Rai was on his way to school with friends. He was attempting to focus on their conversation, but his mind kept getting drawn to other things...
While Frankenstein had been helping him dress, his companion had also been thinking about kissing his Master's neck... There had been an effort to hide it, but Rai had seen it anyway. He had been trying to regain his composure after the mess he'd made in the bath... but seeing Frankenstein's thoughts hadn't helped with that at all.
It was extremely obvious to him now that his companion wished to engage in physical intimacy with him. And after what he'd seen and felt last night, Rai didn't have any objections. He was quite keen to find out exactly how it would feel to lie in Frankenstein's arms... to feel those lips on his neck...
He touched his fingers to his throat, right where Frankenstein had imagined kissing him.
Why couldn't Frankenstein just... ask? If Frankenstein had simply asked permission to kiss his Master's neck, Rai would have granted it in an instant.
Instead, Frankenstein was still determined to hide his true feelings. When his companion realized that his Master had seen his thoughts, Frankenstein had all but shut down, immediately blocking out any "improper" thoughts and feelings.
Still, Rai had some hope that he would get to the bottom of this. Frankenstein had promised to explain everything to him Saturday night, and Rai was just as determined to not waste this opportunity. He wanted to understand what was in his companion's heart so badly...
"Rai..."
Why wouldn't Frankenstein just... accept the way he felt? He obviously wanted to... Why... Why wouldn't he...
"Hey, Rai! Are you listening?"
Rai blinked, looking up into Shinwu's excited face.
"I was just saying... did my advice help?" Shinwu said eagerly. "Did you ask out your date?"
Rai was about to say no, but then he remembered that Frankenstein wasn't allowed to be his date. For reasons he still didn't quite understand, humans thought that it was wrong for him to love his companion. No, Lascrea was to be his date. And he would keep his word about that, but only because it would please Frankenstein.
"Yes. Thank you."
"Who's your date?" Sui asked eagerly.
"Her name is Lascrea. She is from my home country."
"Oh! Well, I can't wait to meet her. I'm sure she's just as elegant as you are, Rai."
Sui paused for a moment, looking thoughtful.
"Hey, since Rai has a date, that means we have an even number of guys and girls now. Do you guys want to pair off for the entrance?" she said after a moment.
"Um, s-sure," Ikhan stammered. "I wouldn't mind."
"I suppose so," Regis said.
"Well..." Sui said, looking her friends over with a professional eye. "I think Seira and Shinwu would look good together."
"R-really?" Shinwu said, his face suddenly red as a tomato. "W-well, what do you think, Seira?"
Seira brushed her hair behind her ear before giving Shinwu a gentle smile.
"That sounds lovely."
"T-thanks!"
"All right," Sui said, nodding. "Regis, would you like to come with me?"
Regis looked startled at the blunt proposal, but he gave Sui a swift bow.
"You do have a certain amount of class about you. I will be your date."
"Great," Sui beamed at him. "Well, that leaves Ikhan and Yuna. Are you guys okay going together?"
"It's fine with me," Yuna said cheerfully.
"Me too," Ikhan said, looking relieved.
Rai was only half listening to his friends' innocent, excited chatter about the dance, which Regis and Seira occasionally got dragged into. Though he was able to easily read any human's mind, he didn't often delve into the thoughts of his school friends. Their thoughts were so simple most of the time, their concerns so ordinary.
And he loved that about them. They were completely unfettered by the troubles of the world, their worries no bigger than passing a test or asking for a date…
"So Rai, are you and Lascrea dating? Is she your girlfriend?" Shinwu asked.
"No… she is the daughter of an old family friend."
"But I bet you'd like to ask her out, right?! I mean, she must be special if she caught your eye..."
Rai sighed. His friends were exhausting sometimes... but then again... Shinwu brought up a good point.
He had never, as humans said these days, "asked out" his companion.
He certainly hadn't properly courted his companion, had he? He was Frankenstein's elder, so logically it would fall to him to begin courting the younger man. Frankenstein had said that he hadn't misunderstood anything about how relationships proceed in this day and age, but perhaps he just hadn't wanted to offend his Master...
Well, that would be very like Frankenstein. Too kind to tell his Master about his mistakes... Too polite to explain that he hadn't been made to feel like he was being valued as more then just his Master's companion. It was true that their circumstances were a little bit different considering how close they already were, but that didn't excuse his negligence.
Really, it was no wonder Frankenstein felt things were happening too fast... Rai had promised himself that he would show Frankenstein how much he cared. To that end, he would have to rectify this problem as soon as possible.
"How… does one ask?"
Both Regis and Seira shot him strange looks, but his school friends didn't seem to notice. Shinwu was already eagerly bringing up new dating websites on his phone.
"Here, try this one!" he said happily. "It's got some good advice on how to win over girls..."
"Really?" Sui said curiously. "Then how come I've never seen you with a girl before, Shinwu?"
"H-hey, that's got nothing to do with it...!"
Rai tuned them both out as he scanned the information in his phone.
Pay attention to the person… Treat them well… Compliment them… Buy them gifts…
Hm… A gift.
Now that he was thinking about it… he'd never really given his companion a gift before. Frankenstein had always been the one bringing him roses from the garden and going out into the human world to bring back his favorite tea blend…
But there was one unique gift that Frankenstein had surprised him with one day... It was something Rai had enjoyed immensely, despite the fact that he was terrible at it... because it gave him a reason to spend more time with Frankenstein. And he was fairly certain Frankenstein didn't have a set in his current home.
He wondered if such a thing still existed in this modern world. Well, only one way to find out...
"Where would I find a chess set?"
"A chess set?" Ikhan repeated. "You play chess, Rai?"
"It has been a while, but yes... I would like to play again."
"You can play with me," Ikhan offered, smiling. "I'm pretty good at chess."
"Of course," Rai said politely. Wonderful, another game the children would beat him at... "Please, where would I obtain a set?"
"The bookstore downtown has a pretty good selection of board games. They probably have chess and checkers and stuff like that..." Ikhan said thoughtfully. "We could go after school."
Rai suddenly realized that all his money had come from Frankenstein... It seemed a little silly to buy Frankenstein a present with his own money, but on the other hand, he didn't have much choice. He nodded his head.
"Yes. Thank you."
Rai was almost at school when he felt a powerful presence above his head.
He was immediately annoyed. He didn't like any possible enemies being close to the school or the children...
Well, he'd just have to take care of this quickly, before the bell rang for class. He'd hate to be late for class and be sent to get scolded by the principal... he didn't like disappointing Frankenstein.
In an instant, Rai had vanished from the group and gone to confront the threat. He found them easily enough... two werewolves were flying over the building, seemingly not doing anything else... but Rai couldn't count on them behaving for long. Moments later, he had intercepted their flight.
Hovering in front of the threat, Rai silently observed them both. He recognized the female werewolf as the fifth Elder of the Union, but the male was unfamiliar to him.
Both werewolves bowed to him.
"My Lord, what a pleasure to see you again…" the fifth Elder said. "The fifth Elder greets the Noblesse."
"The warrior Kentas greets the Noblesse," the male said, inclining his head respectfully.
"I believe I informed you that this territory is under my protection," Rai said flatly. He really wasn't interested in this conversation. He wanted to go to school with his friends.
"Don't worry, we're not interested in your human pets…"
"Then leave this place. As you say… all of these humans are mine to protect. I spared you before, but if you move against them, I will be forced to put an end to you."
"Now, now… we only want to look around," the Elder simpered. "We won't hurt anyone. There's just someone we're hoping to meet… Well, multiple someones…"
Rai sighed. He didn't want these werewolves wandering around his school. Especially not a werewolf that he knew for a fact had attacked Frankenstein, Rajak, and Seira…
"Someones," Kentas scoffed. "We're on an important mission, but you're just hoping to run into that man again."
What man?
"Mm..." the woman licked her lips. "I know he's here somewhere."
She glanced at him.
"You came to protect him, Lord… You must know him."
Rai's slim fingers curled into a fist. This woman wanted Frankenstein.
"Frankenstein belongs to me."
"So, you do know him…" she sighed happily. "I'd love to get my hands on him again."
"Did you not hear me?" Rai said coldly. "Frankenstein is mine."
"Oh… my Lord is very territorial… Surely you wouldn't mind sharing him just a little…?"
"Lunark," Kentas growled. "Are you trying to anger the Noblesse?"
"I'm merely asking him something!" she said defensively. "It's not like I want to hurt Frankenstein or anything… Well, not much, anyway..."
"Yes, I'm sure you didn't hurt him at all while you two were trying to rip each other to pieces."
"That's what I love about him!" the woman exclaimed. "He does what he wants, says what he wants… Fights anyone in his path… Doesn't care if his insides are on the outside…"
"We're supposed to be looking for the traitor," Kentas snapped. "Not looking for prey for you to drag back to your den."
So, they were looking for Muzaka, too? These werewolves were biting off more than they could chew... Muzaka would be more than a match for them.
But mostly, Rai didn't want anyone touching his companion. Frankenstein was his. The thought of the fifth Elder with her hands on Frankenstein was simply intolerable.
"Whatever you seek… it is not here," Rai butted in. "Not this traitor… and not Frankenstein. Leave this place. I do not wish to see you here again."
Both werewolves stared at him.
"Your face is awfully red, my Lord…"
"Have I not made my point clear? I would like you to leave. Do you wish to see where my patience ends?"
"Oh, I see… You wish to have him all to yourself," Lunark mused out loud.
"We will leave, Lord…" Kentas interrupted. "But there are others searching the city. They might not be so compliant. We lost two of our own here yesterday… our Leader isn't happy about that."
Rai frowned. It was more than likely that Frankenstein had been responsible for disposing of these two missing werewolves, but he must have had a reason for it. Frankenstein didn't execute people unless he had to… or he knew for a fact that their souls were corrupted beyond redemption.
"If the Lord of werewolves disagrees with my decisions, he may speak to me himself. But this city is under my protection. Everyone here is mine… especially my human companion. Do you understand?"
The woman pouted.
"Just let me borrow him… just for a day, perhaps? I promise I'll return him in one piece, I swear on my honor as a warrior."
"No, you may not 'borrow' Frankenstein," Rai said in a hard voice. "My companion is not an object to be passed around, even if I wanted to. Which I do not."
"So cruel, my Lord! Wanting to keep such a fine specimen of a man all to yourself…"
"Sir?" came a sudden voice from behind him.
Rai turned to see that Regis and Seira had followed him here.
"Pardon us, but the children were wondering where you'd gone…" Seira said politely. "We said we would look for you."
"And there's that cute little doll!" the Elder squealed.
"Don't talk about her that way!" Regis said angrily.
"What way? She was quite good for such a sweet-looking thing…"
"Enough!"
With only a single word, everyone froze and turned to stare at him. Rai had released a little bit of his power, just enough to make his point. Judging by the stunned looks on the werewolves' faces, it had obviously been effective.
"I have heard enough. You will leave and tell your Lord that this city is my home, and is therefore under my protection. I have nothing more to say to you."
Both werewolves bowed nervously.
"Yes, well... We just received word that we are needed elsewhere. We'll be on our way to deliver your message, Lord."
Then they turned tail and fled.
Rai watched the two werewolves retreating, his heart heavy.
So… Was this it?
Had he reached the end of the line?
Was this all there was to life outside the mansion? It had only been a few weeks since his last confrontation with Union Elders... Was there really nothing out here for him but endless conflict that would soon claim his life?
How long until the werewolves made their move? It was clear to him that the werewolf clan had allied with the Union… And they wanted to conquer this world that he'd only just gotten to know.
Naturally, Rai wouldn't let that happen. He would protect this place no matter what. But… it might cost him his life to do so.
While Rai would gladly give his life to protect those he cared about, he couldn't help but feel… sad. He had wanted just a little more time here… Just a little more time with his friends and family... and maybe just a little more time to find out what it was like to be in love.
But more than anything, he didn't want to leave Frankenstein behind again.
If he died... Frankenstein would be...
Rai shook his head. He didn't even want to think about it.
"Sir? Are you all right?"
Rai turned around to acknowledge Regis and Seira. They were both watching him with worried looks on their faces. To put them at ease, he gave them an easy smile.
Well, even if he had to sacrifice himself… at least he would be preserving this world for his friends. Friends like Regis and Seira, who were both very protective of him whenever they ventured out together… He cherished that as much as he cherished his school friends. Though Regis and Seira were nobles like him, they treated him like a good friend… though perhaps a bit more formally than they would have if he were anyone else.
Perhaps… he had been wrong to isolate himself in his mansion back then. There were nobles out there who could accept him as he was.
He couldn't give in to fatalism just yet... not when he had so many people in his life who needed him.
"Yes, I am fine. Thank you for coming to look for me… Let us return. The children are likely looking for us."
My comments: It is my head canon that Rai has always been bad at board games LOL. Rai is just too precious. And if it suits your sensibilities better, you can replace "chess" with Janggi (Korean chess) or Xiangqi (Chinese chess) or Shogi (Japanese chess). Chess was invented in India in the 6th century, so some form of chess did exist 820 years ago.
Yeah, I'm a Shinwu and Seira shipper... (Sorry Rael, you bugged me too much!) It's too bad the kids kind of get written out of the story after the second season... They're basically just there to be a thing for Rai and our other protagonists to protect.
I can't decide if I'm going too far with the more human portrayal of Rai. I just liked it better when Rai started being more talkative and emotional near the end of Noblesse. It made him more interesting to me, more like a person and less like an alien or something. Near the end, they even go so far as to make it clear that Rai isn't perfect... he's even capable of making bad decisions, to the point where he's actually scolded by Frankenstein (Episode 510). I liked that... it made Rai into a person capable of making mistakes. Sadly, the story pretty much ended right after that, so... yeah. That was the end of Rai's character development.
I swear I'm going somewhere with all this! And I'm not going to go through each and every day until the dance. I actually didn't intend for the story to be this long, but more and more stuff kept getting added to it... oh no, I can't stop!
P.S. oh man, cursed queen, you are killing me! The sexual tension... omg... Me=dead. I swear I didn't mean for this to turn into a romantic comedy! It was supposed to be romance/drama but... these things happen... LOL.
