Karin was sitting inside the house reading a book off Kazune's personal shelf while she sipped at her tea. The book was written in the old script he'd taught her a few years ago and she was now fluent enough to read his medical texts. She was enjoying the silence while Kazune was off in his study however short lived that silence was. There was a loud boom from outside the window, making Karin jump. She looked outside in time to see a cloud of purple smoke burst out of the cave entrance in the distance, followed by another rumble. She stood and made her way to the door. From within the purple haze, she could see a small figure running as fast as his little legs would carry him, yelling for her. Shortly behind him was another presence moving just as swiftly.
"Miss Karin! Miss Karin!" Suzune nearly tripped as he swung behind her, grabbing at her skirt. He was flinging spells as fast as he could utter them and the raging being burst into flame in anger.
"Suzune, you little brat what did I tell you?!" Kazune deflected Suzune's magic with spells of his own.
"I'm sorry!" The terrified boy said over and over, still casting his magic at Kazune.
"Face up to your punishment!" Kazune was now circling Karin along with Suzune trying to grab him.
"No!" Suzune took off running again, this time into the house.
"You can't just try to change my emotion to save yourself!" Kazune was ready to pursue after the boy but Karin had had enough. He was quickly restrained by vines in the trees, dangling above the ground by his arms.
"What on Earth could Suzune have done to make him deserve your wrath?!" Karin yelled at him.
"He blew up one of my books!" Kazune defended, seething as he glared into the window where Suzune had ducked out of sight.
"I told him to never go in there and he did it anyway!"
"He's 11, you can't scare him like that!" Karin scolded.
"You should have prepared for this when you took him under as an apprentice!"
Kazune glared down at her with a scowl on his face before letting out a scoff and pouting.
"Suzune, come back out here." Karin called into the house.
There was no motion for a few moments but soon he peeked his head out the door. Suzune made no attempt to leave the safety of the house though.
"Get out here, now." Karin repeated.
Suzune hesitantly walked out and stood next to her, glancing up at the still restrained Kazune.
"Why did you go into a room Kazune told you not to go into?" Karin placed a hand on his shoulder lightly. Suzune shuffled his feet a bit before he spoke.
"I wanted to try a fire spell." He was quiet again and refused to look either of them in the eyes.
"You tried the spell and it was performed incorrectly, wasn't it?" Karin's voice sounded like she was stating a fact rather than asking a question. Suzune nodded slowly.
"Kazune, have you taught Suzune anything about fire magic?"
"No!" Kazune responded with an accusing voice. "He can't control his emotion magic well enough yet as it is, there's no way I can teach him something so advanced."
"I can too!" Suzune suddenly spoke up, yelling at Kazune.
"Shut up! I've told you over and over that your emotional magic makes other forms more difficult to learn!"
"Kazune! That's enough out of you." Karin pulled the vines tighter around his wrists and they began to sting.
"Miss Karin, Master can't even change other's emotions. I've learned enough to learn other kinds!" he whined.
"Suzune, Kazune will never be able to change emotions because he wasn't born with the abilities you have. You need to respect that he has learned everything about what he can do with emotion magic. You also need to realize that you will not pick up on other kinds as easily as he did because of your disposition for intangible magic." Karin spoke calmly but firmly as Suzune stood there listening to his lecture. This was all stuff he'd heard before but he admired Kazune's abilities so much, he got jealous that he would likely never be able to perform at Kazune's level of mastery.
"You must learn your strengths and your limits. That is why Kazune took you in as an apprentice. Kazune is good with fire and air but he cannot control other elementals as well. He focuses on tangible magic because that is what he is best at. You will likely be good at illusion, emotion and mind control."
"I understand." Suzune responded.
"Good. Now, go back inside." Suzune scampered off into the house again.
"Why does he listen to you?" Kazune cried out in annoyance. "I've told him all this before and he won't listen!"
"Because I'm not quick to anger! Honestly, that makes you so much less respectable as a teacher." Karin lowered Kazune back to the ground but kept him bound.
"I'm respectable." he defended.
Karin sighed.
"Yes, you are. You've done great things and you've done awful things but, Suzune needs patience." Karin wrapped her arms around his waist. The action always calmed him down quickly and soon Kazune felt no rage boiling up from the pit of his stomach.
"Since you and Suzune are at odds, why not cancel your studies today? Micchi is coming for a visit anyway; you can help me prepare for his arrival." Karin smiled up at him and fixed his shirt collar.
Kazune blushed, still wanting to be defiant. "Okay..." he glanced away.
Karin untied him from the vines, letting blood return to his arms. Kazune followed her into the house and saw Suzune watching him warily. He could tell Kazune had calmed down and began to relax.
"Suzune." Kazune's voice called out sternly as the boy tried to slip away. Suzune turned slowly to face his master.
"You're punishment for going into my study room without my permission is working the bellows on Monday."
Suzune looked wide eyed. Sure he hated doing that, it made his arms tired and dirty but he thought he'd be in more trouble.
"Yes, Master..." he was cut off by Kazune's raised hand and voice.
"You're punishment for blowing up one of my books is to gather the pieces up for me and put them back together using a restoration spell." Kazune smiled with irked eyebrows.
Suzune's face turned to dread. That task would take him weeks. He'd have to get the pieces before they got wet and the restoration spell was slow going. To top it all off he wasn't very good at it yet either.
"If you mess up, you'll have to start over."
Suzune hung his head and nodded. He'd not known how strict Kazune would be when his parents signed the contract after he begged them to let him study under Kazune's instruction. Resigning himself to his fate for the next few weeks, Suzune went outside to find all the pieces of paper and binding.
Kazune went into the kitchen to help Karin with cooking. She was making a stew and baking bread. The sight of her in her apron made his affection bloom as he hugged her from behind, placing kisses on her cheek and nuzzling his nose into her hair. Karin giggled, letting go of the spoon and holding his arms against her tighter.
"You're so moody." she laughed.
"When is Michiru supposed to get here?" Kazune asked into her ear.
"Not till closer to four."
"So we still have an hour of nothing to do?"
"I have to take the bread out in twenty minutes and you can help by cutting up the vegetables to go in the stew..." Karin hummed out the last few words at the sensation of Kazune rolling his hands over the bones of her hips in a sensual way.
"It doesn't take twenty minutes to cut vegetables." Kazune purred, nipping at her ears.
Karin gathered herself together as she turned to face Kazune. A coy smile played across her lips.
"It takes longer than twenty minutes for you to be satisfied." she challenged him with her eyes.
"Maybe later." Karin stroked the underside of his chin before turning around again and resuming her work.
She wasn't wrong but, Kazune already felt heat pooling in his abdomen. If she made him wait, Michiru would catch on when he arrived, Suzune would get in the way and she could refuse at the end of the day. Times like this, Kazune had learned that Karin was not particularly in the mood and would make little excuses as to why they could not. Under normal circumstances, he'd just try harder and push her buttons until she was but tonight he decided to practice self control and throw her off.
"Fine." he responded before picking up a knife and grabbing the onions.
Ten minutes passed. There was no sound between the two of them other than food preparation. Karin seemed to be in a good mood and not at all put off by Kazune's willingness to forgo pleasure. Kazune began to get irritated that the only one shocked by his actions was him. He was going to say something when the door burst open.
"Hello my lovely chaps!" Michiru cheered.
"Micchi! You're early!" Karin rushed over to give him a hug.
"Food isn't done yet but you can set your things in the guest room if you'd like."
"Thank you Karin-chan. I'll visit a bit before I do though. Kazune-chan, how are you doing today?" He was bubbling over with excitement.
"I've been better. Glad to see you made it here alright."
"Awww, what is making you glum?" Michiru cooed.
"Suzune made Kazune mad today by destroying one of his books by accident." Karin chimed in.
"Oh dear, poor boy." Michiru started laughing at the thought of Suzune being scolded by Kazune.
"Where is he now? I have candy for him."
"He's in the cave gathering up pieces of the book so he can put it back together." Kazune said as he sat, leaned back into his chair and tipped it back further with his foot against a table.
"That's a little cruel, Kazune-chan..."
"He deserves it! I don't want him messing up my stuff."
Kazune, Michiru and Karin all caught up with each other while waiting for the food to be done. Kazune also gave Michiru the reports he and Karin had written about the Kingdom's people. Since Michiru's appointment and Karin and Kazune had been advisors, life was getting better slowly for the town's people. Famine was much less prevalent since the Farmer's Clause was put into effect and required all houses to learn to grow their own food. Karin had been a huge help with that and was now the head chair in agricultural affairs. Michiru had been working on healing the ties that were strained or broken with neighboring countries. His charming personality made the job a little easier. His husband, Yuuki, used his artistic talents to sooth rough atmospheres during meetings with his violin or cooking. Kazune continued to observe and make decisions. He was recruited to join the magic counsel but he declined. He would have been involved in military magic and he did not want to face that prospect again. Kazune wanted a peaceful life.
"Kazune-chan, have you opened a new business? You've been driving a hay cart into town and setting up a stall in the market place every day."
"No, I hired someone else to run it. The business isn't mine." Kazune looked a little pained.
"Our friend Saul passed a few months ago and his wife can't drive the cart. Kazune takes care of getting the merchandise to the market and the money goes to Saul's wife." Karin said as she clenched her hands a little.
"Oh dear, I am sorry. I know Saul was a good friend to you two." Michiru's cheer subsided as he showed compassion for his friend's loss.
"That is very selfless of you, Kazune-chan."
"It is the least I can do for her, especially for all the kindness they showed us."
There was a creak from behind them as the front door opened. Suzune walked in looking cold.
"I gathered up all the pieces, master."
"Thank you, Suzune. You didn't use the seeking spell I taught you last week, did you?" Kazune smiled a bit, pushing the sad feelings out of his mind.
Suzune looked up at him with a face that told Kazune he'd forgotten about learning that spell.
Kazune laughed.
"You made your punishment worse by forgetting something I've said." Suzune sulked to the table, consumed by his regret at not paying attention.
Karin set a bowl of food in front of him and he lit up again. He'd gotten hungry while looking for all the paper scraps. As the others got their food, everyone's mood lifted. There was lots of fun conversation. After dinner, Michiru asked Suzune to show him something he'd learned. Suzune performed a small scene of a frog jumping on lily pads with his illusion magic. Michiru was delighted.
"Good job, Suzune-chan! Hold out your hand." He reached into his pockets.
Suzune did as Michiru asked with little hesitation since he knew Michiru was a very rewarding person. When Michiru pulled out the candy and placed it in Suzune's hand his eyes grew wide and his mouth grinned.
"Thank you, Micchi!" Suzune quickly unwrapped one of the candies and popped it into his mouth. He basked in the sugary goodness as it slid over his taste buds.
"Suzune." Kazune called.
"It is the end of the week, go pack up your stuff. We have to leave early tomorrow so I can drop you off at your parent's house for the weekend."
The little boy looked excited all over again and rushed into his room. Since they lived close to the kingdom, Kazune allowed Suzune to go home on weekends and over holidays. The rest of the week he lived at their house as his apprentice. Kazune enjoyed Suzune's company but was very glad when he would go home. While he was at their house, he and Karin either needed to be cautious or quiet if they wanted to be affectionate. Most of the time, she made him wait till Suzune had gone home. The wait made him even hungrier for the taste of her skin. Kazune was glad Karin didn't want kids; otherwise he'd never get a chance to go full out. As it was, this schedule would last until Suzune turned sixteen. After that, Suzune would be an adult. Kazune figured he'd be skilled enough to do independent study if he wanted to make a new contract to continue his apprenticeship and become a master or the boy would feel he'd learned all he wanted to know.
"I am tired, chaps." Michiru Yawned.
"I think I'll retire for the evening." He stood and gathered up all of his things before walking to the guest room. Karin and Kazune watched him disappear behind his door.
"Having everyone here is always such a pleasure." Karin smiled as she relaxed a bit more.
"I guess..." Kazune trailed off. He was still not used to having so many people around. He guessed at this point he never would.
Karin scooted closer to him on the sofa and placed her head on his shoulder.
"Since you have to get up early, should we head to bed now too?"
"I'm not tired."
"What do you want to do?"
"You." Kazune thought he was being witty but earned a jab to the side with Karin's elbow.
"Not tonight, Suzune and Micchi are both here."
"I knew you'd pull this kind of thing." Kazune sighed.
"Well sure. You don't let me have fun with you in bed so I have to assert power over you somehow." Karin smirked as she looked in front of her.
It was true, Karin did appear to "wear the pants" in their relationship to the public. Kazune had gotten so used to complying with her requests that he'd hardly noticed how submissive he'd become. It was less important to him than it was a few years ago. Still, his joy was in bending other's will to match his own. He loved being Suzune's master and he still had free reign with Karin. Once he'd managed to get her to desire him, she no longer had any power. If he did an exceptional job, sometimes she would follow his every command for a few days after. Once, he did so well that he'd gotten her to submit entirely for a whole month. Every time she started to rebel, he'd "remind" her.
Kazune gave up on changing her mind for the night.
"Want me to read to you?" He asked.
"I can read." Karin was stupidly oblivious sometimes.
"I know you can but, I want to read to you." he sounded a little exasperated.
Karin giggled and got up to walk to their room.
"Okay." She said before changing into pajamas and settling into the covers.
Kazune joined her momentarily and picked up the book on the side table.
As the words from the book passed his lips, he couldn't help thinking about his own story up until now. He'd grown since the day he fled his country in ways he couldn't imagine. He recalled the feelings he'd felt everyday but at that time he couldn't have known it was fear. His younger self lived in fear everyday for his own future. Everything was hazy and scary until he fell in that snow covered forest and Karin came into his life. She'd shone brightly, even before he knew her well and maybe that is why he drifted to her. It could have been chance, maybe even the lack of experience with love that made him treasure her so deeply. She was the only one he'd ever loved, the first girl who was nice to him and he'd never wanted to let her go. All the fear and unease silently left him when she smiled at him for the first time.
Karin's breathing was shallow now. Kazune stopped reading and looked at her as he's done since they met. He was not tired yet but she was sleeping softly.
"I wonder when it was that we finally made a life together?" he whispered to himself.
"Because I only started living when I met you."
Kazune closed the book. He'd finished it.
"I can't wait for the next story to begin." He smiled with warmth in his chest.
And thus concludes the tale of whispers in the snow.
