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| Courage; KonoSetsu Fic - Who else? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 24 2007, 08:25 PM (7,309 Views) | |
| icha-kun | Mar 7 2007, 02:45 AM Post #16 |
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Nobody
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Yup... Chapter 3 is very short... but it's okay... I'm still love your fanfic! *waiting the next chapter* |
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| Southrop | Mar 7 2007, 03:48 AM Post #17 |
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College Graduate
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OMG! i'm soo jealous now >< good going keep it up. waiting for the next chapter :D(400th post goes to Chisuga! :P) |
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| Chigusa | Mar 8 2007, 09:41 PM Post #18 |
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Middle Schooler
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Thanks for the encouragement as always, minna-san! Well, time to get back into it. This is something of a bridge chapter, but hopefully you'll bear with me until the action proper begins again. For now, let the story continue! Chapter 4: Nakama Setsuna woke to darkness. Her head was pillowed on something firm and warm, a warmth that continued all down her left side. The rest of her was cold though, and rapidly getting colder. Her eyes opened slowly and she pushed herself up on one arm, trying to shake off the strange lethargy that gripped her. It was only then that the memories of the fight came back to her. How long had she been unconscious? She stared around wildly. What had happened to Kono-chan?! Her question was answered when she looked down and realised just what she had been sleeping on. Kono-chan lay on the ground, slightly curled in sleep, her cheek resting on her outstretched arm, the white of her uniform shirt showing clearly against the dark of the forest floor. Setsuna raised a hand to her cheek, blushing fiercely as she realised the lingering warmth down her left side was nothing less than Kono-chan’s body heat. They had been sleeping curled around each other. What on earth had happened? The last she remembered was standing up to go back to the Academy. Then… nothing. She laid a hand on Kono-chan’s shoulder and shook the sleeping girl gently. “Wake up, Ojou-sama. We have to get back.” Her voice sounded unnaturally loud against the calm that surrounded them. Kono-chan muttered something sleepily and curled inwards so that she was pressed up against her bodyguard once again. Said bodyguard shifted uncomfortably and shook the girl’s shoulder a little harder. “Please, Ojou-sama. It’s not safe to sleep here.” There was no further response, and Setsuna frowned, worried now. Her mistress wasn’t a heavy sleeper under normal circumstances. Something was wrong. “Kono-chan?” A sudden noise made her head snap round. She narrowed her eyes. Something was coming. Something… magical. She freed herself from Kono-chan’s unconscious embrace and cast about for where she knew Yuunagi must have fallen. If the demons had reinforcements the pair of them could be in real trouble. She had barely laid her hand on the sword’s hilt when something rushed into the small forest clearing and she was suddenly surrounded in a nimbus of glowing blue light. One hand brought Yuunagi up into a guard position, the other shaded her eyes as she squinted to see the source of the light. “Setsuna-san! Thank goodness!” It was Negi’s voice. There was a crash as someone jumped off what Setsuna knew must be the wizard’s hovering magic staff, and a second later she was rocked by a comradely clap on the shoulder. She looked up to see Asuna’s friendly smile. “Good to see you, Setsuna-san. You had us worried! Negi couldn’t raise either of you with the pactio cards. Are you all right?” The question stopped Setsuna in her tracks. She looked down at herself in wonder as her eyes adjusted to the brightness of the magical radiance. Her school shirt positively glowed in the blue light, and displayed a staggering number of rents and tears. Beneath the ragged cloth however, her skin was unmarked. All the wounds of the demon battle had vanished. She reached behind herself to feel the wings that had been crushed beneath her as she lay on the ground. They too were straight and strong, their damage totally healed. She shot Asuna a surprised look. “I’m… fine. But I wasn’t…” Negi stepped closer. “It was Konoka-san. We could feel the strength of her healing magic all the way back at the Academy.” Asuna knelt down next to the sleeping girl and gave her a tentative prod, with no response. “Huh. She really pushed the boat out this time.” “Will she be all right?” The words came out in a frightened rush. Negi nodded. “Don’t worry, Setsuna-san. She just overdid it is all. She’ll be fine with a little sleep.” Setsuna visibly slumped in relief. Asuna nodded sagely. “Well, that’s what you get for being all power and no control…” She looked up to see Negi and Setsuna staring at her, and let the sentence trail off into a lopsided smile. “Not that I can talk, right…” “Nothing that a little training couldn’t fix though,” Negi said carefully, shooting an apologetic look at Setsuna. “For now though, we ought to get back to the Academy. It should be safe to fly, Setsuna-san, at least to the edge of the campus proper.” The swordswoman nodded and bent down to scoop Kono-chan into her arms. “I’ll tell you what happened as we go.” ***** “Demons?” “Six of them.” Setsuna sat perched on the edge of Kono-chan’s bunk, the bunk’s owner lying tucked up just behind her. “They were big. Good fighters. Better than the trash we usually get testing the Academy’s borders.” Negi pushed his glasses further up onto the bridge of his nose, a thoughtful expression on his face. “And if they were after Konoka-san, that means they must be organised.” Setsuna nodded. “No doubt. Five of them distracted me with a decoy attack while the last one went for Konoka-Ojou-sama. Those are intelligent, pre-planned tactics. They were trying to take her somewhere; but where I don’t know. There are more of them out there, I would wager my sword on it.” “So the question is… what do we do now?” Negi glanced over at Konoka’s sleeping figure. “I can’t allow one of my students to be targeted like this.” Asuna, who had been pacing up and down the length of the dorm room throughout the conversation, finally snapped. “Do? Isn’t it obvious?!” She waved an arm in the direction of the window. “We get out there, track down whoever’s behind this, and we make them pay!” Negi laughed nervously. “Well… yes, Asuna-san, but it’s not quite as simple as that. We have no idea who might have masterminded this, or where they might be, or… well… anything really.” Setsuna sighed. “Negi-sensei is right, unfortunately. We have nothing to go on yet.” She turned back to Konoka and took one of the girl’s hands gently between her own two. “If it comes to it, me may have to wait for another attack to come, and try to find out more from that.” Asuna merely humphed in reply and turned away to stalk back down the room again. Negi watched her resume pacing, a worried expression on his face, before he looked back to Setsuna. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, Setsuna-san. For now, we should let the Dean know what has happened.” He registered the immediate tensing of the swordswoman’s shoulders and shook his head. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it this time. Would you stay with Konoka-san for now? She should have all the protection she can get until we know what’s going on.” “Of course.” Negi nodded once and got to his feet, heading for the door. Just as he caught hold of the handle he was stopped by a quiet voice behind him. “Negi-sensei?” “Yes?” He looked back. Setsuna still had her back to him, her head bowed over her young mistress. “Thank you.” He simply smiled at that and disappeared out into the corridor, closing the door softly behind him. With Negi gone the room fell into pensive silence. Setsuna didn’t move so much as a muscle, her hands clasped around Konoka’s, her eyes fixed on the girl’s sleeping face. Asuna continued pacing for a while until she finally gave up and threw herself full length on the floor with a frustrated sigh. “There has to be something we can do!” “For now, we guard.” “And wait.” It came out as a grunt. “And wait. And when whoever is behind this tries again, we show them just how warriors of the Shinmeiryuu deal with their enemies.” |
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| Southrop | Mar 9 2007, 03:28 AM Post #19 |
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College Graduate
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EEK! *dies of jealousy* *gets back up* wonderful work of art! |
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| Jessie | Mar 9 2007, 04:11 AM Post #20 |
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KonoSetsu Fan!
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This was sweet ^___^ Iliked the scene they fall asleep in the forest ^__^ |
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| Yuki | Mar 9 2007, 04:16 AM Post #21 |
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DURRR I mean, DURARARARA
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Falling asleep.... gives me another idea for a drawing. Thanks, Chigusa-san!! ^^And I totally love your fic.... KonoSetsu undying love!!!!! *waves banners* And good updating too. |
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| Ryûchan | Mar 9 2007, 05:39 AM Post #22 |
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Middle Schooler
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Ooo, this is getting really exciting! :D And so sweet too, with the whole waking up curled around each other... ahh... *pokes at Konoka to wake up and have more cutesy romantic moments with her Secchan* :DI also liked the Asuna/Setsuna buddy moments there, lovely.
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| Yuki | Mar 9 2007, 05:09 PM Post #23 |
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DURRR I mean, DURARARARA
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*sparkly eyes* OH yes.... Absolutely..... I loved it.Lurved it.... keep writing! We're rooting for ya! |
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| Chigusa | Mar 10 2007, 10:49 PM Post #24 |
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Middle Schooler
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Ookini minna-san, as always! It really is great to come back to a thread and find so much encouragement. :D Yuki - I'm glad that you're enjoying it. I've been following your art thread with amazement, so if you were inspired to draw anything by my fic I'm absolute delighted! Ryûchan - Wow! Gotta say, it's lovely to be cheered on by a writer whose work I've admired since I showed on this forum. Thanks for dropping by! Jessie - Thanks for supporting me in this from the beginning! I'm glad you liked the sleeping in the forest scene - I just had this mental image of Konoka finishing her healing and falling asleep curled up around the one she was trying to look after. I guess I'm just a fluffy romantic at heart. :) Southrop - Thanks so much for your support! Brief explanation for the next chapter - it's obviously a bit different to what you might expect in a fanfic, but I'm finding this story rather getting away from me and growing to be a much bigger thing than I had previously imagined. So, if this is going to be a proper story, I figure I may as well go the whole hog and put in everything that I think makes for good drama. Don't worry, we'll return to your normal programming very soon. But for now we see: Chapter Five: The Other Side The hallway was totally deserted. The featureless, windowless, blank white dullness of it didn't make for any good hiding places. Its stark electric strip lighting didn’t even allow shadows to form in the shallow hollows of the doors that led off into who knows where. All the same, the woman hesitated before she stepped out onto its lino-covered length, pausing to listen before she set even one foot over the threshold. She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard nothing but the low humming of the lights and stepped forward to begin the long walk to the door at the end of the hall. A white door, like everything else. Fujiwara Mari was nervous. This was an unusual feeling for her, and she was dealing with it badly. Ryoko wasn’t going to take the news well. Not well at all. At least, Mari tried to reassure herself as her footsteps echoed in the empty hallway, she wouldn’t be observed on her walk of shame. This embarrassment would be hers alone, at least for the time being. “Fujiwara-san?” Mari stopped dead, shoulders hunched, eyes scrunched shut. Perhaps it was her imagination. A fevered imagining of the worse possible event. It would stop if she just concentrated hard enough. “Where are you going, Fujiwara-san? Do you have to see Yoshino-sama already?” She turned, infinitely slowly, as if hoping that by the time she had got all the way around the strange talking apparition would have disappeared back into whatever hole it had crawled out of. It hadn’t. Sugiyama was still standing there even when she had completed the entirety of her about face. Sugiyama Hiroyuki, his handsome face expressing nothing but friendly concern. Bastard. “I just thought I should… report. You know. As you do.” Mari felt like kicking herself. She didn’t need to explain herself, least of all to this guy. “That’s fast! Didn’t you say that it would take a few days to…” “I know what I said!” Mari cut him off viciously. “Things change.” She ran a hand distractedly through her hair, uncomfortably aware of the sweat on her forehead. Perhaps the idiot would take the hint and vanish. Instead, he cocked his head on one side and frowned. “Ah.” “Ah? What do you mean, ‘ah’? Don’t you ‘ah’ me!” The outburst emerged about an octave higher than she’d intended, and was loud enough to echo off the whitewashed walls. Mari could feel the blush spreading across her cheeks even as Sugiyama turned back to the door he’d appeared from. He looked back over his shoulder, his previous frown resolving itself into a slightly worried smile. “I’m sorry. Best you tell Yoshino-sama as quickly as possible then. Something will need to be done.” Then he was gone, the only reminder of his presence the click of the door swinging shut behind him. Mari stood in the middle of the hall floor, hands clenched at her sides, face bright red, fuming silently. She had been ready! She had been calm and focused and prepared, and then that idiot had to come along and… and… be damn well sympathetic! How dare he! As if he knew what it was like to fail. Him with his impossible good looks and 95% success rate. He had no idea. None at all! She felt like punching him. Instead, she settled for half measures and punched the wall. And swore. And added the charge of bruised knuckles to the list of things to blame on Sugiyama. She couldn’t keep on like this. She took a deep breath, then another, and carefully smoothed down the front of her jacket, adjusting the sleeves where the punch had messed up the alignment of her shirt cuffs. She glanced down at herself and nodded, satisfied. That would have to do. She was ready. Again. Unfortunately by the time she was standing in front of the white door that marked the end of the hall she didn’t feel ready at all. There was no help for it though. Ryoko couldn’t be kept waiting forever. Mari sighed to herself and knocked on the door. “Come in!” A woman’s pleasant alto voice sounded from behind the white painted panels. “Please excuse me for intruding,” Mari said, trying to look as businesslike as possible as she made her way into the study to stand in front of her superior’s desk, hands clasped behind her. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything, Yoshino-sama.” Yoshino Ryoko looked up from the pile of paperwork spread across the dark oak desk, the study’s sole concession to luxury, and frowned. “Fujiwara-san. Why aren’t you in the laboratory? Surely you can’t be finished already?” “Um…” Um? What kind of professional would say ‘um’, dammit?! Mari tried again. “About that, Yoshino-sama. I’m afraid it… well… it didn’t quite go as planned.” Dark brown eyes narrowed accusingly. “Didn’t go as planned,” Ryoko repeated slowly. “What exactly did happen?” “My…” Mari paused, trying to find a less inflammatory word than the one that sprang to mind, “… agents… found the girl successfully. Their last report to me said that they were about to attempt the retrieval. But… a few minutes later I felt their life force dissipate as my summoning spells were cancelled. I did all I could, Yoshino-sama, I promise I did, but there’s only so much you can do from this distance. Even with the laboratory’s focusing equipment, it’s hard to sustain a summoning for that long. You know that, I know, but…” The mage realised she was rambling and forced herself to a halt, swallowing hard as she awaited Ryoko’s response. The woman’s response was unexpectedly contained. Ryoko simply let her head fall into her hands, long fingers raking through short black hair. She stayed like that for a long moment before clasping her hands at the back of her neck and leaning back, pushing her office chair back away from the desk. She sighed deeply. “I should have known it would be too easy.” She sounded quietly resigned. “Someone like Konoe wouldn’t be left unprotected; not with the kind of power she’s got stored inside her. Looks like we’ll have to go a step further.” “Yoshino-sama?” Mari kept her tone neutral, even though she knew what was coming. It was the only sensible thing to be done, after all. “You’ll have to go to Mahora yourself. Long distance manipulation isn’t going to work, we’ve learned that. Go there, find out the circumstances, and get that girl back here. I don’t care how you do it. I would say try not to hurt anyone, but I think we’re past that now. We’re running out of time. Just get hold of Konoe and bring her back.” “Yes ma’am.” “Oh, and Fujiwara-san?” “Yes?” “Take Sugiyama with you. You might need the back-up.” “Yes ma’am.” Mari let the door shut quietly behind her as she stepped back out into the hall. She paced steadily down the corridor, up the stairs, through the maze of halls and doors on the next floor up, and out to the front door. In what she thought was an amazing display of self-restraint, she actually made it out into the open before the scream finally fought its way out. “Damn it!” |
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| Jessie | Mar 11 2007, 03:27 AM Post #25 |
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KonoSetsu Fan!
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Hmm.. I think it was nice, to know how the other evil side of the story thinks and acts. I still rather read about our known characters, but I guess I wouldn't mind to read the other side story as well. When I think of it, it does makes the story more interesting :] BTW, I wonder if Mari loves Hiroyuki *evil-grin* Lol :P Please continue! ^__^ |
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| icha-kun | Mar 15 2007, 03:58 AM Post #26 |
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Nobody
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I love your fanfic so much, Chigusa! I can't stop reading it!!! Please continue... :lol: |
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| Chigusa | Mar 16 2007, 01:59 PM Post #27 |
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Middle Schooler
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Thanks guys! Jessie - Hehehe... Well that would be telling, wouldn't it? You'll just have to keep reading to find out... ;) Icha-kun - Aw, thank you! Don't worry, I'm not about to stop anytime soon. Uni work may slow me down on occasion, but this is one story I'd like to see through to the end. Anyway, I now return you to your usual programming. Let the KonoSetsu continue! Chapter Six - Honesty The sweat dripped off Setsuna’s nose as she held her position, the bokken in her hands levelled by her right ear, its tip unwaveringly pointed at her imaginary opponent. She took two controlled steps forward, her bare feet quiet on the polished wood of the dojo floor, then launched into a series of whirling, turning attacks that took her down the length of the long hall. When she reached the far end she came to a graceful halt, holding her finishing pose perfectly in the stillness of the deserted room. A stillness that was suddenly broken by a low chuckle from the direction of the doorway. “Are you not a little slow this morning, Setsuna-dono?” Setsuna spun around, her wooden sword instinctively raised into a guard position, but at the sight of her visitor she relaxed, and allowed the bokken’s tip to sink to the ground. She shrugged and wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. “A little. I didn’t get much sleep last night.” That was an understatement. Setsuna hadn’t slept at all through that night-long vigil at Kono-chan’s side. Once Negi had returned from his visit to the Dean it had been getting late, and both he and Asuna had given up and gone to bed. Despite Asuna’s urging that she would be no use to anyone exhausted, Setsuna had spent the night knelt by Kono-chan’s bed, Yuunagi propped against her shoulder. How could she have slept and left her ward defenceless against any more attacks? Now that morning had come and Kono-chan had finally woken up, sleep or no sleep, there was no way she could forego her morning practise. Kaede nodded solemnly at Setsuna’s words. “This one understands. Konoemon-dono explained how things are to us last night.” “Us?” “Us. The Dean is not a foolish man. His grand-daughter is threatened, so he uses all the tools he has at his disposal. This one may be but a humble school girl, but this one may still be of use. Tatsumiya-dono and Kuu Fei-dono are equally not without skill.” The ninja smiled. “You do not battle alone, Setsuna-dono.” “Thank you.” Setsuna bowed, then abruptly turned away. “You’ll have to excuse me, Kaede-san. I have to prepare for school.” The swordswoman didn’t wait for a reply, but rather strode off in the direction of the baths, the wooden blade resting on her shoulder. She knew she was being rude, but there was no way she could have spoken to Kaede for any longer without her feelings becoming obvious. Jealousy was a foolish emotion, but it was jealousy that burnt in her chest at the thought of Kono-chan needing other protectors. Why wasn’t she enough? This was the one way in which she could see Kono-chan as hers and hers alone and now she was being asked to share her. She frowned, angry and annoyed at herself and the world all at the same time, absorbed in her inner turmoil. So absorbed in fact that she didn’t notice the person in front of her until she collided with them. Setsuna cursed under her breath and rubbed at the red mark on her brow. That was definitely going to leave a bruise. She straightened up, opened her mouth to apologise, and then froze at the touch on her forehead. “Silly Secchan,” Kono-chan said with a mock-serious expression. “You’ll hurt yourself, rushing around without looking like that. Are you all right?” “I… Ojou-sama… I’m sorry. Are you…?” Setsuna could barely string a sentence together as Kono-chan gently explored the sore patch on her protector’s forehead, warm fingers stroking the tender skin. “I’m fine. I guess a hard head has its uses, eh?” The girl smiled, a bright warm smile that seemed to illuminate everything around her. Setsuna found herself blushing. “I’m glad I found you, Secchan! Why did you run off so quickly this morning?” Setsuna finally pulled herself together and captured Kono-chan’s hands in her own, drawing them away from her bruised head. “I needed to train, Ojou-sama. Asuna-san said she would keep an eye out for you while I was in the dojo.” Kono-chan pouted. “You know that’s not what I mean. You’ve barely said two words to me since I woke up. We need to talk about this.” “This?” Setsuna hesitated. “It doesn’t matter who is after you this time, Ojou-sama. You know I’ll always protect you. I won’t let anything happen.” Kono-chan pulled her hands away and folded her arms across her chest, looking hurt. “I know that. But last night you got hurt, and it was my fault. I don’t want to just be something that you protect, Secchan. I want to help. What if something happens that you can’t handle on your own?” The swordswoman bristled. Unbidden, the jealousy that had been provoked by Kaede’s words rose up in her again, stronger than ever. Everyone seemed to think she was incapable of performing her duties properly, even Kono-chan. Some part of her knew the emotion was stupid, knew that the only important thing was her friend’s safety, but for now it was overwhelmed by the gnawing pain in her heart. Kono-chan didn’t think her protector was good enough. Was it because of the close call last night? Setsuna flushed and looked away, trying to find something to focus on other than the object of this raging new emotion. “I’m sorry, Ojou-sama.” The words came out short and clipped. “I don’t have time just now. I need to change for school. Please excuse me.” She made a brusque little bow and turned on her heel. “But…” Kono-chan made a lunge for her and managed to grab an elbow. “We will talk about this sometime, right? Promise me.” The girl didn’t turn around. “I’ll see you later, Ojou-sama.” After a second’s pause Setsuna felt the weight of Kono-chan’s grasp fall from her arm. “…Later, then.” Without another word, the swordswoman set off once again, head bowed. Somehow she resisted the urge to run, to get out of Kono-chan’s sight as quickly as possible, but she almost hurled herself around the corner into the shelter of the bath house's walls. At last, she didn't have to worry about being watched. All the burning emotions of the last few minutes surged up over her, and she threw herself back against the brickwork and covered her face with her hands. Slowly her knees gave way and she found herself sliding to the ground, her shirt bunching as it caught on the wall’s roughness. It wasn’t important though. The only important thing was controlling the hot tears that had filled her eyes. Her head fell forward to leave her forehead resting on her knees, hands still over her face. Why was she feeling like this? Why should the thought that she wasn’t enough to protect Kono-chan on her own hurt so much? Setsuna gave a hollow laugh. Who was she kidding? She knew where the emotions were coming from. She lying even to herself. She was jealous of her role as protector because that was all she had. Her role as guardian was the only thing that made their relationship special, that distinguished it from any of Kono-chan’s other numerous friendships. It was the only thing that made her special. “I’m such a coward.” The words forced themselves out of her in a half-sob. “Why can’t I just tell her? Kono-chan…” ***** And on the other side of the wall, unnoticed by the distraught swordswoman, a shadowy figure nodded to herself. “Interesting…” |
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| icha-kun | Mar 17 2007, 02:05 AM Post #28 |
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Nobody
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Yay! A new chapter! This chapter is very nice! *kicks the geography book and reading the fanfic again...* :lol: |
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| Jessie | Mar 17 2007, 05:48 AM Post #29 |
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KonoSetsu Fan!
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Aww.. :[ Secchan... ;-; It was so cute, and sad at the same time ;-; Please update soon, it's hard to think Secchan was crying ;-; |
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| BAKA NO JITSU | Mar 17 2007, 12:12 PM Post #30 |
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Grade Schooler
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Ehhh!? Is Secchan going emo? |
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*pokes at Konoka to wake up and have more cutesy romantic moments with her Secchan* :D

7:21 PM Jul 10