Hello everyone! I couldn't get this finished for Christmas but hopefully this is out for New Years. To 2017~! Let's make a lot of good memories this year, OK~? And let's all work hard to making 2017 a great year for everyone. ^^
IMPORTANT NOTE: This chapter has SEVERAL parts that have been requested by various people. Changes will be noted with Author's Notes.
You all must be tired of my thank yous, so I will just send you lots of internet hugs and love through this comment. xoxoxoxoxo
Edit: Part three has been edited out AND WILL BE PUBLISHED SOMETIME NEXT WEEK OR THE WEEK AFTER I PROMISE. IT'S LONGER THAN ALL OF THESE.
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PART 1: THE OCS ARE ASKED QUESTIONS, REACT, ETC.
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In which everyone is a dork.
Yamuraiha coughed and glanced to her left and right. "I don't suppose there's any way that we can stop this, can we?"
"What the authoress wants, the authoress gets," Sera shook his head mournfully. "And unfortunately what she wants right now is not what we want, Raiha."
"All I wanted was to be normal," Yamuraiha moaned, covering her face with her hands as she curled in a ball in a corner. "But no, the Plot has something against me and I always end up in the middle of things. Just wait until I meet more of the canon characters: they're already trouble magnets on their own, but knowing my luck, if we meet..."
Everyone shivered. At that very moment, a piece of paper fluttered to the ground, and Lynn (who had been silently sulking) easily caught it between two of his fingers. His blue eyes scanned over the paper for a moment before his shoulders slacked. Sighing, Lynn read in a monotonous voice, "Oi, moron. I don't really understand what this means, but I suppose you do, since it's addressed to you."
"What, your puny brain can't handle it?"
"No," Lynn deadpanned. "Here, I'll read it. 'Raiha, if you could choose a power or attack from any other anime and turn it into a spell (disregarding the difficulty), what would you choose?'"
Alyasa turned to Sera, assuming it was a nerd thing. "What's an anime?" The white haired boy simply shrugged in response. Yamuraiha broke into a fit of suspicious coughs at the question. When she regained her composure, the teal haired girl hummed thoughtfully for a moment.
"Hard one. To be honest I already like ripping off series ideas because hello, some of them are brilliant, okay? But...eh...I always wanted to figure out how to do something like the Tsukiyomi from Naruto. It sounds really weebish, I know, but I like to think about the thought. Most magic in Magi is physical, the exception being that Sound Magic can manipulate thoughts to some extent, as we've seen with Sinbad and...er...one of his Djinns. But like...the Tsukiyomi can manipulate time, not only that but it also is able to actually inflict mental damage on people. Yeah."
"...you sound like a psychopath," Nicholas deadpanned from his spot in the corner reading a book.
"Sociopath, Nick. There's a difference," she rebuked cheerily, earning a twitch of an eyebrow from the stoic prince. At that moment, another piece of paper appeared right in front of the teal haired girl. Grabbing it, Yamuraiha said, "This is addressed to you, Sera. 'Between having access to a library that had all the knowledge of magic in the world or having eternal peace between your friends, which would you choose?'"
"Eternal peace between these two bickering idiots," Sera deadpanned. "And...well, as much as magic fascinates me, I don't think I'm the kind of person who needs all that magic and power. That's more Lynn or Raiha style."
"Don't compare me to him/her!" The blonde and tealette shot up at the same time, jabbing a finger in each other's direction.
"But I'm sure that there'd be something in the library to help you with those two?" Nicholas suggested over a ranting Lynn and Yamuraiha.
"...no, there is not one spell in the entire world that can stop these two from arguing," Sera said flatly.
At that moment, a piece of paper fluttered in the hands of a scowling Alyasa, and the green haired girl immediately opened it. Everyone fell silent as they waited for her to read it aloud, but once the girl had finished reading it to herself she simply sniffed. "What a stupid question."
"What is it?" Yamuraiha asked curiously.
"'Alyasa, would you rather always look beautiful (no matter what happens) or go on a date with Lynn?'" Alyasa read, a scowl clearly planted on her features. "That's so pointless."
"Yeah, it's real pointless," Lynn agreed, "Not like I'd ever date someone like you. I'd rather date Raiha."
"I'm flattered," the tealette deadpanned as Alyasa let out some irritated shriek.
"But if I'm super beautiful, then Lynn will definitely go out with me! It's a win-win situation. Not like I'm not beautiful already, though," the girl added quickly.
"Yeah, not like I care about other things rather than a girl's looks, you know," Lynn mumbled sarcastically under his breath. Nicholas, who seemed to have overheard the comment, snickered and continued to read his book. Yamuraiha got the feeling that the two would actually get along pretty well if they talked more.
The green haired Prince blinked and looked up from his book, holding up a small slip of paper. "I believe I have been granted the privilege of reading the next paper." Everyone nodded in encouragement. Nicholas's eyebrows creased. "Hm. How interesting. Sera, this is addressed to you. 'If you could discover a spell that allows you to reset your life (and still remember your past life), but you switch genders...would you do it? Keep in mind you CAN undo the spell'."
Sera blinked at the question in slight surprise. "I..."
"I'd do it," Lynn remarked offhandedly.
"Yeah, so maybe you finally can experience the life of a guy," Yamuraiha couldn't help but jibe.
"Oi, oi."
"Probably not," Sera interfered before the two could get in another spiel. A small smile spread over his face as he continued, "I like life being a mystery. Sure, the possibilities are amazing to think of, but I want to live life with the decisions I made. My current life is what I'm focusing on, and even though I will definitely have regrets, that's...well...life, right?"
...
"That was deep," Nicholas commented, everyone else simply nodding in agreement. "And I believe that piece of paper stuck in your hair, Raiha, is our next task."
Yamuraiha blinked and tried to grab blindly for the piece of paper, but to no avail. The green haired Prince sighed, looking slightly irritated for having to get up, but stood up and made his way to the tealette. "Hold still," he instructed, grabbing the piece of paper and handing it to her. (Both of them attempted to ignore their close proximity and quickly backed away after the paper was given.)
"Thanks," Yamuraiha coughed awkwardly. Nicholas gave a neutral shrug before sitting down in the corner once again and reading his book. Her teal eyes scanned over the paper for a moment before she deadpanned, "Pass."
Alyasa snorted and grabbed the paper. "For Heaven's sake just let me read it. 'Raiha, from what year to what year have you lived?'. Isn't this just a roundabout way of asking your age?"
"No comment," Yamuraiha deadpanned once again. "That'll forever remain a mystery. Both last time and this time. Although you know my age in this timeline. Sort of. Say, how do dates work in the Magi world anyways?"
Sera sent her a confused look. "Who are you asking?"
"Oh, nobody in particular," Yamuraiha commented vaguely, dismissing the comment.
"Raiha, Sera, Alyasa, Lynn...and apparently me, as well, because the authoress decrees it. 'What are your dreams for the future?'" Nicholas read off a paper slip.
"I want to help my friends and learn more about Wind Magic." Sera beamed. "Oh, and I want to help Grandma with her bookshop again someday. I also pray that someday Lynn and Raiha can stay together for two minutes without arguing. Oh, maybe I should try inventing magical earplugs that filter out their arguing..."
"Are we really that annoying?" Yamuraiha asked.
"Yes," Sera replied immediately. "You guys give me headaches." (Alyasa and Nicholas sweatdropped at this, but the tealette and blonde in question simply shrugged with a 'what can you do' look on both of their faces.)
"Hopes for the future...I'd like to become a fair and wise King someday," Nicholas declared. "And I want for my sister to be happy."
Yamuraiha couldn't help but snicker. "That was such a stereotypical, perfect Prince answer."
"Shut up, idiot."
"Dreams...eh? I want to become a talented magician, I suppose," Lynn hummed noncommittally. "And I want to be able to repay the people who have shown me kindness in the past."
Everyone waited for him to elaborate, but after a few beats of silence Yamuraiha took that as her cue. "Well, since princess here doesn't want to elaborate," she drawled, ignoring the scowl sent her way, "I'll finish this question. I just want to live out my life, see where things take me...help out my friends and shit. Try not to be used as a political puppet, avoid annoying people, make basically everyone in here (minus Sera) pissed off on a daily basis, etc. It's all trivial things, really. If you want me to go on a heroic monologue about saving the world and shit...eh. Sorry, not planning on making myself a martyr anytime soon. I hope. Then again Fate likes to screw with me, so..."
Everyone stared at her blankly. "I don't even want to know," Nicholas rolled his eyes, being the first one to recover. Alyasa, Lynn, and Sera nodded sagely in agreement.
"Ah, another paper," Lynn drawled, snatching it out of the air before it got a chance to fall down. His expression morphed into a slightly confused one. "'As the next three are quite similar, the authoress has decided to show them all in one.'"
"What," Nicholas deadpanned.
Yamuraiha blinked in surprise before wobbling uncertainly on her feet. "Uh...I don't think...I'm feeling that well..." Before the girl could say anything else, however, there was a flash of light. In place of the petite, teal haired magician who barely stood to Nicholas's shoulders was somebody else.
No, not somebody else, Sera quickly realized. It was Raiha. But it wasn't? He glanced over to the side to see that everyone else was piecing things together quite quickly as well.
Teal hair, teal eyes, pale skin...check. But this Raiha wasn't a girl anymore, she was a full grown woman. It wasn't just the addition of curves, the wardrobe change, or her height difference that threw everyone off the most. (Although admittedly the flashy clothing and sudden growth of her chest had Sera hastily focusing on the woman's face before he could be deemed a pervert for staring.) It was the aura she gave off: confident, calculating, and unbending. The woman's teal eyes briefly scanned over them all before the tense atmosphere that had been created dissipated.
"Oh, shit, I remember you all telling me about this later," Raiha (no, not their Raiha...but at the same time she was their Raiha) moaned. "Of course it just has to be when that stupid idiot decided to challenge me. He's going to count this as a win. How will this look on my record?"
"...uh, hello?" Sera offered, bringing the woman's attention back to them.
A soft, almost bittersweet smile spread over her face as she stared at them. "Damn. You're all so cute and tiny."
This sent both Nicholas and Lynn into loud coughing fits, although Sera held his ground admirably and simply smiled awkwardly in thanks. Alyasa was still staring at the woman as if she wasn't real (which, of course, was a difficult concept for Sera to grasp right now).
"I never thought I'd hear those words from you of all people," Lynn chortled. "So rubbing this in Raiha's face later."
"Now, now, dumbass. Be nice to my past self," older Raiha scolded. "I clearly remember tackling and strangling you when you brought it up, and you ended up being brought to Shinya to be healed again."
Lynn shuddered.
Sera and Alyasa exchanged glances before nodding at each other. Alyasa experimentally shot a fireball at the woman. Without even looking in the fireball's direction an orb of water materialized and shot towards the fireball, neutralizing it. Older Raiha sent a raised eyebrow at Alyasa, but seeing that the teenaged girl was not going to respond, shrugged and turned to Lynn.
"So, have I impressed you?" older Raiha snickered.
"No," Lynn said quickly. (Almost too quickly, Sera noted with an amused smile playing on his face.)
"You're lyiiiing," older Raiha sang.
"S-shut up."
"So cute." She turned to Sera, her amused grin softening into a more fond one. There was a flicker of emotion in her eyes that Sera couldn't identify as she asked hesitantly, "How...how have you been, Sera?"
"If you can tell me how to get your past self and Lynn to stop fighting, that'd be appreciated," Sera replied. Nicholas couldn't help but let out a snicker as Lynn shot a glare at both of them.
"...not possible, I'm afraid," older Raiha said thoughtfully. "I mean, I still don't get along with that idiot even now. Well...I guess we've come to a...somewhat truce, but we still argue and everything. Whenever I see him, at least."
Finally, turning to Nicholas, the tealette locked gazes with him. "I gave you a warning," she said softly. "Please heed it. I believe my time here is running out...but please, pay attention to everything. And please look after everyone back there, alright?"
"I'll...do my best," Nicholas promised, this statement eliciting a serene smile from the woman. She opened her mouth, about to say one last thing, before suddenly a flash of light filled the room. When the blinding light had faded, in place of the older woman was their Raiha, looking slightly dazed and confused.
"What...?"
"Your future self just came and talked with us. And called us cute," Lynn explained, smirking. "Something you want to tell us, Raiha?"
"Why, you!" Raiha shot up, her fist at the ready when Sera hastily stepped between the two.
"Now, now, don't injure Lynn. We wouldn't want that, now would we?" Sera laughed uncertainly. Raiha looked ready to retort something but ultimately decided against it, simply sighing.
"Ah, a paper," Nicholas drawled, catching all of their attention as he unfolded said slip of parchment.
"'You come from a different country. Your mission is to give information to your King about Magnoshutatt, and the people that you have befriended in your home country are being held hostage. Now, you have friends in Magnoshutatt that could die if your King attacked it. What are your thoughts and plan of action?'" Nicholas read. HIs eyes slid over towards Yamuraiha as they locked gazes. "How...specific."
"That's an interesting situation," Sera commented, frowning. "I actually am not sure what I'd do. I...I wouldn't want for any of my friends to die. I would probably...feed the King information to ensure my homeland friends' survival, but I would also warn Magnoshutatt so that they could be prepared for a possible invasion."
Lynn shook his head, scowl planted firmly on his face as he said quietly, "That's too naive. Telling Magnoshutatt that you're a spy is basically suicidal. And I doubt that the supposed King would only send you as a spy, right? So probably if you tried to warn Magnoshutatt, you'd be killed (by either Magnoshutatt or by your home country)."
"What would you do then, Lynn?" Sera asked curiously.
"...I don't know. It depends on the individual's priorities. Do you value your life the most? The lives of your friends back home? Or the lives of your new friends?" Lynn asked rhetorically, his eyes gazing up at the ceiling in thought.
"You still haven't answered Sera's question," Nicholas observed.
The blonde shrugged. "Honestly, it depends on which group of friends is more important to me. I would probably continue helping the King because not helping him would guarantee the deaths of my hypothetical friends back home, while there's only a hypothetical possibility of my friends in Magnoshutatt being killed. Besides, if they live in Magnoshutatt, they should be able to fight to some extent, right?"
"Actually, I think it'd be better for you to stop helping the King," Alyasa interjected, surprising some of them considering she was actually (somewhat) disagreeing with Lynn. "Sure, your friends back home are guaranteed death. But helping him would...like, not only doom your friends in Magnoshutatt but also all the other people here. The King wouldn't kill off all of his subjects, just those who are close to you. So in numbers, there would be less casualties if you stuck by Magnoshutatt's side."
"Saying that is quite easy," Nicholas cut in. "But do you really think you would be able to just...turn your back on all of your friends who you had grown up with? I think that we, as humans, are naturally greedy people who would try to save everyone. I'm not saying that's the best choice, but I think that's the choice that many of us would make."
"Raiha, what do you think?" Sera asked the tealette, who had been strangely quiet.
"Dunno," Yamuraiha shrugged. "But I do agree with Nick. We're naturally stupid and have an inclination to doing heroic stuff. Unfortunately, those with hero complexes usually fail epically unless they have plot armor. And considering I'm not very plot worthy, I think that it'd be best if I did something logical. Logically wise, I agree with Lynn. Those in Magnoshutatt should be able to defend themseles, and I should have faith in them. Friends back in other countries, however, are less likely to have any battle experience and thus are more likely to die unless I help them."
"I feel like there's some message we're missing," Alyasa muttered. Lynn and Sera nodded, while Nicholas just continued staring at Yamuraiha.
"Interesting points," he said carefully.
"Thank you," she returned evenly.
"...yeah, we're definitely missing something."
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PART 2: TANGLED 'OMAKE' ~ THIS MAY GET LONG (edit: It did. It got very long.)
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Please go drink some water, maybe start writing a review about Part 1 because I promise you, you'll forget everything you wanted to say by the end of this chapter.
No, seriously, take a break really quick. STOP. PAUSE. REST. MAYBE REVIEW. THIS IS A LONG ONE, FOLKS.
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In which Sinbad (and co.) fail at being wingmen, Yamuraiha is done with Lynn's OP powers, and Lynn (despite trying to go against Fate) somehow manages to get entangled with Plot.
"Ah...oh...shit!" Yamuraiha Mogamett, better just known as 'Raiha', cursed and desperately clung onto the tree branch as she eyed the horse approaching her warily. "Now, now...Ugo, was it? Just...back away slowly, please. Yes, I know you want to arrest me, and this is not my consent for you to do so, but it would be advantageous to us both if you step off of the branch."
Ugo (curse that stubborn horse) ignored her and stepped forward on the branch.
Crack.
"Oh, come on!" Yamuraiha screeched as the branch broke, both woman and horse falling down the cliff. "You just had to move forward, huh? You couldn't have just-" Any other protests that she may have made fell short as her body fell into a canopy of trees, slamming hard against several branches as she continued tumbling downwards.
Finally, with a loud splash, she fell into freezing cold water. The impact was hard, although not enough to make her fall unconscious. Her hands clawed upwards as she kicked, propelling herself upwards. When she reached the surface, she sputtered and gasped desperately for air, pushing away the teal hair that had fallen before her face.
"Stupid horse," she cursed, glancing around her and seeing the animal struggling in the water. Luckily for him, the water didn't seem that deep, and both of them made their way to the shore, not even bothering to glance at the other.
She sighed, simply flopping onto the ground as she tried to regain her breath. "Never...again," she breathed, groaning and rolling over on her side. "Arrest me for all you want, I don't care anymore."
The horse shot her a glare but simply laid on the ground also, too tired to do anything.
Yamuraiha blinked as she noticed where they were. They had fallen into some kind of...glade of a sorts. Tall, towering willow trees were all around them, barely any sunlight penetrating through the thick canopy. But that wasn't what had caught her attention. In the center of the glade was a tall, spiraling tower, surrounded by a lake that almost acted like a...moat, of a sorts.
Despite the protest of her groaning joints, she pushed herself upwards with her right arm and stood up, walking over towards the tower curiously. There was a small bridge that allowed for her to pass through the moat, and Yamuraiha immediately noted it. So there had been humans in this glade before.
This seemed like such a cool hideout, why hadn't she ever discovered it before? Yamuraiha glanced up at the tower. It seemed quiet, almost too quiet. Maybe whatever humans that may have resided there left long ago.
Maybe, her thief side said thoughtfully, there were things of value to salvage in there.
...well, the kleptomaniac in here couldn't resist the temptation. She circled around the tower, noting that there were no entrances except for the tall window towards the top of the tower. Yamuraiha sighed, but temptation won and she reached for the coil of rope tied around her waist.
With expertise that only came from shimmying up several tall, high class places, Yamuraiha lassoed the rope around the small handle of the tower's window. Testing the rope, she found it sturdy enough and resolved to try climbing it. (After all, the worse that could happen would be that she'd plummet all the way down to the bottom of the glade again. And maybe die. But the adventurer in her urged her to try it.)
Yamuraiha silently admitted to herself, stepping on the windowsill of the window while glancing downwards and sending a smirk and peace sign to Ugo below, that she was a bit proud of her climbing abilities now. She pushed against the window and was surprised to see it open easily.
Well, that made things easier. She had lost her bobby pin in the fall.
"Hello?" She called cautiously, but after waiting a few moments and hearing nothing, Yamuraiha entered the room. It was beautiful, with all kinds of paintings on the walls, but Yamuraiha had no time to dawdle. Spotting a glint of metal out of the corner of her eye, she approached the room's dresser.
She was about to open the dresser when she felt something hit the back of her neck, and with that, she fell unconscious.
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"Alright, who are you and how did you get in here?" A voice asked her.
Yamuraiha groaned, eyes opening. She blinked as she saw a golden haired girl wielding a frying pan of all things, glaring at her angrily. Oh, wait. Yamuraiha scanned the figure again and realized that no, this person was a blonde haired boy. With extremely long hair that extended far past where she could see.
"Well, answer me," the boy demanded, his grip on the frying pan tightening. Yamuraiha noticed this and immediately attempted to hold up her arms innocently. Unfortunately, she didn't realized that she was tied to a chair, and this action caused her to fall over and hit the ground. The impact made her groan in pain again.
"Woahhhh, there, Princess," she drawled. "Put that frying pan down. Let's talk things out civilly here, now shall we?"
"I'm a boy," the boy growled, and Yamuraiha shrugged, feeling an amused smirk tugging at her face.
"Well, your hair certainly is longer than most boys I've me-"
With a sharp whack, she was out cold again.
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"Alright, let's try this again. Who are you and how did you get here?"
"Violent much, Princess?" she drawled.
The boy's eyebrows twitched.
Whack.
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"Now, if you don't answer me-"
"I get it, I get it," Yamuraiha groaned, rolling her eyes. "You'll start acting like a PMSing girl once again and knock me out. We've been through this enough times. Now put that pan down."
Twitching at the girl's sarcastic comment, the blonde haired boy reluctantly set the pan down. "Well?"
"The name's Raiha, professional thief, shameless playgirl, hottest single on the market," Yamuraiha said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. "I'm sure that you're stunned speechless by my beauty and all, but I would like to know your name."
"You haven't told me how you got into here."
"Information for information, Princess. Now, you don't want me calling you that forever, right?"
The boy's eyebrow twitched again. "You do realize you're in no position to bargain, right?"
Damn. He called her out. "...well, I was hoping that my dashing good looks would win me a few brownie points, but you're pretty hard to please," Yamuraiha shrugged.
"...Lynn. My name's Lynn," the boy gave grudgingly, seeing that the girl was not about to give any more information.
"And I climbed," Yamuraiha chirped.
"...what?"
"You asked how I got in here. I climbed up the tower."
"...you do realize how tall this tower is, right?"
"Yep."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"O-oi, put that frying pan down...Lynn...oi, Lynn...!"
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Yamuraiha blinked, dazedly glancing around the room. Looking downwards, she noticed that her hands were untied and that she was laying on a bed. What was going on? "Lynn?" she called warily, noting that some of his hair (honestly, why was his hair so long? He could literally donate all of it and that would benefit around two hundred bald people-) was still in the room. So he was still in the tower.
The blonde re-entered the room, carrying a tray. "Here," he said grumpily, tossing her a spoon which she only caught because of her fast reflexes that were honed from her thievery. Setting the tray down in front of her, he said shortly, "I made soup."
A grin spread over her face. This guy reminded her a lot of one of her fellow thieves, Sharrkan. Both of them were super prickly people who couldn't just apologize the normal way. It was funny, but even though she had only met him today, Lynn seemed almost...familiar. "Awwww, Lynn...is this your way of telling me that you're sorry?"
She noted the way his back stiffened for a moment. Bingo. "Of course not," the blonde scoffed. "It's just customary for a host to treat their guests well."
"Okaaaaaay."
"...stop staring at me like that. Now hurry up and eat, because after you're done I have a proposal for you."
"W-what? Marriage already, Lynn? I mean, I know that I'm stunning and all, but don't you think we're moving a bit too fast?" Yamuraiha feigned embarrassment.
"...do you want me to get out my frying pan again?"
"Uh...you're a very kind person?" She offered meekly.
"I thought so."
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"So...you're telling me that you've been in this cramped tower since you were a kid? And you haven't stepped out of here once?" Yamuraiha repeated incredulously. At his nod, she shook her head sadly and patted his head. "Poor, poor child."
Lynn twitched. "So, will you help me go see those...lanterns?"
"Sure, why not? As long as you give me back the crown you stole from me."
"...you stole it from the palace, didn't you?"
"Finder's keepers."
"...mmhm." Lynn looked unconvinced.
"Alright, let's go now!" Yamuraiha decided. The blonde blinked, looking stupefied.
"Now?"
"Yeah, time's awasting~! The lost Prince's birthday is coming up in three days, so we have to get to the Kingdom before then," Yamuraiha explained patiently, as if to a child. Her tone of voice made the blonde twitch again (she got the feeling that was going to become a habit whenever the two of them would be together). "Get up, pack a few things, and we can head down the tower. Also, you should get a haircut."
Lynn looked visibly horrified. "No," he protested vehemently. "My mother will be back in a week and she treasures my hair more than anything."
"Oh, so you're a momma's boy."
"...you know what, just shaddup. Go sit at the windowsill while I pack."
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"See? Swinging down the tower isn't that hard," Yamuraiha said cheerfully as her companion simply scowled before gazing around the glade. "What, aren't you going to say something dramatic like 'omigosh this is the best day of my life' and run around in circles?"
"I'm not going to act that stupid. Especially around you," Lynn deadpanned. Yamuraiha snickered. She noticed that Ugo was glaring at the both of them and hummed thoughtfully for a moment.
"Here boy," she invited, grinning. "Riding a horse would be convenient."
Ugo kicked her.
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"Alright, so we're just going to enter this suspicious looking inn just for the kicks of it?" Lynn asked incredulously. Yamuraiha turned around and told Ugo to stay outside (which the horse didn't look too happy about) before turning back towards Lynn.
"Yeah, what's the worst that could happen?" Yamuraiha shrugged, opening the door and stepping forward only to bump into someone.
The man most have been over six feet, with his aqua blue hair and intimidating looking red coral trident making both Yamuraiha and Lynn take a step back. He stared at the two for one long moment.
Then...
His face brightened, a goofy smile spreading over his face as he grabbed both of them by the shoulders. "Come in, come in!" He invited. Calling to a purple haired bartender, he said, "Sin! We have guests! I think one of them was the girl that Sharrkan had mentioned before."
So this was the girl that Sharrkan had always complained about to them. Interesting.
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"Oh shoot, the royal guard is here," Yamuraiha muttered, pulling her hood up and trying to look inconspicuous.
Ja'far, the white haired waiter who both Yamuraiha and Lynn befriended, took one look at the two of them before grabbing them by the arms and escorting them to the back room. "There's a secret passageway you can go through here that we used to use when we were bandits," Ja'far confided. "It'll lead you to a canyon. You're Sharrkan's friend, and I doubt that he'd want you or your companion hurt. Please go through here: we'll delay as best as we can. Best of luck to both of you."
"Thank you, Ja'far," Yamuraiha said quickly before pushing Lynn into the passageway first. "Hurry, I'll follow."
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"Oh my god why are they so quick?" Yamuraiha bemoaned, noticing the group of knights following them. "What should we do?"
Lynn glanced around the canyon. "I have an idea," he said quickly.
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Yamuraiha sputtered, gasping for air.
"Alright, so maybe breaking the dam wasn't the best idea," Lynn admitted, clinging onto a piece of driftwood and pulling her onto it as well. The girl had barely any room to protest as she was still trying to breathe. "At least we lost them."
"Yeah, that's great, but we're now in a cave-in," Yamuraiha muttered. "And we're running out of air. And we need to somehow grab all these rocks away but I can't see anything."
Lynn seemed to be struggling with making a decision, but his face quickly hardened with resolve. "If you judge me or speak one word, I will murder you," he hissed. Yamuraiha had no time to blink confusedly for he began singing.
...what the hell.
"Flower gleam and glow. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse: bring back what once was mine..." Lynn sang, fully aware that Yamuraiha was trying to withhold giggles.
To her surprise, however, his hair began to glow.
...alright, seriously...What. The. Hell.
She decided to question things later, instead taking one last gulp of air before diving under and grabbing out more rocks.
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"Oh, you have got to be kidding me. Not only does your hair glow and is extremely luscious and beautiful for a guy's hair, but it also heals?" Yamuraiha asked incredulously, seeing the wound on her hand close thanks to Lynn's said magical hair.
"...yeah."
"...I'm totally not judging you right now."
"...shut up, Raiha."
"...by the way, it's...it's Yamuraiha."
"...what?"
"My birth name."
"...thanks."
"...yeah, whatever." She hummed before spotting something in his hair. "What's this? Your hair's brown? Ahah! That's how your hair is so luscious! You dyed it, didn't you?"
Lynn deadpanned, "No. It's just from a time when someone tried stealing my magical hair. Apparently my hair doesn't stay magical if it's cut off."
She hummed thoughtfully, storing this information for later.
.
.
"And this is the town," Yamuraiha threw her hands out dramatically, a grin tugging at her face. "Impressed?"
"...not really."
"Spoilsport," she clicked her tongue in disappointment before grabbing his hand. "Alright, I have an idea."
"W-what?" Lynn sputtered. "Where are you taking me?"
"Hey, kiddos!" She called to several little kids (with strangely colorful hair) braiding each others' hair. "Lookie here."
Lynn froze, then slowly turned his head to meet Yamuraiha's eyes.
If looks could kill, Yamuraiha would be dead by now.
.
.
"Laugh one more time, I dare you," Lynn glowered. "You just had to suggest for them to add flowers."
"You look fabulous, Lynn. Braids suit you," she replied cheerfully.
"...flowers. You just had to have them add flowers."
"Well, Hakuryuu seemed to like the idea of flowers in your hair. It was just to make you look more festive," Yamuraiha snickered. Her expression changed as she strained her ears and heard music coming from somewhere in the town. "Hey, let's go check it out~!"
.
.
"I am not dancing."
"Yes, you are."
"No," Lynn denied vehemently.
"Yes."
"No." He scowled.
"Yes."
"No."
"No."
"Yes...I mean...no!" Lynn sputtered. Yamuraiha sent him a triumphant smirk. He simply sent her a sulky glare before allowing himself to be tugged by the tealette into the crowd of dancers.
.
.
"I am never doing that again."
"What, didn't you like it? Lynny," Yamuraiha snickered.
"He thought I was a girl because of this stupid braid."
"I think the flowers helped."
"Oh, shut up. This is all your fault."
"You still liked it though, right?" She shrugged, smiling and humming to herself as she began skipping along merrily, hands crossed behind her back.
However, she froze when she heard a quiet, almost inaudible grumble. "...yeah, Yamuraiha."
...
...
"Awwww, Lynny, you do care!"
"Stop calling me that!"
.
.
"Well, here's the as-promised boat."
"Mm. Thanks." Lynn looked preoccupied for some reason as he simply stared at the gondola that would take him out into the water to watch the lanterns that would be launched at the end of the evening. For some reason...he almost looked...sad.
"Ready to go?" Yamuraiha asked cheerfully, bringing the boy out of his reverie.
"...what?" He asked bewilderedly.
"You didn't think I was just going to let you watch the lanterns by yourself, did you?" Yamuraiha rolled her eyes, placing her hands to her hips. "I thought you knew me better than that."
Somehow, the atmosphere seemed to lift as Lynn actually smiled (not a smirk, not a grin of amusement, but just a gentle smile that made Yamuraiha pause). "It's only been a few days, you know."
"Yeah, but I'm sure that you've figured out my basic personality by now." She shrugged.
"Moron," he said fondly.
"Idiot." (She knew she was smiling too.)
Ugo gave them both a dry look which both of them ignored. The horse gave up and went off to find some carrots. Humans.
.
.
"Here," she handed him a lantern. "It's almost time."
"Thanks," Lynn accepted it. At that moment, there was a shout of surprise from one of the ships and the two of them looked up to see one single lantern floating in the sky. She grinned, exchanging glances with Lynn before the two of them lit their lanterns and watched as other ships began to release their lanterns as well.
She heard...singing?
Both Yamuraiha and Lynn exchanged confused glances before looking over at the source of singing.
"She don't got a lot to say, but there's something about her~ and you don't know why but you're dying to try, you want to-" A figure sang before another figure in the boat whacked the singer.
"Sin, wrong movie!" The other figure hissed.
"Oh, whoops." The first figure laughed sheepishly.
Yamuraiha and Lynn exchanged even more confused glances before shrugging and releasing their lanterns. The lanterns floated up into the sky, joining the rest of the lanterns.
"...that was anticlimactic," Lynn commented. Yamuraiha nodded and was about to say something when singing interrupted her again.
"And at last I see the light~" The same singing figure from before ("Sin", was it?) and a tall figure that looked suspiciously like Hinahoho from the inn sang together, reaching out to the sky dramatically.
Lynn and Yamuraiha didn't even have to exchange glances with each other as they simply each grabbed an oar and instantly began rowing away from the boat with the singers.
("Oi, Sin, now look what you've done. They're gone!"
"What was I supposed to do, Ja'far? They were just sitting there."
"And Masrur, why weren't you helping?"
"...I'm being a good friend."
"To who?"
"Sharrkan."
"...I'm not even going to ask.")
.
.
"Don't you see, Lynn? Your precious girlfriend stole the crown from you and is rowing away," Alyasa cooed. "Now, why don't you come back with me? After all, mother knows best~"
"...you're crazy," Lynn deadpanned. "For a 'mother', you look exactly my age and have been trying to molest me for the past whatever years of my life. 'Oh, Lynn, do you think I look hot?' isn't something that most 'mothers' ask their children."
Her smile dropped. "It doesn't change the fact that your girlfriend abandoned you," she hissed. "Now come back home, Lynn. It isn't safe here."
"...first of all, Yamuraiha is not my girlfriend. Second of all, if she did steal the crown, she's more of the kind of person to show me said crown and rub it in my face. Thirdly, why is the boat headed towards the castle if she's trying to escape with the crown?" Lynn deadpanned. "I'm not an idiot, you know."
"...I see that I will have to take you by force." Alyasa snapped her fingers, two strong looking men appearing out of the bushes.
"...sorry, but not sorry, mother," Lynn said mockingly. Then he whistled. "Ugo!"
...unfortunately for Lynn, Ugo had gotten distracted with the kids who had braided Lynn's hair earlier, also known as Aladdin, Morgiana, Alibaba, Hakuryuu, and Kougyoku. While Lynn was getting kidnapped and spirited away, the horse simply brayed happily as they fed him food while they braided his hair.
('Well, at least he tried' was the last thought that went through Lynn's mind before he was knocked unconscious.)
.
.
"Ow," Yamuraiha groaned. "You guys have no idea of how to treat a lady, huh?"
The castle guards did not reply.
"How boring." She idly wondered how Lynn was doing.
(In the tower, a certain blonde haired boy was wondering what he had done wrong in his life to deserve having Alyasa coming after him.)
.
.
"Oh, has my execution time finally come?" Yamuraiha drawled, seeing a guard open the gate. "How kind of you to release me from this prison so soon."
"Shut up," the guard grumbled, and Yamuraiha blinked at the familiar voice.
"...Sharrkan?"
Her fellow thief, disguised in the standard castle guard uniform, simply rolled his eyes and unchained her. "Sinbad and his crew were stalking you," he explained shortly. "And apparently they decided to help you out by storming the palace. Unfortunately for them, they were stupid enough to not disguise themselves. And, well, being the notorious ex-bandits as they were, they were all caught. Except Ja'far. He alerted me, and we're getting all of you out right now."
Yamuraiha blinked at the information. "Alright...why were they stalking me?"
"Oh, don't get me started," Sharrkan muttered. He unlocked the last chain before glancing around cautiously and handing her a uniform and wig. "Get out of here quickly. I'm going to go find Drakon."
"Good luck, Sharrkan. And thanks," Yamraiha nodded.
"Yeah, yeah. Just remember to put in a good word for me when you're queen, alright?" Sharrkan rolled his eyes.
"Wait...what?"
"Oh, you haven't realized yet," Sharrkan realized. Then he shrugged. "You'll figure it out eventually. Ja'far gathered some info and apparently your Princess is waiting in the tower for you to save him."
"Oh, great." Yamuraiha groaned. "How am I supposed to get there quick enough?"
"Ugo's outside."
"...oh, this is going to turn out great."
.
.
Many bruises later, Yamuraiha stared up at the tower. Sharrkan had said that Lynn had to be 'saved', so she doubted that she should just climb up the suspicious hanging hair that was just begging for her to climb. Then again, that would be easier than climbing up rope again. But what if the hair was cut halfway?
Then again, the rope could be just as easily cut off. She resolved to use both rope and the hair and hope for the best.
(The inner sadist in her wanted to see if climbing up the tower using Lynn's hair would hurt the guy, and that idea further cemented her plan.)
When she reached the windowsill, she peered inside and noted that the room was extremely dark.
...okay, definitely suspicious.
"Oi, Lynn, you there?" she called.
There was some shuffling before he hesitantly called back, "Y-yeah, I'm here, Raiha."
That was a warning, she realized quickly. He only called her 'Yamuraiha' or 'moron' once she had revealed her true name, and he wouldn't revert back for nothing. How should she approach this situation?
It turned out that she didn't have time to think, before thin arms snatched her inside.
"You've corrupted my Lynn," a woman who looked a few years older than her growled, knife pressed against Yamuraiha's throat. "And you'll pay for that."
"Uh...sorry, if I knew Princess here had an overprotective girlfriend I would've stayed away? But you know, I'm pretty sure Lynn has always been pretty messed up even without my influence, so-" Yamuraiha's rambling was cut off by the woman, who pressed the knife against her harder. Yamuraiha's gaze flickered upwards towards where Lynn was and she noted his chained status.
"You stole him from me."
"...finder's keepers?" Yamuraiha couldn't help herself. She could almost hear Lynn's mental facepalm.
"Alyasa, stop this," Lynn called.
"Now, now, don't talk to your mother like that."
"...uh, you look a little young to be a mother," Yamuraiha commented dryly. "Also, if you're his self proclaimed mother, I'm sensing some incest vibes from you..."
"You...deserve a slow and painful death," Alyasa said darkly.
"Yeah, I've been told such."
Like mother, like son she supposed as she felt herself slipping into unconsciousness.
.
.
.
"Wake up, Yamuraiha."
"I...uh...what?" she mumbled uncertainly.
"You're a moron," Lynn hissed.
"So I've been told."
"Do you make pissing off people with weapons a hobby?" He asked rhetorically.
"Uh...well, frying pans don't count as weapons, right?"
"Do you want to test that?"
"Ahahaha...hah. No thanks."
"Anyways, she's giving me a few minutes to heal you. Now roll over and show me your back," Lynn demanded.
"What's the catch?" Yamuraiha asked immediately, her eyes sharpening calculatively.
"...I have to stay here."
"...of course." Yamuraiha didn't even bother to make a sarcastic remark because she noticed shards of pottery around them. "...what? Why…?"
"Alyasa got a little...angry about my request," Lynn said quietly.
"Hmmm...where is she?"
"She's coming back upstairs. I think she just made me lunch or something to eat after you're dead," Lynn explained shortly.
"Oh, peachy." Yamuraiha saw Alyasa enter the room and smiled. "Hello, there. We started off on less than amicable terms, so let me reintroduce myself, future mother in law."
"Future...what?" Lynn choked at the same time that Alyasa's eyes flashed with rage.
"Just kidding, just kidding. But anyways, did you know that Lynn and I danced together?" Yamuraiha fluttered her eyelashes, hand inching towards one of the larger shards of pottery. "Wasn't that fun, Lynn?"
Lynn studied Yamuraiha's face for a moment before he allowed for a soft smile to make its way on his face. "Yeah."
"You know, Lynn," Yamuraiha said mournfully. "I do like blondes. But..."
And with one swift motion, she cut off the majority of his hair from shoulder down.
"...brunettes aren't that bad either," she finished weakly.
Alyasa screeched in fury, rushing over to the pair, but before she could take one step further the girl turned into dust. Literally.
...okay. Yamuraiha could die now, knowing that yes, magical hair did exist and yes, creepy stalkers could apparently turn into dust from cutting said hair.
"Yeah...okay...um...say thanks to Sharrkan for me if you ever see him," Yamuraiha mumbled. She couldn't help but add, "Princess."
"You are not going to die, you idiot."
"Hey, hey, I thought I was your moron?" Yamuraiha joked lightly, already feeling the pain catch up to her as her legs became numb.
"Stupid, stop talking," Lynn muttered, desperately tugging at his hair. "Come on, come on..."
"Magical hair can't always save us," Yamuraiha commented dryly. Her arms were feeling numb now, too, and it was getting harder and harder for her to keep her eyelids open.
"Flower gleam and glow. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse: bring back what once was mine..." Lynn said quickly, the words tumbling out of his mouth unevenly.
"You're off tune..." she mumbled, struggling to keep her eyes open.
"Stay with me, moron." His gaze was locked on her.
"...yeah..."
"Oi, do you hear me? We're going to get through this."
"...mm..."
"...Yamuraiha? O-oi, speak to me."
"..."
"...oi, this isn't funny."
"..."
"H-hey, no...you can't..."
"..."
"F-flower gleam and glow. Let...your power shine. Make the clock reverse: bring back what...what...what once was mine..." Lynn said shakily. "Please...please...don't..."
"Flower gleam and glow. Let...agh, damn it. Damn it." His voice broke slightly. "Why am I so useless? Please, please help her. Please. She's a moron, but...but...she's...Yamuraiha. Raiha. She can't die. She can't."
"Flower gleam and glow. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse: bring back what once was mine..." His voice wavered. "I'm sorry..."
...a single tear slipped down his cheek.
.
.
.
"...so you're telling me that not only did your hair heal, but now your tears do, too?" Yamuraiha deadpanned.
"...I think it was a one time thing," Lynn admitted.
"And awwww, Lynny, you cried for me?"
"S-shaddup."
"Mmhm."
"...stop staring at me like that."
"Like what?"
"Like...that." He gestured uselessly towards her.
"Okay. Oh, also, I kind of came to a realization right before my supposed death," Yamuraiha drawled.
"Oh? Do tell."
"Well...it's about you. You see...I think that...well, it's stupid that I didn't realize it when it was so blatantly obvious to everyone else, but..." Yamuraiha shifted awkwardly, trying to find the correct words.
"...but?" Lynn pressed.
"...you're the lost prince," she said quickly.
"...oh. Okay."
"...what's with that lackluster response?" She questioned.
"...that's not what I expected to hear, but that works too. I kind of realized when Alyasa confronted me for the first time," Lynn explained.
"So you're telling me that I'm the last person to realize this?"
"Basically."
"...alright. Let's go find your parents."
.
.
"Hello, we'd like to request an audience with the King and Queen," Yamuraiha strolled up to some guards cheerfully.
"Oh, okay...wait a second, aren't you...you're Raiha, the notorious thief!" The guard pointed at her shakily, and immediately the rest of the guards turned to her, brandishing their weapons fiercely.
She rose her hands in the air innocently. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Their deadpan expressions were almost as good as Lynn's (which she noticed out of the corner of her eye). Her eyes narrowed as she sighed, not wanting to ever play that card again. But then again, Lynn had to see his parents. And they wouldn't let him through (much less her) unless they had a reason. "By the order of Yamuraiha Mogamett, Princess of the Magnoshutatt Kingdom, I order for you to let us through," she demanded.
...
"...what." Lynn deadpanned.
...oh, whoops. She forgot to mention that tiny detail to him.
"The Magnoshutatt Kingdom and this Kingdom are close allies. Four years ago, I was sent here on the purposes of being engaged to Lord Sharrkan, the son of the King's Head Advisor, in order to cement our alliance. However, Lord Sharrkan and I both decided that we didn't want to marry, and we decided to test our luck at thievery," Yamuraiha explained slowly. "Because we were bored."
...ah, there was that deadpan Lynn expression that she had missed.
"Now let us through, or suffer the consequences of dissing the Princess of your most important ally," she demanded. "Even if you are unsure of my identity, there's still a possibility of this being true. You can escort us, I don't care, if you're unsure of whether or not I am a threat."
Unsurprisingly, the guards allowed them in (although a group of guards escorted them to the King and Queen unsurprisingly: Yamuraiha, after all, had been in the palace before and had stolen the prince's crown from right under their noses).
"...it can't be," the Queen breathed.
"...Lynnian?" the King stood up, studying Lynn's face. Yamuraiha snickered at the overly long name.
After confirming Lynn's identity, lots of family feels, etc., the King finally turned to Yamuraiha, eyes brimming with thankfulness. "Thank you for returning our son to us," he said gravely. "You are...the notorious thief Raiha, correct?"
"Professional thief, shameless playgirl, hottest single on the market," Yamuraiha confirmed, grinning.
Lynn facepalmed.
"You look...familiar, girl." The King searched her face. The Queen, however, was the first one to pick up the clues.
"You're Yamuraiha, aren't you? Oh, Yamu," the Queen said tearfully, and before Yamuraiha could do anything she was engulfed in a hug. "Oh, we were so worried about you and Sharrkan. I'm so sorry my dear. We and Mogamett didn't consider your and Sharrkan's feelings when we decided on the marriage-"
"I'm alright, Queen Mira," Yamuraiha said warmly. "I...I met a lot of people on my journeys as a thief, and to be honest I doubt I would've found Lynn otherwise."
"Ah, just call me Mira as you always did when you were younger. You've grown so big," Mira squealed, the softer side of the Queen that Yamuraiha remembered so vividly coming out. "Have you met someone special yet?"
"I...uh...maybe?"
"OMIGOSH HISTOK OUR YAMU HAS A CRUSH!"
"I never said that!"
And they lived happily ever after. Eventually.
(Of course, there were a lot of loose ends to wrap up, but eh. Who has time to speak of those?)
A/N: You can see where I got lazy.
No, seriously, you can REALLY see where I got lazy. XD
Happy New Years. The third part to this should be out soon, but my birthday is coming up and school's starting again so it may take a week or two. Depending on if I have enough time to finish it because THAT part is super long too. Drop a review if you have time? Anyways, I love and appreciate you all so much. Like, it's almost sad how often I check this story's stats and I just go "omg there's a new follower" or "omg a review *clicks as fast as possible*"
If you have any questions, you can PM them to me or ask me them in a review. I'll try getting back to you guys soon but idk man this month may be busy. XD (I'm also sinking deeper and deeper into a Sing!Karaoke obsession helppp)
Yep. That's about it. I may edit this author's note later to address any questions, or I may just put those in the next chapter. A lot of you brought up interesting points last time that I'd like to explain to everyone but ughhhhh it's too early in the morning right now for me.
Until next time~