Responses have been positive so far so I think I'm doing okay in this genre :D
Previously:
"Mikan Sakura. And you are?" He took her hand in his and shook it formally before letting it go abruptly.
"My name is Natsume. That's all you need to know."
"It's a pleasure to meet you Natsume. Follow me." She led the way back to her cottage not knowing that this fateful meeting would change her life forever.
FAIRIE TALES
CHAPTER 2: PROMINENCE
His senses were on high alert as they walked along the small gravel path. He'd been trained since the tender age of ten to be a both a hunter and a fighter. It wasn't just a hobby, it was a requirement. He needed to be strong. To defend himself against any foe. And he was damn good at it. Nobody had ever been able to strike at him. Up until today.
It was just his luck to be grazed by an arrow on his leg. Today of all days when he was trying to get as far away from his Kingdom as possible. It was the eve of his name day. He was turning sixteen. Sixteen was a very important age for true bloods in the magical country of Alice. Sixteen was considered the coming of age. When their magical powers would begin to manifest.
The Hyuuga family, rulers of the Kingdom of Hyuuga were known as the wielders of the power of the Flame. They were the second most powerful family in the country after the Yukihiras who wielded the power of Nullification. To the commoners eye, the Nullification power appeared to be a non-offensive one. But with that very same power, they could repel harm. No other magical power in the world could hurt them. And that made them dangerous at the same time potent.
When King Izumi died, and Queen Yuka fled with her unborn child, the Hyuugas were considered the next to assume the Fairie Throne. However, King Izumi was the best friend of King Ioran Hyuuga, Natsume's father. And he insisted, along with the Kingdom of Nogi that search parties be sent out to look for Queen Yuka who was the best friend of his wife, Kaoru Hyuuga. King Ioran had been hesitant to assume the throne because of the threat of the dragons. Even if they were the wielders of the power of Flame, they could not tame the dragons. They had attempted to, but failed miserably.
The Kingdom of Nogi wielded the power of Animal Pheromone. They could communicate with creatures of the animal kingdom like no other human or fairie could. With this power, they ensured balance and harmony between the different species. While the Hyuuga Kingdom sent out a search party that consisted of humans and their strongest fairies, the Nogi Kingdom sent out a search party with their tenured fairies. Those who had mastered their powers and reached out to the animals to help with the search.
The Koizumi Kingdom was the only one that rejected to send a search party. They had denied multiple requests from both remaining Kingdoms to assist with the rehabilitation of the Yukihira Kingdom, wanting to be the one to rule over it. It was no secret that they were by far the least liked among the four major kingdoms. They wielded the power of Soul Sucking. Population was scarce due to the tyranny of King Shinichi Koizumi. Generations before, the Koizumi family had been known to be kind and merciful, using their powers only to rehabilitate criminals of the country to do good for the community. But when King Shinichi took over, everything changed. His way of governance was corrupt and selfish despite his cunning. He abused their powers to his family's advantage, somewhat staining their family name. The Kingdom's economy was thriving due to illegal ways and monopoly of big businesses that profited the royal family and not the citizens. Commoners from this Kingdom would stay for not more than a year before relocating to either of the three other Kingdoms. Especially when rumors had been widespread of a secret alliance between the Koizumi Royal Family to the country of Shadows ruled by Kuonji.
Tomorrow, his powers were supposed to emerge. His mother had planned a grand ball in his honor. To showcase their firstborn son, wielding the power of the Flame. And he wanted nothing to do with it. Hence he escaped with the help of his childhood friend, Kokoroyome. Koko, who was a half blood fairie, wielded the power of Telepathy. He helped Natsume escape the border patrol of the Kingdom and offered to cover for him. Natsume knew news of his escape wouldn't evade his parent's ears for long so he hightailed as far as he could, only to be set back by being wounded by Mikan's arrow.
He looked at the girl walking in front of him, as if she didn't have a care in the world. He envied her in a way that she, although judging from the looks of her, was not born with a silver spoon in her mouth, she looked as if she was happy. Something he had rarely ever felt all throughout his life. From childhood to his teenage years, he was conditioned to be someone he didn't really want to be. A future King. He hated all of the rules and the restriction that came with it. He abhorred the idea of losing his freedom and being chained to rule a Kingdom until his dying day.
He studied her closely from behind. She was wearing commoner's clothes. A plain button down shirt two sizes too big for her, loose ends tied behind her back paired with unflattering brown pants that were held together by a simple leather belt. Her auburn hair was held up in a bun at the top of her head. Her honey gold eyes he noticed, sparkled when she saw something of interest just like when she saw the meadow he had led her to.
He had been outside his Kingdom's borders before today. Only to hunt and train with his mentor Persona a.k.a. Rei Serio. Persona was formerly from the Kingdom of Shadows but when he was caught wounded from the earlier battles of the war, he plead for mercy which King Izumi granted. He was sent to the Kingdom of Hyuuga to be rehabilitated and was eventually placed as Natsume's mentor since he possessed knowledge and expertise on combat. He didn't notice Mikan come to a stop before him with his daydreaming and bumped into her from behind.
"Watch where you're going." He liked the sound of her voice even if her tone was less to his liking.
"It's your fault. You stopped all of a sudden." He said in an attempt to tease her.
"Whatever. We're almost there. I just stopped to pick a few flowers for the dinner table." She said as she strayed off the trail and onto a small field of flowers.
He watched her as she picked a few flowers, and he couldn't quite explain the feeling he was getting in the pit of his stomach. He was a stranger to feelings of affection to people of the opposite sex. He was rarely affectionate to his mother or his younger sister, Aoi. He loved both, and would do anything to protect them and his father, but was never one to show his emotional side. He was more of a doer than a speaker. Natsume's motto was 'Actions speak louder than words'. But now that he encountered someone so foreign to him. In both stature and personality, it intrigued him. He wanted to know more about her but at the same time, he knew he couldn't stay for too long in the area.
"MIKAN!" Both Mikan and Natsume glanced up to see a worried looking Nonno briskly walking in their direction.
"Grandpa. What are you doing here? You should be resting inside."
"I was worried about you. You're never outside this late." He could see the worry in the old man's eyes.
"Yeah, there was an accident." She said sheepishly.
"OH MY! ARE YOU ALRIGHT MY CHILD?" He stepped back to take a good look at Mikan and inspect if she was damaged anywhere.
"Actually, I caused it. This here is Natsume. I accidentally shot him when I was hunting and the arrow grazed his leg. I offered him a place to stay for the night and a hot meal as a sign of my apology." The old man noticed his presence for the first time and gasped.
"You're not from around here." Nonno's stance was suddenly guarded.
"That is correct sir. I am not."
"What were you doing in these parts of the Kingdom?" The old man's eyes narrowed suspiciously at him and he suddenly felt hot all over. He fought not to squirm under the old man's gaze.
I'm a traveler and am on my way westward to the Nogi Kingdom." He lied in response. He knew that elders knew more than the younger generation of the Kingdoms and he could not afford to be recognized.
"What business do you have there?" Nonno seemed unconvinced due to his lack of details.
"I come from the Koizumi Kingdom and have no future there. I have no family. And I plan to visit some friends of my father's in the Nogi Kingdom to see if they can help me find a job." Natsume used what knowledge he had of the current state of the other Kingdoms to throw off any suspicion. He wouldn't be staying here long anyways.
"Mikan, I'll prepare dinner. Accompany our guest to the guest room and prepare some beddings for him. You really are a clumsy one my child. Get some hot water ready so you can help him clean his wound and put some herbs on it for faster healing."
"It was an accident grandpa. I was aiming for the deer." She rolled her eyes and made a face.
"Be that as it may child. You still caused inconvenience to this young fellow here. Now run along and help him out." The elder seemed to accept his explanation and ushered the two teenagers inside the cottage.
The stuffy feeling that he felt never really went away. As the sun set and the darkness fell on the Kingdom, bringing with it the gusts of cool winter wind, Natsume felt even hotter. Dinner passed uneventfully until it was time to sleep. Mikan and her grandfather had retired to their own rooms in the cottage for the night and pretty soon midnight Deep inside he knew it was the start of the manifestation of his power. And he had no clue on what to do or what to expect. For sure, his parents must have found out about his running away unless Koko was able to cook up a believable story to which he doubts very much.
Natsume sat back on the bed in the small room he was provided. He had removed his shirt to try to alleviate the heat he felt inside his body. He stretched his arms out and winced as he felt a sharp pain on his back. It was as if someone was slicing his skin from both sides and he fell back on the bed groaning. The pain was more than what he had experienced being grazed by the arrow, this time it was hundredfold and coming to the point of being unbearable. His vision was slowly turning hazy and he could barely make out Mikan's shocked face before he passed out completely.
"NATSUME!" She screamed as she emerged in the doorway.
The bed was engulfed in flames and he was smack dab in the middle of it. He was completely engulfed in a blue flame, with bursts of fire coming out of his hands in yellow and orange. But what shocked her the most was that he didn't appear to be burning. His face was contorted in pain and he kept struggling to reach his back.
She ran back to the kitchen to grab the mop bucket, then ran outside to where their water pump was standing. It took all of her strength to get the bucket filled to the brim. She ran back and tossed the contents of the water over him, only to find her efforts wasted. He was still burning and it was as if the water had no effect on the Flame. Why she decided to touch him, she didn't know. But the moment that she did, it was as if the effect was instantaneous. The flames completely disappeared and his eyes opened with the shock he felt in his body. She screamed as she felt inexplicable pain in her body as well. It was as if they were electrified. His chest heaved as he caught his breath and so did she.
"You—you're a fairie!" She said in a low, fearful voice.
She looked at his figure, hunched on the bed. But what she was staring at was mostly behind him. His fairie wings had emerged. Prominently black with shades of red like flames. They were attached to him from slits on his shoulder blades, explaining the pain he had experienced in that area earlier. They were wispy and silken tufts of something not found in this earth. And she was suddenly fearful for her life.
He noticed her panicked expression but did a double take when he looked at her.
"Speak for yourself." He uttered.
"What do you mean?" She stepped back when she saw him stand up and walk towards her. He grabbed her arm and led her towards the only mirror in the room. At first she couldn't see anything unusual in her appearance, but when he tilted her to the side she gasped out loud.
Her nightgown was nearly torn in the back. And in slits similar to his, wings grew out of her back. White with honey gold streaks of silky tufts. She stared at it, unable to comprehend why she had these when she knew all her life, she was a commoner. An orphaned girl. She couldn't be a fairie. Her grandfather would have told her so. She shook her head as if in denial. The thoughts of everything she believed in her life drowning her, overwhelming her. She crumpled to the floor, sobbing. And he stood over her, confused.
"Why are you crying?" He asked.
"I don't know why I have these." She said as she looked up at him, her cheeks tearstained.
"I can explain that." Both looked towards the sound of the voice, surprised that there had been another person who had witnessed the bizarre thing that happened to them.
"HOTARU!"
END OF CHAPTER 2
So they both find out they are fairies, and here comes Hotaru! XD
Seiren Rindo – Heyyy kouhai! Glad to see you enjoyed my story! And stay tuned for NatsuMikan moments XD and yes, did enjoy both islands, then two other beaches. I'm hanging back for the next weekend but have two more music festivals to go to after that. Hahaha.
Anilissa - stay tuned for the epilogues which I have already started on but have yet to finish hahaha. And sadly, she has to hunt to keep her grandpa and her alive. And about the other thing, yeah, you gotta stay tuned for that.
newroz – Thankies! Hope you enjoyed this chappie!
mikan26 – I'm so relieved you guys like it! It's my first attempt at this fantasy bit so we'll see if I can still keep your interests up. I'm more of a modern girl like in my other stories so I was thinking of doing something new.
HaCel – Hope you liked this update! And yeah, another story to follow hahaha
Guest – I'm glad to hear that. Enjoy!
layliaman98 – Here she comes. But how does Mikan know her? Stay tuned for the next episode.
KaiHyuuga – Yep, That's Natsume alright. XD Enjoy this chapter.
And if you guys haven't seen yet, to celebrate my 25th story I decided to do a RukaRu fic. Please do check it out if you have time. (Pun intended) The title is 'Time After Time'. XD
I know they aren't really paired in the manga or anime but I would like to think that's where they were headed. XD
STORY CYCLE:
Starting Over Again – The Scam – Time After Time – Secrets – Fairie Tales
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Ja Ne!
xoxo Lexi1989
