So how long has it been since I actually last updated this story? Over a year and a half. Holy poopies that is a very long time indeed. I hope I haven't become rusty and that you guys may still enjoy another chapter.
Disclaimer: I can't believe I am actually still doing this but. OBVIOUSLY I don't own any of the official characters of the Inazuma Eleven Universe. The story was originally owned by Shiranai Atsune, the only thing I do own is my oc.
NOW READ YOU FANFIC ADDICTS
The small town was still fully asleep whent the first few sunbeams cracked up at the horizon, the dull grey sky filling up with the pale colors of morning and the first rooster cried out in response.
Within minutes the first people emerged from their houses, fully dressed and ready for the start of another day, they prepared the little things that would get the rest of the village going and multiple warm lights ignited from behind the windows. Animals were taken out of their pens and brought out into the fields while the faint scents of breakfast wafted through the chilly, morning air.
The inn was still completely dark on the second floor, it's guests still soundly asleep while the cooks and maids downstairs did their magic.
Villagers exchanged their shoes for sturdier boots, the muddy ground still obviously damp from the rain of earlier and the occasional puddle lying there peacefully while it hosted a fervent group of flies. Their reflection a perfect mirror of the skies above them, flat and smooth as glass.
Untill a ripple broke it.
It went mostly unnoticed.
Untill it happened again, the pools of water shook in unrest and the sound of approaching hooves were heard in the distance. By the sound of it they were comming closer every second and not a minute had passed before the lead of ten silver-clad knights shot through the foliage and entered the village.
The few people who were outside stared in awe at them, seeing the Royal Guard was highly unusual and a sight to behold. They shone in the weak rays of sunlight and they looked truly gallant on their strong horses, three of them had dismounted, their feet splashing in the mud and the hem of their brilliant scarlet capes caught onto the dirt.
They moved with grace and spread out after their captain had ordered them to. They did their job discretely, they were here for only two Werewolves, and according to their latest intelligence source they should be somewhere in this town. Everyone else was to be left undisturbed.
The knights had gone for the Inn and healer's cabin first, common sense telling them they would most likely be residing there. Haruna however, had sent them away almost immediately, telling them off on how you shouldn't disturb the people who were still healing, or the person who had their hands full on healing them.
The master of the Inn had welcomed them, telling them they were indeed at the right adress. The man was a bit suspicious though, why had the Royal Guard come for the two youngsters? Could it be he was housing a criminal? He mentally shook his head, discarding the ridiculous idea quickly, he had seen the look on their faces when they arrived in their village last night.
He asked them to wait downstairs, he'd fetch the gentlewolves in question for them as he did not want to risk his other guests to be disturbed. They agreed and a gentle knocking sound reverberated through the quiet room.
The door was opened almost immediately, Endou Mamoru stood before the Inn-master, shielding a still sleeping Kirino from the man's view.
"What can I do for you on this, slightly early, yet beautiful morning good sir?" He asked, tone slightly teasing as it balanced somewhere between friendliness and hostility.
"Ah, Master Endou, the Royal Guard is downstairs here to fetch the young Wolf resting in your chambers." The poor Inn-master was a bit flustered, after all he was talking to the previous head of the Royal Guard. And he did not dare to disrespect the man who, albeit retired, still possessed the strength of possibly a thousand men. If he was supposed to believe the rhumors about him that is.
"Have they now," Endou sighed in dramatic exhasperation. "Well, you can tell them they can come and get him when he's ready."
"But.. Master Endou! You can't expect me to tell them to wait!"
"Why not, by the looks of it they sent the minimum just for show, let the kids here have some fun too by oogling at them will you?" The trade-mark grin cracked up at Endou's lips, the very charm of it silencing the Inn-master. "Besides, if they have come all the way from the Capitol, don't you think you ought to offer them some breakfast? Give them the warmest welcome on behalf of the town, it'd make good publicity for your inn too right?"
"I suppose you're right but.."
"Then I'll leave it in your very capable hands," He was about to close the door again. His voice dropped an octave and all formal friendliness was thrown out completely. It made shivers run down the spines of any unlucky enough to hear it. "Oh, also, if any of them try to take this young man by force, then please tell them they will have to go through me first."
The poor Inn-master could only sigh as he retreated to the downstairs area with empty hands.
A soft groan came from the stirring Kirino who now drifted somewhere between sleep and rousal. Endou kneeled beside him and gently laid his hand on the young Wolf's head, the warmth emmiting from his palm silencing him as Kirino continued to sleep.
"You don't have to wake up yet my friend," A sad smile tugged at Endou's lips. "You'll need all the strength you can get."
Let's just say that the first knights who did try to take Kirino were met with the strong glare of Endou, who awaited them at the top of the stairs cleaning his sword with the utmost care. They had peeped their greetings and saluted their former Captain before they rushed back downstairs and outside to report to their current Captain.
Almost two hours passed before Kirino was woken up by the sun creeping through the curtains, immedietely he noticed how heavy his body felt, his eyelids even more so, with reluctance he had to admit how he still wasn't back to full strength. His joints hurt when he sat up, and his deep- azure eyes widened when he found no Endou in the room.
Kirino figured the man must be downstairs or outside doing his own business and decided to follow his example. With a bit of effort, and sadly a lot of pain he managed to hoist himself from the bed and limped to the washing room.
The small room provided the basics, cabinets with towels and soap and oils, a stone basin to pour water in, a mirror hanging on the wall. There was even a tub! Kirino for a propper bath, he felt grimy all over but a simple wash was what he would have to make do with right now. He grabbed the little cloth from the cabinet and dipped it into the basin with stone-cold water, the freezing temperature made him gasp for air and it stung his face, numbing his nose and ears.
He could feel a headache thrumming up behind his tired eyes.
Kirino caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and sighed. He looked exhausted, his mission and fight with the Vampire Prince had truly taken a visible toll on his appearance. The bandages around his throat were caked with blood in the back, he'd have to pay another visit to the healer to get it cleaned up, he'd also check up on Kariya while he was on it and Kirino hoped his young friend would be awake and providing snarky remarks at his lame loss.
Once he came downstairs though he made a drastic change of plans.
In the common room of the inn, around the largest table they could find, were ten knights dressed in polished silver armor, helmets removed and capes draped over their chairs, all in the company of Endou. They seemed to be laughing, Endou's hands moving theatrically as he told a story with a mountain of energy.
"I am telling you guys the truth, without a doubt it seriously was THIS big!"
"You did manage to take it down right?" One of the younger knights asked, his blue eyes big with admiration and curiousity.
"But of course, Tachimukai, tell me! What kind of man would I be if I were unable to slay a mighty beast?" Endou grinned playfully at him. "My wife was thrilled when she saw it."
"I've been meaning to ask, how is Aki doing these days?"
"Still as beautiful as ever," Endou boasted with pride, a fond smile playing at his lips. "and nothing beats her cooking, not even the cooks at the Royal Palace could do what she does."
"Endou you lucky dog!" A Wolf named Fudou Akio playfully stomped him between the ribs.
Another round of joyful laughter burst out, Kirino just stood there gaping awkwardly at them. He was slightly at a loss, should he walk up to them and bring out report of his mission? Or await his next chance as he did not want to interupt their time together either. In Kirino's eyes they all seemed to be old friends with the familiarity they spoke to one another.
Tachimukai however noticed him standing there in the shadows, with a soft smile the Werewolf Knight made the decision for him.
"Endou-san, isn't that the young man you were speaking of earlier?" He asked innocently, trying to breach the subject gently.
A few heads snapped up and turned into Kirino's direction, he felt very uncomfortable underneath their heavy gazes and he could practically feel the power radiating off them, it was slightly intimidating to say the least.
"Ah yes, that would be Kirino-kun! Hey buddy, how did you sleep?"
The poor young Wolf was at a loss of words.
Endou turned back to the group with a small teasing grin. "Forgive him he's a little shy." And he was rewarded with soft chuckles that lightened the mood severely. Endou stood up from his chair and gently pushed Kirino into the room, settling him down in his place. Kirino sat down, albeit a bit reluctantly and felt very self aware as pretty much all eyes were on him.
Endou noticed his distress and squeezed his shoulders encouragingly, he grabbed another chair and sat down beside him. (but only after shoving Fudou to make place for him. Although this could have been payback for the stomp earlier.)
A maid brought Kirino his breakfast swiftly and the deliciously tempting scent broke down his resolve. He attacked his plate with the ferocity as if he'd never see food ever again. It wasn't weird, none of the knights made a comment about it, they could see from his physical state alone that it must have been days since his last propper meal. They too went through the same ordeal when they were out on missions or fighting a battle.
Normally starved people would have to start with something very small as they would puke up anything that was too big or too rich for them. This was no problem for Werewolves though. They had an insane metabolism that would store the energy generated from food in tri-fold so they would last a lot longer then regular people. The only danger in swallowing meals with such speed would be...
Kirino coughed when a bite shot down his air-pipe.
Choking.
Tachimukai gently patted his back.
"You might want to slow down a little Kirino-san."
The knight across of Kirino poured him a drink and handed it to him. Gentle brown eyes observing Kirino intently.
Kirino accepted the jug with grattitude, thick tears glistening in the corners of his eyes as he swallowed and felt the pressure in his throat lessen slightly. He tried to breathe slowly, ignoring the annoying feeling of a rough throat and surpressing the urges to start coughing again.
He finished his breakfast a little slower after that.
"Better?" The Wolf in front of him asked.
Kirino was too tired to answer so he nodded. The movement causing his neck to sting again, he carefully treaded the tended flesh with his fingers. He immediately took notice of the sticky fresh blood lingering on his fingertips.
Endou was quick to ask the maid to bring them some fresh water and sent another on their way to fetch the healer, or one of her apprentices.
Kirino sat with his back to Endou as the older man slowly removed the dirty bandages from his throat and dropped them in his lap.
"This may sting a little, please bear it for now." Endou gently warned him before he pressed his wet napkin on the wounds in his neck.
Kirino hissed slightly at the pain, the friction causing a cold and nasty sting to shoot down his spine. After a few moments it subsided and he could barely feel Endou's administrations anymore.
When Endou deemed the cut to be properly cleaned the maid returned with Otonashi and her assistant Roko in tow.
Haruna Otonashi threw a quick glance at Kirino's pale face and turned to her apprentice.
"You take care of the boy okay? Standard cleansing procedure, you can do it right?" She asked the young girl with a kind yet stern smile.
Roko nodded, her blonde fluffy pigtails bouncing along with the movement. Her soft pink eyes looking very serious.
She turned to Kirino, and gently guided him to another table where she set out her equipment and a few bottles. She swiped the jug of water from the table with a cheeky grin and went to do her job.
"Hm, who cleaned your wounds?" She mumbled softly to herself as she inspected the tender flesh.
"Ah, that would be me." Endou interjected. "I hope it's good enough for your standards Roko-chan."
"You did a very good job Endou-san. Thank you, this will be over in a jivvy." She flashed him the quickest of perky smiles. She redirected her attention to Kirino. "This should help against the pain, please lean forward a little."
Otonashi sat herself down next to Gouenji. The Captain greeted her like an old friend.
"Otonashi-san, it's been a while."
"It has been indeed," She returned the pleasantries in all honesty. "However! If you plan on taking my patient I'll make sure it'll be even longer next time."
"Come come Haruna, I only have the best intentions."
"Your best intentions can kiss my tail Gouenji-kun." The healer would have none of it, no matter what, she'd defend the safety and health of her patient with everything she had. "He is in no position to travel, not today and not tomorow. Honestly you should know better."
As soon as the conversation had shifted to Kariya Kirino's ears had perked up, listening intently. It had flared a whole new wave of worry in him and he blurted out before he could stop himself.
"How is he?"
Kirino couldn't help it, he had to know, he was worried sick. He didn't care if he was rude for interupting their conversation, they didn't seem to mind if their understanding looks said anything.
"How is Kariya? Is he awake, can I go see him?"
"He's stable for now, you brought him to me just in time." She gave him a pittying look. "He's not awake yet I'm afraid, I doubt he'll wake up anytime soon, maybe in a day or two. His body has had to endure quite a lot of stress, so it's for the best if we let him rest for the time being." At the end of her sentence she threw a piercing look at Gouenji who acted like he didn't notice.
Disappointment racked through Kirino's body and the bitter feeling of hopelessness settled within his stomach. He sighed and turned back to looking at his feat while Roko carefully finished the job.
"I suggest you sleep some more too." She told him softly before turning her head sharply to the Knights. "You can wait that long right?"
Haruna really didn't give the Royal Guard much of a choice so they agreed to stay for a while, but they were keen on setting out after nightfall. Kirino would come with them, as would Endou. Kariya would be left in Otonashi's capable hands, there was no discussion possible whatsoever.
Aoi sat alone at the stupidly long table. She squirmed uncomfortable in the dress Riony made her wear, it was so old fashioned, a beautiful clear blue gown with a skirt that flowed gracefully to her feet. Her chest laced up in a gentle corset and her head was adorned with a modest, jewel-incrested headband. Everytime she moved her feet she'd hear the click of her heels against the pristine marble floor.
Her meal stood untouched in front of her, an exact copy on the other side of the table. She had been told the Prince would be eating with her, but from the looks of it he wouldn't be comming anytime soon. Nerves wrecked through her body, the memory of angry yellow eye burned in her mind's eye and she felt herself go cold.
But true enough, a few minutes later a maid came to fetch the Prince's untouched meal and took it away and left again after she wished Aoi a pleasant morning.
Aoi was still too shaken to eat, her appetite was non-existent and her palms were wet with cold sweat. She didn't know what to do with herself and felt a little lost in the spacious room that was cold and lonely.
"Heh, you still haven't eaten?"
Aoi snapped her head into the direction of the high-pitched feminine voice. Her blue eyes landed on a Vampire Lady clad in a brilliant bourgundy dress, and she felt herself look away in shame. She was terrifyingly beautiful with her creamy white skin, deep purple eyes and teal hair adorned in such an exotic style it set Aoi's short saphire tresses to shame.
"What? Cat's got your tongue?" The Vampire teased, her lips curling in a devious smile.
She reappeared in Aoi's line of sight when the Vampire studied her intently from the other side of the table. Her eyes stone-cold as they took Aoi's breath away.
"Hm." The Vampire shrugged as if bored. "So much trouble just for a little human? I don't understand honestly what they see in such a plain little girl. It's a pity that the last of the humans would be such a boring specimen."
Aoi shrunk in her seat, her head bowed down in embarassement.
"By the way." The female vampire spoke in such a seductively slow manner Aoi had no choice but to meet her eyes again. She had her head propped underneath one hand, a smile present on her angelic face. "That used to be one of my old dresses."
"Eh..."
The Vampire laughed. "Ha, just kidding, I wouldn't want to be caught dead in such an old thing. You should keep it, boring fits boring."
"Beta, would you please stop harassing her already?"
Riony gently laid her hands on Aoi's shoulders. "She has been through enough already, you can tease her when she has recovered a little understand?"
"Awh you're no fun Riony!" The Vampire named Beta complained.
"I'd say you're enough 'fun' for the both of us Beta." Riony examined Aoi's untouched plate and the absence of the Prince's meal. Putting two and two together quickly. "You really have to eat something Aoi, if you want I can ask the servants to bring you something lighter in your room, along with some tea?"
Aoi really appreciated Riony's thoughtfullness, but she felt so ashamed of herself at the moment that she could only nod.
"Can she even talk?"
"Beta, out!"
"Boo." Beta left with a pout on her face.
"Please pay her no heed, she is an awful tease and trickster but she'll warm up to you soon enough." Riony held out her hand for Aoi to take. "Come on, you'll feel better in your own chamber, this room tends to feel oppressing when you're alone.
Riony made sure Aoi ate slowly, and drank enough. The poor thing had to recover slowly from starvation and it felt like torture to eat. Her stomach hurt and felt stretched from the small meal and she settled back in the chair, bravely taking of her shoes as well.
The silence hung thick in the air, and it filled Aoi's head with voices whispering doubts into her heart. She knew why she was here, more or less, she did not understand however why they were so nice to her, were they really intent on treating her with respect?
Aoi just didn't know anymore, for the past months she had been hiding from all of them, she had been on the run for so long that it felt so surreal to be pampered by the creatures she had been running from. Could it be a trap perhaps? Were they only trying to lure her in with a false sense of security before they'd strike and drain her completely? The Prince didn't seem to want anything to do with her, was she in potential danger if he grew bored with her? Was he even that kind of man?
"If you have questions you may just ask you know?" Riony hummed while she took a sip from her tea.
The one question Aoi wanted to ask was burning on her lips, growing heavy on her tongue, her mind was screaming at her to just ask.
She took a shaky breath, gathering as much courage as she possibly could. Aoi had to ask now as she feared she'd never find the courage again to bring up this subject.
"What are you planning to do with me?" Her voice was small and she initially thought Riony had not heard her, but she had once again underestimated the supernatural abilities of Vampire hearing.
The soft clink of china was the last sound made for a while. Riony was silent, her face unreadable, Aoi could see the gears behind her eyes turning vividly, the Vampire was probably trying to think of the right thing to say. Aoi started to prepare for the worst answer possible, a fear had struck within her and she could nearly hear a dark future calling for her.
"Aoi, look at me," Riony gently lifted Aoi's head, to her shock and utter relief Riony's eyes were as warm as ever. "You will never have any reason to fear for your life! We have no intention to hurt you at all, whatever nightmares resid in your head, please get rid of them."
"Then.. why?"
"It is our way of appologizing."
"Appologize, for what exactly?"
A sad look drifted into Riony's eyes. "For the destruction of your kind, for the hardships and the fears you had to live through, and for all the losses you've suffered needlessly! As you know, Vampires and Werewolves don't exactly... get along all that well." Aoi would have scoffed had she not been baffled by graveness of the situation.
"Because of the war we caused, many precious lives were lost, we fought and killed and spilled so much blood, all because we were blinded by hatred and rage. You see, when Vampires fight, I don't know if it is the same for Werewolves, and I mean actually fight, we lose all sense of self. All we see, all we smell, all we can sense, is blood of the enemy. I'm so terribly sorry mankind got caught up in it." Riony's fists clenched and her voice had the faintest tremble in it, it disheartened Aoi to see someone who had so much composure break ever so slightly.
It took a few moments before Riony had come back to herself to finish her explanation. "I know it will never be enough, we will never be able to restore what we did, we will have to live on with that sin on our shoulders. But," She looked up to meet Aoi's eyes again. "at least we have a tiny chance to atone for them, even if it is just a little lift of the burden."
"We want to show you everything good about our kind, give you a long and happy life, show you... that we aren't just the monsters you heard so many awful stories about." Riony took hold of Aoi's hands. "And I swear on my immortal life, that I will protect you, be your friend if you want me to and make sure nothing will ever make you cry again!"
Aoi's cheeks heated up at the intensity of the vow, and a warmth that had not been there before blossomed in her chest as she looked back at the Vampire with newfound fondness. And despite her best efforts the painful squeeze around her heart spilled more tears from her eyes, they were no tears of grief, no tears of pain, neither of happiness. They were beautiful tears spilt out of sheer relief and they rolled over her cheeks like rare gems, glistening deeply as they dropped from her chin and soaked her dress.
The warm arms of Riony encircled the girl and Aoi knew that she had found a dear friend in her.
The stars were shining softly above them, dulled out by the brightness of the moon dominating the midnight sky. The ten Knights had prepared their horses for a long journey back to the Capitol, the village had provided an extra horse for Endou and Kirino to share.
Before they left however Kirino had insisted he'd say goodbye to Kariya.
It had hurt at first to see his dear friend lying so deadly still in bed, his face bruised and pale still. A striking semblance of death, and Kirino had to lean over to hear the boy breathe to soothe his fears.
He pulled up a chair so he could sit next to his junior, and sat down before his knees gave out. A deep breath dislodged itself from his lungs and with it a pressure fell back onto him, some sort of mixture of guilt and sorrow, honestly a nasty feeling.
Kirino reached out to Kariya, hesitated slightly as to where he could even touch him without hurting him further. He seemed so fragile, body glowing hot with the fever of trauma casting a sheen of sweat on his skin and face. He gently put his hand on Kariya's head, stroking the hairs sticking to his forehead out of his face, careful not to touch the aweful bruises swelling his head.
There was so much he wanted to say that he could feel the words bouncing on his tongue, but he was afraid they'd sound stupid and pathetic once they came out.
Kariya wheezed softly in his sleep, wether or not it was out of pain was unclear, but it could be loosely translated to:
'If you have something to say, just say it already you dweeb!'
Kirino could already hear him say it and it cracked out a warm smile.
"I suppose I do owe you an appology, Kariya." Silence followed as Kirino faught against the sneaky tears trying to escape. "I failed you my friend, we both knew the risks of this mission, we fullheartedly agreed to them... But I still can't help but feel I should have been better."
"Yeah... that, that was pretty... uncool of you... senpai.." Kirino snapped out of his thoughts and caught sight of the dull gold irises staring back at him, still hazy from sleep and exhaustion, but alight nontheless. He shot straight up into his chair and crept closer towards him.
"Hey! You're awake." Kirino's statement was as lame as one could get. His voice soft in surprise and relief. "But how? Otonashi said you wouldn't be awake for quite some time!"
"I suppose, she would be right... if one certain loser didn't start the lamest emotional speach ever.." Kariya ended his sentence in violent coughs, spurting out some blood in the process and Kirino forced him back down.
"Shh, don't talk, you're still healing Kariya." He gently held a small cup of water to his lips, tilting his head so he could drink.
"I had a rough night." Kariya admitted with bitter humor after he had greedily drained the water.
"You're such a pussy you know that."
"Shut up!" Kariya's throat was dry still and he had no energy for laughing, all that he produced was a soft grumbling that suposedly resembled a far off chukle. He had another row of coughs, still wracking his being but no blood came up this time. When he settled back with closed eyes he continued to speak, energy draining fast from him again. "You're leaving aren't you."
It wasn't a question, it was a statement, Kariya could read his senpai like an open book and knew exactly what was going on ninety-five percent of the time. It was the exact same the other way around and it's why they made such a brilliant team. When they were put down together you never knew wether or not they were only joking about how they'd conquer the world and rule it one day.
"We're leaving in a few minutes." Kirino guiltily admitted.
"You couldn't just leave, could you, huh?" Kariya lazily opened one eye, faintest of cheeky grins present on his face, it gave Kirino good hope and it chased off some of the shadows in his mind.
"What kind of senpai would I be if I left you here to your fate?" He jokingly raised his arms in question.
"You'd suck like you already do."
"You are such a moral boost you know that." Kirino shook his head with a mocking tilt.
"It's what I do best senpai."
A heavy knock came from the door, a signal he had to go now.
"Guess that's my que."
"Go."
Kirino got up to leave but was grabbed by his wrist.
"I have one request though!" Kariya's voice was dangerously low and serious, so unlike him. Kirino turned back to him and kneeled beside the bed.
"Anything!"
"Next time, kick their asses for me okay?"
"Deal."
And already at the end of five thousand words. I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know who is still reading this, I'd love to hear from you :)