In the previous chapter: My Master, My Life
Izumi grinned. 'Now I'm really glad I bought the snow globe! Kouji got himself a true lover.'
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Kouji stared at the ceiling, his back resting on Izumi's closed door. He was silently listening to the two's conversation. It wasn't intentional. His intention was to call the genie who was taking too long to change. But then he heard his best friend ask the genie if she wanted to change masters.
He was of course surprised by the genie's response to the questions directed towards her. He wasn't, obviously, aware of her feelings but he couldn't let his emotions rule over him. He was going through with his plans no matter what the genie says. For all he knows; the genie could be lying.
He took a deep breath and knocked on Izumi's door. "Let's go."
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Genie Chaos
Chapter 3 The Plan Part 1: Giving Her a Chance
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Kouji sighed. "We're going to an amusement park." He declared not even looking at the female closely behind him.
Aya nodded. "If you think it is appropriate for the occasion then-,"
"Can you stop replying like that?" Kouji said irritated. "Every time I tell you something, your reply is always 'if it's what I want' or 'if it's what I think is right'." He added, stopping to look back at the surprised genie.
"I apologize." She said sadly. "But since you did not instruct me so, I could not express what I really want to say. We were taught to be obedient to our masters and never to defy them."
Kouji sighed. "Alright then I instruct you to speak your mind out whenever you want to. You can tell or ask me anything." He decided this was the best he could do for her. After all, he was planning to leave her.
The genie smiled bright. "Thank you, master!"
Kouji turned to walk again when he heard her voice. "Then, master, what exactly is an amusement park?"
"You'll see when we get there." He said, not wanting to talk very much.
"I understand." She said, nodding.
Silence soon engulfed the two. Only the sound of the people they were walking passed was heard.
"Master, may I ask you a question?" the genie said, breaking the silence.
Kouji sighed and nodded. 'It's not like I have to answer.'
She took a breath and asked silently, "D-do you h-hate me?"
When he didn't answer she spoke once more. "Honestly, Master. Do you?"
"We've just met. Truthfully, I can't say I hate you but I can't really say I like you either." Whatever possessed him to answer, he didn't know. Somehow he felt he needed to answer her question.
"I understand." She whispered silently but audibly.
Once again, silence ensued between the two. Kouji had already planned things ahead. The reason why he agreed to spending some time with the genie was because he planned to leave her there. It might seem cruel but he just didn't want to have any more drama than what has already happened in his life. The Digimon incident was enough. 'Besides, she has the looks and she's a genie. Someone's bound to take her in.' he thought.
"Master, is there anything that you would like? You seem a bit off." She asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.
"Why do you ask?" he said rather 'un'-coldly. It was then he felt he was starting to get used to her presence and they've only just met! 'This is definitely not good. Maybe the genie did some magic to make me like her or something.' He thought.
"You just really look bothered." She said.
Kouji stopped walking. "We're here." He announced, ignoring her words. He decided he wouldn't show any more emotions that he intended to.
The genie gasped as her eyes took sight of her surroundings. 'It's nothing like I've ever seen before.' She thought as she smiled, unaware that Kouji had started walking towards the entrance of the Amusement park.
"Hey! Are you coming or not?" Kouji said noticing that the genie wasn't following.
The genie nodded her head upon hearing her master's voice. "Yes, Master!"
Kouji cringed inwardly. 'I don't think I like being called Master'.
She walked beside her master excitedly. "Wow!" she exclaimed, unable to contain her awe of the unfamiliar sight. "What are those things? How does it move? Does this world have magic too?" she said, pointing at the various rides. She looked around more and saw a cotton candy stand. "Oh! What are those fluffy pink stuff? Th-the boy ate it! Will he be okay? That thing doesn't look edible at all! Why-" she stopped suddenly, realizing how she acted.
She turned slowly to her master and bowed immediately to avoid looking at Kouji. "I-I apologize f-for my u-unruly behavior. I didn't realize I was acting as myself and not as a genie. It won't happen again." She said, still not looking up.
To say Kouji was amused is an understatement. Seeing the genie acting like a child was definitely entertainment for him. When he first met her, he instantly disliked her personality – too quiet, too demure, too composed – it seemed fake to him. Her sudden outburst was something he didn't expect. He even almost liked it.
Of course, the genie just had to ruin his amusement. "What exactly do you mean by saying acting as yourself and not as a genie?"
The genie bit her lower lip and finally straightened but averted her eyes to any direction other than her master. "Genies are trained to have the same personalities. Like other genies, I am expected to remain calm at all times no matter the instance, to be well-mannered, to be silent and to be the perfect lady that I can be."
Surprisingly unlike him, Kouji was listening as the genie fidgeted.
"As Aya though, I am quite the opposite of the perfect genie," She said with a sad sigh. "which is also the reason why I had so much difficulty in genie PAR."
Kouji, being him, didn't know how to react to her words. Instead, she walked towards the cotton candy stand. "One, please." He said in a monotone.
The vendor who was quite young handed the cotton candy to him. "It's on the house." The male said, grinning.
Kouji raised a brow at him. "Sorry dude, but I don't bend that way." He said, slightly disgusted.
The vendor merely laughed. "You bought this for that pretty girl you're with, right? I'm sure you're not together. You looked like you'd rather be anywhere else but here." He said, looking at the genie who was standing where she was left.
"Hey, if you want, you can leave now and I'll keep her company. She is hot." He said, his grin becoming wider.
"Actually, we're together." He said stiffly, grabbing the cotton candy and leaving the payment for it. He walked balk towards the genie unsure why he did such a thing.
Upon reaching her, he grabbed her hand and pulled her away. 'Some place where that stupid vendor isn't around.' He thought grudgingly.
"Here." He said, shoving the cotton candy in her hands when they had stopped walking.
The genie finally looked at her master. "Master?"
He sighed. "It's what we call cotton candy. You can eat it."
Aya nodded and looked at the 'strange' food. "Um, Master? I trust you but are you sure this thing is edible? It looks poisoned. It has a weird color."
Kouji sighed once more and took a bite of the cotton candy in her hands.
Her eyes grew wide. "M-master! Are you okay? Are you hurting somewhere? Do you feel fai-" She stopped suddenly. Kouji had shoved a piece of cotton candy in her mouth.
She was so surprised that Kouji could almost laugh at her expression. Of course, being Kouji, he didn't. He acted as apathetic as usual.
"Just swallow. You won't die." Kouji was amused. The genie just remained rooted to the spot, her mouth unmoving. 'Is she even breathing?'
Finally, the genie swallowed. "I-I c-can't b-breathe. My stom-ach h-hurts." She said looking flustered and in pain. She clutched her stomach with her free hand.
Kouji looked bewildered. 'It was just cotton candy. Are genies allergic to sweets or something? I want her out of my life but I don't want her dead!'
Suddenly she giggled. "Oh master! You should've seen your face. You were having so much fun at my discomfort that I had to get back! You looked like-" she covered her mouth.
"I-I'm sorry! I don't know what got into me! Please forgive me. I-" she stopped talking as tears slowly rolled down her cheeks.
Kouji didn't know how to react anymore. He was frustrated. Who wouldn't? The genie just mad fun of him and they weren't even friends. He was annoyed because there was that little something that made him want to laugh with her when she did.
He decided to stick to indifference. "Stop crying." He said. He hated it seeing people he knew cry. "It's no big deal." He suddenly had a feeling that he had to comfort her.
"I'm a failure as a genie. Maybe that's why you don't want me. And I even said I'm going to prove that I won't be a burden to you. Now, you won't really want me to your genie." She cried.
Kouji frowned. He actually felt sorry for what he was doing or rather, going to do to the genie. 'What the hell is this genie doing to me? I'm starting to think of not doing what I had originally planned.'
"Hn. You say you've worked hard all those years. You say you're capable of becoming a genie worth my time. You're all talk. Why don't you prove it? If you're just going to give up then what we're doing is a waste of time." He said and turned away. He started walking, blushing slightly. 'Why the hell am I comforting her? I barely know her and yet, here I am, wanting to make her feel better.'
He stopped walking upon noticing the genie wasn't following him. He turned to her with an apathetic expression in his face. The genie no longer had a defeated look. The trails of her dried tears were still evident but her eyes clearly stated her determination.
She took a deep breath and looked at her master, a few meters away from her. "Master." She started walking towards him. "I will prove myself to you." She had said when she was right in front of him.
Kouji smirked. "You also said that the last time."
"I know! But now, I have a new resolve!" she said with gleam. "I'm not going to force myself to be someone I'm not. I'll be myself."
Kouji had suddenly felt a tinge of gladness. He wasn't quite sure why though. "Hn. Whatever."
"C'mon Master! Let's walk around." She had said, taking a bite of the forgotten cotton candy in her hands. "Master, I've been wondering. What exactly do people do in a place like this?"
Kouji sighed. 'How troublesome.' He thought. "People come here to have fun. They ride on those things." He said, pointing at the rides.
"Does that mean we get to ride on those things as well?" she asked estatically.
Kouji merely shrugged. They continued walking as Aya finished her cotton candy.
"Master! Master! Look at that!" she said squealing.
Kouji looked to the direction she was pointing. It was the roller coaster. It was the fastest in their city and had three loops all in all.
The genie watched as the ride went on. The both of them could hear the screams of the people riding from where they were standing. "Master, I think I'd like to ride that one first."
Kouji almost laughed. "You're joking right?"
The genie looked at her master in confusion. "Why would I be joking, Master?"
"You don't understand. That thing is a thriller ride. You wouldn't be able to handle it." He said in a tone that made no room for arguments.
The genie frowned. "Well, maybe I'll start with that then!" she said, pointing at the Carousel.
Kouji raised a brow. "You want to ride something like that?"
"Why not?" she asked innocently.
"You ride on the fake horses that go up and down." Kouji said. "That ride is just basically about that."
"Sounds interesting." She said with a small smile.
Kouji sighed. "How old are you? Five?"
"Actually master, I am two hundred twenty eight years old." She said.
Kouji groaned. "I was being sarcastic."
She didn't say a word. Instead she grabbed Kouji's hand. "Well, we're still riding this!" she said as she dragged Kouji with her.
Before Kouji knew it, he was already in front of a steel horse. He was too surprised when Aya had held his hands. He felt a strange heat crawling up his face but was able to mask it out. 'This day is getting weirder by the minute.'
"Master, c'mon! Ride on one of the horses already." The genie had broken his train of thoughts.
He grudgingly sat on the horse beside the genie's.
The ride started and he watched as the horse of the genie slowly went up and down. She looked at the expression of her face. 'It's as if riding the child's ride was so intriguing for her, like it was the most wonderful thing in the world. Her naïveté is something rare.' His own expression unconsciously softened at the thought.
"Master, why isn't your horse moving?" she said curiously.
He shrugged. "I always ride on horses that are stationary."
"Oh." Her tone of voice was sad, he noticed. "Is that why you don't like this ride?"
"What?" He asked her.
"It's because you always get the horse that doesn't go up and down. That's why you don't like this ride." She said sympathetically. "Poor, master." She whispered.
Kouji would've laughed if it wasn't for his image. "That's not it. I intentionally pick the ones that don't move."
It was then that he noticed vines crawling up to the head of the horse. 'What the hell is that?!' he thought. 'That thing looks like it's trying to pull the horse up.'
"Wait a minute." He paused and looked at the genie whose eyes suddenly became a bright lavender. "What are you doing?" he hissed.
It looked like the genie was possessed. "Hey! Genie!" Kouji said a bit louder this time. The vines' pull became stronger. The horse he was riding looked like it was about to give in. "GENIE! Matsumoto! Hey! Matsumoto!" To his dismay, the genie was too preoccupied that she didn't hear him. 'No. She heard me. She's just ignoring me.'
"Damn it." He cursed. "AYA!"
The genie looked at her master in surprise. 'He just called me by my first name.'
"Stop ignoring me. And stop using your magic." He hissed low.
She shook her head and closed her still bright lavender eyes. "No. You should also have a horse that goes up and down." She said stubbornly.
"You idiot! I told you! I chose this horse because I don't' like the ones that go up and down!" He said. "Get it through your head, genie!"
The genie opened her eyes, revealing her normal lavender eyes. "Oh. You should've have said so earlier."
Kouji's brow twitched. "You-" Kouji sighed stopping himself. "You know what, never mind."
"By the way master," she said as the ride stopped.
Kouji got down from the horse that now had vines wrapped around it and looked at the genie who was still seated comfortably.
"It's not nice to cuss."
He smirked. "So you're my mother now?" he said and the genie pouted. "Just get down from there." He said, giving his horse a last look. 'Well, at least it looks better.'
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Aya skipped happily, softly humming a tune.
Kouji shook his head at the childlike attitude of the genie.
"Master, I still want to ride the fast one that goes round and round." She said quietly.
Kouji sighed. "It's called the roller coaster and no, you're not going to ride it."
"Please, Master!" she said in a pleading tone. "I really do want to ride it!"
Kouji groaned. "I'll only agree if you assure me that you won't go clinging on to me when you freak out."
She beamed at him. "I promise! Now let's go!" she said as she hurried toward the said ride.
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The two fastened themselves in the seat of the roller coaster. The seat was for two. It had no divisions other than the seat buckle that would keep them from falling out of the coaster but enabled them to still hold on to each other. Not that they would want to, anyway.
"No clutching, clinging or grabbing, genie." Kouji reminded.
The genie nodded her head a bit distracted by excitement. "Uhuh."
The ride started with the coaster slowly going to an upward motion with the back of the coaster on the top. The coaster paused for a brief moment when the bottom part of the coaster reached the top of the track.
The riders were now slightly facing the ground. "Wow. I can see the whole Amusement park, Master!" Aya exclaimed unaware of the next thing that was going to happen.
Before Kouji could reply, the coaster hurled downwards in a fast pace. Then it made a sharp rightward turn, getting ready for the first loop.
Kouji groaned at the thrilling feeling the ride was giving him. On the other hand, Aya was speechless.
The coaster finished the first loop and entered the second loop when the coaster slowed.
'The coaster wasn't supposed to slow down.' Kouji thought silently. He looked to see how the genie was doing.
'She's trembling.' He thought as he noticed the ride came to an unexpected stop. 'This wasn't like this before.' It was then that he noticed the familiar lavender glow the genie's eyes possessed. 'She's using her magic again!' He looked back to see that there were veins wrapped around the end of the coaster. It was preventing the coaster from moving. His eyes grew in realization.
"Genie, stop using your magic!" He said hastily. "If you don't, this ride won't be able to stay in tact. The force you're exerting to stop it and the force it's making to move will blow it up." He explained urgently.
"No!" She said.
"What are you talking about?! We're all going to die if you don't stop!" He informed angrily.
Aya looked at her master. Instantly, Kouji could see the fear in her eyes. "Just let the coaster go." Kouji said in a calmer voice. Aya bit her bottom lip.
"Listen to me, Aya." He said, soothing her and making her aware that he called her by her first name.
"You have to let it go. Don't worry, nothing bad is going to happen if you let it go." He said.
She shook her head stubbornly. "B-but the r-ride w-will-"
"I have ridden this for more than fifteen times since I was young and nothing bad has happened to me. I can assure you that today would be the same. Nothing will happen."
She looked at him anxiously.
"Look, I'll even consider breaking what we said about the clinging, clutching and grabbing." He told her. 'C'mon. This thing couldn't take any more of this!'
Finally she released the coaster by making the vines disappear. The roller coaster zoomed at a fast rate once more.
Kouji's heart skipped a beat. 'This ride is getting to me.' He thought as he looked at the genie beside him.
She was clutching her dress so tightly. "D-don't w-worry, m-master." She manage to choke out. "I made a promise not to cling on you when I freak out. And I intend to keep it." She trembled. Kouji could see it. He had an urge to hold her trembling hand and comfort her but shrugged it off. 'I'm Kouji Minamoto and I don't do romance.'
Next thing they knew, the ride had stopped. Aya sighed with relief and stood up wobbling slightly.
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Kouji had his arms crossed. He watched as Aya looked away from his gaze. "What you did was dangerous." He said and Aya winced.
"I freaked out." She replied quietly. "Of course, my first reaction was to cling on to you. Then I remembered the promise I made."
Kouji stared at her. He admired her for the fact that she kept her promise but she was stupid to use her magic.
He opened his mouth only to be interrupted.
"Kouji Minamoto? The singer of the Wolves of Fire?" he heard a female voice say. He fe;t a sudden chill at that moment.
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END OF CHAPTER
Oh goodness. After several
days…
weeks…
months…
I finally update.
My sincere apologies to hexgurl001
whom I dedicate this story
to;
to NightAngel701 who is my first
reviewer for this particular story;
to xazavier009 who read, reviewed and
made this story a favorite and on alert list;
to Black Cat Soul Reaper,
bluegurl531,
roxymalatinfire
who made this story one of their favorites;
This was done hastily… I really wanted to update as soon as possible…
Anyway, please tell me if there are grammatical errors or misspelled words.
For now, this will do.
I really didn't want to keep you guys waiting any longer.
THANK YOU FOR READING THIS!!
Immensely grateful,
imuzuok