Akira: A little note here and there Ah, I feel so refreshed after writing this. Again, this chapter isn't beta-ed, so it might have a few grammar errors here and there. If you find any, please tell me so that I can improve on my writing! AND for your information, Asuna won't be playing a very big role just yet. So you'll have to wait until the story really comes into play hehe. By the way, the era they live in isn't totally in the feudal era, it's a mix of almost everything ranging from medieval to modern day era, so please bear with me ne? -Bows-
To Furu-chan: Thank you for updating Dark Night Encounters! I loved it xD I know you've been really sick and I don't really want to burden you with beta-ing. So please get well soon! Looking forward to having you back healthy and in one whole piece! xD
Chapter II: Of Nightmares and Reality
"Tadaima, hime-chan!" the middle aged man announced as he opened the door, setting foot into the little house they lived in. (1)
"Okaeri nasai, Otou-san,' Konoka called from within the house. (2)
"It smells great! What're we having today, hime-chan?" the middle aged man placed his hands onto her shoulders and peered curiously into the boiling pot of brown substance.
Takahata raised his left hand and ruffled the girl's head, earning a grin and a reply from her saying, "It's a surprise, Otou-san. Could you get Asuna and tell her that dinner's ready?"
With that, Takahata laughed and ruffled his daughter's head once more before heading off towards the backyard where Asuna was doing her daily exercise.
-----
Setsuna hummed to himself as he walked through the dark halls without noticing the figure following him until he felt a tap on his shoulder, causing him to jerk a little in shock as he drew Yuunagi hastily while turning towards his 'attacker'. As the 'attacker' revealed herself, he lowered the nodachi after seeing a smirk and hearing a light chuckle coming from said 'attacker'.
"Oh it's only you, Kaede. Don't just tap me like that, you know me well enough to know that I might have just went ahead and attacked you," Setsuna sighed, shaking his head in disapproval at the taller girl and then smiled at the sight of his best friend. "Besides, Azusa doesn't like it when you or Mana or any other girls in fact have any form of physical contact with me, even something as light as this and it is improper for a girl like you to be touching me at all! By the way, aren't you supposed to be out at the borders?"
"What do you mean by 'only'?" Kaede replied, rubbing the back of her neck with her right hand and continued audibly, "There it is again, you and your improperness talk. I thought I'd pay you a visit or something since I thought you might be pretty lonely without me. I'm supposed to return today, they said they needed me back here for some reason." She put her arm around his shoulder quickly and laughed once she sensed Azusa walking away from the scene in a huff.
Sensing that his fiancée's presence is no longer in the area, he gave his friend another disapproving look and answered in an annoyed way, "You knew she was here, didn't you? I can't believe you, grabbing me at every chance just to annoy Azusa."
"The look on her face was worth every effort, trust me," She patted Setsuna on the back and paused suddenly as if remembering something. "That's right! Did something good happen today? You seemed to be in such a good mood that you didn't even sense my presence. I wonder who was it that affected the Sakurazaki Setsuna in such a manner that he could even hum to himself in public (even though he thinks that there's nobody else around)."
The young samurai stared at the bright red carpet below him, the color of his face almost matching that of the carpet.
"T-There's no one like that."
Kaede gave a sly grin and quickly held Setsuna under a headlock, making him struggle at the sudden attack by his best friend.
"Spill, who is it?"
"Like I said, I didn't meet anyone like that!" The color on his face darkened, Kaede's grin grew even wider than it was before. It wasn't everyday that you get to see the usual cold, unsociable Sakurazaki Setsuna act so helplessly against his best friend because of one little question.
"Your face tells me something else, now spill!"
"… Kaede, what're you trying to do to Setsuna?"
Kaede cast a glance at the tall and tanned girl and gave her a quick smile. "What am I doing…? A headlock of course, it doesn't look like I'm doing anything else right? Oh right, what're you doing here? I thought you were out on a mission?"
Setsuna struggled against the grip but to no avail. It seemed like Kaede would not let the matter rest so easily. The grip tightened and he gasped for air desperately.
Need… air…
"Mission completed. I'm supposed to report to the elders today."
"Hey Mana, do you want to spar later? I'm feeling out of shape recently and I'm looking for a sparring partner today."
"…"
"Ah, you killed him." Mana pointed at the limp body of Setsuna and blinked.
"Ah, you're right."
-----
Murder… that's definitely attempted murder!
Setsuna sat up with a groan on his bed, rubbing his stiff neck. Cursing under his breath, he made a mental note to himself never to go near Kaede in times like that ever again. He wasn't referring to the headlock though. Kaede was just too sharp when it came to little details like that and too dangerous to approach at the moment. But then again, what was he worried about? Why did he not want them to know? There wasn't a need to keep it a secret anyway. He massaged his temples as his head throbbed painfully. Damn… The headache is killing him. Deciding that he desperately needed a short nap to cure that accursed headache of his, he fell back onto the bed and closed his eyes, wiping away the bead of sweat threatening to fall from his brow if he made any more movement.
-----
…
They're catching on to our movements. I have to act soon. The princess's life is in my hands, I cannot afford to make any mistakes.
Takahata sat on the edge of Konoka's bed, hand gently caressing the princess's head as a sign of affection. His lips curved upwards a little as he felt the teenage girl stirred a little and then sighed in her sleep, holding the Konoe pendant closer to her chest. Sixteen some years, they had constantly been on the run, and yet the girl knows nothing about her true lineage believing herself to be just a commoner who moved from country to country just because of her father's job.
Standing up to leave the room, he pulled the covers up upon his precious daughter and patted her head lightly before closing the door behind him. Removing his half-framed glasses, he leaned his back against the door behind and frowned. For how long, will he be able to keep her safe? Two teenage girls; entrusted under his care, both as dear to him as his blood-daughters. It pained him to even imagine if either one of them came to into harm's way.
Where is he? Where is the white-winged warrior?
-----
He struggled to breathe. Air, he needed it desperately. He felt as though his lungs were about to burst. The air around was suffocating and unbelievably cold. His lip was cracked and dry, there were gashes on his shoulder blade and left arm, and his kimono was soaked crimson with his own blood, torn beyond repair. He stumbled back suddenly as a pair of deathly and pale white hands reached for his face. He jerked back to reality as he retreated into a corner, his back hitting the old wooden door behind him. The hands had disappeared. Where had they gone to? He looked around himself frantically seeking for life in the same room. It was then that he realized that he was no longer in his bedroom, but somewhere else. Some place which carried the horrible scent of death in the air. The atmosphere was too overwhelming, and he figured that he needed to get out quick.
Setsuna wrinkled his nose and cringed at the sight of corpses that lay dead upon the ground, some rotting, some mutilated, and some, simply dismembered to the point that they could hardly be recognized as human bodies. His mind was clouded with confusion, and he dared not make any movement lest the creature sought him once again.
A whimper.
What…?
Then a piercing scream followed.
He could not think at all. He trembled violently due to the cold air and parted his lips. "Who is there? Show yourself!" His voice came out amazingly dry and hoarse, as if he hadn't drank for days.
"Secchan… is that you?" cracked a weak feminine voice in the darkness.
Secchan? It can't b-
"Kill the half-breed! Kill the princess! Kill them both!" shrieked a shrill voice loudly.
Realization dawned upon him as the moonlight shone onto Konoka's tear-stained face which was cover with dark dried blood and dirt. He looked at the seemingly dead man beside her, his face barely recognizable due to the burn marks on his face. The man's eyes were blank, his crushed glasses fallen by his side, and his arms and legs were mangled. He took a step forward cautiously in apprehension…
Suddenly, the door broke into pieces with a loud bang and-
In the bed, the young man jumped awoke with a start, and inhaled sharply as though he couldn't breathe before. His cloths were drenched with sweat and blood? What the hell? Raising his hand to wipe away the sweat that made his bangs stuck to his forehead, he winced as he realized that the wounds were on his shoulder and arm, exactly where he was injured in that dream…
He got off the bed quickly and limped towards the bathroom, where he removed his blood-stained kimono. He dressed his wounds quickly, wondering how he had gotten himself the wounds, while he was on the bed all along. What the hell was that about?
…
A dream? It felt so real… and there was someone else besides himself. Who was it?
-----
Meanwhile, in the small house located in the forest, the chocolate haired girl whimpered in her sleep, clawing at the white sheets which were wet from her sweat tightly. She tossed and turned violently, causing the pillow under her to fall to the ground with a soft 'thud'.
"No please… not Otou-san… take me, take me instead…" she moaned incoherently in her sleep.
"Konoka, wake up!" Asuna leaned over her best friend, worry evident in her eyes as she shook the moaning girl awake.
Konoka opened her eyes suddenly, moving so quickly to sit up that she didn't notice Asuna's face above hers and knocked the orange-haired girl right on the forehead, causing her to lose her balance, falling off the bed that she was previously kneeling on. She winced at the impact and jerked back slightly, her hand immediately flying up to the bump that was quickly forming on her forehead as a result of the collision.
"O-ouch… that hurts, Konoka!" Asuna scrambled onto her feet as she set herself on the edge of her friend's bed and held her shoulders firmly and said, "Are you alright, Konoka? You were breaking out in cold sweat back there!"
"I'm fine. Don't worry. Let's get back to sleep, okay?" Konoka set her eyes upon the other girl and her own sweaty palms found a way to her friend's hands which were resting on her shoulders. She gave a reassuring squeeze, signaling that she was fine. Her hands shook a little though, and Asuna refused to buy it that she was fine and insisted that she should stay up to accompany Konoka for the whole night.
After convincing her friend that she was perfectly fine, she got off her bed and the ground below her didn't feel as stable as it had been before she went to bed. Konoka placed her hand against the wall, leaning towards it as she walked into the bathroom. She looked into the mirror in a daze, wondering what was the dream all about as she removed her top, changing into dry clothes. The nightmare felt so real, and yet she could remember nothing about it. What exactly happened?
-----
Perched on the tall oak outside the house stood a mysterious young boy who looked no more than thirteen years old. His lips curved up into a slight smile as he murmured to himself, "Hime… Mitsuketa…"
End of Chapter II
Tadaima – I'm home
Okaeri nasai, Otou-san – Welcome home, Father.
Akira: Well, that concludes the chapter! xD I know I'm evil for the cliff hanger, but I just couldn't help it! xD I've already decided on the gender thing a long time ago, so read more to find out ne? -Grin-
In my opinion, I feel that this chapter is a little better than the last, somehow lol. I'm sorry for the lack of KonoSetsu interaction in this chapter! And the OOC-ness of Kaede and Mana… I figured that it would be rather fun to see the three of them in that manner too! xD
Last but not least, I'd like to thank all of you for your wonderful reviews, without them, I may not be able to improve even a little. I hope you will continue to read on and review! It makes me very happy to know that there're people who like what I've written. Once again, thank you very much. I'll work hard to improve!