OmG! Thanks a bunch for your support on this… project-thing. A mini plot bunny jumped into my head while I was toying around with the thought of Yuya being a princess, so it's time for my first mini-fic! It's probably only going to be four or five chapters… If that even.
Story Two
Chapter 1: My Name is Shiina Yuya
Green eyes narrowed. "Married?" she repeated, her voice a little icy.
"Shiina Yuya. Do not talk with such a tone. It is quite unbecoming of a lady," a feminine voice smoothly replied. Her tone was calm and held no emotion.
Yuya looked over at the woman. "Mother, I do not believe this conversation involved you."
"Yuya!" another voice snapped. She looked over at the man in question with a fire in her gaze.
"What now?"
"You're show of disrespect has merely strengthened my resolve. Marriage seems to be the best option in this circumstance. You need to learn your place in this world."
Yuya bit her tongue to keep the sharp remark in. I will not yell at my father; I will not yell at my father; I will not yell at my father…
The man snorted. "I don't know where you received the idea that you had a choice in this matter. Did you know Sakuya was married and with her third child at your age? You really should be grateful that I held this off for as long as I did."
I will not yell at my father; I will not yell at my father; I will not—Alright, I won't yell, I'll retort. So that's what she did. "I don't even know him!"
She saw her mother give her a look from the corner of her eye but ignored it as her father haughtily replied. "Tokugawa Benitora is a very respectable man. You should feel honored he has such an interest in you. He is perhaps the most influential and powerful man in the area. He will take splendid care of you."
Yuya let out a very unfeminine snort. "That doesn't change the fact that I don't know him," she pointed out.
"Yuya," her father sighed, exasperated. "Please, my daughter. For me? I want you to settle down. I want to know that you will have someone to take care of you when I pass on. I want to see you happy."
That wasn't fair. That wasn't fair in the slightest. He was using sentiment against her.
She didn't like it in the least.
"If I don't know him, how can I love him? If I can't love him, how can I be happy?" she argued persistently.
"Get out."
Yuya blinked and opened her mouth to ask for him to repeat the softly uttered phrase but was cut off when the man abruptly stood up from tatami mat and pointed a finger towards the exit.
"Get. Out," he growled
Yuya also scrambled to her feet and turned to leave, not even bothering with a parting bow. The moment she was out of the room and briskly walking through the fancy hall, she allowed the anger to return to her. She gave a sour look to any of the servants that tried to talk to her.
She made her way through more rooms and halls before she finally found herself outside. She kicked at a large stone, swearing when it did nothing but cause her toe to throb.
"Oh, what a sight for sore eyes."
Yuya froze mid-swear and slowly turned towards the voice, toe forgotten.
"Ah—Kyo—What are you—I thought—!"
The ebony-haired man chuckled, blood-red eyes dancing with merriment. "Yes, it's good to see you, too."
There was a pause as the stunned girl simply gawked before a dazzling smile lit her features and she stumbled forward to wrap her arms around him. "I can't believe—they said—I thought—You were—You're back!" she said, stumbling over words as she let her cheek rest against his chest. Her eyes had drifted shut so that she would feel the magic the moment created in her bliss. She didn't care that it was considered inappropriate to have such an 'intimate' moment with someone—especially a male. At the moment, that was the last thing on her mind because…
Because he had returned…
After eight years—he was back. He had left to become a samurai—an actual samurai. It had been the talk of the village—a local peasant was leaving on the vow to become the strongest man alive. They said he wouldn't come back for whatever reason.
He had left with a simple good bye during the night. Somehow, that seemed to fit him just perfectly.
But he was back—!
She nuzzled her face into the material of his black kimono, very content at the moment. While Kyo didn't return the embrace, he didn't push her away.
That counted as accepting the hug, didn't it?
"Geez, dogface, you've grown even clingier over the years."
Yuya froze and shoved against the man to scowl up at him—wow, he had grown tall… "Who says you can still call me that, huh? Huh? Baka. You know just how to ruin the moment, don't you? Killjoy," she grumbled.
He chuckled in response and the deep noise brought a smile to her lips again. "Anything of interest happen in my absence?"
Yuya laughed. "No, not really. Mother is still trying to get me to become The Lady of Ladies with all this manner crap and Father—" She cut off and her smile faltered. Kyo frowned at her, silently demanding she continue. She cleared her throat. "He—uh—wants me to marry this guy… Uh… I think his name was Benitora or something."
"Tokugawa Benitora?" Kyo's expression was hard to read. That made Yuya slightly nervous.
"Kyo?" she questioned softly.
Kyo snorted. "I think he'd be a good match," he finally said.
"Good… match?" Yuya echoed before the muscles of her mouth slackened in shock. "You're serious?"
"You're not?"
"K-yo! I don't want to marry anyone. Especially someone I have no feelings for. I never even met him. I thought you would side with me on this one. You and my father would go great together," she grumbled.
"Your father is a wise man, then, for wanting you to marry someone like Tokugawa Benitora. He's—"
"The most influential and strong man in the area. He would take splendid care of me," she said, repeating her father's words with sarcasm.
"—Loyal," Kyo finished. "And he's not the strongest—I am."
Yuya smiled weakly. "Cocky and arrogant as ever, I see," she noted before shaking her head. "How can you also be for this? If—if—I marry, I'll have to move in with him and he lives a fair distance away."
"And what does this have to do with me?" Kyo crossed his arms as he stared down at her, eyes narrowed.
"Well—we wouldn't see each other," she timidly pointed out.
"How does this affect anything? I was gone for nearly eight years. We didn't see each other at all during that time."
"But- But we're friends, right?" Her voice held slight desperation.
"Of course we are," Kyo answered. "But I reiterate: how does that affect anything? Friends move on. They say goodbye when their life evolves. And isn't your life evolving?"
Yuya's green eyes stared up at him, crystalline tears gathering at the corners. She blinked away the stinging hotness and clenched her teeth. Her hands came up and shoved his chest hard. While it didn't do any harm in the least, it did help her frustration. "So that's it?" she asked waspishly. "You make life-long friends and then walk out on them when they no longer fit into your plans? Is that it? Is it?" She accented the last two words with a jab at his chest.
Kyo's expression didn't lesson in the least. "You may have physically grown, but you're still immature. You're still a dogface."
"Shut up! My name is Yuya! Yu. Ya. Feel free to use it," she snapped.
"Time changes many things, but you'll always be a dogface, won't you?"
Yuya was about to retort but he turned and started off again. The blonde tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but found she was unable to. "Sometimes I swear I could hate you," she whispered harshly.
Seven days passed.
Seven long, lonely days.
During those seven days, Yuya hadn't heard anything from or about the raven samurai. During those seven days, she hadn't talked to either of her parents. And during those seven days, thoughts of a married life flooded her head, leaving her nauseous.
Thoughts of kissing someone she didn't know…
Sickening.
Thoughts of having intimate nights preserved for passionate lovers…
Sickening.
Thoughts of bearing children for a complete stranger whose face she never saw…
Oh, gods, sickening.
Why did her father insist this would bring her happiness? Why was he so insistent on forcing her to do something so life-altering against her will? Why did he want her to do this? Why; why; why?
And why did Kyo have to brush her away like that? If they had been younger, he would've taken her side. He would've plotted against her father with her. He would've suggested running away; out of the reach of the world. He would've given her wings and allowed her to fly far, far away…
She silently laughed at her stupidity. Wings? Flying away? Maybe she was still the vulnerable little girl she used to be…
A knock on her door startled her out of her musings and she jerked on her bed, straightening her kimono. "Come in," she called, wishing it would be Kyo. But she knew it wouldn't be. He would never enter through her door. He would most likely come through a window, like in fairy tales.
Her father stepped in and Yuya adverted her eyes to the ceiling. She did not feel like having a fight over her stupid engagement right now.
A silence formed and after several long seconds, her father broke it. "I have alerted Tokugawa-san to your wish to meet him. He agreed. He looks forward to it, even. I have decided to throw a grand party for him. The whole village is to participate and everyone is invited."
Yuya looked over at him with slight surprise in her emerald eyes as he continued.
"It will be held in two days time. You, obviously, are to attend. He'll stay leave the day after the party. And he hopes to take you with him."
Yuya glared and opened her mouth to protest and rant and rave, but her father whirled and quickly left before an argument could begin. When he was gone from her sight, she threw her face into the silk threads of her blankets and let out a cry of frustration.
I hate my life.
Yay! Today is the last day of 2007! In… -looks at clock- A little over five hours it'll be 2008! Weeeeee~ I hope you the best for the New Year! (Crap… I go back to school in three days… -growl-)
I also hope you tell me what you think of this. :) Please review and tell me what you liked/didn't like. Also, tell me if you saw any mistakes. I am currently beta-less because my beloved torchedheaven. is temporarily gone. –sigh-
Once again, happy New Year!
Lotsa lub,
Sayo
