Destiny Voyage (Completed)

Convincing Cats

Destiny Voyage- Convincing Cats

“Man that guy is totally stoned.” Haichi laughed a bit relieved, as he watched the young male fall asleep on Sora’s sorbet- well more like black out but what was the difference?

Sora had placed back her dessert spoon back on its original place- she couldn’t eat her ice cream like that with the young man sleeping on it to her utter dismay.

Raiden simply shook his head in amazement of some people’s stupidity. They shouldn’t drink that much that they would perform some ridiculous actions and then end up knocking themselves out.

“Aww. . . is he alright? He was so sweet. Sora, he seemed to like you very much.”Cosette smiled softly yet somewhat enviously at the red rose given towards the other female.

Sometimes she wished that either Haichi or Raiden could give her one rose even as a friendly gift and nothing more than it- but alas they were two oblivious men.

“Yeah he was probably too drunk- if not, I’m quite sure he would have given it to you Cosette.” Sora replied kindly. “I’m not much for flowers- would you like it?”she offered the rose to her teammate.

“Ha ha, I would love to but no thanks. Please keep it as a souvenir. It’s quite special for a guy to give a rose to a girl- even if he was drunk.”Cosette answered graciously.

“Oh okay.”the young brunette nodded. She didn’t really want to keep a rose given by him and yet she didn’t want it to go to waste.

“So right now I’m stuffed.”Sora grinned while patting her stomach. “What about you guys? I could really get some rest now.”she added, making a yawn while stretching.

“One more salmon belly please!” Haichi answered Sora’s question with another request for food. “Oh for peach sake- let’s get going Chi-Chi, you’re going to get more tummy fat if you touch another thing.”Cosette firmly said.

The male laughed in embarrassment. “Cosette please not in public- it’s embarrassing.”the young man whined a bit at the female while looking down at his stomach. It seemed flat but he didn’t want to gain an ounce of fat. Haichi wanted to look muscular and good for Cosette who always admired Raiden for always being in tip top shape.

In Sora and Raiden’s perspective:

“Oh for my sake Chi-Chi. . . let’s get going.”Cosette smiled flirtingly. “I wouldn’t want your hot-abs to become baby fat. Please don’t touch anything else.”she added with a wink.

Haichi chuckled and looked at her with a smirk, “Stop that. That’s supposed to be between just you and me Cosette.”

(Cosette and Haichi: That’s so messed up!)

Back to the main storyline:

Raiden then cleared his throat uncomfortably while Sora coughed a bit awkwardly to make them focus back at the current situation on hand.

“Ha ha.”Cosette laughed a bit sheepishly when she noticed her two teammates feeling awkward. “Oops my apologies then Haichi.”She then responded to her teammate. “I did not want to embarrass you of course.” She smiled kindly at the male who had already forgave her in a heartbeat.

“So do you guys rent a place, live in the woods or what?” Sora asked while getting up with a stretch. “Is it far away from here or what? I can’t move an inch with this weight.”she explained while patting her belly.

“Well . . . er not really.”Haichi sheepishly replied. “ That’s a bit expensive plus-“ he then started counting with his fingers and adding figures to both Cosette and Raiden’s chagrin.

“Cosette’s parents aren’t that eager of letting their daughter stay with two young men.” Raiden finished for Haichi while rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Oh I get it.” Sora chuckled at them. “Can’t stop the hot-hots.” She giggled and the trio’s face reddened.

“Definitely not!”Cosette exclaimed. “I was raised well.” She huffed while crossing her arms, and shaking her head defiantly.

“We consider Cosette as a valuable teammate and do you see us as crooks and depraves? ”Raiden quickly argued, obviously denying Sora’s accusations.

“Like he said!”Haichi stammered with his face as red as a tomato.

“Goodness you guys are so innocent little things.” Sora laughed as she started walking out ever so smoothly out of the restaurant. (Rose: I taught her well *shrug*)

“Hey wait up!”Haichi ran up to catch her, already figuring out what was happening. Merchants were crooked creatures when it comes to cash.

“The bill.”Cosette sweat-dropped out of her amazement and then looked at Raiden worriedly.

The young man sighed inwardly but nodded at Cosette. “Don’t worry Cosette, I’ll stay here and pay for it.”he reassured her. He of course, would not allow Cosette to pay for the bill- it would gain a negative response from the parents of the young woman for her to be joining their team and a guild.

“You’re really so kind Raiden.”The young woman praised and pecked his cheek before following the other two, probably to give them a lecture of sorts.

Raiden waited for the three to be a bit far off before he quietly slipped out of the restaurant using his abilities as a warrior in enhancing his speed and movement.

The waiters and waitresses simply sweat-dropped at the whole incident that happened before their eyes, it was amusing to say the least. “Good thing young master actually covered their bills.” they said in unison as they glanced at the white-haired male sleeping on the sorbet glass.

“Kya~! I’ll go take care of him~” squealed the young waiter, a pan went flying out of the kitchen and hit the male. “Just drag him here.” The chef sighed tiredly. His crew was a mess, he needed to hire older and more mature people who were already firm in their sexuality it seemed.

“Well drugs just make him sleepy it seems.” One woman frowned. “Did you just drug him?!” another woman gasped.“Zip it girl.” The girl hushed, glaring at the other female as she started to slip away from the place. The plan was a failure.

“Do you think he’ll wake up soon?” pondered the women as they slowly started to leave the place, not wanting to get into any kind of problems.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sora grasped the rose’s stem in her fingers delicately while looking at the flower. He had given it to her, despite all other women present plus the ever stunning Cosette.

He clearly recognized her, ‘Like the sky? That’s the meaning of my name- or maybe I’m thinking way too deeply.’Sora inwardly sighed as she strode the streets of the Capital with her team mates.

Despite both her and Cosette sharing the same gender, she seemed hesitant to offer Sora to stay with her. The young brunette wondered why Cosette did not speak. Were her parents that strict?

Haichi offered his place immediately and then suddenly blushed. “Uh bringing a girl home might make my parents take it the wrong way.”he shyly explained.

“Uh Raiden stays in a rented room all by himself. Nobody would mind if you stayed there with him.” Cosette smiled at Sora somewhat hesitantly.

Both Sora and Raiden dropped their jaws in surprise. Sora really thought that Cosette would just finally relent in having her in her home. Raiden quickly recovered, “I guess we have no choice- let’s get going punk.”he motioned to a different street and the Merchant quickly bolted after him.

“Wow we had been in the wrong street all the time? I can’t walk anymore.” The brunette complained to the young warrior.

“Not really- we were sort of heading to Cosette’s residence until this change of plans.” He merely explained as he continued to walk through the somewhat shady and dim street.

Sora quirked a brow, he wasn’t sarcastic or grumpy and just explained plainly. Maybe he wasn’t as mean as she had thought. Was it a facade of his? A way to keep his presence like a leader?

“So you’re just like me huh?”the young woman spoke. He stopped for a moment and laughed a bit. “What makes you say that punk?”he questioned a bit sarcastically.

She sweat-dropped,’Okay I changed my mind- still a bit of a regular jerk.’ “We’re both from outside of the Capital?”Sora shrugged casually. “Where are you from? Far far away?”Sora asked while smiling teasingly.

“If you’re thinking I’m some kind of country peasant folk like you- that’s where you are wrong.”he replied and rolled his eyes.

“Warriors wouldn’t thrive by staying in a protected fortress like the Capital. We dwell in the mountains and wilderness- adapting to the strenuous and harsh environments with barely any shields from the desolated world.”he carefully explained.

It was a big deal to him surprisingly.

Well it was the desolated world after all.

The whole planet except the Capital and the few hundred miles of land extending from that was utterly desolated and many dark and horrible creatures swarmed the earths.

Humanity would have been lost if not for the power of the crystals.

It was dangerous to even live near the borders of the edge of the area of protection so having almost no protection made the warrior people like food fodder for the hordes of monsters if they had not been people of strength and speed.

It was a tough life- trying to survive each day and add the fact that they also had to have sustenance to thrive. One of the reasons why the Merchants were placed second from the edge of the area of protection was to help the warriors out- not in power but of substance.

The Merchants grew food for the Warriors to ease the burden, and also after getting a template from the Creativist, the Merchants were often the ones who crafted the swords and other weapons for the fighters, and in some cases they approached the Mysticals to enhance the weaponry with their powers.

“Hey we’re here.”Raiden’s voice said pulling her from her thoughts.

It was a simple little small house-room. As they entered the place it was clearly empty except for a futon on the floor, small table with some chairs, a tiny kitchen and sink plus the comfort room at the edge.

“You really don’t have much a taste for the finer things eh?”Sora muttered making him blush slightly out of embarrassment.

‘I guess this is why he can’t catch Cosette’s attention, the girl seemed artistic and free-spirited.’Sora considered silently for herself.

“It’s just me here and I’m always out- why decorate?”he grumbled and crossed his arms defensively that it made the other person simply grin.

‘That’s such a cute excuse- heck what am I think?!’ Sora thought, already getting an argument within her.

“Okay doesn’t matter- where do I sleep?”the young Merchant yawned and stretched her arms.

“On the floor.” He smiled at Sora as if it was the most obvious answer of all.

“Say what now?!”Sora asked gawking.

“Like I said on the floor.” He uttered with a slight smirk while tapping his foot on the wood.

“You can’t be kidding me- I’m a guest!”Sora frowned at him and stamped her foot.

“My house and my rules.”he shrugged nonchalantly.

“Meanie. You’ll never get a girlfriend like this.”

Sora yawned and dropped her bag on the floor and grabbed a blanket. She made makeshift beddings with her blanket and the bag as a pillow.

“Well good night anyways Raiden- I’m a tough cookie.”She told him and shut her eyes and covered them with her left arm.

“Sweet dream. . .”Sora faintly mumbled before falling into a deep slumber.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The young man sighed. He had been kidding and yet the girl was already sleeping like a sloth. He couldn’t allow her to sleep like that- that would have no honor and valor.

So with that he crouched down and picked her up. She looked heavier than she looked he cringed and brought her to his futon and knelt down to lay her down.

She clung heavily to his shirt, trying to keep herself comfortable and warm. A faint blush erupted from his cheeks as he realized how intimate it appeared.

He shook his head and puffed some air out, he then laid her down and started to get up.

Her hand still hadn’t let go of his shirt. “P-please don’t leave. . .”her voice whimpered in her sleep.

His face crunched up, ‘Crap. Crap let go. I can’t sleep like this.’he chanted in his mind.

The whimpering continued and he sighed and patted her head awkwardly. The girl sighed contently but still held on to his shirt. He almost fell like giving up and just sprawling beside her- yet he couldn’t do such a thing like that!

He started to hum a melody. A lullaby to be precise.

“Little child, be not afraid. . .

The rain pounds harsh against the glass

Like an unwanted stranger

There is no danger

I am here tonight. . .

Little child, be not afraid

The storm clouds mask your beloved moon

And its candlelight beams

Still keeps pleasant dreams

I am here tonight

Everything’s fine in the morning

The rain will be gone in the morning

But I’ll still be here in the morning. . .”

As the girl went into deep slumber and slowly let go of clinging to him, he felt a great wave of drowsiness overtake him as well and then fell asleep.

- - - - - - - -

The window only had a flimsy curtain to shield it from the dawn’s sun rays. A technique by Raiden to wake him up in the morning and today it had worked once more.

He wished it hadn’t worked.

The minute he awoke- he started panicking like crazy. He woke up and noticed a girl beside him- realized it was a teammate- sighed in relief- realized it was a girl- started hyperventilating and tried to get up without waking her up.

To his dismay the girl’s head was on top of one of his arms so it was impossible not to shift and keep her asleep.

‘Crap. Crap. Crap.’he started shifting a bit in his agony and then stopped his breath as he heard a groan. He was a goner.

“Ugh what time is it- did I woke up late?”The girl yawned and sat up. Her face only a few inches away from his and her eyes were still closed.

Raiden’s face extremely heated up at the distance between them. He had never been this close to a girl- and even if some events were nearly as close it didn’t give him the same nervousness as this.

Those times were mostly for short-ranged and hand to hand combat with his fellow female warriors.

Sora once more yawned and started to blink her eyes. A bit of an orange blur. She blinked once more. And add a little peach? Her eyes widened and she toppled on top of him in surprise.

She would have screamed if not for the few centimetre gap between Raiden and her. Their noses were nearly touching. She slowed down her breathing and Raiden held his breath. ( Haichi: morning breath? Raiden: -_-“ )

Both were afraid to move a single muscle, fearing for the worst case scenario. Accidentally losing their first kiss to a person they didn’t actually like.

The door creaked open.

Sora and Raiden’s eyes both widened.

Haichi popped his head in. “Gooood Morning gu-“ his mouth fell open. “uh. . . I must have come at the wrong time.”

“This isn’t what it looks like!” both Raiden and Sora screamed as she immediately jumped back and clung to the walls. “H-he slept beside me! That pervert!”she screeched and pointed at Raiden.

Haichi gaped and Raiden’s face reddened.”I did but only because you wouldn’t let me go!” he yelled back.

Haichi shifted from gaping at Robin to jaw-dropping at Sora. She shook her head, “Impossible! You made me slept on the floor- how’d I ended up in your futon?!”she exclaimed.

“Raiden?” Haichi inquired awkwardly.

“I was kidding about the floor thing- I carried you to my futon but you clung to me!”he cried out.

“You could have pushed me you know?!”she retorted.

“You had been whimpering- what could I have done but try to comfort you?!”Raiden countered.

Rose perspective (if she had been present):

Raiden grasps Sora’s cheek gently,“You had been whimpering, what else could I have done but stay by your side and make you feel comfortable?”he whispered. ( Rose: T.T )

Back to main plot:

“Stop making things up!” Sora blushed and looked away.

“Am not! You might have missed your family or something- I don’t really know know.”he replied with a small frown.

“Uhh. . . guys?” a timid voice jostled them back to the world.

“What?” both of them looked in the direction of the voice with a glare.

“Eep!”Cosette cringed as she entered the room.

“Did I miss anything?” she queried.

“Well. . .” Haichi began. “Nothing!” both persons yelled.

“Haichi.” Cosette frowned slightly. “Er I kind of forgot to bring breakfast so both of them are grumpy. Especially Raiden so he started glaring at me till Sora defended me and now they were fighting until you came in. . .” Haichi cringed and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Okay . . .” the young woman slowly said and took it all in. “Well no worries- I brought some.” She gave a wide smile and showed a basket filled with fresh hot bread.”Fresh from our oven- there’s croissants and French bread-“

Haichi hugged her leg. “You’re an angel Cosette!”the young man said while weeping tears of joy. The woman laughed while a faint blush covered her cheeks. “Thank you Haichi.”

Raiden cleared his throat. “Thanks for bringing us breakfast Cosette.” He smiled a bit.

“Oh of course- we can’t be going to the guild master on empty stomachs.” She laughed softly.

“Oh yes!” Sora cheered a grabbed a toast and bit into it. ‘So heavenly and fluffy’ she oohed at the bread’s softness and texture.

“So when are we going to the guild? It’s going to be flocked with guild members when it opens up.”Haichi asked.

“In twenty minutes.” Cosette giggled.

Sora and Rai’s eyes bulged out. Had they been arguing that long?!

Sora swallowed her bread and rushed to the bathroom. “Buy me a toothbrush Rai! You promised!” she called out.

“Hey I’m supposed to bathe first!” Raiden cried out.

“Wow you guys seem to have gotten very close Rai-kun.” Cosette smiled pleasantly. “She already calls you just Rai.” She noted.

‘Very close’ those two specific words resounded into Haichi and Raiden’s ears. Images and memories of Raiden and Sora in a very intimate manner popped out as both males reddened like hot spicy peppers.

“Uh. . .Rai?” Cosette queried terribly confused.

“Hmm. . . you know how unrespectful that brat is.”he shrugged. “Toothbrush~!”Sora’s sing-song voice resounded from the bathroom. “See?”he muttered.

“Well good thing I brought toiletries~!” Haichi beamed as he held a mini-bag that seemed to contain some tissues, sanitary napkins and a toothbrush plus more.

“Ooh good thinking Haichi- I forgot to bring her some of those.” Cosette laughed sheepishly.

- - - - - -

“Sora out!” the young woman declared as she went out dressed in a new attire.

“Here you go Sora-chan~”Haichi said and gave me a small bag. “I’ve got a toothbrush for you.”she grinned and pinched his cheek. “Aww thanks.”

“Well you better hurry up Raiden and bathe.” Cosette blushed slightly as the male did so as well before entering the bathroom. Sora proceeded to brush.

~ Mini-time skip brought to you by Rose with a camera trying to steal pictures of Raiden in the bathroom ~ ( Ka-chow!)

Sora stared at the paper in her hand with a huge red mark: DENIED

“W-why?!”she gaped in horror-struck at the guild master who simply looked annoyed.

“Sora Hisako, 16 years of age from the distant merchant village. Race classification is a Merchant Human and have worked as one ever since she was 6 years old. Holds no special skills that could prove worthy in combat, defence or assist in first-aid medication and treatment . . . with that track record do you think you would prove an asset to our guild?”she stated.

“Well-“ Sora began. “Honey that was a rhetorical question.”the guild master sighed. “Uneducated people.” she sighed quietly while writing down on her papers on the desk.

Sora frowned. “Miss Guild Master won’t you at least test me out before you decide? One must not let the track record speak but what a person can accomplish today. Look not at the past but at the present.”she told her.

The woman looked up a bit slightly surprised and now currently interested at the applicant in front of her.

“Alright- I was wrong to call you an ignoramus. We do have missions that many guild parties do not want to tackle for it being too simple or simply too boring. They crave for fighting and excitement after all. Youth these days.” She shook her head slightly in disbelief.

“So if you’re willing to tackle them first before heading out with the other members for a life-risking mission. . . then I’ll let you go.”she announced.

“Remember though that your life is in your own hands, the guild does not offer any insurance to whatever injuries and deaths that may occur.” She smiled at the brunette frivolously.

“Still want to give it a go honey?”she asked her.

Sora’s lips were in pressed into a thin line. She nodded her head gravely although she was slightly cheering in the inside. ‘Boring and simple missions for some extra cash!’

“Yes madam I accept this gracious offer.”she said and bowed her head in gratitude.

The woman smiled approvingly. “Okay so I would have gotten you to clean the whole building spotless but I’ve got an interesting little mission just for you. . .”

“Since you came from the country I am quite sure that you would be able to resist the charms of this young man due to your shabby minds that cannot be twisted when it comes to money so I ask of you to merely accomplish this task.”

Sora couldn’t help but inwardly face-palm at how almost everyone assumed that Merchants would do anything for money yet she sucked it up.

The woman handed her a folder. “Okay hold in your girl hormones and look at your mission.”she instructed.

With a sweat-dropped, she flipped open the folder. Her eyes widened and mouth fell slightly ajar.

“Okay you’re holding it well.”the guild master grinned. “Might be enough to actually accomplish that.”

“So this is Robin from the most prominent Williams clan. Well it’s not actually that well-known that he is a part of it. No actual ‘revealing’ ball had actually occurred yet so he is looked upon as a very handsome visitor of the Capital from a distant land. This is to be classified information alright?”

“Yes Miss.”Sora nodded gravely. Her head was getting a bit dizzy. She needed air-lots of it.

“For some time now, he has left the family residence and has now wandered around the Capital. He can’t leave because of the influence of his family all over this place- gates are kept shut in. Nobody can ever leave without registration. He still won’t return home though so his family offered 1,000,000 pieces of gold coins if he were to be returned safely.”Sora really needed fresh air now.

“Now why aren’t people scrambling all over the Capital you might ponder? This mission is very exclusive- only a select few even know of this situation. So I am counting on you to return with him to this location. Am I clear? He only approaches females and avoids male specimens so you are perfect for this role.”she explained with a smile.

“Yes madam. Understood perfectly.”Sora answered with a nod.

“Find him and bring him here in 3 days.”she ordered.