NOTHING TO SEE HERE, KEEP READING: I know you've been waiting for this continuation anyway.
Kyoko certainly caught him off guard with that move. However, once the initial shock faded, a tiny squeak jumped from her throat as his arms wrapped tightly around her, bringing her body closer to his. Her hands snaked up from where they gripped the front of his cloak to encircle his neck. There was this delightful mind-numbing tingle all over as his mouth slid over hers and he was happy to confirm that, yes, her lips were indeed as soft as he remembered. She must have eaten dessert for all he tasted was the sweetness of fruit and pastry. His hand crept up to rest at the base of her neck and he was about to tilt his head further when he paused and pulled away slightly. Her lips chased fervently after his and he struggled—rather enjoyably, if he was honest—to speak between kisses.
"Kyok—mmph… wait, hold on," he finally got a moment to catch his breath and held her face with one hand. "It's not as if I'm hating this—far from it, actually. But, what brought this on so suddenly?"
She lifted her shoulders slightly, "I was… testing out a theory."
"Theory?"
"That you felt the same way about me as I do about you."
"And it never occurred to you to just ask me?" he was confused, incredulous even, but the lingering euphoria made it not altogether unpleasant.
"I could have," she shrugged, looking only remotely thoughtful then grinned. "But this way was much more efficient, don't you think? Both of our questions are answered and neither one of us had to carefully choose our wording so as not to potentially upset the other person."
He gaped at her with impossibly wide eyes, she tilted her head curiously and asked, "Was there something wrong with my methodology?"
"Sometimes, I think you're too smart for your own good," his deep, rumbling laughter spilled forth.
"There is no need to be petty just because I thought of it first," she teased.
"Have you been spending too much time around me or were you always this sardonic?"
"What can I say? You bring out the best in me," giggles poured from her mouth at his expression and he contemplated a witty retort for a moment but decided on a different approach instead. Kyoko's giggles immediately stopped, having been replaced by a hum of approval as their lips met again.
What precisely were they at that point? It was a question they posed to each other, albeit in different words. They decided it was not prudent to go about placing labels on things willy-nilly, as if they needed to have one in the first place. As far as they were concerned, nothing had changed. And yet, everything had changed. Similarly, though their relationship was still as it once was, it was also now as it should have been. There were too many constants mixed in with too many variables for any succinct identifier to apply so they, wisely, gave up on trying. Making anything official was not going to stop the already bustling rumor mill—not that they cared to, really—so, why bother? Kyoko likened it to answering a difficult question on her Provisional exams; there was no harm in leaving the question blank until you came up with a better answer for it. Kuon knew what he would prefer to call to her, but he was willing to wait until a time when it was appropriate to use.
It never occurred to her to ask why Kanae was back in town when they met up for dinner that evening two days prior. Usually, her time away from campus was much longer than just several weeks, but Kyoko was always happy to see her best friend so nothing seemed off about it. Likewise, nothing seemed off about being asked to report to one of the small auditoria at four o'clock. Granted, it coincided with the usual time and place for the individual designation ceremonies that were held on occasion but she assumed either her assistance was needed or someone she knew was receiving a new rank. Suffice it to say, she was quite surprised to arrive and find that she was the guest of honor when she saw the familiar faces that were gathered.
While most designations were typically done in groups at regular intervals throughout the year, it was not uncommon for ceremonies to be held for one or two people in the interim as the review panels saw fit. As such, smaller rooms like this one were used for these events rather than gathering a small number of people in an oversized hall. They were laid out similarly to their larger counterparts; rows of deep green chairs lined up with their backs to the door behind them and facing a small raised stage and podium. Neutral, earthy tones adorned the walls and floor and spell lamps brightly illuminated the podium and stage while keeping the rest of the room in partial shadow.
On the stage at the front of the room stood Grand Archweaver Takarada at the podium. Four chairs were lined up behind him, two of which were currently occupied by Kuon—well, he was Ren at the current moment—and Maria; the latter of whom was all smiles and chatting animatedly with the man beside her. In the audience, despite the dim lighting, she recognized the robes of Scribes Sawara and Yashiro and beside them, Maven Woods. Hikaru somehow managed to drag his brothers along with him and they all grinned at her as she stood at the door, her hand still resting on the handle. Even a number of the Provisionals she worked with managed to get permission from their classes to attend. Kanae stood near the door and greeted her with a small smile.
"What is going on?! I had no idea about any of this."
"Well, it was supposed to be a surprise, so that's kind of the point," Kanae rolled her eyes, trying to usher her away from the door when the young woman stopped and placed a hand on her arm.
"I wanted to thank you, you know. I took your advice…again," she whispered, nodding towards where Ren sat behind the podium.
"I wondered why I had the urge to slap the grin off his face that he's had plastered on there all day," her friend gave a wry smile. "Congratulations. Now, pull your hood up and let's get this over with!"
Kanae swiftly led her best friend towards the podium, past the several rows of occupied chairs. Kyoko waved happily at the familiar faces who waved excitedly back. As the honoree, she was directed to the seat furthest from where Lory stood, beside an ecstatic Maria. Giving the girl a small hug, she sat down and watched as her friend proceeded to sit in the last empty chair immediately to Ren's right. She glanced at the Archweaver and gave him an accusatory look accompanied by a similar sentiment through his amulet to convey that she would have appreciated some warning about all of this. He merely shook his head in response with a roguish smile and turned his attention towards where the Grand Archweaver stood.
"I thought for sure that you'd be the one giving this to her," Kanae whispered to the man seated to her left as she fiddled with the cord in her hands.
"The Grand Archweaver offered the opportunity when he told me of his decision," Ren shrugged and whispered back. "But I told him that this was an honor that belonged solely to you."
"Hmmph, guess I'll have to say something nice about you at your wedding after all," she snorted.
"I'll be looking forward to it," he quipped just before the Grand Archweaver began to speak.
"Kyoko Mogami, for your ingenuity, quick thinking and overall remarkable skill with advanced drafts, you have been unanimously approved for a special designation as a Master rank Spellweaver," he said, following his brief opening remarks and Kyoko wondered exactly what he meant by that. "You have displayed the talent and ability expected of a Weaver of this rank. Please, come forward so that I may confer your new designation."
When she approached the podium, Kanae stepped forward as the presenter of her regalia and she saw the gold cord resting in her best friend's hands. As she got closer, she noticed the cord was slightly different from the other currently adorning her cloak. The light hit it at just the right angle for her to see subtle, lighter colored stars woven into the braid at evenly spaced intervals and she gasped. She had only ever seen a handful of these during her time at the guild but she knew exactly what they meant. This was the mark of Recommended Status. Once she decides to undergo evaluation for promotion to Archweaver, she would be able to bypass the first two rounds of candidate elimination and straight to final consideration. She immediately understood why Lory stated it was a 'special' designation.
Tears glistened in Kyoko's eyes as her friend held the cord up and activated the draft that stitched it onto her hood. She watched it float up and felt the slight added weight on her head as it attached itself to her cloak. It may have been a small gathering of people, but their loud cheers and applause made the room feel much bigger. She was pulled into a tight hug once the draft completed its work.
"Don't you dare go thinking that you don't deserve this, Kyoko," Kanae whispered fiercely. "Because you absolutely do."
"Thank you," she suppressed a sob long enough to reply.
"Just make sure you're the one doing this when my designation comes around, alright?" she pulled away and looked her squarely in the eye. "Then, we'll call it even."
"Deal," Kyoko said with an enthusiastic nod.
Maria tugged innocently at the bottom of her cloak when she and Kanae separated from their embrace. Bending down to pick up the small girl, their cheeks pressed flush against each other as tiny arms hugged excitedly at her neck. She told Kyoko she could not wait to see her 'big sister' become even more powerful and she hoped to become a Spellweaver as great as her someday. After wiping at an errant tear that threatened to escape, she thanked the girl and gently placed her back on her feet with a kiss on her forehead.
Grand Archweaver Takarada went next and shook her hand before he also gave her a hug, "I was almost prepared to convince the review panel to promote you directly to Archweaver but I realized you most likely wanted to work your way up to that. At the very least, I gave you a head start."
Kyoko nodded and a grateful smile accompanied her thanks before he stepped aside to let the taller man standing behind him have his turn. She peered up at him from beneath her hood and mirrored the wide smile on his face. His arms opened to her in invitation and she walked into them without hesitating, her own arms coming to rest around his waist. Her hood began falling backwards with all of the movement and he gently pushed it the rest of the way and winked at her. Cocking her head slightly, she had only the span of a blink to be puzzled before he leaned in to kiss her fully on the mouth. The cheers from the audience suddenly turned into scandalous hoots, whistles and—from the female Provisionals, at least—gleeful squeals.
"What do you think you're doing?!" she asked breathlessly when he pulled away.
"Giving the rumor mill some fresh material," he grinned. "The stories have been rather bland lately."
In the far back of the room, the person seated in the shadowed corner got up and walked quietly out of the door while everyone else was rushing to the stage to express their congratulations. Kanae narrowed her eyes at the retreating figure and shrugged to herself. She did not think he would actually be present. Technically, he was not invited, but she made sure to place the right whispers in the right ears to see if she could lure him out. A crooked smile formed on her face when the auditorium door closed quietly. Well, he was bound to find out one way or another. She saw Ren looking at her out of the corner of her eye; turning towards him, she noted the confused frown on his face as he slightly jerked his head towards the door. Raising a finger to her lips, she shook her head dismissively and he nodded his understanding. It was the best gift she thought to give her friend—no more snide remarks, shouting matches or emotional manipulation—he got to witness firsthand that he no longer had any power over her. Kyoko now had numerous people who care about her and encourage her advancement. There is a saying that the best revenge is a life well lived; it was always one of Kanae's favorites.
Maria insisted on hosting a small dinner party after the ceremony to celebrate Kyoko's new designation and far be it from her grandfather to not indulge her. The newly-minted Master Weaver sputtered several protests that such an event was not necessary but to no avail. Her best friend told her simply to shut up and enjoy the evening, eliciting a snort from the tall Archweaver who walked beside her. It turned out to be a delightful meal with a few select friends and she enjoyed herself immensely. Once their tiny hostess was forced to retire for the night, and the last of the guests left with one final congratulatory remark, she found herself on the manor's terrace with Kuon, enjoying the cool night air. They stood in silence for a while before he finally spoke.
"I'd been meaning to give you something but I wasn't sure when the best time would be."
"Says the man who kissed me in front of a crowd of people," she scoffed and he gave her a sheepish—though not entirely apologetic—look.
Pulling it out from his cloak, he placed a square, flat box into her hands and motioned for her to open it. The soft paper lining the inside seemed familiar to her though she could not quite place it at the moment. Carefully lifting the layers, the familiarity suddenly made sense when she saw what lay within; a pink and grey rhodonite bracelet. This one was different from the bracelet she saw in Maven Woods' studio as the delicate bangle was not smooth but intricately carved with interlocking swirls and loops. She ran her finger along the carving with a smile.
"Considering the last bit of jewelry you own that I was involved in was more of a do-it-yourself project," he pointed to her amulet with a wry smile. "I figured I'd ask Miss Woods to help me out this time. I noticed how much you liked the one you saw in her studio so I asked her to make another variation of it."
"Why?"
He paused for a moment and then shrugged, "As a thank you for saving my life? As a congratulations on your designation? As a declaration of my undying love for you? Pick one."
Kyoko's brow arched upward, "That last one is a bit of a weighty sentiment for such a small bracelet."
"Well, I unfortunately set the bar unnecessarily high with your amulet stone," he chuckled. "I think anything I give you after that will pale terribly in comparison."
"That's what you get for proposing to me in such a careless manner," she joked. "And when I was six years old, no less!"
"So, does that mean I need to make an exceedingly grand gesture when I actually do mean it?" he amusedly pondered out loud. "Or can I just ask you on a random day in the laboratory while we're in the middle of a project? You already have the stone so I'm trying to gauge the level of effort you're expecting from me."
She laughed, long and loud, at this, "I'll leave that decision entirely up to you. After that stunt you pulled in the auditorium, I don't doubt you'll come up with something… creative."
"I'm not proposing to you at your Archweaver designation, if that's what you're thinking," he pouted.
"Of course not," she rolled her eyes mockingly. "Wait, why are we even talking about this?"
"You started it," he pointed out. "I was just trying to give you a gift."
Her face softened and she kissed him chastely on the lips, "Thank you, it's beautiful. I love the gift... and the giver."
Pulling her closer, he brought his lips back to hers and kissed her in a way that caused a curl in her toes and white static in her head, "I love you too, Kyoko."
MY WILL IS AS STRONG AS YOURS, AND MY KINGDOM AS GREAT: Sorry, that "no longer had any power over her" line reminded me so much of Labyrinth (which I LOVE) that I had no choice but to keep it in the final edit. Thank you all, AGAIN, for the amazing response to the last chapter. Special thanks to J Luc Pitard for pointing out something that I missed, much to my amusement and laughter. I followed the example of my characters and admitted my mistake and moved on. I really need to get some gold star stickers so I can give them out.
Do not fret, there is still an epilogue to come. It is mostly finished but I'm tweaking a few things here and there before I officially post it. I probably won't wait until next week to do it but I expect it will be no later than that.
AUTHOR OUT!