3Two-toned Lilac
By: Rubi A.K.A. "Phi-Dono" - 10/3/o5 mon.
Summary: Can a wanderer with a hefty bounty on his head save a seventeen-year-old virgin from becoming a prize in the local brothel, without falling in love with her? That hardly seems possible, seeing as how she's willing to do it – for her sister's sake.
Claimer: I own Arca Ranger, Phoenix Satome, and pretty much everything else, so no stealy or else I'll have to come to you (YES, /YOU/) house and kills you and your mommy and daddy, and anyone else you love and cherish and find worthy of your time and love... understand? And believe me, I have the time, the will, and the way (I gots me some connections...). and as soon as I get my license to kill, you'll be one of the many lucky people I get to maim in the most painful way, it will follow you down into the depths of the bowels of hell, and haunt you forever with no chance of escape - and I tend not to show any mercy... (- cheshire cat-like grin -) I also own this plot, so yea...
Disclaimer: I don't own the name Satome, because that belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. I don't own the Rurouni Kenshin series, plot, characters, or the word "rurouni" itself – these belong to the almighty Nobuhiro Watsuki-sama-dono-chanz... YES, SAMA-DONO-CHANZ! X/ anywayz... I don't own Orlando Bloom, and I wouldn't want to either – Johnny Depp is much hotter... I don't own the "Lies do not become us" quote, cuz I got that from The Princess Bride, which is a kick ass movie btw. I don't own Shippou either (Rumiko Takahashi). I don't even own a sticky bun! As you can see, I'm very poor, so no suey, oks? (- bats eyes cutely -)
"Talking"
'thinking'
/emphasized/
(- authoress notes in fic/actions in authoress note -)
Chapter one: Kagoutame rurouni
Wandering was a profession that didn't pay much. In fact, wandering wasn't a profession at all. Thus, no money came from it. So how would a wandering one go about day-to-day things, like eating and sleeping, without the cherished green paper and multicolored coins? Why, doing odd jobs, of course.
Arca slipped his arms under the body of the cow, grunting as he slowly picked it off the ground and ignored its lazy 'moo' of protest. The heavy field animal's bell clanked loudly as it was carried off the road and to a safe pasture near by. As Arca set down the large mass milk-making mammal and had begun to back off, the cow's rather foul smelling tail wacked him in the face. The unusually tall man sweat dropped, before leaving the field and walking back to the dirt woven road, heading toward an elderly man who stood there waiting for him, a pleased smile stretched across his wrinkled old face.
Upon reaching the incredibly short man, the young nymf heard his cackled voice break the silence. "Thank you young man. Without yer help, ol' Bessie coulda never gotten out of that rut." (- I apologize for my horrible attempt at dialect… -)
Arca smiled politely as he tried to wave the scent of fresh manure away from his face. "It was no trouble, sir. It was all I could do to help, that's all."
A toothless grin was the old farmer's reply as his gnarled hand dug in his overalls to pull out a faded brown bag containing what Arca assumed to be money, by the familiar jingle of coins. He pulled on the string that kept the small bag closed, loosening it enough so that his other hand could dig inside. Curious lavender eyes watched as the old man's hand retrieved ten dollars from the bag – which evidently turned out to be his wallet.
As the aged farmer held out the money to Arca, the taller of the two simply shook his head in refusal. "Sir, it would not be right of me to take your money. What I had done for you was out of kindness – I did not intend to receive payment for such an easy task."
"Nonsense! It might've been an easy task fer /you/, but it would have caused me trouble all day jus' tryin' ta move that big behind. Now ever'one needs a lil' change ever' now an' then. Now quite bein' such a puss ass an' take the money – an' I won't take no fer an' answer."
With his firm statement that left Arca gapping like a fish out of water, the farmer shoved the ten bucks into the nymfinity's large hand and turned to hobble down toward his cow. Arca stared after the old man and Bessie, fighting with the urge to return his money or keep it. He looked down at the valuable paper in his hand, and thought that what the old farmer had said was true – everyone /does/ need a little money every now and then.
Sighing in defeat, the nymf dug around in his trench coat and fished out his own wallet, filling the empty thing with his few bills of cash, then burying it back deep inside before he started down the road again. Who knows, maybe he could buy a decent meal with ten dollars. One that could actually fill him up, but he doubted it.
A sudden thought came to him, making him pause and turn around in the middle of the road. "Excuse me sir!" he called out to the old man who was still walking down the other side of the trail. "Can you tell me where the nearest town is?"
At the sound of the young nymf's voice, the wrinkled old farmer turned slowly and stared at Arca's questioning eyes with his own beady ones. "Well now..." he began, lifting a hand and scratching the few whiskers on his chin. "I believe that would have ta be the town of Teien, right down that away." The hand left his chin and pointed directly down the road Arca was heading.
The nymfinity thanked the man and turned his head toward the direction, gazing down the dusty trail to see a town in the not-too-far distance. He watched smoke billow from some roof tops which lead him to believe that many shops were located at this particular town. He took a moment to wonder if he would be able to find a stone large enough to sharpen Fenrirca, when a gust flew by him suddenly. Instinct allowed him to settled a hand on the top of his wide brim hat quickly, saving it from flying away as it used to do in the earlier days of his journey.
A loud rumble coming from somewhere deep inside him made his wistful expression melt into that of a depressed one. With his opposite hand, Arca patted his rumbling stomach. Hunger was a part of the job description as a wanderer. So was being horribly thirsty...
Ignoring the angry growling from his stomach and the sudden feeling of cotton mouth, Arca, who was still holding down his large hat, began walking down the road toward the small town of Teien.
By the time Arca reached the town of Teien, it was already night fall. Stars shone brightly up in the midnight sky, and the nymf smiled a bit as he gazed up at their twinkling beauty. Somewhere behind him, he heard the frantic padding of running footsteps, and simply figured it to be some unruly kids playing around at this late (or early) hour of the day.
He sighed, faintly wishing how he could live a carefree life like the kids behind him. A few seconds passed before his keen senses alerted him that the footsteps he heard, belonged to only one person. And to make matters even more suspicious, the footsteps were constantly behind him and gaining speed.
Arca furrowed his brow in thought, when just as he began to attempt to solve this mystery, the sound of running feet stopped – directly behind him.
"Hitokiri Battousai!"
The feminine voice behind him shouted, and Arca had the most terrible feeling she was talking to him. His body tensed, as he slowly shifted his hand inside his coat to settle on the all too familiar links to Fenrirca's chain. Turning around, he tried to look tough and serious, hoping he could scare the young lady away. He hated fighting. He would much rather do without it, but especially when concerning women.
However...
As the young nymfinity turned, his sapphire eyes melted into violet when they landed on the sight of a mere child gripping a bokken threateningly by her side. He blinked slowly, trying to clear his eyes, trying to tell himself that he was imagining her light amethyst eyes glaring daggers at him. He must be tired, that's it. He hasn't sleep properly in days and his mind was just playing tricks on him. Yeah, that must be it... Right?
"I've found you," she said, her long dark ponytail swaying gently from side to side as she slowly approached him, her bright eyes never ceasing their cold glare. "For two months you have murdered at will!" The girl rose her wooden sword high in the air, pointing it straight at him single handedly. "Now it ends!"
"Oro?" Arca sweat dropped. No way could this /child/ be after him due to his bounty. He could understand grown men trying to get the hefty prize on his head, but had it gotten to the point that now children – females no less – were willing to risk their lives for money? It was a shame – truly a shame. She appeared to be about, what? Fifteen? Sixteen? Shouldn't she be studying for a test or something? Or thinking about how hott Orlando Bloom is?
And what was all this about killing at will stuff? Lies do not become us.
Arca didn't have the time to pout about such untruthfulness as her voice yelled at him again from across the street.
"Don't play the fool!" She suddenly rushed at him as her idle hand joined the other and gripped the handle tightly. Her agility surprised him, but he knew he would be able to avoid her attack easily. After all, he preferred not to fight a lady. "Who else would defy the law and carry a–"
"CUT!"
"Ano?" Arca froze, his knees bent and looking as though he were just about to jump. A bewildered expression somehow found its way onto his face. Add in a random sweat drop and large, chibi-fied cute and confused eyes, and that's what Arca looks like right about now. O.o;
"Oro!" The young woman who was sprinting towards the nymf skidded to a halt, but was going too fast to stop abruptly, so she started hopping on one foot while trying to gain balance by waving her bokken frantically in the air. In the end, she lost the balance that she never had and fell flat on her face.
"Phoenix-dono! I mean, Phoenix-san!" Arca gasped, walking over and kneeling down next to the fallen form of the young girl.
She lifted her face off the ground and groaned loudly, dust and dirt covering her face and kendo uniform. Suddenly fire rose in her eyes and Arca began to back off a little (he already knew what this meant). "Alright, who called cut?!" The girl who was presumably known as 'Phoenix' banged her fists on the ground and glared at anything that dared to move. "I thought we were playing the parts right!"
"/I/ did, and no you weren't!" said a voice off screen. Turns out that voice belonged to Rubi. Who the hell she is, is another story entirely. So don't worry about it. Anyway...
"What did I do wrong?" Phoenix ranted, huffing as she glared at her authoress creator.
"Everything!" Rubi replied, throwing her hands up in the air in a show of frustration.
"What?!" the girl on the ground screeched, a look of utter disbelief on her facial features.
"Anooo... Rubi-san, I do not understand what we have done wrong..." the nymf jutted into the conversation, looking adorable as confused eyes blinked up at the director of this fic.
"You guys..." she sighed, raising a hand to rub her aching temple. "We're doing an alternate universe of the tavy series, we're /not/ doing an AU of Rurouni Kenshin. Or... A remake of RuroKen, or whatever..."
"Oh..." Phoenix and Arca mumbled together, nodding their heads slowly in unison.
"Although I /can/ see Kiata playing the role of Sano..." the director continued aimlessly, talking more to herself than anybody else. "And Trace being something of an Aoshi maybe... Seika would /definitely/ be scripted for Tomoe's part..."
Silence... If you looked closely though, you would be able to see Phoenix clenching and unclenching her fists, while Arca gulped loudly in the background.
"But that's not the point..." she muttered, shaking her head slightly to get the mental picture of Marsuro as Okita out of her all ready /way/ too disturbed head.
Rubi sighed heavily and sat back down in the director's chair, waving a random pen she found in her hair around in the air, in the general direction of the two on the Rurouni Kenshin set. "Start all over again. From the beginning."
Phoenix mumbled something under her breath while Arca gapped at Rubi. "B-but Rubi-san... Does that mean I have to get smacked again by that cow?"
The young director slapped her forehead and dragged her hand slowly down her face, waves of tension rolling off her in the form of dark aura...ness... "Nooo..." she said slowly, staring pointedly at the nymf and paying no attention to Phoenix as she sulked off stage. "Just start from when you're coming into town, okay?"
Relief washed over the tall man, a bright smile gracing his face as he stood and dusted himself off. "Alright Phoe- I mean, Rubi-san. Arigatou!"
"Yeah yeah..." the teen mumbled, waving him off with her hand before she sighed again. 'I'm letting Denise take care of this from now on. Screw this shmaz maz...' she thought idly as the set was quickly replaced with the proper one. (- speaking of DENISE, that HEFFALUMP AND A HALF owes me a long ass one-shot, involving a proposal, sex, arca-beat-up-time, and kakashi-sensei! GRRR! you better write it nisi or else I /killz/ yew... (- narrows eyes all deathly-like-))
The actors and actresses alike re-read their original script and dressed in their proper costumes. Somewhere in the background, Rubi heard the voice of Tim say something about everything being ready.
Sending up a silent prayer, the director inhaled deeply as she lifted the random megaphone she stole from Rebecca's cleavage to her mouth. "Lights! Camera!Action/!"
- (take two – scene two)
By the time Arca reached the town of Teien, it was already mid-afternoon. The town was bustling with movement – merchants buying and selling goods, townspeople scurrying back and forth, everyone wanting to get a good deal. Delicious smells wafted through the air, along with sounds of various bells or chimes. Large, thick black clouds spilled from chimney tops, indicating weapons dealers mingled here too.
The nymfinity male took in a deep breath through his nose, the odor of all the scrumptious food swimming up his nose and delving down in his throat, finally landing in the empty pit of his growling stomach. He patted his tummy again in a reassuring way to quell the noises.
"Don't worry," he spoke to himself, looking around the immediate area, then down at his stummy (- teehee -). "We'll get something to eat as soon as I manage to find a place."
His abdomen rumbled up at him in response.
Arca lifted his head up high and sniffed loudly, closing his eyes in concentration as he tried to sniff out (literally) the welcoming scent of a restaurant. The smell of sweat, molten steel, sticky buns, sweet candies, saw dust, farm animals and delicate perfumes was what he managed to gather.
He turned and headed in the direction where the sticky bun smell originated, an immensely pleased expression on his face.
Suddenly, a vicious wind swept down the street and met Arca in a most unpleasant way. The strong breeze ripped the wide brim hat off from the top of his head, his wolven ears missing the comforting shade and secrecy they once had. He reached up futilely to try and grab it in the nick of time, but his fingertips scarcely brushed against the material before he watched with horrified eyes as it was sent sailing ways down the road, disappearing in the throng of people that littered the street.
Quickly, he pushed his way through the crowd of people that he seemed to be up to his chest (because they were), muttering an "Excuse me," "Sorry," "Oops," every now and then. He forcefully ignored the calling of the sticky bun shop, because his hat was more important right now than any treat.
He prayed to the gods that he didn't lose that hat – it was very nifty to have around during a journey to avenge your deceased family and what not.
He reached a clearing in the massive group of people and found his hat...in someone else's hand. The nymf watched as she picked it up from off the dusty ground where it once lay at her feet, and hold it before her.
The young girl who took hold of his hat inspected the impossibly large thing, before looking up and meeting his purple accented gaze.
Her own eyes were a beautiful amethyst color, the hue almost matching his own. Those same eyes of hers roved his form up and down, from head to toe before she looked up and stared at him again. Then, she held his hat out toward him.
He blinked. o.o
"This is yours, isn't it? I can tell by your clothes."
"Uhhh... Yes... Arigatou my lady."
He reached forward and grasped the brim, his other hand coming up to bat away the dirt that it collected during its little rendevous. He settled it back on his head, more firmly this time, and looked back down at the young girl with light grey eyes, a slight tinge of lavender swirling within its depths.
She looked very young, probably only fifteen or so, and she reached to about his stomach from where she stood in front of him. She had her midnight blue-black hair tied up in a high ponytail, a pure white sash holding it in place. Her bangs were long – some reaching down to her chin, and they framed her young face perfectly. The kimono she wore was very plain, with light blue as the base color and regular blue being color of her collar and obi. Plain white tabi's covered her feet, and her soft bamboo geta's were something he thought only (much) older women wore. Her skin was the color of mocha, and her eyes were captivating. He found himself staring rudely into her exotic colored orbs...before his gaze slowly traveled down, in a suggestive way. On her chest lay the two most mouth watering, softest looking mounds he's ever seen in his entire life... Oh gods how he just wanted to rip apart the concealing material that hid them and nibble on their silky texture all day...
He was drooling by this time...
She slowly raised an ebony eyebrow at him, wondering what the problem with this man was. She followed his gaze and gasped lightly, a slight blush crossing her cheeks. She looked back up at him just as his eyes began to water at the glorious sight before him.
The teenage girl looked down at the brown paper bag that held her two sticky buns in it, ones she just recently bought not a few minutes ago. She reached inside and held one out to him, watching as he gasped and stared at the sweet cake as though it were God...
She smiled politely and sweat dropped. ;
"Do you.../want/ it?..." she asked, bowing her head slightly to look up at him from an angle.
"Oh, I couldn't possibly..." he said, even though his stomach fiercely disagreed with him.
She giggled then. "Are you suuuure...?" she teased, waving the treat right under his nose, laughing out loud at his reaction.
He whimpered and almost burst into tears right then. He /wanted/ the sticky bun so badly that it hurt, but it was very ungentlemanly to accept anything from a lady when you didn't even know her name... The solution?
"Your name miss?" he question, choosing between looking at her mirth filled eyes and back to the glazed bun.
"Phoenix!" she giggled, before shoving the treat in the OBVIOUSLY starving man's mouth. He didn't complain and instead began ripping it to pieces. "My name is Phoenix Satome, but you can call me Phi," was what she supplied him with, before digging back in the bag to pull out the other bun. She bit into it as she watched him devour the poor thing, chewing thoughtfully as she took in his strange appearance.
He was at least seven feet tall, probably more so but she could never guess, being horrible with numbers and everything. He was hunched down by her though, so that now he was about eye level. He wore his insanely large wide brimmed hat, a little Celtic cross adorned on the front. She knew that beneath his hat lay a set of adorable looking dog ears, which she had the strangest inkling to rub. His wavy black hair ended just a few inches below his jaw, his propped up collar concealing the back of his neck. The sleeveless trench coat he wore matched his hat, both being dark grey and she figured of the same material. She noticed a long sleeved grey shirt underneath the mysterious cloak-like coat he wore, and a baggy pair of black pants. She couldn't see his feet, because his pants were long and covered them completely. From his face, neck and hands, she knew him to be of a light skin color, a slight tan indicating he was in the sun a lot. His eyes, however, are what really captivated her. They seemed to change constantly, and though she didn't know what the colors meant, she could guess.
Right now, his eyes were a bright yellow as he licked his fingers clean of the sugary coating that stuck to his skin. She cocked her head a bit and a thoughtful frown pulled at her lips.
Yellow, judging by his actions, must mean...happiness?
She blinked a few times when he suddenly looked at her, their eyes clashing. He smiled warmly, while a confused look took over her face.
"Domo arigatou, my lady. I really appreciate the gesture," he said, glancing down at her barely touched sticky bun, before smiling back up at her eyes.
A knowing smirk touched her lips and she offered him her own bun. He looked slightly taken back as he stared at the bun, before looking back up at her.
"My lady?"
She glared lightly at him and pulled the bun back to her, his eyes widening ever so slightly at the retrieval.
"My /name/ is Phoenix. Not 'my lady'," she quipped, then taking another bite and chewing it slowly, in order to torture him.
She leveled him with a nonchalant glare, and he sulked a bit.
She watched in silent fascination as his eye colored changed from the happy yellow it once was, to a curiously light blue shade.
Taking blue as sadness, she sighed and held her partly eaten sticky bun out to his face.
"My-... Phoenix-san?" he questioned, tilting his head to the side as blue quickly shifted into violet.
She took purple as confusion.
"Here," she thrusted it in his face. "I should probably go on a diet anyway."
He watched her for a moment, before taking the bun out of her hold. Before she could retract it though, he quickly grasped her hand in a gentle hold, ignoring her light gasp of surprise. He leaned down (careful not to let his hat poke her eye out or something), and brushed his lips against her skin.
"Many thanks, my lady," he offered, before lightly kissing the back of her hand.
When he pulled back and straightened himself, he took in the wild scarlet that dressed her face. Her lilac eyes were bright with embarrassment, or so he guessed, and her hands twisted nervously before her hips. She looked down at the ground, and he found that her being oddly quiet didn't suit her personality at all. Not that he knew her, but from what he /did/ know, she shouldn't be a shy girl. It just didn't fit her. Even if it /was/ rather cute.
He laughed as she looked anywhere but him, his now golden yellow eyes glowing with mirth.
"My lady, I apologize if I've embarrassed you – I honestly didn't mean to. Gomen nasai." He bowed his head toward her, a smile gracing his features as she glared up at him, blush still heavily evident on her cheeks.
"My name is /Phoenix/!" she protested, raising her balled fists up to her chest in a childish way. She pouted angrily as he chuckled while biting into the bun.
He found her to be so adorable. .
"Gomen, Phoenix-san," he responded around a mouthful of deliciousness.
Phoenix simply huffed and placed her hands haughtily on her hips, tossing her head away from him - her ponytail landing on her shoulder due to the swift movement.
He laughed quietly to himself, subconsciously delighted to have found such a wonderful person. He finished off the rest of the sweet treat and looked up to find her missing.
Arca blinked his light violet eyes rapidly, before rising off his haunches and turning this way and that, sweeping the streets visually for the teenage girl who so graciously gave him her treats.
After turning up unsuccessful in finding her, he sighed dejectedly. Looking down at his sugary coated fingers, he stuck the tip of one in his mouth and sucked off the cavity-inducing paste, still glancing around for a head of blue-black hair, with a white sash accompanying the ponytail.
He still found no trace of her, and the feeling of sadness increased. He didn't even get to tell her his name.
He looked up at the sky and hoped that one day he could find her again and thank her properly, but before he'd do that, he'd go out and get a proper, five course meal to settle the now subtle rumbles in his tummy.
Oh wait... That's right...
...He was broke...
T.T
TO BE CONTINUED...
Japanese translations: in order of appearance:
-Dono - more respectful than san; today would be used as 'Milord so-and-so' (- though i don't use it like that – i'm not that egotistical... -) As used by Kenshin, it indicates both respect and humility.
-Sama - lord
-Chan - can be used as diminutive (i.e.,: with a small child - like "Little Yahiko" or "Little Shippou"), or with those who are grown, to indicate affection ("My dear...")
Kagoutame - this is a word I made up. I dunno if it's actually /real/ or not, but if it is real, please do a good deed and tell meh what it means, mmkays?
Rurouni – I take it as meaning "wandering swordsman" or just a wandering warrior of some kind, but I use the term loosely, referring to just the "wanderer, vagabond" part
Teien - garden
Hitokiri - assassin
Battousai - man slayer
Bokken - wooden sword
Oro - huh?
Ano - uhm/uh/um
Chibi - small, runt, short, but I mean in the way when characters are chibi or SD and their eyes are really big and all dole-like
-San - mr, miss, mrs, ms
Kendo - sword arts
Arigatou - thank you, thanks
Kimono - a Japanese dress
Obi - the belt-type thing that goes around the kimono and keeps it closed
Tabi - split-toed socks
Geta - those sandle-like shoes
Domo arigatou - thank you very much, thanks a lot
Gomen nasai - I'm very sorry
Gomen - sorry
Made up words (Claimer: don't steal these bitches, they all belong to different peoples)
Nymfinity - basically a demi-human with shape shifting abilities, with animal-like features such as fangs and claws. Sometimes they'll have other things, like tails and horns, but they're rare
Shmaz maz - it's like a general curse word. Or like, it could mean the word "stuff" or something like that
Stummy - a combination of stomach and tummy. I don't own this word...sadly... (my friend does) U.U
Ok, before I go any further, if some people are offended by the way I curse in my notes – don't take it personally. I mean those words towards people who would think to steal things and such.
Anyway, these characters originated from an original role play my friends and I started, so if you've read my other fic, "Fukutsu Inochi (Enduring Life)" then maybe you recognize Phoenix, Marsuro and Trace. Arca will make an appearance in that fic in the third chapter. I just have such a difficult time writing Miaka/Trace fluff (they've scarred/scared me for life)... it makes me cringe and grow weak with writers block.
Anywho, I'll try to get to the second chapter to this right away, since it's currently the only stable multi-chapter story that I'm concerned about. (I'm putting off FI for now, since I hate the second chapter so much...) I finished writing this chapter on 2/27/o6 mon., and I started it sometime in October I think (I'm too lazy to scroll up), so I had a HUGE writers block on this fic. But I've got some great ideas whirring around my head and I really wanna get them down on the comp, so I can post them up here and gain meself (yes, meself) some reviews. (Btw, incase you're wondering, I'm seventeen years old and no, I'm not mentally retarded. I just like being crazy.)
Ok, so that's all I have to say at the moment. If you wanna know about anything concerning this fic, or FI, or even any of my other work, please don't hesitate to ask meh in a review. Cuz you should review. Then I'd have a reason to love you. o.o
Yea, ok, so, yea... you should go and review now, and stop reading my rambling. Go now, shoo.
(As a last attempt to reach those thick headed peoples out there...)
READ AND REVIEW!
You already did the easy part – the reading. Now review for Phi-Dono-chanz. o.o
Hit that special button and make this unworthy authoress happy! :D
Do it now! ...pweeeeeeeeeeeeeeease? X3
(Oh yea, and as par usual, I expect at least three (3) reviews for me to continue on to the next chapter. After all, I /do/ need to know if anyone's reading this crap...)
Phi-Dono rox