paixaorpg | A Sweet Reunion

Entry tags:

A Sweet Reunion

Character(s): Ash, Yoruichi, Marona
Content: Ash continues to search for Marona around Paixao but this time gets a rather pleasant surprise, thanks to Yoruichi.
Setting: K7
Time: Late Evening
Warnings: Other than the lame title? None.

Ash hadn’t even stopped for a mile, continuing to run down various streets in the direction that Laharl had pointed out to him. His pace may have been a little bit slower than when he had been running in search of Marona earlier but there was no less determination behind it. Despite he wanted to be fast, he had to also take into account that that any one of these buildings could be the inn. While he was hoping that the place would have some large indicator, he kept an eye out for it.

After a mile, though it seemed almost as if he had been tricked. It certainly was possible that kid had manipulated him, now that he took the time to think about it. However, it wasn’t as though his plans were any more productive than being pointed into a random direction. This was truly the only lead that he had to Marona’s location. Still, it was best to be cautious and thus he gave even more attention to his surrounds as he went further west.

He remembered the white creatures from earlier, and wondered when they would return. Nighttime usually was the time for things of darkness to roam, or at least, according to most peoples’ beliefs. Ash was no different in this case, wary of the fact that the light of day was minutes from disappearing. He wasn’t sure whether these creatures were going to reappear or not but regardless he wanted to attempt to find Marona before it was too dark. For although he, for the most part, had been wandering without direction, the fact was that when it turned dark he’d probably become even more lost than he was beforehand.

Plus, he never did like Marona to go out in the dark – so shouldn’t he set some example?

((OOC: Sorry this took so long. Feel free to hit my internet connection and I with a sharp object. ))

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Finding Ash would have been a lot easier if she had something else to go buy other than his relatively small spirit energy. And since he was a soul, leaving a message on the journals wouldn't accomplish anything, since he couldn't actually touch or grab the device in his current state.

The only thing Yoruichi could do was to flash step around Paixao and hope that she could sense him sooner than later. And with Marona in tow, the Goddess of Flash did just that. Starting from the hotel in the center, she began heading left...

Reminding herself that she was carrying a passenger, she thought it would be a good idea to give her some advice. "Keep holding on to me until we reach him, but let me know if you're about to fall so that I can stop."

When Yoruichi had hinted of her speed, even Marona hadn't begun to comprehend just how fast Yoruichi had meant. She certainly knew now! It was almost incomprehensible to the girl, who had her arms wrapped carefully but firmly around Yoruichi's shoulders, hands clasped tightly to each other's wrists to avoid slipping. Moving this fast was exhilarating, and she found herself almost out of breath.

She nodded slightly to Yoruichi's instructions, having trouble finding her voice, but realized that wasn't going to do. Hastily she followed with an awkward verbal response, "O-okay! I will!"

She had a strong sense falling would be a VERY bad thing, so she tightened her grip to her wrists a little more.

All the while, she did what she could to keep her eyes peeled for a sign of Ash. It was a little difficult between the darkening 'sky' and concentrating on not falling off, but she strove to do her best, as she always did.

Indeed, the fading daylight was making it more difficult for Yoruichi to find Ash with her eyes. If their search really didn't turn up anything, then she would attempt it again, but in her black cat form instead. At least then she would be able to see in the dark.

For now though, Yoruichi kept focused on picking up his faint spirit energy. In the meantime, she attempted to ease some of Marona's obvious nervousness.

"Why don't you tell me a bit about Ash?" she asked. "The boy didn't exactly say much about himself when I met him."

It took a moment for Marona to collect her thoughts. So far this world had surprised her with the open mindedness towards her and her phantom guardian. And now finding someone who could even see him themselves ... it was a strange thing to wrap her mind around.

She was always cautious to talk about Ash to other people. It was a something she just didn't speak about in Ivoire, but she didn't want to not reply to Yoruichi. She was being so kind to her, and she already knew Ash was a phantom... so with her largest secret out in the open and accepted with apparently little surprise, Marona could see no reason not to speak a little of her guardian.

She smiled a bit, "Hee .. No, Ash wouldn't say much, he's very careful about things ... mostly when they concern me. He's probably even more worried about me than I am about him. He worries a lot."

"Ash looks after me ... for my parents, who, well ... they're gone... That's why he's trying so hard to find me. He's like .. mm .. a guardian, but ... more than that. He's very special to me," she explained thoughtfully. Her relationship with Ash wasn't something she often thought upon. It was hard to describe in one word. He was many things to her.

She remained quiet, and thought about what Marona had just said. That was Ash was so determined to be reunited with her and why he was being so cautious and distrusting about Yoruichi. Heh, to think that people like that still existed in this day and age, she would have to give him more credit. "Both of you are very lucky to have each other around. Especially when you're in a city like this one."

Continuing to flash step her way through the rooftops, Yoruichi finally managed to sense the person she was looking for.

"Ash is nearby, I can feel him. Hang on tight."

A smile slowly grew over the girl's lips at Yoruichi's words. She really, truely was lucky. That Ash was here, and there were so many nice people who'd helped her to get to him. "Y-yes ... I ... I am," she replied softly, sounding a little emotional.

"I don't know what I would have done if ... " she couldn't finish her thought. It didn't need to be finished. That wasn't the case. He was here and they were going to find him. Even sooner than she thought!

She let out a soft gasp, "Really? OK!" As excitement spread through her, she tightened her grip a bit more again. Now was definetly not the time to do any falling off!

Slowing down until she was no longer moving, Yoruichi set Marona down and briefly scanned the area for any sign of Ash. She could feel him, but just barely. He had to be nearby, somewhere. Daylight was diminishing fast, they would have to find him soon, or resort to the "plan B" Yourichi had thought up earlier.

"Let's go." she said, heading down the street. "Stay close to me, and keep your eyes open for him."

It took a moment to adjust to being on her feet again after having quite the ride. Walking like normal was certainly slow in comparison. Once she was steady, she gave a nod to Yoruichi, "Right!" And followed along beside her.

After a few moments of looking around, she thought about trying her original tactic to find Ash, before she'd realized that this place was so big and Ash hadn't been anywhere close. While coming darkness was about to give them troubles to see, hearing worked just fine, so if he was anywhere near here if she called he could well hear her.

She gave a sideways glance to Yoruichi hoping she wouldn't mind, before taking couple quick steps ahead, then pausing to call out down the street, "Ash!"

It was frustrating, now, even if he had a lead as to where Marona was located. The fact that it was becoming more difficult to navigate as time passed was something Ash did not appreciate. The remains of daylight would disappear soon, and turn this city into even more of a maze. This was a fact that he wished, at this point in time, was false. For the darkness looming just around the corner would soon become a hindrance to him.

With all the bad luck he had been having, it was no wonder he wasn’t able to find Marona. Yet, to Ash it seemed as though all of this were his fault – just another reason as to why he was a failure to her. Pent up emotions let themselves out through a sigh as thoughts he wanted to push back seemed to resurface. An inner struggle was not something he needed right now but things seemed to be headed that way.

A voice, once again, would pull him from his thoughts but this time the voice was familiar – and calling his name. “Marona…?” He questioned to himself, even if there was probably no doubt it was her. Yet, in this city it seemed almost as though anything could happen. He did not let that thought get in his way much, however, as he took the chance while he had it.

“Marona!”

Yoruichi was just about going to switch to "plan B" before she heard a voice. She had heard it before, and just then, she was able to sense the person they were looking for. Ash was nearby, but where?

Walking towards Marona, she looked at her over she shoulder and said, "Take my hand, we're going to follow that voice. Okay?"

[OOC: I apologize for taking so long just for writing something so short. You can have Yoruichi take Marona to where Ash is in your next post.]

She blinked several times as she heard a voice - a very familiar voice - answer back, with her own name. Her heart leapt as she grew more excited, and relieved. They were on the right track! Ash was not only here, but really close now. Marona had no doubt it was Ash.

Nodding once more quickly, Marona slipped her small hand into Yoruichi's and followed along as Yoruichi attempted to lead them towards the voice they'd heard in the distance.

It wasn't long before she spotted a very familiar figure through the darkness, coming towards them. Her heart skipped a beat as she released Yoruichi's hand to move ahead faster towards her goal, which was now in sight.

"ASH!" she called out to him, tears starting to well up in her eyes as many emotions started to well up inside her. Arms spreading wide, she dashed towards him. After such a long, emotional and almost frightening day, relief was finally at hand.

(Ooc: No worries! :) I hope that sufficed.)

While there had been no verbal reply at first, Ash continued to search in the direction of the voice. If only just in the off-chance that the voice might be her. If only just for a sign that there could possibly be some sense of familiarity in this mad world. He was exhausted and in pain, yet the voice gave him some hope that what he had been searching for was here.

And it had not been long at all before his eyes met hers, before the darkness seemed to clear away and reveal what he had been searching for. Crimson eyes met teal ones, and he could see the tears welling up in Marona’s eyes. There was so much he wanted to say and it showed within his eyes, yet none of the words ever left his lips.

Instead, these words had conveyed themselves through a different way. As Marona raced towards him his body, although weary and tired, confined to embrace the other. Relief spread through him as he held her, now knowing that Marona was safe and with him.

“Marona…” He had a million thoughts in his head yet he was at a loss for words. But it did not matter, for the embrace conveyed more than he could ever say.

((OOC: No problem at all. :3 ))

Yoruichi smiled at the sight before her. Even though she had some words to say to Ash, with the two of them reunited at last, she thought it would be best to give them a couple of moments alone and talk to him later.

"I'll be nearby. Call for me if you need anything." she said, giving Ash and Marona the opportunity to catch up without having to worry about a stranger listening in to their conversation.

(OOC: Consider this Yoruichi's exit from the thread. It was fun, and sorry for holding you guys up so frequently.)

Marona was so relieved when she was met by his self-confined form, wrapping her arms tightly around his middle, as he embraced her back. Feeling made it seem so much more real. Even more comforting was when she heard her name on his lips. Ash... It really was Ash. Burrowing her face into his yellow vest, her fingers grasping at the material, as she began to shake with sobs.

"A-Ash ..." she managed to mumble after a few moments of crying. After a moment she lifted her head to look up at him, two steams of tears running down her cheeks. Her face was not sad, however, but rather she had a shaky smile on her lips. The wetness rolling down her cheeks were tears of , not sadness, but rather relief - absolute, overwhelming relief.

Glancing over her shoulder a second, remembering Yoruichi was there, she managed a thankful smile in her direction ... Marona was having trouble with words and couldn't seem to say anything, but hopefully the shinigami got the message.

Sniffling a bit, tears still releasing from her eyes, she glanced back up to Ash, after Yoruichi had vanished from sight.

"I ... I'm so sorry, Ash! I .. I don't know how I got here. I've just been trying to find you!" she tried to explain between sobs, struggling to find something to say to him, feeling like she owed him some explanation or... well something.

"I'm ... I'm so glad to find you!"

(OOC: Aww no worries, Jon! :) It was fun! Thank you~! <3 )

The thoughts of Marona being gone had affected Ash deeply, and although many of those fears were eased with her presence, they still managed to haunt him. Ash felt the treacherous tears threatening to escape from his eyes, tears that had been restrained for years and years. All of these events that had happened today shook him and now that he was here with Marona he was able to feel the full impact upon him.

He had been scared. Truly, utterly scared that maybe Marona wouldn’t come back, that she would end up like Haze and Jasmine. Those thoughts brought up memories, memories that were best left in the back of hid mind than brought forward like this. For these thoughts and memories were beginning to overwhelm him, and although he was not one to live in the past –the past were certainly impacting him in this moment. He felt tears attempting to escape his eyes.

When Marona looked at him, however, with tears still staining her cheeks and her shaky smile, he realized that he must push these tears back. He was her guardian, right? He couldn’t just go crying on her now – that would be letting her down. Besides, he had sworn off these tears years and years ago. Thus, no tears spilt when he looked back at her – rather a comforting smile as he held her.

Like Marona, he had glanced over to Yoruichi as she slipped into the shadows. So, she had helped them afterall. Although he was still wary of her, a lot of his former doubts towards the woman had disappeared just as she faded into the shadows. Hopefully, though, he would have a chance to thank her.

He turned his attention back to Marona moments later, listening to her as she spoke. She had been looking for him his whole time as well… Had she been looking for him ever since last night? That thought caused him a bit of guilt, even though he knew the circumstances that caused this were not under his control. For despite they were not controllable, he should have still been there for her.

Now, however, they were reunited – so he hoped he could somehow make this up to young girl.

“It’s alright, Marona,” He smiled softly as he attempted to calm Marona down, his hand moving behind her head to brush against it gently. “We’re together now, aren’t we?”

“And… I’m glad to have found you, too…”

(( OOC: It's alright! It was nice RPing with you~. As for the delay, no worries. I'm a slow RPer as it is. XP ))

Her smile strengthened at Ash's words and she nodded a little before dropping her head to squeeze him gently around the middle again, "Yes! We are!" Just as she'd predicted, she really did feel like, whatever this strange place had in store for them, they could face it together.

Slowly she gained control of her sobbing and after another long moment she pulled away, so she could lift her arms to her face and attempt to wipe the wetness from her face with the sleeve of her new coat, sniffling softly, but smiling.

"So ... um ... I guess ..." she started awkwardly, then laughed softly at herself. She was suddenly tongue-tied. She'd spent so much thought in trying to get to him, that what would happen after really hadn't entered her mind much, beyond getting in touch with the others.

At that thought she let out a sudden, "OH!" and scooped into her pocket to pull out the journal device she'd been given. "Um, I promised the people who helped me that I'd let them know when I found you," she explained, "There's three - Miss. Karst and Alphonse and Ed .. they're brothers. Um... they went different ways, but Alphonse and Ed said they'd try to find somewhere to stay... if we want to join them. Um ... What do you think, Ash? Oh ... although either way I should still try to let them know I'm okay."

She looked up at him, wondering what he thought, as it was really his call in these matters as her guardian.

Marona’s reply sent a wave of confidence through him as well. While it was simply confirming something that he had said, that confirmation was needed. A hectic day such as this one certainly shook parts of him – and reuniting with Marona was one of the first steps to stabilizing the ground again. Not that he wanted this place to become normal for them to stay in, but it was much easier to relax and think when on more stable grounds.

A few moments after the other left his embrace, he had unconfined himself – not wanting to put much more stress on his body. What kind of guardian would he be if he collapsed here? Certainly not a good one, he noted as he watched the younger one attempt to find more words to stay. Maybe in regards as to what they should do now that they had found each other.

On that note, he hadn’t given much of a thought to it himself. While it was a bit uncharacteristic for him to forget these things, he had been some preoccupied with finding Marona that he had let it slip from his mind. Well, there was that whole ‘certainly not a good one’ statement coming back to bite him. Luckily, Marona surprised him by coming up with a remedy to this situation. She had pulled out the same device that the brat had earlier – explaining that she had met three people she needed to contact back and that they could meet up with them to find a place to stay for the night.

This idea caused a bit of mixed reaction within Ash. There was no denying he was certainly proud of Marona for thinking up this idea, since it was a fairly good one. However, there were certainly some drawbacks – especially meeting up with others. Despite it had already been proven that at least several people could see him, he wasn’t exactly comfortable with it or sure of their reactions. He didn’t want them to suddenly turn their backs to Marona simply because of him – he didn’t want this to turn into another incident like Windmill Promontory.

Still, there were a lot of things that far outweighed the negative for now. (For he wasn’t sure how much longer he was going to be able to mask pain from Marona. He didn’t want her to worry but the injuries still hurt a bit.) Besides, Marona had apparently told them something of him – which might make the situation a bit better. Although he was still a bit unhappy with this fact, for his own reasons.

He looked through the shadows to see if Yoruichi was still present – seeing as she knew this place far better than him it seemed. Although she had said she was nearby, it didn’t seem as though she was there anymore. He turned his attention back to Marona with a slight bit of disappointment – he could really have used the woman’s help now that he had realized she was somewhat trustworthy.

He recovered quickly from the disappointment as he replied to Marona, “That’s not a bad idea at all. We should attempt to reach them before it becomes too dark, though... Did they have a meeting place set in mind?”

Marona shook her head to Ash's question, green locks bouncing around her face, "No ... they didn't. They weren't sure exactly where they were going. They just said to contact them when I found you."

Seating herself down on the cobblestone, as there wasn't really anywhere else to sit, she slipped off her mittens, tucking them into one of the pockets of her new coat, then opened the journal and set to work on making a post to hopefully attract her new friends attention.

"There," she said softly after a few minutes. It didn't take long to get a reply from Karst first, "Ah! Miss Karst is okay ... but she didn't say where she is. I hope she really is okay."

Then came a reply from Ed which she responded to since he hadn't said where they were, and soon got a location, "Well, Ed says they've found a hotel. Mmm... let me see... How to get the map... oh right!" She poked at the buttons and soon found the map and she followed with her finger carefully working out the spot Ed had said.

"Oh. It's .. way over there," she said sounding a little worried as she glanced up at Ash, distress in her eyes. She tilted the journal for Ash to see the map himself as she pointed out the spot. "It'll probably be very dark by the time we get there, Ash. What should we do?" she asked her guardian, placing the decision on his hands. She felt okay, but Ash had obviously been looking for her all day. She found herself wondering if he was as okay as he seemed to be. He couldn't not be tired after all that.

There was just no way the two could have possibly gotten to the otherside of the city that night. They were both just too exhausted from the very long day of looking for eachother, so the two decided it would be best to find a place to sleep closer. Looking at the map better, they managed to find another hotel that was much closer, so they made their way to that Actua Are, and managed to thankfully get a room for the night.

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A Sweet Reunion

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