Yay to my reviewers! I noticed them the night I started this chapter. Yay!
So, how do you say that this story is going totally different from how you planned it? Well, guess I just said it. All of my stories do that for some reason. And the thing is, I have the power to control them, and yet, they get out of my hands. Huh.
Aika1- What happened to Why Demons Returned? Someone reported it cause of chapter three, and they took it off. That's what happened. So don't expect the lemon in that category again. I'm going to prolong writing it, just because I have three ideas I want to put up and finish. This one, one for Inuyasha, and one for Spiderman. Though I might not do the Spiderman one just yet. I want to finish Shivers and Denial, but... they're stubborn stories.
------
"Welcome, Westerners!" The king of Yafutoma smiled largely at the two girls. (A/N: I can not remember his name for the life of me...) "Please, feel free to stay as long as you want!"
Aika smiled. "Thanks. We don't know how long we'll be staying, seeing as we're waiting for a friend of ours. You remember Vyse?"
"How could I forget? Brown haired one with the scar, great captain!"
Fina grinned. "Where is your son, Your Highness?"
"Ah, that boy is probably frolicking with the Tenkou again. Can't sit still if it would save his life!"
"Well, it's good that he's active. A worldly prince will make a good king." Aika yawned. "I'm beat. Fina, how about we take a nap before we get something to eat at the tavern?"
"That sounds great." Fina bowed one last time to the king before leaving with Aika.
The two entered the guest house silently. Aika sat down on the futon, rushed by a wave of worry. "I wonder if Vyse is alright?"
Fina sat at the table. "Yes... he should have come with us..."
"He said something about bringing out some ropes once they found out that he had helped us escape. Does that mean whips? And what was with those burns that were on his wrists?"
"And his ankles," Fina added. "In the exact spots that someone would have bound him. My guess is that these ropes burn."
Aika's expression turned confused. "Ropes that burn? Unless they're on fire, I don't see how they could...? Maybe Vyse will tell us everything when he gets here. I have a feeling that he knows something that we don't..."
"Like he's keeping something from us."
"Yeah. Something like that." Aika laid back on the futon. "He'll tell us... If I know Vyse, he'll tell us everything. Eventually..."
------
"Are you sure you understand?"
Vyse sighed, nodding. "I understand, Nylas, now can I leave? The sooner I get off of this ship the better."
Nylas chuckled. "Then go. Remember, not too soon and not too late."
"I got it! Let me go in peace, goodness." Vyse shoved the lifeboat so that it was almost out of the ship and then jumped in. The lifeboat tilted with his weight, falling out of the ship.
"Remember to use a r-"
"Nylas, for Christ's sake, shut up!"
Vyse ignored the chuckle from Nylas, steering the boat to the south. 'Yafutoma,' he thought. 'Of all places for an ominous plan to begin. The peaceful eastern city.'
It took no time at all to reach the water city, and he docked quickly and quietly. He entered the city, surprised to see his two friends sitting on the red fence, talking. He sighed before forcing a smile on his face, walking up to the girls who had yet to notice him. "Hey!" he called out, waving as the girls turned to look in his direction.
Aika smiled widely. "Vyse!" She ran up to him, giving him one of her neck hugs. Fina also came up to him, smiling. "We were so worried about you!"
"Aw, you guys, you know that I could handle it. Just a few measly guards. Oh, Aika," he gestured to the docks. "Your boomerang is on the lifeboat if you want to go get it."
"It can wait! I'm just glad you're here with us!"
Vyse smiled. "I'm glad to be back here, too. Away from those lunatics."
Vyse had to admit, it was nice to see his friends without the ever constant presence of the Silvites around him. But there was still an aching in his heart when he thought about the extended reach that Nylas had on him. He sighed, thinking about what Nylas had wanted him to do. 'I'll just stall as long as I can,' he thought. 'Right now, I'm just going to enjoy the freedom of the open skies.'
"I'm starving," he said. Actually, he wasn't, but it was getting awkward just standing there with one girl practically in tears and another girl hugging the life out of him. Aika immediately let go of him, grabbing his hand.
"Why didn't you say so sooner? Come on, let's go to the tavern. I'm in the mood for those dumplings!"
Vyse let Aika lead him, noticing the tight grip she had on his hand but decided not to say anything about it. The trio made their way across the water to the tavern, sitting at one of the tables. Finally, Aika let go of his hand when she made her way to one of the benches, sitting beside Fina. The bench on the opposite side of the table was empty, and obviously meant for him. "I'll go order," he said. "What do you want?"
The girls told Vyse what they wanted and let him go order. They exchanged glances, lowering their voices to a whisper. "He act's normal enough."
Fina nodded. "He seemed kinda sad though, for a quick moment."
"What could have made him sad? Did he not want to come back with us or something?"
"I don't know. But it's easy to see that he's keeping something from us."
"We'll just have to crack it out of him."
"How will we do that?"
Aika smiled. "Using the skills of intimidation that women were born with, Fina. We'll attack at night, once he's all settled in and almost asleep. That's when his tongue is loose, and he'll let anything slip."
Fina nodded. "O- okay."
"What are you two girls talking about?" Vyse said, appearing suddenly beside them. The two jumped, blushing. "Nothing at all, Vyse! Just some girl talk. Rumors going around the city, things like that."
Vyse raised an eyebrow but said nothing more, placing the tray with the food on the table. Aika took a bite out of her dumpling, watching as Vyse started to eat the noodle soup. 'Everything seems different about him, in some way or another. I mean, it's the same Vyse, but... different... Argh, now I'm confusing myself.'
Vyse felt the heat of Aika's stare and looked up. "What?"
"Nothing. Just thinking."
He nodded, choosing not to ask what she happened to be thinking about. His fingers where a bit clumsy after not using the chopsticks for a while, but he quickly got the hang of it and started to eat the noodles. He concentrated on his meal for a few moments before he felt another pair of eyes on him. He looked up. Fina and Aika were both staring at him with perplexed looks on their faces. Sighing, he set his chopsticks down. "What are you two staring at me for?"
Fina blushed. "I was just... um..." she trailed off.
"Just thinking," mumbled Aika, still staring at him.
Vyse frowned. "Thinking about what? If there's anything thing I can do to get you to stop staring at me, just tell me, cause its really uncomfortable."
"We're sorry, Vyse," Fina said, looking down at her lap. "It's just that... you're different somehow."
Vyse's eyes widened in shock. "Different?" he echoed, thinking, 'Does it show that much?'
Aika nodded. "Yes. It's really hard to place it, but it's obvious you've gone through some sort of change. We're just wondering what could have happened."
Vyse looked down at his soup. "How am I different?"
Fina and Aika looked at each other. Aika shrugged. "I don't know. There's really no word to describe it."
"You look.... you don't seem..."
"You don't seem to be as grounded as you were before," Aika said. "You look more graceful, cooler, something like that."
Vyse picked up his chopsticks again. "Really? Well, I can't remember anything that would have made me different. Are you sure it isn't just your imaginations getting away with you?"
The girls looked at each other again. "Are you sure you don't feel the slightest bit different?"
"Of course I feel different. You never feel the same way twice. Now, here's the plan. We're going to ask the king if we can borrow a ship. A small one, but a ship nonetheless. Then, we can go above the clouds, and make our way back to Crescent Isle. Hopefully we won't run into any trouble on the way. How does that sound?"
Fina nodded. "That sounds good, I guess."
Aika sighed, disappointed that Vyse had changed the subject. "That's alright with me."
"Great. Then we can do it tomorrow? I just want to relax right now." He went back to his meal, eating vigorously. Aika munched on another dumpling, trying not to stare at him. 'How can he not realize that he seems so.... depressed?' she thought. 'Even when he's smiling, it's like he's constantly thinking about something that makes him feel... guilty, almost.'
------
Yeah. I know that was pretty short, but I want to get it out as fast as I can. I'm going to have a lot of time to work on my other chapters, though, next week. I'm going on vacation with my folks. Not really excited about it, but do I have a choice? No. I want to go to England, but do I have a choice? No. I want a cat, but do I have a choice? No. Grr. I guess it's like that for almost every family though, so I can't complain.
Please review.
So, how do you say that this story is going totally different from how you planned it? Well, guess I just said it. All of my stories do that for some reason. And the thing is, I have the power to control them, and yet, they get out of my hands. Huh.
Aika1- What happened to Why Demons Returned? Someone reported it cause of chapter three, and they took it off. That's what happened. So don't expect the lemon in that category again. I'm going to prolong writing it, just because I have three ideas I want to put up and finish. This one, one for Inuyasha, and one for Spiderman. Though I might not do the Spiderman one just yet. I want to finish Shivers and Denial, but... they're stubborn stories.
------
"Welcome, Westerners!" The king of Yafutoma smiled largely at the two girls. (A/N: I can not remember his name for the life of me...) "Please, feel free to stay as long as you want!"
Aika smiled. "Thanks. We don't know how long we'll be staying, seeing as we're waiting for a friend of ours. You remember Vyse?"
"How could I forget? Brown haired one with the scar, great captain!"
Fina grinned. "Where is your son, Your Highness?"
"Ah, that boy is probably frolicking with the Tenkou again. Can't sit still if it would save his life!"
"Well, it's good that he's active. A worldly prince will make a good king." Aika yawned. "I'm beat. Fina, how about we take a nap before we get something to eat at the tavern?"
"That sounds great." Fina bowed one last time to the king before leaving with Aika.
The two entered the guest house silently. Aika sat down on the futon, rushed by a wave of worry. "I wonder if Vyse is alright?"
Fina sat at the table. "Yes... he should have come with us..."
"He said something about bringing out some ropes once they found out that he had helped us escape. Does that mean whips? And what was with those burns that were on his wrists?"
"And his ankles," Fina added. "In the exact spots that someone would have bound him. My guess is that these ropes burn."
Aika's expression turned confused. "Ropes that burn? Unless they're on fire, I don't see how they could...? Maybe Vyse will tell us everything when he gets here. I have a feeling that he knows something that we don't..."
"Like he's keeping something from us."
"Yeah. Something like that." Aika laid back on the futon. "He'll tell us... If I know Vyse, he'll tell us everything. Eventually..."
------
"Are you sure you understand?"
Vyse sighed, nodding. "I understand, Nylas, now can I leave? The sooner I get off of this ship the better."
Nylas chuckled. "Then go. Remember, not too soon and not too late."
"I got it! Let me go in peace, goodness." Vyse shoved the lifeboat so that it was almost out of the ship and then jumped in. The lifeboat tilted with his weight, falling out of the ship.
"Remember to use a r-"
"Nylas, for Christ's sake, shut up!"
Vyse ignored the chuckle from Nylas, steering the boat to the south. 'Yafutoma,' he thought. 'Of all places for an ominous plan to begin. The peaceful eastern city.'
It took no time at all to reach the water city, and he docked quickly and quietly. He entered the city, surprised to see his two friends sitting on the red fence, talking. He sighed before forcing a smile on his face, walking up to the girls who had yet to notice him. "Hey!" he called out, waving as the girls turned to look in his direction.
Aika smiled widely. "Vyse!" She ran up to him, giving him one of her neck hugs. Fina also came up to him, smiling. "We were so worried about you!"
"Aw, you guys, you know that I could handle it. Just a few measly guards. Oh, Aika," he gestured to the docks. "Your boomerang is on the lifeboat if you want to go get it."
"It can wait! I'm just glad you're here with us!"
Vyse smiled. "I'm glad to be back here, too. Away from those lunatics."
Vyse had to admit, it was nice to see his friends without the ever constant presence of the Silvites around him. But there was still an aching in his heart when he thought about the extended reach that Nylas had on him. He sighed, thinking about what Nylas had wanted him to do. 'I'll just stall as long as I can,' he thought. 'Right now, I'm just going to enjoy the freedom of the open skies.'
"I'm starving," he said. Actually, he wasn't, but it was getting awkward just standing there with one girl practically in tears and another girl hugging the life out of him. Aika immediately let go of him, grabbing his hand.
"Why didn't you say so sooner? Come on, let's go to the tavern. I'm in the mood for those dumplings!"
Vyse let Aika lead him, noticing the tight grip she had on his hand but decided not to say anything about it. The trio made their way across the water to the tavern, sitting at one of the tables. Finally, Aika let go of his hand when she made her way to one of the benches, sitting beside Fina. The bench on the opposite side of the table was empty, and obviously meant for him. "I'll go order," he said. "What do you want?"
The girls told Vyse what they wanted and let him go order. They exchanged glances, lowering their voices to a whisper. "He act's normal enough."
Fina nodded. "He seemed kinda sad though, for a quick moment."
"What could have made him sad? Did he not want to come back with us or something?"
"I don't know. But it's easy to see that he's keeping something from us."
"We'll just have to crack it out of him."
"How will we do that?"
Aika smiled. "Using the skills of intimidation that women were born with, Fina. We'll attack at night, once he's all settled in and almost asleep. That's when his tongue is loose, and he'll let anything slip."
Fina nodded. "O- okay."
"What are you two girls talking about?" Vyse said, appearing suddenly beside them. The two jumped, blushing. "Nothing at all, Vyse! Just some girl talk. Rumors going around the city, things like that."
Vyse raised an eyebrow but said nothing more, placing the tray with the food on the table. Aika took a bite out of her dumpling, watching as Vyse started to eat the noodle soup. 'Everything seems different about him, in some way or another. I mean, it's the same Vyse, but... different... Argh, now I'm confusing myself.'
Vyse felt the heat of Aika's stare and looked up. "What?"
"Nothing. Just thinking."
He nodded, choosing not to ask what she happened to be thinking about. His fingers where a bit clumsy after not using the chopsticks for a while, but he quickly got the hang of it and started to eat the noodles. He concentrated on his meal for a few moments before he felt another pair of eyes on him. He looked up. Fina and Aika were both staring at him with perplexed looks on their faces. Sighing, he set his chopsticks down. "What are you two staring at me for?"
Fina blushed. "I was just... um..." she trailed off.
"Just thinking," mumbled Aika, still staring at him.
Vyse frowned. "Thinking about what? If there's anything thing I can do to get you to stop staring at me, just tell me, cause its really uncomfortable."
"We're sorry, Vyse," Fina said, looking down at her lap. "It's just that... you're different somehow."
Vyse's eyes widened in shock. "Different?" he echoed, thinking, 'Does it show that much?'
Aika nodded. "Yes. It's really hard to place it, but it's obvious you've gone through some sort of change. We're just wondering what could have happened."
Vyse looked down at his soup. "How am I different?"
Fina and Aika looked at each other. Aika shrugged. "I don't know. There's really no word to describe it."
"You look.... you don't seem..."
"You don't seem to be as grounded as you were before," Aika said. "You look more graceful, cooler, something like that."
Vyse picked up his chopsticks again. "Really? Well, I can't remember anything that would have made me different. Are you sure it isn't just your imaginations getting away with you?"
The girls looked at each other again. "Are you sure you don't feel the slightest bit different?"
"Of course I feel different. You never feel the same way twice. Now, here's the plan. We're going to ask the king if we can borrow a ship. A small one, but a ship nonetheless. Then, we can go above the clouds, and make our way back to Crescent Isle. Hopefully we won't run into any trouble on the way. How does that sound?"
Fina nodded. "That sounds good, I guess."
Aika sighed, disappointed that Vyse had changed the subject. "That's alright with me."
"Great. Then we can do it tomorrow? I just want to relax right now." He went back to his meal, eating vigorously. Aika munched on another dumpling, trying not to stare at him. 'How can he not realize that he seems so.... depressed?' she thought. 'Even when he's smiling, it's like he's constantly thinking about something that makes him feel... guilty, almost.'
------
Yeah. I know that was pretty short, but I want to get it out as fast as I can. I'm going to have a lot of time to work on my other chapters, though, next week. I'm going on vacation with my folks. Not really excited about it, but do I have a choice? No. I want to go to England, but do I have a choice? No. I want a cat, but do I have a choice? No. Grr. I guess it's like that for almost every family though, so I can't complain.
Please review.