MISAKI
"Bunny-chan, where are you running off too."
Aki heard Asami calling him from a few paces behind him. She was a person whom Aki had yet to figure out what her motive was, so he increased his pace trying to avoid confronting her and tried to blend in with the crowd hoping that he will lose her.
"Who are you calling Bunny?" Misaki asked Asami as her friend was walking faster almost running behind someone and she cannot exactly see who it was they were chasing.
"It's our Hero boy, the talk of the mountain. He looks like a cute bunny Misaki-chan." Asami exclaimed as she started weaving through the crowd faster.
"What do you mean by bunny and when did you even talk to him?" Misaki was very confused, it's so unlike Asami to take interest on someone. She could already feel her friend plotting something.
"He is young and talented not to mention very handsome; he is like a shiny new toy and everyone wants a piece of him, so I have claimed him before them and now I need to talk to him. But looks like he is avoiding me." Asami answered with a pout.
"Asami-chan you cannot just claim people."
"Nuhuh….. I have claimed you, Izumi onee-chan, Kijuro onii-san, Daisuke onii-san. You are all mine." Asami explained as if that could make any sense.
"But we all are family." Misaki was flagger bested by her reasoning.
"Let's make him too, come on." Strangely it was that simple for her. Asami started pulling her hands as they rushed through the crowd. Misa thought her friend was being ridiculous for going after that stupid handsome boy.
As they came out the arena towards the cluster of shops, they stopped by a cloth shop.
"Oh no, it looks like we have lost him. Bunny-chan where did you go?" She pouted as they looked around and there was no presence of the boy. Misa looked at her friend's exaggerated expression, what's interesting about this boy anyway.
"Do you even know his name before you claim him to be yours?" Misa asked her pointedly as they looked for the boy around there.
"I don't, but I will ask him next time." As if that was helpful.
"But he was in your group, wasn't he?" She asked Asami, she should have heard his name yesterday.
"Yes, but I was a bit preoccupied by his fire show." Asami replied as a matter of fact, because honestly, he was very impressive.
"Oh yes…he really produced blue fire right." Misa replied sulkily, as more people with fire control were coming forward and here she was who can't even make a spark.
Asami turned abruptly as she noticed the dejected voice of her friend.
"Misa-chan…..you can't think that way, just because Kijuro onii-san can control fire doesn't mean you have to also."
"Father can do it and Grandpa is known in the realm for his elemental powers, our entire family line has fire as primary element Asami-chan."
Asami took hold of her best friend's hands and squeezed them tightly.
"No offence babe but your father is not a perfect example for you to compare yourself with, you are thousands time better than that man. And you are forgetting something, your mother's primary element was air which you are mastering with perfection. Not everyone can control air Misa-chan, it's the toughest element to take control over and you are doing it easily. You are amazing at it stop worrying."
"But.."
"No buts. It's not our family who defines us Misa-chan, it's what we achieve ourselves."
Misaki sighed as she looked at her friend's concerned face, "You are right, I should focus on more important things not these semantics."
"Yes, absolutely right now come on we need to focus on finding bunny-chan." With that Asami continued to pull her friend away as she tried to find the boy. Misaki couldn't help but smile and walk along with her best friend, her pillar of support.
Aki pulled himself away from the cluster of cloths he was hiding behind, he sighed in relief as he looked at the fading figures of the two cultivators. He did not know what was wrong with people today, first the cultivator from Fujii family and now this woman, according to whom he was a shiny new toy. Mount Haven was filled with strange people. Aki pulled himself out of the cloth stall and rushed away not wanting to get caught by anyone.
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ASAMI
As the night fell, Asami was very dejected that she couldn't find the boy. Misa-chan had long since abandoned her to go meet her brother. Sulking at her misfortune she trudged along the cliffside with her familiar.
Bambi was a Class 5 magical beast. She had found the pup when she was five years old, during a hunting trip with her dad and her brother. It was very strange that the pup wanted to bond with her. At first, everyone was confused as the pup refused to leave her and it became agitated and violent whenever anybody took her away from Asami. Later, it was Asami's father who suggested maybe the beast wanted to bond with her, that kind of explained the continuous nibbling on her fingers.
Her mother was worried sick but her father encouraged her. She formed the bond by giving the pup few drops of her blood. It was an exhilarating experience for a five-year-old at that time. The then small pup has now grown and levelled up her cultivation, though Bambi has not reached her peak yet. The familiar grows with its master, so she will keep on levelling up as long as Asami cultivates.
There are two forms in which the magical beasts can exist- one is the Compressed Form that helps them conserve Qi and cultivate, the other is their True Form which is mostly used for battle and intimidation.
Bambi now in her compressed form was nibbling at any high-grade herb available in the path as they walked along. Asami sat on a rock at the side of the cliff dangling her legs as she looked upon the mist covered valley in front of her.
Even though the valley was around hundreds of feet deep the thick Qi enriched mist had totally covered it up. She sat there meditating to calm her mind.
Asami has always felt like she was living in the same boring time loop. The similar pattern that she did for the last 20+ years of her life just kept on repeating. She sometimes feels like she is an aimless entity just floating by without any purpose or goal. Everything was just pre-determined for her.
Sure, she wanted to become a great cultivator but it has also started to sound like a hassle, everything was turning into a bore. This is one of the reasons why she leapt at the new boy in town. He was someone out of her ordinary routine, which pulled her to him and she will chase it until she feels satisfied or grow tired of it.
Chasing the depressing thoughts away, Asami decided to go back. Dusting herself she climbed up the rock intending to go back, when she noticed Bambi was nowhere to be found. She was lost in her thoughts that she forgot about her familiar. She shouldn't be this careless in public where anyone can sneak up on her, not that anyone would dare to but still she had to be vigilant when she was alone, no one to watch her back.
Quickly centring herself she focused on her familiar's bond. Once she got the trial, she followed it to find her Bambi. Asami walked out of the forest into a small clearing overlooking the valley where her eyes zeroed in on Bambi who was nibbling from a hand which was feeding her something.
Asami could only see the back of the man which was covered in black hair till the waist. The man was sitting on a small bench with his sword resting right near him. Asami trusted Bambi's judgement, she won't feed from just anyone. She must have felt the man was no harm to her.
And Asami was pretty sure the man already knew of her presence because she herself could feel the power radiating of him. A cultivator as powerful as that would have sensed her long back.
Gathering her courage Asami put up a sweet face as she approached them. Slowly lowering herself, she reached for Bambi but she pointedly ignored the man and started petting her familiar.
"You ran away Bambi, you scared me back there." Asami spoke to her as she petted her smooth fur. Bambi nuzzled into her hand forgetting the man.
It was only then that Asami lifted her eyes to look at the men who was still sitting there. Asami had to hold back her gasp as she looked at the narrowed eyes of the Crown Prince.
There was no denying it, as the distinctive claw marks adorning the left cheek, right from below the eyes, through the cheek extending down his jaws then disappearing behind the long hair was none other than Shinsuke Saito-sama, the Crown prince. Who was now staring at her as if she was just a worm under his shoes.
Slowly not showing her internal panic, Asami brought back her flirty smile as she took in the crown prince's appearance. The man appeared so put together and stiff even with his hair open and spread out. It looked like not even one strand of hair was out of place.
He was a tight coil of power and Asami could feel it radiating out from him. The cold indifference in his face and the narrowed eyes could easily scare anyone but Asami was not just anyone.
"Thank you for keeping my familiar company, your highness." She talked in the same saccharin sweet voice that made many men putty in her hands. But instead of the usual warm responses that she gets, she got a cold glare back as the man stood up clutching his sword.
Asami stood up slowly picking Bambi along with her, who was still nibbling on whatever the crown prince has given her.
"Keep your pet in leash, or the next time I will cut of her head."
The man spat at her crudely as he walked away like a thunder storm. Asami was frozen in the place with her heart thundering a mile. Cold dread washed over her as she crumbled to her knees when she felt the man's killing intent sweep over her. She cannot believe the audacity of the man to unleash his Qi pressure on her, at her own home.
Beads of sweat rolled out of her as she tried to dispel the high-pressure Qi engulfing her. Bambi was whining softly as she too was affected by the man's power. Asami tried to pet Bambi but her hands refused to move. She looked at the receding back, of the vilest man she has ever met. No one has humiliated her like this in her entire life. Her heart burned with fury and desire to crush him.
Shinsuke Saito will regret doing this to her. One day she will make that arrogant man fall to his knees before her.
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