Akagami No Shirayukihime - Obi x (OC) The Visitor

Chapter 17 - Crimson Scarves

A/N - Okay, here is the next chapter, as promised.  Not much to say on this chapter, it's pretty self-explanatory. XD  Sorry for the short AN but I'll make ti better next time. THIS I PROMISE YOU!

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About 10 minutes passed and they two were still going at it, clashing swords and avoid each other but time was taking it's tole and fatigue slowly began to creep up on them. They panted as the sweat rolled down their backs and foreheads. Alice was skilled with a sword, but she knew she was not nearly as skilled as Mitsuhide, but she persisted anyways, if one final attempt. Locking their swords in place, she attempted to thrust her hilt into his hand and loosen his grip on her weapon, but he saw right through her as he knocked her off balance and pointed the sword at her throat, kneeling over her. She sighed and closed her eyes then let out a short laugh.

"Well, looks like I lost this time." Alice muttered as Mitsuhide quickly relaxed and stood up, grabbing her hand and pulling her up too. Kiki and Obi walked over to them as Obi clapped and Kiki offered the two each a towel she had Obi fetch earlier. They graciously accepted them and wiped their faces and then slung the towel around their necks. Alice then turned to the men who were surprised the match lasted so long and was inspired by it. "Okay you men! You've seen what it's like, not get to it!" The men quickly grabbed training swords of their own and Alice returned the two she and Mitsuhide borrowed and they began to train diligently. She immediately saw improvement. The men were really trying to land blows, and outwit their opponent.

Alice felt the pride of the troops she saw in front of her, then she began to think about her training troops back in her home country. She remembered gathering every able and willing man in the small kingdoms no training them well, along with training herself. She wasn't experienced as a child, merely playing around with Mitsuhide with sticks before she was captured. She remembered the vigorous training her brother put her through with the support of a close friend she had met there and they were always together. The three of them, they were known to the entirety of the kingdom, Alice could hardly attend classes at a school because she was flooded with questions about herself, her brother, and her friend. She chuckled at the memory of her cold brother visibly shudder away and reject a group of girls who flooded around him and her friend as Alice was surround by her admirers.

Obi heard her small chuckle and he watched her out of the corner of his eye. Her eyes seemed to e far off, somewhere we couldn't reach her. It wasn't to hard for him to figure out she was thinking about her home, back away from Clarines, wherever it may be. Thinking about it, he didn't know where her kingdom was. The location of Synthsis never came to mind and if he was told to point it out on a map, he is 120% sure he would fail miserably. He didn't want to bring Alice back to reality because she looked so relaxed, but his curiously got the better of him as he walked out the crimsonette and tapped her shoulder. She looked over her shoulder to him and blinked a few times, silently signaling him to speak, as he had gotten her attention for something surely.

"It just occurred to me," he began and was questioning himself on how to ask it, or rather if he even should, so he said the first thing that came to mind, "where exactly is your home kingdom located? I honestly have no idea." This gained the curiosity of Mitsuhide and Kiki as well as they both looked at each other, seeing if the other knew, none did. Alice sighed and shook her head.

"That's to be expected, it's a place you can only visit when you're lost." Her explanation was vague and brief, but she didn't delve much deeper than that as she then returned her focus to the men before her and announced a change in technique in 20 minutes, followed by a break. Obi looked to Mitsuhide, and he only shook his head. He wanted to press further into the issue, but something in his head said that if he did, he'd be walking on a minefield, and he's learned to trust his instincts.

He bid a farewell to Alice as he was going to take off and do some of his other business for the day. She nodded and smiled to him as she saw him off with a wave during the men's break. Alice saw Obi as he left, watching his back as he turned a corner. She sighed and knew he was going to see Shirayuki, she then began to think of the fact that he was wearing the scarf she had bought him. She shook her head and slapped her hands against her cheeks before standing up and motivating herself. She then called the break to an end and began to work with the men on their marksmanship with Archery.

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Obi knocked on the pharmacy door before slowly opening it and strolling in, his eyes catching the familiar, everyday scene. The table is littered with documents, and files while Ryuu was as his desk working on some potent and Shirayuki had her nose in a medical book. Shirayuki looked up and greeted him with her usual breathtaking smile as Ryuu merely turned his head and nodded to him. Obi returned Shirayuki's smile and looked to Ryuu and held back a fit of laughter as Teto had already made his way to Ryuu's head. Shirayuki then gained Obi's attention and pointing something, plainly unusual about the ebony boy, out.

"Obi?" Obi shifted his gaze to meet his Mistresses and blinked, silently urging her to speak. "Where did you.. Get that scarf?" Obi looked down to it and grasped it with one of his hands. Smiling as he held it up from his shoulders and away from his neck slightly. It was the first time he had gathered the gall to actually come out of his room and wear it.

"It was a gift from someone a while back~" Obi smiled as he remember the day he spent with Alice and how warm it was that day. Shirayuki smiled and held back a laugh with her fist and then looked at him with soft eyes full of happiness and pride.

"It was from Alice wasn't it?" Obi's cheeks reddened ever so slightly as did his ears and he pulled the scarf further up his neck, hiding a portion of his face. His gaze shifted to the side as he blinked, trying to work the newly found embarrassment off his face. Shirayuki then released her laughter and slowly clapped for him. "Good job Obi~!" Obi seriously wanted to crawl under a rock and die from his flustered emotions that crawled and exploded on his face. He knew that Shirayuki very much liked Alice and held a high respect for the crimsonette, not only as a fellow red head, but as a very close friend. Obi merely cleared his throat and Ryuu then piped up with the daily record they had to account for and reports they had to check and restock on some herbs and medicines. Obi silently thanked him for interjecting when he did or else he would've had a very.. Let's say, unique conversation with his dear Mistress.