Suikoden Fan Fiction ❯ Love's Just a Form of Insanity ❯ Chapter 8 ( Chapter 8 )

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 9

Fred looked up at the tree, a wave of rage nearly over taking him. This wasn't going to be pretty. The ninja was going to regret making a fool out of him. That was for sure.

"Watari!" He shouted at the ninja, who glanced at him once, before turning his gaze back to whatever had been holding his attention before. Fred felt his jaw twitch at this lack of respect. No one ever ignored him. "Watari, I need to speak with you now." But, now the ninja seemed to be tuning him out entirely.

Koruko had stopped barking and was looking at Fred expectantly. The knight himself was feeling angry and was trying to figure out how to get Watari's attention. He looked up at tree and groaned. With his heavy armor, climbing was definitely not an option. And throwing something at the ninja, while tempting, wouldn't be very becoming of a Maximillian Knight.

"Fine, I'll just pretend you're listening." Even though there was still no response from the ninja, he continued. "I feel very wronged by you. It is one thing to claim you harbor certain affections for me. It is quite another to then express said affections in an inappropriate manner." Watari turned his head towards Fred and cocked an eyebrow, but the knight didn't notice. "But, to then go and throw yourself at another person and Lily Pendragon at that…"

One thought crossed Watari's mind, one that pleased him very greatly, even if it wasn't true.

/ He's jealous. Wouldn't it be nice if that was the truth? /

"Such behavior screams of one with very loose morals. Well, I suppose that for a man it isn't so… Wait, it is just as bad as a woman doing it." Fred took a moment to puzzle out the double standard, and then decided to give up on it. "The point is, I don't appreciate being used as a release."

/ A release? /

And Watari found himself laughing out loud and unable to stop. One could see a twitch forming on Fred's forehead. "What is so funny? I'm being serious here!" Watari leapt down from the tree with releative easy, earning a happy woof from Koruko. Watari closed the distance between himself and the knight, till they were far too close for comfort.

"You are acting like a woman scolding her unfaithful lover." It was hard to tell if Fred was more taken back by the insult or by the fact that Watari was demonstrating what may have been called a comedic wit. All the knight could think to do was respond in the most childish way imaginable.

"I am not." Watari glared at him so harshly that Fred nearly yelped. The ninja then gave Koruko the same look, causing the dog to yelp so loudly, you'd think it was trying to make up for the knight's lack of response. The ninja stalked off, tired of the whole conversation. It took a few minutes for Fred to realize that he had been dismissed yet again.

"I'm not done with you yet!" The knight shouted as he began to chase after Watari. Koruko, heartened by this display followed.

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Landis skulked outside the bar, trying to come up with a plan of action. Mike was in there enjoying a drink and thus was ripe for the plucking. But, if the winger screwed up, he knew he was in trouble. Even before his eavesdropping that morning, Landis had been aware of the detective's inner darkness. It writhed under that fake smile of his and was enough to move the winger to tears.

Landis appreciated the darkness and thus knew he needed to take special measures. In this case, special measure consisted of hoping Mike was like other human men and would get himself punch drunk. Until then, he must lurk outside, scaring the residents of the castle as usual. He was getting horribly bored though. There were only so many times that you could scare people with tales of the angel of death.

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The trail to Dunan and back was long, hard and dangerous. Especially for citizens of that country, such as Samus and Reed. Not to mention that they were forced to bring an unwanted guest back with them. Said unwanted guest had demanded a break just moments away from the castle and was now off exploring the dangerous landscape.

The two men had taken that moment to rest their feet. Plus, this way, they could enjoy being away from their mistress awhile longer. "Samus do you think this is for the best?" Reed looked at his partner in concern.

"You mean marrying her off like this?" Samus kicked his feet against the ground, feeling a listlessness developing, as he was not used to having so many chances to rest.

"Of course I mean marrying her off like this! And to him!" Reed was already getting exasperated as Samus was being unusually dense this whole trip.

"I say good riddance. They suit each other."

"B-But, aren't you going to miss her?" Even though Lily had always been a harsh and temperamental mistress, in Reed's mind, she had always been like a daughter and he hated to see her go. Samus got an exasperated look on his face, as he saw the whole situation differently.

"What is the matter with you, man? This is our chance! Our chance for freedom!"

"Freedom?"

"Think about it. We've been waiting on her for years and years. And what do we get for it? A promotion? Money? Respect?" Reed looked thoughtful for a moment before he was forced to shake his head.

"Exactly! All we get is grief!" Samus was now in full fervor, as was common when he got going.

"But, Samus, you can't honestly say there's no reward out of this. I mean for years, we've been Miss Lily's support and well…" Reed tried to find the words to express himself. "I guess I'd like to think she still has a need for us."

"Reed, my friend, don't let her get to you like that. It's just what she wants."

"But-"

"Listen, I know how you feel. When she was younger, there was a need for us. But, not now. She's always made decisions on her own, but now she's at the point where she can actually be depended on to make the right ones."

"But, Samus, she's so rash and she starts fights and she…" Samus clapped a hand on Reed's back, shutting him up.

"Reed, we can't hold her hand anymore. She'll only learn if she's allowed to stumble around on her own path." Seeing that Reed wasn't about to protest, Samus continued. "My friend it's time to move on with our lives. She's getting married and we're free to do whatever we want. I can finally go back home and you can finally that little store you've always wanted." Reed sat there, letting the thought sink in.

"You're right. I mean she has grown up to be a fine, young lady after all. Our work is done." Satisfied that Reed was now cheered up, Samus was about to retrieve their traveling companion, when he hear the blonde say something under his breathe. "I still think marriage is a bit extreme though."

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When Percival had been called to Chris's office, alone, he knew he was in trouble again. He knew because he'd been feeling sneaky lately. And Chris had this talent for picking up on his moods and trying to stop him before he had any fun. He stood in front of her desk now, trying to look serious like a knight should and not how he felt, like a bad child about to be scolded.

"Percival, did you do something to Maximillian?" Yes, it did appear that she was on the right track.

"You mentioned something about him having some sort of issues when we were out drinking last night.

"Oh, um, that was just the ramblings of a drunken lout. And besides, it's Borus who has issues with him."

/ Forgive me, Borus. /

"Are you sure? You have nothing to do with some fight between him and Watari?"

"W-Watari?" Percival's mind was working at a frantic pace and couldn't quite digest the information.

"Yes, Lily said..." Percival was just barely listening though, his mind too caught up in the possibilities.

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Rico was trying to find her Master without much luck. Well, it wasn't that she didn't have any leads. People had seen him outside, apparently, as Billy had put it, `more pissed off than a sailor denied access to a whore house,' or something along those lines. She had come back into the castle, about to admit defeat when she saw Watari enter through the doors, followed by Fred, who was followed by Koruko.

"Wait up, damn you!" Fred shouted, causing Rico to hide. She watched as Watari stopped and gave Fred a look that could kill. Several other onlookers were just staring in shock, unable to believe anyone would say that to the ninja.

"I'm sick of this stupidity. What do you think you are, the center of the world?" The ninja's voice had a harsh quality that caused Fred to once again wither, but only for a moment.

"I am not conceited!"

"Well, I don't care anymore. I'm leaving." Before anyone could stop him, Watari through a small ball to the ground which exploded in a puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared, the ninja was gone, leaving now trace behind. Fred stood there for a few minutes before he began to mumble under his breathe. Koruko whimpered and ran off, obviously disappointed that Watari wasn't there. Everyone else was staring at the knight, not that he noticed. After a few more minutes of anger though, he stomped off, obviously frustrated. Rico stumbled out from behind her hiding place, feeling pure shock.

/ It couldn't be... /

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That afternoon, Rico and Percival met at Mamie's again only to find out that they had reached the same conclusion.

"Tell me, Sir Percival, is Watari really…" She trailed off as she took another bite of banana bread.

"Really… Odd?" Percival finished the sentence after he was done chewing his carrot cake. They were both silent for a bit longer, before Percival spoke up again. "You didn't see this coming at all?"

"No." Rico said bitterly, now focused on stabbing the piece of bread over and over again, as if it were someone quite hateful.

"Is something wrong?" Percival cocked an eyebrow, hoping he hadn't opened a hornet's nest. When a woman got a look on her face like that, and when it was obviously related to a man, he had learned that all bets were off.

"He's been keeping things from me lately. Important things. He used to tell me everything. But, he's been lying to me." She now looked heartbroken and you could see her eyes getting wet.

"Well, I'm sure he didn't mean to."

"Yeah, but he's never done anything like that before. He always tells me what's going on. I'm more than his squire… We're supposed to be friends. If he can't tell me about someone bothering him like this, well I guess all those years meant nothing." Percival knew better than to say anything at this point. Tell a woman she was judging a man too harshly and she would rage at you till she was blue in the face.

"The worst thing is, he's making a complete fool of himself." Rico now had an entirely different tone, one that the knight couldn't identity, yet it seemed very familiar.

"What-"

"He's angry because he's being ignored. Ever since I can remember, Master Fred has always, always hated being ignored or rejected in any way at all." Percival now recognized this look as the kind that a mother, older sister or grandmother might have when complaining about some reckless youth. "He hates it so much that he starts obsessing over the person and it's just dreadful."

"Really? I find that quite fascinating." That sounded so much like Borus that Percival couldn't stop a small smile from forming.

"Fascinating?" Rico looked at the Zexen as if he had gone mad. "He's going to be a pain for who knows how long. The only way to stop it will be to get Watari to apologize for whatever slight Fred thinks he committed." Percival replayed what Chris had said, but decided not to reveal anything just yet and see what Rico knew about the `slight.'

"You mean he isn't upset about it being another man?"

Rico shook her head. "No, I highly doubt that. He'd be embarrassed for sure, but he really doesn't care about things like that as long as a person is decent. No, it must be something else…" The squire mused now, looking thoughtful.

"Well," Percival started, "Lady Chris told me something interesting today about an incident involving your master, our ninja friend and a Lily Pendragon."

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"Where is that blasted Watari?" Lily had spent the last few hours searching for the offending party, hoping to give the ninja a piece of her mind. But, after a few hours she had given up, her only clue being all the people who said they'd witnessed him having a fight with Maximillian. Lily had decided she wouldn't bother with such a silly detail and would go get a stiff drink instead.

Right now she was nursing that drink in a lonely corner of the bar, muttering to herself in a way that guaranteed all other patrons would leave her alone. Most people would assume that drinking when you were enraged was a bad thing, but most people weren't of the Pendragon line. Lily, like her father had a high tolerance for alcohol and could drink gallons before it affected her judgment.

Which was good for Samus and Reed when they entered the bar and found her. Heading for the table, they were surprised when she didn't notice them right away and could only conclude she was in a terrible mood. They both waited a few minutes, not wanting to disturb her. After a while though, Samus, getting impatient, elbowed Reed roughly.

"Uh, Milady…" She looked at them crankily and narrowed her eyes in contempt.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be escorting that little weasel."

"Uh, Milady, we have. We were able to return early." Her eyes widened in shock.

"You mean he's here? Right now? Is he with you?" She was looking around frantically, adjusting her hat and smoothing her hair out. "Don't just stand there, hide me!" She looked around Reed and Samus trying to see if the man she hated so much was with them.

"You need not fear. He is resting in the room we had prepared for him." Reed was relieved to see her visibly calm down. But, after a moment, she got a dangerous look that caused both to fear for their lives.

"I need you two to make sure he doesn't come down until tomorrow morning. Or else."

/ You will not catch me off guard this time, you little creep. /

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Landis was severely disappointed. Somehow, Mike had left the bar with out him noticing and was now safely locked away in the library, which was unusually full today. He could only conclude defeat as he was getting bored and desired to move onto some other task such as scaring Elliot or teasing Ayame. Or, scaring the little dog that was wandering around lost…

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To Be Continued…

Next time, I will introduce Lily's fiancée. He's an OC, but he's important to the overall plot. Otherwise I can't guarantee anything else.