Made For Each Other
~*~
Part XII
Sighing, Nell stared down at her plate of food as if it contained all the answers to the world's problems. She picked at the almost untouched meal and then let her fork drop to her plate with a clatter. Luel gave her a worried look, then glanced up, startled as his brother stormed in.
"Dammit all Luel! Where the hell did you put those Dragonclaw plants I wanted?!" He took a long drag from the ever-present cigarette dangling from his lips and glared at his younger brother with murderous eyes.
Upon seeing the look he was receiving, something inside Luel snapped. In a rare show of annoyance, he stood up, snatched the cigarette from Luka's mouth and snubbed it out on one plates sitting on the table. "What is with you lately, Luka?! You've been even more moody and irritable these past two weeks then usual! And even before then you weren't yourself! What in all hells is the matter with you?!"
The room was quiet. Nell looked strangely at the two of them, then said in a small voice, "It's Hiryuu, isn't it?"
With a strangled cry of outrage, the wizard clenched his hands and gave the young woman a glare that could have melted steel. But before he could say anything, Madame Batolli strode up and smacked him full across the face.
The sound seemed to echo in the room, bouncing off the walls and becoming louder and louder with every passing moment.
"Go after her, for heaven's sake!" the witch shouted at him. "Everyone has had it with you and your sulking! You hurt her, that's obvious enough, so she left. But now, you have the chance to make things right again! Can't you see it Luka?! You two were made for each other!"
Luka stared at her, golden eyes wide, his cheek slowly turning an angry red. Nell shrank back in her chair and was immediately welcomed by Luel's warm embrace.
"I don't know why-" he began after a while, all traces of his usual self-assurance gone.
"Oh shut up and go already" Nell's mother yelled, throwing up her hands. "And get rid of these, they smell horrid and they're going to kill you someday." She picked up the package of cigarettes and tossed them in the trash on her way out of the kitchen.
Luka stood there, frozen, for many more long moments before he finally shook himself out of his stupor and drifted down the hallway. "Do you think he's going to do it?" Nell asked, keeping her voice low, even though the magic-user was well out of earshot.
"Oh, he will," Luel replied, smiling a secret smile.
"And what makes you so sure?!" the girl cried, rounding on her fiancée.
"Because three days after Hiryuu left, the piece of paper she gave your mother was gone."
"Piece of paper?" The poor girl was becoming more and more bewildered with each passing moment.
"Yes," he mused. "It had Hiryuu's address on it."
Eyes suddenly brightening with understanding, Nell squealed and giggled to herself, picking up a forkful of her food and finally eating it. Luel grinned also and the two exchanged knowing smiles as they finished their meal.
~*~
"Urg . . ." Rubbing his face, Luka sat back in his seat and tried not to look out the window as the plane flew high above the ground. "I'd forgotten how much I hate flying . . ."
His stomach calmed a little as he closed his eyes, and soon the 21st century's greatest wizard was sleeping fitfully, his ears still ringing with his brother and Madame Batolli's harsh words.
The plane flew ever onward, bringing the mage closer and closer to Hiryuu with every mile. And as the distance between them lessened, the sense of foreboding in the back Luka's mind only increased.
~*~
Laughing, she took the offered arm and allowed herself to be swept out onto the dance floor. The wedding swirled around them in a dazzling mix of color and sound, and later, all Hiryuu could remember was Kyo's smiling face and the whirl of colors as she danced. "Remember when we used to do this as kids?" She focused on the face of her dancing partner and caught the crooked smirk on his face.
"Yeah, except you were a much better dancer then," she replied in answer to his question.
With a mock glare, Zaio placed his hands on her waist and swung her high above his head, grinning from ear to ear as "Ohs" and "Ahs" issued forth from the people around them. Their family was so large, that there were weddings several times every year when they were growing up, and in fact, even now.
Laughing, Hiryuu playfully smacked her cousin's arm when he finally set her down and his mouth twisted into the crooked smirk she knew all too well. It was the only thing that set him apart from his two brothers, for together, they were a set of identical triplets. All three of them had been a part of Hiryuu and Sousuke's inner circle of friends; the five of them had grown up together.
One such brother danced by, partnered with his and Zaio's mother, Hiryuu's aunt Zena. "What's the matter, Gyo? Couldn't get a girl to dance with you?" Zaio teased.
Tossing long locks of blonde hair similar to Zaio and Hiryuu's own over his shoulder, Gyo answered, "You're just jealous because we're a better dance team then you and Hiryuu."
Feigning outrage, Hiryuu turned and stepped on his foot, grinning smugly as he yelped and jumped a little. The last of the triplets, Kigai twirled by, his arms around their cousin Ten. "Naw, everyone knows me and Ten could win any dance contest." Ten just rolled her eyes and gave Hiryuu an exasperated look, which she promptly returned.
Everyone knew of Zaio, Gyo, and Kigai's intense rivalry, and whoever knew that, also knew to stand back when they got into one of their infamous contests. But as it was, Zena, Hiryuu, and Ten all found themselves trapped into the dance frenzy.
With a shriek, Hiryuu felt herself being lifted into the air again, and soon a circle had cleared on the floor around the three couples. The music pulsed and echoed in their ears, as the people found themselves being swept away on the tide of the melody that lasted long into the night.
~*~
With a muttered curse, Luka stumbled to the ground, his head still swimming from the plane ride. Grumbling, he slung his pack, the only luggage he had brought, over his shoulder and looked around for someone to give him directions to the address written on the small piece of paper clutched in his hand.
An hour later, he was speeding down the single-lane road, a map and a scrawled set of directions in one hand, the other on the steering wheel with a white-knuckled grip. He puffed furiously on the cig in his mouth ignored the clouds of smoke that swirled around the car's interior. Another car came towards him from the other direction and pulled over onto the side of the road upon seeing the speed at which Luka's car was coming towards him.
As the wizard drove past, he caught the last few words of a colorful insult the other driver had thrown at him, and replied by sticking one hand in the air, his middle finger straight up. "Same to you!" came the faint reply, then Luka lost sight of the man as he went around a bend.
"Stupid people . . ." he muttered, tossing the spent smoke out the window. After another hour, several wrong turns, and about half a pack of cigarettes later, Luka finally saw the buildings ahead of him that could only be Hiryuu's town. Cursing under his breath, he skidded to a stop on the outskirts of the small village and got out of the car, grinding out yet another cigarette under his heel. Tossing his hair over his shoulder, he strode forward, leather coat flapping at his sides and spikes glittering in the bright sunlight.
He nearly tripped when a pack of about seven or eight children ran by, all of them barefoot and covered in mud. Growling when he noticed the mud on his pants he shouted after them and continued forward, only to be stopped by a young man, about 19 or so years old.
"What?" the fuming wizard asked him. "What do you want?!"
"You're Luka, aren't you?" The boy was only a few inches shorter then him, and slightly more muscled. His short brown hair stood in natural spikes on his head and the eyes that stared out from under long bangs were a striking violet color.
Luke did a double take and leaned closer, staring into the teen's eyes. With a sneer, the boy leaned back, turned to the side and called, "Hey Gyo! Check out who's here!!" Another teen came over, this one sporting blonde hair that was identical to Hiryuu's except for its length.
"What is with these people?!" Another boy, obviously Gyo's twin joined them, he chuckled and a crooked smirk took over his mouth. "Luka, eh?" he asked. "HEY KIGAI! WE HAVE A GUEST!" he snickered and watched as the mage took a step back, his face and eyes wary.
"What the hell is this?! Who are you people?! I came here to see Hiryuu, dammit! Now where is she?!"
"Oh we know all about you and 'lil Miss Hiryuu . . " the one called Kigai said in an overly exaggerated drawl. The three looked exactly alike and Luka found himself looking widly from face to face, growing more and more irate by the second.
"I want to see Hiryuu!" he shouted as the four men took menacing steps towards him, each one sporting a rising magical aura. The brown-haired one only leered at him and raised one hand high over his head.
"Wait! NO! Sousuke, STOP!" A familiar blonde form barreled into the first teen that had challenged Luka and knocked him to the side. "Please," Hiryuu said in an exasperated voice, "get a grip on that temper of yours! I'm the one who has the nasty violent side!" The teens exchanged grins as if sharing a private joke.
Clearing his throat, Luka stepped forward and called out, "Hiryuu!"
Turning, he she looked at him with cold eyes and replied, "Hello Luka."
Startled, he involuntarily took a step back as he caught the hatred in her gaze. "H…Hiryuu?"
With a nod, she turned on her heel and strode away, loose blonde hair swinging almost down to her knees. "Now ya've gone and blown it," Kigai said with scorn and the triplets and Sousuke walked away, leaving the black mage standing, bewildered, in the middle of the road.
Part XIII
