*****
ENCHANTED
Chapter 1
Stranded
May 14, 2000
Question: What does one get from spending too much time in
Joker's House of Cards?
Answer: This fanfic ^_~!
My apologies if it's a little OOC for some people here. I'm not too
familiar with Joker-san's chara other than what he shows at the House of Cards.
This is fanfic, so forgive me and
my possible inconsistencies *_*.
No offense to Kurei-Neon fans. I did this as more of a
teaser than anything else.
*******
"Are you sure you know where we're going?" Neon demanded as she
followed
the tall, heavily-armored Uruha
assassin through a pathless thicket. She shoved a huge clump of tree
branches barricading her way. The twigs
and branches had been unyielding and they've already caused innumerable
scratches on her ivory skin. Neon
cursed as the hem of her uniform got caught in a stubborn little bush
and tried in vain to pull it out without ripping
it any further.
"Trust me, Neon-han." assured her fellow Uruha in his heavy kansai
accent. He tipped his headgear slightly to get
a better view of the forest before him. Which unfortunately looked the
same in all directions. All gigantic trees
looming over them, with vines hanging like thick ropes and all sorts of
unrecognizable flora covering anything that
might have resembled a pathway. Much as Joker wanted to believe what he
said, he couldn't convince himself.
Much less a very angry Neon.
"That's what you said two hours ago." accused the red-haired assassin
as
she finally gave up on her dress and
just tore the edge. "I told you we should've taken the Western
area...but nooooo...you had to insist a shortcut."
She shoved him out of the way and tried to get a view of anything
possibly ahead. "Like this is anything but
short."
Joker chose to keep his trap shut. Arguing with Neon would be pointless.
She was as stubborn as they come. I
should've just left her back at the mansion, he sighed inwardly. But
Kurei's orders were for the two of them to
finish a very important task. Joker had insisted he could do it by
himself, yet his Master was more insistent. Not
that Neon was a pain in the behind. She was good at what she does. And
she had been a great help to their task.
It was just during scenarios like this that he knew he could do without
her.
They were heading home from the mission Kurei had sent them on. They had
taken a speedboat then. They were
forced to change direction when a storm loomed ahead. It was during this
change of ways when they had begun
debating on which direction to take.
"Where do you think you're headed off to?" Neon had asked him earlier.
"Eastward." he answered confidently, manuevering the steering wheel to
his chosen direction.
"The way home is West." she said.
"Neon-han, I know what I am doing. The way home is East. We'd take West
if we were on the same course a
while ago. But we changed because of the weather. So now it's East." he
explained confidently.
"If we took the earlier path it would be East. We turned around, so I
say we go West." she reasoned.
"We did not turn around." Joker argued. "We turned a little left.
I
should know. I'm driving this thing. Besides, East
is a shorter way."
"West."
"East."
They went about like that for over half an hour before Joker finally
turned the boat and went his way, much to
Neon's dismay. By that time, the storm had also taken a reroute and they
almost ran into it. The large waves
violently rocked their motorboat and Joker decided to dock on one of the
smaller islands they found lest they get
swept and crash against the humungous rocks that loomed among the island
shores. By that time, the tail of the
incoming storm had made its way to the island and they had rushed to the
forest for cover when the downpour
began.
That was two hours ago. Now they find themselves in the middle of
nowhere, surrounded by a forest as thick as
the Amazon, with trees as tall as buildings and whose wide branches
shielded any view of the sky. The
thunderstorm had stopped an hour ago. They remained relatively dry
because of the shield the trees had given.
They had debated on whether to stay put or walk on, with Neon insisting
on staying and Joker persisted on going.
The latter had won.
"Whew," Joker said. He had not wanted to stay in one particular place,
as he felt unsafe with the surrounding
territory. He had wanted to go looking for any possible protective
shelter, like a cave or better yet, a civilized
dwelling. Based on the look of things now, it appeared there wasn't any
safe area at all. They had been walking
seemingly forever, and not a trace of any human endeavor at all could
they find.
"I should've thought of this sooner." Neon said, drawing her flute.
"Cover your ears." she instructed her companion
who complied. She began playing the tune to activate her Fukyo Waon. The
power from her madugou caused the
covered earth before her to rumble, and in no time, an explosion
occured, blowing all the thorned bushes in all
directions and clearing the path.
A sideward smile appeared on Joker's lips, "Very clever, Neon-han." he
clapped his hands in approval. "Very
resourceful indeed."
"Hmph." Neon ignored him and went on her way. This time she led, and
Joker followed. They had been walking for
less than five minutes when they came upon what seemed to be a clearing.
"Yes!" Neon exclaimed, running towards a small, clear lake that lay in
the middle of an open-aired area. This part
of the forest had a view of the ominous-looking sky. The clouds were
dark, gray and heavy, seemingly filled with
rain that was threatening to fall any minute. Neon did not seem to care
though, as she rushed to fill her dry throat
with the fresh water before her. Joker scanned the area and found a cave
not too far away. He went over to
check it out while his fellow Uruha took her fill. He returned a few
minutes later.
"There's a cave nearby." he told her. "It looks safe, and its
dry. We
can stay there until this storm lets up."
Neon agreed. She let Joker take his turn at drinking before they trekked
the way to the said cave. It was roomy
and dry. A few stalactites hung over the inside, and moss covered the
walls. Otherwise, it was clean and it
appeared relatively harmless. Neon took a seat on one of the rocks,
removing her boots and removing the pebbles
from them. She stretched and leaned on the cave wall. Joker rested on a
rock near the cave entrance. He
removed his headgear and the upper part of his armour.
"What do you think you're doing?" Neon asked stiffly. Her body ached
from all that walking, and she felt her lids
getting heavy from exhaustion.
"Getting comfortable." Joker replied, as he took the rest of his
armour
off, revealing a shirt and tights underneath.
"You're not conscious, are you?" a naughty smile appeared on his lips.
"Well I do know how irresistable...owww!!!"
he touched his forehead that had been pelted with a rock.
"Airhead." she accused, trying to fight off the drowsiness coming upon
her unsuccessfully. She was about to lay
on the floor to get some shut eye when he held her arm. "What now?"
she
grumbled.
"It's not too comfortable sleeping on a cold, stone floor." he
reasoned.
Joker took his long cape and spread it on
the floor of the cave as a blanket.
A smirk appeared on Neon's lips. "Sometimes you surprise me, Joker."
"Being a gentleman is just one of my numerous, unrecognized
attributes."
he beamed proudly. But Neon could no
longer retort as exhaustion took over her being. She curled into a
semi-fetal position and closed her eyes, falling
into a light slumber.
Joker watched as the downpour began, falling mercilessly like a
waterfall from the sky. At this rate, we'll probably
get home tomorrow he thought. Though he didn't fancy spending the rest
of the night in a dark, unfurnished cave
with Neon and her sharp tongue, there seemed to be little choice. He was
exhausted as well and there was
hardly, if any, chance that there would be any more suitable dwelling
that the cave they were in. He just hoped
that his companion would sleep it off until daybreak. The moment she
wakes up she'll be bound to start
complaining about food. He leaned back and sighed. He was aware he
shouldn't fall asleep, lest some wild animals
come along and decided the two of them would make a suitable rainy day
feast. But his eyes were getting heavy
as well, and he couldn't help himself.
"Oiya, hey there...are you alright?"
Joker slowly opened his eyes. His immediate reflex was to grab his
Taishaku Kaiten, aiming it at the one before him
whose image was now clearly coming into view. It was a tiny old woman,
assumingly no bigger nor older than
Genjuroh. But this benign appearance did cause him to let his guard
down, as he knew that one should never take
things at face value.
The old woman backed slightly away seeing the weapon aimed at her, a
look of fear registered on her face.
Feeling a little bit guilty, Joker pulled back his weapon.
"My apologies, Madame." he said, scrutinizing the old woman fully
behind
his bangs. "I was a little surprised."
The old woman smiled, bowing her head. "I didn't mean to scare you.
Gomen." She was around 60, he guessed.
Petite and fine-boned with long, silky, white hair that was tied in a
knot behind her head. She was dressed in a
lovely blue kimono with white cherry blossoms decorating it. From her
face one could tell she was a beauty in her
youth. He wondered what a finely-dressed old lady was doing in a creepy
jungle like this one?
"What's all the ruckus about?" a newly-awakened Neon spoke up, rubbing
her eyes. "Joker, how dare you assault a
defenseless little woman!" she accused.
"It's nothing." the old lady defended, smiling. "I just shocked
your
husband a little I guess..."
"Husband!!!! Why I..." Neon exclaimed, now fully aroused.
"What would you you be doing in a place like this, Madame?" Joker
asked,
interrupting Neon's protest.
"I live here." the elderly woman spoke, causing the two Uruha
assassins
eyes to pop out.
"In this....jungle?" Neon asked.
"Not here...." the woman laughed, she motioned to a wooded area about
a
stone's throw from where they were.
"Over there. My house is just beyond those trees."
Joker and Neon exchanged suspicious glances, which did not escape the
old woman's eye.
"I know you may think its ludicrous. But please, come with me and see
for yourselves." she invited. "Follow me."
They followed the old woman who went through a clump of tall bushes.
They walked slowly, their eyes taking note
of the way they were going. A man-made stone path was revealed and it
led the way to another clearing. This
one was bigger than where they had come from. It was an open field where
a moderate-sized, old-fashioned
house stood in the middle. A little shrine was at the left and a small
pond was at the right. The house was lighted
and smoke was coming from the back. The air smelled wonderfully of a hot
soup brewing.
"Would you kids like to join me for dinner?" she asked. "I'm
afraid I
don't have much to offer, but I do make some
good sakura tea."
Neon looked at her companion, "May we be excused for a little while,
Madame?" she politely asked permission, to
which the old woman nodded.
"I don't trust her, Neon-han." Joker vocalized his thoughts.
"Neither do I." Neon agreed. "But then...what do we have to
lose?" she
reasoned. "If we take her offer, we could
get some decent shelter for the night, and maybe something to eat too."
"If she turns out to be some kind of whacko..."
"Then we'll send her to Kingdom Come." Neon said finally. She then
turned back to the old woman, "Yes...thank
you very much for your offer. We'd be honored to join you for dinner."
"Then follow me."
They walked over to the old-fashioned house which was bigger close up.
The old woman pushed the door to let
them in. A young girl, around ten years of age greeted them and ushered
them to the house. It was an antique
house with the furniture dating back to a much older era. It was like a
small museum rather than a house in the
middle of nowhere. The two Uruha assassins were shown to the guest
quarters by the young girl who had
introduced herself as Hiroshi. It was a large room beautifully furnished
with the same kind of antiques the rest of
the house seemed to be decorated with. A king-sized bed was at the
middle of the room and on top of it lay
towels, bathrobes and neatly-folded kimonos for changing.
"Would you like some hot water for bathing, Neon-sama?" Hiroshi asked.
"Oh I would, thank you." Neon said. The young girl bowed before
leaving
the room. Joker set his armor aside and
plopped lazily on the bed, resting his head on folded arms and whistling
a tune. "Oi, get off my bed you moron."
"What do you mean your bed?" Joker querried. "This is our
bed."
"Our bed?" Neon's eyebrows shot up in question, "I wouldn't share
a bed
with you in a second lifetime...or even a
third. Now get off." she tried in vain to push Joker off his lazy
recline unsuccessfully.
"Neon-han, it's rather obvious we were meant to be in this room
together...I mean, little Hiroshi didn't show me to
another place to stay in, did she now?" he asked as-a-matter-of-factly,
though this did not prevent a smile from
wandering to his lips. "Besides, aren't you flattered to be sharing a
room with an incredible specimen of manhood
such as my...umphhhh!" he muttered as Neon tried to cut the air to his
lungs by stuffing his face with one of the
pillows.
"Here is your hot water, Neon-sama." Hiroshi announced after knocking
gently, making Neon withdraw from her
murder attempt of her arrogant companion. Joker was nearly blue and
choking when she got off him, but Hiroshi
thankfully didn't notice. When the young girl left, Neon picked up the
robe, towels and soap on the bed and
headed off to the bathroom located at the end of the hallway.
"I'm giving you ten minutes to find a room for yourself." Neon
announced. "Or else..."
"I'm giving you ten minutes to find a room for yourself or else..."
Joker mimicked in Neon's low, dangerous tone as
his fellow Uruha shot darts at him with a gaze. He didn't move an inch
from his position as she proceeded to take
a warm bath.
Half an hour later, the old woman called for dinner. Neon entered the
dining room wearing the dark red, silk kimono
provided to her by Hiroshi. The dress was decorated with an intricately
designed floral pattern in gold. Her hair
was tied in a knot at the back of her head. Under the pale yellow light
given off by the lamp, her skin glowed a
faint pink and she smelled of fresh spring blossoms. The red of the
dress and her hair glowed like fire in the night.
"You look quite like the fire bird, the Phoenix." complimented the old
lady, to which Hiroshi agreed.
Phoenix. Fire Bird. Like Kurei-sama's flame...only of a different color,
Neon thought as she thanked the two
hostesses for their generosity.
"You look very fetching, Neon-han." Joker commented from behind her.
And
he was telling the truth. While he
always regarded her as a fellow assassin, Joker acknowledged the fact
that Neon was a beautiful woman. Now
dressed immaculately in a kimono that made her look fragile, vulnerable,
almost...untouchable he had to admit she
took the breath out of him.
Neon was a little surprised out of the compliment he had given her, as
she was used to hearing him compliment
mostly himself. And subconsciously, she found herself blushing at his
remark. "Thank you."
Joker himself wasn't quite the man she knew. He had also been given a
kimono, this one in velvety black. He had
taken his braids off to dry his hair, and it hung loosely on his
shoulders, falling like a black cascade of waterfall on
his back. His fine bangs still covered his eyes and his fanged smile
showed through. Neon found herself staring at
him despite herself.
"Let's have dinner, shall we?" the old woman spoke at last, breaking
the
strange silence. The two Uruhas took
opposite seats while Hiroshi and the old woman sat across each other at
the table ends. Hiroshi poured sakura tea
in their cups while the old lady passed around the steaming hot soba for
everyone's enjoyment. The two guests
ate in silence as their elderly hostess introduced herself and spoke of
her secluded dwellings.
"I am Akamatsu Yukiko." she introduced, "You both know Hiroshi
here,"
she motioned to the young girl. "She is my
adopted granddaughter. An orphan. Her parents died in an accident when
she was just an infant."
Yukiko had lived all her life on this uncharted island. She had been
born and raised in this old house. She had been
living alone for the past 40 years after the rest of her family died in
an epidemic. She goes to town every once a
week to buy supplies. Leaving the house was out of the question since it
had been in the family for centuries,
surviving wars, disasters and man-made holocausts. Her nearest neighbor
was a good two miles away, and the
town she spoke of was five more miles from there.
"Don't you ever get scared here, Yukiko-sama?" Neon asked curiously.
She
wondered how anybody could last that
long with hardly any company, much less protection.
"There is nothing to fear." she smiled mysteriously, "The spirits
of my
ancestors watch over me all the time."
Her facial expression and manner of speaking caused Joker's hairs to
stand on end. This is getting creepy, he
thought. It's like a scene on one of those cheap horror flicks Mokouren
loves to watch so much. He shuddered,
and recieved a curious glance from Neon who sat opposite him. "I'm a
little cold." he offered lamely which Neon
obviously did not accept.
"As we all are." Yukiko said, "I'm afraid I can't stay up and
tell you
any more stories about this household much as
I'd love to," she gently rose up from her sitting position. "I'm a
little bit tired." she smiled at the two guests,
"Perhaps tomorrow we can continue. I would like to know more about you
two. for now, I bid you good night.
Sleep well." she bowed and turned about after they had bid her the same.
Hiroshi set about cleaning up the table.
Neon offered to help but the young girl refused.
"You are a guest, Neon-sama." Hiroshi reasoned, "Please, I can do
this.
It is but a simple task. You and
Joker-sama may take your rest now. It has been a tiring day for both of
you."
The two simply complied and left after wishing Hiroshi a good night.
Neon proceeded to her quarters and Joker
followed her, silently closing the door behind him.
"Didn't I tell you I am NOT going to share a bed with you?" Neon asked
irritably. "Either you find a bed of your own
or you spend the night on the floor."
Joker smiled, his fangs showing, "Oh come on now Neon-han. It isn't very
doting of you to let your 'husband' sleep
on the cold floor while you doze off comfortably on your
more-than-adequately-sized bed?"
Whomp! A pair of pillows found their target on Joker's face. "In your
dreams," Neon snarled, "Not now, not ever."
Neon pulled back the covers and snugged comfortably in between the
immaculate white sheets. She pulled the
pins off her hair, spreading the silken strands on the pillow like a red
tide. She almost bounced off when Joker
plopped beside her.
"Joker!!!!"
"Shhhh...." the fanged Uruha put a finger to her lips. He looked
around
before speaking in a hushed voice. "We
don't want to wake up the entire household, Neon-han." And when the
latter realized that there was another
reason for Joker acting as such, she propped herself up on her elbows.
"This place gives me the creeps." Neon admitted anxiously "It's
too...strange. I mean, an old lady and a little girl
alone in the middle of nowhere with a house filled with a fortune in
antiques and no one to protect them." she
shrugged, "It sounds like a plot on one of those dumb B movies with
plastered play-doh effects to pass off as
monsters."
"You're not afraid of a few zombies are you?" Joker asked, "We've
faced
much stronger adversaries than that."
"Yeah well, I don't think the Fukyo Waon or even your Taishaku Kaiten
will do us any good if we're fighting
supernatural forces." she retorted.
A moment of silence followed as neither of them knew what to say. The
dark clouds had faded, giving way to the
full moon whose bright beams entered the bedroom window, illuminating
the otherwise dark surroundings. There
even appeared a handful of stars. There was hardly any trace of the
storm that has come earlier.
Joker stood up from the bed and proceeded to the other side of the room.
He pulled out a clean mattress from one
of the closet doors and laid it on the floor. He had found this one in
the closet earlier while waiting for Neon to
finish using the bathroom. He spread clean sheets over it and slid in
comfortably. It wasn't as soft as the
king-sized bed but it was certainly better than the hard wooden floor.
He turned his back to Neon and took his
madougu that was leaningon the wall. He laid it next to him in bed.
"Joker...."
"There's no sense in borrowing trouble, Neon-han." he spoke. "I
think we
should be thankful for Yukiko-han's
generosity. It's probably just coincidental that she lives in such a
place. If there is no sign of trouble, then let's
not look for one." he paused, turning his head to Neon. "If there is
something that's more than meets the eye
here, we'll be ready for it." a glint appeared in his eye. He smiled.
"I'm not staying here for any other perverted
reason, Neon-han. I just think it would be safer for us Uruha to stick
together." He then turned his back again.
"You would have no worry with me. I just want to be here in case
anything happens....and besides..." he laughed,
"You're not my type."
Through his drowsy state, Joker could hear Neon calling him all the
synonyms for arrogant in her multilingual
vocabulary. He merely snickered through it all. He drew his madougu
closer, closed his eyes and left off for
dreamland. Neon followed suit within five minutes. The room lay
perfectly silently still for about a few hours. The
antique clock in the living room then announced that it was two in the
morning.
The door of the guest quarters then quitely opened.
"Are you ready, Hiro-chan?"
The little girl nodded.
"Then it is time."
TO BE CONTINUED