Alinea

Of course they're not friends.

Ara could never ever do those things she did with Ryuu with any of her friends. Just imagining it was making her feel queasy.

EEEEEW!

"You're my lover, my future wife and mother of my children," Kou recited softly afterwards.

Silence hung between them, until Ara finally asked what she'd been dying to ask for a while.

"Why me?"

There was a plethora of women he could choose from – women belonging to a far better family than hers. She tried thinking about it, but she really was not able to come up with any reason why someone like Homura Ryuu would want her as his life's partner.

"Because it has to be you," was his enigmatic answer.

After that, his face closed up as if he didn't want to elaborate, and so, Ara didn't push anymore. It was enough that she had tried to ask and he answered albeit unsatisfactorily. Just like that, their evening together ended.

Although she was still bothered by Ryuu's answer, Ara managed to act normally as she had dinner with her brother. Aki looked like he had a lot going on at the company, and so she didn't want to add to his burden. She was even thankful for having the insight to buy gifts for him, as the items seemed to cheer her oniichan up considerably.

That night as Ara lay on the bed, she recalled what had transpired during the day, and she blushed, mortified at what she'd done so boldly.

She was not experienced in the area, but she'd been a soldier, and she had heard her fair share of stories that would make a woman blush so hard from head to toes. It was inevitable she'd stumble upon matters of the flesh and worldly d.e.s.i.r.es. After all, in her unit, she was the only female. Even if her friends tried their best not to talk too loud, or refrain from discussing about these things in her presence, she was still able to hear them talk from time to time.

Lucius was also Casanova personified. Whenever they went somewhere, he'd always leave a trail of broken hearts and flipped skirts. Ara heard one time that even though unmarried, the handsome archer already fathered lots of children.

Still, she had never been curious enough to seek a 'deeper' knowledge on the prurience of men. Even her physical relationship with Ivan consisted only of a fond pat on her head whenever they met.

So, that was being physical with someone was like, she thought, remembering Ryuu's lips on her flushed skin, and she mentally screamed.

KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

There was no way she'd be able to fall asleep now, she thought.

Ara was so wrong in assuming Kou was pushing himself to be with her. The d.e.s.i.r.e in his eyes that he showed her could never lie.

Sighing, she raised her hand, and admired the white gold ring on her finger. This one's only temporary, but it was clear as day that her fiancé wanted to put a mark on her as his as early as now.

"So why was he like that when he put the ring on me? Like he realized something bad enough to make him freeze for a while…"

=========

Homura Ryuu didn't go to Gaienmae after he dropped off Ara at Denenchofu. He ordered Koga to bring him to the Cedar Palace.

"Young master."

The servants scrambled to greet him. Usually whenever he'd come home to the main house from somewhere, regardless of where it was, he would always inform the house immediately. Tonight however, he didn't give such orders and his sudden presence had put the house in chaotic mode, as they hurried to serve him.

Koutaishidenka however, was not in the mood to deal with anyone. He immediately went to his room to change into his kyudo uniform, and marched towards the dojo with a grim expression. He was not angry per se, but he was obviously troubled.

THWIP! THWIP!

Ryuu stared at the arrows ahead and frowned. True enough, his arrows reflected his unsettled mind. Although they still found their aim which was the board, he failed to hit the bull's-eye, and that was already saying a lot. He was a known sharpshooter.

A rustling sound on his right took his attention and he turned around to see Yayoi standing there. She looked at the arrows and then transferred her gentle gaze at him.

"What seems to be the trouble young master?"

Ryuu sighed as he signaled for another servant to take his bow and gear. With him like this, there was no point in continuing. He chose to do kyudo this evening to relax his mind, but seeing as he didn't hit what he could so easily hit before made him more agitated.

"Did you have a fight with Ara-sama?"

"No," Ryuu answered as he walked out, but glanced at Yayoi before he left to tell her she could follow, and she did.

"Then may I ask why the young master seemed so bothered?"

She and Ryuu entered the prince's favorite room in front of the zen garden. He sat on the zabuton, behind the chabudai, and signaled for Yayoi to do the same. They stayed quiet for a while as he gathered his thoughts while Yayoi waited patiently with a gentle expression.

The heir of the Homura House was normally indifferent to almost everything, so seeing him anxious was a rare occurrence. Yayoi was very curious about what caused such event.

"Today,"Ryuu started as he folded his hands on the low table. "Today I gave Ara a ring," he continued, and Yayoi's face brightened.

"Then it's a happy thing isn't it young master?" she commented excitedly, and Ryuu nodded, but still looked anxious.

"Did Ara-sama dislike the ring? If so, we maybe can have it exchanged to something more of her taste?" she hurriedly suggested thinking it was the cause, and again, the boy she raised shook his head.

"She liked it. Actually, she's not very picky," he stated then sighed. "It was me."

Yayoi didn't understand.

"When I put the ring on her finger, I saw a flash of memory."

As soon as Kotaishidenka placed the ring on Ara's finger, a memory of him doing something similar to someone whose face looked exactly like Ara's besides a beautiful lake flashed in his mind, and he froze.

Yayoi, who of course knew that the boy in front of her was a returner to ancestry, looked worried. Ryuu must have seen a memory of Kresnik. Some deities retained their memories from before they descended, although not all.

"I was with a woman who looked like her and I placed a ring on her finger as well,"Ryuu started as he inclined his head.

It was funny for he was sure to have descended many times over in different eras and must have married countless of times, but he was bothered by this memory because of one thing.

His reflection on the water was of someone who was living in bliss – someone who was so besotted when she had agreed to marry him.

"I… I seem to love her…"