It turns out that the house…no… castle I'm in…
Is right smack in the middle of the forest. Now, I don't know what a castle is doing here, especially such a big one, (explains why I couldn't find the exit, a couple of hours ago when being chased by Zero.) but it's not like I'm going to complain. I always was a outdoor type, never would wear dresses, never wanted to shop, or do makeup. My father, Kaien Cross, always complained. 'Why don't you act like a normal teenager, Yuuki, my darling?" I would always retort back, "Cause I'm a princess, of course!"
I chuckle a bit, and that gains me the attention of almost everyone in the room.
Well, might as well fill you in about the situation. Right now, I'm in a spacey room with beautiful decorations littering the walls and floors. The ceiling is high, and windows climbed all the way to the ceiling, to the floor, but didn't cover the whole of the room, only a modest portion of it.
Anyway, I'm in this room, me and a couple dozen other people, all about as scary as Zero when I first met him. Well… almost all. Some are actually smiling, but the one who looks the most…well, normal, is a tall, blond headed boy, with straight hair, that almost covers his eyes, which are hazy green, by the way. He seems to be the sun of the room, rejuvenating everyone's spirits, and whatnot.
But, each one emits a powerful aura in the vicinity of their bodies. While some look solemn, like they would rather be anywhere but here, others look fine, actually pleased to meet me. Especially another blond, with unruly, wavy hair that sticks up in most directions, with sharp, blue eyes, as he looks way too happy for my liking. But, Zero is right beside me, gently squeezing my arm, so I start to relax.
He whispers in my ear, "Play cool, Yuuki. They won't hurt you, but they won't like you if you're weak." He scoffs "And you're most definitely not weak." He looks right down "there", and quickly reminds me of the time when I had….urm…let's just say,he won't be having children for a while. I mean, it's not like I forgot. It was like, two hours ago. But still, I can't help but giggle. Forgot to mention, but Zero had also cured my bullet wound.
And yes.
The same way.
Medicine is a wonderful thing.
"Okay!" Zero snaps, and it breaks me out of my daze. Hmm, cranky much? Or is he always like this? "This is Yuuki Cross, the princess of Cross Kingdom." A little gasps, but most don't seem surprised. "She is going to reside with us for a while…"
He doesn't get to finish his sentence, when a girl with long, wavy hair, colored like the sand on a beach, and beautiful brown eyes, wearing a long, lavish pink dress speaks up. "Excuse me? You never told us a princess was going to stay with us! You said a 'girl'. Period. I will not agree to having royalty 'reside with us'." She says the word princess with distain, and I can't help but slightly glare at her. But, for some, odd reason, I kind of like her. I hardly know why. She seems like a nice girl…ish, and I get a good vibe from her, that's she's doing this to protect her friends. And I will gain her friendship, even if it forces me to leave the building.
It's my turn to speak. Maybe I can flip the situation around. "I promise you, I did not ask for this. The least I want to do is to trouble you," I thrust my arm out, and roll it to one side, indicating everyone in the room. "And if you don't want me to reside here, I will leave. There must be civilization somewhere…" I stop midsentence when I see the girl smile; a true, honest smile. She steps forward.
"Hi. I'm Ruka Souen." She sticks out her hand. I stare at it, wondering what the heck just happened with her attitude. She notices my staring, and chuckles. "Don't worry. I just wanted to see how you would react." I give her a puzzled look. "I mean," she says hastily, "I wanted to see whether you're one of those stuck up girls."
I laugh. "Of course not!" I can't believe it. "I dislike those girls as much as you do! Gosh, I hate those stereotypes…" A pause "Though, there usually true…" My eyes dance merrily, hinting that it was a joke. More people than I expect laugh, and I feel myself becoming relaxed, even when Zero's hand moves of my shoulder, and even more when he turns around, and though he doesn't smile, his eyes do.
Well, hmm. But still, progress!
His face switches almost automatically.
"Settle down, people!" Zero yells. His voice is so powerful, but smooth at the same time. Something tells me he's the leader of this group. "Let's commence…"
"Oh, commence. Big word!" I mock. I can't help but giggle at the look on Zero's face, one mixed with disbelief and exasperation, and many people in the room giggle along with me.
Zero veers at me, but I see him biting his lip, trying not to smile. He continues. "Lets get back" I pout. "to the introductions!"
The boy I was talking about, the "sun of the room" steps forward. He looks friendly enough, but just to be sure, I very faintly whisper a Word of Beyond, and ask that I don't glow for the spell. My wish is granted, though it takes up more magic (which is why I hardly use it), and no one notices that I just cast a spell. Well…except for Zero, who now is glaring daggers at me. I turn to him, and give him my most innocent look, pouting my lips a little on the bottom. His eyes soften, and he turns away, a small frown planted on his face, and I smile with triumph, then look back to the other boy.
The Word of Beyond is a rather complicated spell. It allows me to see beyond the mask of emotions people put up, as well as let me see truly what a person is like. It also let's me sense a person's aura, or mood, corresponding different colors with different emotions, though it won't tell me species, gender, etc.
He speaks. His voice is friendly and soft. "Hello! I'm Takuma Ichijo. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance!" I look past his friendly demeanor, and see what he's really like. Calm, and cool, but upbeat and loyal. Though, at some times, he seems to be deadly serious. His aura is bright yellow (Happy) and light purple (Loyal), with a tinge of gray (Seriousness).
I think I can like him easily, without little effort, and he seems to be quite happy upon meeting me, so I smile back, saying "Thank you!"
"Ahem." I turn my head to the left, where I see that boy with the messy hair, and sharp blue eyes. He's wearing a white tuxedo, looking to impress, and he makes me feel shabby, in just the plain shirt and jeans I'm wearing. (I had to opportunity to change out of the nightgown I was wearing.) He smirks, and it's his turn to step forward towards me. He reaches for my hand, with speed unnatural of a human, and grabs it. I see no polite way of withdrawing, so I just smile, and wait for him to release me.
Only, he doesn't, and still holding it, plants a gentle kiss on the back of my hand. He still doesn't let go, even when he introduces himself. "I'm Hanabusa Aido. But you may call me…Idol!" he exclaims. I roll my eyes, and look inside of him. He seems to be very lively, and extremely mischievous, as well as arrogant, and a complete ladies man. But he has a softer side. He's extremely loyal; to who, I wonder, and very protective of the one's he holds dear. His aura and mood right now is bright yellow, and a bit of orange (Mischief), which makes me a bit apprehensive. Still, I think I could trust him like I could trust Takuma.
"T-thank you, but I'll stick to Aido." I stutter, as Aido still hasn't let go of my hand. I start to struggle a bit, bringing my hand back to me, but he won't let go. It's only when I feel my hand starting to freeze, do I shoot a wary look at Zero. He comes forward, and rips my hand from Aido's. I seem him fall to the floor, and I shoot Aido a sympathetic look, mouthing sorry. He responds with a glare of his own. Even when he stands, he doesn't stop veering at me.
Shoot.
I guess I lost an ally, and it wasn't even my fault.
I turn my attention to the group of people, trying to ignore the metaphorical daggers digging slowly into my back by a blond headed boy.
Another person steps out. He's quite tall, I bet even taller than Zero, and that was really saying something. He has unruly hair, like Aido's, but not so thick, and his hair was orange. "I'm Akatsuki Kain, but Kain or Akatsuki is just fine." He pauses for a bit, trying to remember something. Then, "Oh, and I'm also Aido's cousin." I gasp in surprise. No way. It couldn't be, could it? Aido, he was, well, it seemed he was royalty, with his fancy clothes, and his fancy up-until-you-wouldn't-let-go-of-my-hand greeting, even though his attitude needed working on, while Kain's black shirt is open, and the bottom of it is ripped. He's wearing casual jeans, and looks pretty relaxed. I sigh, and before I judge him more, I look inside him, as I had the other two.
He's calm, mature and logical; always steps up and will speak for himself when needed and for the sake of other people. He's very protective of the one's he likes. His mood is bright green (Interest), and he smiles faintly at me. I shoot him one of my best smiles, and he seems enthusiastic enough about meeting me, but as he turns his head, and he catches sight of Aido flirting with Ruka, his interest is thrown out the window, as well as his common sense, as dark green (Envy and Jealousy), and a vivid red (Anger) take the bright green's place. He stomps over to them, and sharply pulls Aido away from Ruka. Now, he slings an arm over Aido's shoulder, and walks away, with a screaming Aido in tow, him chuckling quite darkly. I laugh at their antics, but I can't help but feel sorry for Aido, even though he is in the wrong.
Two people come forward now. A girl, with strikingly beautiful blue eyes, and medium length, orange-blond straight hair, tied in two ponytails, wearing a stylish t-shirt, with a heart with wings, tied up in chains, and a sword stabbed through it, and a nice, navy blue mini skirt, holding an umbrella, which completed the cute look, and a boy, who has messy red-brown hair, that stuck up in spikes, and came down in front of his ears, and very light blue eyes. He was wearing a white leather jacket, with buttons and lacerations down the middle, and a black shirt underneath, with faded and ripped jeans. Their looks alone help me a quite a bit to tell, but once I saw what they are wearing, it was obvious who they are.
"You're Rima Touya and Senri Shiki, aren't you?" I exclaim. I can't believe it! What are these famous models doing here?
"In the flesh." Rima replies. She has a smooth, silky voice, just how I imagined.
"But you may call us Rima and Shiki." Shiki says nonchalantly. Both seem pretty uninterested, but I look inside them, to see a rather big shock. Both auras are bright green, and a tinge of pink (Love). The bright green is obviously for me, but the pink…?
No way.
No way in hell.
But, it's true!
They like each other! I embrace my inner princess, and squeal a bit at the thought. Though, they don't really know that their love is requited. I can't help but giggle like a schoolgirl. Zero looks at me warily, and I shoot back a wide, almost maniacal smile. He takes a step back, looking a bit startled, before he shakes his head, and chuckles. His laugh is so sexy, that I almost forget the two characters in front of me. My thoughts quickly revert back to Rima and Shiki, before I could blush. A classic love story. But I thought that only happened in fairytales…
Anyway, I evaluate their personalities. Easily bored, and very quiet. Can be extremely loving, though, and both spunky and sassy. They're perfect for each other! But, after much struggle and self-conflict, I avoid the potential love story, and focus on more important things in hand.
"What happened? Why are you here, and not in the light of stardom?" I enquire. I'd like to ask that to myself.
Shiki shrugs. "Kaname." Hmm… not even a honorific.
"Excuse me, if you don't mind me asking…" I look at them for the approval. Rima nods. "What happened?"
Rima starts." Well, it all started…"
She doesn't get to finish to finish her first sentence, as the windows crack, and break, people flying through them. The shady characters summersault on the floor, before coming to a stop, and then stand. Their eyes roam the room, looking at every person. Their stop menacingly on me, and one by one, all smirk.
"Shit…" I whisper. "Dispel…" I turn off my Word of Beyond, and face the intruders in front.
"Yuuki Cross, I suppose" A burly man asks. He has a beard. Ew.
I snort. "Possibly. And who the hell are you, might I ask?" I snap.
"The police." He flips out a badge, printed on paper, showing it off to me. "And you better come with us, or you will regret it." He emphasizes the paper in front of me, shaking it at me.
Ha-ha. Play time, and hopefully a battle, if I can piss them off enough. Oh well, lets see.
"Ooh, scary!" I mock, feigning fear. My voice switches automatically, to one of a deeper tone. "A piece of paper, huh? What's the worst you could do?" My voice switches again, into that of a scared girl. "Oh no!" I turn to my newly acquired comrades. "Paper cuts!" My acquaintances outright laugh, and the "police officers" start to get annoyed. I turn slowly back to them, a smirk planted on my face.
Oh, this is too fun.
One speaks. "We have plenty of more people behind us…"
I cut him off. "You mean, if we're looking for a beating, you out-number us, so you'll win? Well… " I speak a Word of Power, my power starting to spiral, and summon electricity and energy in one hand, and a mini tornado in the other, holding it up, for them to see. "Try it, scum."
Once I hear the gasps behind me, I know I made a mistake. I whip around, and face the people in the room.
"I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you, but…" I pause, waiting to see their reactions. For most, surprise is written all over their face, save for a couple individuals, and Zero, who has witnessed my powers firsthand. "…I basically wield every single magical power that this world has seen and some that haven't been discovered." I say it all in one breath, and then shrug. Rima chuckles, and steps forward, protecting my right side. I turn around, to face the "police".
"Electricity, huh." She speaks to me, and smirks, but not towards me, rather, to Shiki, who glares at her. He steps forward, protecting my left.
"Ah…" he says. "The blood whip is cooler anyway."
I'm about to question what he means, but I stop, as I watch in awe as he bites his pointer finger with his oddly sharp teeth on the right hand. He bleeds a bit, and whips his hand upward, pointer finger out. I gasp, as the blood from his finger forms into a whip. He puts his hand down, his blood spiraling around his arm in thin little strips, and he points it to Rima.
"See." He smirks faintly, at her and me.
"B-but how?" I start to hyperventilate. "How is it that…w-why are you… i-it isn't p-possible that…"
"Yuuki?" Shiki says my name. I turn up to look at him. "We have enemies to face."
"But…" I try again.
"Excuse me…" one impatient officer mutters.
"Hah. Just wait a moment." Rima chuckles towards him. It's her turn to stick out her hand. Her smile turns to a concentrated stare, until she closes her eyes all together. Her arm almost immediately starts to glow, a pale cyan shade, and in a couple of moments, starts to crackle. When she opens her eyes, the florescent light moves to her hand, and joins into a big, concentrated ball of electricity.
And the best part is, it makes mine, including energy and the Word of Power, look a lot shabbier.
Again, I widen my eyes, and whip my head between the two characters. They seem pretty amused themselves, as I can clearly see it dancing in their eyes. But they're not the only ones.
"Haha." Someone laughs from behind me. Zero steps forward, and comes in front of me. "You look surprised." He drawls. I reach on my tippy-toes, and smack him on the head. "Ow, hey!" he snaps.
I am annoyed.
"Humph. Why didn't you tell me? You could've at least saved me the shock!" I sigh and shake my head. Some people… "Come on." I gesture to the 'officers.' "Seems to be about forty of them. And they said they have reinforcements…"
Suddenly, Kain and Aido rush into the room, having heard the crash caused by our foes crashing through the windows. They spend a bit of time evaluating the situation, then…
"Wha…!"Aido practically shrieks. "Why must this always happen when I'm gone…I want to fight too!" As he looks over to me, and notices my hand, I see his mouth drop to the floor. Metaphorically, of course. "The brat! She a sorcerer? Why doesn't anyone tell me this?" he blubbers.
"Um…Aido?" I speak carefully. He seems to be a bit unstable now, so I feel like I have to talk to him like he's a deck of cards; one blow from caving in. " I wanted to tell, you but…" I stop. "Wait! We have more important things to handle right now!"
He still seems to ignore me, still, so I decide to ignore him back, and turn back, again, to the officers. "Seems like that's the last time. May we commence?"
The first group of enemies had spilt up, while we were talking, giving us around 5-8 enemies each. All of the mini groups charge forward. Immediately, Shiki whips his hand out, and lashes the blood whip at a couple of people, then jumps, twirling the whip around his body, then uncurls it, striking a few more opponents. He hits dead on, and I'm surprised when the ground crumbles under the attack. Rima as well, starts to attack. She jumps us, and unwraps her umbrella. Floating down softly, the holds out her hand, and shoots the electricity in small bullets, electrocuting anyone who got in her way, as well as flipping to avoid the bullets of her enemies. I quickly conclude…
They're amazing.
Facing my own cattle, I jump in the air, as someone tries to shoot me, and land behind him. I touch his neck softly with my hand, and jump out of the way, as my mini tornado is released. It grows, larger and larger, until it's bigger than the man. I move my hand, to steer the whirlwind, and direct it towards my group. I'm satisfied, as I hear the men's screams trickle out, over the noise of the tornado.
"How long will this follow us?" one yells.
I smirk, and reply simply, "To the ends of hell." I close my eyes, and yell, "Release!" The tornado now moves on it's own, and I sigh in satisfaction as it falls out the window, carrying around three enemies with it. I walk towards the window, and look down. "Ooh. Steep drop."
I hear exaggerated screams. "How dare you do that to our comrades!" I chuckle, and jump backwards to avoid a slice at my back. Taking my electric charged hand, I turn towards the attacker, and smack him viciously on the face, the noise echoing through the room. I hear a sickening crack, as his cheekbones shatter, and watch him fly into a wall, hitting a few more people on the way, thanks to my Word of Power, all while wiping my hands on my pants, to rid of his blood.
Done with them, I hear a cry of help, and turn to see Ruka on the floor, bleeding alarmingly, getting ganged up by her group of officers. There's about seven. I look for Kain, maybe near by, so he could help her (He seems to care for her quite a bit.), but once I see him on the opposite side of the room, dancing with flames, obviously having fun, I decide to help her.
They're about to strike her, all with swords and I interlude quickly, stopping around four out of seven with my hands. Two are too shocked to move, but one isn't. He thrusts his weapon quickly, and his sword pierces my left shoulder. I cry out a bit, and release the men I had earlier grabbed. As I see all of them shape up to attack me, I quickly pull out the sword, and holler a Word of Speed. Hastily, I touch the floor, and scream, "The Art of Extreme Summoning! I call Earth!"
Instantaneously, vines are pulled through from the ground, and trap all seven of the officers, intertwining their legs, arms, body, and whatnot. The spikes on the vines cut into their bodies, causing blood to slowly leak down, joining in a puddle on the floor. My eyes flash furiously, and I talk sharply and precise, biting out the words. "You cowards!" I thrust my right arm out, palm outstretched, as my other hand hanging limply to my side, dripping blood down my arm, and to my hand. As I talk, I slowly start to close my fist, and the vine's grip becomes tighter the closer my fingers get to my palm. "How dare you do that to her? How many people does it take to kill one person?" My voice is shrill. I'm about to close my fist, to end their worthless existence once and for all, but I feel a gentle hand on my shoulder. I uncurl my almost closed fist, and look behind me, to see Ruka smiling. I'm about to voice a word of complaint for being stopped, but she cuts me off, her next words surprising me, to the point of not being able to talk.
"Let me do it."
I smirk. (When had I stopped smiling like a normal person?) "Of course." I snap my fingers, and the vines unravel from the bodies. Some of them drop limply to their knees, some just face plant on the floor. Ruka closes her eyes, and holds out her hands. Almost immediately, the men on the floor stand up, and turn towards each other. Taking out guns, each of them reloads, turns, and shoots each other. I can't help myself, I gasp, and take a step back. All fall on the floor…
Dead.
"Oh my gosh, Ruka! How did you do that?" I question hastily, as more officers come and attack.
"Eh, manipulation through illusions." Some one tries to slash her, but she recoils, and dashes forwards, and cuts his neck with her hands. "But it takes a lot of concentration, which is why I had almost gotten killed." I capture a man's head in my legs, and snap his neck, then flip, and slam his head on the ground. I feel pain burn down my arm, then instinctively grab my left shoulder, where the man had pierced earlier. "Ah." Ruka suggests. "Let me tend to that."
"Heh. Just wait a moment." I gasp out. The blood loss was making me dizzy. "I only have enough magic for one or two spells. The Extreme Summoning really kills your magic." I laugh a bit, then kneel on the floor. Again, I touch the floor with my palm. "Barrier!"
A green circle envelops our feet, and soon spreads to cover the rest of our bodies. Ruka's about to start, but I stop her, as I get a sudden thought, and I gasp.
"Are you going to lick my wound?" I blurt. I then realize I had sounded way to eager.
"Wha…? No, of course not!" She pauses. "Why? Has someone already have?"
I blush madly. "Y-yeah. Zero, on my neck and thigh."
Ruka face contorts into shock, then…
She outright laughs. Her laughs echo on and on, seemingly never to stop, and she bends down to slap her knees. I never would tell this to her, but when her laughs became silent, and she started to clap her hands, she looked like a seal.
But eventually, her laughs slow down to inconsistent giggles, and finally, a mere chuckle. "Haha! That Zero…! He's…a… " She starts up again, and I breathe out impatiently, waiting for her to stop. She speaks, trying to control her laughter. "I'm…haha! I'm…sorry. It's just, I would have never expected him to do that!"
I groan in pain. "It's alright…just would you…please…heal me?" I mutter.
Ruka gasps. "Right! I'm sorry, I forgot!" Her face, once littered with smug amusement, is now dead serious. She licks her pointer finger, and says softly, "This may hurt a bit." I knew. I close my eyes, as her finger touches my wound, then saliva going into the raw skin and muscle. I hiss in pain, as my skin and muscle is melded together, joining perfectly, not even leaving a mark of the wound before.
"Doesn't matter how many times this happens…" I flex my arm out, enjoying the ability to move it.
"Shall we split up now?" I inquire.
"Lets." Ruka replies.
I flip out my Artemis rod, and whisper, "Artemis, a scythe again, please?"
When I throw up my rod, I hear someone running towards me. I turn sharply, and see that the jerk that's running at me has his sword drawn. I needed my weapon, but I forget that Artemis was falling when I had turned. I'm too surprised to react, and Artemis, a fully transformed scythe, falls on the floor, its clanks on the tiles like thunder to my ears. It's now knocked around two meters away from me, and the man attacking me is surprisingly quick. I have nothing to defend myself with, and he throws his sword down. I shut my eyes, waiting for the pain to invade my body.
"Yuuki!"
Blood is soon all over my front, staining my white t-shirt and jeans with its almost elegant ruby.
But, I'm not hurt.
Apprehensively, I start to open my eyes. When I opened them far enough to see, my eyelids shoot up the rest of the way, as a see a blood stained Zero standing in front of me, his hand pierced through my attacker's chest. I calm down, and blink, as I start to wipe the blood off my clothes. Zero looks startled, well, no, just mildly surprised that I hadn't screamed. When I'm done cleaning myself the best I can, I look up, to see his startled look transformed into one of fierce anger.
He hollers. " What the heck is wrong with you? You never give your back to an opponent!" I grimace. "Sheesh! Even in the first battle, your nothing but a nuisance!" I can't help but flinch and back away slowly; actually scared of him, like I was the first time we met. He doesn't seem to notice, and stomps away, as I try and try to scream an apology.
The words don't come out.