Suikoden Fan Fiction ❯ Love's Just a Form of Insanity ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Rating: PG-13 (just in case.)

Genres: Romance/Humor/Angst. More angst this chapter.

Pairing: Watari/Fred, initially one sided.

Warnings: Yaoi. OOCness. Odd, odd pairing.
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Chapter 4

When someone tried to wake him once more, Fred decided that he just might have to resort to violence. This desire only increased when he opened the door to find Borus Redrum was the one who was doing the knocking.

“I am sorry Sir Borus, but I am not well and it would please me to no end if you would leave me alone.” Fred said as he began to close the door. Borus didn’t seem to get the idea though.

“I am afraid, Sir Fred that I do not have that luxury. It is my wish to spar with you today. I will not let you get away with that insult from last week.” Fred blinked at the Zexen knight as if he had gone mad.

/Last week…but that was over…/

“I had thought we already cleared up that misunderstanding, Sir Borus. I made it quite clear that I have no interest in courting Lady Chris.”

“Your squire, Rico, has said otherwise.” Borus had a slight set to his jaw.

“Rico has a tendency towards exaggeration as do many girls her age.” Fred was already making a note in his head to talk to his squire about her gossipy tendencies at a later time.

“I can not trust your word on that. You have kept close company with her as of late. Too close for my comfort.”

“We are not lovers. Merely comrades in the fight against evil. Nothing more.”

/I hope that sounds stern enough./

“I still cannot trust that. And either way, as a point of honor, I must win. A loss against a foreign knight is bad for my reputation. I demand that you get dressed and come down to the training grounds.” Fred knew there was no way out of this. Not without losing face and honor.

“Fine. I will meet you down there.”
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“See Percival, I told you he’d show up.” Borus gestured towards Fred’s approaching figure.

“Really now. Borus, I think you should just drop this whole matter. I honestly do not think he is interested in Lady Chris. And besides, you are making a fool out of yourself.” Percival shook his head, feeling embarrassed for the both of them.

“I am not! That loss was a disgrace. He should have gone down after that hit. It’s like he doesn’t understand the concept of pain.”

“It is rude to talk about people behind their backs.” Fred glared as he came with in earshot.

“We will see who is rude after I win this match.” Borus drew his sword and Fred did the same. Percival backed off. As the duel began, the knight of gale began to have doubts. Mainly because, he had never seen Maximillian so angry before. And Borus’s cursing only confirmed his worry.

“Maiximillian, you are stronger then I thought…but I will win!” Borus yelled as he attempted to drive the other knight back. He had already struck a blow to Fred’s leg, yet the other knight was still holding his ground.

“You shouldn’t underestimate me!” Fred smashed forward, nearly driving the sword from Borus’s grip. But, he had left himself wide open in the process.

“You’re the one who is underestimating your opponent!” Borus said as he landed a blow on Fred’s side, causing the knight’s grip on his sword to loosen. The Zexen knight took this opportunity to disarm him. He raised the tip of his blade to Fred’s throat. “Looks like I win this time.”

Fred’s legs gave out at that moment as he fell to his knees, clutching his side. “Yes, you did.” Fred muttered through gritted teeth.

/Nothing’s been going right lately./
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Watari wasn’t able to sleep for very long either. This was due to a creepy scratching noise at his door. Quickly getting dressed, he grabbed a knife and cautiously opened the door. He looked down to see…Koruko, the castle’s dog. He sighed and turned away in disgust. Before he could close the door though, the dog rushed inside.

/Oh by all the true runes…/

He opened the door and made a motion towards Koruko that clearly indicated the mutt should get out. The dog chose to sit on his bed instead, tongue lolling out and tail wagging. He walked over to the bed and glared at him, hoping the dog would take a hint.

“Leave. Now.” He said sternly. Koruko walked over to him and nuzzled his head against Watari. The ninja looked into the dog’s eyes. They seemed to say, “I’ll listen.”

/Oh, fine./

Watari shut the door and sat down on the bed. The dog laid it’s head on the ninja’s lap. He began to pet it, feeling a little awkward. What would people think if they saw him petting a dog?

“…” Koruko looked up at him, a sympathetic look his face. Watari swallowed, knowing that he was going to say something stupid. “Have you ever been in love?”
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“My, my Sir Borus. To cause such injury to Sir Fred. You really were going at it.” Tuta said as he looked at Fred’s side. Mio gave Percival and Borus a condemning look.

“It wasn’t my fault. Sir Fred wasn’t even trying.” Muttered Borus, obviously feeling guilty, but not wanting to admit it.

“I was too. It has been an off day, that is all.” Fred hissed as Tuta applied some more bandages.

“Now, now. No fighting. We don’t need anymore broken ribs around here.” The doctor said as he finished dressing the wounds. “There. That ought to do it.” Tuta stood up with a satisfied smile on his face. “Just make sure to see me tomorrow so I can change these. Well, if you’ll excuse us, Mio and I will be taking our lunch break.” As the two left, the room got a little too quiet.

“Well now. It seems everything is alright. Sir Fred, will you be needing any help getting to your room?” Percival asked, sounding for all the world as if it was his fault.

“No, that will be fine. I can help myself.” Fred stood stiffly, wincing in pain.

“Are you sure?” Even though he hadn’t been the one to wound him, Percival felt responsible for not stopping the fight.

“Of course he’s not alright.” Borus said in annoyance. “Come on. Let’s take you back to your room. You can‘t walk like that.” Before Fred could protest, he found Borus was hauling him out of the room.

Percival grinned to himself. “He could just say he was sorry.”
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“And he ran off. He looked so angry.” Watari finished relating his story to the dog, who had been all ears the whole time. “I made a fool of myself for nothing. Worse yet, Ayame thinks I’m a wretched coward.”

Koruko whimpered and licked Watari’s face. Or rather his mask. He pushed the dog away, feeling a little disgusted.

/My pride as a ninja seems to be withering away more and more. First a crush on an idiot and now…I’m talking to a dog./

He began to pace around the room, trying to come up with something to do. Anything that would solve his problem. It was when he realized that Koruko was following him around, that Watari knew he looked like a fool.

/That’s it. I’m out of here./

He said as he opened the door and hurried out of the room, the dog in close pursuit.
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As soon as the two Zexen Knights had gotten Fred to his room, Borus had excused himself, saying something about Lady Chris and wine. Fred was expecting Percival to leave as well, but was surprised when the Zexen sat down in an unoccupied chair instead.

“Really, Sir Percival. I am fine. Rico will be here later on to look after me. At least I hope so.” He said as an afterthought.

“That is not why I am here. I am curious as to why you lost.” He looked at Fred intently.

“It simply wasn’t my day and Sir Borus is a finer swordsmen then I.” Fred didn’t like admiing that he had a weakness, but that seemed to be the only way to get Percival off his back.

“You are no weaker than he is. There seemed to be something on your mind.” Fred turned away abruptly, hoping the redness in his face wasn’t obvious.

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, besides the way you reacted just now…how do I put it…you don’t seem as energetic as usual. And the fact that you didn’t want to fight Borus, now that is highly unusual.” Seeing Fred’s shoulders tense, Percival’s smile only widened. “Do you mind telling me what it is? I will not tell. Is it by chance a lady?”

Fred gulped and turned around. “Y-You could say that.” Percival leaned forward, staring Fred in the eye.

“I knew it! Not Lady Chris, I’d assume, but someone else. Or is it Lady Chris?” He asked cautiously.

“No, it is not Lady Chris. It is…” Fred realized that he probably shouldn’t say that it was Watari, let alone a man. “Someone who lives within the castle.”

“Well, that is rather vague. What happened?”

“Well, that is…”
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Watari still hadn’t rid himself of the dog. It seemed determined to follow him. Watari thought about kicking the dog, but couldn’t bring himself to commit such an act of cruelty.

/I’m so weak./

He had entered the town square and was receiving strange looks from people. They were no doubt unused to seeing a ninja being trailed by a loveable dog who happened to be wearing a scarf. Watari looked behind himself one more time to see the dog who was still following. He felt himself bump into someone, nerely causing them to stumble. He kept going, not muttering an apology, only to feel someone jerking on his wrist.

Turning around, he realized, with a feeling of dread, that he had bumped into Lilly Pendragon. “How dare you run into me without apologizing! The nerve! What if I had fallen in the mud and ruined my outfit? Or I could have broken my leg!” He looked around, hoping he could get away from her. Since there seemed to be no Samus or Reed, his chances were pretty good. If only he could get out of her grip without threatening her.

“Well, don’t you have anything to say for yourself!” She stared at him, as if her eyes could shoot fire. Before Watari could free himself, her expression changed. “Wait a moment. I have the perfect idea!”
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“So you just stomped all over that poor woman’s feelings?” Percival was in shock and it was all Fred could do to keep from burying his face in shame.

“I did not mean to be so insensitive. It was just so…unexpected. And they were so bold.”

“Yes, but still. For a woman to throw herself at you like that and be rejected so thoroughly.” Percival had a sad look on his face.

/I really wish he’d stop saying woman./

“I am not experienced in such matters…” He really, really didn’t like admitting it either.

“Still, do you have any idea how you feel for her? Do you honestly dislike her? Or if you don’t dislike her, are your feelings nothing more than friendship?”

“I-I don’t know. I don’t dislike this person. But, I don’t know hi-I mean her, very well.” Percival noticed the little slip, but said nothing, looking thoughtful for a second.

“But, that aside, are you really that adverse to a relationship with them?”

“It isn’t that I…it’s not…I just don’t have the time for it! I have to stay focused on my quest.” At least, Fred thought it sounded right. Percival seemed to be deep in thought for a few minutes.

“I think…you need to think very carefully either way. Accepting and not accepting another’s advances can have serious consequences for both parties.” He stood up slowly. “Either way, I think you should apologize to them for the way you reacted last night. Let them know your reasons at least.” With that, the knight had left the room.

“That would mean I have to talk to him again…” Fred felt a knot of dread form in his stomach.
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Watari looked at the cleared out storage room that Lily had lead him into. The girl had locked the doors behind them and was now looking him in the eye.

“Listen, this favor I am about to ask you must remain secret. Do I have your word that you will not tell anyone what transpires in here?” Her gaze was piercing. Watari could have just disappeared, but had decided the distraction would be welcome. Besides, he had finally lost the dog. He nodded towards Lily, who smiled in satisfaction.

“Good. Now the reason I brought you here…” She breathed in a deep sigh. “I need…a dance partner.”
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To Be Continued…

I know, I know. This last chapter was a little strange. Especially the part with Lily. But, it will be explained next chapter.