"Poetry!" Shinobu called out.
Sakura let her gaze drift back to Shinobu who now wore a fancy Kimono, similar to the one that had just appeared over her own body. A little voice at the back of her mind said she needed to find a way to leave, but that voice was drowned out as she contemplated her own experiences with poetry contests in the past.
A happy smile came to her face as she abruptly recalled that one spring when that poetry spirit had appeared to challenge the class. She raised her hand to cover her mouth as she giggled at the recollection of how Ataru had beaten the spirit in a poetry contest.
With a slight shake of her head she forced herself to frown, and gather her thoughts planning to search for a means of quick escape. Then her eyes focused back on the stage as a trapdoor suddenly opened in the floor. For a moment part of her contemplated the possibility the trapdoor could work as an escape route, then she just stared as large statue rose through the trapdoor.
First she looked to identify the carved stone figure, dressed in a fancy kimono and striking a scholarly style pose.
'He's gorgeous!' Sakura thought. 'Like a ... I've seen him somewhere before, right?' She focused her gaze on the face, contemplating his thoughtful yet confident expression and shook her head. 'No, there is no way I could see anyone this good looking and forget. I just ...' Her eyes widened. "Moroboshi" she whispered.
For a few moments Sakura stared. Her confusion at failing to recognize Ataru shifted into consideration that he seldom looked as serious as the statue did. Her face softened briefly as she though of all the expressions she'd seen on his face, then she shook her head trying to push away how warm and fuzzy her thoughts of Ataru were making her feel.
Once more she took a deep breath preparing herself to search for an exit to charge at, but Shinobu's voice boomed out once more, announcing the predictable theme of Ataru and the starting point of the first poem. Then she stared as the first contestant stepped forward.
She instantly recognized Kyoko from high school, the girl she had been supposed to challenge in the end of the year poetry contest only to have to retire due to illness. Then as she listened to her poem, Sakura considered it's quality and felt her heartbeat increase at the thought that she could definitely compose a far better poem. In her mind a thousand terms describing the glorious wonder of Ataru swirled together, broke and condensed into a single perfectly constructed poem.
As Shinobu gestured for her to step up and speak her own composition, Sakura felt a moment of panic, a surge of fearful resistance, then looked at Kyoko's smug grin and stepped forward, slowly and clearly pronouncing her verse.
"Why are you being so stingy?" Benten asked from the alter where she stood with Oyuki, both dressed in wedding dresses and eager to marry Ataru together. "We'd love you to join us, I'm sure he's got enough love for all of us."
Lum felt herself start to slow her pulling at Ataru, realized she was about to loosen her grip on his shirt, then with a grab and a surge of levitation she flew out of the church with dragging Ataru behind her. As the church doors closed she dropped to the ground, panting heavily.
Looking at Lum, Ataru turned to the remaining Churches and said, "Well I can search on my own while you're resting up!" and started to jog toward the next. Then about five feet away he came to a halt, looked back, and with a slight sigh jogged back and knelt down just before her, hands ready behind his back to hold her up.
After a moment of hesitation, Lum pulled herself wrapping her arms around Ataru's chest and letting his hands grab her thighs as he stood back up and started toward the next church.
Lum felt uncertainty at everything that was happening, all the dream women wanting to marry Ataru, wanting to share him, wanting her to join them ... And how their requests sounded more reasonable every time she heard them. She tightened her grip around Ataru defensively, then found herself resting her head on his back and closing her eyes, smiling as she felt his closeness to her.
Mon Aug 27 01:57:49 2012
1 comment Last updated: Tue Aug 28 21:13:01 2012