5The Future They Explored
This is set after the main of events of "The Future They Opened", but before the Epilogue (see Chapter 7). If you have not read "TFTO" yet, I highly recommend that you do so!
If my fifteen years of life, my spirit has been tested on more than one occasion. But I was able to overcome any and all obstacles in my way because I could rely on the strength of the one I love. And yet, sometimes I wonder: what happens to the future if that bond were to splinter?
In the winter of my last year in middle school, I found the answer.
"What do you mean you haven't had a chance to see him?" Ichiko admonished Yumemi from across the small table. "Aren't you two an item?"
Yumemi smiled faintly as Suzume poured all of them a little more tea to go with their cookies.
"Ichiko, he is very busy. The investigation is taking a long time," Yumemi answered. "Right now his top priority is making sure his country is safe."
Ichiko scoffed. "He needs to make sure you are safe!"
"But Yumemi IS safe," said Suzume, giggling.
Striking a melodramatic pose, Ichiko rebutted, "But is he keeping her heart safe?"
Yumemi could not keep the furious blush from making its way across her face, but she refused to let her embarrassment manifest in any other way. "You are being silly – what does my heart need to be kept safe from?"
"You know!" Ichiko gestured wildly, "Boys! Masculine wiles!"
"Masculine wiles?" Suzume turned to call down the hall. "Kazuya! Do you have masculine wiles?"
The three girls heard some sputtering and choking from the office where the boy in question was working on his computer. They burst into laughter.
Wiping a tear from her eye, Ichiko set a stern face at her slightly less naïve friend. "Seriously, Yumemi. Have you two actually done anything? You don't go on dates. You don't even see each other!"
With reclaimed serenity, Yumemi answered calmly, "Munto and I are always connected in our hearts, even if we cannot see each other." She held up her left hand where a delicate ring of woven golden wire was nestled on her ring finger.
"Let me see!" Suzume reached out and started sighing over the glittering piece of jewelry. "I wish I had one."
"I don't believe you," Ichiko said, ignoring Suzume. "You mean to say that you're in love and you're okay with being apart? You're missing out on one of the best parts of being a teenager!"
Throwing her friend a knowing look, Yumemi shot back, "How would you know?" Then she smiled slyly, "Unless you have a boyfriend?"
"He's not my boyfriend!"
"I didn't say anything about Louie."
Mouth agape, Ichiko found herself trapped and she cursed silently while her sparring partner sipped her tea. Yumemi could be absolutely devious when she wanted to be.
"Yumemi, do you want to do a double date some time?" Suzume had tired of looking at the ring and was laying with her cheek flat on the table. "Kazuya says it's more fun with more people around."
"Oh, Suzume. I don't know if that will work." Sometimes the most cheerful member of their group required a healthy dose of patience. "Munto is very busy."
"Boo. That's so boring – he's going to miss out on Christmas. And presents. And Christmas cake. And more presents. And lighting a tree. And there's presents…"
This put Yumemi into a pensive state. There were a lot of fun things that happened only around the holidays. Christmas and the New Year used to be some of her favorite times because she could celebrate looking at the same snowy, overcast sky as everyone else. Then, last Christmas she'd had her adventure preventing the Heavens from collapsing onto the Earth. Why shouldn't this Christmas be special too?
She gave a tiny hidden smile and made her decision.
Several days passed and finally it was Sunday.
Waking early to sneak out of the house was a bit complicated when one's room was shared with a little brother and when the front door happened to be, well at the front of the house.
Somehow, Yumemi shook herself from sleep and managed to find her clothes without disturbing her brother's precious sleep.
She tiptoed down the stairs, gliding carefully on the creaky steps here and over there. Before edging out into the main living area, she paused, listening for the sounds of her parents. Hearing nothing, she cautiously ventured to the front door.
"Where are you going, Yumemi?"
Frozen in place, she tried to recover naturally from her father's question. "Ah, I am going over to Ichiko's to study! For exams!" She grimaced internally – lying to her parents made her feel terrible, but she could only imagine what her father would say if she told him the truth.
"What do you mean you're going to pay your boyfriend a visit at his palace in the sky so you can ask him for a date? And how could you think about skipping our family tradition so you can show him some 'human Christmas magic'? I wasn't born yesterday, you know."
"This early?" he replied, glancing at the clock that showed it was only five in the morning.
"Well, we wanted to get a head start revising for our science test. You know how good at science Ichiko is." Quickly. Quietly. Put on your shoes and get to the door.
Her father chuckled, "And I will admit it's not one of your strong suits." He put down his newspaper. "Make sure you're home in time for dinner."
"Yes, Papa." Yumemi sprinted to the door before he could change his mind. Once the front door was eased shut, she let out a huge sigh of relief. That had been grueling.
With a light heart, she set out down the street that was still wrapped in a foggy slumber. Everything seemed groggy and the cold winter air made her breath come out in little puffs that swirled around her.
Her walk lasted less than a minute before the wind changed. Cold blasted her face as the akuto creature landed before her on the tiny road. She smiled and reached out to touch its alien skin.
"Good morning, Akuto-san. How are you this morning?"
The silver figure leaned into her touch, not entirely unlike a cat. If it could make a sound, it would certainly be purring.
It dropped a hand on the ground for Yumemi to clamor onto. Securely seated and gripping one of the long spindly fingers, the teenager turned and nodded.
Once again, and with great gusto, the akuto creature took off, letting the human world fall away.
Munto tossed down stack of papers and allowed himself to drop into the chair in his office. He ran his hand through his unruly red hair and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Before Gridori's plot a few months ago, the amount of paperwork had been unbearable. Now, with ongoing investigations into each of the rulers and officials that had sided with the crazy man, it was positively hellish. Every day there was a new inquiry, another testimony to collect.
Louie helped where he could, but some things needed to be done by the king.
His head lolled to the side, giving him a prime view of the early morning sky. He frowned. Then there was the matter of the Outsider role. With Gass gone, the rulers of the Heavens were calling for a new Outsider to be appointed. No one had realized that position was currently filled by Munto.
Somehow, no one had made the connection that Munto, while in Gridori's form, had used Outsider magic to vanquish his foe. He was lucky. If any of the other Heavenly countries found out that the Magic Kingdom held sway over the Outsider magic in addition to the Great Bringer of Akuto (Yumemi), the Prophetess (Ryuely), and the strongest connection to representatives from the Lower World, there would be bloodshed.
A somber mood settled over the young king, but his contemplation was interrupted by a soft knock on the door.
Munto immediately sat up. It was not Louie's sharp rap, nor should it be one of the servants for they did not rise until a later hour. That meant it was either an emergency or –
"Munto? Can I come in?"
He flew to the door, his concerns and worries immediately dispelled. Flinging aside the heavy wooden door as if it were nothing more than a trivial annoyance, he reached out and pulled his visitor into the room.
There was no time wasted in wrapping her in a tight hug, burying his face into her shoulder. Her joy rushed through the rings that connected them and into his heart, where it mingled with his own satisfaction to create a bright emotion.
Overwhelmed, he found himself dropping to his knees and he felt her gracefully sink to the ground beside him. Her arms circled around his chest in a warm embrace. Then she gave him a quick kiss on top of his head.
The king pulled away slightly. The desire to match their emotional connection with a physical one coursed through his veins, but they were still fairly new to kissing. His golden eyes met her green ones, searching for permission. He was rewarded with one gloriously radiant, but shy, smile.
He gently leaned in and eased his lips over hers. A physical tingling sensation shot through his fingers and toes, along with a heat that flushed his face. While they could still count the number of kisses they'd shared on one hand, each was more intense than the last. The rush of Yumemi's feelings fueled his adrenaline further and set his heart pounding.
Pulling away, the pair gave each other embarrassed smiles, with reddening cheeks. Yumemi was the first to break the cycle of awkward glances.
"Munto, will you go on a date with me? On Christmas?"
"What's a date? And what is Christmas?" His brows were raised in puzzlement.
Nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she fiddled with her fingers. "It's when you spend time with the person…with the person you love. You do things together."
The pale pink blush did not go unnoticed.
"How is that different from what we normally do?" Then he chuckled. "When we get the chance."
Yumemi scrunched her face ever so slightly in the most adorable way possible, which made it hard not to interrupt her with another kiss.
"A date is different. We go out to our favorite places and do our favorite things."
Munto could feel the excitement building in his heart. There was something that he'd wanted to do with her since they originally swapped rings. A special thing done in a special place. He'd been afraid to suggest it before, for fear that she would reject it as some sort of strange ritual. If only he'd known that humans had something similar! Now he could ask her without -
"For a holiday date, you do special things related to that holiday." Her eyes brightened as she continued. "There is so much to do around Christmas time! There are couple events at restaurants, at the movies, in the park. There's also skating and of course the lights that are up around town."
Even without the ring, he could sense her enthusiasm. He suppressed the eagerness to ask her to partake in his event. There would be other times.
She frowned. "Munto? Is something wrong? You suddenly got quiet." She placed a hand over her heart and then over his own. "Tell me what's wrong."
He glanced down at her warmly and soothingly stroked her hair. "Nothing is wrong. I just got caught up thinking about this "date" thing."
"Are you available on Christmas? I mean the 25th?" She looked back up with him, hope shining out from her face.
His heart sank. "Yumemi, I can't. There is a meeting to discuss the results of the investigations I've been running and what we're going to do about Gridori's supporters."
While she might have been able to conceal her disappointment in her expression, she could not hide the emotions in her heart.
"But." He started talking, just to throw something out there. "What if we did something the week before? And cut it a little short?" There was no way that Louie would let him have time off, not with the meeting coming so fast. But if they kept it to a couple hours, he could probably slink away.
"Really?" Her hands were clasped in his. "I known you'll have a great time – I'm sure of it!"
Yumemi could not have been more wrong.
She had consulted with Ichiko and realized that was a terrible idea as Ichiko had no dating experience herself. Then she consulted with Suzume, only to find that her friend didn't actually plan for dates – they just happened. Moving on to Kazuya, she learned that he went with whatever Suzume wanted. Finally, she'd gone to her mother for help and made her solemnly promise not to tell Mr. Hidaka about the date.
Going into the date, she had a sure-fire plan: go to an affordable family restaurant for some lunch, catch a short movie, go ice skating in the park for a little bit, and then finally take a walk in town to see the lights and take a picture at the big tree that was decorated for the holiday.
They agreed to meet up several streets away from the Hidaka household. Munto was punctual, appearing in his tailored black coat. Hand in hand, they headed into town.
Which is where everything started to fall apart.
It was hard to go anywhere without being the center of attention. Munto's hair, eyes, ears, and height made him a prime target for gawking.
Yumemi only realized her mistake when they arrived at the restaurant. It was exceptionally crowded with families and small children. The pair had to wait a while to get a table and when they did, there was a never ending supply of whispers, stares, and not-so-secret phone camera shots. Her own phone was constantly vibrating as her friends and classmates started finding the pictures on social media. The blasted device had been a present from her parents so she could easily contact them if anything came up. Now it was serving a completely useless purpose.
When the food actually arrived, it was painfully obvious that Munto did not find the food appetizing in the least. He was being extremely polite, but it was impossible for him to lie to her.
Utterly mortified, Yumemi quickly paid before rushing them out and on to the next item on the agenda.
The movies were worse.
Munto was drawing so much attention that the clerks kept ignoring Yumemi's request for tickets or to have their ticket stubs checked. She dragged him along to their theater, where they ran into another conundrum.
Movie theaters were designed for humans. Munto was so tall that he did not have enough space for his legs. The only row he could fit in was at the very front.
They had just settled into their seats when there was a rude comment behind them.
"Tall people to the back! I can't see!"
Yumemi looked around, squirming slightly under the glares being shot her way. She tried to explain very quietly, "We're really sorry. It's just that he doesn't fit in any of the other seats-"
"Not my problem. He's completely blocking my view!"
She was able to try again when Munto laid a calm hand on her arm. He pulled in close and murmured, "It is fine. I will go stand in the back. You stay here."
He got up and moved to the back of the theater. Yumemi was incredibly surprised with how poised and collected he was during all of this. Patient was not a word that described the ruler of the Magical Kingdom, and yet, somehow he was managing. She felt a little better and turned to give him a smile, but she froze.
Even from the distance his rage was clear. His face was darkened with a glower and every inch of his body language was screaming that the tiny little human theater was last place he wanted to be. He crossed his arms aggressively across his chest.
That was when Yumemi saw it.
The ring wasn't on his finger.
In a haze, Yumemi turned back around to face the screen, but she had no interest in the flickering presentation.
Since when had he taken it off? Sometime after the restaurant? When they got to the movies?
The emotional connection only worked when both of them wore the rings at the same time. He must have removed it to help hide his irritation and anger.
A few minutes ago, the worst part of the day had been this horrendous failure of a date. Knowing that he had broken their link because he wanted to keep her from finding out how he actually felt, stung a whole lot more.
She dropped her eyes to her hands folded in her lap and tried to keep tears from falling.
Ninety minutes had never felt so long.
Wearily, she met up with him outside, where he had been waiting for her.
"What's next?"
Startled, Yumemi looked up at him in confusion. All traces of the earlier fury were gone. She grabbed his hand, only to see the ring back in its rightful place. There were some remnants of grumpiness, but for the most part, everything was back to normal. Her heart became a whirl of relief and anger.
Munto could immediately sense the change in emotion and a look of realization crossed his face. He knew that she knew what he'd done.
He knelt down, bringing his face closer to hers. She could feel his annoyance rise at the squeals of the girls around them who were getting the wrong idea, but she could also feel his determination. There was something that he needed to say and he was going to say it – silly human girls be damned.
"Yumemi," he started, locking his gaze with hers. "I did not mean to break your trust. I just didn't want to expose you to that negative side of me." He shrugged. "I have a short temper and I get easily frustrated."
The gravity of his words came through and she found herself grabbing him for a hug. She ignored the screams of the teenagers who assumed they'd witnessed a public engagement. She couldn't help but laugh a little.
"Munto, I already know about your temper. You don't need to hide it from me." She whispered in his ear. "Don't take the ring off again, okay?"
When she pulled away, her smile widened to see Munto quickly clutch his ear and his face turn bright red in embarrassment. She caught his hand. "You promise?" To which he mutely nodded.
"Good!" She dragged him to his feet and then started pulling him along. "I originally planned for us to go ice skating, but I think I'll give that a pass. What do you think?"
He warmly agreed.
The two of them made their way into town. It was still too early for the lights to be on, but the Christmas tree was covered in sparkling ornaments and twinkling tinsel.
Yumemi's eyes shone with mirth as she took pictures of the decorations on her phone.
Munto smiled. He was exhausted after the earlier fiascos and his emotions were still a bit raw. Being humiliated was something he never handled well, but if she ended the day with a happy glow in her heart, it was worth it.
He looked around and noticed many other couples were standing in front of the tree and taking pictures. Then he looked at Yumemi, who was the only one taking pictures by herself. Then he looked back at the couples snapping shots of themselves. Then back at Yumemi, who was photographing a man in a red suit.
Without a second thought, he strode over to the girl, swept her in his arms (much to the delight of the swooning girls in the general vicinity), and brought her over to the tree.
She was completed red in the face and couldn't seem to put together any words.
"Don't you want a picture with the tree?"
"What?"
He nodded towards the other couples, who had now turned their phones towards them. "They were standing in front of the tree and taking a picture. Don't you want a picture with the tree too?"
Yumemi was completely dumbfounded. Then she tentatively confirmed, "You want a picture with me?"
Munto started to panic.
He was sure that he was using the correct word – but then again, when he'd asked Louie to come up with a list of need-to-know Lower World words, he never thought that the list would be riddled with mistakes.
That was when he found out that "Sugar Daddy" was not the best way to convey that he wanted to take care of Yumemi. Especially not to her father.
Before he could freak out any further about whether he'd actually said something lewd, Yumemi started laughing. No doubt she could sense his anxiety and was able to guess the cause.
"I'd love a picture with you." She pulled out her phone and held it out at arm's length.
He put on his best smile, but he was completely unprepared when she turned her head slightly and whispered again in his ear. "On Earth, this is called a selfie."
All sorts of thoughts and feelings bubbled up inside and he could feel the heat rising to his face. His ear felt like it had ignited.
Stunned, he couldn't do anything as she snapped the picture and then turned the phone so he could see it. His brain didn't even process what his eyes were seeing.
Suddenly, Yumemi stopped as a little message popped up on the screen. This helped Munto shake out of his trance. Setting her down on the ground, he tried to make out the words, but found his Japanese vocabulary completely lacking.
"Munto, would you mind if we stopped by a store on the way home? My mother needs me to pick up some cookies that she ordered."
Feeling somewhat dejected that their 'date' was almost over, Munto was at the same time pleased that he would get to spend a few extra moments with her. "That is fine." Louie and his scolding could wait.
This time, he was the one that reached out for her hand and was pleased to see her blush for once. A king couldn't let a little girl have the advantage all the time!
At a leisurely pace, they made their way down to a shopping district that was lined with small stores. Yumemi directed them to a little baking shop with frosted windows.
Munto had to duck to avoid banging his head on the door and wasn't so lucky in avoiding the shop bell.
"Excuse me? It's Hidaka Yumemi. I'm here to pick up my mother's order!" She called out.
"Ah? Yumemi-chan? I'll be right out. Just packing up your mother's order now." An elderly man's voice answered.
Yumemi tugged at Munto's sleeve, gesturing for him to come closer. "This store makes the best baked goods in town. My mother orders from him every week." She smiled. "But don't tell her that I told her that."
"I've got a new recipe I'm trying out for the holidays. Tell your mother that I've included some samples." The old man came from the back and stopped short. "Who is this?" His tone was different: sharp and disapproving.
"Ah, this is Munto-sama, king of the Magical Kingdom in the Heavens," Yumemi rattled off. "He's accompanying me today as I show him some of our holiday traditions."
"Is that so? Coming to learn more about us, have you?" The store owner glared as he rang up the purchase.
Yumemi quickly completed the transaction and wished the old man a good day. Munto followed her out, but not before he heard the owner say one last thing.
"Get out of my store, you soul-sucker."
He whipped his head around. "What did you call me?"
"A soul-sucker. Yumemi-chan, you need to stay clear of his kind!"
By this point, Yumemi had heard the commotion and was trying to usher him out of the store. "Munto, come on. Ignore him."
"He called me a soul-sucker! He told me to stay away from you!" Anger was rapidly sky-rocketing into livid.
"Just come. Please."
Allowing himself to be pulled out of the store, Munto returned the furious gaze of the owner. Once they were clear of the shop and down a quieter street, he stopped.
"What did he mean by soul-sucker?"
With a worried look, Yumemi explained. "Well, some humans think that Heavenly beings are depleting their souls. They believe that through the process of consuming akuto, that Heavenly beings are also consuming some of their spirit, or in other words, their soul."
He'd never heard anything more ridiculous in his life. "That is stupid! How could they think that?"
"I think it started when one of your advisors was interviewed. He mentioned how thankful you all were for resolving the akuto crisis, which led to questions about akuto. Somewhere along the way, people started believing that taking akuto was the same as taking spirit or taking part of someone's soul."
"That is completely wrong! There's no scientific or magical explanation that would support that sort of half-baked theory!" He fumed. "And you know that! Why didn't you bother to correct him?"
With the attack turned on her, Yumemi looked scared, but Munto was too angry to care. "He was wrong to call you that, but he's scared and he doesn't understand."
"It's not that hard to understand! You were able to understand."
"We share a special connection. Through that connection, you were able to show me how it works and you convinced my mind. By sharing our feelings, you were able to convince my heart." Her eyes had a mournful look. "With your words, you could connect to his mind. But what would you use to connect to his heart?"
Why was Yumemi defending that man? That old fool had insulted him and told Yumemi to stay away. After multiple bouts with humiliation during the day, his rage was deep and dark. Frustration poured into his core like oil to a fire. He could feel himself getting carried away, but he wasn't sure how to stop it.
"What does that matter?"
"I'm trying to explain-"
"And I'm telling you that I don't get it. I don't understand why you would take the side of some crazy old man, rather than me."
"But if you could just try-"
"He's clearly stupid and senile. He believes in some strange religious delusion and that entitles him to insult people like the great me, just because he has a viewpoint." He tread closer to Yumemi, backing her against a wall, not noticing the fear, sadness, and aggravation growing in her face. "It's obvious who is right in this situation. Why aren't you standing beside me?"
"BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT RIGHT!"
The tension had reached a breaking point and the rope tethering his emotions snapped.
"Give me my mother's ring." He held out his hand. "I was wrong about you, about us."
Yumemi blinked a few times, mouth open in shock. Biting her lip, she fumbled around with her ring finger and with a shaking hand, dropped the golden ring into his palm.
As soon as the metal hit his skin, Munto turned away from her. "We are finished." Then he launched himself into the air, back towards home, where no one would dare stand up to him.
The front door of the Hidaka household opened and slammed shut. Yumemi raced upstairs, threw herself into her bed and sobbed into her pillows.
"Yumemi?" Her mother's voice called to her from the top of the stairs and then moved closer to the bed. "Yumemi, are you alright?"
The poor girl sat up, distraught and succumbed to her mother's gentle touch. "Mama! It's terrible! I don't know what to do!" She launched into another wave of tears, not caring if her father or brother saw her.
After a few minutes, her wracking cries quieted to hiccups and sniffles. It was then that her mother asked what happened. Bit by bit, Yumemi pieced together what happened throughout the day: the onlookers, the incident at the movies, the conflict at the shop, all leading up to the argument.
"He took my ring, Mama. He said we're finished!" Tears threatened to spill down her face again.
"Now, that's not true."
"How do you know?"
Her mother's voiced took the edge off the situation. "Because I was a teenager in love too." Arms wrapped around her and there was a rhythmic patting on her head. "When you are young, you will make mistakes. Sometimes the mistakes will be small and easy to fix. Other times the mistakes will be bigger and will require both of you to compromise in order to find a solution."
"I believe that your Munto is a very good young man. A little short tempered, but many men are at his age. While you cannot unsay what has been said or undo what has been done, you can move forward. "
Rubbing her eyes, Yumemi pulled back. "How do I fix this?"
"Well, whenever there is a fight, it always helps if both parties apologize."
"Why do I need to apologize? I understand that Munto was frustrated and he didn't mean what he said, but I was only trying to get him to see another point of view."
"But were you trying to see his point of view?" Her mother smiled warmly. "Were you listening to what he said? Did you think about how he was feeling when you were arguing?"
Now she felt heartily ashamed. "No."
"Why don't you try viewing things from his perspective and then extend the olive branch? That should help you get the words flowing again."
Everything seemed so clear. Yumemi hugged her mother. "Thank you, Mama."
"Of course, dear."
Her mother got up and headed to the stairs. "Yumemi?"
"Yes?"
"You would tell me if you were planning on getting married, right?"
"Of course." Yumemi rolled her eyes. Parents could be such worrywarts sometimes. She watched her mother's shadow slip down the stairs.
She smacked her cheeks to finishing pulling herself together and grabbed her phone to call Ichiko.
"Ichiko? I need to contact Louie."
"Why do you think I would know how to do that?"
"… Are you going to make me say it out loud again?"
"No! Fine, fine – I'll text you his phone number."
"Louie has a phone?"
"Don't ask me, I don't question it."
Munto had royally screwed up – in both a figurative and literal sense. And he had no idea how to fix it.
One evening, more than a few days after The Fight, he was in his office, staring forlornly at a pair of rings in his cupped hands.
How could he have said that to her? As soon as his head cleared, he had regretted every word, every action. She was one of a kind – someone that he had been with through catastrophe time and time again. They were the dream team. Mistrust happened to some couples, but not to them.
He had looked into her heart and she, his. They had opened a future and promised to share that future together.
With his short temper and big mouth, he had destroyed all of that in seconds.
Even if he did everything in his power, would she take him back?
Around and around his mind spun, grasping at the faintest, fraying ends of any possible lifeline. But he was coming up short.
A short rap on his door interrupted his mental agony.
"Munto, may I come in?"
"Yes, that's alright Louie."
His right hand man dashed in, looking positively frazzled. Something must be wrong.
"It's the cliff-side waterfall, there's been reports of a mysterious disturbance of sorts. It is speculated to be dangerous."
There was no time to waste. Munto grabbed his coat and threw open his window. "I'll take care of this. He leapt out of the castle and into the sky. The stars and even the moon were hidden under a thick covering of cloud.
The cold, winter air whipped at his clothes, not bothering him in the least. With a heart heavy as lead, a little biting chilliness would not make an iota of difference.
He flew fast and true, right to the location on the end of his kingdom. He landed on the edge of the pool, the froth from the waterfall spraying his boots. His ears pricked up as something rustled in the brush. Spinning around, he brought up his arm to deliver a magic blast –
"Munto?"
With lightning reflexes, he redirected his blast up into the sky where it disappeared amongst the clouds.
"Yumemi? What are you doing here? It's not safe. There is some sort of disturbance or monster."
"It's okay, Munto."
"Louie told me that there is something dangerous out here – a disturbance or a monster."
"I asked him to say that."
Come again? Munto shot her a puzzled look and she seemed a little flustered.
"Well, I didn't ask him to tell you exactly that. He was the one that suggested coming up with a story to lure you out…"
"That means there isn't anything here. There is no danger." He would take no chances.
She shook her head, a few strands of honey hair fleeing from her ribbon.
Munto relaxed his stance and realized the situation he was in. She was here. There were things that needed to be said, but all the words were lodged in his throat.
"Munto-"
His raised hand silenced her. Looking to the sky, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath to steel himself. This was his fault. If he had any pride in himself, he would own up to his mistakes first.
He took her cold hands into his warm ones and led her over to a smooth rock away from the freezing mist of the falls.
"What happened today," he started, "was not something I am proud of. Our connection is a beautiful thing and I should not have treated it in such a common way. Your spirit completes my spirit. Your heart is my own. I need you by my side today, tomorrow, and each day in the future."
He met her wide eyes with his own golden gaze. "If I want that to happen, I need to understand your people and your culture. To do that, I need to understand you." Pulling his hands away from hers, he left the ring at her fingertips. "If you have it in your heart to forgive me, I would love your help to move forward."
With these final words, he dropped his eyes and sat with clenched hands on his knees. The words had not come easily and he'd laid himself bare. Now everything was up to Yumemi.
But his plea was met with silence.
His heart turned to stone. This was it. She was not going to forgive him. She was going to walk out of his life and never return. This was the end of the line, the end of all –
"With these words, you, Munto, king of the Magical Kingdom, have signified your love for me. Your oath is my spirit."
He had never looked up faster in his entire life. How did she know those words? Those were words spoken by Heavenly Beings in the Magical King when they pledged their lives to each other.
"I solemnly vow to be your guiding star, your foundation, and your strength-"
At this point he couldn't take anymore. He crushed her in a hug, squeezing her in his arms as tightly as he could. "Yumemi, do you even know what you are saying?"
He could feel her smile, even without the ring on. "Yes. Louie taught it to me. I need to understand you and your culture better if we are going to make this relationship work. I thought I could start by exploring what you would do on your version of a date."
Alarmed, Munto dropped out of the hug. "Yumemi – those words weren't for a date. I mean, yes, they can be, but it's a very formal ceremony to officially signify the start of a courtship! It's like a…like a…an engagement!"
"But it's something that you want to do, right?" She held her up hand, which now had his mother's ring returned to its rightful place. "I could tell when I suggested the date that there was something you wanted to do. When I asked Louie about traditions, I was able to figure it out."
"If it's an engagement, then it's acceptable. These rings tell all my people that we are promised to each other. I wouldn't mind doing something to signify that for your people as well." She gestured down at her clothes. "Maybe in Heavenly formal attire?"
His heart was singing. There was nothing more than he wanted than to have Yumemi by his side, solving one problem at a time, leading their peoples to a bright and wonderful future. If he asked Ryuely, he was sure that she could show him such a future without the animosities of today.
A tug on his coat brought him down and Yumemi planted a tiny kiss on his mouth.
"It's a day early, but Merry Christmas, Munto."
A/N: Phew! That was pretty hard to write, but I wanted to capture them having "real relationship" time when the world wasn't ending. So, there you go! An early holiday present to you all.
But if you think this is the end – think again.
This one-shot is serving as a connecting piece between "The Future They Opened" and its sequel. Be on the lookout for "The Future They Shaped" in the coming months.
Merry Christmas 2016!
