Hello, and welcome to my first ever Blue Dragon story! I do have certain characteristics from the anime present (such as the shadows speaking) and you can expect to see more conversions! I do not own rights to Blue Dragon/Blue Shadow, but I do own this story and its plot! Enjoy!
Blue Dragon: Revelations
Stirred
One second he was standing and putting the finishing touches on the pendant and the next he was spinning on his heel, hand quickly latching onto the frying pan's handle as it prepared to collide with his head. His lips lifted into a smile as his eyes quickly found her figure in the darkness. "I thought I heard you come in. Sorry, I kind of let myself in." She shouted for him to identify himself and his head tilted to the left as a slight twinge of sadness pierced his chest. "C'mon, don't you recognize me?"
"I would have a better chance of that if I could actually see your face!" she all but screeched, attempting to wrench the pan from the intruder's grasp. Their mild tenor voice rose and fell as they struggled, but their breathing remained level and calm no matter how hard she attempted to remove their vice-like grip. "How dare you let yourself into my home!" Whoever this man was, they were seriously strong! "Fine! Phoenix!"
"Easy there!" Blue Dragon blocked the blow that Phoenix had aimed at his wielder, earning a grunt. "Let's all calm down!" The feathered shadow retreated once she had seen for herself that they were indeed friendly and gestured for the dragon to follow her outside. Now that they were stronger, in more ways than one, they were now able to separate themselves from their wielders and able to act independently so long as they remained within a certain distance.
A snap of her fingers and the lights flared to life; a handy feature courteous of Jiro. Kluke stepped closer to peer into Shu's face, her frying pan at the ready in case he tried anything. His solid jawline, the messy hair that was as dark as the night outside, the ragged yet athletic styled clothing did nothing to conceal the now lean and solid muscles that were testament to his training, but it was his eyes that put her suspicions to rest. They were the same almond shape that she remembered and their almost black hue was softened with the darkest of chocolates.
His lips parted, an apology for letting himself in and not arriving sooner, but stiffened as the frying pan fell to the floor with a bang, one of her fingers rising to press against his lips. "Kluke?" Slim arms wrapped around his waist as she came closer, her forehead resting against his collarbone as her figure trembled slightly. His body slowly relaxed as she tightened her hold, his own arms rising to wrap protectively around her. The smell of antibacterial cleaners that clung to her clothes could never hope to cover the natural scent of Kluke; starfruit with a hint of amber and the faintest hints that reminded him of a simpler time when she worked on machines instead of people. It was as he was debating on clasping the thin chain of silver around her neck that pain erupted from the back of his head, causing him to yelp in surprise and retreat several steps as she crossed her arms over her chest and fixed him with a glare, a familiar wrench in her hand. "What was that for?!"
"You disappear for an entire year and can't bother yourself to pick up the phone and send a message or call?!" The happiness that she felt to see him alive and well had to be set aside for now. There was some serious payback to be had. The fire in her hazel hued orbs burned him just as effectively as if she were using a spell and the occasional tap on the wrench was testimony to her thoughts of using it again. Kluke stepped towards him, her wrench at the ready. "Do you have any idea how much we were worried? Jiro hasn't finished that location feature yet so how were we to know where you were? You could have been rotting in the middle of a monster's lair somewhere and we wouldn't have known!"
"Kluke-"
"LET ME FINISH!" She threateningly raised the wrench, earning a flinch from the man before her. "There was no way for us to know if you were in trouble, no way for us to know if you were dead or alive! How do you think that made us feel?! Weren't you worried about us?!"
He held up his hands, a silent gesture for permission to speak. "I knew you would be safe and sound while here in Jibral. Jiro is our friend, he would never let anything happen to you and we both know that. We are all capable of taking care of ourselves, Kluke. You can hold your own if anything were to happen and Jiro would be here in case you would need help, believe me!"
"You're using that as an excuse to not visit or stay in contact?" she scoffed, her shoulders slumping. "That we aren't kids anymore and should act like the adults that we are? That's rich coming from you. Jiro and I had to dig you out of so many holes since we've known each other that we would be handed the title of the World's Best Babysitters!" Kluke fixed him with a glare. "Let me guess: no one knows you're here because you couldn't figure out the ShadowWatch, which means that you have no place to stay tonight, and by the smell of it you haven't had a bath in days. You may have grown physically, but you are still the act-first-ask-questions-later boy from a small village in the middle of the desert."
Shu's expression, which had been been flickering between confusion and anger, now rested slack with uncertainty. Her words hurt but they were true. Had he been focusing too much on his physical power that he slackened in becoming a true adult? She and Jiro had been alike in that way, more mature than he could stand sometimes. They took their responsibilities head on and even took on a few of his own when he failed to do so. Their quick thinking, not to mention their strategic thought process and carry through, had bailed his behind out of things that would have killed anyone else. Not everything could be thought out like that though and they would sometimes take too long to come to a decision. Action was just as important as careful thinking. His lips lifted into a smile. "Things always end up working out, so why worry about something you can't do anything about?"
A sigh slipped from the woman before him, bringing his attention to her physique. Her curves were more evident now, especially the mounds on her chest. He never understood why girls developed differently than boys but the combination of his travels and physical maturity quickly discovered that he had a type, one that he would never have guessed. His eyes rose to her face as she rubbed at her eyes, concern filling him when he spotted the deep shadows underneath her caramel-apple orbs. Stepping forward, he gently took her wrist and lowered it so he could better peer into her face. Suspicion began to build as he noticed her pale coloring and the slight hollowing of her cheeks. She was sick and judging from the thinness of her wrist she had been for a while now. "How long?" It was his turn to put a finger to her lips when she attempted to change the subject. His attention fixated to the window, extending his mental consciousness to his shadow and received a confirmation from Phoenix that her wielder had been fighting whatever was was ailing her for a week. Without so much as a word, he gently knocked her knees out from under her so that he could collect her in his arms and trudged towards the stairs.
"What are you doing?!" she screeched, clinging to him for dear life with one hand while the other attempted to rip out his ponytail. "Put me down, now!" Kluke raised the wrench, aiming for his knee, and gasped as he used the targeted knee to knock the tool from her hand then kicked it into the living room as they passed. Her eyes narrowed slightly when he sent her his signature smile as he placed her on the stairs.
"You go upstairs and take a shower. I'm going to whip you up something so good you'll be passing out in food bliss." He raised an eyebrow when she didn't move from the stair he had put her on. "Don't make me put you in the shower myself."
"In your dreams!" She scoffed, crossing her arms and darting up the stairs so he wouldn't see the bright pink that stained her cheeks. "Don't even think of peeping!"
He rolled his eyes as a door slammed and the sound of running water came soon after. His gift was going to have to wait. Stepping into the kitchen, he quickly searched the cabinets and pantry, quickly finding more than what he was used to having on hand, and only had to request Phoenix's assistance on using the appliances twice. Blue Dragon had hunted a wild bull, offering the leftovers for Shu to use, and the kitchen was soon filled with the smell of chili. With two bowls plated and topped with the shredded cheese he had found in the refrigerator and two spoons, he called for Kluke and took his seat at the dark stained table. It wasn't until he had consumed three bowls in total that he began to worry. He couldn't hear anything from upstairs and she hadn't responded when he had told her the food was ready. After reheating her bowl and grabbing a glass of water, he turned off the stove while covering the pot and began making his way upstairs. "Kluke?" he called, reaching the top and spotting the dissipating steam coming from the bathroom. The light was off and there where wet footprints leading to one of the rooms, its door closed and a faint light flickering every once in a while. He rapped his knuckles against the wood, calling her name once more, then opened the door slowly. The threat of the wrench was put to rest, sitting quietly and safely in the living room, but he of all people knew that she could make a weapon out of anything. His movements froze as he spotted a figure on the bed, quickly moving to close the door, but he paused as a weak voice called out for him to come in.
Kluke was clothed in a dark red pajama night dress that reached her knees, but it had ridden up when she had fallen onto the bed when a dizzy spell had hit her. The room was warping in every which way and the pounding in her head was not helping in the slightest. Movement from the door had originally caught her attention and a shaky hand rose as it moved with speed that caused her vision to swim. "Not…so fast…slower…" she moaned, her other hand rising to cover her eyes when the light on her bedside table came to life. A voice came from above her, apologizing before the light disappeared, and narrowed her eyes in an attempt to bring the room into focus as familiar arms carefully slipped her under the covers. "Shu…"
"Easy," he whispered, keeping his voice low so as to not cause her anymore pain. Drawing the gold hued duvet up to her waist and draping a spare blanket that he had found at the foot of the bed over her shoulders. She mumbled something under her breath, about Phoenix lighting the fireplace to help warm the room, and he sent a silent thank you to the feathered shadow while leaning her back against the headboard. "you really need to start taking care of yourself. What would you have done if I weren't here?" He collected a very small portion of the chili onto the spare spoon he had and waived it under her nose. "Think you can open your mouth?"
Her jaw instantly went slack then closed the second the spoon's contents had been emptied onto her tongue. Kluke's eyes widened in surprise as fire erupted in her mouth, her vision clearing instantly. She would have darted for the bathroom sink if it weren't for Shu's hand that held her steady and quickly downed the glass of water he offered. "What in the world is in that?!"
"Lots of things," he smiled, waiting patiently while she attempted to calm the raging fire in her mouth. It waivered when he spotted the excessive sweat that covered her body. The room was still cool and the soup was borderline lukewarm, not to mention that she hadn't been under the covers for very long. Leaning forward, he rested the back of his hand on her forehead while his other rose to his own. No doubt about it. "Yup, your fever is pretty high up there. I noticed it earlier but now I'm sure you're sick." She sighed, unable to stifle the shiver that passed through her body. Shu shook his head, his hand rising to rest atop of her head. "Don't you worry. We'll get you back on your feet in no time. But first," he reached over and picked up the bowl and spoon. "you have to eat."