Yes, I'm finally allowed on the computer again! –Dances and celebrates because she's happy- Unless something that blocks me from the computer happens again anytime soon, Byakko Bouken Updates are resuming. : ) That should make everyone happy!
quillian91- -Hugs- Thanks! As of now, the Genbu Kaiden manga is coming out to the U.S.. : ) I've already read up to Volume three, but I'm so excited! Hee, and yes, the hot spring scene is so funny! I bet you'll love it! Or you've probably seen it already . . . lol!
Suzuno Oosugi- Thanks so much: ) And I hope that this chapter has been worth the wait. –Hugs- You're always so kind!
Care- -Hugs- Thanks a bunch:D Yes, it was very sad . . . Truthfully I used to be so much more interested in Genbu then, but somehow my obsession has switched to Byakko. :D lol! Hmm . . . I've got an idea of how I'm going to end it, and it's going to follow Watase-Sama's idea, just . . . Well, it's to explain! Let's just hope I get there!
Chibi Angels- lol, thank you! So many Ame-chan fans . . –Cheers- I adore him so! He has to be my favorite male character that's appeared so far . . . as for my favorite overall, there are a lot- especially cool ones have yet to come:P
Kaeru Soyokaze- Aww, thanks! –Hugs- Hee, I'm so glad you liked the Tatara-Suzuno scene. I'm trying to move their relationship slowing . . . Which is sort of different from Watase-sama! XD But I do hope it turns out okay.
TamaKat- Thanks so much! I'm glad I have another devoted reader . . . I hope to hear from you more: )
Chapter Thirty-Six
Suzuno stepped into a large room with a high ceiling, the wall so long that three giant gold chandeliers fit in a row. They hovered above a rectangular table, arranged in white cloth and decorated with exotic plants that fragranted the light tinted room. Large dishes filled with chicken, boar, greens, grapes, sliced apples and many other colorful victuals were among the choosing.
She stepped forward smiled as she saw Tatara coming from another hallway, feeling almost excited when she saw he had been given a brand new outfit; his usual dark clothes had been replaced with a formally white ensemble, an ashen tunic hanging off of his shoulder side and falling all the way to the ground, covering his one arm. Black boots that reached his knees contrasted his light clothing. To her he looked utterly handsome.
"How are you, Suzuno?" he asked as he approached her, and her face looked down to the ground. She suddenly felt a bit ridiculous for wearing her same old school clothes. He wondered why she wouldn't look at him but decided not to question it, pulling out one of the many chairs and waiting for her to sit down in it, which she did as she muttered a little 'thank you'. He sat down next to her.
It wasn't much longer that Subaru and Lanva entered from the same hallway, and they were both given new gorgeous oufits too; Subaru wore a long white dress that reached the floor, and Lanva wore a satin shirt and slacks that looked much like Tatara's, only a shining gold. The two truly looked like a matching couple as they came in together, and she could almost hear violins playing and see a ballroom floor for them to dance on. 'They would look amazing.'
The two seated themselves on the opposite side of Suzuno and Tatara, greeting them kindly since of course, they knew each other. Subaru seemed unusally giddy, bouncing around and not even slapping at Lanva's hand, which was creeping towards some of the meat in the center of the table.
"The palace is so amazing!" she said excitedly, looking up at the glimmering chandeliers above them, lit with hundreds of tiny candles. "And the food! I can only imagine the kitchen they used to make it . . . I bet it's larger than our whole house!"
"And we'll have it someday, too," Lanva remarked through a mouth full of grapes. He chewed as he spoke and he was already reaching for strawberries. "When you complete your journey we'll get so much money that we can buy the biggest kitchen in the world!"
"Really!" Suzuno giggled at her friends' almost-too-overdramatic-to-be-real expression. She must have to really be under a strong spell to act so much like a child in castle. She turned her head towards Tatara, noticing that even he was chuckling a bit, covering his mouth politely so that no one could see. The Priestess blushed a little; she never saw him as the type of man to laugh, but it sounded gorgeous.
Everyone turned their heads when they heard a trail of loud footsteps, and standing at the hall closest to them all since everyone was seated comfortably at the edge was none other than the Emperor himself. The short plump man was wearing a silk red and gold thin coat with buttons on the front and crimson soft pants that puffed around his ankles. He hurried over when he saw them and smiled, his body waddling over as quickly as his feet would let them.
"I hadn't realized I was so late, I hadn't," he said with a smile, already reaching for a wine glass in front of the head chair and pouring some red wine in it. He offered the drink to anyone else; Lanva took a whole bottle with eagerness, and even Subaru tried some. Tatara agreed to a small taste but not enough to make him as tipsy as his highness always was, and Suzuno was the only one who declined. With that, they began to furiously dig in the gourmet before them all.
Suzuno took a small bite from the torso of the boar and she smiled widely. "This is delcious!" she said, chewing off some more a little more quickly. "I can't even remember having food this good back at home."
"What kinds of food do you eat in your world, Priestess?" the Emperor asked, sitting up very much in his chair so he could lean in her direction. "I'm quite curious to know!"
She almost wanted to giggle again, but opted to smile. The people in this world always made her feel very happy, and even the Emperor of all people gave a nice atmosphere. With such a chubby face still lined with baby fat, he looked the type who was never angry. "Actually, we have a lot of the same foods. But in my country, rice and fish are very popular."
"You don't eat meat?" Lanva inquired while gnawing down the breast of a chicken. "No wonder you're as thin as a stick!"
Everyone laughed together in unison as if it were a great party; nothing could possibly bring down the heavenly feeling that was coming from the small group of guests at the royalty table then. Then, as Suzuno was taking a sip of her glass of water, she remembered something. "Oh! Where is Amefuri and the Princess?"
A waitress from behind Suzuno reached in front of her and filled her glass back up immediately. With her short hair and large dark eyes, Suzuno instantly recognized her as Oku. She spoke very softly in answer, a blush rising. "Her highness and Lord Amefuri . . . are having a special night together."
"Ah!" The Emperor said in acknowledgement while nodding. He snickered to Oku and held up his wine glass, which she right away came to fill with the bottle. "I hear you're very smitten with him after spending the night with him yourself."
"Y-Your Highness!" she said, the red on her face deepening. When she finished pouring the drink she bowed and turned, asking to be excused to freshen up a bit.
The Emperor laughed a little again as he watched Oku leave. "That boy, Amefuri; she's not the only one fawning over him. All the women seem to have fallen under his spell."
"Of a prostitute?" Lanva asked, and for once no one thought of it as an offensive term. Everyone was used to the idea by now, and Tatara was never one to judge others before knowing their situation. He had more of a keen sense of ideas rather. "Wow, talk about luck! That guy just has all the charm."
Amefuri was lying is a warm, large tub, one that was big enough to fit at least ten people. It was luxoriously comfortable and he leaned his back against the cushiony ends, sighing as he let his head rest on the golden tiled walls. He had been told he was given a bath while he was sleeping with the help of Ryeu-Chou-Rai, the King's personal attendant and Oku, one of the servant girls, but there wasn't a better sensation than actually feeling the water quench his skin.
"It should be tonight," he said, sliding down to dunk his head underwater and get his hair wet. He came up barely a few seconds after, pushing back a few stray hairs off of his face. For some reason he always felt even warmer after doing that, and it made him feel very content. "I wonder if Nashie is ready . . . She doesn't seem to be at all."
The bathing room he was in just happened to be none other than the Princess' herself. She was getting ready in another room, and with her permission as well as the Emperors' he was free to do whatever he liked wherever he liked. He could have wandered the palace since during his stay here he never really got the chance, but sleeping pretty much the entire time had made him lazy. He didn't feel like putting in the effort to walk around.
Amefuri looked down at his relfection in the water, the little foamy white bubbles blocking some of his features. He frowned with a bit of concern, feeling at his cheeks. "Speaking of being lazy . . . I hope I'm not getting fat. I need to exercise more."
Next to him on the floor since the large tub built into the ground were a few small bowls with different lotions. To him, washing his hair and cleaning his skin was the worst part about taking a bath; while it made you look and smell nicer, he absolutely hated whenever some of it got into his eyes or in a cut. Thanks to Subaru at least, he wouldn't have to worry about getting any stings from wounds. He picked up the bowl with one hand and cupped the other, letting the rosy colored cream fall in the palm. "I guess I should just grin and bear it if anything does get into my eyes."
"Distgusting," Nashie said as she put on the outfit Subaru had helped her pick out. She sighed roughly, pouting a bit too childishly as she stood before the mirror in her dressing room. "But I'll have to deal with all of this skin."
Wearing the outfit was actually a little different than seeing it pushed in front of her. For one, her breasts almost had no cover at all; she was confident enough to wear revealing clothing on a regular basis, but this looked almost ridiculus. It did, however, have a nice rose flower pattern on the border, and that was the only thing that convinced her to keep it. 'Oh well . . . I won't be wearing it for long anyway.'
She grabbed a white robe that was hung up against the mirror and tied the sash that held it together around her waist, then she walked toward her room. She stopped before it, thankful that she wasn't wearing any shoes that would click against the ground and let her presence be known. She slowly reached for the door handles, but she pulled back. She was shaking.
"If I wanted to . . ." Nashie said to herself so quietly only she would have been able to hear, "I could leave now. I could spend the night in the guest room." She frowned. That didn't sound like a good idea at all. If she didn't want to do this, she was at least going to stay in her own room. He would just have to settle for the guest room again. She had been too nice to let him stay in her room anyway.
Feeling her confidence rise again she pulled the door open and walked in, taking strides so long that her legs poked out from underneath the robe. All the way across the room was Amefuri sitting on the edge of her bed. He looked completely drenched in water, a towel covering his lower area while another was scrubbing his hair dry. At the sound of the door creaking open and closing he looked up, letting the towel rest on his shoulders as he ran his hands through his hair to keep it decent.
"You're here," he said with a smile, taking a smaller cloth from the small table next to the bed and cleaning the skin on his arms and chest more thoroughly. He smiled. "I thought I would have a little more time, but at least we wont have to worry about undressing."
Nashie glared at him, taking off the robe that wasn't doing so well to hold together as she wished, throwing it over to a corner. She didn't hear her partner give a low whistle or anything like she partly expected, but nonetheless she wanted to scream at him even if he was being a gentleman.
However, something in her throat refused to let her speak. She felt like she wouldn't be able to control it if she did open it. Approaching the bed and trying to look as confident as possible, though her legs feeling quite stiff to her, she stopped just before him. It was almost as if there were a barrier there, and she couldn't get through it.
"Anything wrong?" Amefuri asked, however for him it was a bit rhetorical. He noticed how Nashie wasn't composed, nor was she angry in the face anymore, nor was she determined. With the tapping of her nails on her hips and her foot on the ground, she seemed more than anything nervous. She didn't answer him.
"Sit down," he told her, not caring that it was a royal he spoke to. He moved to lean his back against the wall beside the bed and patted the edge of the bed next to him where she did indeed, without question, sit down. He saw how she assembled herself at the very edge, and that shaking she had when she had jumped over the side of the castle had come back again. She was definately afraid.
But since she hadn't said a word and she had willingly done what he said, and he was still ready to do what he was paid for. He reached for her shoulder, his fingers lightly grazing her soft skin as he gave her a small peck on the cheek. She flinched, but his lips trailed down to her neck, giving her light, playful kisses instead. She was still incedibly nervous, but when she felt his tongue it was then that her stiff body began to melt and her eyes closed as she somewhat relished this new feeling. Something about that place on her neck was sensitive and warm, incredibly seductive.
But just as she was beginning to think that it might be okay he stopped. She opened her eyes again and he backed away, a solemn smile on his face. "It's okay, you know," he started, putting and arm around her and pulling her in like a big brother would, "You can say no if you want to; you're not the only girl who's afraid of her first time."
"Huh?" she replied meekly. But why? She was actually liking it, and now he was backing away? She laughed a little, but it was much weaker than her usual haughty ones. "What are you talking about? I'm not scared. I'm the future Empress of two countries . . . why would I be scared of something like this? It's not a big deal."
"I don't believe that," Amefuri replied. He nuzzled his cheek to hers affectionately. "This is something I feel like I have to tell every girl who seems to willing to give up their virginity. Believe it or not, I know that it's something special when it's with someone special."
"Is that so?" she asked. Nashie doubted it in a way, but at the same time she felt instantly relieved. "I thought you said you've never fallen in love before."
"I haven't. But that doesn't mean the girls who I've been with aren't in love. And I always have to make sure; is this something you're really willing to go through with?"
'Why does he care so much?' Nashie thought, suddenly having doubts about going through with it again. 'This was his job! Being a poor, pathetic whore. Doesn't he just want to have his night and get his money?'
Amefuri loosened his hold on her a bit, looking her straight in the eyes. "Think of it this way; everyone is wanting you to do this, as the future Empress of two countries. But when you say that, it doesn't sound like you really want it. Just remember yourself as you. Not an Empress."
Nashie didn't understand exactly what he had meant when he said that, but at the same time it penetrated through her completely. It was unclear what he was saying, but lucid at the same time. All of a sudden she just wanted to cry the fear out, to just not be a strong Princess.
Amefuri noticed how her shaking had grown more violent, and he pulled her in closer again, holding her in a comforting hug and speaking softly to her. "You don't always have to be this sturdy girl. There are times when everyone gets scared, no matter who they are. And when those times happen it's okay to cry and back away, even for things like sex. Especially for things like this."
'I'm not just a title,' she thought to herself, leaning in closer to Amefuri as he held her. She held her hands over her eyes as if in shame of the beautiful face she made for tonight completely destroyed. 'I'm a person. He knows that . . He sees that . . .'
She didn't bother to look up when she felt Amefuri's arms slide off of her skin, and she felt the bed rise a little as well. A moment passed by where she couldn't hear his bare footsteps, then something warm and fuzzy wrapped around her body. She removed the hands from her face to see the white robe she carelessly threw to the side. Amefuri was also dressing in a dark green robe that was on the dresser, replacing the towel he was wearing fully.
"I guess we're not doing anything?" he said. Another silly rhetorical question. This time she even laughed weakly and nodded in reply, finally trying to wipe the tears off of her face. He shrugged. "It's fine; your father should know better than to force you to do anything you don't want to do anyway."
Nashie raised an eyebrow, smirking a little. He was glad that already she seemed back to her old self. "Should you really be talking about my father that way? He's the Emperor."
"I talk to you like that, don't I?"
She didn't really have a clever retort for that, but it didn't frustrate her. She actually really liked being treated this way; a little, at least. It was different than the pampering she was given. Amefuri from the very first time they met treated her so normal instead of fretting about her status. She noticed he was turning to leave, and she stood up from her bed a little, reaching out an arm as if she would be able to reach him. "Wait a second!"
"What?" He only turned his head instead of his body, since he had reached the door. He grinned. "Changed your mind?"
"No!" she snapped back, then she mentally punished herself. She actually didn't want to be so bossy around him, because she knew it didn't work. She paused, trying to find a way to form her words, then she spoke. " Well . . . Thanks for being so nice . . . and . . . you were sort of like my first real friend and everything, after Sousui. We can . . . we can still talk and everything after your journey is over, right?"
Even Amefuri was a little stunned by what she was saying. It was so unlike her, to fumble with her speech and be so kind. He wanted to chuckle since she for once complimented so honestly, but he held it in. He nodded in reply. "That'd be great. I'll definitely come back. Good luck with Sousui and Amai."
The door shutting never sounded so much like a lonely echo then it did when he closed it to Nashie. But, at the same time as she lied her back down on the bed to stare up at the ceiling, it didn't feel so bad. 'I have a real friend . . . A friend. . .'
X x x x x
This chapter! Finally the whole thing between Ame-chan and Nashie is completed. Did this start around chapter 19? Goodness! That's crazy. But she wont disappear forever, I promise! I like Nashie a lot. And Ame-chan let her say no! He's such a sweetheart.
Well, like said, I hope this was worth the wait: )