promise! But I'm sure you'll like them when you really do see them. XD They're one of my favotire characters! –hugs- lol, yes! Danko's likes Suzuno. This story has Heterosexual and Homosexual characters throughout it, but they're not the main parts of the story so I'm hoping people won't worry too much. Lol!
Loki- lol! I'm sorry, Toroki will be coming in a little bit! Before we start in the forties (For chapters) he will appear. XD XD XD It's not exactly a long ways off if you think about how long the story is supposed to be! –hug- I'm glad you're enjoying this so much!
Sailorjj07- O.O OMGosh! –Major hugs- Thank you so much! T.T Such a lovely compliment . . . I'm so happy! Which characters do you like best so far in the story? Oh, I'm so happy that you like it!
Kaeru Soyokaze- lol, yes! X3 Lanva really can care when he wants to. I'm hoping that their relationship will show much change from this point forward . . . hopefully I can pull it off! XD Suzuno is so great. I actually started re-reading the story myself to help familiarize with things again (And to Edit. XD XD) and I was surprised by how much she's changed! O.o No wonder she'd be a guy-magnet now. So much stronger! Lol!
Chapter Thirty-Two
"There," Subaru said, taking in a deep breath. Using her powers took a lot out of her, to be honest. Ever since gaining it, she had used it only three times, but it had still made her tired. However, with the way things seemed to be going, she was going to have to learn how to get used to it. "I set time back for you on the day I healed your arm."
Amefuri sat up, relief flowing through him when he had no more aching muscles, feeling his forehead. "There isn't even a fever anymore," he said with a smile. "Thanks Subaru."
"You had a fever too?" she asked, crossing her arms and sitting on the bed to rest a little. "You really needed a break!"
"Too many things going on all at once," he said to her as an excuse. He grinned. "And barely any sex to go along with it."
"Men."
Amefuri laughed at her pouting expression, but he had a feeling she knew he said it just to tease her a little. He took the oppurtunity nicely; after all, if Lanva was the one that teased her she would have hit him. She quickly got over his little joke a smiled a bit, dismissing herself, leaving Nashie and the two boys alone.
The Princess crossed her arms and tapped her nails at her elbow as if she were waiting for something impatiently, watching the younger of the three observantly. It was hard not to notice how irritated she seemed. Or was it how nervous?
"Yes?" he began, trying to ease out the silence. He had a feeling she wanted to talk about him sleeping with her when he saw her cold, hard stare turned to Lanva. He didn't seem to understand at all, as he was sitting in his chair and beaming up at her like he was waiting for her to say something. It even bothered him, watching how stupid his senior was acting. "Lanva . . . get out."
"What?" Lanva said, turning to Amefuri as if he just noticed he was there. He moped like a little kid wanting to stay, but after another long silence focused on him he stood up, pushing the chair from underneath him so much that it fell over. "Yeah, yeah, blame it on me . . . we all know you're having sex soon!"
When the giant door to the Princess' room had been shut behind him, the slam almost sounded like a hollow echo. There was a strong silence between them for a while until finally, the warrior decided he should speak. Anything to break something so awkward.
Not that the subject itself was discomfiting for him. After all, he had been at the service of women for nearly six years, and openly, too. What was there for him to be embarrassed about? As he fixed his eyes on her though, he could easily tell it was something she wasn't ready for. At least not with him.
"If you want to know," he started, breaching the hush between them. Her face, which seemed like it was staring much further than just the floor while she was in deep thought, snapped to meet his gaze. It was almost as if she were hungry for what he was going to say- anything to stop this uncomfortable feeling for her. "All you have to do is say 'no' to me and I won't try anything, alright?"
"What are you talking about?" she replied, laughing a little like it were a joke, though there wasn't really anything to laugh about at all. "'No'? No to what?"
"To sex."
'He's really blunt,' Nashie thought in her head, her heart pounding. Truthfully, she wanted to say that simple word so badly. It almost hurt with how much she wanted it. But at the same time, she just couldn't. What about her pride, her reputation? What about all those people who are waiting for her wedding day so the wars between them can be over? The battles, the lives lost? All of it would be done if she started with this one, single thing!
"Too bad!" she said in a haughty tone as she turned around, her long, silky braids turning with her as she walked towards the door. "It doesn't matter who's enjoying what or what I hate anymore. So shut up and get what you can out of sleeping with a royal!"
Those words were powerful and showed as she opened the large, golden arced doors and slammed them hard. She leaned her back against the other side for a minute, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath; she made this decision, and now she was going to have to go through with it no matter what.
"Why the hell would he ask her to say no . . ."
She turned her face over next to her, and leaning against the wall, his ear still propped on the door and his hand over it the better to hear was Lanva. She had met him a day earlier when the Priestess first arrived, and her first impression was that he was an idiot. Looking at him now, giggling like a child with a secret, she had the same opinion.
She stood up straight with no support of the entrance behind her, back to her confident self as she crossed her arms and gave him a strong glare that told him she was very annoyed. "And just what were you doing?"
"Eavesdropping," he replied as if it were obvious. She leered. He said this so simply to a Princess no less! Did he know his place? Then again, Amefuri didn't know how to speak to someone either; he, on the otherhand, was an exception for her. "If one of my buddies is gonna sleep with a sexy bombshell like you, I'm gonna know every detail."
"You sick man!"
"So I've been told, but that's not gonna change!"
He leaned closer to her, pushing their cheeks together as he pulled her into more of a friendly hug normally between old friends. She felt her shoulders squish together and it was as if a real volcano were ready to erupt underneath her angry outer wall. "Let go of me!"
"How would you like to be with me instead?" he joked, though she honestly thought he was serious. She pushed herself out of his grip; she was angry still, but somehow her visage managed to show off as a cute pout as she stomped away. He chuckled a little to himself, covering his mouth in case the sound bounced down the halls. 'So, that's our Princess? What a temper!'
Lanva once again entered inside the Royals' room where Amefuri was. He was still sitting up on his bed, no shirt to cover his now healed top though the covers sheltered his lower half. A giant arced window, the same shape as the door was provided right next to the divan, and the warrior was looking out of it towards the sky. He looked like he was in deep thought, but as Lanva walked in her turned.
"Hey," Amefuri greeted, going back to looking outside. He took a last glace at his senior, as if saying he was still acknowledging his presence. Lanva's chair that he was sitting in before was still in the same exact spot, turned backwards the way he liked to sit on it. Instead he walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, staring out the window with his friend.
After a moment between them where no words were exchanged, Amefuri looked over to him once again. "Is there anything you came here for?" he asked, no annoyance in his voice. He was only curious.
"Yeah," Lanva replied, and Amefuri waited for him to start saying what is was he wanted to talk about. " . . . I was just trying to figure out what in the world you were looking at first."
"Nothing."
" . . . Oh. Then I have a question!" he continued, twisting his body so the two of them were eye to eye. "How much do you wanna sleep with her?"
"Not much," Amefuri replied, sounding almost a little bored. At first the older of the two wondered why he would seem so uninterested in a topic like sex, especially with someone like a Princess. Then he remembered how this had been a daily job for him for much of his life.
'Of course he would be indifferent about it,' he thought, propping his foot on the edge of the bed and resting his chin on his knee. He sighed, though it wasn't loud enough for Amefuri to take notice of. 'Sleeping with girls is about as common to him as eating. Maybe even more common than that.'
"Would you ever sleep with a guy?" he asked, partly joking. He heard a small chuckle from Amefuri.
"What are you implying?"
"Eew, no! Not me!"
"Right, right . . ."
"No, seriously." To Lanva, this was a sort of guy talk, or what he imagined it to be. Before he met Subaru and had to take on a whole different life, he often would hang out with neighborhood guys to get away from his sisters and joke about things like that. The situation was different, but maybe that nostalgia would run through again. "Would you?"
"Honestly . . ." Amefuri flopped his back on the bed, putting so little effort into this that he bounced a bit as he landed. "If someone paid me enough, I probably would. Sex is sex; it doesn't really define anything.It's just that normal kids are raised to believe it otherwise."
The older of the two raised an eyebrow, smirking a little at the irony. "Meaning you're not normal?"
"Exactly!"
The two laughed together for a bit at their little joke, at the same time both knowing it wasn't much of a joke at all. Suddenly, Lanva wondered. Why were they even talking about it? The Priestess of Byakko had come before them, his fiance was a warrior, and here he was, in a room that belonged to none other than the Princess of Sairou herself, conversating with a prostitute. 'What's really the point?'
"Can you finish the story?" He was driven out of his thoughts when he heard the warrior, and it took a minute to comprehend what he said. So much so he had to ask.
"What?"
"The story from earlier. You stopped right around when you and Tatara were staying the night at the Inn in Midoru."
"Oooooh, that." Lanva stood up and stretched his arms high above him, taking one last gaze at the outside. It was starting to get dark anyway. He turned and began walking to the door, waving a hand behind him to Amefuri. "Sorry, sorry! I completely forgot the rest. Gotta go!"
The door shut for the multipled time that day, so many times Amefuri just couldn't count. Again, he was left alone in a giant, gold encrusted room. He could probably get up if he wanted to; but then again, resting one more day might be better. As soon as the thought came to mind he yawned and his eyes became a little heavy.
"Might as well rest up before tonight anyway . . ."
-
Suzuno's little school shoes clicked against the glassy floor, muffling as she stepped on a bright red carpet that led to a huge, comfortable looking chair. Beautiful damsels stretched over it, all cuddling with a rather drunken looking man. He was chuckling, barely notcing the girl, as well as the young man that stood behind her. Who would with such gorgeous women and a glass of red wine?
"Umm . . ." Suzuno squeezed her little pet in her arms for comfort, not feeling right with the situation before her. In the nights she stayed here, she had yet to really speak to the Emperor personally, though she tried at dinner several times. He had women there too, and plenty of wine. "Sir . . Your Highness, we really need to talk!"
"Hm?" The Emperor, whose tiny slit eyes had been closed had barely opened as he glanced to the girl in front of her. He barely gave a look to the second man, but he smiled jovially and used his short, fat arms to push the women from him. He jumped off the chair and landed on the carpet with a small thud. "Ah, Priestess! How might you be?"
"I'm good," she replied, a nervous smile crossing her face. He didn't seem to notice as he waddled over and patted her cheek with his relatively small hands.
"Good, good! And you, Tatara of the Byakko Seven?"
"I'm good as well," he replied. The Emperor was very pleased by this, his cheerful smile growing wider. Suzuno also noticed Tatara staring at his Highness strangely, almost as if he were looking at him with familiarity. She wondered if he knew him.
"Excellent! Now, what is it you wanted to talk about?"
Now that she really had the Emperor's attention, she felt stupid. What in the world could she talk about? Was there anything to it, really? There was so much she could say, but she was never good at forming words, or starting a conversation. 'What should I say? What should I say?'
"You know, I'm very pleased we seem to have such a responsible looking young lady as Priestess!"
"Huh?" Suzuno had the Emperor's full and completely attention. 'Responsible? Me? How did he get that impression from someone like me?'
The Emperor too a small sip from his glass, nearly emptrying it. One of the damsels who was fighting with another for the Emperor's seat reached behind the chair and ran over, one hand massaging his shoulder while the other filled the glass to the top. The Priestess glanced at Tatara behind her, and she inwardly agreed with his somewhat displeased expression.
The royal began to walk past Suzuno and her warrior out into the hall. He stopped just for a moment, waving his hand and indicating that they follow him. Both of them did as they were told, no questions asked, and listened intently as the Emperor seemed to speak seriously for the first time since they had been here.
"These day, it's so rare to see a woman with such an innocent aura as yours," he told her, not turning his head to look at her. She couldn't tell if he was necessarily happy or upset about this since he always was pleased with the women he was with. "I know that our country is poor now, even if we have a good military. It's causing women to prostitute right and left, and even men like my dear Amefuri every once in a blue moon."
Suzuno flinched at the mention of Amefuri's profession. She liked him and accepted what he did, but it didn't mean she had to enjoy it. "I would make it illegal, but that would starve my people. Women are open; not like you, so quiet and polite. I see you at the table, eating so kindly and not even requesting a man to sleep with at night."
'So he did notice I was here this whole time!' A thought came to Suzuno as she realized it. 'He was testing me?'
"Knowing that we have a woman like this, pure as a Priestess should be . . ." he stopped in the hallway again, taking one more drink from his wine and turning around, patting her shoulder a little. "I know that our world is safe in your hands."
"Wow . . ." Suzuno couldn't help saying something that sounded so stupid out loud; the thought of saving the world, every persons' life in her hands came over her again. She barely even noticed her word as she stared into the Emperor's eyes, an amazement filling her. It was overwhelming.
She felt Tatara push her back lightly and she came back to her senses, skipping a little to catch up to the royal who had begun to talk again.
Finally the three came to a room between two tall white columns, completely covered by long curtains of the same color. At the end of the wide drapery was a little golden string with a tassel, and when he pulled it, the hangings spread aprt as if by command. Suzuno once again couldn't hold back a gasp, and even Tatara looked astonished.
"Please come in, Prietesstess of Byakko . . ."
X x x x x
So, the Emperor can be serious when he wants to be. XD Tatara and Suzuno are following him! But to where? I hope everyone can also read easier with the '-' symbols in between the changing scenes now. I'm editing past chapters slowly for that too! Did I do that last chapter also? I'm not sure! XD
Lanva is maturing with out even realizing it. That whole 'What's the Point?' thing was supposed to show that he's not as immature as he used to be. XD But I love him immature! I like his conversation with Ame-chan (I just like calling him that now . . . X3) too! His relationship is sort of on the verge of close friends, but Ame-chan gets another best friend later on in the story. So . . . yeah! They can still be close friends right? Right? lol!
And about the whole 'Stopping at the Inn in Midoru', earlier in the chapters the story is cut off from Lanva's view but I told the rest of it anyway 'cause I wanted to. Lol! It starts with Suzuno waking up and doing her thing, and Lanva would never know that stuff. So yeah!
Hope you like!