Girl in Gaea: The Untold Story
By Brenli and AmetrineButterfly
Chapter 4
Kitsune left the room Dilandau was being so harshly abused in, and she kept right on walking, refusing to look back. She wondered why Okami managed to swallow all the violence they'd run into in just one day… and she couldn't take it. The images of men bleeding and a horse being ripped apart ran through her mind more vividly than she would have liked it. The snap of Dilandau's fingers rang too loudly in her mind. Kitsune's breath came out ragged, and she thought she'd go mad.
"Light Star!" It was Gatti.
"Kitsune… I'm just Kitsune…!" She responded.
Gatti shrugged it off. "Are you okay? You look kinda pale."
"I feel kinda… unclean." She did, inside and out. "Where are the showers in this place?"
"Downstairs to the left three doors, but the door's on your right."
"Arigato." Kitsune bowed and moved off quickly.
"But, Light St- Kitsu-" Kitsune was already gone. "THERE ARE MOSTLY MEN HERE, IF YOU GET WHAT I'M SAYING!"
Kitsune heard a horse's cry and Dilandau's fingers much more clearly than Gatti's parting words. All she cared about right now was hot water. She personally hoped it would be therapy enough for her sorry head.
There it was, the door to the showers. "Therapy time because Kitsune needs it." She said to herself and marched right in. It was steamy, and hard to see at first, and the blast of heat that hit her face made her stop for a moment. Very slowly the steam was starting to dissipate and Kitsune made her way forward, hand to her head.
And then she froze.
There was a body, a distinctly male body, already there. What's more, the showers were completely open… and the steam was almost all gone now. Kitsune made out the features of a very well-built, wet man and listened to him sigh heavily as he completely shut off the water. The long, dark hair falling over his face reminded her distinctly of the Earthling beach boy that Okami and Kitsune had fondly called Mr. Pure Sex. Alarms were going off in her head as she watched him turn...
Oh. My. God. Those were the ONLY three words that Kitsune could successfully form in her head. She must have been ten THOUSAND shades of red… What she saw was definitely worth MORE than just the cliché ten shades.
She witnessed the tight muscles of his stomach tighten more out of shock. She moved her shy gaze upward, and it was only then that she realized that she had been holding her breath, because it came out in a hazy cloud puff to cover his face… cover Dallet's face.
The hazy cloud disappeared and Dallet's face reappeared. He was staring right back at her, fairly blankly. He maintained the expressionless, practiced face of a soldier as his eyes bore into Kitsune. She nearly screamed when Dallet reached out, lightening quick and grabbed a towel to wrap around his more… intimate areas. Dallet looked at her again, but this time around he seemed far more questioning. "Kitsune what the Hell are you doing he-"
"Gomen, gomen!" She blushed again, she bowed again, and she left the showers in a hurry. Dallet could only stare after her.
"Lord Folken?" A woman in white addressed her master as he knelt between his precious two candles, shrouded in his black cloak.
"Sora?" Folken said, head still bowed. "Can you sense the Dark Star?"
A pause. "Yes. Her power grows strong."
Laughing an inhuman, sadistic chuckle, Folken rose to shed his cloak. "This is going to present a problem, is it not?"
"Of course. You have manipulated the Stars foolishly, and the Dark Star is beginning to recognize this."
"Then I suppose we'll just have to fix this little problem, won't we?"
Frustrated, Okami stomped down the hallway, ignored frightened passerby as they jumped out of her way. It didn't matter, because even when she was happy and smiling, people would still avoid her like she was a sword-wielding psychopath. What the hell was going on? Whatever it was, she was determined to find out, but finding out who to ask was her only real obstacle. There was no way she was asking Folken, she knew she couldn't trust that guy as far as she could throw him. And everyone else was scared of her. Except…
In her deep thought, Okami ran headlong into, of all people, Dilandau.
"Hey, watch it!" Dilandau barked.
"Dilandau, there you are!" Okami ignored his angry outburst. "I've been looking for you!"
"…Ok? Why?"
"Is there someplace we can go to talk?" Okami said, eyes innocently pleading. "…Please?"
Dilandau frowned. Just say no, he said to himself. It's not hard, just say it. But her troubled eyes actually managed to tug on his heart strings. He rolled his eyes. "Alright, in here." He opened a door to his left, motioning her to enter.
She did, and she found herself in a bedroom. A glass case with a familiar looking armor stood in the corner, and a magnificent red four-poster bed sat next to a beautiful mahogany desk. "Wow… this looks expensive."
Dilandau rolled his eyes. "Have a seat and get to the point." He shut the door, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Fine." Instead of 'having a seat', Okami flopped down on the bed. "Dilandau… you're the only one around here that doesn't tremble at the mere sight of me. I won't ask Folken. I don't trust him. So I'm here to ask you, why is it that everyone is so terrified of me?"
Dilandau continued to stare blankly, wondering why it was that Okami found it necessary to lay on his bed. "And you trust me enough to ask me?"
Okami paused, mainly asking herself if she really did trust him that much. She sat up, propping herself up on her elbows. "Do I have anyone else?"
Dilandau continued to stare, his red eyes burning into her. "… I suppose not. I'm flattered… I think." He frowned in confusion.
"Well don't get too excited. It's not exactly a life-changing experience." Okami fully sat up, crossing her legs before her. "So are you going to answer my question, or not?"
Dilandau frowned. "…Are you sure you want to know?"
"Would I have asked if I wasn't?"
Gritting his teeth, he stiffly nodded his head. "Alright." Dilandau sat himself at the foot of his bed, keeping his back to Okami. "Ancient Gaea was destroyed by the Escaflowne, but once, Gaea was close to total destruction again. Before the Spirit Stars got their name, they were known simply as the Guardians. They would descend from the Heavens whenever Gaea was in need. They've fought in every war, sometimes on opposing sides…"
"So how does that make people hate me?"
"Would you let me finish!" Dilandau barked.
"Gomen."
Turning profile to Okami, Dilandau continued. "About 500 years ago, the Guardians descended for the Great War. The Great War carved Gaea into the separate countries and Clans we know today." Dilandau pointed out, seeing Okami's confused face. "However… one of the Guardians took a separate side from the other. She grew obsessed with her own power, and when she performed her summoning, her Spirit possessed her. Consumed by her hatred and greed, she killed the other Guardian, and proceeded to annihilate every human, beastman and structure in her anger-torn path."
Okami sat in a sort of shock, trying to figure out when Dilandau would start laughing, and say 'April Fools!'. But he didn't. "What stopped her…?"
"No one's really sure. But before she disappeared, she swore that her successor, which she called 'The Dark Star'… would finish what she started." Dilandau finally looked at Okami, who looked completely stunned. He felt something heavy in his chest. Was it pity? "People believe that it was her that sent you here. To pick up where she left off…"
"… Do you believe that?"
"I'm not sure what I believe. I don't know you that well, do I?" Dilandau got to his feet, and he couldn't bring himself to look at her.
At that moment, Okami wondered why she had asked him. She knew he would act like this. "I'm sorry to have bothered you." An underlying tone of sarcasm could be heard in her quiet voice.
"I'm not bothered." Dilandau stated plainly.
"And you are so convincing." Okami muttered.
Dilandau held up his broken hand. "I've had a BAD DAY. Give me a break!" He snapped. "… Sorry about… all the Dark Star stuff… It's unfair to start off with bad first impressions."
Taken aback by his unexpected apology, Okami smiled. "Wow." She said. "So you're human after all."
Dilandau went wide-eyed and then quickly put on a scowl. "Don't make me vomit! Human? I'd rather light a human on FIRE than be one!" He scoffed. "I'm just saying sorry…"
Okami just smiled, feeling better than she had in a very long time. "Well thanks…" She stood next to him, and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. "For being human…" With that she left the room, shutting the door.
Dilandau stood frozen, his eye spasming with the lingering feeling of Okami's kiss just under it. "… But I'm NOT HUMAN!" He tried convincing himself, slamming his fist on his mahogany desk. "OW, SHIT!"
Kitsune tried her hardest to maintain some sort of stable breathing rhythm as she stood with her back pressed against her room's door. She'd seen Dallet naked!
Somehow, the act of seeing a man naked – a fairly normal event compared to seeing a horse rip apart in mid-air – had a larger impact on her than any of the other events at hand!
It was because he was attractive. Her hormones were still equivalent to a rampant teenager's. "STUPID!" She slapped herself sharply across her cheek. "OW!" She cursed silently, and then sighed, sliding to the floor. "… Maybe it's better that way, anyway..." Kitsune fought the urge to slap herself again. She'd just admitted that it was far better thinking of Dallet naked than of any of the blood she'd witnessed so far.
Well, it was true, wasn't it?
Oh, that was naughty… "Kitsune you are NOT WINNING." She moaned.
There was a soft knock on her door that caused Kitsune to jump up and throw open her door, her cheek still glowing red from her slap. "Hi, Okami-chan!"
"Um… What happened to your cheek?"
Kitsune blinked rapidly and covered her face. Not that it helped any. "Ano… I was kinda flustered, so I kinda put myself back together… And kinda… kinda slapped myself."
"Kinda?"
"Kinda!" Kitsune agreed.
"Jesus… What the hell happened?" Okami walked into the room, turning back to stare with almost frightened eyes.
"… Welllll…" Kitsune blushed so bad Okami couldn't see the slap marks anymore. "Okami-chan I…"
Okami waited patiently.
"IwalkedinonDalletshowering." Kitsune whispered quickly.
"You did WHAT!" Okami didn't know whether to be sympathetic or laugh her ass off.
"I didn't MEAN to!" Kitsune cried. "I wanted to go take a shower and in case you haven't noticed our rooms do NOT have bathrooms, and I walked in and just… oh my God… and… oh my God…" Kitsune turned away. "It was so BAD! … Well, it's wasn't BAD bad, but it was just… so BAD!" She squealed and then promptly slapped herself again. "Ow!"
"Kitsune-chan stop that!" Okami restrained Kitsune's hands before she could inflict anymore damage. "So when you say it wasn't BAD bad… you mean it was good right?" A huge grin formed on Okami's face as she watched Kitsune's cheeks turn redder.
"It… it…" Kitsune squealed again, her restrained hands trying to flail. "It was…" She wanted to just explode. "Oh my God, if anyone asks you cannot say ANYTHING!"
"Who am I gonna tell? Folken?"
Kitsune blinked. "This is true… Okay… Ano…" She paused and then squealed again. "It was so GOOD! GAHHHH! I SOUND LIKE A PSYCHO!"
Okami couldn't contain herself anymore, and she erupted into a loud, giddy laughter, hardly able to keep herself from collapsing. "This is ssssoooo priceless, Kitsune-chan!"
"I KNOW! … Wait, why are you LAUGHING? Don't be laughing at me! I mean, this is NOT FUNNY! It's so unfunny, it's ANTI-FUNNY, okay?" Kitsune bellowed. "… But Dallet is so…" She coughed. "Oh God, this is horrible… How old am I again? I've forgotten!" She cried and buried her head in his hands. "… Dallet is the REAL Mr. Pure Sex." She whispered.
"I'm laughing because this is FUNNY!" Okami wiped tears from her eyes. "And of COURSE Dallet is the real Mr. Pure Sex! He IS pretty damned sexy, after all! So tell me…" She tried her best to calm her laughter. "Does he have a six pack? Or were you looking a little south of the border?"
Kitsune's eyes nearly fell out of her head. "Answering your first question, yes. Answering your second… That was almost a complete accident, so there!"
"Oh that was NO accident, Kitsune-chan! YOU'RE the one who was so curious! So you looked!"
"I wasn't curious about anything!" She retorted. "I mean… sure, he's cute and all… well, more than that, he is Mr. Pure Sex… But… I mean… EVEN IF I AM A LITTLE CURIOUS THAT DOESN'T MEAN I RAN INTO THE SHOWERS SPECIFICALLY TO SEE HIM! I wanted to take a shower, that's all… And I just got something else instead."
"A little something special? Or is it going to be classified as 'mortifying' for the rest of your life?" Okami sighed. "What a waste…"
Kitsune gasped. "DALLET IS NOT MORTIFYING!" She screamed, and then nearly stopped breathing as she heard the heavy thud of boots traveling down the hallway.
"Of course not! You said it yourself, Dallet is the real Mr. Pur-"
"SHHHHHH! Shut up shut up SHUT UP!" Kitsune cried. Dallet stood in Kitsune's doorway, fully clothed and trying to maintain a strict warrior's face, but it quickly fell off as he saw Kitsune clamping her hand tightly over Okami's mouth.
"… Hi." Dallet waved.
"Hi!" Kitsune smiled and beamed at him.
"… What are you doing to Okami?"
Okami's face was red, and she immediately started clawing at Kitsune's fingers. Kitsune quickly realized that she was covering poor Okami's nose and mouth, and quickly pulled her hand away. "Damn it!" Okami gasped. "Are you trying to kill me!"
"No!" Kitsune snapped.
Dallet blinked. "Mm-hmm… Well… Okami?"
"Yes?"
"I just got back from… a little 'chat' with Lord Dilandau… regarding you running off and all?" Dallet stepped into Kitsune's room. "Basically… PLEASE don't do that again! You're gonna get me KILLED if you're not careful." He was standing too close to Kitsune for her comfort at the moment, yet he seemed to be oblivious to the largeness of her eyes and her red face.
"Gomen nasaii…" Okami frowned. "I told him to not be mad at you. Looks like I'm gonna have to smack him around a little bit." A girlish giggle followed and Okami grinned. "After all. I'm the Dark Star, I might just destroy the world." She laughed like she was making a joke.
Dallet went wide-eyed at Okami. "… Well… t-there's no NEED to smack Lord Dilandau around, so… um… yes. Just, you know… try not to get me in trouble. I don't like it." He spoke unsurely, obviously nervous for a reason unknown to Kitsune. For a moment she stopped blushing and looked suspiciously at Okami.
Okami absentmindedly waved her hand. "Don't worry about it. I won't smack him around." Her face turned serious. "And I am sorry for getting you into trouble, Dallet. I will be a good girl and do what Dilly-sama tells me to… well… within reason. But I'm going to leave now, I do believe Kitsune-chan has something she would like to… discuss?" Giggling, Okami ducked out of the room, avoiding Kitsune's flying hand.
"DAMN YOU, OKAMI-CHAN!" Kitsune screamed after her.
"Wait." Dallet caught Kitsune by her wrist. "Because I need to talk to you, too."
Kitsune wanted to die. "But I'm sorry, so there's nothing to SAY!" She cried. She blushed and bowed.
Dallet, however, began to laugh. "There you go again with your blush-and-bow. I kinda figured you'd be sorry, so don't worry, you're forgiven." He gave Kitsune his signature light smile. It was a kind, carefree smile, one that made Kitsune believe that he forgave her.
"Arigato!" She smiled back.
"Just don't ever do that again." His eyes crinkled in a teasing way.
"I won't!" Kitsune responded too quickly.
"That means we'll keep tabs on each other, then. So we know when each of us in the shower."
"Well that sounds kinda stupid…"
Dallet laughed again. "Or I will get someone to put actual stalls in."
"That's… a little better." Kitsune still blushed at the thought of showering next to him.
"Mind if I make myself at home?" Dallet asked casually, still smiling, plopping himself down on Kitsune's bed, while Kitsune remained sitting on the floor. "Is sitting on the ground comfy for you?"
Kitsune blinked up at him. Just like that he was off on more casual topics, as though being caught naked had little to no effect on him whatsoever. A faint smile crossed her lips. "I guess I don't have to tell you to go ahead and sit, do I?"
Dallet laughed. It was a rich, warm laugh, warm like his whole being seemed to be. It settled in Kitsune's ears and made her want to laugh right with him. "No, I guess you don't."
"As for sitting on the floor… I did it all the time, back on Earth – ano… the Mystic Moon. It's not so much about comfort as it is just… simple habit."
"Does the Mystic Moon have chairs?"
"Hai."
"And you don't use them?"
He sounded like a little child, with the things we was asking. But she admired his keen interest in her world. "We do, but where I come from sitting on the floor is a common habit, too."
"Strange…"
It was Kitsune's turn to laugh. Dallet was quiet for a few moments before going on to his next question.
"Kitsune, does the Mystic Moon ever go to war?" He asked the question cautiously.
"… Hai… we do." Kitsune said after a pause. "… Why?"
"Because when we were out fighting, you were so upset… I thought you were going to pass out and I'd have to carry you, or something."
Kitsune dropped her gaze to her lap. "Well, the Mystic Moon goes to war sometimes, but I am just a student at school there. I'm not involved in the military, and my country is paranoid about protection… so this is my first time around real battle."
"Ah." Dallet said thoughtfully. "… I understood you wanting to watch, to be honest. Trying to condition yourself to it, right? They did the same to all of us… I just didn't want you fainting on me, that's all. It's hard trying to protect people fainting and falling off their horses."
The mentioning of horses made Kitsune fidget. "Dallet…? I need to tell you something. It's one of the reasons why I wasn't doing so well out there…" She looked up shyly to see the Dallet had moved off the bed and was sitting on the ground with her. She could tell he wasn't used to it. He sat with an odd hunch to his back, like he was only sitting down there to hide from someone. But she understood well enough that he was trying to make her feel more at home. She appreciated it more than he knew. "Dilandau's horse… The one that died…"
Dallet nodded. "A fine horse, honestly. Well trained, but he still had a personality to him. He was more like a friend than a mode of transportation…"
Kitsune felt sadness grow upon hearing the description of the horse. "When we were out there… I saw… I saw the horse die before he actually died… Do you understand? I knew how the horse was going to die before he died."
Dallet was staring at her with searching eyes, though he understood what she was saying. "You had a vision."
Kitsune slowly nodded. "It made… a lot of what I saw out there… too hard to bear. The fact that I knew how that horse would die, and it really did happen. EXACTLY like how I saw it."
Dallet seemed to be searching for the right words to say. Kitsune's words at breakfast ran through his mind… 'I don't want to sound like an oracle…' He knew he should say it, anyway. The way things were going, his assumption was probably true. "… You're like an oracle, Kitsune."
A frown tugged at Kitsune's mouth as she sat there with her eyes glued to her lap. "Kitsune the Light Star." She murmured with a trace of bitterness on her tongue. She let the awkward silence fill up the room, not caring about it.
"Hey, Kitsune." Dallet suddenly remarked, and lightly tapped her thigh with his fist. Kitsune jumped and shot him a confused gaze, another blush still tinting her cheeks. "Maybe to people like Lord Folken you'll be Kitsune the Light Star… But to me, you'll always be Kitsune, the girl who always blushes and bows." He sent her another light smile. "Okay?"
Kitsune was already blushing, so the only thing left was to bow her head in shyness, and she did so. "Arigato, Dallet."
"You're welcome."
To be continued…