My What?

Shadow Hearts: Covenant

By: The Shadow Hawk

Pairing: Kurando/Anastasia

Disclaimer: Just because I really want Kurando doesn't mean I really have him. I don't really want Anastasia to kick me either…

Summary: Kurando and Anastasia dream of each other before meeting, neither one knowing why. Advice from friends and family doesn't help either. When they meet under different circumstances, everything begins to make a little more sense.

Road to Yokohama

Early the next morning, the group started on the road to the main streets of town. It was a beautiful spring day that provided the perfect weather for walking. It was a good thing the weather was good because no one really knew where they were going. Joachim and Anastasia didn't mention what happened the night before to anyone though. They were both hoping it wasn't anything that would concern them in the future.

Anastasia hung near the back of the group as they walked. She couldn't help but wonder if they would see Kurando again. She wasn't sure how big of a city Yokohama was. There was always a chance that they wouldn't wander to wherever he was. But on the other hand, she hadn't thought she'd meet the man from her dreams the first night she was in Japan and she had. Anastasia was coming to find that it was safest to assume the strangest.

Lucia and Karin noticed the princess hanging back and slowed down to walk with her. Lucia tapped her on the shoulder. "Anya, are you okay? You're not dying are you?"

Anastasia rolled her eyes. "No. I was just thinking…"

"Is there anything we can help with?" Karin, once again being the motherly type, asked the little princess.

"Well…ah…last night…something happened…"

"You mean when you and Joachim took Blanca out?"

"Yeah…" Anastasia watched the ground as they walked. "Remember those dreams I told you about on the boat? With that guy?"

"Yeah…" Both women looked intrigued.

"I met him last night…I didn't get the chance to talk to him long but at least I learned his name…"

Lucia smiled brightly. "So who is he? Was it love at first sight? When are you getting married?"

Anastasia blushed. "Lucia! I don't think it works that fast…his name is Kurando…he's even better looking in real life than he was in my dreams." She added with a smile. "But he was attacked last night. We helped him out before these weird soldiers got him."

"Soldiers? Anya, we shouldn't be getting into other people's business." Karin frowned. They were having enough problems of their own without adding someone else's.

"Well, I couldn't let them kill him, not until I heard his story…which I'm still not sure I understand…but he's very kind…he was also with a little girl and her elderly father. Since when was it fair to take automatic weapons and go after defenseless people?"

"Well…if there was a child around…I suppose I can't blame you for helping out." The frown disappeared from Karin's face as she decided to accept what they did the night before.

"Enough about that. I want to know more about him." Lucia pouted. "Tell us more!"

"There isn't much to tell. I only really saw him in battle…he's a good swordsman. He seems pretty patient…uh…he's like the opposite of Yuri…"

Yuri perked up at the sound of his name. "Hey, you girls talkin' about me?"

"Yeah. We're talking about what an idiot you are!" Anastasia yelled back to him.

Yuri glared back at them when Lucia and Karin laughed at him. "Ah…bite me."

"Oh, there's the comeback of the century!" Anastasia rolled her eyes and laughed as Yuri got even more pissed off than he already was and stalked off, furthering the distance between himself and them.

Blanca was walking near the girls until he caught a whiff of something familiar. He stopped for a moment to investigate. Anastasia stopped when she noticed the wolf stop. "Blanca?"

"Snowball!" A high-pitched shout from down the street drew everyone's attention.

Joachim wasn't too far from the girls and he looked to see who shouted. "Yoshiko?"

"Anya?" A small distance behind Yoshiko, Kurando nearly tripped when he saw the blue-coated girl.

"Kurando?" Her eyes widened in shock. They'd barely been in town and already ran into the small group.

Yoshiko ran to see Blanca before Kurando could stop her. Naniwa frowned. Something was not right. From out of nowhere, a black car came screaming down the road. Yuri dove on top of Karin when the shots started coming out of the back window. Everyone else ran for cover. Blanca ran after the car after someone jumped out and grabbed Yoshiko. From behind her cover, Anastasia was positive she saw Kurando get hit. "Kurando…"

No one dared move until the car was out of sight. Anastasia was the first one up and she ran across the street. "Mr. Kawashima, are you alright?"

"Yes…I'm fine. You had better have that large friend of yours bring Kurando inside though." He nodded to the young man's motionless body.

In a blur of motion, everyone ran inside. Joachim put Kurando in a back bedroom. Anastasia and Lucia went with them for their healing talents. The bullet hit Kurando in a critical area. They would have to do a good job if he was going to be alright. Lucia mixed some oils while Anastasia cast some curing spells. She hated to hear him groan in pain as his body started to heal. She brought him out of the critical stage and decided to let his body heal on its own.

Once satisfied he would be alright, they left the room to let him sleep. Yuri looked up when the two women walked into the front room. "Is the kid gonna be okay?"

Lucia crossed one arm across her chest and perched her elbow in her palm to that she could tap one finger against her cheek. "I don't know…it was a pretty bad gunshot wound."

Naniwa chuckled. "I know Kurando doesn't look like much but he'll be fine. The boy is stronger than he looks."

Kurando slept for a long time while Naniwa told the others about what was going on. Anastasia constantly looked at the door Kurando was behind. Lucia noticed the young princesses concern and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Anya, why don't you go fill the oil diffuser in Kurando's room? It's probably low by now." She offered the girl a glass bottle of mixed oils.

"O-okay…I'll do that…" She took the bottle and excused herself from the conversation. When she walked over to the oil diffuser, she found it nearly full. Lucia just gave her an excuse to go into his room. She smiled. Like Joachim, the fortuneteller was much smarter than she let on.

Anastasia walked over to the sleeping samurai. He slept silently, showing no obvious signs of being in pain. She blushed as she looked him over. He was only wearing his pants and the bandages across his well-toned chest. Timidly, she pulled back the bandage to check the healing progress.

While she was checking, Kurando began to wake up. He shifted slightly, letting her know he was up. Her hands jerked away from the bandages. He carefully sat up and rubbed his blurry eyes. "Anya?"

"Welcome back. You've been asleep the better part of today." She turned her eyes to the ground, trying not to stare. She could feel her face heating up as her cheeks turned a darker shade of red.

He looked a little confused. At first, he couldn't remember why he was all bandaged up in his master's home then it came back to him. "Someone took the princess…and shot me…"

She nodded. "Mr. Kawashima thinks they took her as a hostage. He doesn't think they'll hurt her but he is worried."

Kurando swung his legs over the edge. "Then I have to go find her."

"There are two good reasons why you can't." She lightly poked him in the chest. He winced ever so slightly. "First, you're still recovering. You don't need to run out and get shot again." She sighed. "And second, we don't know where they took her. Blanca went after the car but he's not back yet. I'm sure he'll come back when he's found something."

Kurando let out a defeated sigh. He knew she was right. "I suppose so…" He touched the bandages over his chest and looked up at her. "Should I thank you again for saving my life?"

She shook her head. "I had help again. Joachim brought you in here and Lucia, another friend of mine, helped patch you up. Just promise me you won't get yourself shot again. Twice in less than a day is not a good figure, you know?"

He smiled as he stood up. "Yes…that's very true." Much to her surprise, he knelt to take her hand and kissed it. "But thank you for saving me last night and today. I don't know what would have happened if you and your friends hadn't been there."

Her cheeks turned a dark shade of red and she let out a nervous giggled when he looked up at her through his messy bangs. Her mind couldn't form any coherent sentences when she looked into his eyes. She felt like she could stare into his eyes for the rest of eternity and always be happy. His eyes were very much like Yuri's but also completely different.

They didn't know how long they stayed like that but Anastasia was the first one to move. "Ah…I should tell everyone you're up. Maybe Blanca's back by now…"

Kurando nodded as she scurried from the room. Now he understood his mother's words. He was beginning to accept and the idea of marrying Anastasia and spending the rest of his life with her. She was sweet and he already felt so close to her due to his dreams. He would have liked to have known if she had dreams like his but he knew there was no easy or tactful way to ask if she had dreams in which they were married with a child. Things would just have to play themselves out.

He put his shirt back on and exited the room, curious to see what kind of people Anastasia associated with. Nothing really could have prepared him for the people he saw when he opened the door. Two fairly scantily clad women with talking with Anastasia, Joachim was leaning against the wall, a man old enough to be his grandfather was brushing the hair of an incredibly lifelike puppet and a somewhat Japanese looking man with distinct red eyes was lying on the floor, seemingly bored. The people Anastasia traveled with were stranger than he thought they'd be.

All eyes turned to Kurando as he was looking around. Naniwa smiled. "Ah Kurando. You're finally up. You should thank these people for their help."

"Yes…of course…" He bowed somewhat awkwardly. "Thank you very much. I owe you my life."

Yuri sat up and shrugged. "We didn't do much, just dragged your unconscious ass in here."

"Yuri!" Karin whacked him hard in the head with her sheathed sword. "You have no manners what so ever!"

Yuri yelped in pain and swore in Japanese. Kurando raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Anastasia for help. She just smiled and shrugged.

Before the conversation could continue Blanca appeared in the doorway. Lucia noticed him first. "Look! Blanca's back and he's got something." Blanca walked forward and put something on the step. Karin, Yuri, Anastasia and Kurando leaned in to look at it.

"This belongs to the princess. Did you find her, Blanca?" Kurando picked up the colorful comb and wiped it off with his sleeve.

Blanca wagged his tail. "Awoo! Arf!" ("Yes, I found her! Let's go!")

"Well, Blanca's found her. Let's go get her." Yuri stood up.

"You really don't have to do this…" Kurando started but Naniwa stopped him.

"Now Kurando, don't be ungrateful. It's not a one person job. I'd feel better if you went with them. A group can accomplish more than one." Naniwa's words were stern but Kurando knew he was right.

"Yes…of course. Thank you again."

"We should buy some more equipment, then we'll find your daughter, sir." Karin stood up, ready to leave.

"Be careful. While I do not believe they will kill her, I am extremely worried."

The group nodded and started to leave Naniwa's home. Anastasia and Kurando were the last ones inside. He looked over at her.

"Anya?"

"I'll be there in a minute. I wanted to ask Mr. Kawashima something."

Kurando hesitated but Naniwa shooed him out. "Something the matter Miss Anastasia?"

"I hope we don't get in trouble when we rescue your daughter but traveling with Yuri…there's a good chance so…" She pulled some papers out of a pocket in the inside of her coat. "These should get us out of any sort of trouble."

Naniwa looked at the papers he was handed. "A good will ambassador?"

She nodded. "My father gave them to be for traveling."

"So you are Princess Anastasia Romanov…"

"You knew?" She cringed a little.

"I wasn't positive but I had a feeling last night. I've heard enough of world politics to know who you are. I would like to know why a Russian princess is traveling around the world with a group like yours."

She sighed. "It's a long story…I'll tell you about it when we find your daughter."

He smiled. "Well then, I look forward to your quick return."

Anastasia nodded and ran outside. The group was waiting for her. Yuri looked annoyed. "What were you doing in there?"

"None of your business. Don't worry about it." Very casually, she walked over to Blanca. "Okay boy, let's go find your friend."

Yuri growled. "What a royal pain in the-ow!" Once again, Karin hit him in the head, this time just with her hand

"Yuri, I swear you are so immature." Karin shook her head. Anastasia glanced over her shoulder and smirked.

Yuri rubbed the back of his head and glanced at Kurando. "She may look all cute and innocent but I swear she a little demon. Don't let her fool you."

Kurando smiled, humoring Yuri. "I'll keep that in mind."

And with that, the group of eight mismatched travelers headed off to find Yoshiko Kawashima.

Foreigner's Cemetery

Yuri led the group to the Foreigner's Cemetery. "So…I wonder where that samurai kid went. It was rude of him to just run off like that."

"Oh lay off Yuri. He went with us to find Yoshiko. It's not like he decided to join us on our 'Save the World' quest." Anastasia snapped at him. She wasn't about to let Yuri insult the man she was developing a huge crush on.

"I'm just saying it was rude of him to run off as soon as we got her out of there."

"He had to go back with Mr. Kawashima. It's not a big deal. He'll probably be here today anyway."

The group headed further into the cemetery when suddenly a sharp, cold wind forced everyone to close their eyes and shield their faces momentarily.

"What the hell was that?" Yuri looked up first. "What the hell is this?" One by one, everyone looked around in shock. This wasn't the cemetery anymore. They were standing on a stone platform that looked like it was suspended in midair. No one wanted to think about the consequences of falling off were.

Anastasia let out a gasp when she looked around. "Kurando!"

The group turned to see the young man lying unconscious on the ground. She was about to run to check on him when Gepetto held her back by the arm. "Now hang on just a minute there. Something's not right…"

Almost as if on cue, a thick mist seemed to cover the man's body, completely obscuring him from the group. He let out a cry of pain that reached the group and the mist began to part. But in his place, a beautiful, pale golden woman floated inches above the ground. She stared at them from underneath a feathered headdress. With a flick of her wrist, the golden ring that surrounded her rose above her head in a threatening manner.

The group scattered when the golden woman launched the ring into their midst. Blanca growled softly. The woman smelled vaguely familiar to him. Karin drew her sword and stared her down. "Who are you and what have you done with Kurando?"

The woman again said nothing, just threw her ring at Karin. While the others fought, Anastasia couldn't find it in herself to attack the golden woman. She stayed in back and just cast healing and status spells. Something about her seemed familiar.

The battle was going badly. One by one, the golden woman had managed to knock out the group until only Yuri, Blanca and Anastasia were up. While Yuri stopped for a moment to give Blanca some herbs, the woman turned her attention to Anastasia. The young princess stood frozen with the woman looming over her. The ring hovered in the air, but it did not come down.

The woman peered at her curiously. "I know you…" Her voice echoed in her mind.

"Who…who are you?" Anastasia couldn't find the words but the woman seemed to understand.

"I am Tsukiyomi…Kurando's guardian spirit."

"Where is Kurando?"

"I'm here…" Kurando's voice found its way into her mind but it seemed so far away. "We share a body…"

"You're a harmonixer…" It made sense. While they were fighting the soldiers the previous day, she had offered him some crests but he had declined saying he had other ways of defeating the soldiers. She vaguely wondered if their battles with the soldiers had lasted any longer, would he have transformed then?

"Yes…but not a very experienced one…how do you know about fusions, Anya?"

"Yuri is a harmonxier too."

"Anya?" Tsukiyomi interrupted their mental conversation. "She is the one you dream about?"

Anastasia blushed. "What dreams?"

"I will try to explain later…" Kurando sounded embarrassed.

"Hey! Get away from her!" Anastasia's head snapped up just in time to see Yuri charge at Tsukiyomi and knock her far from the young girl.

"Yuri! No!" Yuri was beyond listening though. He continued his attack on the moon goddess. "Stop it!"

Tsukiyomi was strong but not enough to handle a berserk Yuri. She fell to her knees, weakened by his sudden attacks. He raised his claws, ready to strike the final blow when Anastasia grabbed him by the belt and pulled as hard as she could.

"Yuri! Stop hurting Kurando!" She was nearly in tears.

The mention of the young man seemed to being him back to sanity. "What? Kurando?"

"Kurando's a harmonixer like you! Tsukiyomi is his guardian! Stop attacking them!" By this time, the other party members were recovering and coming over to find out what was going on.

On the ground, Tsukiyomi began to shake. Anastasia ran around Yuri and knelt next to the wounded goddess. Tsukiyomi cried out in pain and disappeared in a bright flash of light. When it was dim enough to look, Kurando was the one kneeling on the ground. He mumbled something that sounded like an apology and slumped over into Anastasia's waiting arms.

"Let's pitch some tents and let him rest." Karin nudged Joachim who once again, picked up Kurando and transferred him inside a tent once they were up.

Yuri looked at the younger man curiously. "Man…I didn't think there was anyone else who could fuse. Damn…guess that means I'm not special anymore."

"You're just special in a different way." Anastasia rolled her eyes and walked into the tent Kurando was in.

"Yeah…I guess I am…HEY!" The others just laughed as Yuri sat down and fumed again.

Inside, Anastasia knelt next to the sleeping samurai. He seemed at peace now, not like he had been when they first brought him inside. He seemed to have been in more pain when he initially changed back to himself. Anastasia briefly wondered if maybe he had just learned how to fuse. But Yuri looked like he was in pain sometimes when he fused so there was a good chance it just went with the harmonixer's territory.

She brushed his hair away from his face, making him stir. Slowly he opened his ruby eyes and focused on the girl hovering over him. "Anya…"

"Are you alright?"

He reached and rubbed his head. "What hit me?"

"Yuri." She gave him a small smiled. "He gets a little overzealous sometimes…"

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" He looked worried. He couldn't forgive himself if he had lost total control and gone after her.

"No…you didn't. Everyone else is okay too. What happened?"

"I…I think it was the shift into this strange place…Tsukiyomi saw everything as a threat and took it upon herself to protect me…" He sat up slowly. "You…you don't seem to be bothered by the transformation."

"I'm not." She offered him a bottle of water. "Yuri does it too. His fusions are a lot scarier too. And after all that's happened to me recently, nothing surprises me anymore…"

He gratefully drank from the offered bottle. "You'll have to tell me about your adventures someday then."

"If you come with us, I'm sure the opportunity will present itself. And you might learn to control your fusions better if you're with us too. From what Karin's told me, Yuri's only gotten stronger since this whole adventure began."

"Maybe I will go with you then. My mother said something was wrong here…I guess this just proves her right…"

They sat in silence until Anastasia found the courage to speak. "Hey Kurando?"

"Yes?"

"What was Tsukiyomi talking about when she mentioned some dreams?"

Kurando felt his face get slightly warm. He had no idea how to explain what happened without thinking Anastasia would find him to be, at best, weird or, at worst, a pervert of some kind. On the other hand, he rationalized, if she totally rejected him, he would never have to see her again after leaving this place. He made no promises to stay. So he took a deep breath. "I saw you in my dreams for weeks before I met you…I think we were married…"

She was shocked into silence. So she wasn't the only one! More importantly, she wasn't insane. It took a while to form a coherent though but when she did, it just tumbled out of her mouth. "Akiyama…" She whispered softly, so soft she almost missed herself saying it..

Kurando's head jerked up when his mind registered the mention of the dream child. "What?"

She timidly looked at him. "You were in my dreams before I even met Yuri and the others…sometimes we were married, sometimes not…a few nights before we met…we had a child named Akiyama…"

"The child was in my dreams as well."

They sat in silence, neither knowing what to say. They were both afraid of what the other would think of what friends and family had said.

"What does it mean?" Anastasia finally shattered the silence.

"My mother gave me one possibility. I don't know if I can believe it though."

Anastasia lowered her eyes to the ground. "Lucia told me something too…I wasn't sure if I should believe her either…"

"What did she say?" When Anastasia was unresponsive, Kurando brushed her cheek with his gloved hand. His touch was still warm despite the cloth between their skin. "Anya?"

"I don't know if I should say…you'll think it's strange…"

"Even if it is, Lucia was the one who said it, not you right?"

"True…I still don't know…"

"I'll tell you what my mother said about my dreams. I'm sure it'll be just as strange as what Lucia said, if not stranger…"

"I don't know about that…" Anastasia took off her hat and smoothed down her hair. "But…Lucia said that the dreams are a sign that you and I would get married…crazy huh?" She laughed nervously, trying to make a joke of it. "Sometimes I wonder how good a fortuneteller she really is…"

"Probably a very good one…" Kurando mused, not looking at her. "My mother said the same thing. I've learned not to take my mother's predictions lightly…"

Anastasia blushed again. "You…you believe it then?"

"I…I'm not totally sure what to believe…but I would very much like to find out if there is anything to her words…"

The young princes looked up and lost herself in the samurai's eyes. "I…I would too."

Kurando smiled. "Then I look forward to our future and whatever it happens to hold for us." He leaned forward, meaning only to kiss her on the cheek but a bark from Blanca outside caused Anastasia to jerk her head and Kurando's lips landed on hers. They were both a little surprised by the accidental kiss but neither one pulled away for the moment.

It wasn't a long kiss. Neither tried to deepen it. Both were too timid to try anything else. But it was the first of many that were to come later.

They separated after a moment. Both were slightly flushed. Anastasia swallowed hard. "You should get some more rest. I'll see what made Blanca bark."

Kurando nodded and watched her scurry from the tent, egg in hand. He smiled and picked up the hat she'd left behind. 'What were the odds,' he mused to himself, 'that the first girl I'd ever kissed will also be the one I spend the rest of my life with?'

Okay, this was my 2nd Shadow Hearts fic. I hope everyone liked it. Or at least didn't hate it.  And yes I know I skipped the Battleship and a few other things but I couldn't think of anything else to add there so I just went to the Foreigner's Cemetery. I think I'll be posting one more KurAna one shot, unrelated to this one. It sort of fits in with the game…It'll probably be up next weekend.

-The Shadow Hawk