Aish*teru (I Love You)- Chapter XLIX: DreamlessnessFollow

AUTHOR'S NOTE: With all the buzz about the future of Allakhazam, I felt that perhaps something pleasant to take people's minds off of the present might be in order...

This is the latest chapter of my love story.

Please review and be honest.

Previous chapters, aki, and Interludes

Part I - Connection (Enishi)

Kasho II - Kodoku (Solitude)

Part III - Reunion (Saikai)

Kasho IV- Suriyoru (Closer)

Part V- Secrets (Hiou)

Kasho VI- Hanarebanare (Apart)
---
(Chapter XLV)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=35;mid=1131636452150807743;num=4;page=1

(Interlude IX)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=35;mid=1133800951265217703;num=2;page=1

(Aki XLVI)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=10&mid=113501144625653958#1135182494202893613

(Chapter XLVII)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=35&mid=1138039094120547425

(Aki XLVIII)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=35;mid=114115196869295116;num=2;page=1

(Interlude X)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=10&mid=1141306825158258628
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Bonus Story: Rainfall Memories

For a friend once lost, but found again...

*****

I dipped my hands into the cool basin of water and then splashed my face a couple of times. The water seared against my closed eyelids and as I could swear that steam was rolling off of my bare skin, I ran my fingers through the hair on my scalp. I was tired as all hell, and it was rather a miracle that I had managed to make it back to my flat above the alchemy guild in one piece.

I then stumbled out of the bathroom and then climbed in-between the silky white thin sheets of my bed and folded my pillow over in half for my head to lay on. The window cracked, I allowed the nighttime Shiva breeze to slip across my body, drawing the pain away from my flesh until I fell into a dreamless nothingness.
***
Chapter XLIX: Dreamlessness
***

One week ago...

One day after I had received that first message awhile ago in my mog box, I had promptly forgotten all about that Yule Ball. I had never been required to go to an event of that sort in the Grand Duchy of Jeuno during my tenure there with the Ducal Guard and I since still felt that it was rather strange to have required attendance at an event such as this here in the Marquisate, I had put off thinking about it until I got a second notice in my box one day.

Dear Sir,

You have not RSVP d your invitation to the Yule Time ball on Starlight Eve. We humbly request that you do so at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely yours,

Marquis of Tavnazia

When I saw the Marquis signature at the bottom, I sighed rather loudly when I realized that I truly had no choice but to go to the damn thing with this girl whom I had never met in my life. When I had grown up in the Republic of Bastok, what semblance of a family I had never really bothered with the Elvaan lifestyle in either Tavnazia or San d Oria. Instead, the people that raised me instead preferred to take the radical approach and let me develop as a person without having to worry about all of that herital baggage. It wasn’t until much later on after I had joined the Ducal Guard that I became thankful for this unorthodox way of growing up, because it allowed me to not be prejudiced towards any one nation while administering my duties and troops in the name of Jeuno.

But despite that, I couldn’t say that at times, it didn’t suck to not have SOME cultural refinement.

Like now, for instance.

I crumpled that second letter up, and tossed it perfectly into a nearby copper wastebin without touching the sides. As my eyes followed my shot, it was then that I noticed a rather large yellow flyer stuck predominately against the inside of a window. On the surface, there was big block black letterings, with an image of two shapeless people in what looked like a semi-waltzing position at the top:

COMING TO THE YULE BALL, AND DON‘T KNOW HOW TO DANCE? HAVE NO FEAR, LEARN FROM THE BEST 12/18-12/23 AT 17:00-19:00! REGISTARTION IS ONLY 10 GIL A PERSON, AND BE SURE TO BRING YOUR DANCE OUTFIT!

Trying hard to resist the urge to tear down the flyer because of the rather obvious misspelling of registration , I quickly memorized the information upon it instead and decided that I would have to go to it sometime before the dance itself.

Two days before the ball...

I finally went to a dance session.

When I got there, there were around twenty to thirty other men there, all dressed in formal regalia (much like I was in my koenig suit), and looking about as happy as I was about having to be here. The room was rather bare, as there was just a wooden elm floor, with one wall lined with mirrors and a couple of doors. There was a bard in the corner of the room who seemed to be working on turning his harp while keeping his oversized floppy hat from falling off of his head, but no sign of a dance teacher.

But, at percisely 17:00, a slender hume stepped out from a backroom to the middle of the wooden dance floor. He was dressed in what I could only describe as a repulsively skin-tight outfit that managed to show off every curve of his body...even in places where I highly doubted that anyone would want to see any shape.

"Hello therth evethyone, I am Mamaulabion", he said in a high-pitched tone with a lisp to his voice as his gaze started to sweep across the room. "I am yoth teacheth for today. Unforthunathely, since my dathe for the Yule Ball is outh geththing a dthess rhight now, she will be unable to be my parthner for thonighth. Thus, I will proceed to preform both the juithy genthlemans and ladies danthing roles, and once the session is oveth, you may pay youth gil up ath the fronth counther. Any questhions? No? Good, then please pay aththention to my hips as I show you ho-..."

It was at that point that I decided I’d rather be fed to Jormungand by some crazed crimson armored Guardian to the Goddess, than have to learn how to dance from him.

Turning around and trying to sneak out as quietly as possible while Mamaulabion was still jabbering on, I made my way back to the entry hall, and was almost to the front door when I saw two mithras slide a wooden barricade across the door, effectively blocking my only way out. The two mithras then smiled towards me, flashing more than just a few teeth at me in the process as their claws became partially unsheathed.

While I am not one that ever allows himself to be intimidated...I really did not want to possibly pick a fight with two mithras. Especially two mithras who seemed ready to tear apart anything that dared to try to get past them.

Making up some excuse to the two of them, I then quickly shuffled my way back to the main dance hall. There, I found that the instructor was pairing people off into temporary dance couples, provided that their date for the Ball wasn’t there also. Gradually he narrows all the people down, and I found that I was stuck with a red-headed hume girl who seemed to bathe in gallons of scented night flowers. The odor repulsed me so strongly that I had to restrain myself from slapping her hand away as she touched the outside of my armored sides and waist with her hands.

For the next two hours, with every shin kick and foot stomping that I received and felt even through my metal armor, I found myself wishing that this girl would hit herself against my armor hard enough to break something. I knew it was a horrible thought, but after I was feeling more bruised and battered than I had ever felt while being in service to the Ducal, I frankly didn t give a damn.

Two more days...

Then this is over...

-fin Chapter XLIX: Dreamlessness

The "*" isn't my fault...if you break down the word, ************ The word **************** is caught in the language filter, and I can't break the filter with the thread title :(

Go ahead if you want. Just be sure to link in my fanfic site, www.fanfiction.net/u/544225/

Thanks^^