Wakfu: The Voyage of the Golden Dragon (IC)

[Cecily Phantom]

"No!" Rachel screamed, looking at the others angrily. "There must be something we can do!"

Rachel was furious that they were just going to give up like this. They had fought too hard. With a frown, Rachel turned to the Osmodas.

"Wait a minute! Before you activate your machine, I have a bargain for you! Me and you in a one on one fight. I win, you leave and take your stupid machine with you. If you win, you can continue your plan! Deal?!"

[Chahiro]

"Rachel. While I admire your persistance, that's the stupidest thing you've said in the time that I've known you. He just beat us. He's not going to want to battle you one on one. But I agree with you that we can't let it end like this. I'd rather die than live to tell the tale; I'm a Sacrier, it's in my blood to fight to the very end." Just as the ragtag group of heroes was getting up and resigning themselves to a bloody death, the Osmodas reached the Tree of Life and stuck one of his tentacle-like limbs into the Tree and a shockwave from the impact shook the whole castle. Chahiro knew they needed to end this immediately before Savaurmo succeeded with his plans and sucked the great tree dry. Herself and her comrades, friends even, squared off with the triumphant Xelor and cautious Feca.

She readied her tattoos as the others flew into action, she had aged even more; she was now in her mid-30's and not as quick on her feet as she once was, she stayed behind with the Cra archers and Rachel to protect them the best she could if either Roddie or Magellan broke through Baichi and the Sadida Royalty's ranks, as Armand and Amalia became weaker and weaker as the Tree's wakfu was stolen. Chahiro momentarily glimpsed a short doll-looking creature standing on one of the Tree's branches; as the machine sucked wakfu from the tree, the doll started to look sickly. Then it tilted its head and disappeared. Chahiro shook her head and looked some more, trying to catch another glimpse to no avail; had she imagined it? Jin, who was standing closest to her, noticed the action and asked her if she was okay.

Chahiro laughed loudly, surprising everyone in the throne room and they stopped momentarily before flying back into action, "I couldn't be better. Though I do have a request. You may decline if you so see fit." Jin nodded his head for her to continue. "Since there is an almost certainty that I will die within the next 30 minutes, may I kiss you?" Jin immediately blushed and frantically shot another flurry of energy arrows, "is this really the time?!" he asked, incredulous. "Believe me, this is my last resort. I would have loved to do this at another time, another place, but like I stated before. I will probably die soon and I'd really hate to leave this world without knowing what it was like. Will you deny me my request?" Jin stopped firing arrows long enough to really look at Chahiro to see wrinkles around her eyes that hadn't been there before, as well as a few hairs that had turned grey while no one was looking. He then glanced at the Osmodas attempting to suck the life force out of the Tree of Life. He knew that Chahiro had a point, they might not have another chance.

He shook his head that, no, he would not deny her her last wish. Chahiro wrapped her tattoos back around her forearm and turned to face Jin fully. She carefully swept aside a few of hairs that had stuck to his sweaty forehead and settled her hands on his jaw, her thumbs stroking his cheekbones. She took a moment to look deeply at his features, trying to burn his face into her memory, and she raised herself on her toes to softly kiss the corner of his lips. She snorted at the shocked look on his face and let go just in time to hear the panicked screaming coming from Savaurmo in his machine.

The machine appeared to be failing as cogs and other miscellaneous pieces began falling off, causing the wakfu collection system to become unstable and they all had to shield their eyes as a beam of blinding light came bursting out of the fallen machine. The light soon consumed the whole Throne Room and when Chahiro and the others opened their eyes, their enemies were dead, their wakfu mistifying and being absorbed into the tree; the entire party was covered in a fine mist of moss and new roots had grown out of the floor to crush the machine further. "......What just happened?" It was then that Amalia held up her doll summon that was holding a large cog, the same cog that had been stolen from them, "it was important or something. Who knew?" Amalia said with a smile to show that she knew exactly what she had been doing.

"It was just a matter of using their own tactic against them. They were so focused on all of us that they didn't even notice me shooting my doll seed under the machine so he could steal the cog back," the whole party looked surprised and distinctly impressed. Who knew that the Princess had it in her? The group was congratulating and bestowing well-earned praise on Amalia when Chahiro happened to catch another glimpse of the doll-like creature she had seen earlier. "Hey, what's that?" the rest of the group turned to look at what Chahiro was looking at, Armand and Amalia instantly fell into a deep bow. "Beloved Spirit of the Tree of Life! How blessed are we, to whom you show your Self!" Recognizing the importance of what they were witnessing, Chahiro also knelt and hissed at the others to do the same. The Spirit did an approximation of a nod and disappeared into the Tree, leaving happy tinkling sounds as it toddled off into the Tree.

They all looked to each other to confirm that they had all just witnessed the same series of events when Baichi slurred excitedly, "Hey Chahiro! You're hot again!" Chahiro looked at her unwrinkled hands and felt at her renewed face, "thank all the heavenly bodies. I feel so much better, now. So much more like myself....or at least how I should feel at this age. I'm too young to feel that old." The began hearing triumphant yells from other Sadida Kingdom residents so they headed towards the entrance to see what all the commotion was about, as well as to reassure the Sadidas that all was well within the Kingdom once more. As they were heading towards the doorway, Jin grabbed loosely onto Chahiro's forearm to keep her behind the group. "Despite what Baichi said, you never stopped being beautiful," and he bowed down enough to kiss her on the cheek. Chahiro blushed from head to toe and watched as Jin laughed and walked forward to rejoin the others. Jin turned right before he exited the Castle and said with a small knowing smile, "You coming?" She ran to catch up with a whispered, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

[Jactance]

Baichi happily grabbed Rachel's arm as he skipped few feet away from Chahiro and Jin, although that was soon halted by an angry hollering heard from outside of the Castle. Rachel immiately recognized the voice, for it was her father's. Pulled back by her surprising strength, Baichi fell back down to the floor, few meters away from the opening entrance. Realizing that voice must be her father that Rachel was blabbering about throughout their journey, he gradually stepped back, going into the nearest empty room to calm panicked Xelorette down. A moment later, he quietly asked while Rachel's father's yelling was heard from outside. "Welp... You gotta lots'a explaning to do to your daddy when you get home... You sure you don't wanna stay with Chahiro?" His half-sleepy eyes looked down upon Rachel, waiting for her anwser.

To be honest, Baichi was quite surprised by his actions toward Rachel. Although still drunk and horny, he somehow managed to control his urges and thought what was best for Rachel. Not because she was a jailbait or anything like that. Over few hours they've been together, it became difficult for Baichi to think of her as that way. Maybe because she's a team baby, he thought although he felt like there was something more than that but didn't know what it was. He finally decided to shake it off and move on.

[Cecily Phantom]

"It'll only be worse if I do, Baichi." she said, looking down sadly.

She didn't know how her father had found, and quite frankly, she didn't care. All she cared about was escaping his anger and accusations of her being a terrible, disrespectful daughter. She knew he'd drag her late mother into it as well. She sighed softly and stood.

"I suppose I should go face him."

Meanwhile, Rachel's father, Rolex, was screaming his demands that the Sadidas return his daughter. He was blaming them for her running off and wanted to know which Sadida had charmed his precious Rachel into running away.

[Chahiro]

Chahiro and Jin exited after most of the group and looked curiously upon the Xelor who was raging at the Sadida warriors about tempting his daughter. The facts started coming together, "two plus two equals....Rachel." The Xelor, hearing her musing, glared hard at Chahiro. "You know of my daughter? Where is she? Where are you keeping her?!" "'Keeping her?' We're not "keeping her" anywhere. She is here of her own will, she is a grown woman and she will go where she wishes. I'm guessing you're her father that kept her locked away in a gilded cage, never to experience the outside world. What about when you die? What then? You would just leave her to figure it out then? How could you be so selfish and thoughtless?!" Chahiro had gotten angrier and louder throughout her monologue and Jin had to grab her to keep her from throwing herself at Rachel's father.

Jin managed to calm her down but she continued to glare at the new Xelor for good measure. The Xelor, just now noticing the Sadida Kingdom royalty, bowed stiffly and introduced himself, "I am Rolex, the famous clock-maker and Rachel's father. You must forgive me for my terrible behavior, I am concerned for my daughter's safety as I realized she went to the airship party, against my express orders, and was aboard the ship when it crashed here. Can someone please tell me where my Rachel is? Is she safe?" trying his hand at being "reasonable" as he suspected otherwise, he would gain the attention of that unfavorable Sacrier who had dared to lecture him on his child.

"I am Crown Prince Armand Sharam Sharm of the Sadida Kingdom and your daughter is perfectly safe. You have much to be proud of as your daughter has started her growth into a beautiful young woman in such a short amount of time. Rachel! Come down and say hello to your father! He wishes very much to see you safe!" Baichi escorted Rachel down the stairs to her father. "See? She's perfectly fine. And since you refuse to raise her into a productive member of society, I simply must insist that she join me at my place of employment. She would make a wonderful hostess: the job pays well and she will be safe as our security staff is second to none," Chahiro jumped in, deciding to overwhelm Rolex before he could start berating Rachel for her running away.

[Cecily Phantom]

As soon as Rachel had come down the stairs, Rolex swept his daughter into an almost bone crushing hug.
"Hi, Daddy." she said, smiling slightly.
"Rachel Linette! I am very disappointed in you! What made you think it would be a good idea to simply run off like that?! What would your mother say?" Rolex said, berating his daughter and completely ignoring Chahiro who had made her suggestion.

Rachel winced and looked down, ashamed. She knew he'd drag her mother into this somehow, it always served best to remind Rachel that her mother hadn't been around to watch her grow up and the fact that she potentially dishonored her memory stung harder than any hit the Xelorette could receive.

"Daddy, please. Just listen to me for a-"
"No, ma'am.We're going home and you are going to think about how stupid your actions were."

Rachel nodded and gave the others a sad look. Surely, this wasn't how they were going to depart? With Rachel feeling ashamed and embarrassed and being dragged back to her cage? No, she couldn't have it end this way. With a sudden determined look, she turned to her father.

"No."
"No? Rachel, this is not up for discussion."
"Good. I'm staying with Chahiro and I'm going to be a hostess in her business. I'm going to fall in love and get married and I don't care anymore about how you want me to marry a "fine, young Xelor". I'm sorry, daddy. But it's time you faced the fact that I am growing up."

Rolex gazed at his daughter for a moment before sighing softly. He hadn't wanted this day to come but he'd known that it was inevitable. With a small smile, he gently wrapped his arms around Rachel, who returned the hug with a smile of her own.

[Jactance]

Almost every crew outside sighed in relief as Rachel's father finally left her in peace. "Let's hope this is the last time anyone will target the Tree of Life." Eva said, walking up to Armand. Amalia was right behind her, both unaware of Baichi's preying eyes. The pandawa shamelessly approached the two as he squeezed between the girls and wrapped his arms around them. two girls casually walked away from him, as Baichi get caught between the tangled vines that Armand had summoned moments before. "DO. NOT. Lay your dirty paws on my sister and Eva." The Sadida prince almost threw the constricted pandawa into the sky, though he was interrupted by Grandmother Willow's shrieking laughter from a distance.

"Thanks to all, the peace has returned to Sadida Kingdom!!" She cried in joy, hopping her fragile self around as the sadidas attempt to look after her in worry. "Grandmother Willow, please. You will hurt yourself moving like that." The old lady ignored the advice as she straddled happily with her crooked cane, catching up to Chahiro with a great, tight hug. "Well done children, Well done!" She patted her on the back (more like slamming her back) continuously until Armand finally pulled the old Sadida off of her. "Prince! What are we waiting for!?" She called to the confused prince, "It's time to celebrate, welcome the new heroes!" Guards!! Willow shouted before Armand could. Bring the feast, and some good music too!

The night fell and the celebration was at its peak, young sadidettes and craettes gathered around Baichi in attempt to gain his attention. The girls were literally feeding him off of their hands, occasionally flirting with him. Jin glanced over at him and grimaced. How does a pandawa like him gets all the attention? What do these girls see in him? ....Are they even legal? Though, all of his thoughts burst into bubbles as he captured Chahiro, minding her own business. As he flashback through his final battle, he remembers one scene. Jin sat himself down on the nearest tree trunk and softly traced his lips with his fingers: She carefully swept aside a few of hairs that had stuck to his sweaty forehead and settled her hands on his jaw, her thumbs stroking his cheekbones. She took a moment to look deeply at his features, trying to burn his face into her memory, and she raised herself on her toes to softly kiss the corner of his lips.

"...What're you up to?"
A farmiliar craette's voice was heard from his side. Surprised, Jin faced Evangelyne, whom stood a feet or two away from him with a smile. Jin, on the other hand, just stared at her dumbfounded. "D'you mind if i sat by you?" She asked. "Uhm, yeah.. sure! --Wait.." There's only one stump in this area, and he was sitting on it. Still nervous with women, Jin pathetically trips on the stump he was sitting on, trying to share it by standing up. landing on his back, he groaned. "I-I'm sorry... I'm not really-" Now he was interuppted by her giggle. "You know, what you did back there was really brave." Eva said as she helped him up. "Wh-what?" From the tone of her voice, Jin knew where this was going. Eva was an ideal woman Jin could ever talk to. Beautiful, smart, brave-- but now, his heart belonged to Chahiro. He was sure that if he doesn't confess his feelings to her now, he might never see her again. The nervous cra chuckled nervously as he occasionally observed Chahiro with his corner of his eyes.

[Chahiro]

Chahiro glimpsed Jin talking with Eva and had to turn away so he wouldn't see her snickering at the panicked look on his face. He is too adorable, she thought as she rubbed her still sore back, though she couldn't feel the area of the burn itself she could feel the area around it and Grandmother Willow was thumping her hard enough to bruise. She couldn't help but feel melancholy as Jin probably had much more in common with Eva than herself. Even with all they had been through, she only knew him for a couple of days; that was nothing compared to a lifetime of similarities. While she originally had planned on letting Eva tease Jin for a bit before swooping in to save the day, she decided to let them be. She wasn't blind, she could see that Eva was most certainly attractive and if she hadn't been going so hard after Jin, she would be chatting up Eva, as well. Eva was everything she looked for in a woman: smart, strong, resourceful, confident, and even beautiful. Even as much as I have going for me, how can I compete with that? They share an entire culture; I bet it was just a heat of the moment crush or something.

She sighed and slumped off so she could enjoy her pity party in peace without disturbing the people who were actually enjoying the very nice party. Baichi, seeing her bleak mood, called out to the sad-looking Sacrier, "'ey Chahiro! You ain't drunk enough to look that pathetic! Here, take a swig o' the good stuff!" She grabbed the gourd and took a large gulp and almost spat it back out as soon as it hit the back of her throat. She could feel it burning its way down her esophagus and settle heavily in her stomach. "By all the Heavenly Beings, Baichi, what is this?!" "It's my own brew. Call it 'Baichibeer'. Good, eh?" "Good in the sense that I'm going to wake up tomorrow with alcohol poisoning," with that she tried to hand the gourd back to Baichi before she lost any of her senses thanks to his "Baichibeer". "Nah, you take it. You need it more than I do," Baichi pushed the gourd back at her with a meaningful look towards Jin and Eva. "I feel like it should mean something when I need alcohol more than a Pandawa. Instead of thinking about it, I'm gonna go get drunk and regret it terribly in the morning. I might even throw up on myself and pass out just to make myself super miserable. Have fun," she then walked off while taking another swig which only caused her to cough once more.

Jin watched her walk/stumble her way through the party and out of sight, he was worried about her. He had never seen her look so dejected before; no matter what they had faced in the short time they had known each other, she had always risen to the occasion. She looked now as if she had just given up. "So Amalia and I--" "Um, excuse me. So sorry to interrupt you. It has come to my attention that there is an urgent matter that I must take care of. Or rather, umm, how do I say this? I....appreciate your advances. I must, unfortunately, reject them as I am quite fond of another." "Your teammate, the Sacrier?" Jin nodded in affirmation. Eva looked at Jin in an inspecting manner and nodded her head, "I can see your serious. I didn't mean to intrude upon anything. I saw you guys kiss during the last battle but I also saw the way you looked at me. I wasn't quite sure what was going on." Jin blushed and spluttered, "please forgive me for my most unbecoming behavior!" Eva laughed and patted Jin on the shoulder, "it's okay. I was looking, too. You might want to go catch up to your Sacrier. She didn't look too good."
"Chahiro."
"What??"
"Her name is Chahiro."
"Oh. Well, at least I know the name of the woman to whom I lost an amazing man. But if that doesn't work out for you, let me know," and Eva walked off with a wink.

Jin waited until his blush receded enough to go search her out. He walked in the direction he saw her last and came across a giggling, giggling, Baichi. "Baichi, you wouldn't happen to have seen Chahiro when she came by, did you? Or were you too busy drowning in barely legal bosoms to notice anything else?" Baichi suddenly sat at attention and seemed so very sober,"Says the loverboy who was too busy chatting up another woman to keep an eye on his romantic interest. And for your information, she passed by about 10 minutes ago and is at the moment getting drunk off her ass because of you. You might want to get over there and stop her before she really does get alcohol poisoning." Jin nodded his thanks and his understanding of the seriousness of the situation and Baichi went back to womanizing and alcoholizing. Jin wouldn't make the mistake of underestimating the Pandawa again, he was far more observant than any of them knew. It was little wonder that Chahiro trusted him and looked to the Pandawa for his own observations and thoughts.

Jin walked in the direction Baichi had indicated and slowly got further and further away from the camp and into the forest. Jin didn't fear for being attacked as the Sadida warriors were on full alert and if anything moved against them, they would all know about it instantly. He started to get worried that she was further in and wouldn't be able to see the tree roots in the dark. He heard a sloshing noise overhead and looked to see Chahiro sitting in the canopy on a large tree branch leaning against the thick trunk. She was staring at the sky and didn't seem to notice him standing there. She looked very contemplative and sad while staring at the night sky, he almost regretted being the one to break her concentration but he knew they needed to talk.

"Chahiro?" he said softly, trying to not startle her out of the tree. "Want do you what?" she slurred, obviously very drunk and slowly tilting now that she had looked down at him. "Chahiro, be careful before you fa-OOMPH!" Jin's warning went unheard as she fell off the tree branch and into his arms, knocking them both down to the ground. "Ughhh, I don't feel so go-" Jin moved out of the way quick enough to avoid being thrown upon and he was smart enough to hold her out of her vomit as her arms were flimsy from the amount of alcohol she had consumed. He was glad that her hair was braided as it would have required extra hands to keep it out of her face as she slowly and painfully expelled her stomach contents onto the ground. He made sure to rub soothing circles on her back and made soft reassuring sounds; he felt bad that she had felt the need to drink so much because of him, or so Baichi said. Once she was done dry heaving, Jin managed to move Chahiro away from her former digestive system and lean her against a trunk of a tree a good distance away.

"Chahiro? Can you hear me? Do you feel better?" Jin asked with much concern, he had never seen her like this before and he hoped he never saw it ever again. Chahiro laughed a hoarse laugh, her throat burned from her stomach acid, and Jin wished he had thought to bring water for her to at least wash her mouth out with. "Better out than in, isn't that what they say? Or was it the other way around? What was in that drink of his? So, did she dump you?" Jin's brain got tripped up on the non sequitur and he had to mentally go over their conversation so far to make sure he didn't miss anything.

"No. I rejected her advances." Chahiro was genuinely surprised, "What? Why?!" "Because....because I have y-...or what I mean to say is that I...well....would you do me the honor of...I mean, may I...welll...ummm....." Chahiro couldn't help the giggle that escaped past her alcohol-loosened lips. Jin's face instantly fell, "you're laughing. I know I'm no good with words but there's no need to laugh." Jin stood up abruptly, when Chahiro realized what was happening, she panicked and grabbed his elbow and pulled him down into a drunken kiss. It was technically a kiss, but more like a painfully awkward crashing of teeth and noses as Baichi's brew had her a little slower on the uptake than usual. "I know that must have been kinda gross because of my previous activities, but my answer is yes. Let me clean out my mouth and we can try that again. And many more times after that for the foreseeable future. Seem agreeable to you?" Jin blushed and nodded and placed a tender kiss on her temple, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

[Jactance]

~6 Months later~

Jin and Chahiro opened a BDSM Club, ...."The Club" in the outskirts of Bonta soon after they decided to settle in together. Jin, now a bookkeeper and Chahiro's lover, clutched a tiny box in his hands while he paced around behind the counter. So far this has been his third attempt proposing to Chahiro, although his previous tries ended up either interrupted by someone else or by Jin messing it up on his own. "Ey, Jin! What'cha doin'?" Familiar, irritating voice called from behind. Flinching, Jin hid the box behind his back as he turned to see Baichi. "Baichi! Get out of here!" Jin said, pushing him out of the Lobby. "The store is not opening yet." "But... It will be in like ten minutes..." And the ladies are freezing out there, Baichi said, pointing at three young women shivering, all sharing Baichi's long scarf huddling together right outside the club. "C'mon, now~ I'm your best customer here!" "...Second," Jin corrected him bitterly, as he placed the box in the drawer and locked it.

Although Jin still despised Baichi, Chahiro demanded him to be civil towards ever customer, and Baichi hadn't violated any rules as far as he knows. It was rather cold outside and there is a working fireplace in the club. Hell, it's almost winter, and those ambiguously young looking women only wore coats and skimpy outfits under it. He pitied the hoes more than he did for Baichi. "Alright... Come in." Jin sighed. Baichi grinned, giving him a tight hug and then escorting all the girls into the lobby. "Thanks buddy!" he said, pulling out a rather large flask out of his back pocket, then pouring it into a glasses champagne for himself and his girls. The high pitch giggling and Baichi's uncanny chuckled annoyed the shit out of Jin, but he wasn't in a place to say anything. "C'mon over, Jin! Wanna join us?" Baichi waved his flask, trying to gesture him to come over to his side. "...No thanks." he muttered, wondering where he gets all the money to be here every other day. Out of all the crew he've met during the Alirship incident, Baichi was the most mysterious one. "How do you even have all the money to get a premium service here, Baichi?" Jin finally questioned, as he went back behind the counter. "I own a whorephanage." "WHAT." Jin cut him off in shock. "WHY. HOW." WHO LOANED YOU THAT MUCH MONEY TO BUILT SUCH THING. Baichi replied, slightly terrified of Jin yelling blantly. "...I loaned some money from Chahiro to so I can built it. She disagreed at first, but I kinda convinced her-" "STOP." Jin held up his palm of the hand on Baichi's face. "Dude, what's your problem?" "Just...just. Stop." Jin obviously couldn't handle the image of Baichi Convincing Chahiro for a loan. Although, he would admit that it was a curious thought, Jin was desperately hoping that Baichi's 'convincing' actually meant sitting down and talking.

When the room was finally warming up, another knock on the door was heard down at the entrance. A royal Sadida Prince stood at the entrance with a small bouquet of snow-drops, with a brown and orange leaf-sewn tunic to keep him warm. As Jin and Baichi opened up the door, Armand leaped into both of them with a grin and a slam on Jin's back. "It's been a long time, my friends." Armand said to both. "I'm glad to see you too," Jin coughed. "Ahem, but the club will not open until five more minutes." Armand chucked as Baichi rolled his eyes. "Don't worry. I'm Just here to see someone."

"Ah, alright." Jin said, walking toward the phone by the counter. "Who is it? I can call her out for you."

Armand scratched the back of his head. "Call Rachel up for me. You know.. for a friendly chat."

[Cecily Phantom]

Rachel hummed happily in her room above "The Club". She was essentially the welcoming committee and set up appointments for customers. Of course, she'd had a few offers but Chahiro, as well as Jin and Baichi, wouldn't allow it. The Xellorette was happy with her job and her new home but there was still something, make that someone, that she missed.

As she finished putting on the finishing touches to her uniform, the phone rang. Answering it she was surprised to hear Jin's voice on the other line telling her to come down.
"Is something wrong?" she asked, worried that she had messed up and angered the Cra.
When the other replied with "No. Someone's here to see you," she quickly hung up and rushed down the stairs, eager to see who was visiting her.

When she saw Armand, flowers in hand and laughing with Baichi, she felt her heart flutter. This was who she had missed for several months. The two had exchanged letters over the course of that time but it only served to make her miss him more. Now, the fact that he was in Bonta and looking for her made the Xelorette smile brightly as she ran down the remaining stairs and rushed over to the Sadida prince.

"Armand!" she said happily, hugging him tightly around the neck as his arms wrapped around her waist. She had to stand on her tiptoes in order to do so, but Rachel didn't care now that Armand was with her.