(A/N: Sorry this took so long, but finals are coming up for me and I've been studying my brains out and didn't have much time to write. But I'm here now, so enjoy the next chapter.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 5: Drama

Nausicaä walked out of her room early the next morning. She was surprised to see Ved leaning against the wall, arms crossed, eyes closed. He opened his eyes and gave her a smile.

"Well, good morning." He said. "It's about time you got up. I was wondering how long I would have to wait here."

Nausicaä could tell he was joking. "How long were you waiting?"

Ved shrugged. "About three hours."

"Three hours!" Nausicaä cried, clearly surprised, and a little disturbed by the fact that he had waited outside her room for so long. "What time did you get up?"

"Oh, around 5:30." He said carelessly. "I believe in making the most out of the day, so I get up early. Plus, I wanted to catch you before you made any plans for today."

"So you waited outside of my room for three hours?" She didn't know whether she should be bothered by this or flattered that he had waited so long.

"I did not wish to disturb you. A woman must get her beauty sleep." He gave her his sparkling smile again. "Not that you need it."

Nausicaä blushed. "Thanks… but I feel bad for making you wait so long."

Ved just laughed. "Not to worry. I had a lot to think about. This was the perfect opportunity to settle some things. It also gave me time to plan out the day. I was hoping we could spend some time together. I would really like to get to know you better."

Nausicaä nodded. 'Right, I did agree to give him a chance. At least one date.' "Ok, then."

"Excellent!" Ved cried, clapping his hands together. "I already have my servants preparing everything. I wanted to be ready without having to keep you waiting." He chuckled. "It's a good thing you're free, or else all this planning and preparation would have gone to waste." He bowed to her. "Now if you'll excuse me, I will let you get ready for the day." He walked off, pausing as he passed Nausicaä and whispering, "I'm really looking forward to today."

Nausicaä didn't reply. She didn't know what to say. Ved was certainly going all out. He really was a gentleman. A little strange, but a gentleman nevertheless. But still, she couldn't help but feel as if she had forgotten something.

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Asbel was debating whether or not to bring his gun when he and Nausicaä went into the toxic jungle today. He had taken it as a precaution last time, though he hadn't needed it. He would rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. Nausicaä may trust the insects completely, but he was still hesitant to put his life in their hands. Being touched had certainly made him understand them better, but that didn't mean that he was now completely safe from them. But bringing it would be a sign of distrust.

"I'll compromise." He muttered, deciding to leave the gun and bring a knife. He looked at the clock, figuring that Nausicaä must be up by now. He decided to knock on her door.

As he headed down to where he knew Nausicaä was staying, he felt his face heat up, thinking of when Nausicaä had come to his door, asking if he had wanted to spend the day with her. He hadn't been in the best-dressed state at the time and had ended up embarrassing himself.

'I seem to do that a lot around her.' he thought. 'Why is it that whenever I'm around her I get all… all…' He shook his head, clearing himself of such thoughts. 'She's not for you!' His mind screamed. 'She's predestined to be with the prophesized one. You're just another one of her friends to help her along the way.'

His thoughts shifted to Prince Ved. He wondered if the Kalvandir prince was indeed the one Nausicaä was meant to be with. A surge of jealousy tore through him. What was so great about him? Ok, so he was handsome, polite, thoughtful, and intoned with the earth, but besides that, so what?

'So what?' he thought. 'That's exactly the type of person that the world needs to restore its connection with the earth. The two of them will probably hit it off great.' Shaking his head, he decided to focus on something happier. 'Well, if he is destined to be with Nausicaä, then there's nothing I can do about it. But today, the two of us are going back to the toxic jungle to have some fun.' He chuckled. 'Strange, I never thought of the toxic jungle as fun before.'

As he got closer to Nausicaä's room, one of the people he had been thinking about passed him by, nodding in greeting.

"Asbel, good morning."

Asbel nodded back. "Good morning, Prince Ved."

"Just Ved." The Kalvandir prince replied. "I so tire of hearing things such as 'prince', or 'sire', or 'your majesty' when I'm speaking to others." He looked concerned for a moment. "Forgive me, but my opinion gives me know right to speak to you in the same manner, Prince Asbel."

Asbel just waved it off. "No, Asbel is fine with me." He gave the Kalvandir prince a suspicious look. "What were you doing down here?"

Ved laughed. "I could ask the same question." He shook his head, snickering. "I was just wanted to talk to Nausicaä."

"Oh, so she's up?"

Ved nodded. "She's getting ready now. She should be out soon. I'll leave you to whatever you were doing. Good day."

He walked by with all the grace in the world. Asbel raised an eyebrow as he passed. Ved was certainly an interesting fellow. It seemed to Asbel that he stood no chance against such a person.

'Stand a chance at what?' he thought to himself. 'It's not like we're competing against each other for anything.'

He found himself outside Nausicaä's room, suddenly feeling very nervous. He wondered why. It wasn't like he was asking her out or anything. They had already made these plans yesterday. He was just checking to see if she was ready.

After standing in front of her door for who knows how long, Asbel finally gained enough courage to knock. As his fist came down to knock, the door swung opened. Nausicaä cried out in surprise as Asbel nearly hit her.

"Oh, Nausicaä, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… I was just-"

"It's fine." Nausicaä replied. "You didn't hit me."

Asbel laughed nervously. "Yeah, good thing. I was just coming to see if you were ready."

Nausicaä cocked her head to the side. "Um… ready?"

Confused, Asbel raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, weren't we going to go to the-"

"Toxic jungle!" Nausicaä cried, suddenly remembering. With Ved's unexpected appearance and request for her company today, she had completely forgotten that she had invited Asbel to join her in the toxic jungle again today. "Oh no! I completely forgot! We did make plans today." She frowned. "But I just told Ved I'd spend the day with him."

Asbel gave her a suspicious look. "Ved?"

Nausicaä nodded. "Yeah, he was waiting for me outside my room and asked me to join him today. He said he had it all planned out."

Asbel's eyes narrowed. 'So, that's what he was doing down here, the sneak.'

"I'll have to cancel on him." Nausicaä replied. "I did make plans with you first."

Asbel sighed. "No, it's fine. You did say that he had the day planned out. We can go to the toxic jungle any time."

"But Asbel-"

He held up a hand to stop her. "Really, it's ok. I understand."

She have him a worried look. "Are you sure you're ok with this?"

Truthfully, giving up Nausicaä to the Kalvandir prince was the last thing he wanted to do. But he gave her a smile and said in a joking way, "I just said I was. Go on, go enjoy yourself." His smile became mischievous. "But if he tries to hog you too much, I'll just have to steal you away."

Nausicaä laughed. "Thanks, Asbel, you're a good friend."

She hurried away, leaving Asbel by himself. His friendly smile became a sad frown. "Yeah… a friend. That's all I am." He sighed. "That's all I can be to the prophesized one's soul mate."

Feeling rather depressed, Asbel decided to burn off some tension with some practice. He retrieved his sword and went outside, slicing through the air with great aggravation. His mind was fixated on Nausicaä and Ved enjoying a romantic evening together. Jealousy filled him and his movements became more aggressive.

'Don't know why I'm so upset.' He thought. 'Something like this was going to happen eventually. I guess I thought the two of us would have been together for a little while longer before the prophesized one showed up.'

He swung to the left and his sword made contact with another one. Lord Yupa stood before him, having been the one to catch his swinging sword.

"Now what kind of swordsmanship is that?" Lord Yupa asked. "Your movements are aggressive and reckless. I always told you not to let your emotions affect your fighting; that will get you killed."

Asbel pulled away. "I'm not letting my emotions affect me." He declared. Lord Yupa raised an eyebrow. "Ok, so I am. So what? This isn't a real fight."

"It doesn't matter." The sword master replied. "You don't want to get used to such rash actions."

Asbel sighed. "I'm sorry, master. I'm just feeling aggravated."

"I noticed. Care to talk about it?"

Asbel shook his head. "Not really. I'm not certain of what it is myself. I just needed something to distract myself with."

"Well then," Lord Yupa spun his sword around, "care to spar with me?"

For an answer, Asbel charged at his master. Lord Yupa easily blocked the attack and the sparing session began. Regardless of what Lord Yupa had just told him, Asbel's movements were wild and clumsy. The sword master was rather disappointed in his pupil. He knew Asbel knew better. But perhaps it was better to let him get it out of his system.

"So, why so upset?"

"I told you, I don't know."

Lord Yupa wasn't convinced. "You know what it is; you just don't want to tell me."

"So what?"

Their swords clashed together. "So I can't help you if you don't talk to me." He received no reply. "Fine, then I'll just have to take a guess. Would it have anything to do with Nausicaä and Ved spending the day together?"

Asbel was so surprised that he made a mistake with his swordplay and Lord Yupa knocked the weapon from his hands. "W-Why would you think that?"

Lord Yupa shook his head. "Asbel, Asbel, Asbel. I am your master. I make it a point to know my students."

Asbel crossed his arms stubbornly. "What do you know about me?"

The sword master narrowed his eyes and gave the Pejite prince a serious look. "I know that you're in love with Nausicaä."

The shocked look that appeared over Asbel's face would have made Lord Yupa laugh had it been a more cheerful moment. But the look of surprise soon became stubborn once again.

"That's ridiculous!" he cried. "Why would you say something as crazy as that?"

Lord Yupa cut his eyes at him. "Call it a hunch. That and the way you look at her, talk about her, and act around her. Not to mention you've muttered her name in your sleep on several occasions for the past two years."

Asbel blushed. He had been saying her name in his sleep? How long had that been going on? "I… I…"

"Yes, you have. There is no use denying it. I recognize the symptoms of someone in love." He sighed. "I was in love once too."

Asbel blinked in surprise. "You? Why didn't you ever tell me?"

Lord Yupa chuckled. "I have my secrets too. It was a long time ago though; back when things were…" his tone became sad and serious, "less peaceful." He pulled his hat over his eyes to hide the emotion in them. "She died due to… shall we say, certain circumstances. And ever since then, I completely devoted myself to the legend and the toxic jungle."

Asbel looked at his master in disbelief. "I… never knew."

"That is because I never told you. But trust me on this, Asbel, never run from love, or be afraid of it."

The Pejite prince looked thoughtful for a moment, but then he turned away. "It doesn't matter anyway. She's with Ved now."

'Don't be so sure.' Lord Yupa thought, though he didn't voice his opinion. Instead he said, "You don't seem too happy about that."

"He's not good enough for her!"

Lord Yupa raised an eyebrow at Asbel's harsh tone. "And you are?"

Asbel shook his head. "No one is. As far as I'm concerned, Nausicaä is too good for anyone, prophesized or otherwise."

Now that Lord Yupa found funny. "Oh, Asbel. Everyone has their flaws, even Nausicaä."

"Don't say that!" Asbel snapped.

Lord Yupa just laughed again. "So protective. Another sign of being in love."

Asbel got a hold of himself when he realized how he was behaving. He took a deep breath and sighed. "Just tell me one thing, master, do you think Ved is the prophesized one?"

"Ah," Lord Yupa muttered, "that is the question, isn't it? Nausicaä asked me my opinion too."

He paused here. Asbel waited for him to continue, but the sword master remained silent. "And… what did you tell her?"

"I told her that it is up to her to figure it out. Only she will know. Perhaps it is Ved, perhaps it's not. It's seems like it could be anyone." He gave Asbel a serious look. "Who knows, she may even fall for you."

Asbel glared at him. "Don't tease me like that!" he snapped angrily. "I don't stand a chance against someone like Prince Ved."

He sheathed his sword and stormed off, rudely dismissing himself from his master's presence. But Lord Yupa made no attempt to go after him. He just closed his eyes and sighed. "No, Asbel, you don't…" he whispered, "not with an attitude like that."

(A/N: Poor Asbel, but you knew something like this would happen eventually with Ved's presence. Next chapter is Nausicaä and Ved's 'date'. Now how do you think that will turn out? By the way, who likes Ved? He's not supposed to be the hated love rival character that you see in anime sometimes, just another guy. I'll update as soon as I can, but with finals approaching, that may take a little while longer than normal.)