Thank you everyone who has followed, favorite and reviewed Cold Hearts & Steel Claws! :D You have no idea how happy that made me to have all those notifications. J Admittedly there were not as many reviews as I would have loved gaining everyone's view and opinion upon my story but to those two: Mistabiggles, and anonymous; thank you very much for your kind words and your support! ;3 Now without any further postponement: Please! Read, Review, and most importantly, ENJOY the second installment of: Cold Hearts & Steel Claws!
Now and Forever…
"My ashikabi, now and forever… Thank you…" Minato heard Akitsu whisper to herself. 'Her ashikabi? What is she talking about? What in the world is an ashikabi?' he mulled the thought over in his mind as he sat beside her neither of them making a move to end the silence that stretched between them until finally Minato decided to stand up and offer his hand to the girl who just a few moments ago had been just a figure in the shadows to him.
Minato stood before her, hand outstretched waiting for her to acknowledge the fact. When she finally looked up and noticed the hand before her and that Minato was wanting her to take it she hesitated a moment before slowly reaching up and placing her own cold hand into his warm palm. As she took his hand he gently helped her to her feet and when she stood he smiled at her brightly.
"You must be cold and hungry, I know my landlord will probably kick me out for this but why don't you come home with me and I'll let you borrow some clean clothes and give you a hot meal. It can't have been fun being out in this weather all by yourself." He chuckled a bit nervously as he reached his arm back and scratched his head.
Akitsu seemed to be deciding whether or not to go with him when they saw a pair of headlights approaching slowly in the distance of the park. Finally, it appeared that she had made her decision and nodded; taking the motion as agreement to his proposal Minato led her away from the park in the direction of his apartment all the while having Akitsu follow obediently as she held his hand.
Frozen Failures…
A slim teenage boy about 15 years of age sat in the back of his white limo impatiently playing with his brown hair and dusting any particles of matter off of his otherwise impeccably white formal suit that no doubt was meant to show those around him how important he was, or how important he thought that he was, to the world. Hayato Mikogami barked at the driver to go faster as his childish patients seemed to be wearing thin. He could not wait to collect his new toy and to see what fun it could provide within the game. Turning to a figure seated beside him Mikogami whined that he could not wait to collect his new sekirei and play with his new toy and that the figure should do something to further their apparently unimpressive progress as he shook his fists to illustrate his point.
Sighing, the taller figure exercised his patience with the young boy and said nothing much to Mikogami's distress. Slumping back down into his cushioned seat he crossed his arms and sat in silence until at last the driver of the vehicle announced that they would be arriving at the specified destination shortly. At the announcement Mikogami's excitement began to mount as he eagerly gazed out the window from his current position, straining to catch a glimpse of the toy that would soon be his. As the limo slowly proceeded down the walk of the park he saw two figures at the bench just ahead of them, not far but still not close enough as well. He watched as one of the figures rose and extended its hand towards the still seated one and waited as finally the second figure rose from its place upon the bench taking the first ones hand within their own.
Horror rose within the spoiled young man, as he knew that he was watching his prize be robbed from him before his very eyes. "Hurry!" he cried incredulously at the sight unfolding before him, "They are taking my prize! Stop them Mutsu, don't let them get away!" his plea was directed to the figure seated next to him who simply sighed at his masters foolish and childish behavior.
"Perhaps, it is for the best master." Mutsu stated calmly never portraying his annoyance with Mikogami's shrill orders. "That sekirei is but one of many, I am sure that you will find a new one soon enough of which you can wing." Mutsu grew weary of the conversation, as he knew that the logic of his statement would not sink into his young masters mind until much later when he had collected another prize to distract his mind from the loss of this single sekirei.
"But I want that one Mutsu." Mikogami stated with a pout encroaching upon his boyish features.
"Maybe it is for the best master, I am sure you will find another soon enough." Stated Mutsu with a slow sigh. Luckily, the young master conceded to Mutsu's advice and ordered the driver to return them home. Defeated, Mikogami slid back down into the cushioned recesses of his seat grumbling to under his breath about losing his toy.
The Hand That Guides Me…
"You must be cold and hungry, I know my landlord will probably kick me out for this but why don't you come home with me and I'll let you borrow some clean clothes and give you a hot meal. It can't have been fun being out in this weather all by yourself." Minato chuckled a bit at this as he reached behind himself to scratch his head nervously. He had stood up and extended his hand towards Akitsu offering her the gift of a roof over he head and a hot meal as well as the chance to be with her now chosen ashikabi. She had taken his hand when he had stood and offered it to her because when had had risen she had been afraid that he was going to leave and that she would be without her ashikabi once more. Instead he had turned to face her and offered his hand, she had felt her heart leap at the gesture no matter how small or insignificant it may have seemed to him, to her he had just accepted her and had given her an opportunity to show that she was his by taking his hand and letting her accept him.
Akitsu contemplated what returning to his home with him would mean, she would follow him of course; to the ends of the earth if he had bid her to do as such, but what might returning home with him mean to her new master? He had stated that his landlord may not find virtue in his decision to bring her back with him and that her presence at his home may cause his dismissal, a thing that she would never wish for her master. As she was arguing with herself inwardly her outward appearance betrayed nothing of what she was thinking as she stood before Minato, her hand in his. She finally decided upon agreeing to return to his apartment with him and nodded her approval of his proposal, no sooner had she done so than a pair of headlights shown upon their position but as they did so Minato was already in the process of leading her away from the scene and on the path that would lead to her new life with her ashikabi.
As they walked down the street Akitsu's eyes came to rest on her hand as it was extended to meet Minato's, she blushed slightly at his holding of her hand but the shade of pink quickly disappeared from her cheeks as she regained her usual neutral expression. 'I wonder what my master will have me do once we arrive at his apartment, will he have me show my gratitude to him or my usefulness to him by doing chores, or any other tasks that he decides I must do?' She was of course, willing to do anything and everything that her new master may bid but still Akitsu was curious as to the kind of man that she had chosen to become her ashikabi. She knew that he was kind and loving as proven by the actions he had displayed to her in the park while she was yet a stranger to him. Yet she was still curious as to what else she could learn about her ashikabi.
They continued walking until they reached a small building that had a few windows adorning it here and there; Minato led Akitsu up a flight of stairs where she stood patiently as he used his key to unlock the door to his apartment. He stepped aside to allow her to pass him and proceed into the apartment and as she did he followed closing the door behind them and relocking it. He asked her to wait on the couch for a moment while he disappeared into a separate room which she assumed was his bedroom and when he eventually returned he handed her an old large sweatshirt to wear and she took it graciously, knowing that this was a gift from her ashikabi and that he wished for her to wear it. Grudgingly she removed the jacket that Minato had put upon her shoulders and laid it to the side for the time being, standing she began to remove the Doctor's coat that remained but she was hurriedly stopped by Minato as he frantically motioned for her to wait until he was no longer in the room.
When she was done changing Minato returned and removed the Doctor's coat and placed his jacket upon a hook near the door, Akitsu watched a bit sadly as he did this but knew that she had the large sweatshirt of his to wear in place of it for the time being. He disappeared again into another room this time returning with some food that appeared to be leftovers.
"I apologize if it isn't any good but leftovers is all that I have right now, I hope they're okay." He shrugged his shoulders a bit and smiled weakly at her but the fact that he had went in search of food and was willing to share the food that he did possess warmed her cold heart.
"There is no need for apologies master, the food you have shared with me is perfectly adequate. Thank you." She still spoke as softly as she had in the park but now there was no longer the since of loneliness that it had once had.
"Good, I am glad you are happy with the food, tomorrow I will see if I can go and get some more so that you can have something other than leftovers to eat and maybe some clothes too… wa...wait! Did you just call me… mas…MASTER?!"
Hey everyone! I hope that you enjoyed the second chapter of: Cold Hearts & Steel Claws! Thought I'd end it on a bit of a funny note. :D Please let me know what you all thought of this and the first chapter and leave me a review! :P Review, Review, Review! Haha. I can't tell you all how happy it makes me to see people favorite-ing my story and following it! But please, I can not say this enough: please leave me some reviews! I could really use the feedback. Thanks again to Mistabiggles for his review and support of my story and another thank you to my anonymous review, you know who you are! ;3 haha. And thank you to everyone who has read my story and has followed and added Cold Hearts & Steel Claws to your favorites I really cant tell you how happy that makes me to see those notifications show up. J Once again thank you all for your support and hopefully I will have chapter 3 on its way very shortly!
~XxThePhantomxX