Well hello all. I hope those of you who are having summer break are enjoying it. And for any of you who are working or live in countries who have school right now, I hope you are all doing well.
Thank you again to all of you wonderful wonderful people who sent in reviews. I love you to bits.
A Dragon's Heart – Chapter 26
"For the most part, Yuka's house should be in reasonable condition." Narumi said good-naturedly at Mikan. "We have had people staying there off and on over the past few years so we have kept it fairly clean. I'll have to try and see if we can get the water and electricity back on for you."
The three of them walked towards a compact house at the lake's edge, but Natsume hardly noticed it. He was also only marginally bothered by the way that Mikan and Narumi were happily chatting away. Normally it would have irritated the hell out of him and he should have already told the creep to piss off, but at the moment his brain was in overload.
Generally, he was a pretty smart guy and could mentally multitask fairly well but recent events were starting to bog down even his usually brilliant mind.
Seducing Mikan, Aoi missing, the evacuation, finding this little community, the strange creatures in the community, Mikan and his mother being friends, the King owning Mikan's mother, seducing Mikan. Oh wait, I covered that already. Making love to Mikan again, making sure she gets a swim and a rest while also making sure his people were alright and escaped with few problems.
Oh and he still has to cover that whole stealing alice thing with Mikan. By no means had he forgotten that little scene when she suddenly used Narumi's power. Nor did he miss how it sounded surprisingly close to what happens with the stealing alice.
Nullification and stealing alices together. Yea gods what a mix. Neither alice was something he would have imagined was possible a week ago. Then again, ever since he had met Mikan, he had felt like his narrow view of the world had been blown wide open, only to find there was a whole world full of things he had never imagined possible. You would think I would be immune by now.
His biggest problem though was not all the new things he was discovering; it was that they just did not fit together right. The more he learned, the more he had this nagging sensation that he was looking at a huge puzzle but he was missing the key piece that put it all together.
No matter how Natsume twisted the new information swirling in his mind around, it just did not feel right. He was definitely missing something and he knew it. Worse, he was sure that whatever it was he was missing was very important.
Right now he would love to be able to pull back and look at all of the things that had been happening lately and take the time to piece them together better, but he did not have that luxury for that.
Then again, he would also love to spend the rest of the night keeping this little community awake with Mikan's pleasure filled screams. But sadly he did not have the luxury of time for that either.
First and foremost was the evacuation that should be starting in minutes and he needed to get a hold of Luka soon. Second of course was to get Mikan as far away from his grandfather as possible. Third, he needed to find his grandfather's stash of magical gemstones and either steal it or destroy it.
Just the thought of the old man having control over such a treasure sent chills down his spine. He was tempted to ask Mikan to speak to her family and try to recruit the help of the infamous Yukihara thieves to steal his little horde of gemstones, but he killed that idea before it even got started. Knowing Mikan, she would want to help, and as per priority number two, she needed to be as far away from the old man as globally possible. The planet Mars would be better.
The stealing alice was something he never expected. Just imagine having Narumi's seduction, Koko's mind reading, or even that Tsubasa guy's shadow ability at your fingertips? A person like that would be unstoppable. No wonder the old man was able to maintain his stranglehold on Japan for so long. Gods only know what kinds of abilities he had at his command.
Although that did not explain why he had never seen the old man use them. He is obviously trying to keep them a secret so he probably only uses them in extreme circumstances. He reasoned.
No wonder the bastard was so interested in Mikan.
Natsume's hands balled into fists and his teeth started grinding at just the thought of his mate being anywhere near that creep. From the first instant that he had seen the two of them together in the clinic he had felt there was something horribly wrong with letting the king anywhere near her. More than just jealousy could account for anyway.
As the trio walked they approached the small house, Natsume started to take in some of his surroundings. The place clearly showed signs of being empty for several months with just a few indications that someone had tried to hastily clean it up for their arrival. A small path had been recently swept clean, but the rest of the area was littered with dust, dirt and dead leaves.
Narumi took the lead and the door hinges protested with an almighty squeak at being forced to work after so long in neglect. Unfazed by the sound, the incubus reached his arm blindly in for something unseen. The mystery was quickly solved when the lights went on and he gave a rather pleased sound.
"Oh good, the lights work. There probably is not much in the way of food in the kitchen so I'll see if I can get some for you." He continued talking while he gave a quick inspection of the place.
Inside was the same as outside although it was clear whoever had come ahead of them to open up the place had paid more attention to cleaning the inside, than the out.
The place was quite small but functional. It was definitely nothing near what he was used to on the clan estate, but he knew that it was larger than some people's apartments.
Immediately through the door, they found themselves in the kitchen with a small table and chairs. Past the table and chairs there was a small living area which led to a sliding glass door that overlooked the lake. Along the side wall, the sliding door to the bedroom was open so really the only part of the tiny house that he could not see from the entrance was the bathroom.
Narumi walked over to the kitchen sink and tried the faucet. It made a protest almost as noisy as the front door, but began flowing after a few moments. "Ah, good, they even got the water going." He said while shutting off the tap and moving off towards the bedroom. Whoever had cleaned the place had been kind enough to already lay out a futon for them. Narumi walked around the bedding to slide open a panel that revealed a storage closet stacked with several boxes.
"We kept most of Yuka and Izumi's things, so you can look through them if you like. It is mostly clothes, but there might be some mementos you might want to keep." Narumi said brusquely obviously trying not to linger too long on the knowledge that the original owners would never be returning for their belongings.
The incubus clapped his hands in a show of false cheer and gave them a feeble smile. "Well! That is about it, if you need anything, just let me know. I'll let you get to your swim now." He said, while moving past them and out the door. He might have said more, but Natsume had decided he had enough of the man's company and rudely closed the door in his face. Mikan gave him a sour look.
"Natsume, you did not have to do that." She scolded, but he ignored her words and dragged her in for an intense kiss.
The kiss was not merely a meeting of mouths. He was holding her in an almost crushing embrace and his energy was swirling in and through hers like a maelstrom. He was kissing her like he was trying to somehow suck out a piece of her soul and replace it with some of his own.
He needed this right now. It was more than just his current physical need. He needed to ground himself to her. Natsume was not accustomed to feeling so out of control with so many unknown variables flying around. He definitely did not like feeling so lost and adrift so he clung on to the few solid things he had left in his life. His feelings for Mikan, Aoi, Luka and his quasi friendship with the others was all he had.
The young red dragon let Mikan go as quickly as he had grabbed her. It was rather pleasing to see the dazed, glassy look in her eyes and the pink tinting her cheeks from his sudden kiss. Unable to resist he gave her another quick one on her forehead. "Go swim. I need to call Luka." He ordered. Mikan blinked at him and slowly processed what he had said.
In a daze, she shuffled towards the sliding door, slipping off her shorts. She was about to remove her shirt, but Natsume stopped her. "Oi, leave your shirt on."
She turned to him. "Natsume, I'm running out of dry clothes. It is getting dark and I doubt someone will see me in the five steps to the water. If you like, I can still wear my underwear."
Natsume gave her an uncompromising look. "Keep your underwear and your shirt on." He did not care how unlikely it was that someone would see her body. It was not going to be exposed to anyone or anything, but him.
She gave him another one of her looks and rolled her eyes at him, but he caught the pleased and somewhat smug vibes from her. And she did keep her clothes on.
Once he saw that she was safely in the water and felt her energy surge for her transformation, he went over to the bedroom and plunked down on the futon. He sat in a lotus and closed his eyes. The distance between himself and his brother was not that much, but Luka was not as strong as him so he would have to use his energy to cover most of the distance between them. He did not dare use a phone where someone might be able to listen in.
Luka.
'Natsume? I thought you would have called sooner than this!'
I had some unusual delays. How are things there?
'Better than you would expect. Mikan's uncle Tsubasa sure knows his stuff. We have managed to collect everyone at the beach by calling it a party and we can all leave once we take care of the people the king sent out to spy on us.'
Good. No Major problems then?
'Not really, unless you count that psychotic bear of Mikan's attacking and knocking a kid out cold.'
He attacked the children? Was that bear going to be a problem? Maybe he should talk to Mikan about it.
'No, just the one kid. Tsubasa tried to talk to him and according to him, the bear said he did not like the kid. He said he smelled bad or something.'
Which kid?
'One of the older ones, Goshima.' For some reason that he could not explain, hearing that did not sit well with Natsume. Maybe it was because the kid always acted perpetually happy, maybe it was because of the odd way the kid was always ignoring the children in favor of the adults, or maybe it was because of all he had learned today had taught him a valuable lesson about the dangers of assumptions. Either way the fact that an ifrit who was sworn to protect Mikan for the full extent of her life disliked Goshima enough to knock him out cold sent warning bells off in his head.
Luka, can I get you to keep him out until I can meet up with you?
"What? Why?'
I think he might be a spy. He answered honestly.
'WHAT? He's just a kid.' Luka's tone was horrified.
True, and if I am wrong, it will not hurt him to be asleep during the evacuation. But ifrits are not from our dimension, so the bear may be able to sense something we can't. Just keep an eye on him. Have you said anything about where you are going? He asked, and his brother briefly explained the plan of not discussing their destination until after midnight.
Natsume hated to admit it, but Luka was right. That Tsubasa guy really did know his stuff. It sounded like he had everything under control in his absence. Still, there was one very important thing he should mention.
Luka, I want you to be extra careful.
"Don't worry, we will be.' The draman assured.
No. I don't mean like that. We may have just learned one of the secrets to the king's success. To speed things up he sent the whole clump of memories from the first moment he saw Narumi and up to leaving Inari and Hime. It took a few moments for his brother to sift through it all but he could feel his brother's sense of growing unease.
To be honest, he did not want to tell anyone about the stealing alice or about the community hiding here. And he really did not want to mention Narumi's little seduction trick on him, but if the king pulled any of the extra powers he had at his disposal out, they would not stand a chance. At least this way they were forewarned.
'That is one complicated mate you have little brother. Do you think her uncle and cousin know?'
Probably. She seems pretty close to them. You should try to find a private way of warning them. They should at least know what they are up against. But try to limit the number of people who know.
'I understand. The sun is setting now. We should start getting ready to go. Good luck.'
To you as well. He said and withdrew from the connection. With the exception of that Goshima kid, everything seemed to be going fine.
He let out a pent up breath, and opened his eyes. Now what was he supposed to do? He was sorely tempted to join Mikan. He really loved the sight of her swimming about in her dragon form. It was so sleek and sexy. She did bring up a good point earlier.
She wasn't the only one who had a limited amount of clothes. His own backpack was packed yesterday with the intention of spending a day at the beach. He was either going to have to wash what he was wearing, or find new clothes. The thought was rolling over in his head when his eyes happened to land on the storage closet that Narumi had left open.
As he eyed the boxes he wondered on the probability that there might be some clothes that would fit them in there and whether or not he wanted to wear a dead man's clothes. Or even if Mikan would be okay with them wearing her deceased parents clothes.
Cautiously, he moved over and plucked out one of the boxes from the top and opened it. It was full of a bunch of miscellaneous junk. A phone, an address book with worn pages, an old answering machine, pens, pencils, and a couple of picture frames filled with pictures of people he did not know.
Pulling out the frames he took his first look at people that were Yuka and Izumi Yukihara.
Holy crap. Naru was not wrong when he mistook Mikan for Yuka. He knew her by sight instantly. Mikan had her mother's features and coloring with the exception of her smile. Her smile was all Izumi. Her father was a handsome man that kind of reminded Natsume of Ruka with different coloring. In one picture, the couple was surrounded by other people and Natsume could only guess by their features that these were the grandparents that raised Mikan.
Next he pulled out the answering machine. It was one of those old models that used a tape and he could see the tape was still in the machine. Out of curiosity he plugged it in and rewound the tape wondering if there was still anything on it. Once the tape was done rewinding, he pressed play. What sort of morbid fascination made him feel like listening to what could be the sounds of people long dead? A shrill beep sounded and the first message was rather surprisingly in English.
"Izumi it's Kazu. I got your message. If you need help, call me. I might know a way to get you out of Japan now rather than after Yuka has the baby. Call me."
The next two were also from Izumi's family asking how the couple was and how the then pregnant Yuka was fairing. One message sounded like Narumi talking about meeting with someone who never showed up but the last message nearly gave Natsume a heart attack.
"Yuka it's Karou! You have to get out and leave now! Father has somehow found out where you are! He's been furious ever since he found out about you and about Izumi! I just don't know what he might do if he saw you." his mother rapidly whispered intothe phone. Her voice was shaking and she was almost hyperventilating. Never in his life had Natsume ever heard her sound so frightened.
"Oh gods… I've never seen him like this. Just run Yuka, don't even bother packing, just take Izumi and run." His mother panted into the phone, sounding like she was having a panic attack. In the background he heard a tiny baby begin wailing and he realized with a creeping shiver down his spine that it was probably himself as a newborn infant picking up on his mother's distress.
Not being able to stand anymore, Natsume's hand snapped out and stopped the tape and yanked out the electrical cord. It took several moments for his own breathing to steady out and his heart to stop racing. That was not what he was expecting when he plugged in the machine.
Once his reactions were back under his control, he carefully put the machine back into the box and closed it again. He looked at the other boxes with a more dubious eye and tried to decide if he was desperate enough for clothes to brave opening another box. He mulled the problem over for a minute and was just at the point where he had convinced himself that he was being foolish since it was unlikely all of the boxes could contain surprises like the first one when he heard Mikan open the sliding door.
"Natsume?" she called to him while standing at the doorway dripping wet. "Are you alright?" She had that moonlight glow about her that he loved and she was radiating power. Apparently, a swim in her mother's home waters did wonders for her.
Giving in to the urge to hold his mate, he got up and moved towards her. After a few steps though, he altered his course to the bathroom where he was relieved to find towels had been set out for them. Grabbing one, he continued to his original objective. Not bothering to say anything, he wrapped the towel around her and held her close.
"Are you alright?" she asked again. "I thought I felt… well you felt… it felt like you were upset at something." She finished hesitantly.
Instead of answering, he cradled her head in the crook of his neck and he enjoyed her much cooler body temperature against his. Her sweet but tangy scent that made him think of cherry blossoms and citrus took over his senses, and made him temporarily forget everything about answering machines and the voices of those who had passed on.
He started trailing light kisses down her hairline towards her neck when she pulled away to look into his eyes.
"Natsume? Are you okay?" she asked him. Her eyes were filled with concern and she looked determined to get an answer from him, so he gave her a sinister grin.
"It is nothing that having your ankles on my shoulders can't cure." He told her with a heated look. For several moments she just looked at him with a blank expression, and then her nose crinkled with distaste.
"Urgh, that sounds awful. Is that some kind of punishment or something?" She asked, and he chuckled darkly at her.
"You will just have to trust me."
"Alright, but I still say it sounds awful." She announced while he picked her up and carried her over to the futon.
Natsume's breathing and heart rate were starting to return to normal and his grayed vision was starting to regain focus. Turning his head ever so slightly, he landed a kiss on Mikan's smooth calf that was attached to the promised ankle sitting on his shoulder.
He was feeling rather smug about his most recent lesson in his mate's sexual education. She had been totally convinced that the whole experience was not going to be enjoyable but soon discovered that she… well… let us just say she was more than pleasantly surprised. He waited patiently for her to come back down to earth and look at him. Once she did, he could not stop the cheeky grin he gave her.
"I told you it would not hurt." He said without a shred of humility. She in turn, blushed and tried to look away knowing how well she had responded to his lovemaking. Enable to take his intense gaze, she slid her legs down his arms, starting to squirm and try and get away from him.
"Stop that. Why do you keep doing that?" he ordered, her constant attempts to leave him were really starting to upset him.
Mikan stopped squirming and looked at him baffled "Keep doing what?"
"You keep trying to get away from me whenever I have you in my arms. It is starting to really piss me off." He told her.
Her eyes went impossibly wide and he could see nothing but incomprehension in them. Clearly she was not doing it on purpose, but that did not stop it from hurting him. "I'm not always trying to run away." She denied.
"Oh really? Let's count shall we? There was when you first woke up in the clinic you tried to run away from me." Having lost the sensuality of the moment, he pulled himself off of her.
"I needed to get into the water." She retorted, but he ignored her.
"The first time we kissed."
"You stole that kiss, and you were acting like a jerk at the time." Okay maybe she had a point there. In a swift, frustrated, move he stood up and begin pacing in the nude.
"Later that night and the next morning in my bed."
"You can't be serious."
"Last night after we made love and this morning." He said rather pointedly, and she gave him an uncomfortable look, then looked away.
"It's not like that." She mumbled. From their bond he could feel that his words were stinging her, but she was not the only one who kept getting hurt.
He had kept quiet up until now, but as his feelings grew, her ability to hurt him grew also. He needed to tell her what she meant to him, but if he was going to bring up words like 'future' and 'mate' –which he fully intended to do- they needed to come to some sort of understanding. He was not much of a talker but even he with his limited social skills knew that because they were tapped into each other's emotions, they could do some serious damage to one another. He needed some reassurance that she was not going to keep dropping his heart on the ground and leaving wherever she pleased.
"Then explain it to me. Just what is it like?"
"I'm just not… comfortable. I'm not used to this." She said with a gesture that he figured was supposed to include both of them. "I was never any good around boys or men. I always felt weird and out of place… and… " she faltered awkwardly.
"And?" He prompted.
"Maybe I just felt… "
He resisted the urge to yell at her, but if she kept stalling he was going to do something violent. "You felt what?" he asked impatiently.
Her eyes narrowed and she hissed at him "Gods, you just don't get it do you?"
No he did not. Did she think this was any easier for him?
When she saw he was not going to answer, she made a bitter sound. "Fine, perhaps you can get this." She stood up swiftly and marched over to him. For a moment, he thought she was going to slap him, but instead she grabbed his right hand with her right hand. She took a deep breath and he felt her call the magic within and around her.
"By the first drop of water that brought forth life and by the ancient earth that cradles it, I Mikan Yukihara, do love you Natsume Hyuuga. With the moon as my witness, so I do say. Don't you get it Natsume? It does not matter how many times I, as you said, try to get away from you. All roads and paths I take will always quickly lead back to you. Just because I am feeling a little awkward and uncomfortable with intimacy does not mean I don't care." She explained quietly.
Natsume felt the magic crawl across his skin and bind to him. He also felt the air in his chest seize and he had to consciously remember to breathe.
Her oath.
She had, in a backward sort of way given him her oath. It was not a conventional oath. She had modified it to suit the situation, but the magic still held. Inside, he could feel her dragon calling out to his and he felt his own return the call.
Mikan gave him and embarrassed look after her confession and oath, so she tried let his hand go and shyly flee to the safety of the bathroom.
Oh no you don't you are not getting away this time. With and excited leap, he chased after her and stopped her from locking herself away from him. He would have to work on her awkwardness, but he had plenty of time for that. For now, he spun her about and kissed her passionately. Gods, with all that was happening around them, he was still thrilled beyond words that Mikan was his. Well, almost. She still had yet to use the word 'mate' and he still had to answer her for his end of the spell.
He was having a little trouble on his part to answer her. Every time he pulled away from their kiss he felt this uncontrollable need to kiss her again and he would dive back in. He really wished he could talk and kiss at the same time. Why oh why was there not a way to fast track their bond to the point of telepathy?
"I – mmmm… wait - ohhmm… should – mmmm… stop – ammm…" At this rate he wasn't making any progress. If he was going to do this, he needed to do this now. The sun had already mostly sunk past the horizon with only the last traces of it tinting the sky hues of orange and purple.
With great reluctance, he pulled away from his mate's rather irresistible mouth and laced the fingers of his right hand with hers.
"By the first spark of fire and by the everlasting air that breathed life into it, I Natsume Hyuuga, love only you Mikan Yukihara, and recognize you as my one and only mate. With the sun as my witness so do I say. Even if you try to run, I'm not letting you go."
Mikan's mouth hung open and her eyes showed nothing but shock. He wanted very much to kiss her senseless and drag her back to the futon, but he needed her to finish the seal first.
"You – you did not have to do that. I didn't say that for force you-" she stuttered nervously.
"Shh, I know." And he did know too. The magic was reinforcing their bond and making it stronger. He could feel just how embarrassed and self-conscious she felt. For some silly reason she did not feel worthy of what they had together. He would have to work on her self confidence as well. He gave her a sweet kiss on her forehead. "Please finish it Mikan." He begged. He needed her to complete the spell. The magic was flowing freely between them. Their respective energies were intermingling and he could feel the strength of the elements pulsing around them. He also felt the strength of the moon's glow through her, but the sun was fading fast and he wanted her to finish the spell while it still had most of its strength.
The woman he loved gave him a trembling smile and her eyes were threatening to tear up. "I Mikan Yukihara recognize you Natsume Hyuuga as my one and only mate." She said quietly and the magic locked around them, settling against them like a glowing second skin. After a few heartbeats, the energy broke and dissipated. All that was left was a euphoric feeling and a very solid bond to his mate.
Curious, he kind of poked his mind at the connection and felt Mikan do the same. She was there now, like she was a part of him. Kind of like his dragon side, but very muted. It was funny that they included her running away from him in their oaths, because he was certain now that he would be able to pinpoint her exact location no matter where she was in the world. If she was at the North Pole and he the South, he would know it. There was nowhere she could run or be taken where he would not know.
Unable to contain himself, he scooped her up, spun her in a circle and headed back towards the futon causing Mikan to let out a silvery laugh that made his stomach do flips.
"Natsume put me down!" she ordered while still laughing. Natsume gave her another evil grin like he did earlier.
"Oh I intend to Mrs. Yukihara-Hyuuga." Jeeze what a mouthful that was, but he did not let it bother him. He would not let anything, even his own fears ruin this moment for them and he could tell she felt the same. They both knew the next few days were going to be dangerous for them. It was more than possible that something bad would happen to either one or both of them and by silent accord they agreed to make this night out to be one bright memory to shine in the darkness that would come soon enough.
Tbc
Eesh, sappy.
Between this and the oneshot I did last week, people are going to think I've gone soft. It will ruin my diabolical evil image. Hmmm, I must write about someone being tormented next chapter to save my reputation.
Anyway, thank you all for reading and feel free to review.