Amazing. These two went from bickering about his child with Nadeline to now talking about the sex of the baby. Although, he did find it to be an intriguing topic, especially when he thought about Dalmascan history and the B’nargins had males as their first born, but their descendants--the Ashelia Descendents, if you will--were mostly female first-borns. It wasn’t until House Alexander took the reigns did males become a popular thing. Though, in all fairness, Wesley’s mother was actually the real Alexander whereas his father was from another family. So, maybe what Lorenzo wanted to happen wasn’t actually going to be?
Just as Wesley was going to speak about it, he heard a sudden noise from the door behind him. “Huh?” Wesley alerted Lorenzo and Nadeline.
“Yeah, but I was on the run for almost ten years, so you really weren’t good at your job.” Jaakuna teased her, sticking his tongue out at her.
After a brief moment of silence passed, Jaakuna coughed feeling the entire moment moot and he could feel Shion’s annoyance growing which wasn’t at all what he was hoping with this one-on-one session with her. She showed him what he needed to see and his response to it, no matter how true-to-form of Jaakuna Hinoko it might’ve been, it wasn’t how he should have acted. And yet, despite that, Jaakuna was enjoying this conversation with her. If not for being able to get whatever he wanted to say to her out of his mind, it was one of those rare instances where she wasn’t as guarded or intimidating as she had been. Quite frankly, perhaps he was simply stalling to extend this interaction between the two of them.
But, perhaps it was time for Jaakuna to stop beating around the bush. After all, at the end of the day, he made a promise to her. She fulfilled her side of the deal, so he had to do the same thing on his end of the bargain.
Jaakuna shrugged, shaking off the excess tomfoolery that he’d been displaying. “I suppose it’s time for me to get this sigil then.” He eyed Shion in a solemn manner.
The woman shook her head at him, an amused expression. He had enough of fooling around it seemed, although he did have a point. Raising her arm, the markings would glow softly, and she stepped forward towards him. She would take his left hand into hers, interlacing their fingers together. “From here on, you’ll slowly take your destined form. This will be our own pact--one that will determine the very future of Ivalice,” She informed him as similar markings would appear on his arm.
“Hey, my eyes are up here.” Okay, maybe Jaakuna had one last quip left in him.
He used his free hand to point to his eyes, teasing Shion once more. She gave him a small smile, though her grip would tighten considerably, as if she was trying to crush it, causing Jaakuna to let out a low grunt from the pain. “Do try to focus~” She told him cheerfully. “I’ll make this simple; all you need do is pull the sword out from me. Is that clear?”
“Right, just pull the sword.” Jaakuna mused lowly.
He sized her up from head to busty chest to wide hips. He stopped at the hips briefly. If there was going to be a sword, it would be there right? Jaakuna would hold up his free hand with just the index finger up. “One moment.” He broke their physical contact just for that one moment and started to circle Shion’s form. He would get as close as he could without touching her body. His left hand was pressed against his chin as if to convey an investigative presence. He mused a thoughtful hum as he examined her bum.
“...what are you doing?” She asked him, confused.
“Shh, I’m trying to find the sword.” Jaakuna shushed her, continuing to slowly circle around her.
Okay, she needed to get this over with before she would lose her patience. Rolling her eyes, she placed her hands on her hips, annoyed. “I haven’t started yet!” She scolded him. “Did you really think it was going to come out of my bum?! Are you stupid? Can you take this seriously?! It’s going to be embarrassing enough without you making weird comments like that!”
She did have a point. Something like this weapon she had wouldn’t be out in the open, but Jaakuna had to make sure. “Right of course,” Jaakuna said, laughing nervously, “Though, the view from here isn’t bad.” He noted, shrugging.
Shion glared at him, turning around and forcibly taking his hand in hers once more. “Just--Just--shut up and let me do this,” She retorted rather lamely, taking his other hand as she would step forward to him, bringing them close once more. She needed to do this as quickly as possible, lest he break her concentration or she would end up beating him. Taking in a breath, she put his right hand behind her back, though she shot him a glare. “Not a word,” She threatened him. “No funny ideas either;I’m starting.”
Keeping them close, she would take in a slow breath. She raised both her hands and his left one, the markings slowly crawling up her arm. They would converge on her hands, emitting a very bright orb of light. “O light of the Transcendent, heed your master and come forth!” She chanted, lowering his hand.
“Guess that means you’re my slave,” Jaakuna quipped, going against Shion’s earlier threat.
She opened her eyes, throwing another glare, though it was replaced by a pained expression. She closed her eyes as she placed his hand on her chest.
“Remember you have Emiri. Remember you have Emiri. Remember you have--you have…”
And in that moment, everything went black as he would feel the strength of her Mist calling out to him. She leaned backwards, letting the light envelop her and expose her very soul to him. Slowly, the light converged, and the hilt of a blade would come out of her chest. The intensity from the light seemed to be not as much when Jaakuna felt exactly what it was. This wasn’t a foreign person’s mist that was forcing him inside it nor was it a harmful magick that threatened him. Somehow it just felt right. Something about it that he couldn’t explain felt as if though it was his own mist.
So that’s what she meant. Jaakuna seemed to take that as a sort of nonverbal cue. His hand dug into her chest(with him keeping the image of Emiri in his mind), he closed his eyes as he felt the solid touch of flesh threatening to crush his hand but he also felt the steel handle of a hilt in his grasp, but it wasn’t budging easily. Something was up and he didn’t understand. Only a moment later did he realize that he had let go of the actual hilt and was touching something less...solid. He coughed, though caught Shion’s glance. “Hey don’t give me that look! It’s hard, okay!”
“This is actually very, very painful,” She reminded him, trying to hide (and failing spectacularly) her pain. “Please just...just hurry and finish…I don’t know how much more I can take...”
His mouth had suddenly gone dry. He was unable to form words. Unable to think words. The only thing on his mind were Shion’s words and the situation she had put both of them in. Then, as if on some stroke of luck, he found himself able to speak. “Forgive me, Francis.” He said aloud, looking at Shion apologetically as he firmly grasped the hilt with both hands, forcing the large mass that was Shion’s bust out of the way as he would use not only the mist from her that had flown into him but his own to pull the length of the sword out.
Slowly, the handguard had came out, eliciting a sharp gasp from Shion, he could feel it coming. As painful as it obviously was for Shion(as noted by her now nearly clawing his arm with her grip), he knew this was difficult on her but hopefully she could endure until he could finish because half of what looked like a crimson blade came out. At this point, Jaakuna was exhausting his own mist to the point where he was panting heavily. This was not only arduous for her, but it was no walk in the Phon Coast for him either. Just the last quarter of the blade and Jaakuna was trying to find the strength to go that final stretch.
“I apologize for this,” Jaakuna glanced at Shion briefly before sending whatever remained of his mist reserved through his hands and sent a jolt of it through the blade itself and expelled him from Shion’s closeness which in turn had sent both of them about three paces away from each other. Shon tried to remain on her feet, though she stumbled backwards, letting out a small cry of surprise as her legs hit the bed and she fell onto it, while Jaakuna had been sent towards the closed door, to which he made a noticeable thud against it. “Ow..” He said, rubbing his head with his free hand.
Letting out something between a sigh of relief and a groan, Shion sat up, her hand on her chest. She knew it wasn’t going to be so easy, but she wasn’t expecting it to be so painful. Forcing herself to her feet, she would quickly find that losing a literal part of her soul--and by extension, a majority of her mist--had forced her to her absolute limit. “And there it is…” She stated, barely able to lift her arm to point at the newly formed sword in Jaakuna’s hand. She wanted to say something else, but everything seemed to go black as she fainted, falling to the floor.
Jaakuna could feel himself also near the brink of his consciousness, but something came over him as he noticed Shion suddenly falling to the floor. One could say he reacted first. He had zipped towards her, catching her in his arms as he knelt down on one knee. “Hey Shion...Shion!” Jaakuna called out to her. At first he panicked, thinking that something was wrong with her, but he heard something that was assuring: the sound of her heart beating at a somewhat slower pace. So she wasn’t hurt or anything--just tired.
And then, as if somehow on cue, Lorenzo, Nadeline, and Wesley came bursting through the door, worried and curious expressions on their faces. “We heard something from here. Is everything okay?” Wesley asked, concerned.
Lorenzo was the first to notice, letting out a yelp. “Oi, oi, oi! What did you do to Sharon?!” He exclaimed, his hands to his head.
“It’s ‘Shion’, Father, and yes, Jaakuna, what is going on?” Nadeline asked, placing her hands on her hips.
“Well..” Jaakuna looked down at Shion, watching her just for a brief moment. Then, as if it was nothing at all, he flicked his free arm and Shion suddenly floated towards the bed as he would guide her gently onto it, covering her with the blanket. After she was secured on the bed, he took a seat on the floor. He glanced at them. “I have the Sigil. I have the weapon. But it came at a price.” Jaakuna somberly glanced over to Shion.
Lorenzo, once again, peered at Jaakuna. “Price? What price?” He asked, frowning.
Nadeline examined Jaakuna for a moment, though her eyes widened. “Something’s...different about you,” She noted, raising an eyebrow. “I can’t put my finger on it, but you aren’t the same as before, are you?”
“I can’t say with absolute certainty, but I think I inherited her power.” Jaakuna scratched his head, wincing. Apparently, added to the uncertainty on the matter, even moving brought him discomfort.
Inherited? Nadeline was interested in his choice of words as she looked over at the unconscious Shion. He must have been talking about the weapon, though she wasn’t quite sure why it resulted in such a situation. Now that she was really examining Jaakuna, he looked exhausted, his face flushed, and...sore? No, it must have been her imagination. “The ritual must have taken a lot out of her. How was it?” She asked Jaakuna.
“She bore it all to give me this gift,” he stated. Little did Nadeline know there was more truth to his statement that she might ever know.
Bore it all? “You mean...she got naked?” Lorenzo asked out loud, not quite understanding. “...how’d she look?”
“Father!” Nadeline huffed.
“Actually…”
Nadeline stared at Jaakuna. “Actually?” She pressed him to continue.
“Well..” Jaakuna scratched his head again, wincing again, his face flushed with a brighter red. “Where do you think the sword came from?” Jaakuna stated, nervously laughing. He looked to Shion but specifically to just about five inches below her chin.
The princess didn’t quite understand what he meant by it. Jaakuna was acting quite strange--his red face reminded him of Emiri’s fever. Perhaps he had caught it. She scratched her cheek curiously, though her father’s snickering caught her attention. “Shion had it of course, Nadeline stated the obvious.
“I don’t claim to know too much about that sort of thing...but it sounds like it was…sensual,” Lorenzo gave Nadeline a hint.
She scoffed at him. “Don’t be ridiculous, Shion wouldn’t so much as make physical contact with Jaakuna,” She dismissed his statement.
“This time your father’s wisdom comes in handy!” He declared, tracing a line in the air from Jaakuna’s eyes to Shion’s bust. “Talk about a sword in the stone, eh?”
“It was a rather…intimate ritual. I admit that I wasn’t prepared for how difficult it proved to be. The entire ordeal was just as strenuous for her as it had been for me.” Jaakuna’s eyes glanced longingly towards Shion, though it had returned to the other three. “I do apologize, though. I wish I could explain it in a more clarifying way. I just--well, I don’t know exactly how to explain it. I’m still trying to adjust to this.” Jaakuna stated somberly, focusing his gaze on Nadeline. “You were right about one thing, though.”
Jaakuna admitting she was right? That was a first. “About…?”
He let out a rather deep exhale, standing up, though he staggered. Thankfully, Wesley was sturdy enough to help him find solid ground. He gave him a nod of appreciation as he refocused on Nadeline. “I’m not the same as before. I’m still me--I’m still Jaakuna--but I guess the proper word is that I’ve transcended.” He found himself laughing, though he knew they probably didn’t understand why.
“Almost like Wesley…” She said her thought out loud, pensive.
“Nadeline...” Wesley looked to her, shaking his head. Jaakuna raised a curious eyebrow.
She hesitated for a moment, though she would clear her throat. Right...that wasn’t something that Wesley wanted anyone to know. “What I mean to say is that perhaps this is what Aloa was speaking of--our connections to the Word. It manifests differently, and in doing so takes us one step closer to where we need to be. If Shion is correct, this may very well be Jaakuna’s awakening.” She managed to stay on track yet diverted the attention where it needed to be. “At first, I admit, I wasn’t entirely sure, but this is as much proof as I need to believe it.”
“I guess so.” Jaakuna shrugged, yawning rather wide. The only thing he knew how fatigued he felt and a nap for a day or so would be greatly appreciated.
And Wesley would take notice to this. “Darling, perhaps we should give Jaakuna some time to rest,” Wesley suggested, gesturing towards the blonde. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that he clearly was barely able to keep his eyes own. He also had been yawning frequently since the moment they had all arrived into the room.
Nadeline blinked in response to Wesley’s suggestion. “Of course, but...shouldn’t we get him to his own room?” She asked, motioning to the resting Shion.
Before Nadeline would even get that full thought out, Jaakuna had already moved next to the bed that Shion was laying on as he would simply lay on the floor. With one eye open, he used that single eye to look at the two--no three of them. “It’s..fine, I’m good here. Besides, I don’t want to leave her alone.” That was the last thing that Jaakuna said before he, like his master, had passed out.
“She’s a grown woman! Ugh, fine, stay on the floor!” Nadeline told him, of course it was far too late. Shaking her head, she would walk over to the bed--careful not to step on the blonde, though the temptation to kick him was strong--and grab a pillow. She knelt down, carefully slipping it under Jaakuna’s head, and she would then stand. “At least he won’t get a headache from the hard ground this way,” She sighed, though she would gladly take her fiance’s arm as they would make their way to leave.
It wasn’t hard to surmise that something was up with Grant. Normally he would voice some kind of opinion about whatever Savayna did regardless if he approved or not. Of course, she knew he had approved of what she did to Keiran. But as she lay on the bench to catch her breath and Grant did the same on the bench opposite of her, she couldn’t help but shake this feeling that something was off. It didn’t help that Mateus didn’t seem to know as he had asked Zeromus. So, whatever was up, she had to think of a way to get it out of him.
“You’re awfully silent over there. Are you still in your mood or something?” Savayna asked Grant. She knew that if she made a few mentions about his moodiness, then maybe he might retort back. “Don’t you have anything to say about how I nearly crushed your foot earlier?” She tried again, looking at him while he still stayed silent.
And then Savayna would resort to some drastic measures. She accidentally let one of the straps of her top come loose, exposing the top part of her left breast. “Oh whoops, I guess I’m just oh-so-careless.” She teased him, laughing.
