Notes:
'speech' in the background
"normal" speech
thoughts
Their rooms located in the east side of the castle, each had his own individual room. Fuji's room was situated in the middle with Sanada and Shiraishi on either side; Yanagi, Marui, and Jirou stayed in the rooms on Sanada's side; Kaido and Kikumaru on Shiraishi's.
The sun was still high in the sky, as it was still early in the afternoon. Once they were all settled in, they came to Fuji's room, who was found sitting on his bed, looking distantly outside of the opened window flaps. The smile on his face was serene, but touched with a tint of sadness and forlornness. His eyes moved toward the door, not turning his head, when he heard footsteps.
"Fuji. Are you okay?" Eiji approached Fuji's bed in soft thumbing steps and sat beside him.
Fuji turned to look at his red-head friend and smile assuringly. "I'm fine. Are you all done?" He looked to his friends who stood idly around his room.
"Yeah. What were you thinking?" Shiraishi inquired, although he knew what was going on in his Sage friend's mind.
"I was just thinking, if, our Queen and the others are doing well." His voice was sad and the others, too, felt the same way. It was their first time their Queen got held captive and their Kingdom was under blockage. It was extremely rare for the Kingdom of Peace to face such chaos as this.
Unsure of what to do, Eiji made an attempt to lighten the mood. "Why don't we go take a bath? One of the maid said there is a hot spring back in the garden."
"Hm…That sounds fun." Fuji liked the idea. It would definitely sooth his body and spirit a bit. A pleased smile graced his face.
Shiraishi looked at Fuji and chuckled lightly. Even the slightest things make him happy. The whole room suddenly becomes lighter. They were relieved that Fuji's back to his self.
"You guys go ahead. Kaido and I want to check out the battle ground. We need a lot of training for whatever is planned ahead." Yanagi said, looking at Fuji for an approval. He and Kaido were expertly ranked, so they need to get stronger if they want to help get their Queen back.
Fuji nodded in approval.
"Thank you. We'll take our leave first." With that, Kaido and Yanagi bowed before going off to their training.
"I think we should continue practicing our skills as well." Sanada suggested to Marui and Jirou who stood behind him, while he was sitting at the table with Shiraishi. The two elites nodded. Sanada and Marui bowed to Fuji, then left.
"We'll see you guys later for dinner." Jirou happily said after the other two left. He walked over and gave Fuji a hug before running out quickly to join them.
"Have fun." Fuji called out after Jirou.
"Well. Now that leaves us three." Kikumaru said, getting off the bed. "I'll go ask the maid for some new clothes. I'll be right back." He ran off.
After Eiji left, Fuji stood up and walked to the table where Shiraishi was sitting and poured out some water to drink. "Did you try communicating with her yet?" Shiraishi asked when Fuji sat down.
"Yes, but no reply." He paused. "That's what makes me worry." His smile disappeared again, looking solemnly at the ground.
"She'll be fine. I doubt the others will let anyone put a hand on her." He rested his hand on Fuji's shoulder, consoling the Sage. "By the looks of it, they are probably hidden somewhere that blocks out our telepathic power. I don't think it is wise for Mizuki to hurt our Queen. She is gentle, but very powerful. Don't forget that and the others with her. They are ones of our best Master soldiers. It's not yourself to think of the pessimistic."
"You're right. I guessed this is the first time since a long time since we all left our home country. I'm worrying for nothing." He stood up and put a smile back on his face again. "Let's go find Eiji." Shiraishi nodded. But before going out, "Are you going to carry that while taking a bath?" Fuji pointed to the sword Shiraishi was holding.
"It's better to be careful in a foreign Kingdom. We'll never know what happens in the future. And, I'm not going to join you and Kikumaru in the spring. I don't feel like getting wet. I'll just watch over you." Shiraishi grinned, earning a chuckle from Fuji. They left the room shortly after and saw Eiji running from the opposite direction.
"The maids said they're gonna bring them to the hot spring for us later. So, let's go, Nya." Eiji said excitedly and pulled Fuji running after him. Shiraishi sighed. These two could be childish sometimes.
The hot spring was not a long or short walk. It located in the small bamboo wood at the back of the castle, behind the rosy garden.
"Wah, this place is so nice." Eiji gasped at the beauty of the scene in front of him, which resembled a Zen garden. He quickly took off his clothes, leaving his shorts on, and threw them on a nearby branch before jumping into the pond with a splash. "It feels so nice."
Fuji and Shiraishi chuckled at Eiji's childishness. Though Eiji acted like a kid all the time, but in formal meeting, he actually held his manners more maturely composed, like earlier. Fuji slowly took off his clothes, making Shiraishi blushed in the process. He looked away quickly. Fuji noticed his action and grinned.
"Ne. Could you hold this for me?" Fuji held up his clothe bundle up to Shiraishi, who took it, but his gaze was still away from the male in front of him. Fuji turned around and slowly dipped down the spring to join the red head.
Shiraishi placed the bundle on a rock nearby and sat down under a Japanese maple. Fuji, I just wanna hold you in my arms. Shiraishi smiled merely at the thought of Fuji half naked earlier. He folded his arms in front of him, one hand still holding on to his sword, and closed his eyes. I'll always protect you. Always.
o0o0o0o0o
In another part of the castle, the Lords settled down in their usual guest rooms, in which they stayed at every visit. The west side of the castle had 5 wings, like the east side. Each wing had 10 rooms in total. Each Lord and his henchmen stayed at a different wing.
Tezuka was joined with Inui, Momoshiro, Oishi, and Echizen in front of his room after he stepped out.
"I have a meeting with Oishitari at the battle ground." Inui said while approaching Tezuka with a booklet or parchment papers and a pen quipped on the cover. "I'll see you all at dinner later."
Tezuka nodded his head in approval and Inui left the wing.
"Where are we going?" Oishi asked as they walked out of their wing toward the back of the castle.
"The tea house." Tezuka replied shortly. Tezuka walked next to Oishi, where as Momoshiro and Echizen followed behind. Several tea houses were built by the last generations and located in the different parts of the castle for convienece. They were small houses of only one room, built separately from the castle, with all sides open or veiled with bamboo curtains, walls or sliding doors. Each house had a small porch on either side with railings. They were constructed for outdoor luxuries.
"This place is nice. It has a nice view." Oishi voiced out as he checked the scenery.
Tezuka took his place at the porch quietly; it was facing toward the biggest and most beautiful pond in the castle. Oishi stood against the railing. This one was built on the edge of the pond, hanging off above the water with stone columns supporting the weight.
A maid approached them shortly, "May I get you anything?"
Oishi turned around, "Black Earl tea would be nice." He knew Tezuka liked to drink only tea, and Black Earl is his favorite. After all, they had been friends since childhood.
"I want grape juice." Echizen said. He walked to a corner and sat down.
"Do you have Korokke?" The maid nodded. "Yosh. Bring it here. I'm starving." The maid bowed then left. Momoshiro rubbed his stomach enthusiastically while licking is lips hungrily.
"You shouldn't eat too much; dinner is not far away." Oishi lectured him. Momoshiro had been a big eater, and thus his tall and big built.
Tezuka leaned against the door and closed his eyes, attempting to rest while listening to the sound of nature.
"But my stomach is growling already." Momoshiro whined. "I can wait that long or my body is gonna go limp." Oishi could only sigh at the spiky hair man.
o0o0o0o0o
The battle ground was located on the east side of the castle. It was constructed around sparring trees and grassy earth; much liked a clearing in a distant forest. Despite the wonderful environment, 2 people were battling with every inch of their power against each other under the heated sun.
"Fshh." Kaido heaved after avoided Yanagi's attack. He landed on the ground with his toes and a palm.
"Yamaitachi!" Yanagi shouted as he jumped off the ground loftily and released an air attack toward Kaido, who shielded himself with an earth barrier. The attack changed its direction on midair as Yanagi controlled his attack to affront Kaido on the side he did not expect. The sturdy power emitted from the attack broke through Kaido's barrier and sent him flying 2 meters from his current position, flat on the ground, as Yanagi landed himself on the ground.
Somewhere behind the trees: 'That attack used up 10 percents of his energy just now.' Inui calculated as he concentrated on the two battling in front of him, shifting his glasses occasionally when a new attack arose.
Kaido lifted himself off the ground quickly and dashed away from Yanagi. 'Boomerang Snake!' He shouted when he the distance between he and Yanagi was great enough for him to pull out his assault. The earth snake whipped up from the ground and curved to the side in full speed toward Yanagi, who jumped up to avoid being hit. When he landed, the snake turned around and managed to hit him from the back. Yanagi was knocked to the ground.
'His earth bending skill is quite strong.' Oshitari remarked, who stood next to Inui. 'And his control is not bad, but lack sturdiness.'
Kaido cautiously approached Yanagi, who still lie motionless on the ground. When he was near to Yanagi by 3 feet, Yanagi swiftly lifts himself up off the ground and shouted, "Shuriken!" He extended his arms, giving off an incredible amount of air that made Kaido fly backward in an eye blink speed.
"100 percent critical." Inui pushed his glasses up quickly and flew himself swiftly to catch Kaido's flying body. Yanagi looked up in surprise when he saw a fast moving shadow flew past him toward Kaido.
What the…! Kaido thought he was going to hit hard on the ground after getting hit from Yanagi's powerful shot. But, he realized someone had caught him before that happened. He felt arms around him slowly removed when they landed. "I-Inui." He looks back and saw his savior. He felt a heat rising to his face, not at all comfortable with the intimicay.
He's blushing. How cute. Inui thought when he saw Kaido's blush and smirked inwardly. Realizing their proximity, he moved back and murmured, "Sorry."
"No." Kaido protested. "Thank You." Yanagi approached Kaido silently, yet swiftly, with his air power.
Oishitari bent earth to drift him closer to the group.
"You were watching?" Yanagi asked sternly, looking at the two of King Kutei Dai's men.
Oishitari nodded, "It was fascinating."
"We're still learning." Yanagi replied shortly without changing his stern expression.
"Are you okay? It seemed you got a hard blow." Oishitari asked Kaido with concern.
"Umm…Yeah. It's nothing." He answered shyly, moving to stand by Yanagi.
As Inui and Oshitari could tell, Kaido wasn't much a people person and a very reserved young man.
"Do you always practice with this much strength?" Inui curiously asked.
"We learn through real battles."
"Ah. I see. Intensive training." Inui remarked. "But what if you get injured?"
"Fuji-san can restore us back to health effortlessly." Yanagi said with a smile. He felt more comfortable as they talk, seeing how un-hostile the 2 men were. His earlier defensive instinct was natural; after all, it wasn't a good feeling to be spied on.
"I almost forgot." Inui said, remembering Fuji's power.
"Anyhow and coincidentally, Inui here is an elite in air and earth. He might be able to help you with your training." Oishitari rested his hand on Inui's shoulder and smiled.
"That would be great." Kaido spurted out, not giving Yanagi a chance to reject or say anything. He was not used to train with outsiders yet. Instead, he just nodded in agreement.
"I, too, know a proficient amount of earth power. I can as well lend a hand." Oishitari said.
"Ah."
The elites decided to go one at a time against the experts, knowing fully well 2 elites against 2 experts were a unfair disadvantage. Besides, Inui did say he had confident in his warrior skill.
"Come when you're ready." Inui took his stance with his booklet hidden away beneath his shirt.
Let's do it. Yanagi looked to Kaido.
Alright. Let's go. Kaido nodded. Both dashed toward Inui.
o0o0o0o0o
Sanada chose a training ground somewhere near Fuji's hotspring located with Marui and Jirou in towed.
Sanada stood calmly with his eyes closed in the middle of the clearing, arms folded across his chest with two swords in both hands.
Jirou and Marui moved silently through the bamboos with their swift air bending skill. As Jirou and Marui closing in, Sanada's ears jerked up. His eyes opened quickly, and he shouted " Fuu Rin Ka In Zan Rai!" His body glowed a fluorescent bluecolor.
"Magic Volley!" Just as Jirou shouted, 10 icicles flew straight toward Sanada, who quickly tucked his swords on his back and moved to the side avoiding the hit. He then created fire luminescence with his hands and wrapped it around the icicles, melting them.
At the same time, Marui shouted, "Tsunawatari!" Balls of molten fire rocks flew straight at Sanada, but curved around him, flew up toward the sky, and dropped down hard like monsoon rain.
Luckily, Sanada knew the attack coming, so, he bended earth hollering it on top of himself shielding from the falling rocks. He moved quickly out of the earth barrier and attacked Marui and Jirou nonstop.
They moved around; trying to avoid being hit by Sanada, while he was in his trance state. 5 minutes later, Jirou and Marui shrunk to the ground, back to back, breathing heavily.
"You guys were too slow." Sanada stated strictly, looking at his tired trainee.
"You were in Sanada mode." Jirou complained after he got his breath back.
"If you are finished resting, we should continue." Sanada said, turning away with his back to him.
"Different tactic." Jirou whispered to Marui. He nodded. They stood up and another battle raged.
o0o0o0o0o
Not good! Inui dodged. "Earthen Spears!" He shouted. The earth rumbles and earth starts to poke up from the ground like spears coming up.
Yanagi jumped up from the ground quickly and shouted "Yamaitachi!" The air ball flew straight to Inui but changed its course, confusing the opponent which side it was going to hit him.
At the exact same time, Kaido shouted, "Tornado Snake!" The earth came up from the ground, spinned quickly, creating a giant tornado. It moved toward Inui right the same time as Yanagi's attack.
Inui frowned as he calculated the situation right in front of his face. 95 percent I'm taking a hit from either. Inui moved to the side quickly to dodge Yanagi's blow; but unfortunately, the tornado approached him so fast, he couldn't escape. Before he received a full blow from the tornado, a shadow moved quickly in front of him and shouted "Higuma Otoshi!" The tornado suddenly changes its course. The spin is now the opposite direction.
Oh! Kaido appalled as he saw his own attack coming back to him hostilely.
"Kaido!" He could hear Yanagi screaming his name, but he made no move to move.
What now? He was stuck rooted to the ground, not knowing what to do when suddenly, something quick hit him and a smile appeared on his face.
Ahh. He's using it. Yanagi saw Kaido's smile. They both know what that means. He was standing on a tree branch high above the ground, watching his friend and the approaching earth tornado.
"Reverse Serpent!" Kaido moved backward a bit and shouted at the same time. A gigantic earthen serpent propped up from the ground and wrapped itself around the tornado and spins it like a top back to Inui and Oishitari.
Inui saw it coming back toward, so he moved back, giving Oishitari some room to counter the tornado once again.
Oishitari was amazed at the counter, but was not an inch flinched by it. He closed his eyes and mumbled something. Fire starts to flicker on, surround himself. He slits his eyes open swiftly and shouted, "Hell Fire!" The fire moved away from him and wrapped around the gigantic tornado wrapped by a serpent. Surprisingly, the tornado startsed to harden up and slow down. Its movement eventually came to a stall before reaching Oishitari. In front of him was a huge rocky monument of Kaido's special. Oishitari glared at the monument intensely. Slowly the big thing crumbled and fell to the ground.
Yanagi got off the tree to join Kaido on the ground. Their faces were still in amazement. Soon, they were joined by Oishitari and Inui.
"That was a great battle." Oishitari praised the two experts.
"Hmph." Yanagi chuckled. "Thanks for the real battle. We haven't been engaged on so intensely like this since forever."
"Yep." Kaido nodded in agreement.
"Let's head to the shade." Inui suggested as the back of his palm moved up to swipe off the beads of sweat that trickled down the side of his face. "I'm tired."
The four walked toward the trees and rested themselves.
o0o0o0o0o
Back to the hot spring…
"Nya, it feels so good." Eiji floated on his back with his eyes closed.
Fuji swam over to him. "Saa, I wonder what would happen if I do this." He put his hands on Eiji's stomach and pushed him down under water. He held Eiji under water for a few seconds before moving swiftly away.
"…*garl*…*garl*…pft…" Eiji rose above the water, breathing heavily. "Nya…Fuji…that was…evil. You should have warned me!" Eiji shouted.
Finished laughing hard, he protested, "But if I tell you first, then it wouldn't be fun. Because you can bend water so you can breathe under water." He grinned widely. "Right?"
"Hmph." Eiji pouted.
Somewhere nearby, two people were walking the path between the rose gardens, that eventually led to the hot spring.
"What do you think of the ambassador?" Atobe asked, walking with his hands in his trouser pockets.
"Fuji Syusuke?" Hiyoshi stopped flipping his sword and thought for a bit. He resumed whirling around with his sword. "I think he is really cute and innocent, like an angel. But, after the conference, he seems to be…hm…I don't know, maybe…intellectually confident with hidden sadism?" He shrugged. "What do you have in mind?"
"He makes a good opponent." Atobe stated conceitedly.
"With your beauty?" Hiyoshi teased. He knew it irritated Atobe because he was very conscious of his beauty. In fact, he hated it when people compare him to another beauty that out done his own. "Yes, I do think Fuji is beautiful, for a guy. His voice is greatly gentle like a summer breeze. Even his movement is graceful. Silky hair. Creamy skin. Exultant glow-"
"Alright already. I get it. He's better looking than I am. You don't need to make me look so bad." Atobe growled, interrupting Hiyoshi rudely.
Hiyoshi couldn't help but let his laughter rolled off his mouth.
"Shut Up!" Atobe chided.
Atobe rarely got angry or defeated easily. It was an invaluable moment to see Atobe like this, for he was pompous all the times. "Ahh. I'm done." Hiyoshi's laughter slowly subsided. "Though, I do want to get a hand on him." He chuckled at the thought. Atobe snorted at his comment.
'Fuji!'
Hiyoshi and Atobe heard the shout from nearby. They could hear laughter coming from the spring up in the front. They were curious, so they went over and checked it out. They walked softly, yet quickly to the voices, through the trees and bushes that hid the spring from view.
"Ah. It's the ambassador and his buddy." Hiyoshi smiled widely at the scene in front of him.
Atobe was lost for words as he stared at the two half naked boy in the spring playing around. Tints of red crept up to the two young men's faces.
"Ah, so that's what people mean when they say angels do exist on earth. Fuji makes the perfect picture." Hiyoshi commented.
Shiraishi, sleeping nearby, was wakening by a husky voice. He jolted up quickly. Atobe and Hiyoshi advance forward a step when, a shadow jumped out from the bush. In front of them was Shiraishi, looking fiercely, holding the sword directly pointed toward the two intruders.
Fuji and Eiji heard rustles. They stopped their chuckles abruptly and saw Shiraishi in battle mode. His back was faced toward them. They could see the two men Shiraishi was standing off against.
"Stay here." Eiji quickly grabbed his clothes and hung them around himself. He hurried over to where Shiraishi is. "What's going on?"
Shiraishi glared.
"Chill. We don't mean any harm." Hiyoshi stepped up, holding his empty hand up, smiling. "We were just walking around and suddenly heard some noises. So, we head over here to check it out." He explained. "That was it." He shrugged.
Atobe mused at how Eiji and Shiraishi reacted to them. "Like he said. Nothing was intentional." Atobe smirked and stepped forward to the side of Shiraishi, but Shiraishi blocked him off.
"Shiraishi. Eiji." Fuji calmly called out. The two turned around and looked at him. It's okay. Understood, the two regained their normal composure and backed off toward the side for Atobe to go through.
Atobe stepped forward to the spring, only to stop at the edge. Fuji was smiling gently. His half naked body was still submerged in the water that went up to his shoulders. His light brown hair was spread evenly around him.
Atobe bent down to Fuji's eye level. He grinned.
"What is it?" Fuji asked softly, his smile still on his face.
"Nothing. You just look more beautiful up close."
"Why, thank you."
"Are you getting out soon?" Atobe said slyly. Fuji just smile.
Shiraishi was practically growling all this time. Shiraishi. Eiji looked at him, who looked back.
It's irritating. He's flirting with Fuji. Eiji sighed. Shiraishi could be jealous at times. All the while, he stood impatiently watching Atobe and Fuji interact.
-Whoosh-
Suddenly 2 air-slashes flew from the wood made their way toward Atobe. He quickly dashed to the side, successfully avoiding the sudden attack.
Hiyoshi ran up to Atobe. "You okay?"
"Hn."
A second later, Jirou appeared from the wood, landed on a branch near Fuji. "Ah. Fuji-san." Jirou grinned widely. He jumped off the branch and stood next to Shiraishi. He looked around, as if looking for something.
"Hoi, what are you looking for, Jirou?" Eiji asked curiously.
"My air-slashes." Jirou answered.
"That was your?" Hiyoshi asked with his eyes narrowing.
"Yeah." Jirou admitted like nothing. Then, Sanada and Marui, appeared from the wood. "We were training and my attack slipped."
Atobe growled.
"Ohh Crap. It hit you. Didn't it?" Jirou asked cautiously, looking at Atobe, who was still glaring at him. "Ohh. So sorry." He came up close to Atobe and looked all over Atobe.
"What are you doing?" Atobe demanded an answer.
"You're not injured. Are you?"
"No!" Atobe scowled, scaring Jirou.
"Eeek!" He backed away and stood behind Sanada.
No one said anything. Fuji sighed. And it's just the first day. He lifted his hand above the water and created an air pool. He controlled it over his clothes and lifted them up, moving them toward him. All the while, they all stood silently, watching Fuji controlling air. He grabbed the clothes that float in front of him. Feeling all eyes on him, he looked up and grinned widely, giving them a ward off sign. "You all don't mind look away so I can change?"
Consciously, it hit them. They were all staring at him. The thought made them flushed from toes up.
"We'll be going first." Atobe turned around and walked away.
"See you all at dinner." Hiyoshi waved and winked at Fuji before following Atobe.
Fuji raised an eyebrow in puzzlement.
"Uhh...Um. We're gonna go wash up at the bath house." Jirou and Sanada nodded, agreeing to Marui said, and they left soon after.
"Whoah. That was something." Eiji remarked. "Anyways, I'm gonna go change into these." He picked up the new clothes and ran off to the small wooden changing house nearby.
Shiraishi extended his arm to Fuji, who took it and got pulled up. "Thank You." Shiraishi grabbed a towel and draped it over Fuji, covering his exposed body.
He picked up Fuji's new clothes and handed to him. "Here. Go change quickly or you're gonna catch a cold." Fuji nodded and left toward the direction of Eiji.
Hm... Shiraishi sighed. I better get washed up too. He walked away.
AN: Long chapter. I don't know where to break, so I just made everything in one shot. By the way, all these things, since the beginning, happened all in one day.
I put lots of actions in here. Tell me if you would prefer less action and more drama/romance scenes or it is fine like this.