He wasn't sure exactly where he was going to look, but he was determined to seek out the mysterious woman. He climbed up onto the drivers seat of a carriage, grasping the reigns as he urged the horses to slowly trot away. He looked around and pondered a moment before snapping the reigns, the horses neighing as they started into an easy gallop.
As he looked about he thought to himself 'She couldn't have gotten far. She was on foot and I wasn't inside for more than ten minutes with Zuli.' He frantically darted his eyes down each street and around every turn looking for her, until one moment, merely a flash, he felt that energy again. It was more faint, but he halted the carriage, pulling the horses to turn around and nearly tipping the whole thing as he turn down the road toward that alluring energy.
Once he felt it just as strong as he has when he glimpsed her, he noticed the same black frill and lace outfit half peeking out from behind a tree. There, on the other side, the woman sat gazing up at the sky. He pulled the carriage up in a half assed manner of parking and jumped down from it, stumbling as he slammed to the ground. She sound startled her, turning her face to look at what was making all the commotion.
Giving a smirk she watched on as he nervously sauntered over to her. She gave him a slight nod as she gracefully climbed to her feet just before he could offer some assistance. She peered at him, not saying anything, just looking.
"I.. I saw you... W.. Walking down my street."
"I know. I remember seeing you gaze from your window." Yuuko shrugged, turning to walk around him. "But I did not expect you to stalk me."
"Oh no.. I.. " He frowned at her, looking to the ground. "I didn't mean anything by it. I.. I just couldn't stop myself."
"It's alright. I think I'll live." She gave a soft smile. "But, to make it up to me.." He perked his head up to look at her, shocked that she would ask something of him like that.
"Hmm. Yes. To make it up to me, you have to come with me to my shrine." She gave him a look that said he didn't have a choice, so he nodded and waved his hand toward his car. She gave a chuckle shaking her head. "Oh no, no driving, especially not in that. It's a short walk."
Sighing he nodded. "Alright. But I really cannot be long." He thought a moment on what Zuli would do to him if he didn't show up at home. Shuddering a moment he tried to shake of the feeling, following behind Yuuko quietly.
"So, why are we going to your shrine?" He asked her, trying to look ahead of her to see where they were going.
"I have something I need to.. test." She said, almost as though she expected him to understand what she meant. He decided not to argue and just follow behind her. Soon they came upon a small shrine set back away from a stone wall with a fancy iron gate. The front yard was adorned with a lavish garden that had japanese style stone statues affixed in very thought out places. The garden consisted of flower Gaius had never seen before, and a lot of them seemed like plants that could not normally grow in such climates.
As they stepped through the gate, Gaius felt something inside of him writhe, almost like it was struggling to breath. The feeling left him queasy but he put on a rather convincing stoic expression and followed her down the path that lead to a double sliding door. Yuuko slid one side of the door open and stepped inside. As Gaius followed her he caught two children from the corner of his eye. Or at least they looked like children. One had flowing lilac hair, the other a salt and black color. He never really caught a good look at them, but they both looked almost ethereal.
"Wh.. What are those?" He asked, peering around the room to try and see them better.
"Oh, that's just Vesper and Diem. Ignore them, they are just playing with you." She chuckled softly, leading him into a room where a couch sat in front of a wall draped in green and gold fabric. He wondered if there was a wall behind the fabric, or if it lead to something else, but didn't bother to look and see.
Yuuko sat on the couch, waving her hand at him to come and sit near her. Out of habit Gaius found a comfortable place to sit on the floor near her legs. She seemed confused a moment but didn't ask.
"I'm sorry.. but I didn't get your name." She uttered, peering away from him.
"Forgive me, I am Gaius, but most call me Gauge. And how about you? I have not heard your name either."
"I'm Yuuko, but that is not really important." She looked down at him sitting on the floor. He seemed to scoot closer to her, head in hands almost as if he was trying to get her undivided attention. She on the other hand was doing all she could to ignore his glance.
Once she turned to look at him, she whispered something under her breath before reaching one of her hands up to touch his forehead. Once she did though she gave a soft squeak of pain and drew away half in fear half in anger.
"You.. Are not what you appear to be." She hissed, drawing away from him. He reached a hand up, trying to show her he did not mean any harm, but she just avoided him. "You.. You are unclean, possessed by something." His gaze fell as he looked at his hand, the pain of her words evident on his face. "Is it.. that obvious?"
Yuuko looked at him, coveting her hand as she watched his emotions play across his face. He pulled away from her, placing his hand over his face, sighing softly. Almost as though she could see the horrors of his past trace across his face in every painful gaze, she reached a hand out toward him.
"Don't touch me again." He stopped her, turning away from her even more "It will only hurt you more." He crawled away a bit, climbing to his feet as he did so. "I should go. I did not mean you harm." He half ran back to the door, slamming it open and rushing away, doing his best not to trip through the garden path.
"W.. Wait.." Yuuko tried to shout to him, but her words had fallen on deaf ears as he turned the corner around the wall and disappeared. "I.. I'm sorry." She muttered, pulling her hair back as she placed her hand at her neck in worry. Sighing softly she whimpered curling up against the side of her couch. "Why.. Why do such things have to happen..?"
As Yuuko curled up in her place on the couch, Gaius ran. He ran as fast as he could back to the carriage, noticing how as he left the garden the writhing feeling inside of him eased. He knew it was his demon inside, gasping for air under the weight of her magic. The demon screamed up through him as he reached the horses, his expression changing from pain to anger as the beast that raged through him took over. "She will pay for this.. Pay for trying to smother me."
As he said this his voice seemed different, almost a growl. The new Gaius hopped back up to the drivers perch and snapped the reigns, heading back home, back to his mistress.
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