Torahiko Fujiwara, from Vampire Knight: The Revelation, a roleplay on RPG

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Cross Academy

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#2014-02-10 05:47:36, as written by Nephilim

Steely violet eyes gazed out into the crowd, watching as the students interacted with each other, giggling and smiling as they walked by. Eien's face remained void of much of any emotion, just the barest flicker of irritation shining through as he glanced down to his side. Farah had latched onto his arm, her body trembling a bit as she tried to keep her composure. He couldn't blame her, not really. She was a shy creature to begin with, so being in such a large, occupied space, would do that to her. He sighed softly through his nose, shifting so that he was standing a bit more composed and not enough to disturb his sister.

Farah, on the other hand, tried her best to keep her composure. It was late Autumn, and this festival they were currently attending had caught her completely off guard. She wasn't entirely sure what to do seeing as she wasn't so good at interacting with people, often. Sure, she interacted with a few people here and there, but that was because she had to interact with them. Doing so voluntarily was a different story all together. It required her to talk to more people, and not just about homework either. With that in mind, her arm tightened a bit onto Eien's. He had always provided a sort of stability for her, and of course her sister, Hikari, who was currently missing.

Hikari had found her way to one of the booths, her eyes shining with mirth as she glanced at the objects laid out on the table. Most of them were pendants, some shaped in odd animals, others shaped into different shapes. There were three that caught her eye, and she was trying to decide which one she wanted. They were an owl, a dragon, and a tiger. The owl was carved out of an onyx gemstone, the dragon a sapphire gemstone, and the tiger a jade. They were well made, and for a moment, Hikari couldn't tell if they were real or not. She decided they were not, seeing as they were being sold at the school, but then again, they still could be. She paid for one of them and continued on her way.

Ryoku, however, was grinning from ear to ear, his arms laced behind his head as he stared out in front of him. There were so many fruits just waiting for him to take a bite out of, but he'd have his fun first. Which is why, currently, he was traveling with the two other people in his life he'd consider friends. Well, one of them was his actual family member, so he was stuck with him regardless. Not that he minded, Haru was a blast to pick on. It was interesting to see how many shades of red Haru could turn, and they all always seemed to compliment his skin tone. Well, for now, he'd just pick on the available party to him, starting with the first person he came across next.

Reiko was not exactly sure where Naya had gone off to, but she didn’t let it bother her much. Her twin was always doing something, and it was usually causing trouble. One day, Kiko was certain, it would get Naya into trouble herself. Until then… well, most of the trouble seemed to find her instead. As now, when one of the rubber balls from a carnival game rebounded at the wrong angle from the wall it had been thrown against and sailed towards her head. Her arm snapped up automatically, and she caught it, but the problem was, she missed the fact that there was someone headed towards her with a box of darts for one of the balloon-popping games.

The collision was loud, and the darts when flying, several of them coming loose from the box and starting to rain downwards on the two now-prone people. Reiko was on her feet at once—the person carrying the box had been human, they could really hurt him. Her hands moved quickly as she caught darts in the spaces between her fingers, moving lightly over the ground to make sure she got them all, and when her hand closed over the last one, she breathed a sigh of relief, smiling down at the human with the box, who was looking at her with a slightly-dazed expression, his face red. Probably from embarrassment, poor thing. She tilted her head to the side and put the darts back in the box, helping him up with a hand about his forearm and setting the box back in his arms, then dusting off his shoulders.

“There we go,” she said gently, nodding with a brighter smile. “Everything’s fine now. Just be a bit careful, okay? Everyone’s relying on you to help make this a fun festival, and we should all try our best, right?” The human boy nodded, and Kiko’s gentle smile inched a little wider. “Good.” Stepping back, she gestured for him to go ahead past her, which he did, and she continued on her way, not really aiming to be anywhere in particular.

Nearby, but not so close as to have witnessed the incident, Tatsuhiko was wondering how it was that he was even here. Public spectacles were much more Tora’s area of expertise than his, and in all honesty, he could do without the crowds. Sighing softly, he passed a vendor of artisan jewelry and perused the wares. He was not typically one for ornamentation, but then, the pieces were very well-crafted, and unless he was mistaken, the gems were genuine. He paused, brushing his fingers lightly over the smooth surface of a sapphire dragon.

“It suits you,” said the wareseller, a middle-aged human woman, pushing her square-framed glasses up her nose. She looked at him with something akin to knowing, and for just a moment, he entertained the notion that she might understand just how poignant that statement really was. Perhaps he was reading too much into things, but he tilted his head faintly to the side.

“Perhaps,” he replied noncommittally, and she smiled.

Torahiko surveyed the festival, blinking languidly at the bright nighttime lights and the milling people. So many opportunities, so little time. It was always that, wasn’t it? A lack of time. He’d been running out of it since the day he was born. Unlike the ones beside him, who had all the time in the world, if they played their cards right. Well, he was never one to let it bother him overmuch—it was all about what he did with it, and right now, he intended to have a lot of fun. “Well, well, henchmen,” he said playfully, referencing the jocular nicknames of the men to his right and left, “what variety of mayhem shall we cause tonight?”

"Boss...I think Naya Nii-san is beating us to it." Haru pointed, and sure enough, a few rows down, one could hear -and see- a rather large commotion. Kon, the large dark lion on top of which Haru Akarui rode, as he always did, chuckled. "Haru, Naya always beats us to it. Oh look, and here comes Trevor, right on cue."

True to the familiar's word, the vampire strode right past the trio, and towards where one could see flashes of cornflower-blue hair amidst yelling and destruction. It was a bit unclear as to what exactly was going on, but as Trevor got closer, he could hear what Naya was saying. Or yelling, rather.

"What did you say, you brat?!"

"I said, a girl can't fight. That would be you, little lady."

A vein stood out in Naya's forehead. This kid was human, and probably about seventeen, from the looks of him. Little lady? Little lady? Oh...he was going to get it. He was so going to get it. "Little lady, huh? Do you have any idea who I am?"

"A girl?" He smirked down at her, dark hair falling into his eyes. He was nearly a foot taller than she was, to be sure. But that didn't mean anything, not really. Naya hissed out a breath through her teeth. She drew back a fist...

Only to have it caught by someone. Naya blinked, looking over her shoulder to see her uncle, Trevor. He was chewing on a toothpick as she glared at him. "He's not worth it, Naya." Trevor's eyes slid over to the male, who looked almost haughty. Trevor sighed through his nose. This guy was beginning to piss him off, and for someone as patient as Trevor, that was saying something. "Picking fights with people is not very smart. You never know what kind of friends they have."

He did not, however, give any of them a chance to answer as he pulled his niece away, who was glaring at him. "I would have been just fine, Trevor, he was only a human." Trevor sighed, his hand under Naya's elbow to ensure she didn't slip away from him. "Exactly, he was human, you would have killed him."

"Besides, isn't Mama Kiki always telling you not to fight, Nana-chan?" A small voice spoke up, the small white tiger landing neatly on top of Naya's head. "Shut up, Mako." Naya scowled up at her familiar, and when the three of them got back to where Tora, Ryo, and Haru were, Naya turned and punched Trevor in the jaw, sending him sprawling. "That's for helping me when I didn't need it!" She crossed her arms and then glared at Haru, who couldn't seem to stop laughing.

Ryoku laughed at his cousin's observation of Naya, the ever flamboyant Akarui child. Though he couldn't say he wasn't equal parts amused, Naya always had a certain flair about her that could draw just about any moth to her. Not that he had much to worry about, Trevor was there. Their uncle was the unfortunate soul to be tied to Naya, watching her as she rampaged through the school. His lips tilted into a faint smirk as he stared at his cousin.

"Naya, Naya, really must you torture Trevor so? He's only looking out for you," he crooned out, his smirk widening. He shook his head a bit before walking up to Haru, leaning on Kon and placing his elbow ontop of Haru's shoulder, his other hand laid at his waist. "Besides Haru-chan here is saying you are taking all the fun. That, sweetheart, is a no-no. You gotta leave some for us you know," he spoke, his smirk widening a bit.

Farah, on the other hand, had somehow managed to lose herself and separate from Eien. She shivered slightly, rubbing her arms together to provide a sense of comfort to herself. It did little to calm her nerves, however; a familiar scent came to her, and the barest flicker of a smile crossed her features. She knew who that was, and if she could find him, she'd be okay. But that was if she could find him. Though she caught and held his scent, it was quickly disappearing amongst the plethora of other scents. Eventually, she caught sight of his familiar deep, purple hair.

"Hiko-san," she called out meekly, her voice a note just above a whisper. She cringed at the softness of her own voice, and part of her silently wished she could make it stronger. She'd have to deal with it for now though, and made her way so that she was standing just a bit behind Tatsuhiko. "How are you, Hiko-san?" she questioned lightly, her nervousness ebbing away slowly. He, Eien, and Hikari, always had that affect on her, and she was grateful to have at least one of the three.

Hikari frowned, her face pulled back into one of discomfort as she stared at the fluffy penguin in front of her. She had tried everything she could think of to win the creature, and so far it was proving to be quite the evasive creature. She gritted her teeth, handing the stall vendor another coupon as she tried her hand at the toss again. She missed once, twice, the fifth time she ended up throwing the rest of the rings in a rather hazardous manner, managing to knock one of the rings off and watched as it bounced towards a person. Said person managed to catch it without much effort and steel violet eyes met vibrant mahogany.

"Eien," she addressed her brother as she watched the dark haired male toss the ring towards the bottles, watching as it spun against the glass and fell in place. She pursed her lips together, irritation evidently leaking from her eyes as the stall vendor handed the penguin to Eien. "That's not fair, E-chan," she stated, folding her arms over her chest in the process. Eien merely regarded her with the same stoic face as he glanced at the penguin, then towards his sister. Raising an eyebrow, he shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, if that is the case, Imouto-chan, then I will take my prize elsewhere," he spoke, his voice never missing a step to the monotonous beat.

“Beating us to it does not mean beating us at it,” Tora pointed out with a grin. “Besides, the bodyguard didn’t actually let her fight anybody, so… no points, kitten.” He shrugged with an air of mock sympathy, his smile stretching to flash teeth that still had a hint of fang, even when he was perfectly at ease. Perhaps it was better to say that he was never completely at ease. Tora was always ready for a fight, even when he seemed most relaxed. It was in his nature, like kindness was in the natures of some other people.

Of course, the little white tiger cub jumped onto her head at that point, and his expression changed slightly, though what exactly was different about it would be hard to say. “Hey, little Mayhem! Looks like we have all the tricksters in a row today. I say we take advantage.” As good as his word, Tora winked a bright green eye at Naya and headed into the crowd. The best kind of chaos required a surprising amount of planning beforehand. Kind of like dominoes. You could tip over a few if you wanted, but it was much more effective if they were all lined up the right way, first.

The soft voice halted Tatsu’s movement, and a small smile flickered over his face. He turned to face the snow-haired girl, inclining his torso in a slight bow. It was certainly polite, but not overly formal, exactly. He was polite to Farah because he did not know how to be kind, and she deserved at least that much. “Good evening, Farah,” he said gently, watching as her expression shifted from one of obvious discomfort into something a little steadier. The girl was an open book in many ways, but he’d never use it against her if he could avoid it.

He wondered for a moment why she was here, as if he recalled correctly, she liked crowds no more than he did, but perhaps she had come with her family—many of whom he could presently smell, but none of whom he could see. “I hope you are well?” It was inflected as a question, an indirect way of asking if there was anything he could be doing to help her. He could smell cooking food, and tilted his head slightly to the side. “Have you yet eaten?” It was as much an idea as anything, after all.

Kiko, having caught the scent of two of her favorite relatives, was only just rounding a corner as Eien moved to take his leave, and inadvertently ran smack into him, rebounding off the much more sturdy form of her cousin and landing hard on her rear. It didn’t hurt, but it was certainly embarrassing. Reiko sighed, her face coloring to a pinkish shade. She really was unlucky. “Oh dear,” she said, picking herself back up off the ground and dusting off her clothes. “I’m sorry, Eien. I was coming to see both of you—I did not expect to succeed so… soon.” She cracked a small, very sheepish smile.

Naya made an odd little grunting sound as she stalked off after Tora. He at least knew how to have fun. Preferably the kind where she was not called "little lady". She hated that almost as much as her mother hated being called "princess". There was a wry little smile on her face though, watching her brother and her cousin. They were made for each other, really. If only Haru would open his eyes and see it. Or confess, rather, Naya was well aware of her little brother's affections. She shook her head slightly.

"So I don't get any points for clocking Trevs, either? No fair..."

Haru, on the other hand, had somehow managed to not overly blush, and keep his composure, when Ryoku came over. He was not, however, able to stop his heart from slamming into his ribcage. He really needed to get his head out of the clouds. He leaned backwards slightly, watching as Naya and Tora stalked off through the crowd. He looked back at his cousin. "Ro-chan, they're leaving without us."

Trevor sighed, watching as Naya left, shaking his head slowly. Well, he was now certain of two things: one, if Naya was with Tora, he at least didn't have to worry overmuch about her being in danger. And two: there would be absolutely no stopping her. With that in mind, he turned, waving at his nephew, perfectly content to leave them. He needed a shower.

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Cross Academy

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#2014-02-11 10:49:41, as written by Naga's Shadow

Tora’s keen ears would have caught the sound of her approach even if his nose hadn’t done the trick. The grin he wore faded back into a smirk, but other than that, he simply kept walking, shortening his stride slightly so that she wouldn’t have to run to catch up. He was head and shoulders over most of the crowd, actually, which made things convenient on some level, as he could easily scan it for the most likely opportunities for mischief. When it became apparent that his henchmen were not following, he turned to glance down at Naya. “In answer to the question, kitten, no. No points for punching the bodyguard, though it was fun to watch. But. If perchance we can instigate some truly magnificent mischief this evening, I’d be willing to negotiate the total. There’s a prize for fifty points in one hour, you know. Neither of my henchman has ever managed it.”

Taking his hand from the opposite sleeve, he gestured expansively, to indicate the wide array of festival decorations and activities laid out before them. “So? What will it be? Show me some chaos, kitten. Little Mayhem and I will assist, but the master plan must be yours.” So saying, he reached over and plucked Mako from atop Naya’s head, settling the white tiger cub over his shoulder. “Isn’t that right, Little Mayhem?” Tora used his index finger to scratch under the familiar’s chin, quirking an eyebrow at Naya as though awaiting instructions. It might be fun to be the henchman for a change…

Naya arched a brow at Tora, a slow grin spreading over her face. Silently, she began looking around her, her eyes taking in all the different possibilities. Mako giggled madly as Torahiko placed him on his shoulder. "So, Kishi-san and I are henchman? Shouldn't I be a henchkitten?"

Naya had to fight not to roll her eyes. "Oh fine, Mako, sure, you can be a henchkitten." Suddenly, a few different things clicked, and she ran off, coming back with a rather large piece of well-cooked meat, and a length of string. "I've got a job for you, Mako." The tiger cub looked perplexed. "Uh...pass?"

Tora saw where this was going, and burst out laughing, a deep bass sound as much rumble as chuckle. “Sorry, henchkitty, there’s no passing when the boss tells you to do something.” He scooped the cub off his shoulder and held him in one arm, reaching for the string end of Naya’s contraption. With one hand, and the occasional use of his teeth, he rigged the string into a series of knots that would settle as a harness over the familiar, because he didn’t want to choke the little guy with a simple knot around his neck or anything. Sliding the contraption on with a deft motion, he smirked over at Naya, the gesture flashing a hint of fang on one side of his mouth.

“You want the stand with all the animals, right?” He asked, though he already knew the answer, and he stooped to set the tiger cub down, the meat trailing a foot or so behind him. “No worries, Little Mayhem, you’ve got this.” The slightly sadistic nature of the smile he wore and the flash to his brilliant green eyes were really not particularly reassuring, perhaps, but well… they weren’t honestly meant to be. As soon as Mako was off, albeit somewhat reluctantly, Tora glanced around, and scenting no humans, shrugged.

“Well, one more tiger can only make things better, I suppose.” So saying, he shifted, taking on the form of a truly massive predatory cat, his pelt a somewhat-unnatural golden in hue, the black stripes deep as night. His eyes, however, were the same green they always were. All told, Tora was the size of a small vehicle. It was rather obvious to those in the know that he’d been built this way to hunt and kill werewolves, because he was larger than most of them. If a cat could smile, that was the expression on his face, though it looked dangerously like a snarl, not really mitigated at all by the obvious amusement in his eyes.

“Hop on, kitten. The evening’s mistress of mischief should be transported in style, no? Five points for the idea; now let’s see if you can’t amplify the results.”

Mako growled lightly, ending more like grunt, and he ran off, heading towards the booths his master had pointed out. Apparently, someone was running an adopt-a-pet booth...full of dogs. Mako hated dogs. He was a tiger, not some filthy canine. "Master so owes me for this." He grumbled, taking off as soon as he heard the dogs beginning to bark.

Naya looked at Tora, something akin to admiration in her eyes. He truly was beautiful like this. She laughed slightly, wasting no time climbing onto his back. "Five points already, huh? How come Ryo and Haru have never won? They must lack a woman's inspiration."

Mako ran, winding his way in and out of booths and crowds, a trail of no less than twenty dogs clamoring clumsily after him. While at first he really hadn't wanted to do this, there was no denying he was having fun. He only laughed when his master's voice floated through his head, and he did as he was told. There, in the middle of the festival, was a large stage, where a rather poor rendition of Shakespeare's As You Like It was being presented. The tiger cub leapt lightly onto the stage, and then went straight for the lead actor, acting very much like a frightened kitten, latching onto the top of his head, claws and all.

The dogs, right on cue, all clambered up on stage, yowling and barking, most of them swarming the actors, and with a neat swipe, Mako severed the cord holding the piece of meat and leapt onto the curtain, climbing safely out of the canine's reach as he surveyed the mayhem below him. Many people were yelling, some were laughing, but the most was utter confusion.

Of course, when the massive tiger with a woman on his back leaped lightly onto he stage as though he belonged there, the reactions got even more pronounced, especially in the fear and awe departments. It was nothing less than Tora had expected—he knew, without arrogance, that he was rather magnificent in this form. And his other one. Okay, so there was definitely some arrogance involved, but it wasn’t unwarranted. “The first five are easy,” he replied, stalking the edge of the stage and snarling at the nearest cluster of onlookers, who cowered back from him. A strange rumbling sound issued from his chest, similar enough to his earlier laughter that it wasn’t that hard to guess what it must be. “It’s the last forty-five that get a little more difficult. This is barely five-point chaos right here.”

He could think of several things they could do to make it all even more ridiculous, but he was not the master of ceremonies, such as they were, on this particular eve. It was a capacity he’d ceded to Naya, and he wouldn’t do anything much unless it was her idea. Though he did pass by Mako’s perch so that the cub could also hitch a ride on him, now that his little part in this plan was for the moment complete.

Naya laughed, the sound like bells, Mako landing light in front of her on Tora's shoulders. "Then let's see what else we can drum up." Her eyes gleamed.

For the next fifty minutes, the three of them managed the destroy no less than half of the booths, start a number of fistfights, and even set a stall on fire. Naya also spent an amusing twenty minutes shocking people at the kissing booth; that one had actually been Mako's idea.

As it were now, the two of them were, at the moment, watching as the flames engulfed the stand. It had been empty, and they wouldn't let it spread, of course. Of course, she didn't stop people from freaking out over it, many of them running around looking for water. Naya's chuckled, crossing her arms as she glanced over at Tora. "Well, how'd I do, Kishi-Tora?"

At the question, Tora shifted back into his humanoid form, straightening to his full height and raking a callused hand back though his red-brown hair. Cracking his neck first to one side and then the other, he contemplated it with seeming ambivalence for a while, as though mostly unimpressed. Actually, the effort had been rather fun, and by now, the entire festival was in some form of chaos or another. That much was easy to see. And in the eye of the hurricane stood a man, a woman, and a little tiger, wearing matching grins and surveying their handiwork with a sense of satisfaction. “Mm…” he hummed the note in the back of his throat, idly cracking his knuckles. “Not bad, for a no-fatalities situation.” He wouldn’t have cared that much if they killed someone; being raised without a moral compass to be a contract killer would do that to a person. All the same, it wasn’t as though he went out of his way to murder anyone who didn’t challenge him first, so he wasn’t going to dock points for this.

He ran a quick mental calculation. “Comes out to… forty-nine and a half. Lucky for you, I round up, not down, because I’m a generous bastard like that. So, fifty. Congratulations, kitten. You’re officially capable of more mayhem in an hour than either of my henchmen." He crossed his arms over his broad chest and quirked an eyebrow down at her. “That’s a lot of destruction per square inch of person you have there.” He was, of course, intentionally leaving out any mention of the reward for this accomplishment. That, she would have to inquire after herself. It was more fun that way.

"Well, that isn't really surprising, when you look at my mother, now is it? Besides, I've had more experience than Haru and Ryo. Someone could argue you don't pick your henchmen very well." She quirked a brow at him, a small smile on her face. "We should make a habit of this, I haven't had this much fun in a long time."

"Nana-chan, you got fifty points. You're supposed to get a prize, remember?" The tiger-cub spoke up from his position on Torahiko's shoulder. Naya's smile ticked a little wider. "That's right, you did say I'd win something. Dare I ask what it is?"

Tora snorted, his amusement clear on his face. “I do the best I can with what I’m given. There’s always room for a third, if you’re volunteering…” the sentence trailed off into a grin as the cub on his shoulder brought up the matter of his little promise, and he laid a hand on the little one’s head. “Did I? Heh. I suppose I did.” Torahiko was one of those people who enjoyed a challenge like he enjoyed little else, and the rules of this game had long been set. Part of it was that nobody knew what the supposed prizes were, not even Ryo and Haru. Though he suspected that after this story made its rounds, they’d be able to guess what the tenor of the challenge really was. He wondered if they’d try a little harder or not. He was, after all, a man who followed the rules—rather, the ones he made up.

He set Mako back on the ground, straightening up and turning the required ninety degrees to be facing Naya. She was a great deal shorter than him, as most people were, but this only served to amuse him further. “Well… let it never be said that I don’t keep my promises, hm?” he inquired, his tone light and playful. His actions were sure and deceptively swift: he slid the callused pads of his fingers back along her jawline to cup the back of her neck and bent the intervening distance, moving her only slightly forward and causing their lips to meet. Her surprise was such that rendering the kiss unchaste was not at all difficult, and Tora was not the kind of person who let an opportunity of such a nature pass him by without taking advantage of it. For all that, it wasn’t a rushed or hasty gesture—he was rather an old hand at the art of seduction, and that was what it was meant to do. Sensual, languid, and drugging—and he tugged at her lower lip with the lightest application of his teeth when he pulled away, grinning.

Tora licked his lips in a decidedly wicked fashion, winking down at Naya. “I rather expected you’d be delicious, kitten. I’m not disappointed.” He also half-expected to be decked any second now, and honestly wasn’t interest in dodging it, either. It wasn’t like she could hurt him in such a fashion, after all. He might not have minded it if she could.

For the first few seconds, Naya was utterly shocked to the point that she really could do little other than stand there. And even when she did get over the shock, she was not inclined to pull away from him, and she was even slightly dissapointed when he pulled away. Even so, she was not entirely blind to the situation, and after his comment, she blinked, and then she balled her right hand into a fist, scarlet coloring her face to an odd contrast to the blue of her hair.

She drew it back, and then punched him squarely in the nose. "You're an asshole. Some prize." She crossed her arms and scowled. Mako, on the other hand, had collapsed onto this side in a fit of laughter. "That's not fair, Kishi-san, you know Nana-chan--" Whatever the cub had been about to say was cut off by Naya planting a foot on his head. "Shut up, Mako!"

He understood why the bodyguard had pulled her away from the human, though if his laughter was anything to go by, he found it all amusing rather than painful. “That’s some left hook, kitten,” he managed past the residual chuckling. “You sure you weren’t going for the hundred?” He raised a brow slightly at the antics, quite well aware without needing to be told what Little Mayhem was going to say. It was obvious that the girl had a crush on him, and this was something he found rather hilarious, honestly. For all her expertise in chaos, she was also clearly inexperienced in certain ways, and he wouldn’t be terribly surprised if that was the first time a man had kissed her in such a fashion.

He leaned back down so that they were almost nose-to-nose. “You know,” he said in a low, husky rasp, “If you’re not careful, people might start to think that violence is a bit of a kink of yours.” He was really enjoying this too much, but that had never stopped him before. Was it even possible to have too much fun? He wasn’t sure and he didn’t care. “I personally find the notion very attractive, but if you’re not interested…” He straightened and shrugged, his tones fading back into nonchalance. “Then I guess I’ll see you around, kitten.” Folding his hands back into his sleeves, Tora turned and departed, merging into the chaos like he knew exactly where everything was about to be.

It never did to overstay a welcome, after all.

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Cross Academy

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#2014-02-25 13:12:25, as written by Naga's Shadow

Two months after the festival found winter beginning to settle over the campus of Cross Academy, but it had not yet snowed, and the last of the autumn leaves were tenacious. Today was an especially fine one, a brief respite from the cold snap that had started three nights ago, and Torahiko was taking full advantage of the warmth of the sunlight, sprawled out on the ground in a clearing in the forest that surrounded the grounds. His arms were spread-eagled out to either side of him, his eyes shut, and his chest rising and falling steadily. He was, in fact, asleep, but the way Tora and his brother slept was not the same way that other people did.

Perhaps it was an effect of the time they’d spent in incubation tanks, or perhaps it was the cruel rigors of their training. It might even be the abnormally-high degree of psychic energy in each of them, that gave Tora his psychometry and Tatsu his precognition. Whatever it was, it ensured that even when they slept and sometimes dreamed, they were aware, in some way, of how things proceeded around them in the outside world, able to wake at a moment’s notice and react if necessary. It had saved their lives more than once.

Presently, it wasn’t going to save Tora’s life, but it was going to provide him some entertainment. He sensed her coming, though he supposed she must have miscalculated where he was, because she tripped right over him, headed for the ground at a truly spectacular rate. At least, she was until one of his loose arms moved up to catch her, in what could have been a very lucky movement made by someone entirely caught in dream. Indeed, he didn’t exactly wake up when his tanned arm banded around her waist and stopped her fall by directing it atop his person, causing her to land more or less nose-to-chest with him, which in the latter case was a bare expanse of honey-colored skin, the result of wearing a haori-style shirt rather loosely. Nor was he fully conscious when his grip tightened and his other arm circled around her lower back. Rolling slightly, he moved onto his side and hugged her closer, nuzzling his nose into her hair and inhaling, murmuring something with sleepy satisfaction, too low and rumbly to make out the words properly.

A slight smile took up residence on his face, though without some rather acrobatic escape maneuvers, she probably wouldn’t be able to see it. Her hair, he observed without really having the thought, smelled almost as good as her mouth tasted.

Naya Akarui was hopelessly lost. She sighed, wondering if she should turn around again, but then she was brought back to reality as she tripped. She had been so absorbed in her own thoughts that she hadn't even noticed the scent, or his presence at all. She let out a slight yelp as she tripped, fully expecting to come face-first to the ground, but instead, she found herself on top of something almost soft as his arm caught her around the waist. She shut her eyes as she landed, increasingly aware that her face was quite literally buried into someone's chest, and it only took one sniff to realize it was Torahiko.

She froze when she felt his other arm encircle her and they rolled over, the motion entangling their legs quite thoroughly. Naya felt her face turning red, she was fairly certain one could feel the heat she was giving off. Tora muttered something, and she realized as he all but buried his nose into her hair that he was asleep. That really only made her blush further, and she was fairly certain that she was the same color as her aunt's hair. Oh, oh, this was so embarassing. This type of thing only happened to her twin, not to her. Well, she supposed there was a first time for everything.

She lay there, chewing on her bottom lip. She'd stopped moving, as when she did, she was rather aware of Tora's body, and that...well. Facing his bare chest alone was much more than she was used to, and while she was trying to decide if she should wake him up or not, she found herself becoming mesmerized by the planes of said chest, the broad muscles apparent beneath skin. She started slightly, realizing her train of thought and she sighed. Her voice was slightly muffled, being so close to him, but she spoke all the same. Her voice sounded oddly small to her. "Tora...? Please wake up..."

This really was just too much fun. To further exacerbate matters, Tora shifted slightly, exhaling a warm breath directly against the column of her throat, curling his much larger frame around her smaller one as though seeking to both give and receive warmth against the chill of the day. It was taking her an awfully-long time to react to what was going on, and though his ego hardly needed the boost, he felt it all the same. Tora knew he was very nice to look at, and he’d rendered more than one person a stammering mess before—it was something he quite enjoyed. But something about doing it to her, someone with so much fire and brimstone in her, was immensely more satisfying.

When she spoke, he considered drawing the whole thing out a little more, perhaps pretending to be a heavier sleeper than he was, but in the end, the prospect of seeing her embarrassed face was far too much to pass up, so he brought himself the rest of the way to wakefulness, cracking open emerald eyes which had a hint of sleepiness left in them still and pulling back just enough to look her in the face. He blinked once, slowly, and allowed the small smile on his lips to spread into something positively sinful. She really was cute when she blushed like that. He took in the full details of the situation—tangled legs, the state of his shirt, that delightful shade of red—and chuckled darkly. One of his hands snaked out from under her, and he used it to prop up his head, disinclined to either let her go or move from his present placement. The other remained banded about her waist, his thumb drawing idle circles at her hip, where his large hand rested.

“Mm… good morning, kitten,” he rumbled in a low-thrumming tone. “You know, if you wanted to sleep with me, all you ever had to do was ask.”

This man. Most of the time Naya was torn between being drawn to him and wanting to beat the living daylights out of him. Now was one of those times. As embarrassed as she was, there was no denying the slight prickle of contentment she was getting from this, though at the moment, the embarrassment far outweighed it, especially when he spoke.

She supposed she should have expected nothing less than that from him. Sometimes she wondered just why she was so attracted to him, the man was a letch. So, trying to regain at least some of her dignity, she managed to scowl into his chest, not giving him the satisfaction of glare at him. However, she was still blushing, so it perhaps lost most of its desired effect.

"I had nor have no such desire, it was you who latched on to me when I tripped over you. Now will you let me go?"

Tora trailed the hand at her hip up her arm and into her hair, toying absently with the cornflower-blue strands, soft against the calluses of his fingers. He wasn’t particularly interested in her denials, especially when it was patently obvious that she had entertained the thoughts she was so fervently denying, now if not before. He blinked lazily down at her, raising an eyebrow as if the suggestion was somehow perplexing. “And why would I want to do that?” he asked languidly, as though bored by the very thought of just letting her get up and go about her day. He did so hate being bored.

There were any number of ways he could have entertained himself in this situation, but Tora hated being predictable, so he went with the one he was quite certain she was definitely not expecting. Rolling them back over, he situated them so that she was laying half on top of him, pillowed on his chest and abdomen, the corded muscle of his arm still keeping her there. “Tell me something about yourself, kitten.” The question was admittedly a bit unusual for him—he was not in the habit of getting to know people he was only interested in bedding, but he was ever a creature of his own whimsy, and had decided that he wanted to hear her talk about herself. So that’s what he would do.

Naya let out a muffled yelp as he rolled again, his arm taking her with him. Being on top of him with gravity doing its job really only made things worse, and she had the very peculiar desire to simply lay there and sleep. That alone was strange to her, but even stranger was his question. At least this way she was able to raise her head enough to look at him, although it may have been better had she not. Her face was cooling slightly, but she was still a rather bright shade of pink.

The universe really just hated her, that was all.

"I don't know what I could tell you that you probably haven't already heard. The school likes to talk about us." That was true, not only was she an Akarui -a rather prominent vampire family- but she was also a twin, believed to be a myth. That had been why her grandfather had wanted her and her sister before they were even born, why they had, between the two of them, more kidnapping contracts out than probably anyone else on the planet. It was a rather interesting thought when one thought about it.

"Though I guess if there would be something you didn't know if would be that my favorite color is green. Obviously, I like cats, and I like fighting." Like him, like his eyes. She sighed slightly. Well, there was no harm in him knowing that, she supposed. "I like to sing, too. Mom says I got that from our ancestor, Naoya. Apparently he was fond of music."

Tora listened surprisingly intently to her words, though his free hand—the one not around her waist, did wander a bit, mostly through her hair and over the contours of her form, caressing with a surprisingly-tender touch, a bit meditative, honestly. He also kept from going anywhere that would really be considered inappropriate, and ended up just stroking her back in circles and sweeps of strong fingers, pausing occasionally on a spot of tension and pressing deftly until he felt the muscle loosen and ease. He hummed a note in his throat when she finished, meeting her eyes, and half-smiling, an unreadable expression crossing his face.

“I don’t care what they say, kitten. I wanted to know what you would say.” And now he did—how interesting. He was admittedly a little intrigued by what she’d chosen to say. It was true that parts of it were things he’d known already, but not all of it was. Winding a strand of her hair upon his fingers, he brought it to his mouth and brushed his lips over it, a curiously-intimate gesture for all that he was touching no skin. Perhaps it was because he did not once break eye contact with her. When he spoke again, his voice was low, rich, and still with that faintest hint of lazy sensuality.

“Sing for me, Naya.”

Naya's eyebrows rose. No one ever asked her to sing but Haru, and occasionally Reiko. She was painfully aware of every touch and movement of his hands, though he at least seemed to keep the contact somewhat decent. Her face finally managed to regain its natural color, though he managed to make her blush again when he began playing with her hair. She wasn't entirely sure how she felt, singing for him, but...he rarely used her name, either.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. A slight smile graced her face, and she let her eyes slip closed, exhaling through her nose gently. She let herself get lost in the melody in her head for a few seconds before beginning to sing. To be honest, as she was singing, she completely forgot that Torahiko was even there. She got utterly lost in the music, and she opened her eyes when she was finished, her face brightened by a genuine smile, pink dusting her face even so.

His gaze never left her, not even when she closed her eyes. She was talented, certainly, but he was less interested in that than he was in what happened to her when she sang, and when she opened her eyes again, it was to see that the expression he wore was curiously-soft. He made no initial comment, simply flowing into a seated position and taking her with him. Tilting his head to the side, he took her chin between his thumb and forefinger and tilted her face up towards him. Never predictable, though, he simply pressed his lips to her forehead chastely. “Beautiful,” he said simply, and the arm at her waist loosened, freeing her from his grip. She was free to go with no more harassment than that.

Naya never really knew what to make of this man, honestly. The one who flirted with her and every other woman, who harassed her, who acted like he didn't care, and probably did not for all she knew...kissed her on the forehead and was now simply just letting her go. She just did not get him at all. He was like a puzzle that every time she put a piece in, some other, more confusing empty slot showed up, with more questions than answers.

Even so, it was a slight relief to be able to move again, though it felt strangely cold. Well, maybe that wasn't so strange, considering the weather, but...she shook her head, clearing it, and stood up. She looked at him sideways before leaving.

"All you ever have to do is ask, Kishi-Tora."

Setting

Cross Academy

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So begins...

Torahiko Fujiwara's Story

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