by JK Ensley
He held her ever tighter. “You are mine.”
She knew his words couldn’t possibly hold any more truth were they spoken in the tongue of heaven. She gazed into those steel blue eyes, filled to the brim with love, with reverence, with sheer adoration.
“As you are mine.”
He ran his hand up her back, caressing her. “Then, it is as it should be,” he whispered.
Daichi carried her back to the lounge, holding her upon his lap as they faced one another, admiring each other with new eyes and a new awareness.
She smiled lovingly at her mighty blue Angel. “How shall the universe be able to contain us? How can it possibly hold what we now are?”
He pulled closer. “It cannot,” he whispered into her mouth.
They ignored the knock upon the door. This wasn’t the time for visitors. The world fell away around them. All that remained were two awe-struck Angels—lost within each other, basking in their own private heaven, floating atop a sea of magical stars.
Chapter 54
Yui
(YOO-ee)
After seeing Tenshi off to his training and leaving Daichi in Vareilious’s most capable hands, she had slipped away unnoticed.
Jenevier had spent the better part of the day speaking with Master Munenori, the Angel of the ninth layer realm, seeking his desired counsel. Varick had been right. This mossy lavender Angel would always be there for her, always be her friend, always have her back. She loved him for it, and he knew she did.
“Kagi Naga, you cannot yet fathom what lies before us.” He chuckled. “Ah, the trouble I will constantly have to get you out of. Thousands of years’ worth of trouble… I almost can’t wait.” He kissed her adieu. Then she leapt from the balcony.
Before returning to Vanahirdem and her waiting brothers, Jenevier flew to the magical Shinobi village in search of the rest of her odd little family.
Mika ran to her, embraced her, refused to let go. “I missed you so much, Mama.” She blushed when she realized what she’d said.
Jenevier kissed the top of her head. “And I you, my precious little sweet cake.”
“Have you returned for good?”
“No, my child. There is much I have yet to do. But I came back for you and Yui, as promised.”
She looked up to find that same beautiful young ninja slowly approaching them, apprehension marking his every step.
Mika released her and moved to the side. Of course she could read their minds, sense their feelings. But there were no words to express what was forged between her beloved Empress and her honored brother. Mika couldn’t help but cry, silent tears flooded her pale cheeks. She was the only creature who could understand them. The only other human who could see… Their emotions were so intense, so mutually profound, that they seemed to take on a soul of their very own.
Jenevier met her dear friend halfway. They hooked their index fingers and rested their foreheads together. And there they remained. A ninja and his Angel—forever bound by tragedy and devotion, catastrophe and allegiance, heartbreak and loyalty.
Many villagers gathered to look upon them. Yet no one spoke.
“I would be worse than dead without you,” she whispered.
“I live, despite my origin, only to serve you, Empress Naga.”
“Don’t be so formal with me.” She squeezed his fingers. “We have bathed together, you and I. Formalities are for strangers.” She giggled when she saw how red his cheeks turned. “I came back for you, Yui.”
“I knew you would, Naga. Will you stay?”
“Not this time, old friend. But soon. At least, as soon as I’ve made amends to the universe.” She looked into his lovely eyes, played with his magical hair. “It truly isn’t fair,” she pouted.
“What isn’t fair, Milady?”
“Your eyes are my absolute favorite color. Why can I not have eyes such as these? And your hair, it’s more than twice mine in length. I am truly jealous.” She pulled him closer and whispered in his ear. “I have never said this to a man before, Yui.” She heard his breath catch. “But you are more beautiful than I.”
Without thought, his arms went around her waist, squeezing her, pressing her closer, trembling with desperation. It was her turn to gasp.
Burying his face in her curls, he whispered, “Apologies, Milady. Will you just let me hold you like this for one bliss-filled moment? I didn’t know if I would ever be blessed with looking into your enchanting eyes this side of the veil. I knew you’d keep your promise. Yet I knew not when. Time surely doesn’t mean the same to an Angel. What if you had remembered I was waiting on you, only to return when I was old and gray—defying death until you came for me? Releasing my spirit only after I’d gazed upon your grace once more.” He drew in a ragged breath. “I don’t want to let go for fear you’ll disappear.”
She relaxed then and returned his embrace.
“I know this is not proper,” Yui continued. “And Daichi would tear my head off with his bare hands. But I cannot release you… not just yet.”
“I’ve missed you, too, good Yui. It has been weeks. Forgive me for making you wait so long for my return.”
“Do you have to leave right now?” He sniffed and hid his face deeper within her curls.
“Yes. But I’m taking you and Mika back to the palace first.” She stroked his enchanted raven locks. “And I do believe I fancy walking there from here. What say you, dear friend? Do you have just a few days to spare for our journey?”
He squeezed her tighter, painfully so, before he let go, quickly hiding his face and wiping away his tears.
“I shall await you here, beautiful ninja,” she whispered that last part. “Go. Tend to your family and bring all you wish to take. Once I have you there, I’ll not let you leave the palace without me upon your noble arm, good Hand.”
She winked and he returned her knowing smile as he took off for the home he shared with Orochimaru.
She then turned to face the weeping girl. “Mika, dear one, do you wish to stay with your family until my return, my permanent return?”
Hanzo and Hinata remained at a distance, awaiting her answer. Mika glanced quickly towards an approaching Saizo and sent Jenevier the mental confirmation she had once asked for.
“Empress Naga.”
She turned to find that same man kneeling beside her. When he rose, she saw his eyes. Those beautiful pale lavender eyes. No eyes were as his, the rarest within this realm, or any other.
“Ahh, I would eagerly slay a lion with my claws alone to be blessed with eyes such as yours.” She flashed her beaming smile at the now blushing Shinobi. “Are they magic? Did your mother have eyes like these, or was it your father?” He opened his mouth to speak, but she continued. “It matters not. Perhaps you were blessed by the gods. Will you share with me the secret behind those enchanting orbs? I wish to know all about them.”
Looping her arm through his, she continued to smile and talk as she led him away.
Mika sent her a relieved mental, thank you.
Jenevier only acknowledged her appreciative thoughts with a slight nod of her head.
The multicolored Angel laughed at everything this handsome ninja said, touching him lightly when she giggled. It didn’t take long. Before they’d made their way to the village edge, he was wholly smitten with her. All thoughts of her precious little Mika had been erased from his mind.
“Will Your Highness be in need of my assistance at the palace? I would be honored to serve in any way you may see fit.”
“The honor would be mine entirely, Lord Saizo.”
He held to her, possessively, until they made their way outside the village proper.
She turned to him then, bowing slightly. He mirrored her gesture.
“I must confess something, Milord,” she said, placing her hand upon his chest, feeling his heart race within. “I carry a dark secret I must reveal to you now.”
“My heart craves your enticing voice no matter what secrets it may carry. Speak withou
t ceasing and I will be lost to you forever.”
“Very well, then.” She looked deep into his beautiful, magical eyes. “I can read people, Saizo, inside their minds. I know their thoughts. I know their past. And I can see into their future, a little bit.”
He swayed slightly when his knees started to buckle. She held fast to him.
“You know of what rare talent it is I speak, do you not?”
He didn’t answer her. He could only stare, and blush.
“I can see you’re a good man, a noble man. I can also see how your type of power would be of great use to me.” She patted his hand. “Tell you what. If you can suppress or contain those lurid thoughts of me still running wild within your head, I will take you back with me to serve on my Council.”
Saizo sat down heavily upon the stone wall bordering the village edge, marking an ancient forgotten boundary. She could tell he was fighting a losing battle in his internal war.
His words were barely more than a whisper. “Will there ever be hope?”
“Hope in what, good Saizo?” She felt a tiny pang of guilt, forcing him to speak aloud words she could clearly read within him.
“Will I ever be allowed into your world? Will I ever be allowed a piece of your heart?”
“Ahh, that’s too easy a thing to ask. I’m much too free with my heart, mighty ninja. Carelessly so. Do not seek to claim such a pitiful heart as mine. It’s poisonous. As for the real question screaming within you…” His eyes widened. She only smiled. “You would have to live an extremely long time indeed if you wish to hold me like you do in your thoughts.”
“How long?” His greedy question fell from his lips, unchecked.
She laughed softly, placing a hand upon his shoulder. “I belong to the Angel who so easily slew your Emperor. You saw him, did you not?”
Jenevier watched as the thoughts in his head turned from passion to fear.
“If hell should ever claim my glorious blue Angel, and I managed to live through such an unfathomable thing… an emerald-eyed man, two noble Guardians, a great chocolate cat, the Angel who watches over this realm, and a young Shinobi ninja all stand in line before you.”
“So… all I have to do is continue to live?”
She laughed. “Yes. I agree it’s not a very exciting quest.”
“But hope lives within it, albeit a tiny spark. But hope nonetheless.” He stood and bowed low before her. “I graciously accept, Your Highness.”
She got tickled when he cocked his bowed head to the side, winking up at her with the one eye she could see. “Very well, Lord Saizo. Arise and go forth. May the gods favor you in your pursuit for extreme longevity.”
She held out her hand and he kissed it before leading her back into the village proper.
Hanzo approached them. Saizo bowed once more before taking his leave. She nodded slightly to him and then let the other elder lead her to his waiting family.
“Why did you do that?” Hanzo quickly checked the tone he was using with his Empress. “I mean, apologies, Your Highness. But… why would you do that?” He tried to keep his voice low, so as not to be overheard.
“I was simply fulfilling a promise I made long ago.” She cocked one eyebrow. “Do you share in Mika’s talent, Milord?”
“No, Empress Naga. She heralded us your exchange.”
“Did she now?” Jenevier winked at the happy girl. “So, do you believe it worked?”
“Oh yes, Empress,” Mika said. “His mind is haunted and blessed by you. I am no longer even an afterthought.”
“That is my gift to you for saving me, more than once.” She tweaked the girl’s nose. “To answer your question, Lord Hanzo, I wished my little sweet cake to be able to make her decision without reservations. She only ever wished to leave your loving home in the hopes of escaping, shall we say, beautiful prying eyes.”
Hanzo cleared his throat uncomfortably at her plain speech.
“She is welcome to return to the palace today, if she wishes. But I may be gone for many months. She can choose to stay here with loving parents now, without fear of molestation. Or, she can choose to spend the next many months in a gilded prison with only Yui and Munenori as her constant companions.”
Mika giggled and hugged her again. “I want to be just like you when I grow up.”
“Ah, Mika, my heart, I wish much grander things for you than the tragedy that is my life. You are far more precious than I could ever hope to be.” She turned to the girl’s parents. “Lord Hanzo, Lady Hinata, I would like to request a great favor from you. I wish you to inform me, beforehand, when you choose to let Mika be taken as a wife.”
“Of course, Your Highness. But might I ask why?” Hinata’s voice was kind and gentle, just the way Jenevier had imagined it to be.
“Because my only son is quite smitten with this lovely little maid. I would like him to be considered, on her behalf, before you make your final decision.”
“Y-your son?” Hanzo and Hinata stared at each other.
“Oh, yes.” Mika clapped her hands and giggled. “You remember him, do you not?” She continued before they could answer. “He was the blue Angel that rode the golden Dragon. He’s the kindest, most gentle soul I have ever known.” Her eyes went all dreamy.
Jenevier muffled a snicker and Mika’s parents only stared at her, unblinking.
“But… he’s a giant, Mika.” Hanzo’s voice was unsteady and he shot a worried glance toward the Angel’s mother. “He slew the Emperor without pause,” he whispered.
Jenevier cleared her throat. “Actually, that one would be mine. He’s not available for barter.” She smiled proudly, remembering how easily Daichi dispatched the only man she had ever truly hated. “She dreams of my son, Tenshi. He’s just as giant and just as beautiful. Yet he is as meek as a kitten where Mika’s concerned. They have been constant friends from his birth.”
“From his birth?” Hinata choked out the words.
“Oh yes, I helped deliver him.” The young girl visibly shuddered. “It was terrifying beyond all reason. That’s when the Princess died and I prepared her for burial.”
Mika rattled on without noticing how her beloved guardians’ faces were losing all their buoyant color.
“That’ll do for now, my child.” Jenevier touched the girl’s shoulder, ceasing her words. “So, what say you? Will I be told first when you, as her rightful guardians, declare she can wed? Will my Tenshi have the honor, if he so chooses?”
Mika was still dancing around in happy circles when Jenevier and Yui left the village, making their way on foot to the royal palace of Jinn.
“You know what I wish?” Yui bumped her with his shoulder as they walked. “I wish Daichi had been the one to fall in love with that silly little girl.” He looked up to the clouds. “Yes, that would most definitely be my wish.”
She put her hand to her mouth, stifling her laughter. “What are you saying, good Yui? Are you implying you would have made a proposal for me?” She looked at his sheepish grin from the corner of her eye. “What a scandal we would have been. I’m old enough to be your mother. Perhaps your grandmother.”
“Perhaps you’re right.” His smile broadened but he was looking straight ahead and wouldn’t meet her gaze. “You may be far too old to handle one as young and virile as a highly trained Shinobi ninja, with a secret ninjitzu concerning the ladies.” He moved his eyebrows up and down.
She got tickled then. “A secret ninjitzu? Have you been holding out on me, Master Hand?”
She punched his arm, causing him to drop what he was carrying. His belongings spilled out on the ground.
She gasped. “Oh, Yui. I’m so sorry.”
She bent down to help him and noticed the wicked look in his eye. She took off running but the playful young man gave chase, using his hair to seize her escaping legs.
“That’s not playing fair, Yui.” She giggled again. “I didn’t even don my wings. How very ungentlemanly of you. You should never use your ninjitzu on just a regular gi
rl.”
He pulled her back to him, neatly wrapping her in a cocoon of raven locks. “You’re no regular girl, Empress Naga. Whether you don your wings or not, you could never be just a regular girl.”
Jenevier was forlorn to leave her palace home, leave the two people who had come to mean so much to her. Alas, duty called. She kissed Munenori and Yui farewell before she headed back to the clouds and the warriors who awaited her on the other side.
*****
“It’s settled then,” she declared. “I will attend Vittorio to Byzantha while Daichi goes with you to Spadroon.”
“No, it will never be settled that way,” Daichi answered for his Guardian counterpart. “If you wish to go to layer two so badly, good Vareilious will accompany you. Vittorio can see to the third layer with me.”
“Aye, ye’d partner with me an’ see yer Angel off with that giant oaf?” Vittorio snorted out a laugh. “Ye know nae what ye do, little Flutter. He wulnae show her the admiration an’ respect I would. He’ll claim her… nightly if she lets him.”
“He speaks true,” Vareilious admitted.
Wide eyes and knowing smirks turned his way.
He feigned innocence. “What? Do you wish me to lie so you can feel at ease, little brother? Trust me not with your fair maid. She loves me too much. Just ask her. She’d do anything for me.”
Jenevier giggled. Daichi sent her a warning growl. She kept giggling.
“Alas, as much as my colorful little Angel would enjoy my undivided attentions, I won’t be taking her to Byzantha.” Vareilious let out an exaggerated sigh. “Nor will anyone else. As I have said, she’ll not be going there at all.”
“Very well, while you fine gentlemen stand around here comparing your boy parts, I’ll settle this argument and head to Ashgard alone. I should have gone straight there when first I returned.” She gave Daichi a quick kiss on the cheek. “Fear not, sweet Blessing. I can sense you no matter where we roam.”
She disappeared into the clouds without another word.