Okay, readers! The next chapter is up! I hope you all enjoy it!
December 24, X790
It was snowing and Kagura and Jason were standing at the front door of his family's mansion, waiting for someone to open the front door.
"You remember everything we went over, right?" Jason asked.
"Yes." Kagura nodded. "What are your parents like?"
"Well…" Jason said. "They're nice, very nice… but they can also be very demanding when it comes to certain things."
She didn't know how to react to that statement. Just then, the door was opened by a middle-aged woman with short brown hair wearing a cranberry-colored formal shirt and a black formal skirt.
"Jason, it's so good to see you again!" She said.
"Hi, Mom." Jason said as he hugged his mother, Katelyn Lexus (Age 39).
"Ooh, is she your girlfriend?" Katelyn asked.
"Yes." Kagura said as she held out her hand. "My name is Kagura Mikazuchi."
Instead of shaking her hand, Katelyn just came up to Kagura and gave her a big hug.
"It's so great to finally meet my future daughter-in-law." Katelyn said.
Kagura looked at Jason pretty much with a face saying 'I see what you mean'.
"Please, come in." Katelyn said before leaning toward Jason and whispering to him. "She's a real beauty, Jason. She'll make a fine wife."
*… What have I just gotten myself into?* Kagura thought to herself as she walked in with Jason and his mother.
The inside of the mansion was well decorated with a large number of antiques and paintings littered throughout the place. They kept walking until they entered a wide open room with many chairs, a bar with many fine wines and a pool table in the middle of it where a well-dressed middle-aged man with short black hair was finishing a game of pool.
"Ah, Jason, welcome home." The man said. He was Jason's father, Nathan Lexus (Age 40). "And I see you've also brought a lady friend with you. What's your name?"
"Kagura Mikazuchi." Kagura said.
"Excellent work, Jason." Nathan nudged his son with his elbow and gave him a wink. "A strong, beautiful, young wizard like her will definitely give us powerful grandchildren."
"Um, don't you think it's a little early to think about grandchildren?" Kagura asked.
"Dad, you're making Kagura feel uncomfortable." Jason said.
"Sorry, sorry." Nathan said chuckling and rubbing the back of his head. "You know how your great grandfather gets. So, how long are you both planning to stay here?"
"We'll be here the next two nights." Jason answered.
"I assume you and Kagura will be sharing a room?" Katelyn asked.
"Yes, we will." Jason replied.
"Ahohoho, Jason, you dog." Nathan said.
*He's getting a little too excited about this.* Kagura thought.
In the evening, Kagura and Jason were having dinner with his parents and his great grandfather Alexander Lexus (Age 80) who was an elderly man with thinned, white hair, a thin white beard and wore a grey-brown suit.
"So Jason, how did you and Kagura meet?" Katelyn asked.
"We met each other on jobs over the last few months." Kagura answered. "It wasn't until last month we started officially seeing each other."
"Have you proposed to her yet, Jason?" Alexander asked.
"She rejected my proposal saying she's not ready yet." Jason replied.
"Well, she better accept it sooner or later." Alexander said. "I want you married by the end of the summer and bearing a child within a month after the wedding."
*His great grandfather is even more demanding than his parents.* Kagura thought.
"Has Jason ever tell you about how his childhood?" Katelyn asked.
"He may have mentioned a few things." Kagura replied.
"Did he ever tell you about Mrs. Mew-Mew?" Katelyn asked.
"M… Mrs. Mew-Mew?" Kagura asked, raising an eyebrow.
"She's…" Jason groaned, rubbing his eyes and forehead. "A stuffed cat I had when I was a kid."
"'Had'?" Katelyn questioned. "You STILL have her. When you left home, you took her with you. In fact, I'm sure you brought her with you."
Kagura lightly giggled while Jason groaned and hid his face in embarrassment.
"Can you tell me a little more about Jason when he was growing up?" Kagura asked.
"Oh, where do I begin?" Katelyn responded. "Well, he's always loved animals, but he used to love birds the most. So much so that he would perch on his seat like one."
"Ahahahaha!" Kagura couldn't help but burst out laughing.
*Yep, it's so silly that even someone as collected as Kagura broke out into laughter.* Jason thought as he slumped back in his seat.
"Despite that, he WAS always a clean kid." Nathan said. "Seriously, he loves to keep things organized and clean and he hates getting dirty."
"That's why I like wind and water magic." Jason said. "They help me clean anywhere I go."
"Now that we've cleaned our plates of dinner, I think it's time for desert." Alexander said.
"Oooh, I hope it's cake." Jason said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.
In Jason's old bedroom, he and Kagura were getting ready to go to bed. The two decided that even though they would share the bed since it was large enough for the two of them, they would both be wearing flannel pajamas that guests usually wore with Jason's being blue and Kagura's being violet.
"I'm sorry if my family came on too strong." Jason said.
"Don't be." Kagura said. "Your parents were very polite. I can't say the same for your great grandfather, though."
"Yeah…" Jason sighed. "Remember how I said my family was pressuring me into a relationship? Well, by that I meant Great Grandfather. I know they say you should respect your elders, but I have to say that he's kind of a dick. Just ignore what he said back at dinner, especially considering we're faking all this anyway."
Kagura was looking at the large number of books and mech models on the shelves.
"You're quite the collector, aren't you?" Kagura asked.
"Well, I'd get bored when I wasn't' training and nobody could play with me, so I took up a few hobbies." Jason said.
"Your parents weren't kidding when they say you liked things clean and organized." She said.
Each shelf was devoted to a particular author and placed in alphabetical order with a mech model right next to each of the bookends.
"Do you have a favorite?" She asked.
"Actually, I do." Jason answered as he walked up to Kagura's side. "This one." He pulled out a book from one of the middle shelves. "It's called Lost Wind. It's about two knights who fall in love, but the man has to stay behind to protect the king and the woman is sent away to fight in a war."
"Would you mind if I borrowed it?"
"Not at all."
"Since it's your favorite, I'll be sure to take good care of it."
"You know, this talk of romance is actually making me think how Spiral and Hikari's relationship is going."
"Aren't they still teenagers?"
"This isn't so surprising. Teenagers go out on dates all the time. If you'll excuse me, I'm feeling kind of tired so I'm heading to bed."
"Yeah, I'm feeling a little sleepy myself." She said as she rubbed her eyes.
Jason immediately fell asleep as soon as he hit his side of the bed. Kagura slid onto her side of the bed and closed her eyes. However, as soon as she was ready to fall asleep she could feel something wrap around her body. She tilted her head to see that Jason had wrapped his arm around her in the middle of his sleep and the mere sight of this was causing her heart to beat faster.
*What is he doing?* She thought.
Jason started to unconsciously cuddle with Kagura in his sleep.
*He better be asleep.* She continued to think.
"… I'm so glad you finally came back…" Jason mumbled.
*He must be dreaming about that girl he's been waiting for.* She thought just before her eyes started to get droopy. *You know… this actually feels nice…*
Kagura fell asleep, feeling comfortable in Jason's unconscious embrace.
December 25, X790
Morning had arrived and Jason was stirring from his sleep. He then noticed that he had his arm wrapped around something warm and opened his eyes to see Kagura sleeping soundly in his arms.
*… Oh crap…* He thought.
Jason started to slowly and carefully retract his arms so he wouldn't wake up Kagura, but just as he was about to fully pull back she was starting to wake up. He quickly pulled back and rolled closer to his side of the bed as she sat up and stretched herself.
"Jason, are you awake?" Kagura asked.
Jason rolled himself to look at her.
"Y-yeah, I'm awake now." Jason answered, acting like nothing happened.
"You slept pretty well last night." Kagura said.
"How did you sleep, Kagura?" Jason asked, expecting an answer he knew he wouldn't like.
"I slept surprisingly well." Kagura said before giving Jason a light smile. "… Especially considering you were cuddling with me in your sleep."
"Dyah!" Jason exclaimed as he got on the floor and bowed to Kagura on his knees. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"
"It's okay." Kagura said, holding her hand out to tell him to calm down. "I know that you were asleep and dreaming about that girl you like."
Jason calmed down and stood back up. "Phew, I'm glad you understand that."
"Actually, to be honest… I kind of enjoyed having your arm around me."
"Anyway, my family's probably waiting for us. I'll go to the bath room to clean myself up while you can change in here."
Jason left the room, leaving Kagura alone to change her clothes.
In a room hidden far underneath the mansion, Alexander was watching the recordings of Kagura since her visit. There was also another man in the room, hidden in the shadows.
"Heh, your great grandson sure is lucky to have a hot chick like that as his future bride!" The person in the shadow said. "Do you think he's aware of his true powers yet?"
"I don't believe so." Alexander answered. "It's been almost 14 years and he shows no signs of that power. And never call him that in my presence!"
"Sorry, sir." The man said.
"Anyway, I have a task for you. Follow that woman and observe her. Make sure she is worthy of bearing the heir to the Lexus legacy."
"Can do." He said, motioning a salute with his fingers. "Getting to keep a constant eye on that sexy piece of eye candy is my kind of mission."
Alexander looked down at his desk where an old, worn out journal lied. "… He must never know the truth."
After Jason had finished washing up, he went back to his room to see Kagura had just put on the last of her clothes.
"You ready?" Jason asked.
"Mm-hm." Kagura nodded.
The two walked down the hallway.
"By the way, have you heard about that new guild that formed earlier this month?" Kagura asked.
"You mean White Valkyrie?" Jason asked.
"Yes." Kagura replied. "So far it only has six members, including the Guild Master, but from what I've heard their power is already on par with that of other guilds with more members."
"Heh, both Phoenix Dawn AND this White Valkyrie participating in the next Grand Magic Games? Sounds like the Games of X791 will be quite interesting to say the least."
A/N: God, it's 2:30 in the morning as I'm posting this and I just want to go to bed! … Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I would like to thank the user TailGatomonX3, who suggested that Kagura get to know Jason better and tell things from her perspective. I also thought I could use this chapter to foreshadow one of the later arcs. Anyway, stay tuned for next time!