Mikau: Hello! I'd like to recommend a fic to all you Harry Potter/Shaman King fans! Dumbledore's Grandson by Touch of the Wind. It's genius. (Plus it has Lucifer and Diablo in later, upcoming chapters. Anyway, check it out and review. I think you guys will really like it. So, this chapter was…interesting to write. This chapter is more in the style of I,SR than the previous chapters, and I really had fun with this one.
Dedication: This one is for my good friend AILITA. Things aren't as bad as they seem, and it can only get better for you. Hand in there because I really care about you Ai, and so does everyone else. Kal, Jason, Rayvyn, Nina, and everyone won't hate you because, like me, they care! They're your family and friends, and they won't abandon you just because you're having a hard time of it. We'll always be there for you Ai, so don't give up. I hope I don't have to say that I still will be keeping in touch with you. I care about you because we're friends. Right now you need all the friends you have, so don't try to get rid of me. I'm not that easy to dispose of. Love you! .
Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.
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Human Again
The soft taps of bear feet on wooden floor went unnoticed as they entered the loud dinning room. Hana had invited Ivory, Makoto, and Akira over for Sunday lunch, and the boisterous teenagers were rowdy as always, making way too much noise as usual. The whole original gang was there too from Ryu to Chocolove, and the house was packed.
No one noticed a small Japanese/Chinese/American mutt of a woman sliding open the shoji door just enough to slip through. No one saw her as she snuck into the dinning room and blended in with the crowd even if she was still in her pajamas at 12:00 in the afternoon.
She sat next to me and smiled saying, "Mornin'."
I smiled politely back at her but corrected her none-the-less. "You do know that it's noon, don't you? Lunch time?"
She cocked her head to the side in the most endearing way and replied. "I suppose you're right…but you know I never get out of bed before noon anyway, so for me it's still morning."
I had to smile back at her. Something about her made me weak in the knees. "Yeah…I never thought about it that way." I looked away as she grabbed a plate and filled it with toast, celery with peanut butter, some various fruits, and jell-O. I snuck peeks at her out of the corner of my eye. She was acting more like herself now. She was less of the soulless, depressed Valerie I had been living with for a few months, and more like the Ivy I had fallen for years and years ago.
"You wouldn't happen to know why everyone showed up on the front door step this morning would you?" I made an excuse to get her talking to me again even if I knew why they were all gathered. They were there to celebrate my little brother's birthday. It was the next weekend, and there was going to be a huge party. Somehow, to Anna's dismay, everyone had ended up at the Onsen a week early, and had decided to freeload just like the good old days.
Ivy looked positively scandalized. "They're here for next weekend…Hao…it's going to be the 12th soon…May 12th…" I nodded, clearly not showing the kind of recognition she had expected.
"Oh, yes, Yoh's birthday…I still haven't bought him anything…I really should go shopping or something." I smiled and continued talking casually with her. Just the sound of her voice (which sounded more like her real voice and not the one she used when pretending to be Valerie) soothed me. "So how are you feeling? I see you got a new body last night. You look a lot better than you did yesterday."
"Hao…" She pursed her lips and stopped eating. "It's your birthday too…"
I blinked. "Oh." I had forgotten. "I guess it slipped my mind." I had forgotten my own birthday. "I've had so many…it's just not important anymore." My followers would be coming. 'Great. Just what I need a huge party.' I had never really liked parties anyway, and after so many years of being, one just gets tired of counting birthdays. I had already been planning to hand Yoh his present and then skip out on the party, but now that it would be my party too I couldn't very well escape. 'On second thought…' I looked over at Yoh talking excitedly with his friends, making up for lost time and stopping Horo and Ren from getting into as many pointless fights as possible. '…maybe no one will notice that I'm gone if I sneak out the back way…No one would notice if I left now either…No one except—' "Ow!" My thoughts were interrupted as someone backhanded me.
"Pay attention when I'm talking! I asked you the same question five or six times!" Ivy glared angrily at me. She even looked more like herself. I couldn't help but kiss her. As usual she fought it at first caught off guard by the suddenness of it all right after she had smacked me.
The room fell silent as Anna cleared her throat. The ice queen still had power over ever person in the room even if there were over thirty people present. "You two really should get a room. If not, then at least please don't start making out at my table where people are trying to eat." Anna's dry tone held a slight hint of amusement, but any trace of emotion was faint, after all, she had a façade to keep up.
Ivy pulled away blushing and short of breath. "An-na…why…do you always do this to m-me?"
"You do it to yourself. Go get changed into some decent clothes so I can introduce you to everyone." Anna hid a smile at her younger sibling.
Ivy didn't bother masking her grin. "I'd rather stay in my pajamas, thank you. I'll be taking them off soon anyway. Come on Hao." She grabbed my hand and pulled me off into her bedroom to some rowdy cheers of 'Go Hao!' from some of the men present, a few giggles and blushes from the ladies, and the most priceless look on Anna's face.
Ivy burst into peals of giggles as she closed the door behind us. "Did you see her face? Oh. My. GOD. That was so much fun!"
I took a seat on her bed and smiled. 'She's even talking like herself again.' "What the Hell was that, may I ask?"
"Oh. Uh…sorry about that. You see, you were the closest guy except for Ryu, and god knows I would rather be alone in a bedroom with you than him." She blushed lightly, opened up the door to her armoire, and took off her shirt. "Plus I wanted to talk to you…"
"Do you want to—" I started, but she quickly cut me off, turning on me, clutching her shirt to her chest, and giving me a 'I know what you're thinking.' look.
"No Hao, I don't really want to sleep with you." She turned her attention back to getting dressed, grabbing a bra and scowling at me. "Don't look. I'm changing."
"I wasn't going to ask you that." I turned my body away from her, but watched her reflection in the vanity mirror. I smirked as she removed the shirt from blocking my view to put on the bra.
"Yes you were. That's all that's ever on your mind when you watch me take off my clothes through the reflection in that stupid mirror."
The smirk drained from my face. "It's not as much fun if you know I'm watching you." I turned back around and didn't try to hide where my eyes where looking.
"Perverted bastard." She hissed, nailing me in the face with her underwear.
"I love it when you call me that." By the time I could see straight again she had already replaced the underwear she had thrown at me, so I didn't get to see anything. 'Darn…'
"I'll bet you do." She slipped on a pair of black capris and pulled on a red tank top. She walked over to her vanity and opened a few drawers. She took out a ruby heart pendant on a black choker, and applied a thin layer of bright red lipstick to her lips. She didn't draw on the eyeliner 3 though. And her hair was still silvery blonde. And her eyes were dark blue. But she was back. She was mine again. My Ivy.
"You look…" I couldn't think of what to say. How do you describe so much beauty contained in one vessel? "Wow…"
"I know." She smiled seductively at me. "About what you were going to ask me earlier…"
She didn't need to ask. "I was going to say, 'Do you want to go for a walk?' Though I wouldn't be apposed to taking those clothes off of you again."
Ivy rolled her eyes and smiled. "Actually that sounds like fun."
"Uh…what did you say?" I blinked several times, not trusting my ears.
She grabbed my wrist and pulled me back towards the dinning room again. "I said a walk sounds like fun."
"Oh." I tried not to sound too disappointed that she hadn't meant the other choice of activities.
"We can sneak off after breakfast, but first Anna has to introduce Valerie to everybody." She winked back over her shoulder at me. We were about to enter the dinning room when she looked back over her shoulder at me like she had just remembered something. "Hey, can you turn your shirt inside out?"
I blinked at her weird request, but did as she asked. She pulled on the strap of her shirt until her bra showed, and quickly messed up her hair. "Got to make it look authentic." She explained before biting up and down my neck just hard enough to leave a few marks and running her fingers through my hair, sufficiently messing it up. She smudged her lipstick and made sure to leave some of it on my neck. I gave her a few quick hickeys in places she could easily hide, and we were ready to go.
I secured my arm possessively around her waist, my hand resting on her upper thigh, and she rested her head on my shoulder, hanging her arms around my neck, one palm flat against my chest.
Ren rolled his eyes looking furious, Horo looked jealous, Tamao smacked Horo for looking jealous, Yoh rolled his eyes and smiled lazily. Ryu looked wistfully at Ivy, and Jun just smiled. Hana, Ivory, and Makoto didn't seem to notice our entrance since they were too busy trying to break up a catfight between Thorn and Akira. Hoshi smiled fondly at the two of us, knowing full well of our trick; the ginger colored tabby cat sitting on my oldest daughter's lap seemed to smile as well.
Anna glared icily. "You two really are a bunch of animals." She huffed.
I swear I heard Horo whisper to Ren, "Ivy hasn't changed much at all over the years, has she? Still the same lovable vixen she always was…I should have proposed to her when I had the chance back during the Shaman Tournament. God she's hott…"
Ren threatened Horo Horo with his Kwan Dao. "You are aware that she's my sweet, innocent, baby sister…aren't you? I won't have you thinking dirty thoughts about her. It's bad enough, that husband of hers…" Ren visibly shuddered.
I made sure to smile suggestively at Ren as Ivy pulled me past him on our way back to our seats.
Anna glared unpleasantly and introduced Ivy to the group. "Everyone, this is my cousin, Valerie Kyôyama. She's been staying here while her husband and her are living apart." Anna then directed a comment toward Ivy and myself. "Val, Hao, do us all a favor and straighten your clothing. Just because you act like animals, doesn't mean you have to look like them."
Ivy smiled evilly and opened her mouth, but Anna cut her off before she could say anything. "Can I talk to you in private Valerie?" Ivy nodded and reluctantly left my side to speak in whispers with her sister in a different room.
The noise level in the room rose as soon as Anna stepped out of the room. I smoothed my disheveled hair and turn my shirt the right way as Ryu looked on jealously.
"You know you're very lucky to have that effect on women. Not everyone is so lucky." The old gang-leader smiled, trying not to look too jealous. "Valerie seems like a wild one though. Just like your first wife…you seem to attract that kind of woman."
"Yeah, it's a gift and a curse. I miss Ivy though…" I tried to make polite conversation, but I had never liked Ryu, and probably never will. "Valerie is okay; it's getting better, but I'd rather have the real thing…"
Ryu was about to say something else when an argument that had been relatively contained up until that point broke out in astronomic amounts of chaos.
"I dare you to say that again!" Thorn bolted straight up out of her seat and glared down at Akira.
Akira ignored the furious Allure shaman looming over him.
"What's the matter Rara-chan? Too scared to say it to my face?" My daughter's condescending, devilish tone was one unfamiliar to my ears. I had never known she could be so vindictive; I was again reminded how little I truly knew about my own children. "Come on! I dare you to say it!"
Akira's face was getting redder by the second. Clearly whatever he had said, he didn't want to repeat while the whole crowd of people was listening to him. "Can't you just let it go Asakura?" His voice barely exceeded a whisper.
"NO. I canNOT let it go! And what have we talked about over and over again these past months about my NAME!" I had never seen Thorn so angry before…except for maybe at the hospital when Akira had made her insanely angry. That Tao boy seemed to wake some kind of fiery demon spirit within my daughter.
Akira seemed to shrink under Thorn's gaze. "Fine. Whatever. Just get over it and shut up Rose."
"THORN!" If Akira didn't wise up and shut his mouth soon, he might not have any teeth left when Thorn got done with him.
"Oh, like I care!" Akira rose to his feet, towering several inches over my relatively short daughter. "And you should just be quiet and accept it! You ARE prude! You wouldn't let a guy touch you with a five foot stick!" He shoved her.
Thorn was so startled by the sudden physical contact that she nearly tripped backwards with his small amount of force. "I…I'm NOT!" She argued weakly, shoving him back.
"Okay maybe you're not. After all, you did sleep with your cousin." Akira smiled evilly, sneering as Thorn's cheeks reddened from either anger or embarrassment.
Yes I had known that Hana and Thorn were overly fond of each other, and I knew the previous day when Hana had asked me about incest that he had meant between Thorn and himself, but I didn't think they had actually done anything. Yoh and I blinked in unison, registering the meaning behind Akira's words. "Thorn/Hana?" We muttered at the same time, looking shocked at our children.
"I did no such thing!" Thorn ignored the interruption.
"Akira, don't you think this is taking it a bit too far?" Hana stood in-between the feuding pair and glared at his friend for trotting on personal ground.
I snuck a quick look at Ivory; she looked completely shattered. "Hana-koi? It's not true is it?" The Usui girl held Makoto tightly to her chest like a stuffed animal.
The Oyamada squirmed, trying to get free, but having little success. "Hana-kun wouldn't. Not with his own cousin."
"Nothing happened." Hana took a step back from Akira and flashed a quick grin to his gang, trying to reassure them.
I found myself set at ease by my nephew's words. If he said that nothing happened, then nothing happened. My pure, innocent, baby girl was still pure and innocent.
Akira glared harder, his scowl even more deeply etched in his face. "Oh sure Hana, you'll say that now, but last night when you called you told me all the disgusting, kinky things you did with your little whore." The cat on Hoshi's lap seemed to smile evilly. All hell broke loose.
"You lying bastard!" Thorn's knuckles cracked as they made contact with Akira's face. Blood from Akira's nose sprayed as he tumbled over into a pummeled heap on the floor.
"You broke my nose!" Akira screeched.
Thorn stood looking mortified at what she had done. Her hands covered her mouth and she stared wide-eyed at the blood dribbling down the Tao's face. "I…I didn't mean to…you…I mean…" No one moved. Pilika wanted to rush to her son's side, but Ren held her back, whispering something in his wife's ear. The room was dead silent except for Thorn's nonsense ramblings. It was as if we were all under a spell cast by our shock at what had just happened.
Akira got to his feet and glared down his broken nose at Thorn. "Why you little…urgh! You and your sister both! You're both a bunch of bloody harlots!"
Hoshi looked like she wanted to punch him, but she never got the chance. The instant Akira had insulted Hoshi, the orange tabby cat rushed into battle mode, determined not to let Akira get away with impugning my elder daughter's honor. Everyone stared as the small cat bit and scratched at Akira, doing whatever harm it saw fit. The tabby latched on to Akira's ankle and bit hard.
Akira howled in pain, shaking his leg, trying to dislodge the cat. Finally in a hasty attempt to rid himself of the pest, Akira grabbed a plate and nailed the poor cat over the head. Glass went everywhere as the plate broke and the lifeless form of the cat slammed into the wall; Lucifer returned to his human form just as his body hit the ground.
Hoshi screamed bloody murder as she pounced upon Akira, beating him with fists, teeth, nails, and whatever else she could think of. Though she wasn't really thinking, being in a maddening rage and all. Shouts and insults were exchanged, but I couldn't make any sense at all of anything that was said. Somehow or another Hoshi ended up lying unconscious on the table. I was still too shocked to do anything, as was anyone else in the room.
Thorn charged at Akira, trying to rip his heart out through his throat. That was when he pulled the knife on her and she unsheathed her gun. Ivory rushed to tend to my unconscious daughter, and Hana tried to break up the dangerous fight going on between his friend and his cousin. Hana stumbled backward, getting cut in the process of trying to restrain Akira. Sometime during the fight Akira slashed Thorn across the stomach. Not enough to kill her, but enough to cause a good deal of bleeding. The sharp pain jolted her system, causing her to squeeze her fists together, causing her to pull the trigger.
The gunshot sounded, Akira fell unconscious to the floor shot in the thigh, and everyone scrambled to help. Ivy and Anna, looking terrified, dashed back into the room.
Faust managed to patch everyone up pretty well. Hana's wound was healing quite nicely, and he hadn't even lost consciousness. Thorn was starting to come around; the cut hadn't been very deep, and it looked worse than it actually was. Hoshi had been knocked unconscious when Akira had thrown her up against the dinning room table, and had managed to escape the fight with a few minor scratches and bruises, and a mild bump on her head. Faust didn't let her go back to sleep once she woke up in case she suffered from a concussion, but he did let her lie down and rest. Akira fainted numerous times and squealed like a girl when Faust tried to remove the rubber bullet from his thigh.
They all seemed to be fine. The only one that didn't seem to be making a recovery was Lucifer. He didn't look well at all. All the color had drained from his face, and his breathing was shallow. His skull was cracked, and fractured along with several other bones. He had lost a lot of blood, and Faust didn't know how to treat him, him being who he was. Not human. Both the doctor and his wife had no idea what to do for the poor devil. Hoshi might have been able to help a little if she were completely conscious, but she wasn't, so all we could do was wait and try to stop the bleeding.
Ivy never left his side. The entire time she was constantly nursing him. I felt my heart pang with jealousy. "How's he doing?" I feigned worry.
Ivy didn't even look up at me and continued to fuss over Lucifer. "I don't know. He's still breathing…and the bleeding is stopping…his heart is beating and his pulse is steady…but his breathing is slow and labored, and he did lose a lot of blood, and the heart is slow, as is the pulse. I really don't know what's going to happen." She rubbed his cheek affectionately, cleaning off some of the blood.
"Humph." I tried not to acknowledge her fondling him. "He's the devil. He'll be fine."
Ivy glared at me. She looked like she wanted to slap me or something. "Sure, show some compassion Hao."
"What? He's not human! It's not like he's really alive or anything. That body of his is just a shell. He can get a new one. Who cares about him?" I half-growled in spite for the lump of flesh lying on the bed that my wife was wasting her time on.
"You're an insensitive bastard, you know that?" She sucker punched me and stormed off.
She didn't hit me hard, but the shock and sting of her words and actions hurt as much as an actual punch from her. I stared at the door she had exited through. "What did I do?"
"Think about it." A nastily familiar voice chided me. I looked down to see Lucifer looking up at me with one eye open. He looked to be in a great deal of pain. "You said not to worry about me because my body was a replaceable shell. She automatically thought about her own body. You really have to think about what you say before you say it Hao."
"What do you me—damn." I glared down at Lucifer only to find that he was unconscious again. Or maybe he had never been conscious in the first place? Was my mind playing tricks on me? There was no time to think about it. I raced after Ivy with a quick 'thanks for standing up for Hoshi' directed back at Lucifer's comatose body.
I found her crying her eyes out in the back yard under the Sakura trees. It had been raining all day the day before, but somehow the ground upon which she sat was neither damp, nor muddy.
"I—Val…" I searched for the words to apologize with. A normal 'I'm sorry' or 'Gomen nasai' wouldn't do.
"Don't call me that." She seethed through tears.
"I'm sorry. I don't expect you to forgive me, but…I just want to say that I'm sorry." I tried to get closer to her, but a small bolt of electricity shocked me, forcing me back.
"Don't apologize; you don't mean it. Now leave me alone." She got up and tried to walk away.
I grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around to face me. "Don't tell me what I mean and what I don't mean! I'm sorry, okay! You're so sensitive about the stupidest things! I don't know how I can stand you! You're so volatile; you go flying off the handle every other day! You're so picky, and…and…snippy!"
"I am NOT!" Her anger was enough to rival Thorn's in the dining room not too long ago. She pushed me away, and hit me repeatedly, landing soft blows, not intended to hurt. "Is that what you really think of me! Then I don't know how you can stand me either! I'm just a shell! My body's not good enough for you because it's not really real! Well if this body isn't good enough for you, then why do you want it so badly! Why are you here Hao? Is this some kind of booty call? If it is don't you think you have enough women callers to satisfy those needs? What, did you make a bet with one of your friends that you could get me in bed with you? What do you want from me? Never mind, I know exactly what you want! It's the same thing you've wanted from the very beginning! You know what? Fine. I give. Take me. Take me, and then get out. I don't ever want to see you again. There's an empty bedroom right around the corner, and I'll give you fifteen minutes to do whatever you want, just after that leave me alone forever. I'm so sick of you." She was about to turn away, but I stopped her.
"You're beautiful when you're angry."
She stopped in mid-step. "Shut up Asakura. I won't be wooed by your empty words."
"I don't have to woo you. You've already been wooed." My plan was a long shot, but it just might work.
"What do you mean? By you? I don't think so." She chuckled dryly and an arid smile graced her lips as she looked over one shoulder at me.
"Really? You might not know it, but you really are dying to sleep with me." A smug smile tugged at my mouth.
"Humph. Right. Are you coming or not?" She took an unsure step towards the bedroom.
"Why do you think you're so anxious to get me in there with you? You want me." I sounded so sure of myself, but in truth I was really nervous. This plan could so easily blow up in my face.
"I want you to leave me alone." She glared, turning to face me again.
"Maybe, but before I leave you for good, you want me to make you mine. You want to be one of my consorts. You want me just as badly as I want you." I let my trademark smirk crawl slowly onto my lips.
"You admit that you want me then!" She tried to use my words against me, but all she was doing was playing into my hand.
"Oh, definitely. It's a new body as of last night isn't it? So technically you're a virgin again. I'd love to take that away from you." A perverted grin was plastered on my face as I looked her over candidly.
She looked like she was struggling within. She didn't know whether she should slap me or kick my in the balls. She did neither. "You're such a perverted bastard."
"So you've told me. Say it again. It only makes me want you more because I know it's your way of trying to resist me." I made an advance on her, placing my hand on her hip. She was too caught up in my words and didn't realize I was getting closer. "No woman can resist me. You want me, but you're too stuck up to admit that you want me." I positioned my other arm around her, pulling her close. Her eyes got that enticed, glazed look as she felt the warmth of my breath getting closer and closer to her neck. "So I'll tell you what I'll do. I'm going to leave and you'll never see me again. Ever. Just like you wanted, but I'm not going to sleep with you before I go. If you want me, then you'll have to come after me on your own. What do you say?"
She pulled away and slapped me. "Go to Hell. See if I care." She walked off, and the sky started to darken with threats of heavy rain.
She had been so happy that morning and the sun had been shining and everything. She had even been acting more like herself. The real Ivy. And then everything had gone sour. "I'm already in Hell." I called after her. Not very loud, but loud enough for her to hear.
"So am I." She called back.
"Wanna get a room?" I joked, trying desperately to quell her anger.
She laughed dryly. "I thought you were leaving."
"Damn Ivy, why are you so difficult?" I walked slowly after her.
"What?" She turned again towards me and blinked.
"What?" I replied, lazily falling into step beside her.
"You called me Ivy…" She barely whispered, not looking at me. She didn't seem so angry anymore.
"Did I? Sorry. I guess you'd rather be called Valerie?" I answered somberly. I didn't have much energy left for big showy cover-ups for my slip of tongue.
"Actually, no. I like the name Ivy a whole lot better than Valerie." Her reply startled me. I hadn't been expecting that… She continued. "I'm sorry for blowing up at you. I really don't think that you're a perverted bastard or a sex-driven maniac…but you are a pervert. A sweet pervert, who's kind of cute."
"It's okay. I kind of like your little pet name for me. And I knew you didn't mean to say all that crap. I'm sorry if I went a little too far teasing you. I just want you to be happy, and you were for a while this morning, but then you got all touchy after I slipped up and insulted Lucifer's stupid shell of a body. I didn't mean anything about you. I was just jealous that you were fussing over him, is all." I smiled sheepishly and waited for her to either forgive me or shoot me.
"Well…next time you're jealous just say so. You don't have to act like a chauvinistic pig." She placed a quick kiss on my cheek. "I hate when you tell me that I want you. I know what I want, and I don't have to be told that I want you."
"But you do want me." I picked up her drift.
"Did I say that?" She smiled seductively.
"Not out right, but you alluded to it." I waited for her to invite me back to her bedroom.
I didn't get an invitation. "I can't. I just got this body, and it was pretty hard to come by. I don't want to lose it after just a few hours. Looks like you might just have to wait."
"How long?" I couldn't resist asking.
"One and a half years?" She smiled furtively.
"Okay, now I know you're messing with me." I pouted.
"I'm giving up on my research."
My pouty smile dropped and I had the worst feeling in the pit of my stomach. "W-what?" My question was more of a breathy whisper than actual words.
She smiled peacefully. "This is the last body that I'm going to inhabit. After this one fizzles out and becomes useless I'm going to Heaven. I don't belong here anymore, and it's time that I left the world of the living."
Her smile was killing me. "You're leaving?" I swallowed hard.
"Mmhmm." She nodded. "I don't know how long this body will last, but it's probably only a matter of months. Then I'll be gone." She seemed happier than she had in the months I had been living with her when she was talking about leaving her life behind and finally admitting death.
"You seem happier now that you've given up." I tried to choke back my real feelings on the matter. 'Please don't leave me again Ivy…'
She lay down on the ground and looked giddily up at the clouds. "I am. Now that I don't have to keep working hours on end on that stupid perfect body for myself I can finally enjoy what I have left of my life. I finally feel…I don't know…at peace with death. I can accept it now. I haven't felt this good in…17 years. I feel like me…like I'm actually…human again." Her joyful smile was strangling my heart. I sat down next to her gazing longingly at the woman I was about to lose yet again.
"You're really happy about this?" I tried to smile for her sake.
"Yeah. I am." She looked up at me and her smile faded. "But you're not…" She sat up and looked into my eyes. "Hao…what's the matter?"
"I'll never see you again once you leave." I muttered softly, looking at her and silently mourning my loss.
"Oh…I suppose I had forgotten that…" Her spirits seemed dampened.
"I'll miss you, but don't let me hold you back if this will make you happy." I tried to smile, but the results were pretty pathetic.
"I didn't know you cared about me enough to miss me…" She inched closer.
"Of course I care. Do I seem like I don't care about you?" I leaned in to close the distance even more.
"Actually I don't really know…I've been too lost in my depression to notice." She gulped slightly, observing our close proximity.
I hesitated, eager to make a move on her, but knowing she might have something to say even if she had just been rambling up until that point. We both had been rambling, trying to postpone the evident make-out session, not wanting to be the one to initiate it in case the other thought that the one had been too forward in his or her actions. "Well, you're not depressed now, and I like it when you're happy. You're more yourself when you're happy."
"You mean I'm more like Ivy when I'm happy." She smiled again, her happiness returning.
"Yeah, and it's sexy." I could no longer suppress the smirk I had been fighting off.
"You're sexy." And she pounced on me. She took advantage of my momentary shock and she pounced on me. Smothering me with heated kisses and waking feelings and emotions in me that had been slumbering since that last time we were together like that. The last time she really was Ivy and not some cheap imitation. It was amazing. I could have died happy right then and there, but all perfect moments have to come to an end, and at Funbari Onsen, most perfect moments are ruin by the one and only Anna Asakura-Kyôyama.
Anna opened a window and yelled at the two of us. "Stop making love on my lawn and get a room! You two are impossible." The window slammed shut, not leaving any room for arguments.
Ivy got to her feet and blushed. "I should go…I want to see if Thorn is all right."
"I'll go with you. She's my daughter too." I followed her back into the house.
A few seconds later she caught my slip. "Wait. 'Too'?"
"Well…one day. When we're married." I smiled slyly and ascended the stairs.
"M-ma-rri…So I guess you don't plan on leaving anytime soon?" I could practically hear her heart quicken (theoretically speaking).
"When did I say I was leaving? You don't really want me to leave, and I never had any intension of going anywhere. Unless you want to get an apartment with me?" I looked back over my shoulder, down the stairs at her.
She blushed a redder shade of ruby, matching her lipstick. "I…Uh…Well, you're sure having fun shamelessly flirting with me today."
"I'm not just flirting; I'm planning. If I'm ever going to get past first or second base with you, I'm going to have to get you alone where Anna can't interrupt us. I think getting our own place is a great idea." I loved teasing her.
"You are just too much sometimes Asakura." She rolled her eyes at me to cover her blushing.
"I know, but that's why you love me." I suppressed a smirk.
"Do the world a favor and suppress your ego." She pushed past me on the stairs, elbowing me playfully on the way up.
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Mikau: Well, I think I'm going to try something new next chapter. I don't know how it's going to go, but either next chapter or the one after that I'm going to try something. It should prove to be interesting…and maybe a little insightful? I don't know, but we'll see what happens.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed. It is so late, and I just got back from being away all day at the Sheldon concert hall. I had my Orchestra and Choir concert today and I am just too tired to reply to any reviews. I'm really sorry. If anyone had any questions or anything that you really wanted to say, mention it in your next review or email me. I'm really sorry, but I'm exhausted, and try outs for Into the Woods are tomorrow and I'm really stressed because exams are next week, and I have to do so many more projects and reports. Sorry, now I'm just rambling. Night everyone. Wish me luck tomorrow!
PLEASE REVIEW!