"Tales of the Stars"
Book 1: Homecoming
Chapter 22
Seiki leaned against the wall just outside the door, his arms crossed over his chest. He wondered if his king had calmed down and talked rationally to the girl. He felt a little sorry for bringing up old pains, but Lyra was a topic that Lusion needed to get over. Then again he thought Tranquility was a topic he needed to get over too. It was hard being that man's right hand, but he wouldn't leave it to anyone else.
It wasn't long before the elevator's doors opened and an angry, dark haired, young man stormed out with four security guards at his back. They marched right up to Seiki, who smiled darkly at them.
"Good evening gentlemen. May I help you?" he greeted.
"Where's the girl?" Kyoya demanded, refraining from grabbing the man that was taller than Mori.
"If you mean Staria, she's having a few words with my dear cousin." Seiki answered him. "Though it's gotten a bit quiet in there, so who knows what they're up to." He recognized the signs of a worried, jealous boyfriend or would be boyfriend and felt like picking on the boy a bit. He was rather cute after all.
"If anything's happened to her…." Kyoya growled.
"Oh? And what if he's lost his self-control a bit? He does seem to have it pretty bad for this one. Would you like me to let you in to see? Or maybe breaking down the door via 'knight in shining armor' style is more your thing? Need any brownie points to help you get in her pants?" Seiki grinned an evil smile that would have done a cat proud. Kyoya grabbed the taller man by the collar and slammed him as hard as he could into the wall.
"If he's touched a hair on her I'll have you both rotting in jail."
"I doubt that boy, but all the same please do go in."
"Don't let him go any where." Kyoya ordered two of the guards and nodded for the other two to kick the door in.
The kiss was gentle, but Staria's head was spinning. Before she passed out she wondered just what kind of man had that ability. Lusion wrapped an arm tightly around her waist as he felt Staria's knees wobble and her body go limp. How inexperienced was she to faint from that simple kiss?
He pulled away from her lips when he heard a loud thump against the wall. They had company. He was still holding Staria's prone body when the door was kicked in. The enraged boy stormed up to him and threw a right hook at his face. Lusion caught the boy's fist in his free hand.
"I suggest you stop while you're ahead my boy." Lusion said calmly.
"What have you done to her?" Kyoya demanded.
"Nothing that's caused her any harm. Who are you to barge in, in such a manner?"
"Her, boyfriend. Hand her over and I won't have your ass put in jail, even though I should."
"Boyfriend you say? She mentioned a date, but not a boyfriend. Could you be exaggerating a bit?" Lusion was annoyed by his claims. Kyoya pulled his hand away, his anger making him shake a bit.
"She's mine, so get your hands off her. Or would you rather be charged for endangering a minor?"
Lusion made a point to hold Staria closer to him. "Last I checked husbands are allowed to hold their wives. They also out rank boyfriends. You don't know what you're getting involved in."
Kyoya didn't know what kind of weird delusions this man had, but he was pissing him off. He made a single motion and both of his guards came forward and grabbed the older man. Not wanting to be manhandled, Lusion brushed them off easily.
"Don't touch me, you ingrates. I'll let you think you've won for now, but remember this boy. She belongs to no one but me. You'll learn soon enough." Lusion dumped Staria on the younger boy and marched to the door. "Now leave. If you interfere with me again you'll be the ones regretting it. Not I."
Kyoya caught Staria and picked her up. He'd get the man's name from the hotel staff and have the authorities take care of him after Staria was safely out of his reach. One way or another he'd see the man in jail.
Tranquility awoke with a pair of lips on her own. Her eyes snapped open and she jerked away from the touch. She stared at the frail woman before her and knew it was Lyra. Something was very off about the dying princess.
"Good morning Tranquility. Have a nice nap?" Lyra crawled back into the younger girl's personal space and continued before giving her a chance to answer. "So you're the one who's filling my dear brother's thoughts. I can see why he's infatuated with you, pretty in your own way." She caressed her face with bony fingers. "You're body can do things mine can no longer handle." She stood up and turned her back on Tranquility. "For that I hate you."
"Have I done something wrong?" Tranquility was confused. She was amazed the other princess was even able to move around from how bad off she looked. She really wasn't much more than a skeleton with skin clinging to it.
"My dear brother has chased after you for years only to be rejected. I was fine with that. It meant I got to keep him." She sat beside Tranquility again and played with the girl's hair. "I'm really the only one for him you know, he just can't grasp that. But now you're here, and he can't wait to be rid of me. You won't have the slightest idea as how to please him. Now will you?"
Tranquility watched the older woman. Was she seriously in love with her own brother? She dared the question. "And how do you please him, Princess?"
Lyra smiled, a slow frightening smile. "Oh no no, those are my secrets. Though, I suppose there is a way I could share them with you." she got close to the younger princess and looked in her eyes, as though examining her soul.
"How?" Tranquility broke the silence again, trying hard to not pull away. Lyra pulled back and frowned again.
"You've been a naughty girl, betraying my brother before you even arrive. Was the blond man good? Was he worth part of your soul?"
The Earth princess paled. Lyra had already seen through the magic Serenity had put in place.
"I love him." she admitted.
"But not my brother?"
"No, I do not love Lusion, but I'm giving up my love to save my home. Once I am you're brother's wife I will be loyal to him, but I need to save my people."
"But you still won't love him?"
"I can learn to love him…."
"I don't really care about that. Let's you and I make a deal my dear. I won't tell my dear brother about this little hiccup and in return you will help me."
"How would I do that your majesty?" Tranquility tread carefully with her words.
"When I transfer my power to you I will die. That's the way it works. However if along with my power, you bind my soul to yours as well, I can still live on within you. You can get your powers and save your home and I can have a body that will work as a wish again. I can keep my dear prince and you can shut down during things you don't want to do. He'll have you like he wants, but it won't really have to be you."
"You want to use my body, so you can marry and sleep with your brother?" Tranquility could not believe what this woman was spouting. It was a huge taboo.
"Yes." Lyra stated simply. "Think about it a while, but the ceremony is tonight. I'll let you choose." With those final words she left the room. In the hall she passed her brother just before the final corridor. "You're bride is awake if you want to speak to her. Just remember to keep your hands off. We wouldn't want to mess up your future now would we?" She brushed against him as she walked past and headed for her own chambers to rest.
Tranquility looked up as Lusion walked into the room. He seemed unsettled.
"It's good to see you again, my lord." she greeted formally. "Please forgive me for not getting up, I'm still a bit weak from my travels."
"That's quite alright. Please call me Lusion, Tranquility. There's no need to be so formal with me." He knelt before her, careful to stay out of reach. "Did Lyra do anything strange to you?"
"I'm pretty sure she woke me up with a kiss….as embarrassing as that is. I don't mean to be rude, but is she alright? In the head I mean?"
Lusion frowned, "No, her mind has been gone for some time now. But we must humor her, our world is still in her hands for now." He had to clench his fists, to fight back the urges to hold her hands.
"May I speak freely?" Tranquility asked, seeing the tension in his body.
"Please, speak of all you wish my princess."
"Lyra is madly in love with you. She has asked me some unthinkable things."
"What is she planning? Tell me so I can stop her. We have let her have her way for far too long and I will not allow her to drag you into it. I've waited far too long to have you by my side to allow her to ruin it." Lusion was angry, just how much did his sister tell the object of his affection.
"She wants me to take her soul in during the power transfer."
"Did she say she'd share your body?" Tranquility nodded. "Do not agree. She will thrust your soul out and keep your body for her own. Even then she may still try, you must fight her when it comes to the power transfer. The magic will come to you first, but she'll try to ride it at the end. You will have to shut her out."
"I have no powers of my own Lusion. How do I do that? I don't know the first thing about it. I've only studied magic a little, and wasn't very good at it to be honest."
"Give me some time to come up with a plan. I won't let her take you away." He started to reach out to caress her cheek and stopped himself. He stood up and left without another word. He needed to hold out just a bit more.
"What do you mean the room's been vacant all day? I was just there." Kyoya was getting annoyed. The hotel staff had no record of the purple haired man or his friend. Even weirder no one seemed to recall the incidents that had just happened. The party was going on as if nothing had happened. Only he and the four guards he'd taken remembered any of it.
"Just never mind." he hung up the phone and started to undo his bow tie. They were back in the room his family had reserved and Staria was showing no signs of waking up any time soon. Tachibana and Aijima were posted out side the door, while Hotta was running an errand for him. Even with his usual guards on hand Kyoya wasn't going to feel better until Staria woke up and told him what happened. So they were staying put. Kyoya stripped out of his shoes and jacket, before fishing some provided pajamas out if the dresser and going into the bathroom. A hot shower was what he needed, and that's what he was going to get. He reassured himself that Staria would be fine until he was done.
Staria rolled over onto her side as she opened her eyes. She still felt a bit dizzy, but the events of the night came back to her quickly. The man who had taken her from the party was Lusion, Tranquility's husband to be. But why did he still look the same age as in her dreams. Everyone else from then seemed to be younger in this life. It boggled her mind a bit.
How exactly do you face someone that's obsessed with your own past self? She took a moment to realized she was in a different room, and the faint sound of running water had stopped. Whoever had been in the shower was done. She sat up as Kyoya came out from the bathroom, in a pair of pajama pants, still drying his hair with a towel. Just seeing him set her mind at ease, but she also wondered what had happened after she blacked out.
"How are you feeling?" Kyoya asked her, as he let the damp towel hang around his neck.
"A bit confused but alright. I'm glad you're safe, was anyone down stairs hurt?" She asked as he sat down with her on the bed.
"I don't think so. Not that anyone would fucking remember it any ways." He was still angry. "It's just like before. No one seems to even know that anything happened. I called the front desk to get information on your kidnapper and they thought I was crazy. Said the room had been empty all day."
"Um…it's probably best to just let it go then. I mean they didn't do anything to hurt me. They said they were trying to protect me from the attack."
"And you believe that? Star I know you're not that naive. What did he do to you? You were passed out in his arms when we found you."
"I thought all he did was kiss me, but I don't get how that would knock me out…."She trailed off, embarrassed to be talking about it with Kyoya of all people.
"Look let's just…." She blinked in surprise as Kyoya cut her off, capturing her lips with his own. His kiss was forceful but not hard, and she kissed back once her brain started working again.
"I won't leave any traces of that man on you. There's something off about him. He was overly possessive of you." Kyoya frowned a bit, keeping his face close to her's as he spoke softly. "He went as far as to call you his wife, which is completely ridiculous."
"He what?!" She pulled away, staring in disbelief. "What the hell? I'm sixteen, there's no way I'd be married. This isn't the dark ages. I can't even say that I've had a boyfriend let alone a husband."
When she saw Lusion next she was going to punch him for saying such a thing to Kyoya. The past was just that, the past. There was no reason for Kyoya to know about it. Especially if it would end with him in danger for any reason.
"Yeah I know, he threw that in my face too." Kyoya frowned watching the mix of anger and confusion float through her eyes.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"He knows we're not in a status relationship. I tried to pull the boyfriend card to get you away from him and he called my bluff flat out. It pissed him off and that's when he said that the last time he checked the husband out ranks boyfriends."
"Lusion you bastard…." She muttered without thinking..
"Is that his name? Lusion?" Kyoya perked up. He could work with a name. All man hunts start somewhere after all.
"Kyoya please just drop it." she sighed and went with a partial truth. Lusion was going to make her life more difficult than it already was turning out to be. "He knows my brother and is probably going to be tutoring me for a while."
"Like hell!" Kyoya was getting angry again. "If you need help with school, I can do it. You shouldn't be alone with that guy."
"Oh trust me, I don't want to be, but I also might not have a choice in the matter. I'm going to need you to trust me on this. If you can't…..then we should probably just stop things here." She looked down at her hands.
Part of her wanted him to get mad and give up on her. It would be safer that way. Her heart, however, ached at that same thought. If she really was his girlfriend she was convinced that she could stand up to Lusion and get him to teach her without pressing the Tranquility issue. Kyoya's silence made her look back up at him. He was staring at her.
"No." He closed his eyes and calmed himself again before continuing. "I'm not handing you over to him." Kyoya wrapped his arms around Staria's shoulders and held her tightly against him. "Do you have any idea how worried I was? I don't know how you did it, but somehow you've become very important to me. I don't want to quit. If anything I want to keep you as close to me as possible."
Staria felt the heat coming off her cheeks as she blushed. She was touched by her crush's confession. It made her heart flutter that he liked her just as much as she'd fallen for him. Though the fact that he was making his feelings known, while holding her against his bare chest, had distracted her a bit. She found herself nuzzling into his neck breathing in the fresh shower scent. She felt him shutter ever so slightly and pause as her breath tickled his neck.
"Let's stop this little game we've been playing." He finally said and pulled away just enough to make eye contact. "Be my girlfriend."
Staria couldn't help but smile. He didn't ask, it was more of a demand but it was still what her heart wanted to hear. She leaned up and kissed him before responding, "Yes. That's what I want too."
Before they could kiss again, Kyoya's phone started to ring. He grumbled a bit recognizing Tamaki's ring tone. "Why don't you go take a shower and relax a bit while I take this call."
"Would I be right in guessing we're staying here tonight since you already took one?" Staria asked.
"I already sent Hotta to get our things for tomorrow. It's probably what Tamaki's calling about."
Staria nodded in agreement. "You have fun dealing with him." She wasn't against the idea of spending the night with him, but she could understand Tamaki's worry. Her brother would probably chew her out if he found out about it too.
"There are towels in there already, and the hotel has provided pajamas in the dresser." Kyoya walked over to the window as he answered his phone. "Hello Tamaki."
Staria watched him pull the phone away from his ear as Tamaki yelled at him from the other end. She'd probably have to smooth things over with him at school the next day. The idea of a shower was sounding better and better to her.
"What the hell are you thinking?" Tamaki practically yelled into his phone. Hotta was in the front foyer waiting to take Staria's school bag and change of cloths, for the next day, back to the hotel. Tamaki didn't understand why his best friend was planning to spend the night with the girl his family was currently responsible for. Well he had an idea why, but it wasn't a smart move. It was irresponsible and they could get in trouble on so many different levels.
"Nice to talk to you too." Kyoya said in a calm even voice. "I take it Hotta's arrived there for Staria's things."
"Yes, and I don't think I should let him take anything. Bring Star home. You two shouldn't be doing this." Tamaki was still worked up but had at least lowered his voice.
"I'd rather not." Kyoya stated simply. "There was another strange attack tonight and I'm not leaving her alone after all that's happened. So please just send her things along. Or would you rather we also skip class tomorrow as well?"
"And what are people going to say when you two show up together tomorrow morning? I'm sure some of our classmates were there at the party."
"Is there something wrong with going to school with your girlfriend?" Kyoya smiled as he said it.
"No, but you shouldn't be spending…." Tamaki cut himself off as Kyoya's words sunk in. "Did you say girlfriend?"
"Perhaps." Kyoya teased him a bit.
"Really?"
"Yes, she's my girlfriend now. No more just messing around." The youngest Ohtori confirmed.
"That's great! I'm so glad you two will end this silly dance of yours. Though that's all the more reason you shouldn't be spending the night."
"You make it sound like I'm going to rape her." Kyoya was getting a bit irritated. "I'm not some mindless beast who can't control himself."
"I've seen the way you two watch each other."
"Ok Dad. Relax, with the night we've had I doubt it's going to turn to that. I just want to keep her close to me that's all."
Tamamki frowned. "What happened that's shaken you up?"
"I'll fill you in tomorrow, just please let Hotta finish his errand." Kyoya requested nicely.
"Alright….but promise you'll behave yourself." Tamaki sighed in defeat. He hoped he wasn't putting Staria's virtue in danger.