Disclaimer: I lost count on how many times I have to type this…TT I'm sad since KKJ is not mine. And one day you would find me floating in the sea because I try to steal KKJ from great, wonderful Arina Tanemura for myself. TT
A/N: Whoaa…I just re-read and find that the story is totally in mess vocabulary and grammar, but I don't think I would re-type that again. That's the aesthetic of being fanfic writer after all And here is the update, everyone! I'm not sure on how much people would still read this fic, but anyway, as long as I know that there is still someone who wants to read it, I would type again. Here we go!
My writing style changes a lot, so please don't be surprised if you find it displeasing. I no longer type in POV story. Beware of long chapter XD
Note for Scarlet: Thanks so much for beta this fic! XD This chapter will be never done and this story will never be finished without your help:D 3 (throws plushies)
By Ruby-dream
"I've come through the obstacles, putting my life in the line only to save you, my beloved princess." A young boy knelt in front of Natsuki, taking her hand gently before planting a kiss on it.
A soft sigh escaped her cherry lips. "There is no way I can go with you, my brave knight." Leaning forward to him, her lashes fluttered open forlornly. "I can't leave this cursed tower or all my people would be murdered."
"My princess!" The knight cried fervently. "What should I do to save you from your misery?"
A single silver tear trickled down on her creamy skin but a faint smile still curved on her lips. "Forget about me and be happy."
"I would rather die if I can't stay by your side…" He lowered his head dejectedly.
Natsuki shook her head violently and grabbed for the boy's shoulders. "Please! Live for my sake!"
Murmurs and choked sobs filled the pitch-black auditorium. All eyes were locked on the stage that seemed like another world, one that was within an arm-length range. Several students on the back stage went teary as they took a peek at the theater, shed with pride and happiness for their success.
"They will come eventually." The black man with his French accent whispered as he folded his arms in front of his chest
"And why are you sitting here instead of posing as a guard near the stage?" Chiaki threw a sharp look at the demon. If a glare could kill, Noin would have vanished into nothingness. Both men sat beside a chestnut-haired lady, throwing furious looks at each other.
Maron let out a soft snort as she became aware of the shared electricity glare between Chiaki and Noin. They are really like water and oil; you just couldn't put them together.
"Quiet, you two!" She chided them in a low voice. "I'm trying to tape the show!"
As if her words are laws, the two men abruptly shut their mouth while still trying to throw daggered looks to each other through her.
"I will kill the black sorcerer who has tormented your gentle, pure heart and shall rescue you from evil!" A shout screamed loudly.
"Oh, my love, please don't throw your life away only for my sake…!"
Natsuki was about to flung herself into the opened arms of one of her male classmate when instantly a black shadow assembled and grew larger like a mast of black cloak behind her playing partner.
"WATCH OUT!" The golden haired girl tried to reach out and maybe save the poor boy from the attack of that unidentified black object.
The black shadow blanketed the boy and swallowed him. In a blink, he was no longer seen beneath the lighting lamps on the performing arena. Her lemon orbs widen in shock, but she hastily snapped out, looking much alarmed.
"Give him back!" She yelled to the strange object that lingered in the air, as if it was watching her.
It was irritating. She could do nothing and the shadow made no attempt to move or say something to her. The eerie silence wasn't long between them. When Natsuki jerked her head at the chorus of screams and cries on the side where the audience had seated.
"MOTHER! FATHER?" The young girl fought an urge to jump off the stage in her long and frilly princess dress. She watched helplessly as one by one, the guests were enveloped by a swirling dark shadow and drowned to the bottomless floor.
Chiaki hastily leapt from a swallowed chair to another with Maron in his arms to the bright stage. Noin simply flied and floated in the air, watching the sudden assault from high.
Natsuki sighed in relief as her parents winked at her, safe and sound beside her.
There were no longer spectators or her friends in the scene. Everything was just like a pool of dark water, surrounding the performance stage.
Footsteps were heard like echoes in the daunting stillness. None of them dared to make a move, they could only stare at the entrance that connected the back to the front stage, half-expecting the enemy to show himself.
A figure in dainty azure winter kimono stepped into the stage, smirking coldly like ice. Shinji's short and dark lavender hair had somehow lengthened unbelievably to reach his feet, waving slightly as he moved. His motion was just too leisure and graceful for the real Shinji who Natsuki had missed for days. The dark aura, just like that void shadow, lingered and circled around him loyally.
His cheerfulness was just like her sunlight.
The kind Shinji, the energetic Shinji, the loving Shinji…
And she wanted him back at any cost.
"Give Shinji back!" She advanced boldly, bucking restlessly in her parents' grasp.
The chestnut head woman shook her head. "Stop it, Natsuki! You shouldn't rush or you will fall to his trap!"
Gritting her teeth, Natsuki resisted Chiaki's seizing arms. "BAKA SHINJI! Can you hear me?"
Shinji's hand twitched at the cry slightly.
"I'm sorry that I always hurt you, I'm sorry that I always lie to you and that I don't need you with me!" The tears started to well on her eyes. Her parents could only watch forlornly at the sight of their breaking daughter. She actually blamed herself for everything that had happened.
Shinji slowly raised his hand; his face glowered impassively at the sight of ex-thieves and teenage girl.
"Noisy girl."
A sphere of mauve light struck where the group had remained. Chiaki abruptly avoided the attack while shielding his only daughter with his own body. Maron gasped in short swallow breath in Noin's embrace as she witnessed a big damage on the stage floor that Shinji had inflicted before.
"Such amount of power…How could he gather a big amount of evil here?" The ex-Jeanne couldn't help but to murmur in awe.
The purple-head man stepped closer to Chiaki and Natsuki. "I want…more Holy power…"
Natsuki tilted her head quizzically at him. "What are you talking about? Shinji! Please, wake up!"
"More…more…Holy power…"
"I won't forgive you…." Natsuki swept away her tears, glaring at her dearest best friend. "Return him to me!"
"Natsuki!" Chiaki yelped as his little daughter escaped, running away from his arms to the other Shinji.
A pair of firm hands grabbed the slightly smaller one while icy, daggered and lavender orbs looked down at the fiery girl who struggle against his hurting grip. "LET ME GO!"
Don't you dare to touch her!
A voice rang loudly in everyone's head in the air like a whisper of light wind. It didn't take everyone to widen their eyes as big as saucers and be speechless at the sight.
"……….Celcia?" Natsuki's jaw dropped as she saw her best friend over her shoulder. Celcia was one thing, but Celcia with a sword in her hand was completely another thing.
Well, thank Kami-sama that Celcia was alright and wasn't swallowed as well into the previous dark void.
"I said let her go!" Celcia cried in a rather feminine voice, pointing the sharp sword at the evil Shinji.
It really is Celcia's soft voice but…something was wrong with the way she talked. It was more like…
"…Shinji?" Natsuki whispered shakily.
Celcia shifted her glimmering eyes at Natsuki and smiled sincerely, saying nothing.
The young girl advanced hurriedly toward her other best friend and stopped just in front of her. Celcia tilted her head, watching Natsuki questioningly. "Natsuki?"
What Shinji never expected, all he got was a hard slap. "W-Wha…?"
"STUPID, STUPID SHINJI!" She promptly looped her arms around her neck and threw herself to a long loose embrace. "Don't make us worry like that anymore!"
To Natsuki's gratitude, if Shinji even noticed to the dampness on Celcia's shoulder, he said nothing but petting his childhood friend gently. "I'm sorry…"
It wasn't longer than one minute, but sadly Shinji had to shove away Natsuki and once again set his mind to get his body back. "What is your intention for using my body? I can't forgive you for possessing my body and hurt my precious persons!"
An evil aura surrounded the lithe teen form and swarmed to Celcia. She leapt easily, avoiding the attack. The possessed Shinji chased her, summoning his power incredulously. "Don't interfere…"
The rest of the party could do nothing but watch. Natsuki was about to follow them when Maron grabbed for her shoulder, shaking her head apologetically. They didn't have any Holy power anymore and they could only be the helpless witnesses of the raging battle. It seemed that Shinji also lost his holy power. They could probably do nothing in this war.
Noin shoved his raven hair over his shoulder arrogantly. "Why won't any of you ask for my help?"
Chiaki threw a dagger look at Noin furiously. "And kill us all?"
"You have a dark power, Noin. He would only feed on your power…" Maron hurriedly stood between the men and explained with a frown.
Celcia threw a blow of her sword from top, striking almost mercilessly at Shinji. If it meant to stop his body to hurt other people, perhaps he would even kill his true body. "Surrender yourself!"
The evil spirit cast an invisible wall against her sword before throwing another offensive spell at her. It scratched Celcia's upper arm and blood started to gush out of the wound. "Damn…!"
Without wasting any second, Shinji's hand grabbed for Celcia's neck and began to strangle her.
"SHINJI!" Natsuki exclaimed in panic. Unconsciously, a trickle of tear formed and fell down her cheek.
She is crying…
Celcia coughed heavily, trying to pull away the strong firm hands on her neck. "I vow that…I will…protect her…" An unshed tear welled on her eyes. "Because…I failed…Finn."
Shinji's lavender eyes widen in surprise at the sudden strength from the girl beneath him that she could untangle herself slightly from the deadly grip. "What…?"
Smirking painfully, Celcia gritted her teeth. "And I will sacrifice anything to protect her this time!"
A sudden burst of light from Celcia blinded all witnesses and they could only hear a loud scream in defeat in air. Natsuki buried her face on Maron's bosom, squeezing her eyes shut at the light.
The light slowly faded with glows surrounded them. The darkness that once engulfed them had vanished, the whole auditorium returned back to normal. The guests and attendances were lying unconscious on the cold tile floor, as well as Shinji and Celcia's limped forms.
"Shinji! Celcia!" Natsuki swiftly ran toward her friends and kneeled next to them. "Are you alright!"
A loud moan was heard as Shinji tried to get himself to sit on the stage. "Uhh…What actually happened?" He rubbed his bad head with a wince. "Ah…Hello, Natsuki."
Natsuki flung herself to her precious childhood friend in utter happiness. "Shinji! You're back!"
Maron smiled beside her husband at the sight, leaning her head on Chiaki's shoulder tiredly. "Finally he is back…"
"I'm back? What do you mean? I didn't go anywhere, did I?"
"Shinji? You don't remember?" Natsuki blinked, confused.
"I don't understand." He blinked back and smiled. "And good morning, Uncle and Auntie Nagoya."
Chiaki stared at him as if Shinji had grown another head and promptly put his hand on the purple head boy's forehead. "Did you bump your head or something? You never call me Nagoya, and worse, uncle!"
Noin touched Shinji's forehead and a shimmering power glowed from his hand. Maron could only stare wonderingly at the black man. "What had happened actually?"
The French demon slowly parted his lids and took his hand back. "He lost Access."
"What are you trying to say!" Chiaki hastily grabbed Noin's collar cloak.
"When he got reincarnated in that form, a big part of Access along with his holy power lived in that body. That's why he still carries Access' memories." Noin answered simply. "Since he used up all holy power that was left by Access to defeat the evil spirit, nothing of Access was left."
Natsuki kept shifting her eyes from pouting Shinji to her parents. "What all of these means?"
To her fear, Maron and Chiaki only shook their head together solemnly.
"So, it means that Shinji loved me because he was Access?" Natsuki winced at her voice. She didn't intend to show her sadness or her weakness, but the pain was just unbearable. When she finally realized how much Shinji meant to her, his love was probably a fake, or a dragged feeling for Finn, not her. Even though she was once Finn, but she was no longer that Fallen Angel, who was once loved deeply by Access.
Maron put a cup of steam tea in front of her daughter before she pulled a chair for herself, joining the family around the dinner table. "It doesn't mean that he doesn't love you if he doesn't remember being Access. They share the same soul just like how you have the same soul with Finn."
"Don't comfort me. It's the truth, isn't it?" Natsuki rose from her chair with a dejected look. "He only thinks me as another childhood friend now."
"It isn't like that, Natsuki…" Maron whispered to the leaving form.
Chiaki folded his arms and snorted. "Why don't you make certain of his feeling?"
Natsuki merely shook her head and closed the door behind her quietly.
"Good morning!" Shinji slammed open Natsuki's private room with a cheerful face that was cheerful as bright as morning sun. Natsuki peeked over the top of her blanket before she pulled her blanket over her head and lied on the bed again.
"Go away…" She choked like a she have a lump in her throat.
Knowing Natsuki all too well for being a childhood friend for nearly 15 years, Shinji pulled the blanket away forcefully and threw a towel on Natsuki's face. "The culture festival was ruined yesterday so the performance is delayed to today. Now get your ass off the bed and make your way to the bathroom so we can get to school on time. I don't want to get killed by my head class for coming in late."
Natsuki scowled incoherently and moved away from her sweet slumber lazily.
"Your performance was great, Natsuki-san!" Celcia chirped merrily as they walked down the street. The burnt sun was about to sink in the horizon and the street lamp started to light and glowed weakly in the darkness.
"Thank you…You did great too, Celcia. And Toki, you looked great as a prince too." Natsuki smiled warmly that Toki started to blush and grab for Natsuki's hands.
"You're also a wonderful princess, Natsuki! You're the real princess of mi…!" A bag smacked Toki's head.
"Get your hands off Natsuki." Shinji scowled and they started another loud argue on the street, the girls heartlessly left them behind.
"Ja! See you both tomorrow!" The sibling waved to their friends and started to walk back to their home. Shinji stuck his tongue out behind Toki's back before following Natsuki.
"…Ne, you are very quiet today." Shinji put his hands behind his head.
Natsuki just glanced at him and sighed and kept walking. "It's just your thought."
Shrugging slightly, Shinji was quiet before he walked in front of her happily. "You did great today! I knew you'll make a splendid princess! I really thought you're a princess from faraway country!"
She pouted at him, trying to ignore him and hide her blush. "The character is just a stupid princess who wishes for the knight's happiness by sacrificing her own life."
Shinji frowned at her and stopped in front of her. In result, the lime-head girl stopped at her track as well. "What?"
"If I were the knight, I would protect the princess and find a way to resurrect her." He grinned sheepishly at her.
Natsuki winced at his words. Tears threatened to fall. Don't you understand that you once did that? Don't you understand that you left me behind with lies that hurt a lot?
"What if you're the knight and you have to give up his memories in order to save the princess?" Natsuki lifted her head up to face the lad.
"Eh? Uhh…" He glanced away temporarily. "I would do it."
"You're stupid." Natsuki snorted and passed through Shinji furiously. "I pity the one who will be your princess. She will be resurrected only to be left alone with no true love."
Shinji hurriedly reached out for her arms. "Hey, hey! I'm not finished yet! I don't think the knight would easily forget their love. If it's really true love, they would find each other and their love again."
"It's just a fairytale. The truth is not that sweet, Shinji…" The lime haired girl pulled away her arm ruthlessly and started to walk in the cold air of the night.
"Can't I be your knight who will protect you from sadness?" He nearly yelled in the silence, this brought his companion to stop at her spot again.
A pair of strong arms snaked around Natsuki's neck from behind, the young girl easily melted into the tight embrace. "I love you, Natsuki."
"…How? You've lost the other you…" A droplet fell on the brick street silently. "I thought…when you lost his memories, you will completely forget about me…"
Shinji tilted his head curiously. Natsuki had behaved strangely since morning and she started to talk about strange things. He couldn't recall having another personality inside him and no one ever pointed that out to him. Even so, he simply shrugged and grinned.
"I told you, right? The knight will find his love again even though he once forgot the princess."
"…Stupid Shinji."
"As always, ne?" He laughed to her ear.
"Natsukiiii!" Toki spread his arms as he ran down the avenue, trying to get a hug from Natsuki. But all he got was another smack on his face with a school bag.
"No touching!" Shinji put his hands on his hips, scolding warningly. "She is mine! No bug is allowed to touch."
Natsuki blushed and chuckled at his antique behavior and hastily grabbed Celcia into a run to school. "Baka! Who said that I'm yours?" She yelled over her shoulder light-heartedly.
"Natsuki? But…but…!" His face faltered in disappointment.
Toki merely laughed sarcastically at him while Natsuki leaped away with Celcia with a hearty laugh, leaving Toki behind to be strangled by a furious and frustrated Shinji.
"Come on, boys! We're late!"
And a loud ring of bell echoed over the brilliant blue sky.
Owari – The End
That means 'That's all folks!' :3
All thanks are for everyone who supports this fic:
Thank you for all of you or this fic would never be done! I can get this far all thanks to you, minna:D
NekoticChan, Rukato86; :D, akuweaselgirl, BoogieWoogieWonka, WyrmVonSturm, doinkchan, TiaAgano, Lafine, Ema and especially Scarlet for beta-reading:D