Suikoden Fan Fiction ❯ Love's Just a Form of Insanity ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )

Rating: PG-13 (just in case.)

Genres: Romance/Humor/Angst.

Pairing: Watari/Fred, one sided. Some one sided Landis/Ayame as well and mentions of LilyxOC.

Warnings: Yaoi. OOCness. Odd, odd pairing.

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Chapter 7

The man slumped to the ground, his jewels making a clinking noise. The blood soaking through his clothes wasn't visible as it blended in with the rich, red velvet he wore. The murderer, a young man, noted the silence in the manor house. It should have been an encouraging sign, but he felt nervous and had to resist the urge to run his hands through his hair.

The sudden sound of sound of someone knocking on the door caused him to react. Next thing he knew, the young man was running and jumped out the window, all in one fluid motion. As he ran, he could hear cries coming from the house. But, he didn't stop, he just kept running. Yet, the place he ended up…

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Watari shook his head at the memory. Which made it really hard to keep his balance in the tree that was his current refuge from dragon women and annoying dogs. He didn't know why he should remember such an insignificant assassination. It had just been a warning to the rest of Dunan. A warning that Highland would soon be free. The death of a state dog. That's all it was. Wait no, it was…

Not his first kill. That had been when he was fourteen. So why was that memory so important, in the sea of so many? And why now? Was it because of Mike? Or was it these weird feelings that the stupid knight aroused in him? What was it?

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"Lily, what do you hope to gain by this? He's not worth it." Said Chris as she looked at the red headed girl she was sitting across from. They were in Chris's room, which was locked and fortunately, soundproofed.

"Chris, you can not possibly understand how that little wretch insulted me!" Lily's fists were clenched as she said this.

"But, you were both eight when it happened!" Chris had just wanted to help Lily out with her problem, but was definitely not in the mood for the girl's nonsense today. Not with everything going on around her.

"That doesn't matter! He called me a tomboy! A man in a girl's body! And he's supposed to be my betrothed!"

"Well then, why don't you cancel the engagement?" Lily got an ugly little pout on her face.

"I would if I could. But, it's for the good of Tinto. The only way out of it is to find a different man. And as far as I'm concerned, all men are idiots." Chris was about to correct her by saying there were some good men, but then she remembered her recent problems and started chuckling.

"I know what you mean. I'm just glad that I don't have to be forced into some silly nonsense like marriage." Lily looked at Chris a moment, surprised to see her lightening up.

"What have they done to you lately?" The silver-haired woman laughed again, knowing that Lily was referring to the Zexen Knights.

"Oh, it's the usual stuff. Borus is being insufferable and picking fights. And Percival… I really don't know what he's been up to lately," She looked thoughtful as she said this. "I just have the feeling that he is up to no good."

"Well, my fiancé isn't the only man annoying me lately either. It's bad enough that Samus and Reed had to leave so as to help escort him here. But then there is that stupid ninja as well." Lily scowled to herself.

"Ninja?" Chris was now a bit thrown.

"Oh, that Watari character." Lily waved dismissively. "I was having him help me practice for when 'he' shows up, but then there was this thing involving Maximillian and well, needless to say, things are looking very down right now."

"Fred?" Chris was now alert as she knew that part of Percival's trouble making involved the Maximillian knight. He'd said so at Ann's bar and since it involved Fred, who was about as naïve as you can get, the female knight was concerned. "Lily, tell me what happened. Right now."

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Fred was muttering to himself as he left yet another terrified guard to wonder at his temper. No one had seen Watari, no one. This was to be expected as he was a ninja and ninja were tricky like that. That's the way the ninjas back home were. Of course, the people of Rokaku weren't so cold and ruthless either. And they were actually nice, and most of them weren't deceitful perverts either.

/How dare he insult my pride? I've been demeaned by murderous, treasonous scum./

"Young man. Hey, young man!" Fred stopped to feel a gnarled hand griping his arm. He turned around to see the old fortune teller, Piccolo looking at him in concern.

"What is it?"

"Why, I happened to notice that you appear to be troubled. I was wondering if you would like a reading, so as to find out the proper solution." The man had a wry smile to his face, which made Fred suspicious. He didn't trust fortune tellers and the like. They were always trying to trick him. Besides, as far as your fortune and your destiny went, the knight didn't care to know. He made his own future.

"I'm sorry, but I'm in a bit of a rush." The old man wouldn't let go though.

"Maybe I can help you with that." He was stroking his chin with his free hand. Fred grimaced, trying to resist the urge to throw Piccolo aside.

"I'm looking for someone, so I'm afraid I don't have a moment to spare." The old man gave a little hop at that moment.

"Ho, ho. What a coincidence! I have just the spell for that. If you could just help me out by giving me some money…" Fred scowled, knowing for sure that he was being taken for a ride.

"Listen, I don't have any money to give you."

"Oh, but surely you could spare an old man a few coins. A few coins to help with my living expenses, perhaps?" Fred could feel a twitch forming, a small one. It was enough to make him smack the old man. But, his grandfather's words were coming back to him.

Always respect the elderly, boy. Even if they say really crazy or really stupid things.

"Fine." The knight muttered as he found a few coins for the old man. Sometimes, honor and respect could be a curse.

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Landis was perched on a small ledge in the basement, when a strange thought came to him. He couldn't figure out for the life of him, what the relationship between Watari and Ayame was. Such things normally didn't bother the winger, but there was one fact that he was hoping to declare very soon and Watari could be an impediment: Ayame was his and his alone.

Ever since he had first laid eyes on her, Landis had come to desire the pretty, little thing. The first time they talked though had not gone so well. How was he supposed to know that she would not be interested in talking about the god of death and what his plans for dead rats were?

The second time had not gone any better and neither had the third. The subjects and jokes he tried were to no avail. She didn't laugh, look disgusted or start shaking in her boots. She would just give him a slight stare, tempered by anger and leave. It was only during the fourth meeting that he had finally found her trigger.

That day he had been feeling a little flippant and thrown a small stone at her back. Before it could hit her, she had not only smacked it away, but she had thrown a knife at him. He just barely dodged that knife, and next thing he knew, he was fighting for his life. That glorious first battle had ended in a draw and had led to him having plenty of 'practice' sessions with Ayame.

Their training sessions had allowed Landis what he believed to be personal access to a mysterious woman. After a time, he had come to know almost everything about her. Well, everything that counted. Except for Watari.

He knew that the two were part of the same group and that Ayame was trying to kill him for betraying them. Or something like that. But, there was definitely more to it than that. She had said they weren't lovers, but then… What were they?

He had told himself that they must be siblings, except now that he thought about it… They didn't act like any brother or sister he knew of. They acted like they had a bond that was thicker then blood, love or lust. It wasn't fair! He wanted Ayame all to himself. He wasn't going to share her with some demented, loyalty obsessed, basket case.

But, killing Watari wouldn't do any good. If Watari died, then Ayame would leave. No, he couldn't have that. No, not at all. And if the winger wasn't going to kill ninja boy, then there was only one option left. Find out why the always happy gambler Mike, had been talking to the ninja that morning. But, how to get the man to talk without killing him?

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The Piccolo was looking into a crystal ball, his eyes closed. He had long since stopped his annoying laughing and was deep in thought. It had been five minutes and Fred was already bored, and feeling weighed down by the heavy incenses that filled the tent. Finally the old man's eyes fluttered open. He shook his head, looking a little grave.

"Ho, that is most odd."

"What is it?" Fred was a little freaked out by the look in Piccolo's eyes, but decided to ignore it. This was no doubt a part of his act after all.

"The one you seek has a very dark cloud hanging over him. He is bound by his past and has been denied his future."

/Eh, what does that have to do with finding Watari? And why is this fortune so creepy?/

"But, those chains may soon be unbound, if one can only have faith. But, if they aren't unbound soon, all is lost."

/Whatever./

"I'm leaving now Master Piccolo. Thank you for your time." Fred was heading out the tent when he found the old man's cane blocking his way.

"Young man, there is more. If you wish to find what you seek, trust in the dog. Trust in those who share your nobility and in old allies. And new allies, who shall come from unexpected quarters." He lifted his cane out of the way, a solemn look on his face.

"Uh, thank you, I guess." The knight left the tent, shaking his head at the folly of fortune tellers. Little did he know that Piccolo was shaking his own head, at the foolishness of youth.

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Koruko was running around with his nose to ground and feeling utterly lost. He couldn't find that interesting masked guy with the weird hair and the sword. The dog didn't know why, but he found that man to be very interesting. He wasn't fun like Cecile, but there was this feeling he got, as if, as if…

He didn't know what it was, being a dog and all. Koruko just knew that he needed to protect the man. In particular from that mean, smiling man. It was really important, not that the dog knew why. But, he had to remain by the side of the one called Watari.

The dog perked up, thinking he was hearing the ninja, only when he turned around to see the one called Fred. He barked at the knight in greeting, and then went back to looking for the ninja.

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Trust in the dog.

Fred shook his head, thinking it was nonsense. Why should he believe in what that old man said? Of course, everyone knew that Koruko was unusually intelligent for a dog and that he seemed to have a knack for getting into places, but still… He was just a dog. A dog who suddenly let out a howl and started loping off. And Fred didn't know why, but he was following behind the mutt.

After a while, the dog stopped at a tree and started barking. Fred looked up and nearly fell over from disbelief. There was Watari, sitting in the tree, trying to ignore the dog.

/No way. That fortune can't be right, can it?/

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To Be Continued…

Wow, this story keeps developing in ways I never intended it to. So many characters to wonder about. What's Landis going to do? What's up with Koruko? Is Piccolo's fortune hogwash or actually the truth? Who is Lily's fiancé? What is Watari's past and what does it have to do with Mike and Ayame? And what's Fred's part going to be in everything? Should be noted that these questions are more for my benefit then anyone else's.

Oh, and as for Rico and Percival, they will be appearing next chapter, I promise.