Mugen Spiral FanFic

Mugen Spiral Continuation – The Cat God's Rosary

"Uraaa!"

Two lazy, yellow eyes detached themselves from a patch of shadow in Yayoi's garden. Ura had to admit, the girl had a hand for gardening. Not to mention a hand for everything else… It seems that the loss of her parents taught her a lot. Ura twitched an ear. Something inside him whispered to him, maybe you were just so pampered in your life that you don't know how to do the simplest of things, Prince Ura…

"Ura! If you don't come now, Haku will eat your portion too!"

Yayoi's clear voice rang out past the cherry trees and wrapped itself around his soul. He shook his head. It was only because she has bound him with that cursed rosary that her voice touched him like that, he told himself, disentangling himself from the last vestiges of sleep. Padding up the path to the main house, he let the threads of magic pull his small feline form out into a human guise. The feeling wasn't painful, just rather discerning and a bit disorientating. Blinking out magic's light from his eyes, he stalked into Yayoi's small dining room.

"Sheesh, woman," he grumbled, "Was it really that urgent…?" Trailing off, he realised that the bowl in front of him was empty.

"Being my lover, I was sure you wouldn't mind."

"Damn it, Hakuyou, I'm not your lover! You --"

Yayoi hit him on the head with a wooden spoon. "Ura! What sort of language were you about to use in my house? Think carefully."

She had appeared from behind as silently as only she could be. Her bangs were tied up in a loose ponytail at the nape of her neck, and several escaped, winding across her neck like strands of dim gold. Ura kept his gaze indifferent, when inside, the turmoil just kept increasing. Its just her magic, he kept repeating, its only her abilities that bind me in this way, that make me aware of her every move, her every breath…

Who are you kidding, Ura? He thought glumly, you…are in love. Furiously, hopelessly in love with this short-lived, human girl, who only sees you as a companion, someone who is simply a part of the house… Yes, it burns, doesn't it? This furious feeling, Ura, is love. Feel the burn, Ura, feel the burn…

There, in that room, with the breeze stirring Yayoi's hair, Ura finally admitted to himself the longing in his soul, for this girl, for this wonderful, human girl who –

"Well, Ura?" She said sternly, but her eyes, her beautiful eyes danced with laughter and danced right through to his heart, "Really! I wonder what sort of etiquette they teach demons nowadays!"

Hakuyou pouted, "That's offensive."

But Ura could only turn his head, in case his eyes gave away the epiphany silently tearing at his heart…

Fifty four beads, Yayoi. Only fifty four beads until I must leave you. May that number be ever longer…

"Eh? Ura?" the girl leant forward and touched her forehead to his. Ura's heart stopped beating…her eyelids were closed in mild concentration, and he could see the faint shadows in the lightest of lavender tones. A heartbeat.

"Hey! Hey, hey, hey!" He sprang back from her as if burned, and indeed, the place where their foreheads had touched was tingling, and a blush began to creep up his face; "What are you doing, woman?!"

"Well you don't have a fever, that's for sure." Her contemplating tone of voice drove him even more insane, and it took all his resolve to stop it showing on his face. "What's up, Ura? You seem odd."

"I didn't even do anything and you-you -- !"

"Relax, Ura, I only checked your temperature. Stop having such a hissy fit."

His stomach abruptly growled. Blasted human dimension. Hunger in this world was more…uncomfortable than in his own. Ura looked down at his empty bowl with despair.

"Here," Yayoi pushed her own bowl towards him, "Have mine – I ate some when I was cooking anyway…"

The demon prince looked at her face, and she smiled. It took his breath away. He abruptly broke away his gaze, lest his eyes, the windows of his black soul, gave away the feelings inside him.

"Ne, Ura, if you don't want it, I can bravely take the obligation from you."

Ura growled. "Hakuyou, you --"

The spoon came down upon his head again. "Ura!" she chided him. He would have taken her hand and placed it to his lips, honouring her short existence with all his soul. He would have twined his own hands in her hair and –

But that was forbidden to him. He knew that he could never have her.

He finished his bowl with a speed that only a demon could have, and swept out of the room without a word. He didn't trust his self-control enough to stay in the same room as her; he didn't trust himself not to –

Yayoi looked after his disappearing form with dismay.

"Haku…"

"Hmm."

"Do you think I offended him? Maybe I shouldn't have -"

The demon looked up at her. "I think…" he trailed off, "I think that Ura feels…differently… about you."

"Eh?"

Hakuyou shook his head, "Don't misunderstand, woman. I don't know whether his feelings have changed for better or for worse, but they certainly have changed."

The girl's face fell, and her heart plummeted. He hates me. She thought, I kept thwarting his attempts to take my powers, and he needs to save his father…of course he hates me now…

She bobbed her head, hiding her eyes, "Hmm, well Haku, you know him better than I do…" and without any other words, she tripped out of the room, almost smashing the bowls in her haste. Hakuyou frowned. Clumsiness was rare for Yayoi.

Ura sat cross-legged in the shade of a cherry tree, and that's where Hakuyou found him.

"Ura."

"Mmm."

"Ura."

"What?"

"Ura, look at me."

"What do you want, Hakuyou?" He wrenched his eyes to the face of his companion.

"We have to do something, Ura."

"I know, I have even less time now but this blasted rosary --"

"Stop it, Ura! Stop lying to yourself!" Haku grabbed his shoulders and threw him to the ground, "Even I can see how aware you are of her… you feel her every move, your eyes trace her features with such a tenderness that even a narcissistic oaf like me can see - you love her, Ura."

"No, Haku-" He struggled against the demon's weight pinning him down, forcing him to listen to the truth, suddenly so harsh when sounded from someone else's mouth, "No! I can't!"

"Ura!" Hakuyou drew his face close to his, noses almost touching, "Stop. It. Stop it, Ura, it's stupid, stupid, stupid! Stop denying the truth!" He pulled him up by the shirt front. It was the first time Ura had seen him in such a state.

"Haku, I…I…" He buried his face in his friend's shoulder and whispered, "I don't know what to do anymore, Haku…"

"Oh!"

It was a cry of surprise. Yayoi, with a basket of washing that was crashing to the floor, stood in the sun outside the shadow of their tree. Her face was stricken, and her eyes were glistening.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I… I…." She spun around and ran. She ran, and her hair-tie finally lost its hold on her bangs, and spilled them, glistening into the sunlight. She was soon out of sight, before either of them could move a muscle.

"Yayoi!" Ura scrambled to his feet, tangling in Hakuyou's legs, and shoving him away, "Yayoi!"

Never in his existence had his voice been so desperately broken, never had it held such desolation as it held now, calling her name. He ran, his senses alight, after her scent, her warm, fragrant scent that left a trail in the sunlit air.

He found her in her bedroom. Cursing all rules and conventions, he slammed the door open and stepped in. She was crying.

"Yayoi…" his voice was broken. The great demon prince fell to his knees, "Yayoi… I'm so sorry…"

She lifted her shining eyes to his, long eyelashes wet. Her cheeks had a rosy flush on them, and crystalline tears froze halfway down her face. "Sorry for what?"

He crawled on his knees to her and took her delicate hands in his. "For everything. For coming here, for messing up your life, for being a burden, for making you cry…" He took a deep breath and looked into her eyes.

"And I am so sorry for loving you, Yayoi. Forgive me. Please forgive what I am about to do."

Releasing her hands, he gripped her pale face with yearning hands and placed a kiss, lightly on her trembling lips. She moaned softly, and Ura's skin was set on fire with that little sound. His hands travelled down her neck, caressing her collarbone and tracing even lower until he could feel her heart under his hand, all the while placing kisses on her beautiful face.

She surrendered herself fully to him, and it suddenly struck him, she's not protesting. She wants this as much as I do. And this gave him the courage to move on, to unbutton her shirt and slip it off her creamy pale shoulders. She shivered, with excitement or with cold he was unsure. Either way, it gave him a signal to continue.

"Ura…" she whispered softly, making him blaze with desire again. He felt his trousers becoming tighter. This was real, here, now. She was real. Nothing could stop this now…

Her skin was slick and slippery under his fingers. They traced undetermined patterns while she lay under him and sighed his name. She wanted him. He wanted her. He kissed her again, "Yayoi. This might hurt. Do you still want me to…" Her eyes, half open found his and her lustrous frame pressed closer to his. "I don't care about the pain, Ura, as long as its you." He nodded, and slowly, oh so slowly pushed himself inside her. She hissed with the feeling, and moaned again, and again, and again…

Lying close to her, twining his fingers in her hair, he told her softly, "We'll make everything work out okay, Yayoi. Somehow. I promise."

The End