AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter is different from the rest. I couldn't seem to write the whole thing in only his perspective, and it needed dialogue- he is such a loquacious and bold character after all :) -I wish he was the one to break the curse but whatever-
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HOPE
~ Traveled all over the seven oceans; There is nothing that I wouldn't give~
"The fairy queen was kidnapped from her court and stolen away to a hidden chamber deep inside a mountain. The fairies flew in a panic, who could have done such a foul deed? And what could they possibly do to save her? It just so happened that a breath taking young man seemingly out of nowhere wandered into their forest completely unbeknownst to him, that he had just set foot inside a magical fairy realm. The smallest and sweetest of the fairies abandoned her magic spell of invisibility and revealed herself to him. She begged him to rescue their queen, and he being so majestic and of royal blood himself hastened to comply. The dashing prince braved many dangers such as the waters of Furubaba. Thank goodness that it was springtime otherwise, in the blistering cold of winter he would have had to walk over ice. At last he made it to the mountaintop where the fairies sensed she had been taken to. However, they failed to shed light on the fact that a giant fire breathing dragon and a massive three-headed dog heavily guarded it. The prince did not turn back, for he had vowed to bring her home so he valiantly fought the two beasts and bested them in battle. Only to find that the queen was gone; He knew that she had been there only moments before, for on the ground was a pair of purple, translucent wings. He picked up the wings, intent on at least taking those back, but they disappeared from his shaking fingers."
"Wow Ayame that was great! Did anyone ever tell you, you should write children's books?" The young blond boy bounced up from the ground where he had been sitting cross-legged and came up to his side smiling brightly.
"Why don't you try telling us what really happened Aya?" Gure commented from a chair in the back of the room.
"I guess that's my sign to leave!" Momiji piped up running lightly out the door, "Tell me more about the prince and the queen later okay!"
The only sound was the shifting of paper that Hatori turned over on his desk, he no longer told people not to play in his office; no one listened to him anyway.
"What- really happened?" he asked softly, staring down at his hands.
Hatori put the papers down and looked worriedly at his friend. He turned sharply to Shigure growling,
"Don't push him."
"Ah but we all need a little push now and then isn't that right Aya?"
"Yes that is absolutely right! I know it in my heart that I could never hide anything from the two of you it would just be plain folly . . ."
"You ruined any chance of getting anything coherent out of him for at least an hour." Hatori allowed a tiny smile onto his face, he preferred Ayame when he was lively, and not, how he had been the last few days. He stood up, and Ayame's mouth shut at his movement.
"You don't have to tell us anything if you don't want to, it's entirely up to you, and frankly, I don't care." He slipped on his coat and walked out into the sunlight.
"Well it looks like it's just you and me." Gure stood as well putting both his hands on Ayame's shoulders and steering him to the chair that Hatori had just vacated.
"Gure, I can't open up about it now, the wound is too recent too painful."
"Do you not trust me anymore?"
"Well Tori already knows most of it and if you must know, then I shall divulge these secrets under one condition."
"And what is that?"
"That you won't get angry and you won't laugh at me."
"Hmm, I can't promise you that but I'll try." Shigure walked to the other side of the desk and sat across from him waiting for him to collect his thoughts.
Things really had turned out quite dreadfully. He should not have hoped, that she could ever see him as a man who could show her the wonders of a deep relationship. Then again what did he know of deep relationships? All those that he had lain with, had been one time flings. No he mustn't call them flings, that made it seem as if he were throwing them away . . . rejecting them. So this is what is feels like to be rejected? Humiliated. Completely ignored. Oh my . . . is this how Yuki felt? When he had asked for help?
"Yuki." He whispered.
"What does he have to do with anything?" Shigure asked with raised eyebrows.
He didn't reply he just bolted out the door, toward a home that he had not been in for several years.
