A Forbidden Rhapsody: Chapter 4: The Propechy Truly Begins
YES~! An update finally. (: It's been too long.
Title: A Forbidden Rhapsody: Chapter 4
Chapter Title: The Prophecy Truly Begins
Author: theivorykeys
Fandom: Hey! Say! JUMP
Pairing: NakajimaYutoxOC
Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Suspense, Adventure
Rating: PG-13 (For merciless killing)
Disclaimer: I own Yuto and nothing save for the plot and OC
Type: Multi-chapter
Notes: It's written in the third person POV but then, it is also told from the first person POV. I'm not good at writing killing scenes so, this might not be too good. I'm so sorry it took so long but it's lenghty. I'm juggling two fics at once. Don't expect instant updates. Btw, should I create another Elemental fic after this?
Summary: Elementals are all male. An strange incident on New Year's Day leads to the discovery of a strong-willed, hard-headed, orphaned and adopted female Elemental. Her Element is unique and the only one to have ever existed. Yet, the person she's destined to be with is the only person who cannot touch her. Nakajima Yuto is drawn instantly but he has no idea why. Sparks fly and one wonders if they have been destined by the stars.
Click. Click. Click. It was always three clicks. Nothing more before she faced them, her hands demurely clasped in front of her but there was nothing demure about the expression on her face. It was a storm. A black, brewing storm that was bound to wreck havoc on the earth. The five black-clad men who stood before her held their ground, not wanting to seem like cowards if they stood back a little. Her eyes glowed a bright orange and her mouth was no longer curved as it usually was. "You what?" she asked, calmly, her heels coming to a complete stop.
The hearts of the five men thudded in the chests, the sound seeming to echo in the large, cavernous hall. "We didn't get to bring her back, Mistress," the one in the middle who seemed like the leader stammered.
He was obviously second-in-charge since their leader had been killed, judging by the way he didn't know how to face the woman standing before him. The other four behind him were equally frightened but they didn't show it. "I didn't hear you clearly. Could you please repeat that?" she said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. She folded her arms across her chest and drew herself to her full height.
"Umm," he began, twiddling his thumbs nervously. He spoke a little louder this time, not understanding the sarcasm that filled her voice. "We failed to bring the girl back as you requested, Mistress."
Her eyes grew dark and the grey clouds at their feet grew darker and thicker, swirling even faster, matching her fury. "That's better," she said, smiling sweetly. "Now, what did I say about failing to bring her back?"
The leader was silent. He knew the consequences for failure. The leader always got the punishment and that was why no one wanted to be the leader. Only the arrogant, Roku who had died had volunteered to be leader, not expecting to ever lose his life for he was an excellent fighter and he never, ever missed. He, Keiji, had been Roku's only nephew and therefore had made him second-in-command whether the young boy liked it or not. Keiji swallowed hard, not daring to look into her orange eyes. It had been said that she could kill with those eyes but he didn't believe it.
He knew how she killed. Fast and swift with no regrets. The slice of her blade was all that was heard as she took a life, mercilessly to reach her ultimate goal of wiping out all Elementals that had ever existed. Keiji didn't know why she wanted to wipe all the Elementals off the face of the earth. Personally, he didn't care what the Elementals were or what they did. All he knew was that by being in service to the Mistress, he was getting a roof over his head and three meals a day. That was why he had bothered to enlist himself and to his surprise, discovered that his uncle was also working for her.
That had given him a little hope in being able to stay alive, rather than live on the streets, scrounging and scrimping for meagre scraps that would be thrown out of restaurants at the end of the day. Most of the time, he had to fight to stay alive. She smiled evilly and slipped into an old-fashioned, high-backed chair which appeared out of thin air. "You know the consequences," she said, templing her fingertips, her elbows on the armrests of the chair. "All of you do."
Everything was silent as the fog grew thicker and angrier, swirling like it had a vengance. Keiji fought the urge to lift his leg and shake off the stickiness and the cloying effect that the fog had. He could sense the others resisting the urge to do the same. "But, seeing as I valued your uncle's services," she began, looking directly into Keiji's eyes, "I'll spare your life this one time. You could be of some value to me in the near future."
Keiji resisted releasing a deep sigh of relief. But, the terror wasn't over yet. Not until he left the Mistress' private chambers. Not until he was safe from the thick, curling for that threathened to suffocate him. "And because I stay true to my word, no matter what," she began once more, a shiny, silver pistol materialising out of nowhere, a silencer fitted onto the barrel, "one of you needs to go."
She trained the gun on the other four behind Keiji and with just the pull of her finger, the one standing on Keiji's left dropped to the floor with a soft moan. Smoke curled from the barrel and as cliched as it may sound, she blew away the smoke and smiled prettily at Keiji as if she killed people on a normal basis and there was nothing unusual about it. Keiji was sure she did. "You may go," she said, in a bored manner with a wave of her hand. "And take him with you."
Trying his best not to feel sad or cry, Keiji left the chambers quickly, the other three solemnly carrying out their dead comrade.
[paragraph]
I sat by the window, staring out at the falling snowflakes. Yeah, it was winter all over again. The weather had been growing crazy since the appearance of the dust-cloud-ninja-like people. One day, it would be sweltering. The next, it would be freezing cold like this. I sniffed slightly, the sudden change in temperature affecting me, a cold forming. I thought to myself, if I didn't eat soon, I'd be too weak to fend off the next attack. If there ever will be one.
Frowning, I pushed away from the window and randomly selected a book from the overflowing bookshelf that I had requested be put into my room to accomodate my love for reading. It's not that I didn't want to eat but I just couldn't stomach anything solid. From past experience, I knew that if I ate, it would just come back up the same way and there was no use in putting anything in in the first place. I flipped open the book to a random page but I couldn't read. The words just swam around in uncomprehensible sentences.
My stomach growled hungrily and I placed a hand over it to shut it up. I grimaced a little with the pain that came with a growling tummy and I ran to grab a glass of water. Usually it helped but the more I didn't eat, the worse it got. The longest I had gone on a self-starvation spree was a week. After that, I collapsed out of fatigue and I had to be sent to the hospital. I had already been adopted then and Okaasan had felt so bad for having allowed me to starve myself that when I had been discharged, I went home to a table laden with my favourite foods.
Since then, I had sworn to never allow the Unfortunate Incident to happen so that those around me wouldn't have to worry for I knew that if it happened, I would go into self-starvation mode once more. And now, it was happening. I sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, staring at my painted fingernails. They had been painted a pale pink that was now chipping off way before the attack.
I lay back on the bed and curled up on my side, staring at the little good luck cat that sat on my bedside table. It was going to be another long day.
[paragraph]
Yuto sat outside on a stone bench in the extensive garden that they had been provided with along with the house, the snow falling silently onto his broad shoulders, protected by a thick winter jacket. It was a gift from his mother and was so worn that the material once stiff was now well-worn and soft. It caressed his skin like silk and fitted perfectly to his slim frame. It didn't matter if he wore the jacket or not, his body's natural healing abilites was enough to keep him warm but he did out of habit.
He sat, his hands clasped between his knees, his body slumped forward. Earlier, he had been watching that very window since the morning but now, she had drawn the curtains over it and she had disappeared furthur into her room. He felt tugged toward her, compelled to be near her but he knew that he shouldn't. After all, he didn't like her. She was a bratty female, demanding and whiny. Rude and street-smart with her compulsion to pick fights. Yet, he felt a little tug on his heartstrings each time he saw her.
He ploughed his hands through his hair and groaned in frustration. His slow breath came out in puffy clouds of mist as it cooled in the cold air. He told himself that he had a logical reason to be watching her window, making sure that she didn't try to escape but even to him, it sounded stupid. She had been here long enough to know that by running away, she was putting herself in the hands of those wishing to exploit her abilities. She didn't know it but he could sense that she would be extremely powerful, once she discovered the extense of her powers.
The tiny silver chain that he wore around his neck, hidden from view dangled down, the tiny pendant of a star hitting his chin. He quickly tucked it back into his shirt and leaned back against the bench, tilting his head back to meet the falling snowflakes. They fell and landed softly on his eyelashes and his nose. Like a little kid, he stuck out his tongue and caught a few of them.
Standing at the window, I watched him place in the snow, fashioning shapeless snowballs and then throwing them to watch them explode into powder against the stone bench. I smiled slightly as I forgot my stomach's growling. He seemed rather childish and carefree in that small moment that was ours. Just me watching him and him not noticing as he played with the snow. If only I could freeze this moment in time and we would never have to worry about anything else in the world. But alas, I did not possess the power to do so.
Lost in my day dreaming, I did not notice the pair of soulful eyes on me until I looked down and that's when our eyes met and electricity sizzled. Quickly, I drew the curtains shut and flopped back onto my head, chanting religiously that I had no intentions of falling for that irritating male. Slowly, my eyes drifted shut and I fell asleep, my stomach growling faintly.
[paragraph]
Clouds. All around. It was suffocating me. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't see what was in front of me but I knew that they were clouds because they were soft and wet. At least that's what I thought clouds felt like. But it was impossible that I would be up in the sky but this didn't feel like fog either. Fog made you feel creepy and freaked out but this had me feeling...nothing. I made a full three-sixty turn but I still could see nothing. It was all black, all around me.
There came a soft voice from in front of me, calling my name as if unsure that was my name, "Murakami-san? Murakami-san? Is that you?"
I lifted an eyebrow. The voice was soft and feminine and very melodious, like that of a palace lady but it was also rather faint. "Yeah and who might you be?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest.
"Step forward, Murakami-san," the voice said, a little bit of cockiness in it and I half-smirked. "I can't stray very far from where I am."
As I stepped forward, cautious step by cautious step, I emerged into a clear, starry night and I yelped, stepping back to look for somewhere solid to stand on but there was nothing behind me. Just empty space beneath my feet and stars high above me. Clouds drifted lazily by me. I started to panic but when I discovered that I could walk normally, I calmed down. "Now what?" I asked.
"Boo~" came the soft voice from behind me and I jumped, followed by a girlish giggle.
Behind me, there stood a translucent figure, clothed in what appeared to be a silk kimono in the style of that of Ancient Japan with heavy layers. No one wore such a kimono these days unless it was required to which was also rather seldom. Despite being see through, I could tell that she was extremely beautiful with eyes that could speak a thousand tales and lips that rivalled Snow White's. Her skin was so fair that she appeared to be shining and all in all, she sported an extremely graceful smile that could stop a man miles away.
Yet, belted at her waist was a menacing looking sword with detailed carvings on the metal scabbard and the hilt of the sword. It was a double bladed katana desgined for killing. I expected that it would be rather heavy even if I knew the katana to be light for such a slight woman to carry it but I didn't say anything. I was afraid to offend her. In her obi, there was a silk fan as expected of court ladies to carry but I could also make out the shape of a dagger.
This woman was dangerous. I could tell even if someone told me she probably carried it out of safety reasons. She looked like someone who knew how to use the katana and dagger to kill and not spare any mercy.
"You're not what I would have expected for an Elemental," she said, pouting slightly.
I raised my eyebrow and planted my hand on my hips. "And then, what would you have expected?" I asked, slightly annoyed. After all, I didn't request to be an Elemental, I was just born one. How would I know what an Elemental was supposed to look like?
She tilted her head to one side as if studying me. With a wave of her hand, she said, "No, no. I wasn't talking about what you looked like. It's just, there's something about you, that's so...how do I put it?"
"Rough?" I offered.
She shook her head prettily. "No, that's not it. You're not rough. Innocent, perhaps?"
I raised an eyebrow and looked at her in an are-you-kidding-me way. "Yes, that's it. You're so innocent. I would have expected an Elemental to have less of a pure soul but yours seems to be so pure...except for a few taints here and there and two very large ones," she said, shining as she had discovered her answer.
I shrugged and then asked, "What am I doing here? Aren't I supposed to be sleeping back at the mansion? Is this supposed to be a dream? How in the world am I able to stand in the middle of the sky?"
She stared at me and then grinned. "So many questions. I've no idea what you're doing here either. All of a sudden, I felt this strange tug that compelled me to come here and what was funny was that I knew your name. And, I've no idea if this is a dream. I suppose it is to you but to me, it isn't. And I expect that where we are right now is a bridge between reality and the dream world, if you choose to believe that this is a dream."
I pinched myself and I yelped. "Okay, if this is supposed to be a dream, why did it hurt when I pinched myself?" I said, rubbing the spot where I had pinched myself.
She perched herself on a nearby cloud and let her legs dangle down, swinging them childishly She shrugged. "As I said, I don't know myself. One minute I was busy wallowing in the dirt and the next, I'm up here with your name in my mind."
"Wallowing in the dirt?"
She nodded furiously. "You've no idea what centuries of lying down in the stinky dirt can do to your brain cells," she said, shaking her head. "I'm glad that I'm here."
I jumped up and settled down next to her, staring down. "This is exactly how I remember it," she said, dreamily, the river below us sparkling in the light of the full moon. A warm breeze blew by and I smiled slightly. "Before the Elemental war came upon us."
"So, you're saying that you're actually dead?" I asked, incredulously.
She raised her hand to playfully smack my arm but her hand just ran through me and she pouted, sighing slightly. "For a moment, I forgot about that," she said, shrugging nonchalantly.
"What exactly are we doing here?"
She stretched and lay flat on the fluffy cloud, her hair spreading beneath her like water. "Are you an Elemental?" she asked, looking at me from where she lay.
I shrugged and then said, "I guess since we're the only ones here, it's safe to admit that I am," I said, watching the still river, shimmering in the bright moon's light.
She folded her arms beneath her head and stared up at the sky. "You do know that Elementals are supposed to be males only, right?" she asked, grinning widely. "Well, let me tell you a secret. I'm an Elemental, too. At least the only female one during my time."
"So, are you supposed to be the one from the unknown legend, hidden in the Word Keepers' secret library?" I asked, swirling the cloud beneath me and creating fluffy spirals that drifted away with the wind. "The one written in the diary of one Emura Shiori?"
She raised her eyebrows and then smiled gently. "She kept a diary?!" she exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. "And wrote about me?"
Without stopping, she continued, laying back against the cloud, "I loved the old lady. She was rather wacked in the brain but she was the nicest person I've ever met. The men didn't know I was Elemental at first or rather that they didn't want to see that their impeccable male-only trait had been tainted with the presence of a female," she said, grinning slightly.
"I know what you mean," I replied. "They're still the same. Very chauvunistic males. Gah! Why can't they just be accepting that every few centuries or so, there would be a woman that would have to have shared their genes?"
Both of us laughed heartily. It was a wonderful moment. A moment where we could just be ourselves. A place for her to be free from which ever place in between souls go to. And a place for me to not have to watch every move I make. "I feel that I'm here for a reason. The reason why we're in between, the bridge between the spirit and the living world. But I just cannot place my finger on it," she said, sighing deeply.
Then, she looked at me weirdly as if she were trying to see right into my brain. When she did that, she looked like she was little five-year-old kid wondering why the sky seemed so high and that she couldn't touch it. Her eyes squinted adorably and she pouted a little as if thinking. "Something besides the norm is bothering you. And I don't mean the Elemental stuff you're facing," she said, more to herself than me. "There's a boy, isn't there? And you're not sure if you should like him or not. You know you shouldn't but you feel those weird lovey-dovey tingles when you see him."
I looked at her with a stern glare and demanded, my question coming out harsher than it should," What did you just say?"
She raised her eyebrows and raised a hand to smack my shoulder playfully but it just ran through me with an icy chill. She frowned and then flopped back down onto the cloud with a poof of cloud material, "Don't need to get touchy about it. I just can sense it radiating off you. It occupies your mind. More than the Elemental matters on hand do."
I was silent as I absorbed what she just said. Feeling a little sorry for my outburst, I patted her shoulder but my hand just flew right through and she gave me a sympathetic smile. "Sometimes, I forget that you're dead. You don't seem to be very dead," I said, frowning slightly. "You're getting fainter."
With a slight jump, she looked down at herself to find that she was getting more transluscent till she was only a faint shimmering shape. "Your conscious mind must be waking up," she said, shrugging slightly. "You're probably being shaken awake or being awoken by something."
"Oh."
She just smiled and stood up, smoothing down her kimono before elegantly lifting a hand and waving. "Well, see you in your next dream," she said, grinning. "And Murakami-kun?"
I lifted an eyebrow. "Yeah?"
"Eat something. I can feel it. You're going to needed for something and that something is a terrible thing. I know I seem to speak in riddles but I myself am confused. All I can feel is that whatever will happen next isn't going to be pleasant and you have to be ready for it," she said with a rather grim smile, her elegant features contorted with confusion.
I just nodded and replied, all the while she grew fainter, "I guess I'm going to have to."
[paragraph]
"Murakami-kun! Murakami-kun!" came a faint calling followed by knocking on my door as I awoke.
I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. That dream-reality was still rather clear in my mind and I couldn't help but wonder if she had some unfinished duty that she had to fulfill before she could finally move on. Most souls and spirits were like that. I scratched my head sleepily and shook my head a little to wake myself up. "Yeah?" I called, stretching to loosen the muscles in my back.
The door opened and a very happy-and hopeful-Chinen stood there with a plate of something that my brain identified as creme caramel by the strong scent of caramel emitting from it. With my highly sensitive sight, I could see the caramel that had been drizzled on it already beginning to grow hard and sticky. I could see the crystalized caramel on the top where a blow torch had melted it to perfection. My stomach growled hungrily and I pressed a hand to it. "Keito-kun came home with a whole container of this," he said, holding out the plate and chewing uncertainly on his bottom lip. "His mother visited today."
I turned to face him. I stared at him, my gaze unwavering and I could tell that he was feeling rather awkward with my staring and silence. I looked from him to the plate and back to his pretty face again before breaking out into a grin. "I was just playing with you," I said, patting my bed. "Come here. We'll share it."
Instantly, his face lighted up and he bounded in with his usual endless energy, landing on my bed with a poof, the sweet dessert in his hand giving a little wobble as he landed. I picked up the small dessert fork that came with the plate and stuffed a bite of the creme caramel into his open mouth, giggling at his stunned expression. I put another bite into my mouth and almost sighed in pure bliss. It melted in my mouth and slid down my throat in a sticky and creamy frenzy. "Does this mean you're going to join us for meals now and not continue to starve yourself?" he asked rather tentatively.
I didn't answer but just shoved another bite into his mouth and he half-choked. "Oops, sorry," I said, ruffling his hair and pinching his pretty cheeks.
* * * * * *
On the other side of the city, in a dark room, illuminated solely by two candles in the middle of the round, wooden table that was damp with the water that dripped in from the ceiling. Ten people sat around the table, each clothed fully in black. Silver katanas, crafted by the best sat belted at their waists. Foils that were designed to kill sat in their scabbards, hanging from hooks on the wall. These people knew how to kill and they wouldn't stop at anything to fulfill their master's-or in this case, mistress'-wishes.
At the head of the table, sat the newly appointed head of their kill-and-grab team, Junnosuke Keiji, a sensitive and compassionate man in his early twenties who had unfortunately inherited the post after his uncle had been killed in their first attempt to retrieve the prodigal female that their mistress craved so badly. Why, Keiji didn't know. He didn't even know why he didn't try to leave this earlier while his uncle was still in power. Now, the responsibility of retrieving the girl unharmed was on his shoulders and he knew the consequences if he didn't.
He thought of the beautiful girl he had left back at his village when he had journeyed to the city to look for a job that could keep him and her alive, when he proposed to her. He hadn't been able to find one and had ended up on the streets, until one of the friends he had made in the city had told him of a good paying job that had vacancies. Instead, the job that he thought was a simple, day-to-day one had turned out to be extremely dangerous and frightful. He sighed deeply and wished the girl well and that she would find a loving, caring husband should he die at the end of the day.
"We're gathered here for one purpose and one purpose only," he said, coldly, preparing himself for the fight to the death. He didn't like to fight. In fact, he preferred a quiet solitary life. "We failed the last time. This time, we shall not fail in capturing the female Elemental."
The nine faces staring back at him were serious, ready and Keiji saw, perhaps a little weary and frightened. Weary of fighting. Frightened of what would come. These were the same people who had went into the first fight and they knew very well what they were up against. Elementals were not people who were easily subdued or killed. They fought till their deaths and would continue fighting as long as they were able to keep peace in the world.
These men-and possibly a woman-staring back at him were not cold-blooded killers. They were perfectly human with feelings and emotions. Not one of them enjoyed killing but they had nowhere else to go. Keiji felt pity for each of them. There had once been a time where their lives had been perfect. A time when they were content. But not anymore. What they really wanted now was just to go home but unfortunately, none of them were allowed to leave. The mistress would kill you before you even managed to leave. Mistress didn't care. After all, she had many more at her beck-and-call. They wouldn't be missed. No, not at all.
Today, besides the purpose of capturing the female Elemental, they were also here for another reason. A reason unknown to anyone but themselves. They had been planning it for months, unknown to Keiji's uncle, of course who was devoted to the mistress. They had just been waiting for the perfect opportunity to carry out their plan. Now, this was the time. Keiji lowered his voice to almost a whisper as he said, "You know what to do, right?"
The nine heads nodded and Keiji half-smiled. "It's time we finally break free from this crazy dark prison."
All whispered in agreement. "It's time we ask the Elementals for their help and seek their protection."
[paragraph]
It was night. We were gathered around the low table, a variety of dishes laid out in front of us, steaming rice in our individual bowls. My stomach growled hungrily as we waited for everyone to get settled before we began to eat. I sat between the lovely Daiki and the ever charming Hikaru, both never ceasing to make me laugh. Chinen and Yamada sat across from me while Yabu took his seat at the head of the table. Ryutaro sat at the foot of the table, him being the youngest after all. Takaki sat to Yabu's right while Hikaru occupied Yabu's left. Inoo sat to Daiki's right while Keito sat to Yamada's right with Takaki next to him. Yuto sat on Chinen's left, the only one silent.
Inoo had been the one to prepare tonight's dinner along with Keito and Yamada. When these three prepared dinner, everyone was ready to dig in to anything that sat on the table. Despite the fact that Yamada was an arrogant prat who garnered too much attention and airtime, he made a killer chicken stew that everyone readily looked forward to. And Keito was in charge of preparing a soup, filled only with succulent onions and juicy potatoes boiled with chicken bones and flavoured with black pepper and salt. It was plain but it tasted divine. Inoo was left with creating fanciful desserts and the vegetable dish.
We made as much noise as we normally did as we ate, laughing and joking. Everyone had stayed in today, the snow fall so thick that we couldn't go to school and the others couldn't go to work so there wasn't much to report about. Yet, we talked about past events. About dramas and the behind-the-scene gossips. About their latest project. About which dance move they couldn't master. They planned tomorrow's dance practice line-up.
I sat, folded into their mixed conversations, answering whole-heartedly whenever I was asked a direct question. I felt all warm inside as their chatter filled me with a kind of glow which spread into my veins. I couldn't tell if it was Keito manipulating the atmosphere or they were just happy that I was no longer starving myself. Or if Keito's powers could sometimes be uncontrollable when he was extremely emotional and seeps into the atmosphere. Either way, everything was perfect. Just perfect.
Oh, who am I kidding? I thought to myself, forcing my arm to not throw down my chopsticks and bowl and walk out of the dining room.
Much as I enjoyed the chatter, my mind was occupied. Much as I tried to immerse myself in one of the topics, my mind kept flying back to my encounter with the Elemental from a time gone by and what she said about a boy. Yeah, my mind was currently very occupied. By the one person who sat at the corner of the table and glowered at everyone around the table, giving me special attention. He looked away as I met his stare. If only I could read his mind, I sighed, absent-mindedly stirring my bowl of soup with my chopstick.
Finishing off the soup, I placed my chopsticks diagonally on top of my bowl and muttered a soft thanks for the food. "Daiki-kun," I said, turning to the penguin-look alike that sat next to me. "I think I'll go to my room now and finish up the remainder of my homework before I go to bed. Tell the others that I'm real happy to be back at the dining table once more. I love you guys."
With that, I got up, Daiki giving me a brotherly hug and a light squeeze of my shoulder. I smiled at him to reassure him that I was alright when the look of confusion and worry flashed across his pretty features. The furthur I got away from the dining room, the better I felt. Yes, I was happy to be once more surrounded by their happiness and laughter but at the moment, my thoughts and emotions were all a jumble and I couldn't think straight. What I didn't know was that not only had I left the table, so had Yuto.
I couldn't sense his presence because of the stronger wards that had been put up but my survival instincts had told me that I was being followed. It was just this gut instinct that I relied on a lot for it had never failed me before. I waited till I got halfway up the main staircase of the large mansion before turning around to face him. "Why are you following me?" I demanded, planting my hands on my hips.
Yuto held up his hands and said with a playful grin customary to him, "Guilty as charged."
I fought a smile and scowled instead, folding my arms across my chest and just glared at him, my emotions doing a double take. I felt all fluttery inside just at his mere smile. That didn't make me any happier than I was. In fact, it made me even more irritated. I wasn't supposed to feel fluttery towards him. He didn't deserve it. Not with the way he's been acting towards me ever since I had arrived. It was as if he wanted me to die.
I scowled once more. "Yeah, yeah. Even if you didn't admit it, I'd know you were following me," I said, thinking that if I didn't break from this conversation, the scowl would be permanent. "What do you want? I'm not in a very pleasant mood. If you're looking to pick a fight, you're going to get one soon."
He shrugged and then grinned, tilting his head to one side. His folded his hands in front of him and smiled beautifully at me, bowing low. "No, I'm not looking for a fight."
"Then what do you want? I'm not in a good enough mood to play games with you."
He stuck out his tongue childishly at me and pouted childishly. My heart fluttered and my breath hitched in my throat. God, he was beautiful and adorable and irritating and infuriating all at once when he did that, I thought, gritting my teeth and ignoring the feelings foreign to me.
"Fine. Would you mind stepping out into the garden with me?" he asked, rather nervously. His cheeks had a rather pink tint to it and I could swear that he was trying not to smile. "I just want to talk."
I looked skeptically at him with a look that said we-can-talk-right-here. "In private."
I scowled and then made a big show of trying to peek out one of the ground floor windows from where I stood before turning back to look at him. "Are you crazy? It's just begun snowing again and you want me to go into the garden?" I asked, sharply. I didn't know why I was snapping at him but I felt good doing so.
He shrugged. I noticed at this point that he had already donned the black winter jacket that I had seen him wear just this afternoon. It molded nicely to his toned form and his pants, plain dark denim fitted his extremely long legs perfectly. I scowled and then said with an exasperated sigh, "Wait here. I'll get my jacket."
[paragraph]
The snow fell softly around us. The night was quiet. It was so quiet that you could even hear the snow fall which is an exaggerated statement, of course. Even with our ultra sensitive hearing, we couldn't possibly here the snow land. I sat on the park bench, the seat ice-cold under me and tilted my head back to stare at the cloudless sky. Neither Yuto or myself had spoken a word since we came out here. All we did was sit down and just stare dreamily at our surroundings.
Twice, I had caught Yuto staring at me in a weird manner, like that which you see in a movie when the guy was alone with a girl and he was about to tell her that he was in love with her and she would tell him that she had secretly liked him for very long. My breath caught in my throat. Here was a guy, Yuto alone with a girl, me. I'm sure that this was turning out to be rather cliched. "What do you want to go into the garden for?" I snapped, folding my arms across my chest. "I'm freezing my butt off here."
Yuto just grinned and leaned back against the bench, throwing his arm out onto the top of the seat, unconsciously reaching out over my shoulder. My shoulders tingled where his arm made contact but I didn't move. I liked it this way though I didn't show it. I would have much preferred that I didn't like it though. "It's pretty out here at night, eh?" he asked, smiling rather contentedly.
I shrugged, trying to be utterly bored but inside, I was truly curious of his intentions for dragging me out here in the freezing cold. "I guess."
He leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees, looking at me from under his arm with a very heart-stopping smile that brought out the boy in him. I bit back a smile in response. I noticed something shiny dangling from his neck that caught the soft glow of one of the lamps in the extensive garden. The both of us just sat there in awkward silence with him staring at the cherry trees in front of us that had shed all it's leaves and flowers due to the crazy weather and me leaning against the bench, cold against my back and staring at my scruffed boots. The snow fluttered gently around us.
Just then, there came a sharp cracking noise from above us and a glow emitted from above before disappearing like snow melting in the summer heat. From behind, there came the shattering of glass and the splintering of wood. Cries of fury were heard. There were yells and the sound of swords clinking. From the downstairs windows, I could see flashes of flames but they weren't the colour of Takaki's flames. These flames were a dirty orange that looked like it contained too much ash whereas Takaki's flame was a clear, bright orange.
The lights in the dining room had gone out, most likely due to a power shortage since their Elements were in full power and I did not doubt that the shield that had protected the house had once more been broken. All I could see was the light that the flares emitted. Yet, hearing was even worse. And I couldn't be there besides them for Yuto forbid me from entering, having a hunch that they were once more after me.
I could see the dirty orange flames growing larger and larger, outsizing Takaki's clean flames but I could see no sign of the clear water that was Hikaru's. I was worried. Usually Hikaru and Takaki worked in a pair what with their Elements complimenting and rivalling each other. Soon enough, the beautiful lace curtains that decorated the dining room windows caught on fire and illuminated more of the room since the fire finally had something solid to feed on.
Suddenly, the downstairs door opened and out came a very weary and beaten-up Daiki, half-tripping in his haste to escape. I must have thought he was a different person but he sure was a coward if he was running away from a fight...or maybe he wasn't escaping since he looked like he was headed in our direction. He panted hard as he stood before me. "I have very little time before they come out here," he breathed, coughing violently.
I could see that he was clutching his side but there was no blood. Hopefully, it was just a bruise or broken ribs. "Both of you. You have to run far. Far away from here. Don't ever come back unless you receive word from us that it is safe," he said, collapsing on the bench. "They don't want us. They just want the both of you."
"Both of us? What do you mean?" Yuto asked, gently grasping Daiki's hand. "Don't they only want Murakami-kun?"
Daiki shook his head and groaned as Yuto let loose his Element. "Not this time. These guys are different. They've got Elementals with them. Possibly warlocks too since they managed to break the ward," he said, more easily now that he was no longer in pain. "They want the both of you. You have to go. Now."
There was the loud sound of wood shattering. "That would be them," he said, jumping up. "I won't be able to hold them off for long. Go!"
Daiki shoved them Yuto hard and he took off at a run with me close on his heels. I had seen the look of pure fear in Daiki's eyes and he was right. There were Elementals with them. I could sense them once they had come out. We ran furthur into the extensive garden, the trees barren of their leaves and flowers, providing us with no solid place to hide if we had to. My feet were silent on the soft ground that was covered in fluffy white snow, leaving light footprints. "Yuto!" I hissed, pointing to our footprints.
Scowling, Yuto grabbed a branch with a few dried leaves stuck on it and began brushing out our tracks. "How are we going to get out without them noticing us?" I hissed, having caught up with him.
"There's a gate at the back of the garden that only myself, Yamada and Chinen know of. We created that gate to allow us to sneak out at night," he said, grinning slightly. Seeing the what-the-hell-were-you-doing look on my face, he added, the"But we don't use it anymore."
After wrestling around with the rusted latch, he finally managed to get it to move and he had to do it painstakingly slow for it made a loud and sharp grating sound as he pulled it back. What was only a few minutes, seemed like a century as he forced the latch to move, inch by inch, centimetre by centimetre, all the while the sounds from the house growing increasingly loud. "There," he said, a satisfied tone. He gently tugged on my sleeve and guided me through the small, metal gate, my eyes never leaving the chaos at the house.
I was sure that Koyama-kun would be there by now, helping out along with the other members of NewS. I just hoped that none of them would be too seriously injured since Yuto wasn't there to help heal them. He gently pushed me through the gate and onto the side street. Traffic was at a normal pace, as if nothing was happening just a few metres away from them. They probably wouldn't notice since I was sure that our attackers had thrown a kind of shield over the house. Taking a deep breath, I told myself, You have to be strong. Pull yourself together. What are you? A sissy? You've been taking care of yourself your whole life. You can do this. Just let your pure, natural instincts kick in.
Just as Yuto swung the door shut, having brushed out the last of our tracks, the windows of the house exploded in a loud shattering of glass with the dirty-coloured fire streaming out. The both of us stood there, shocked. Our hearts breaking and aching.
NEXT CHAPTER
PREVIOUS CHAPTER
Title: A Forbidden Rhapsody: Chapter 4
Chapter Title: The Prophecy Truly Begins
Author: theivorykeys
Fandom: Hey! Say! JUMP
Pairing: NakajimaYutoxOC
Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Suspense, Adventure
Rating: PG-13 (For merciless killing)
Disclaimer: I own Yuto and nothing save for the plot and OC
Type: Multi-chapter
Notes: It's written in the third person POV but then, it is also told from the first person POV. I'm not good at writing killing scenes so, this might not be too good. I'm so sorry it took so long but it's lenghty. I'm juggling two fics at once. Don't expect instant updates. Btw, should I create another Elemental fic after this?
Summary: Elementals are all male. An strange incident on New Year's Day leads to the discovery of a strong-willed, hard-headed, orphaned and adopted female Elemental. Her Element is unique and the only one to have ever existed. Yet, the person she's destined to be with is the only person who cannot touch her. Nakajima Yuto is drawn instantly but he has no idea why. Sparks fly and one wonders if they have been destined by the stars.
Click. Click. Click. It was always three clicks. Nothing more before she faced them, her hands demurely clasped in front of her but there was nothing demure about the expression on her face. It was a storm. A black, brewing storm that was bound to wreck havoc on the earth. The five black-clad men who stood before her held their ground, not wanting to seem like cowards if they stood back a little. Her eyes glowed a bright orange and her mouth was no longer curved as it usually was. "You what?" she asked, calmly, her heels coming to a complete stop.
The hearts of the five men thudded in the chests, the sound seeming to echo in the large, cavernous hall. "We didn't get to bring her back, Mistress," the one in the middle who seemed like the leader stammered.
He was obviously second-in-charge since their leader had been killed, judging by the way he didn't know how to face the woman standing before him. The other four behind him were equally frightened but they didn't show it. "I didn't hear you clearly. Could you please repeat that?" she said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. She folded her arms across her chest and drew herself to her full height.
"Umm," he began, twiddling his thumbs nervously. He spoke a little louder this time, not understanding the sarcasm that filled her voice. "We failed to bring the girl back as you requested, Mistress."
Her eyes grew dark and the grey clouds at their feet grew darker and thicker, swirling even faster, matching her fury. "That's better," she said, smiling sweetly. "Now, what did I say about failing to bring her back?"
The leader was silent. He knew the consequences for failure. The leader always got the punishment and that was why no one wanted to be the leader. Only the arrogant, Roku who had died had volunteered to be leader, not expecting to ever lose his life for he was an excellent fighter and he never, ever missed. He, Keiji, had been Roku's only nephew and therefore had made him second-in-command whether the young boy liked it or not. Keiji swallowed hard, not daring to look into her orange eyes. It had been said that she could kill with those eyes but he didn't believe it.
He knew how she killed. Fast and swift with no regrets. The slice of her blade was all that was heard as she took a life, mercilessly to reach her ultimate goal of wiping out all Elementals that had ever existed. Keiji didn't know why she wanted to wipe all the Elementals off the face of the earth. Personally, he didn't care what the Elementals were or what they did. All he knew was that by being in service to the Mistress, he was getting a roof over his head and three meals a day. That was why he had bothered to enlist himself and to his surprise, discovered that his uncle was also working for her.
That had given him a little hope in being able to stay alive, rather than live on the streets, scrounging and scrimping for meagre scraps that would be thrown out of restaurants at the end of the day. Most of the time, he had to fight to stay alive. She smiled evilly and slipped into an old-fashioned, high-backed chair which appeared out of thin air. "You know the consequences," she said, templing her fingertips, her elbows on the armrests of the chair. "All of you do."
Everything was silent as the fog grew thicker and angrier, swirling like it had a vengance. Keiji fought the urge to lift his leg and shake off the stickiness and the cloying effect that the fog had. He could sense the others resisting the urge to do the same. "But, seeing as I valued your uncle's services," she began, looking directly into Keiji's eyes, "I'll spare your life this one time. You could be of some value to me in the near future."
Keiji resisted releasing a deep sigh of relief. But, the terror wasn't over yet. Not until he left the Mistress' private chambers. Not until he was safe from the thick, curling for that threathened to suffocate him. "And because I stay true to my word, no matter what," she began once more, a shiny, silver pistol materialising out of nowhere, a silencer fitted onto the barrel, "one of you needs to go."
She trained the gun on the other four behind Keiji and with just the pull of her finger, the one standing on Keiji's left dropped to the floor with a soft moan. Smoke curled from the barrel and as cliched as it may sound, she blew away the smoke and smiled prettily at Keiji as if she killed people on a normal basis and there was nothing unusual about it. Keiji was sure she did. "You may go," she said, in a bored manner with a wave of her hand. "And take him with you."
Trying his best not to feel sad or cry, Keiji left the chambers quickly, the other three solemnly carrying out their dead comrade.
[paragraph]
I sat by the window, staring out at the falling snowflakes. Yeah, it was winter all over again. The weather had been growing crazy since the appearance of the dust-cloud-ninja-like people. One day, it would be sweltering. The next, it would be freezing cold like this. I sniffed slightly, the sudden change in temperature affecting me, a cold forming. I thought to myself, if I didn't eat soon, I'd be too weak to fend off the next attack. If there ever will be one.
Frowning, I pushed away from the window and randomly selected a book from the overflowing bookshelf that I had requested be put into my room to accomodate my love for reading. It's not that I didn't want to eat but I just couldn't stomach anything solid. From past experience, I knew that if I ate, it would just come back up the same way and there was no use in putting anything in in the first place. I flipped open the book to a random page but I couldn't read. The words just swam around in uncomprehensible sentences.
My stomach growled hungrily and I placed a hand over it to shut it up. I grimaced a little with the pain that came with a growling tummy and I ran to grab a glass of water. Usually it helped but the more I didn't eat, the worse it got. The longest I had gone on a self-starvation spree was a week. After that, I collapsed out of fatigue and I had to be sent to the hospital. I had already been adopted then and Okaasan had felt so bad for having allowed me to starve myself that when I had been discharged, I went home to a table laden with my favourite foods.
Since then, I had sworn to never allow the Unfortunate Incident to happen so that those around me wouldn't have to worry for I knew that if it happened, I would go into self-starvation mode once more. And now, it was happening. I sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, staring at my painted fingernails. They had been painted a pale pink that was now chipping off way before the attack.
I lay back on the bed and curled up on my side, staring at the little good luck cat that sat on my bedside table. It was going to be another long day.
[paragraph]
Yuto sat outside on a stone bench in the extensive garden that they had been provided with along with the house, the snow falling silently onto his broad shoulders, protected by a thick winter jacket. It was a gift from his mother and was so worn that the material once stiff was now well-worn and soft. It caressed his skin like silk and fitted perfectly to his slim frame. It didn't matter if he wore the jacket or not, his body's natural healing abilites was enough to keep him warm but he did out of habit.
He sat, his hands clasped between his knees, his body slumped forward. Earlier, he had been watching that very window since the morning but now, she had drawn the curtains over it and she had disappeared furthur into her room. He felt tugged toward her, compelled to be near her but he knew that he shouldn't. After all, he didn't like her. She was a bratty female, demanding and whiny. Rude and street-smart with her compulsion to pick fights. Yet, he felt a little tug on his heartstrings each time he saw her.
He ploughed his hands through his hair and groaned in frustration. His slow breath came out in puffy clouds of mist as it cooled in the cold air. He told himself that he had a logical reason to be watching her window, making sure that she didn't try to escape but even to him, it sounded stupid. She had been here long enough to know that by running away, she was putting herself in the hands of those wishing to exploit her abilities. She didn't know it but he could sense that she would be extremely powerful, once she discovered the extense of her powers.
The tiny silver chain that he wore around his neck, hidden from view dangled down, the tiny pendant of a star hitting his chin. He quickly tucked it back into his shirt and leaned back against the bench, tilting his head back to meet the falling snowflakes. They fell and landed softly on his eyelashes and his nose. Like a little kid, he stuck out his tongue and caught a few of them.
Standing at the window, I watched him place in the snow, fashioning shapeless snowballs and then throwing them to watch them explode into powder against the stone bench. I smiled slightly as I forgot my stomach's growling. He seemed rather childish and carefree in that small moment that was ours. Just me watching him and him not noticing as he played with the snow. If only I could freeze this moment in time and we would never have to worry about anything else in the world. But alas, I did not possess the power to do so.
Lost in my day dreaming, I did not notice the pair of soulful eyes on me until I looked down and that's when our eyes met and electricity sizzled. Quickly, I drew the curtains shut and flopped back onto my head, chanting religiously that I had no intentions of falling for that irritating male. Slowly, my eyes drifted shut and I fell asleep, my stomach growling faintly.
[paragraph]
Clouds. All around. It was suffocating me. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't see what was in front of me but I knew that they were clouds because they were soft and wet. At least that's what I thought clouds felt like. But it was impossible that I would be up in the sky but this didn't feel like fog either. Fog made you feel creepy and freaked out but this had me feeling...nothing. I made a full three-sixty turn but I still could see nothing. It was all black, all around me.
There came a soft voice from in front of me, calling my name as if unsure that was my name, "Murakami-san? Murakami-san? Is that you?"
I lifted an eyebrow. The voice was soft and feminine and very melodious, like that of a palace lady but it was also rather faint. "Yeah and who might you be?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest.
"Step forward, Murakami-san," the voice said, a little bit of cockiness in it and I half-smirked. "I can't stray very far from where I am."
As I stepped forward, cautious step by cautious step, I emerged into a clear, starry night and I yelped, stepping back to look for somewhere solid to stand on but there was nothing behind me. Just empty space beneath my feet and stars high above me. Clouds drifted lazily by me. I started to panic but when I discovered that I could walk normally, I calmed down. "Now what?" I asked.
"Boo~" came the soft voice from behind me and I jumped, followed by a girlish giggle.
Behind me, there stood a translucent figure, clothed in what appeared to be a silk kimono in the style of that of Ancient Japan with heavy layers. No one wore such a kimono these days unless it was required to which was also rather seldom. Despite being see through, I could tell that she was extremely beautiful with eyes that could speak a thousand tales and lips that rivalled Snow White's. Her skin was so fair that she appeared to be shining and all in all, she sported an extremely graceful smile that could stop a man miles away.
Yet, belted at her waist was a menacing looking sword with detailed carvings on the metal scabbard and the hilt of the sword. It was a double bladed katana desgined for killing. I expected that it would be rather heavy even if I knew the katana to be light for such a slight woman to carry it but I didn't say anything. I was afraid to offend her. In her obi, there was a silk fan as expected of court ladies to carry but I could also make out the shape of a dagger.
This woman was dangerous. I could tell even if someone told me she probably carried it out of safety reasons. She looked like someone who knew how to use the katana and dagger to kill and not spare any mercy.
"You're not what I would have expected for an Elemental," she said, pouting slightly.
I raised my eyebrow and planted my hand on my hips. "And then, what would you have expected?" I asked, slightly annoyed. After all, I didn't request to be an Elemental, I was just born one. How would I know what an Elemental was supposed to look like?
She tilted her head to one side as if studying me. With a wave of her hand, she said, "No, no. I wasn't talking about what you looked like. It's just, there's something about you, that's so...how do I put it?"
"Rough?" I offered.
She shook her head prettily. "No, that's not it. You're not rough. Innocent, perhaps?"
I raised an eyebrow and looked at her in an are-you-kidding-me way. "Yes, that's it. You're so innocent. I would have expected an Elemental to have less of a pure soul but yours seems to be so pure...except for a few taints here and there and two very large ones," she said, shining as she had discovered her answer.
I shrugged and then asked, "What am I doing here? Aren't I supposed to be sleeping back at the mansion? Is this supposed to be a dream? How in the world am I able to stand in the middle of the sky?"
She stared at me and then grinned. "So many questions. I've no idea what you're doing here either. All of a sudden, I felt this strange tug that compelled me to come here and what was funny was that I knew your name. And, I've no idea if this is a dream. I suppose it is to you but to me, it isn't. And I expect that where we are right now is a bridge between reality and the dream world, if you choose to believe that this is a dream."
I pinched myself and I yelped. "Okay, if this is supposed to be a dream, why did it hurt when I pinched myself?" I said, rubbing the spot where I had pinched myself.
She perched herself on a nearby cloud and let her legs dangle down, swinging them childishly She shrugged. "As I said, I don't know myself. One minute I was busy wallowing in the dirt and the next, I'm up here with your name in my mind."
"Wallowing in the dirt?"
She nodded furiously. "You've no idea what centuries of lying down in the stinky dirt can do to your brain cells," she said, shaking her head. "I'm glad that I'm here."
I jumped up and settled down next to her, staring down. "This is exactly how I remember it," she said, dreamily, the river below us sparkling in the light of the full moon. A warm breeze blew by and I smiled slightly. "Before the Elemental war came upon us."
"So, you're saying that you're actually dead?" I asked, incredulously.
She raised her hand to playfully smack my arm but her hand just ran through me and she pouted, sighing slightly. "For a moment, I forgot about that," she said, shrugging nonchalantly.
"What exactly are we doing here?"
She stretched and lay flat on the fluffy cloud, her hair spreading beneath her like water. "Are you an Elemental?" she asked, looking at me from where she lay.
I shrugged and then said, "I guess since we're the only ones here, it's safe to admit that I am," I said, watching the still river, shimmering in the bright moon's light.
She folded her arms beneath her head and stared up at the sky. "You do know that Elementals are supposed to be males only, right?" she asked, grinning widely. "Well, let me tell you a secret. I'm an Elemental, too. At least the only female one during my time."
"So, are you supposed to be the one from the unknown legend, hidden in the Word Keepers' secret library?" I asked, swirling the cloud beneath me and creating fluffy spirals that drifted away with the wind. "The one written in the diary of one Emura Shiori?"
She raised her eyebrows and then smiled gently. "She kept a diary?!" she exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. "And wrote about me?"
Without stopping, she continued, laying back against the cloud, "I loved the old lady. She was rather wacked in the brain but she was the nicest person I've ever met. The men didn't know I was Elemental at first or rather that they didn't want to see that their impeccable male-only trait had been tainted with the presence of a female," she said, grinning slightly.
"I know what you mean," I replied. "They're still the same. Very chauvunistic males. Gah! Why can't they just be accepting that every few centuries or so, there would be a woman that would have to have shared their genes?"
Both of us laughed heartily. It was a wonderful moment. A moment where we could just be ourselves. A place for her to be free from which ever place in between souls go to. And a place for me to not have to watch every move I make. "I feel that I'm here for a reason. The reason why we're in between, the bridge between the spirit and the living world. But I just cannot place my finger on it," she said, sighing deeply.
Then, she looked at me weirdly as if she were trying to see right into my brain. When she did that, she looked like she was little five-year-old kid wondering why the sky seemed so high and that she couldn't touch it. Her eyes squinted adorably and she pouted a little as if thinking. "Something besides the norm is bothering you. And I don't mean the Elemental stuff you're facing," she said, more to herself than me. "There's a boy, isn't there? And you're not sure if you should like him or not. You know you shouldn't but you feel those weird lovey-dovey tingles when you see him."
I looked at her with a stern glare and demanded, my question coming out harsher than it should," What did you just say?"
She raised her eyebrows and raised a hand to smack my shoulder playfully but it just ran through me with an icy chill. She frowned and then flopped back down onto the cloud with a poof of cloud material, "Don't need to get touchy about it. I just can sense it radiating off you. It occupies your mind. More than the Elemental matters on hand do."
I was silent as I absorbed what she just said. Feeling a little sorry for my outburst, I patted her shoulder but my hand just flew right through and she gave me a sympathetic smile. "Sometimes, I forget that you're dead. You don't seem to be very dead," I said, frowning slightly. "You're getting fainter."
With a slight jump, she looked down at herself to find that she was getting more transluscent till she was only a faint shimmering shape. "Your conscious mind must be waking up," she said, shrugging slightly. "You're probably being shaken awake or being awoken by something."
"Oh."
She just smiled and stood up, smoothing down her kimono before elegantly lifting a hand and waving. "Well, see you in your next dream," she said, grinning. "And Murakami-kun?"
I lifted an eyebrow. "Yeah?"
"Eat something. I can feel it. You're going to needed for something and that something is a terrible thing. I know I seem to speak in riddles but I myself am confused. All I can feel is that whatever will happen next isn't going to be pleasant and you have to be ready for it," she said with a rather grim smile, her elegant features contorted with confusion.
I just nodded and replied, all the while she grew fainter, "I guess I'm going to have to."
[paragraph]
"Murakami-kun! Murakami-kun!" came a faint calling followed by knocking on my door as I awoke.
I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. That dream-reality was still rather clear in my mind and I couldn't help but wonder if she had some unfinished duty that she had to fulfill before she could finally move on. Most souls and spirits were like that. I scratched my head sleepily and shook my head a little to wake myself up. "Yeah?" I called, stretching to loosen the muscles in my back.
The door opened and a very happy-and hopeful-Chinen stood there with a plate of something that my brain identified as creme caramel by the strong scent of caramel emitting from it. With my highly sensitive sight, I could see the caramel that had been drizzled on it already beginning to grow hard and sticky. I could see the crystalized caramel on the top where a blow torch had melted it to perfection. My stomach growled hungrily and I pressed a hand to it. "Keito-kun came home with a whole container of this," he said, holding out the plate and chewing uncertainly on his bottom lip. "His mother visited today."
I turned to face him. I stared at him, my gaze unwavering and I could tell that he was feeling rather awkward with my staring and silence. I looked from him to the plate and back to his pretty face again before breaking out into a grin. "I was just playing with you," I said, patting my bed. "Come here. We'll share it."
Instantly, his face lighted up and he bounded in with his usual endless energy, landing on my bed with a poof, the sweet dessert in his hand giving a little wobble as he landed. I picked up the small dessert fork that came with the plate and stuffed a bite of the creme caramel into his open mouth, giggling at his stunned expression. I put another bite into my mouth and almost sighed in pure bliss. It melted in my mouth and slid down my throat in a sticky and creamy frenzy. "Does this mean you're going to join us for meals now and not continue to starve yourself?" he asked rather tentatively.
I didn't answer but just shoved another bite into his mouth and he half-choked. "Oops, sorry," I said, ruffling his hair and pinching his pretty cheeks.
* * * * * *
On the other side of the city, in a dark room, illuminated solely by two candles in the middle of the round, wooden table that was damp with the water that dripped in from the ceiling. Ten people sat around the table, each clothed fully in black. Silver katanas, crafted by the best sat belted at their waists. Foils that were designed to kill sat in their scabbards, hanging from hooks on the wall. These people knew how to kill and they wouldn't stop at anything to fulfill their master's-or in this case, mistress'-wishes.
At the head of the table, sat the newly appointed head of their kill-and-grab team, Junnosuke Keiji, a sensitive and compassionate man in his early twenties who had unfortunately inherited the post after his uncle had been killed in their first attempt to retrieve the prodigal female that their mistress craved so badly. Why, Keiji didn't know. He didn't even know why he didn't try to leave this earlier while his uncle was still in power. Now, the responsibility of retrieving the girl unharmed was on his shoulders and he knew the consequences if he didn't.
He thought of the beautiful girl he had left back at his village when he had journeyed to the city to look for a job that could keep him and her alive, when he proposed to her. He hadn't been able to find one and had ended up on the streets, until one of the friends he had made in the city had told him of a good paying job that had vacancies. Instead, the job that he thought was a simple, day-to-day one had turned out to be extremely dangerous and frightful. He sighed deeply and wished the girl well and that she would find a loving, caring husband should he die at the end of the day.
"We're gathered here for one purpose and one purpose only," he said, coldly, preparing himself for the fight to the death. He didn't like to fight. In fact, he preferred a quiet solitary life. "We failed the last time. This time, we shall not fail in capturing the female Elemental."
The nine faces staring back at him were serious, ready and Keiji saw, perhaps a little weary and frightened. Weary of fighting. Frightened of what would come. These were the same people who had went into the first fight and they knew very well what they were up against. Elementals were not people who were easily subdued or killed. They fought till their deaths and would continue fighting as long as they were able to keep peace in the world.
These men-and possibly a woman-staring back at him were not cold-blooded killers. They were perfectly human with feelings and emotions. Not one of them enjoyed killing but they had nowhere else to go. Keiji felt pity for each of them. There had once been a time where their lives had been perfect. A time when they were content. But not anymore. What they really wanted now was just to go home but unfortunately, none of them were allowed to leave. The mistress would kill you before you even managed to leave. Mistress didn't care. After all, she had many more at her beck-and-call. They wouldn't be missed. No, not at all.
Today, besides the purpose of capturing the female Elemental, they were also here for another reason. A reason unknown to anyone but themselves. They had been planning it for months, unknown to Keiji's uncle, of course who was devoted to the mistress. They had just been waiting for the perfect opportunity to carry out their plan. Now, this was the time. Keiji lowered his voice to almost a whisper as he said, "You know what to do, right?"
The nine heads nodded and Keiji half-smiled. "It's time we finally break free from this crazy dark prison."
All whispered in agreement. "It's time we ask the Elementals for their help and seek their protection."
[paragraph]
It was night. We were gathered around the low table, a variety of dishes laid out in front of us, steaming rice in our individual bowls. My stomach growled hungrily as we waited for everyone to get settled before we began to eat. I sat between the lovely Daiki and the ever charming Hikaru, both never ceasing to make me laugh. Chinen and Yamada sat across from me while Yabu took his seat at the head of the table. Ryutaro sat at the foot of the table, him being the youngest after all. Takaki sat to Yabu's right while Hikaru occupied Yabu's left. Inoo sat to Daiki's right while Keito sat to Yamada's right with Takaki next to him. Yuto sat on Chinen's left, the only one silent.
Inoo had been the one to prepare tonight's dinner along with Keito and Yamada. When these three prepared dinner, everyone was ready to dig in to anything that sat on the table. Despite the fact that Yamada was an arrogant prat who garnered too much attention and airtime, he made a killer chicken stew that everyone readily looked forward to. And Keito was in charge of preparing a soup, filled only with succulent onions and juicy potatoes boiled with chicken bones and flavoured with black pepper and salt. It was plain but it tasted divine. Inoo was left with creating fanciful desserts and the vegetable dish.
We made as much noise as we normally did as we ate, laughing and joking. Everyone had stayed in today, the snow fall so thick that we couldn't go to school and the others couldn't go to work so there wasn't much to report about. Yet, we talked about past events. About dramas and the behind-the-scene gossips. About their latest project. About which dance move they couldn't master. They planned tomorrow's dance practice line-up.
I sat, folded into their mixed conversations, answering whole-heartedly whenever I was asked a direct question. I felt all warm inside as their chatter filled me with a kind of glow which spread into my veins. I couldn't tell if it was Keito manipulating the atmosphere or they were just happy that I was no longer starving myself. Or if Keito's powers could sometimes be uncontrollable when he was extremely emotional and seeps into the atmosphere. Either way, everything was perfect. Just perfect.
Oh, who am I kidding? I thought to myself, forcing my arm to not throw down my chopsticks and bowl and walk out of the dining room.
Much as I enjoyed the chatter, my mind was occupied. Much as I tried to immerse myself in one of the topics, my mind kept flying back to my encounter with the Elemental from a time gone by and what she said about a boy. Yeah, my mind was currently very occupied. By the one person who sat at the corner of the table and glowered at everyone around the table, giving me special attention. He looked away as I met his stare. If only I could read his mind, I sighed, absent-mindedly stirring my bowl of soup with my chopstick.
Finishing off the soup, I placed my chopsticks diagonally on top of my bowl and muttered a soft thanks for the food. "Daiki-kun," I said, turning to the penguin-look alike that sat next to me. "I think I'll go to my room now and finish up the remainder of my homework before I go to bed. Tell the others that I'm real happy to be back at the dining table once more. I love you guys."
With that, I got up, Daiki giving me a brotherly hug and a light squeeze of my shoulder. I smiled at him to reassure him that I was alright when the look of confusion and worry flashed across his pretty features. The furthur I got away from the dining room, the better I felt. Yes, I was happy to be once more surrounded by their happiness and laughter but at the moment, my thoughts and emotions were all a jumble and I couldn't think straight. What I didn't know was that not only had I left the table, so had Yuto.
I couldn't sense his presence because of the stronger wards that had been put up but my survival instincts had told me that I was being followed. It was just this gut instinct that I relied on a lot for it had never failed me before. I waited till I got halfway up the main staircase of the large mansion before turning around to face him. "Why are you following me?" I demanded, planting my hands on my hips.
Yuto held up his hands and said with a playful grin customary to him, "Guilty as charged."
I fought a smile and scowled instead, folding my arms across my chest and just glared at him, my emotions doing a double take. I felt all fluttery inside just at his mere smile. That didn't make me any happier than I was. In fact, it made me even more irritated. I wasn't supposed to feel fluttery towards him. He didn't deserve it. Not with the way he's been acting towards me ever since I had arrived. It was as if he wanted me to die.
I scowled once more. "Yeah, yeah. Even if you didn't admit it, I'd know you were following me," I said, thinking that if I didn't break from this conversation, the scowl would be permanent. "What do you want? I'm not in a very pleasant mood. If you're looking to pick a fight, you're going to get one soon."
He shrugged and then grinned, tilting his head to one side. His folded his hands in front of him and smiled beautifully at me, bowing low. "No, I'm not looking for a fight."
"Then what do you want? I'm not in a good enough mood to play games with you."
He stuck out his tongue childishly at me and pouted childishly. My heart fluttered and my breath hitched in my throat. God, he was beautiful and adorable and irritating and infuriating all at once when he did that, I thought, gritting my teeth and ignoring the feelings foreign to me.
"Fine. Would you mind stepping out into the garden with me?" he asked, rather nervously. His cheeks had a rather pink tint to it and I could swear that he was trying not to smile. "I just want to talk."
I looked skeptically at him with a look that said we-can-talk-right-here. "In private."
I scowled and then made a big show of trying to peek out one of the ground floor windows from where I stood before turning back to look at him. "Are you crazy? It's just begun snowing again and you want me to go into the garden?" I asked, sharply. I didn't know why I was snapping at him but I felt good doing so.
He shrugged. I noticed at this point that he had already donned the black winter jacket that I had seen him wear just this afternoon. It molded nicely to his toned form and his pants, plain dark denim fitted his extremely long legs perfectly. I scowled and then said with an exasperated sigh, "Wait here. I'll get my jacket."
[paragraph]
The snow fell softly around us. The night was quiet. It was so quiet that you could even hear the snow fall which is an exaggerated statement, of course. Even with our ultra sensitive hearing, we couldn't possibly here the snow land. I sat on the park bench, the seat ice-cold under me and tilted my head back to stare at the cloudless sky. Neither Yuto or myself had spoken a word since we came out here. All we did was sit down and just stare dreamily at our surroundings.
Twice, I had caught Yuto staring at me in a weird manner, like that which you see in a movie when the guy was alone with a girl and he was about to tell her that he was in love with her and she would tell him that she had secretly liked him for very long. My breath caught in my throat. Here was a guy, Yuto alone with a girl, me. I'm sure that this was turning out to be rather cliched. "What do you want to go into the garden for?" I snapped, folding my arms across my chest. "I'm freezing my butt off here."
Yuto just grinned and leaned back against the bench, throwing his arm out onto the top of the seat, unconsciously reaching out over my shoulder. My shoulders tingled where his arm made contact but I didn't move. I liked it this way though I didn't show it. I would have much preferred that I didn't like it though. "It's pretty out here at night, eh?" he asked, smiling rather contentedly.
I shrugged, trying to be utterly bored but inside, I was truly curious of his intentions for dragging me out here in the freezing cold. "I guess."
He leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees, looking at me from under his arm with a very heart-stopping smile that brought out the boy in him. I bit back a smile in response. I noticed something shiny dangling from his neck that caught the soft glow of one of the lamps in the extensive garden. The both of us just sat there in awkward silence with him staring at the cherry trees in front of us that had shed all it's leaves and flowers due to the crazy weather and me leaning against the bench, cold against my back and staring at my scruffed boots. The snow fluttered gently around us.
Just then, there came a sharp cracking noise from above us and a glow emitted from above before disappearing like snow melting in the summer heat. From behind, there came the shattering of glass and the splintering of wood. Cries of fury were heard. There were yells and the sound of swords clinking. From the downstairs windows, I could see flashes of flames but they weren't the colour of Takaki's flames. These flames were a dirty orange that looked like it contained too much ash whereas Takaki's flame was a clear, bright orange.
The lights in the dining room had gone out, most likely due to a power shortage since their Elements were in full power and I did not doubt that the shield that had protected the house had once more been broken. All I could see was the light that the flares emitted. Yet, hearing was even worse. And I couldn't be there besides them for Yuto forbid me from entering, having a hunch that they were once more after me.
I could see the dirty orange flames growing larger and larger, outsizing Takaki's clean flames but I could see no sign of the clear water that was Hikaru's. I was worried. Usually Hikaru and Takaki worked in a pair what with their Elements complimenting and rivalling each other. Soon enough, the beautiful lace curtains that decorated the dining room windows caught on fire and illuminated more of the room since the fire finally had something solid to feed on.
Suddenly, the downstairs door opened and out came a very weary and beaten-up Daiki, half-tripping in his haste to escape. I must have thought he was a different person but he sure was a coward if he was running away from a fight...or maybe he wasn't escaping since he looked like he was headed in our direction. He panted hard as he stood before me. "I have very little time before they come out here," he breathed, coughing violently.
I could see that he was clutching his side but there was no blood. Hopefully, it was just a bruise or broken ribs. "Both of you. You have to run far. Far away from here. Don't ever come back unless you receive word from us that it is safe," he said, collapsing on the bench. "They don't want us. They just want the both of you."
"Both of us? What do you mean?" Yuto asked, gently grasping Daiki's hand. "Don't they only want Murakami-kun?"
Daiki shook his head and groaned as Yuto let loose his Element. "Not this time. These guys are different. They've got Elementals with them. Possibly warlocks too since they managed to break the ward," he said, more easily now that he was no longer in pain. "They want the both of you. You have to go. Now."
There was the loud sound of wood shattering. "That would be them," he said, jumping up. "I won't be able to hold them off for long. Go!"
Daiki shoved them Yuto hard and he took off at a run with me close on his heels. I had seen the look of pure fear in Daiki's eyes and he was right. There were Elementals with them. I could sense them once they had come out. We ran furthur into the extensive garden, the trees barren of their leaves and flowers, providing us with no solid place to hide if we had to. My feet were silent on the soft ground that was covered in fluffy white snow, leaving light footprints. "Yuto!" I hissed, pointing to our footprints.
Scowling, Yuto grabbed a branch with a few dried leaves stuck on it and began brushing out our tracks. "How are we going to get out without them noticing us?" I hissed, having caught up with him.
"There's a gate at the back of the garden that only myself, Yamada and Chinen know of. We created that gate to allow us to sneak out at night," he said, grinning slightly. Seeing the what-the-hell-were-you-doing look on my face, he added, the"But we don't use it anymore."
After wrestling around with the rusted latch, he finally managed to get it to move and he had to do it painstakingly slow for it made a loud and sharp grating sound as he pulled it back. What was only a few minutes, seemed like a century as he forced the latch to move, inch by inch, centimetre by centimetre, all the while the sounds from the house growing increasingly loud. "There," he said, a satisfied tone. He gently tugged on my sleeve and guided me through the small, metal gate, my eyes never leaving the chaos at the house.
I was sure that Koyama-kun would be there by now, helping out along with the other members of NewS. I just hoped that none of them would be too seriously injured since Yuto wasn't there to help heal them. He gently pushed me through the gate and onto the side street. Traffic was at a normal pace, as if nothing was happening just a few metres away from them. They probably wouldn't notice since I was sure that our attackers had thrown a kind of shield over the house. Taking a deep breath, I told myself, You have to be strong. Pull yourself together. What are you? A sissy? You've been taking care of yourself your whole life. You can do this. Just let your pure, natural instincts kick in.
Just as Yuto swung the door shut, having brushed out the last of our tracks, the windows of the house exploded in a loud shattering of glass with the dirty-coloured fire streaming out. The both of us stood there, shocked. Our hearts breaking and aching.
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