Constancy
Chapter Three
-Outsider-
Two Years Later…
Natsumi and Satomi sat in one of the palace's comfort room, which was decorated like a fancy living room. They were coloring in their sketch books that were scattered over the floor. Crayons littered the floor and surprisingly, they were quiet. Even their dragons were snoozing in amass of pillows. They were much bigger now, but still were allowed in the palace.
Tsuin, the long black dragon, grumbled out, opening her eye to check on the girls. When she was sure they were still content with their task, she closed her eye once more and eased out a breath. The door to the room opened and both dragons lifted their heads and looked over to the prince as he came in.
Toshiro looked excited, "Sisters! We have a visitor from another land! A wealthy aristocrat, and she brought her son. He seems really nice!" The twins were up in a second, their own curiosity sparking. The dragons groaned and got up from their makeshift nests and followed the trio out, until they reached the throne room.
"Daddy! Daddy!" Natsumi and Satomi cried out, freezing when all eyes were on them. All three siblings blushed.
"Sorry." Toshiro hurried out. "We just wanted to meet Vincent."
The girls nodded, their gazes landing on an auburn haired boy with sparkling aquamarine eyes. "Yo." The boy waved, though he didn't move from his mother's side. That is until his gaze landed on the two dragons following the Sabakus. "Wow! Cool!" he smiled, running over to the group. "Are they yours?" he asked, looking at the princesses.
Futa and Tsuin growled lowly at the boy, lowering their heads so they were between him and their masters. 'This boy smells odd.' Tsuin whispered to her mistress.
'A foreigner.' Futa agreed, watching the boy closely.
Natsumi smiled brightly, leaning over her dragon's head. "Hi! I'm Natsumi!"
"I'm Vincent." The auburn haired visitor laughed, shaking her hand as he scratched the back of his head with the other. "I guess your dragons don't like me that much, huh?" he observed, since they still had not let up on their defensive stances.
Toshiro shook his head. "Dragons are wary of anyone new who comes to their masters." the prince explained. "My sisters are princesses, so naturally they are protected more so than normal."
The shorter pink haired girl nodded. "In fact Niro and Taira are creeping around and watching you two to make sure you do nothing to harm their masters."
Gaara cleared his throat, getting the children's attention. "Forgive me Lady Terumi. My children are a bit eccentric and lack manners."
The auburn haired beauty simply chuckled. "Yes well, they're young, and have time to learn." She smiled. "Besides, I'm surprised your son is as well behaved as he is. That must be your wife's doing, no doubt." She smiled.
The king scoffed. "The girls take after her more than I. She may be responsible for my son, but he takes after me I assure you. I only wish she would spend more time with the girls and teach them the respectful ways. She is too easy on them because she sees herself in them." Toshiro snickered as both the twins gasped.
"Father!" they cried out in shock.
Vincent blinked. "Isn't it a good thing that the princesses take after her majesty sire?" he asked, looking back at the girls and smiling. "They are so pretty, after all, and I heard the queen is very charming."
Both girls blushed and smiled, loving the attention they were getting. Gaara rolled his eyes, "Charming my-sweetheart!" he sat up immediately when Sakura made her entrance into the room. "How wonderful for you to join us, I was just speaking of you."
The pink haired woman smiled. "Good things I hope." She kissed her husband on the cheek before looking to their guests. "Lady Terumi, it's so nice to see you." she said.
"A pleasure to see you as well your Highness." Mei smiled, nodding to her offspring. "This is my son, Vincent."
"Your Majesty." Vincent bowed in a grand gesture, making Sakura laugh.
"Such good manners." She complimented. "He looks so much like you Mei, the relation is undeniable."
The auburn haired woman nodded. "Yes, thank heavens he didn't wind up looking like his father. Such a fickle man."
Vincent nodded. "Fickle man indeed." He repeated. "I am strong like my beautiful mother!"
Satomi giggled. "I think he's cute."
"Me too." Natsumi whispered.
"Why don't you kids find Akito and play outside while we adults catch up." Sakura suggested. "It's a beautiful day, after all, and you can show Vincent your dragons."
"Okay!" Natsumi giggled. "We'll meet you guys down there!"
Tsuin lowered, allowing her mistress to climb onto her back, and without another word she darted forward and took off out the window. Satomi followed suit, leaving the two boys together to scale the stairs. When they landed in the green yard, Akito was already there with Kensei, primping him and sharpening his claws for him. "Hi Akito." Satomi said in a bored tone, sliding off her dragon. Natsumi practically exploded when her feet touched the ground.
"Oh my gosh Akito! There's a new boy! And he's super cool!"
The black pink-streaked dragon nodded with her mistress, giving Kensei a provoking stare, before finding a cloud more amusing. Kensei blew out some smoke in a slight huff, before turning his gaze to Natsumi and his master. "He can't be that cool." Akito said, trying to show that he didn't care.
"His hair makes me think of copper." Satomi smiled slightly.
"And his eyes are the most pretty blue I've ever seen!" Natsumi continued.
Akito frowned, stopping his task and looking at the pink haired princesses. "You don't have a crush on him, do you?" he asked, though his question was mostly aimed to the younger of the two.
Natsumi blinked, meeting his slightly flustered green stare. "Why?" she asked curiously. "Does it matter?"
"Of course it matters." He said, returning his attention to Kensei's claws so that she couldn't see his face.
"Whhhhhhyyy?" the princess giggled, hopping over to him. "Why? Why? Why?"
The ebony haired boy tried to keep his face from her line of vision. "Because it does."
Kensei snickered. 'Master wants the princess' attention all to himself.' Akito stood and pulled away from his dragon.
"Does he now?" Natsumi cheered, sounding excited. But then they all heard Toshiro yell to them. The redhead and the new boy ran towards them, out of breath as Rikou glided down and landed beside Kensei.
'A new boy?' the red dragon asked, arching his head towards his leader.
Tsuin purred. 'A cutie boy. Such pretty eyes.'
The alpha turned his red gaze to her. 'Don't tell me you like an outsider.' He said, wrapping his neck around hers and getting a closer look at her face. 'You, who is always so mistrusting.' He brushed his nose against hers.
'And aren't I always being scolded to be kinder?' Tsuin growled softly, not moving an inch, since she would not back down.
Natsumi looked at the two, a dark blush spreading across her cheeks. "Oh my…" Akito blushed as well, though it was less noticeable.
Kensei rumbled low in his chest, before nipping her. 'Yet you are still so rude to me.'
'I will always be elusive and defiant to you. You know this.' the female dragon chuckled, looking over as Vincent stopped before them in absolute awe.
"Wow." He breathed out. "You guys are so cool looking!"
The large black dragon unwound his neck from the female's and moved his face down closer to Vincent. 'He smells odd.' He breathed out heavily on the auburn haired boy's face, making Akito laugh.
'And his eyes aren't really that great.' The ebony haired boy smirked, crossing his arms.
Tsuin arched her head, 'Does he now?' she wondered, winding around Vincent, pressing her snout against his forehead.
Natsumi burst into a fit of giggles. The auburn haired boy was frozen with fear. "What's going on? Did I make her mad? Is she trying to kill me?"
The princess shook her head. "No, no. She won't kill you. She's just being funny."
Futa rolled her eyes, watching with her mistress. 'Such an anomalous sister I have.'
Tsuin pulled away from Vincent before returning to Kensei and brushing her tail against his nostrils. 'Do I smell odd now? ...Master.' she hissed.
Kensei growled, showing his fangs. 'Your master I am indeed.' He said. 'And as such, I shall replace the human's scent with my own.' He moved and brushed his body against hers, a smirk on his features.
Tsuin growled, snaking out of his hold and shooting into the sky before flying off towards the lake. Natsumi sighed, "She's so playful with him."
"Sometimes I think a little too playful." Akito said, watching as his dragon took off after her. Then he looked to the auburn haired boy. "So who are you?" he asked, giving the newcomer a bored stare.
"The name's Vincent." He said offering his hand to Akito with a friendly smile. "My mom and I are from the northern island of Caprisa."
The Uchiha glanced down at the hand, before looking up at his face. "Akito." He said, shaking Vincent's hand. "Kensei is my dragon. He's the big black one."
"That's so cool. He's amazing. I've never seen a beast so regal and lethal." Vincent was in awe, staring after them. Natsumi was beside him then, giving him a bright smile.
"It's amazing! And we can talk to them too!"
He gasped. "What?"
Akito nodded. "Yeah, in our heads." He tapped his skull. "Though Natsumi can talk to all of them, cause' she's special."
Vincent looked over the small princess and smiled. "Really?"
"Really, really." She replied happily, "any and all dragons so far. I can even talk to them when they are in their eggs."
"That's so insane. You're pretty amazing then, huh?"
Her smiled brightened. "I try." Vincent laughed, resting his hand on her shoulder. Akito felt his anger grow, and began to march over to them to remove Vincent's hand from Natsumi's shoulder. He halted when he noticed the vacant look to the pink haired girl's jade depths. Knowing what it meant, he ran over and cupped her face with his hands.
"Natty?" he asked, stroking her cheeks as he searched her face. "Natty, is an unborn dragon talking to you again?"
Her eyes were unfocused, searching his own as if she were trying to focus on all the chatting going on inside her head. Tsuin and Kensei landed abruptly, rushing over to the pair in alarm. "Really?" Natsumi whispered. "Are you sure? But…he…it's…" her mouth went dry before she pulled away from Akito and headed towards the palace. Satomi frowned and chased after her sister.
"Not again." She sighed. "Futa, please tell Niro and Taira not to become upset!"
The pink dragon nodded and took off into the sky. The entire group of kids ran after her, Akito speeding up so that he was right behind her. Natsumi searched the wall with her hands, frowning before moving along the edge and trying to find the switch. She let out an aggravated yell and slammed her fists against the stone. "I'm trying!" she screamed.
Toshiro looked confused. "I thought mother said Taira buried the exits."
The information seemed to surface in the young princess' mind. "Then I shall make one." She whispered, her eyes widening as her eyes began to glow with a green brightness. She touched the ground and the earth began to shake as the soil loosened and shifted beneath them before a narrow tunnel appeared. When the earth stopped moving, Natsumi pulled up her hand and headed down the path.
Vincent swallowed. "What the heck?"
"That's new to everyone." Akito said, grabbing his arm. "Now come on, whatever this is has to do with you." he pulled him towards the tunnel, crawling in after his friend.
Toshiro and Satomi followed, already hearing the angered roar of the larger dragons. "Not good." Satomi whispered.
Finally, they all emerged from the tunnel and Natsumi ran forward, looking around for the eggs. She spotted them at the center of the room. Kogané lifted his massive head and watched her, relaxing once he recognized their visitor. 'The king and queen find your persistence in breaking their rules quite trying.'
'They can get over it.' Natsumi told him, kneeling beside the last two eggs, which were rumbling. "I brought him." she spoke. "Just like you asked."
Vincent was wide eyed and amazed, not only by the crystal cave but the fact that the princess was speaking to an egg. Natsumi picked up the green egg and stood, turning and offering it to the auburn haired boy. He was speechless. "Wh-what?"
"He wants you." she stepped closer. He frowned, reaching forward and holding the egg. It shook violently and began to crack and when it did shatter, there was a slimy green dragon, sitting in the palm of his hands. He cried out, finally free from his confines.
'Master! I have been waiting for you for so long!' the young dragon whispered across Vincent's mind, scaring him so badly he almost dropped him.
Akito frowned. This wasn't good, because now this boy that had such 'amazing eyes' and 'cool hair' was going to be staying with them. And he didn't want to share Natsumi's attention. Nor was it good that he had a dragon, because once became a threat to Kensei, the black dragon was going to become even more aggressive than he already was. "What's his name?" he asked, glancing at the auburn haired boy.
Vincent waited and then smiled. "Ikasu. His name is Ikasu."
Natsumi and Satomi were around him in an instant, looking over the dragon. "Aw! He's so cute!" they cried together.
"Well what about that other egg?" the ebony haired boy questioned. "It's still shaking."
Natsumi turned and looked down. She giggled, "Retsu, come out." she called, tapping the egg lightly. As if the touch had caused the crack, the shell exploded and there lay a light blue dragon. She huffed out and Natsumi carefully picked her up. 'Hello Retsu.'
'My princess.' The baby dragon lowered her head. 'I am finally free! I must find my mistress! She will be incomplete until I find her.'
"But you're so tiny…" Natsumi frowned. "Are you sure you shouldn't wait till you get bigger?"
'I am strong my princess! I can do it! But first I must find my mother!' the dragon cried out.
"We should take them out to Taira and Niro." Akito said. "So they can fly."
"Oh!" Natsumi nodded. "Right." she said, hurrying from the chamber and back up the tunnel.
When everyone emerged, it was to an angry king and queen dragon. 'What have I told you?' Taira snapped at her, before seeing her last two children out of their eggs. 'Young ones.' She cooed, lowering her head and sniffing them. She licked Ikasu, nuzzling him before turning her attention to Retsu and doing the same. 'You are finally hatched.'
Niro moved over the two, his threatening gaze on Vincent. 'Why is this filth touching my offspring?'
"Because he is Ikasu's master!" Natsumi cheered.
'And I must go find mine!' Retsu squawked, swishing her tail back and forth. 'Please, can I go?'
Taira chuckled. 'Not yet small one. You must grow a bit more.'
'No! I will only wait one week. I know I can fly as I practice!' she declared, making Niro chuckle.
'In one week's time, we will see if you are ready to take flight. Alright small one?'
Retsu cried out in bliss as Taira allowed her onto her head before they took off. Niro took Ikasu and lifted from the ground. Natsumi stared after them, as did Vincent. "What does this mean?" he asked.
Satomi smiled. "That you're a dragon rider.
Akito threw a ball up and down in a bored manner. It had been about four months since Vincent had become a dragon rider, and he'd adjusted pretty well. Because he was now a dragon rider, he was living at the palace. For the first month his mother had stayed, and she had some pretty interesting things to say about men, that was for sure. When she was assured that her son would be fine without her, she left, with the promise to visit as soon as she could.
He didn't really like having the other boy around, simply because he had to work harder for Natsumi's attention sometimes. Vincent was fun to hang out with, it was just when he got a little too friendly with the pink haired girl that the Uchiha became defensive.
Ikasu was growing nicely, and thankfully hadn't posed a challenge to Kensei yet. Though on occasion Tsuin would give the green dragon more attention just to get on the alpha's nerves.
"When is she going to get here?" the ebony haired boy asked, looking at the redhead next to him, who was reading a book. "Isn't today the day she's supposed to arrive?"
"Well we got word that they had found her. So…it should be any day now. But why are you so interested?" the prince wondered.
"Because if there's a new girl then Vincent might leave Natsumi alone." Akito grumbled, crossing his arms.
Toshiro chuckled. "Uh huh…or you want to see if you can make Natsumi jealous?"
He scoffed. "Please. That is stupid."
"Sure it is." The redhead smirked. Suddenly, they both heard a loud gong, signaling that something was approaching and was being allowed in the gates. "That must be her. Let's go see!" Toshiro smiled, putting down his book before running to the window and whistling. Not seconds later a light red dragon swooped down and hovered so that he could jump on. "Come on Akito! Let's go!" he called, disappearing.
Akito ran to the window and called for his dragon, leaping onto his back when he came. He landed at the gate, seeing that he and Toshiro were the first ones there. He dismounted his dragon, seeing that Retsu was back, and had grown a bit in her absence. There was a girl with her, with short brown hair and icy blue eyes.
"Hi!" Toshiro said, running up to them and examining them both. "My name is Toshiro! I'm the prince of this palace."
"I'm Taka." She said, smiling slightly.
The ebony haired boy sighed. "My name is Akito."
"Welcome to the palace Taka." the redhead said, gesturing to the dragons. "This is Rikou and Kensei."
She looked up at the larger dragons. "Wow." She said in awe. "Is Retsu going to get that big?" she pointed to Kensei, who was the larger of the two.
Akito shook his head. "No, Kensei is the alpha of the pack, that's why he's the biggest."
Kensei lowered his head and sniffed her. 'She doesn't smell as weird as Vincent did.' He said.
'I think Vincent smells fine. Besides I like Ikasu.' Rikou huffed, blowing smoke in his small upturn.
'He smells fine now.' The black dragon corrected. 'And I never said I didn't like Ikasu.'
"Will you two knock it off?" Akito scolded.
Taka looked between the two dragons, before returning her gaze to their riders. "So where are the other riders?" she asked. "Retsu told me there were five."
'They are coming now.' Kensei said.
There was a loud screech and before they knew it, three oddly colored dragons landed with a thud on the ground. One was pink, the other was a dark green, and the last was black with pink streaks from its eyes. "Oh wow!" a pink haired girl gasped, sliding down from the black dragon. "You must be the new rider!" she exclaimed. She was a gorgeous creature, radiating beauty despite her young age, and her jade depths sparkled with anticipation.
Another pink haired girl came down from her dragon, her long pink hair braided behind her. "Hm…" she nodded, giving Taka a look of acceptance. "Hello."
"Hello." The brunette said, setting her hand on her dragon's head and stroking it. "My name is Taka."
"I'm Natsumi." The younger twin introduced. "And this is my elder sister, Satomi. We're the princesses of this palace. We've been waiting for you!"
Taka smiled. "Me too." She said. "Retsu's told me all about you guys, or really what she knows." She laughed. "She was really excited to come back here."
'I wanted to see Kensei again!' the pale dragon chirped, rubbing against the alpha's leg.
Natsumi blinked, staring at Retsu. "Do you like him?" she asked.
Retsu practically purred, walking beneath the black dragon and stopping when she was between his front legs. 'Of course!' she declared, circling his left leg and brushing against it. 'He is my alpha!'
Akito raised a brow, watching as Kensei didn't even appear to care about what the smaller dragon was saying.
Tsuin watched the interaction with slight interest, until she met her alpha's gaze and turned her head and walked off. 'I grow bored of this. At least I like her smell.' She glanced back. 'Do you wish to fly Ikasu?'
'No, he doesn't.' Kensei said before the green dragon could reply.
'I'll fly with you Tsuin!' Retsu said excitedly, flapping her wings.
The black dragon growled lowly at Kensei, before looking over Retsu. 'Alright Retsu, please join me. I'd love the company.'
The two females took off then, leaving the men behind. Kensei grumbled, turning and walking off, already bored with what was going on. Taka looked to the auburn haired boy who had yet to speak. "So are you Vincent?" she asked.
"Oh! Yes!" he blubbered, turning a light shade of pink as he stepped forward and offered his hand out awkwardly, as if to shake her hand.
She smiled, taking his hand and shaking it. "I like your dragon." She nodded to Ikasu. "He's very pretty." She blushed slightly at her own compliment.
Vincent beamed. "Thanks! I really like him, he's got such a personality."
'What does that even mean, Master?' The dragon wondered, only making him blush more.
'I don't know jeez, shut up!'
Natsumi giggled, watching the two and then looking over at Akito. "What do you think Akito?"
"About what?" the ebony haired boy asked.
"About Taka, duh." She smiled, swatting him over the head.
Akito shrugged. "She's okay I guess."
Taka gasped, smiling brightly. "Really? Oh thank you!" she giggled, hugging the Uchiha tightly, startling him. "I was afraid I wouldn't fit in." she snuggled against him.
Natsumi stared at the scene, her eyes slightly wide. Something stirred in her, something she'd never felt before. The closest thing she could associate this with was anger. Her lips pursed together in a thin line. That was definitely an unnecessary amount of time for a hug. The dragons around them lifted their heads, watching Natsumi carefully. 'Princess?' Rikou asked curiously.
Her glare tore from the two and focused on the red dragon. "Huh?"
'Are you alright?' he asked, getting a nod from Ikasu.
Akito looked around at the group, before patting the brunette girl's back a bit awkwardly. "Um…no problem." He said, placing his hands on her shoulders and pulling out of her grasp as he pushed her away from him. Taka simply looked at him in adoration, the smile still on her face.
Satomi watched her twin practically explode silently and turned on her heels, off to find Kensei to make herself feel better. Vincent watched her leave and then looked back at the others. "So what do you all want to do?"
"I want to get to know everyone." Taka said, looking at Akito, who simply seemed uncomfortable with the attention.
"I'm gonna go…find Kensei. So I'll see you guys around." He said, making a quick escape. He needed to talk to his dragon about what had just happened, because he himself didn't understand.
It didn't take long to find the black dragon, as he was lounging in his favorite spot on one of the small ledges near the palace, soaking in the sun. But as he neared the beast, he frowned, seeing a pink haired girl leaning against him. "Natsumi? Is something the matter?" he asked, since usually she was off with her dragon.
The princess huffed. "Why on earth would there be something wrong?"
Akito blinked, going up to her and sitting next to her. "Well…you seem unhappy." He said, leaning to look directly into her eyes. "Was it something I did?"
"Nooooo…" she said sarcastically, looking off, though she didn't move from her spot. Kensei laid his head down next to the pink haired girl and nudged her, crooning as he silently urged her to talk to his master about why she was upset. Because face it, the poor boy was clueless half the time when it came to feelings of any kind, even his own.
The dragon and the princess stared at one another, remaining silent, which was odd to Akito. They must have been blocking him out. Natsumi scoffed, crossing her arms. "If he won't get it then you tell him." she finally said aloud.
Kensei's red gaze turned to his master. 'She is upset because that new girl was unnecessarily affectionate with you, and you did not seem to mind.' He explained.
The Uchiha's eyes widened. "What?" he asked, looking back at Natsumi. "What was I supposed to do, push her off of me? I was trying to be nice, cause' you always tell me that I'm a butt face most of the time." He frowned. "If I'd known it would make you so upset I wouldn't have allowed the contact, I promise."
Natsumi still looked away, pretending to ignore him. Akito placed his hand on the ground and leaned on it to look at her face. "Come on Natsumi." He pleaded, smiling slightly. "You know that you're the only person whose hugs I really like." He nudged her playfully. "Cause' you're the only one I ever hug back, 'cept Satomi, but that's different. We don't hug for very long, or very often."
"So…" she grumbled, still pouting.
He smiled, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her against him. "There, you just needed me to hug you I bet." He snickered, nuzzling her.
She couldn't help but smile as she looked up at him. "Akki…when we get older…will you marry me? No matter what?"
Akito sat back a bit and looked down at her. "I promise." He said, his smile returning. "No other boy can treat you right anyways Natty. And I gotta make sure you're properly taken care of. So no matter what, I'll marry you."
"Good!"Natsumi sighed with relief. "We will be together forever. No one can tell me otherwise…and I always get what I want."
The Uchiha laughed. "Well so do I." he sighed, leaning against his dragon's side and keeping Natsumi in his arms. "So there's no way our plan can go wrong."
"Nope. I will always have you. No matter what." She giggled, snuggling into him and closing her eyes. She loved this moment, feeling one with the one she cared about most. Who cared that Taka kind of liked him. She already claimed the Uchiha as her prince and it would be so. Because she always got what she wanted, even if she had to get it by force.