Yuriko looked around the palace gardens, unaware of the craziness actually going on inside, she wasn't sure what it was about, but she looked at her dress, her hand maidens would be angry when they saw the slight tear, mainly from being lost in the gardens. She picked up the dress and waved it around, then curtsied to one of the garden flowers, an orchid, with rather different colors. Perched upon the fence, hidden in some bushes, a blue eyed man stalked the young blonde.
"Ran-chan, I don't remember those bushes up on these gates." She blinked to get a closer look, but the bright sun blocked her view. She looked over several times, and the bushes seemed to have move with the sun's own movement. Was someone following her? She tensed up, there was no way over the wall and the guards would surely catch someone who was following her. She sat back down in the garden, singing softly her melody reaching past the walls. She would normally have been called inside the palace to begin her duties. But today was special.
"Yuriko-hime." One of her hand maidens called out, "please come inside, you are to meet someone very important today, we must prepare you."
The young child was lost in the lyrics of her song. "And he'll take my hand and say, I love you, our eyes will meet, and we'll know true..." She blushed bright red, stopping her tune at once, she noticed the bushes on top of the fence seemed to frown. She spoke to the roses and orchids and excused herself to them, also those moving bushes. As she hurried to her hand maiden's side.
When all was clear he unveiled himself and hid his bushes away, Conia noticed the red rose that his soon to be victim had dropped. He jumped off the high fence landing on his own two feet and picked it up, he had never shot someone so young before. She sang a sweet song about love that he couldn't get out of his mind, he wondered what the last words could have been...He stared deeply into the rose he picked off the ground, shook his head to get back on track, to the job at hand, making a little girl fall in love. Conia decided he would shoot the girl in her room. So he spread his wings and followed to the window in the tower. His files documented that the princess begged to be given the tower, though she was afraid of heights the most amazing love stories happened up there. He again laughed and thought what her friends would be like and couldn't help, but shudder just a little, his victims never distracted him this much, why today, why now? As he descended to the tower he heard a voice inside the castle, he seemed much older, and very, there were no other words for it, rude...He thought it could be one of the princesses' brothers he had learned about, but when he heard the conversation going on inside, he couldn't help, but face palm.
"I can't wait to meet my bride to be tonight. I don't care how old she is, we are to be married in the morning and then I will steal her away and they will teach her to be a proper queen and perfect wife. I heard she's way too care free for her own good." The man was much older than Conia himself, his eyes almost seemed to be black, the next thing he had spoke disgusted the Cupid. "If she's not a good wife I'll force her into it, lock her in the dungeon, until she's of age to work for me..." His younger brother tried to reason with him, but he seemed to go on, Conia reached for an arrow, he knew what he was supposed to do, but something stopped him from it. He thought about hitting the younger brother, but he could do that later, his intended victim would definitely need that arrow especially since this whole thing was sadly arranged from the time the two kingdoms were treetie "Poor girl." Conia made a face, getting closer to the tower.
"Do you think he will be amazing? Just like I've always dreamed a prince will be?" She sat on her bed, her room, orange and green instead of pink, but still fit for the direct descendent of Japan.
"He's here now, but you must wait to meet him. We have to leave you for a bit to prepare your meeting." The hand maiden explained.
"I'm not ready to meet the prince yet...Can't it wait til I'm older, I don't want to disappoint him, because I don't want to leave the palace just yet."
"Gomen nesai, hime-chan." She excused herself and left the room. Conia hovered by the tower window. His bow and arrow at the ready, though he peeked inside and saw the young girl, much different than she was in the garden, her face was hidden in her hands, and tears turned her bright blue eyes, a blood red color. He sat on the window sill, he'd doubt she'd see him, but it was quite a change, he imagined what the princess would turn into if she did marry that man, he realized he didn't want to imagine it as he realized the invisible arrow from the bow had discharged, and after being hit the girl's eyes met Conia's and her tears seemed to disappear. He took off in a panic, cursing at his mistake, he was supposed to shoot when she left the room, her back turned toward him, he made the mistake, but why, why was he so distracted by her...? He flew off, but just enough where he could still see the young girl. After all another arrow would take care of his mistake and the girl wouldn't be in love with the Cupid. He reached into his quiver, once again face palmed at the lack of arrows.
She ran to the tower window, looked outside, her imagination, she blinked and looked longingly out the window. Tears once again filling up her eyes, she was reflected in the light of the little window. Though he could still see her eyes sparkle, even when they filled with tears. She sobbed, "I must leave someday, escape this palace, if I stay this will only cause me more pain. And what is stranger, I fell in love with a shadow I can't see. But his eyes were blue and that rose, he held was red."
Conia listened to the girl's conversation with herself. From the distance he placed the red rose in his bow. And hoped it would reach into her room, he didn't know why he did what he did, but he swore the rose sprouted it's own set of wings and landed right on the towers window, next to the girl.
She smiled a bit at the present, and saw that it was the same one from the garden she had planned to save, the stem was even broken, she noticed as she inspected it. She took charge to save the rose, including cutting the stem correctly, and finding the prettiest vase on that floor, set the flower up in water.
Conia, once again flew to the window, watched the girl tend to the rose, listened to her voice, she giggled a bit, and he imagined her little smile, he knew it was dangerous, after all, a stalker who gets caught...Then inside he saw the little pink arrow laying on the ground. "Why didn't it disappear?" He asked himself..."Did I miss!?" He was shocked by this. He didn't realize the little girl looking at the shocked Cupid, he was expecting her to scream, he wouldn't have been shocked if she had.
"Did you miss what?" She blinked, meeting the stalker's own blue eyes. "Are you lost?" She walked closer to the window.
Conia wondered to himself, "does she not realize how far up we are, shouldn't she be scared if a person was in her room like me." He coughed, "I...um, yeah, I got lost..." Again another cough, this time to try to hide his nervousness, he had no reason why, his voice came out stronger this time. "I dropped something in this room, can I get it?"
"Only if you showed me what you dropped." Nervous again, Conia looked down, he was caught and would have to show her the arrow that was meant to hit her. "If you let me kiss you..." She turned a bright shade of red, as did the Cupid. She turned away from him, blushing...He didn't dare move either. "On the cheek...I mean." She didn't dare turn around either. She fought off the redness in her face and turned back around shocked to see the Cupid still perched in the same place. "Gomen'nesai." She apologized quickly in her own language. "You should go get what you dropped, gomen'ne." She bowed and turned to face her mirror. Conia stepped into the room, he expected something totally different for a princess, but it almost looked armyish, but girlish. He walked towards the arrow. His hand reached for it, the arrow didn't hit her, he didn't notice her turn around. "Oniisan...my name is Yuriko. What might you call yourself?"
"Me llamo Kudo Shinichi." He answered in Spanish, his own native tongue, though the name was a lie. "Cómo te llamas?"
She remembered being taught something like this before. One of her many palace lessons. "Me llamas Yuriko...It's nice to meet you, Kudo-kun."
"Tú no hablas espanól, s�" He smirked a bit and watched the girl turn red again. She shook her head and sighed. Conia took the princesses' hand, "repeat after me..." He said slowly, his blue eyes meeting her own blue eyes, they looked sad, he noticed, she'd been crying, possibly longer than any child should. He gave her a serious look.
"Hai." She tried to look away from him, but something caused her not to take her eyes off of him. "Repeat after me." She said in broken English. Though her English at times was better.
Conia smiled, he looked down at their hands a smile on his face when his squeezed hers. "tú te llamas Yuriko, means you are Yuriko...Me llamo Yuriko means I am called Yuriko."
"Anata wa akai." Conia blushed a little more. "Me llamo Yuriko." She blushed also.
Conia kissed her cheek. "I have to take my leave, arrivaderchi, Yuriko-hime." He let go of her hands and raced off, leaving the red arrow where he was...
The boy started to shake his imouto, Shin-chan watched from the doorway. "Blue-nii, just let her sleep, we have to leave anyways." His little sister didn't know about the JDC meeting that day, and he was going to keep it that way at the moment.
"Yuriko-hime, get up." He shook her again and her blue eyes opened. "Your rather lazy for a princess."
"Gomen'en Ao-nii. I was just having that strange dream again." She blushed, she never told him the correct dream. "I'll get ready." She bowed her head, another habit from the palace she never got rid of. Asleep next to the bed was the old perverted puppy of RJ's. She chased him away before getting dressed. She slipped into a pair of jeans and a Little Mermaid t-shirt. While pulling out a pair of socks something poked her hand, though it didn't disappear.
When he entered the door he was silent, he hugged the married couple since he hadn't seen them in awhile RJ smiled, "Will you go check on our guest, and let her know breakfast is ready, Conia-chama, then you can join us." She hugged him again and told him she was in the attic.
He smiled, "I'll bring them down with me, I'll be right back." He walked out of the room, his mind totally on something else and he looked like he was thinking about something. "I wonder if we should add that to the CCP..,Maybe I should ask Callid!" He talked to himself on the way up, "But if that happens then this would reciprocate and well that wouldn't work...ok, maybe I won't tell Callid THAT idea..." He heard a song from the bedroom, he could swear it was something he heard when he was much younger, but thought nothing much of it. He knocked on the guest's door.
"Hold on!" She smiled, pulling on her shoe as she sat on the bed.
"Oi, Ao-kun is downstairs, he's waiting for you."
"Chotto matte!" The blonde sighed, pulled back her hair in a messy pony tail, then opened the door. She whispered something to herself and almost froze.
"Are you alright, senorita?" Conia asked, he couldn't help blush.
She too blushed. "I'm fine." She answered in Japanese. "Me llamo Yuriko, oniisan." She bowed to him.
He smiled, but this girl couldn't be her. The princess went missing, they assumed the worse, as had Conia and most of the world when they heard about it. "Me llamo Kudo Shinichi."
"I have something for you!" She rushed back into the room and opened one of the drawers, pulling out the arrow. "This is yours...I don't need it any more." She put the arrow in his hands, as he had last time with her.
"Conia." He whispered. She tried to hide her blush.
"No te llamas Kudo Shinichi?" She asked, he started downstairs and she followed him. He didn't answer her.
The four ate in an eerie silence, the princess picked several plates off the table "Is everyone done." She asked a bit quietly. Though she knew the answer, and thankfully Conia still seemed to be eating. She excused herself from the room.
"Geeze, she needs to stop being so prim and proper. She ran away after all..." Ao shook his head.
"She'll learn." RJ reassured him with a kiss. "Conia-chama, you look like you want to say something. Is everything alright? You've barely touched your breakfast."
"Y...yeah...I'm, it's fine. I just, you know, chasing people that don't leave FI's and school...it's hard work..."Plus Call..." He noticed her standing in the doorway..."Callid and I..." He didn't even realize he pushed his food to the other side of the plate. Seriously...he wondered what was wrong with him and why he was so distracted.
"I wanted to clean the table. Gomen'en." She ran back into the kitchen. Started to clean. Did her presence bother him? He was going to be at the JDC meeting, and she couldn't skip that. Maybe she'd just sit with Tama-chan or perhaps, call her friend PT and they could hang out in the back, hopefully she wouldn't burn the hall down. She smiled a bit to herself, closing her eyes. How odd, was it really Cupid? She blushed some at the thought, now 20 years old, she remembered his blue eyes. Their hands touching, she looked up and there he was bringing a plate of food in, he didn't touch it. She tried to hide her disappointment. "I could have got it." Her eyes looked anywhere, but at his.
"I always clean up after myself." His voice more talking down to her. She blinked and stepped out of his way at once.
"I'm sorry." She lowered her head "Did you enjoy it at least?" She bit her lip. Was this really her Kudo Shinichi?
"I couldn't eat..." He blinked, "but, it was nice you went through this trouble to make it, Yuriko-sama."
She looked away. "I don't have to come to the meeting...I was going to call Phoenix-sama to come or just sit in the back with Tama-chan, I don't think they'd miss me much either if I just pretended to be sick." She coughed, forgetting she just told him the truth.
"I won't make you miss your meani...meeting." He shivered a bit.
"Are you ok?" It was in Japanese the words.
Conia looked up and his hand had rested on her shoulder. "Ye...yeah."
"Your hands...." She put hers on top of his which lasted what felt like hours when she heard the crash of the dishes on the floor.
Ao-kun arose from the chair to see what was going on between his Cupid and the princess.
"I'm so sorry." She forced herself away from him and went to pick up the dishes, furiously blushing.
"Oi, you two what's going on?" Ao-kun called, shaking his head.
"Gomene, Ao-nii, I...I was cleaning and dropped the plates."
"Conia, come and join us out here, RJ has something to ask you."
He nodded and obediently left the room. Yuriko put the non-broken dishes down on the counter, and once again hid her face from the world.
In the other room, the conversation quickly reverted to Conia. He looked around distracted by the force in the kitchen. "What time is the meeting at, BK?"
"You keep changing the subject from what happened in the kitchen." He finally came out and said.
"The kitchen?" He asked dumbly sipping his cup of tea.
"Yes, the hime and yourself." He pointed to the kitchen.
"You two were in there for an hour." Shin cut him off quickly, "Blue-nii's gonna be late."
"You are his servant, right?" Conia's older sister Eve walked into the room. (This was actually started at that time so :x)
Her eyes were meant by the man's glare. "I'm not a servant." He mumbled, then sighed.
"Sure, you aren't." Came the sing song, but rather flat tone of Eve's voice. "We better get going, I'll take care of the princess, and bring her to the meeting."
"Meeting?" He glared at Eve a bit worried of her words and tone of voice, he swallowed his emotions as best as he could. "I...I'll call Phoenixtears. She can pick her up and bring her to the meeting."
"She's not a member yet..." BK rubbed his hands together, he would make her a member someday. "Hime-chan, Come out here, please." He called again, but received no answer from the girl, he looked at Conia. "Go get her."
Eve laughed and threw him a death glare, as she watched his face turn pink. She enjoyed his torture.
She'd ended up outside as tears flowed, she wondered what she was doing wrong. She never felt this way about any one, and most people liked her. "Maybe I annoy him." She whispered to one of her best friends.
PT shook her head, and in seconds fires lit the sky, and it looked like the sun was falling, when she landed she hugged her friend tightly.
"Please tell me I'm not crazy." Yuriko whispered to her friend and hugged her.
Conia watched from the door, he shook his head, but couldn't hear what the girls were saying? He watched the Phoenix swoop up the girl and panicked. "Yuriko!" He called out.
PT heard the man, glared at him, then put her back on the ground. She would come back for Yuriko later and have her in the harem, after all, she and her had lots of things to talk about, plus she enjoyed helping with the Baby Abs.(es)â„¢.
Conia ran to her and wrapped his arms around her tightly. "I'll never let you go. Are you alright?" She didn't seem shaken or scared.
She smiled at him and hugged him. "I shouldn't have tried skipping out on the meeting. I'm sorry." She buried her face in his chest, "we better go, before we get in trouble." She ran out of his arms at that moment, but Conia made a promise to himself. He'd never let her go again.
At the meeting he exchanged seats with the person she was sitting next to, and from all the craziness, he had felt something fall on his shoulder and rest there, fast asleep she dreamed of the castle, but this time it was different, in her sleep she had whispered the words..."I love you, Kudo Shinichi...no Conia...my Cupid-kun."
Hearing those words his face once again flushed, his stone heart making a beating sound for the first time.
Kay and her friends...
