Post by Renee on Dec 18, 2009 21:34:12 GMT -5
Summary: Niji begins to slowly realize that having a bodyguard with her every moment isn't as bad as she makes it out to be. Especially if the moments are worth remembering. Niji/Masurao (Long one-shot.)
Masurao (c) Jas
Niji (c) Renee
----
Princess Niji hovered across the corridors of the base with stealthy precision, coming to a stop every few moments and hesitantly poking her head around each corner she came by, looking left and right for her silent bodyguard. Having found no one, she breathed a deep sigh of relief. ‘So far, so good...’ She commented to herself, very pleased that she made it this far. She made a quick sprint for the door; she was almost free, she could literally feel the soft breeze blowing through her long wavy multicolored hair-
“-Where are you going?” A firm yet hoarse voice asked from a distance. At the sound of the voice, Niji tensed up before letting out a soft groan and gently rested her head against the metal frame of the door. The jig was up. ‘Masurao...’ She turned around with a sheepish grin upon her face, desperately searching her mind for a plausible answer to give to the expressionless boy.
“I…Uh, I was just on my way to the…um, restroom!” It was a stretch, but it was worth a shot. Maybe today was the day he would finally buy one of her excuses. The navy haired boy continued to stare at her intensely, as if he was searching for a lie…
He found one. “There is no outdoor restroom, Princess Niji…” He told her; obviously annoyed that she had tried to fool him yet again. This was the third time in an hour. He closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply, “We had an agreement, Your Highness.” He reminded her, “And that agreement was…”
“-That I would tell you where I would be going at all times…” The multicolored Princess finished his sentence for him. “Yes, yes, I know…” She sighed exasperatedly, as she shifted her weight against the doorway, looking down at her shoes.
“I’m sorry.” She apologized. She knew she was being unreasonable, and quite rude. “I just…I don’t see why it’s necessary to follow my every step that’s all.” She kicked at invisible dirt, her shoulders drooping a bit. Although, it was would have been impossible to tell, Masurao’s expression softened, just a bit.
“I know a bodyguard is not what you might have wanted, Princess.” He began carefully, “However it is my duty to protect you, and I plan on doing that to the best of my ability.” He informed her with a respectful tone, and an equally respectful bow.
She nodded, and stole a glance at Masurao who was just standing there; his tail waving back and forth, and that same serious, expressionless, look upon his face. It had been almost two weeks since she first learned of his position as her bodyguard. In those two weeks she had learned almost nothing about this boy other than he was sent by her father to watch over her. During this short amount of time, he did not once attempt to open himself to any of her questions, he merely responded with short, heated one-syllable answers, and she hated it. In short, his anti-social behavior was driving her crazy.
Masurao was not a big fan of the way she was staring at him, as if she was in some sort of trance that she could not break, it was beginning to unnerve him, he stared back at her expectantly,
“Princess?” He asked in a monotone voice. Niji blinked rapidly snapping out of her thoughts, and gave the wolf-like alien her full attention, or at least tried to, the stare he gave her, it gave her shivers, it was as if he was seeing right through her.
“There’s a meadow near the end of the small patches of berry bushes and galactic fruit trees.” She finally said. Masurao raised one of his eyebrows.
“Yes, I am well aware of that, I have patrolled that particular area before.” He said expressionlessly. Niji sighed,
“Well that’s where I was going.” She said, going into the pouch she had strapped snugly around her waist and pulling out a neatly folded piece of paper, and opened it carefully. “There’s a type of flower in this area that is only in bloom once a year. It’s called the Luminkus Lunarius.” She said looking at the paper before turning it over so that the wolf-like alien can see it. Masurao turned his attention to the piece of paper in front of his face, on this paper was a photo of the flower that Niji described. The flower was a golden color with a bright orange stem with blue leaves attached to the stem. “The flowers blooms on the first full moons of the month,” She looked out of a nearby window. It was getting dark. The stars were just starting to become visible in the purplish sky.
“…and the first full moons of the month rise tonight.” Masurao surmised perceptively.
Niji nodded, “Yeah, and if I don’t see them tonight, that’s it.” She said with a small helpless shrug. “I’ll have to wait a full year for them to bloom again.” She continued looking out the window longingly. There was a beat of silence, before she heard the familiar whooshing of the front door opening. Surprised, she pivoted to see Masurao standing next to the door, his right fist to his chest dipping his upper body into a perfect bow.
“After you, Princess...” He gestured outdoors. “The full moon rises is approximately fifteen minutes.” He said a monotone voice. Despite the lack of emotion in his turn, Niji’s face broke out into an elated smile, as she hurried out the door.
“I think it would be much faster if we fly to the meadow.” She said in a matter of fact tone.
“I do not have the ability to fly, Your Majesty.” The wolf-like alien reminded her.
“I know you can’t fly, that’s why I’ll be the one carrying you.” She explained. “You shouldn’t be that heavy.” She said giving him an once-over. Masurao’s mane twitched ever so slightly. He closed his eyes.
“I would much rather we walk if it’s all the same to you, Princess.” Niji blinked and raised a colorful eyebrow,
“Are you afraid of heights?”
He crossed his arms over his chest, “I am not.”
“So, then what’s the problem?” She inquired with an innocent expression.
Masurao breathed deeply. She wanted to fly, and there was no sense in trying to convince her of doing otherwise. This colorful royal girl can be quite stubborn when she wanted to be.
“Very well then Princess. We will do as you wiiiiiii—,” His sentence was cut off when a pair of thin arms wrapped around his torso, his eyes widened and he tensed up as he felt his feet lift off the ground, and into the air. Niji felt him stiffen in her arms and smiled down at him in amusement.
“I thought you said that you weren’t afraid of heights…” She said teasingly. Masurao regained his composure when he came to the realization that his life was in no danger.
“I’m not afraid.” He said with closed eyes. “Surprised is the more appropriate term, being abruptly lifted thousands of feet into the air is not something I am accustomed to.” Niji giggled, her long, rainbow hair blowing in the nighttime breeze.
“Ah, I see. Well next time I’ll give you a little warning beforehand.” She replied with a light laugh. Masurao rolled his eyes at her taunt. He looked down at the ground below; everything seemed so small from up here…Like tiny little insects.
“It’s nice to see everything from up here isn’t it?” She asked softly, “Everything is so peaceful and quiet…” Masurao was not sure if she was directing these comments at him, or just making an observation so he decided not to respond to her. He closed his eyes silently agreeing with her.
Flying through the skies gave Niji a very different sense of freedom, she was no longer bound to the rules and regulations of gravity, in the sky, she did not need a bodyguard, she felt her safest in the sky, with the moons and the stars watching over her. Because of this freedom, she felt particularly playful tonight, she twirled and looped through the air, unaware of the discomfort this may be causing her passenger.
Masurao thought he was going to be sick, with all the twirls, spins and loops, his stomach was turning, and he felt very dizzy, shaking it off, he sighed with impatience. He just wanted this trip to be over.
“Are we almost there yet?” He questioned his intense stare drifting upwards towards her.
“Mm-hmm.” She confirmed with a nod. “We’re landing now.” She added, looking down at the flowery meadow below. Before Masurao had time to digest and brace himself for landing. Niji made her descent, causing Masurao’s stomach to do flip-flops. Niji flew into the thickness of the tall flowers, and grass, breathing in their wonderful scent. After reaching a small mossy clearing Niji finally gently placed Masurao on the ground. Though he did not express it, the wolf-like alien had never been more grateful to be on solid ground than he did now. That little trip had been an experience that he did not want to relive.
“Hey are you all right?” She questioned, giving him a skeptical gaze. “You look a little…Flustered.” Masurao closed his eyes and looked to the side, straightening his ruffled mane in the process and brushing blades of grass and leaves.
“I am fine.” He enclosed, his response gave her no room to inquire further. Accepting this answer, she gave a small shrug and turned to the vast amount of flowers that surrounded them. There were flowers that were nearly as tall as the two children were, short flowers whose buds closed due to the lack of sunlight, and then most peculiar, there were flowers that looked completely dry, wrinkled, and void of any sort of color, and life. The long yellow stems looked as if they would snap with the slightest breeze.
“These flowers are dead.” Masurao observed rather dryly. He did not see anything about these plants that would cause such excitement within the girl he was sworn to protect. This response evoked a glare from the normally polite and respectful Princess.
“They are not dead. They’re sleeping.” She explained as if that fact was the most obvious thing in the universe. “They obviously need…”
A few seconds later, when the moons were at there highest in the sky, almost as if on cue, the lifeless buds that sat on the tips of the yellow stems slowly opened wide, revealing soft and stunningly blue petals that glowed in the moonlight. The yellow stems straightened to attention, pointing the flowers into the direction of the moons. A light breeze made the flowers sway and sweeping away the tiny glowing particles of golden pollen from the flowers and casting them into the wind, this made the tranquil scene more spectacular that it already was.
Masurao’s normally intense glare was now a gaze of awe and amazement. Niji fishing through her pouch glanced shortly at Masurao’s expression with a sly grin upon her face,
“Still think these flowers are dead?” She questioned, finally retrieving what was contained in her pouch; a rather fancy and sophisticated looking video camera. She brought the lens to her eye and begun to record. “This is magical…” She said breathlessly. She then panned the camera in Masurao’s direction. “Say hello to the camera.” She commanded, knowing the expectant result. Masurao turned away.
“I would rather not, thank you.” He said in a monotone voice, his eyes reverting to the scene before him, “Besides it’s an inanimate object. It will not respond back.” Niji sighed turning the camera back to the scene.
“You are such a killjoy sometimes, do you know that?” She deadpanned, still filming the beautiful flowers. An Idea struck her suddenly, in one swift moment Niji floated over to the quiet boy and before he had time to react, she wrapped an arm around his shoulder bringing him closer to her and posed then snapped a photo. She pulled away from him laughingly, her pink and blue irises glued to the screen of the digital camera. She frowned slightly as the image came on screen, “You didn’t smile…” She said looking at him, at the corner of her eye. “But regardless, this is definitely a keeper, scrapbook material for sure.” She added with a nod, turning the screen over so that her wolf-like companion could see it.
Masurao looked at the screen, in the shot, Masurao had a rather confused and flustered expression on his face, but in his secret opinion, it was Niji’s elated smile and the dazzling background of glowing flowers and the moons that made the picture stand out. However, he could not admit to that, lest he betray his mysterious personality. He decided not to respond to the photograph, he glanced sideways.
“Thank you.” He heard her voice rang out softly. He looked back at her confused.
“For what Princess?” He asked, with a raise of an eyebrow. ”I’ve done nothing that would require such gratitude…” Niji smiled at him,
“Thank you for accompanying me.” She clarified. “At first I didn’t want company; I really didn’t want you to come with me.” She admitted quietly, a hint of guilt in her voice. “I wanted to enjoy this moment on my own.” She said turning to the glowing flowers. “But now I see that moments like these are all the better when you have someone to share them with.” She finished, the moonlight making her face and hair glow ever so slightly, “So thank you for coming with me.”
Masurao blinked, glancing at the photo of the two still visible on the small screen, he closed his eyes, basking in the glowing of the moon. Silently thanking her as well.
“You’re welcome…” He responded; his voice was a soft whisper that escaped Niji’s notice. The royal girl was to busy trying to capture the moments, the moments she would always cherish forever because she had someone to remember it with her.
Masurao (c) Jas
Niji (c) Renee
----
Princess Niji hovered across the corridors of the base with stealthy precision, coming to a stop every few moments and hesitantly poking her head around each corner she came by, looking left and right for her silent bodyguard. Having found no one, she breathed a deep sigh of relief. ‘So far, so good...’ She commented to herself, very pleased that she made it this far. She made a quick sprint for the door; she was almost free, she could literally feel the soft breeze blowing through her long wavy multicolored hair-
“-Where are you going?” A firm yet hoarse voice asked from a distance. At the sound of the voice, Niji tensed up before letting out a soft groan and gently rested her head against the metal frame of the door. The jig was up. ‘Masurao...’ She turned around with a sheepish grin upon her face, desperately searching her mind for a plausible answer to give to the expressionless boy.
“I…Uh, I was just on my way to the…um, restroom!” It was a stretch, but it was worth a shot. Maybe today was the day he would finally buy one of her excuses. The navy haired boy continued to stare at her intensely, as if he was searching for a lie…
He found one. “There is no outdoor restroom, Princess Niji…” He told her; obviously annoyed that she had tried to fool him yet again. This was the third time in an hour. He closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply, “We had an agreement, Your Highness.” He reminded her, “And that agreement was…”
“-That I would tell you where I would be going at all times…” The multicolored Princess finished his sentence for him. “Yes, yes, I know…” She sighed exasperatedly, as she shifted her weight against the doorway, looking down at her shoes.
“I’m sorry.” She apologized. She knew she was being unreasonable, and quite rude. “I just…I don’t see why it’s necessary to follow my every step that’s all.” She kicked at invisible dirt, her shoulders drooping a bit. Although, it was would have been impossible to tell, Masurao’s expression softened, just a bit.
“I know a bodyguard is not what you might have wanted, Princess.” He began carefully, “However it is my duty to protect you, and I plan on doing that to the best of my ability.” He informed her with a respectful tone, and an equally respectful bow.
She nodded, and stole a glance at Masurao who was just standing there; his tail waving back and forth, and that same serious, expressionless, look upon his face. It had been almost two weeks since she first learned of his position as her bodyguard. In those two weeks she had learned almost nothing about this boy other than he was sent by her father to watch over her. During this short amount of time, he did not once attempt to open himself to any of her questions, he merely responded with short, heated one-syllable answers, and she hated it. In short, his anti-social behavior was driving her crazy.
Masurao was not a big fan of the way she was staring at him, as if she was in some sort of trance that she could not break, it was beginning to unnerve him, he stared back at her expectantly,
“Princess?” He asked in a monotone voice. Niji blinked rapidly snapping out of her thoughts, and gave the wolf-like alien her full attention, or at least tried to, the stare he gave her, it gave her shivers, it was as if he was seeing right through her.
“There’s a meadow near the end of the small patches of berry bushes and galactic fruit trees.” She finally said. Masurao raised one of his eyebrows.
“Yes, I am well aware of that, I have patrolled that particular area before.” He said expressionlessly. Niji sighed,
“Well that’s where I was going.” She said, going into the pouch she had strapped snugly around her waist and pulling out a neatly folded piece of paper, and opened it carefully. “There’s a type of flower in this area that is only in bloom once a year. It’s called the Luminkus Lunarius.” She said looking at the paper before turning it over so that the wolf-like alien can see it. Masurao turned his attention to the piece of paper in front of his face, on this paper was a photo of the flower that Niji described. The flower was a golden color with a bright orange stem with blue leaves attached to the stem. “The flowers blooms on the first full moons of the month,” She looked out of a nearby window. It was getting dark. The stars were just starting to become visible in the purplish sky.
“…and the first full moons of the month rise tonight.” Masurao surmised perceptively.
Niji nodded, “Yeah, and if I don’t see them tonight, that’s it.” She said with a small helpless shrug. “I’ll have to wait a full year for them to bloom again.” She continued looking out the window longingly. There was a beat of silence, before she heard the familiar whooshing of the front door opening. Surprised, she pivoted to see Masurao standing next to the door, his right fist to his chest dipping his upper body into a perfect bow.
“After you, Princess...” He gestured outdoors. “The full moon rises is approximately fifteen minutes.” He said a monotone voice. Despite the lack of emotion in his turn, Niji’s face broke out into an elated smile, as she hurried out the door.
“I think it would be much faster if we fly to the meadow.” She said in a matter of fact tone.
“I do not have the ability to fly, Your Majesty.” The wolf-like alien reminded her.
“I know you can’t fly, that’s why I’ll be the one carrying you.” She explained. “You shouldn’t be that heavy.” She said giving him an once-over. Masurao’s mane twitched ever so slightly. He closed his eyes.
“I would much rather we walk if it’s all the same to you, Princess.” Niji blinked and raised a colorful eyebrow,
“Are you afraid of heights?”
He crossed his arms over his chest, “I am not.”
“So, then what’s the problem?” She inquired with an innocent expression.
Masurao breathed deeply. She wanted to fly, and there was no sense in trying to convince her of doing otherwise. This colorful royal girl can be quite stubborn when she wanted to be.
“Very well then Princess. We will do as you wiiiiiii—,” His sentence was cut off when a pair of thin arms wrapped around his torso, his eyes widened and he tensed up as he felt his feet lift off the ground, and into the air. Niji felt him stiffen in her arms and smiled down at him in amusement.
“I thought you said that you weren’t afraid of heights…” She said teasingly. Masurao regained his composure when he came to the realization that his life was in no danger.
“I’m not afraid.” He said with closed eyes. “Surprised is the more appropriate term, being abruptly lifted thousands of feet into the air is not something I am accustomed to.” Niji giggled, her long, rainbow hair blowing in the nighttime breeze.
“Ah, I see. Well next time I’ll give you a little warning beforehand.” She replied with a light laugh. Masurao rolled his eyes at her taunt. He looked down at the ground below; everything seemed so small from up here…Like tiny little insects.
“It’s nice to see everything from up here isn’t it?” She asked softly, “Everything is so peaceful and quiet…” Masurao was not sure if she was directing these comments at him, or just making an observation so he decided not to respond to her. He closed his eyes silently agreeing with her.
Flying through the skies gave Niji a very different sense of freedom, she was no longer bound to the rules and regulations of gravity, in the sky, she did not need a bodyguard, she felt her safest in the sky, with the moons and the stars watching over her. Because of this freedom, she felt particularly playful tonight, she twirled and looped through the air, unaware of the discomfort this may be causing her passenger.
Masurao thought he was going to be sick, with all the twirls, spins and loops, his stomach was turning, and he felt very dizzy, shaking it off, he sighed with impatience. He just wanted this trip to be over.
“Are we almost there yet?” He questioned his intense stare drifting upwards towards her.
“Mm-hmm.” She confirmed with a nod. “We’re landing now.” She added, looking down at the flowery meadow below. Before Masurao had time to digest and brace himself for landing. Niji made her descent, causing Masurao’s stomach to do flip-flops. Niji flew into the thickness of the tall flowers, and grass, breathing in their wonderful scent. After reaching a small mossy clearing Niji finally gently placed Masurao on the ground. Though he did not express it, the wolf-like alien had never been more grateful to be on solid ground than he did now. That little trip had been an experience that he did not want to relive.
“Hey are you all right?” She questioned, giving him a skeptical gaze. “You look a little…Flustered.” Masurao closed his eyes and looked to the side, straightening his ruffled mane in the process and brushing blades of grass and leaves.
“I am fine.” He enclosed, his response gave her no room to inquire further. Accepting this answer, she gave a small shrug and turned to the vast amount of flowers that surrounded them. There were flowers that were nearly as tall as the two children were, short flowers whose buds closed due to the lack of sunlight, and then most peculiar, there were flowers that looked completely dry, wrinkled, and void of any sort of color, and life. The long yellow stems looked as if they would snap with the slightest breeze.
“These flowers are dead.” Masurao observed rather dryly. He did not see anything about these plants that would cause such excitement within the girl he was sworn to protect. This response evoked a glare from the normally polite and respectful Princess.
“They are not dead. They’re sleeping.” She explained as if that fact was the most obvious thing in the universe. “They obviously need…”
A few seconds later, when the moons were at there highest in the sky, almost as if on cue, the lifeless buds that sat on the tips of the yellow stems slowly opened wide, revealing soft and stunningly blue petals that glowed in the moonlight. The yellow stems straightened to attention, pointing the flowers into the direction of the moons. A light breeze made the flowers sway and sweeping away the tiny glowing particles of golden pollen from the flowers and casting them into the wind, this made the tranquil scene more spectacular that it already was.
Masurao’s normally intense glare was now a gaze of awe and amazement. Niji fishing through her pouch glanced shortly at Masurao’s expression with a sly grin upon her face,
“Still think these flowers are dead?” She questioned, finally retrieving what was contained in her pouch; a rather fancy and sophisticated looking video camera. She brought the lens to her eye and begun to record. “This is magical…” She said breathlessly. She then panned the camera in Masurao’s direction. “Say hello to the camera.” She commanded, knowing the expectant result. Masurao turned away.
“I would rather not, thank you.” He said in a monotone voice, his eyes reverting to the scene before him, “Besides it’s an inanimate object. It will not respond back.” Niji sighed turning the camera back to the scene.
“You are such a killjoy sometimes, do you know that?” She deadpanned, still filming the beautiful flowers. An Idea struck her suddenly, in one swift moment Niji floated over to the quiet boy and before he had time to react, she wrapped an arm around his shoulder bringing him closer to her and posed then snapped a photo. She pulled away from him laughingly, her pink and blue irises glued to the screen of the digital camera. She frowned slightly as the image came on screen, “You didn’t smile…” She said looking at him, at the corner of her eye. “But regardless, this is definitely a keeper, scrapbook material for sure.” She added with a nod, turning the screen over so that her wolf-like companion could see it.
Masurao looked at the screen, in the shot, Masurao had a rather confused and flustered expression on his face, but in his secret opinion, it was Niji’s elated smile and the dazzling background of glowing flowers and the moons that made the picture stand out. However, he could not admit to that, lest he betray his mysterious personality. He decided not to respond to the photograph, he glanced sideways.
“Thank you.” He heard her voice rang out softly. He looked back at her confused.
“For what Princess?” He asked, with a raise of an eyebrow. ”I’ve done nothing that would require such gratitude…” Niji smiled at him,
“Thank you for accompanying me.” She clarified. “At first I didn’t want company; I really didn’t want you to come with me.” She admitted quietly, a hint of guilt in her voice. “I wanted to enjoy this moment on my own.” She said turning to the glowing flowers. “But now I see that moments like these are all the better when you have someone to share them with.” She finished, the moonlight making her face and hair glow ever so slightly, “So thank you for coming with me.”
Masurao blinked, glancing at the photo of the two still visible on the small screen, he closed his eyes, basking in the glowing of the moon. Silently thanking her as well.
“You’re welcome…” He responded; his voice was a soft whisper that escaped Niji’s notice. The royal girl was to busy trying to capture the moments, the moments she would always cherish forever because she had someone to remember it with her.
And Niji taking the photograph! I liked that too, it's funny how their expressions on it completely clashed ^^ And their colours kind of do too, with she being bright and colourful and Masurao being a dark blue. That was a fun moment!
