Chapter fifteen

"Ah, that was fun!" Nishi fell back onto the guest bedroom bed.

"My feet hurt, I haven't walked that much in forever!" Kougyoku complained, although her tone was happy.

Nishi chuckled, "You royal people need to get out more. You get used to it after a while."

"You've gone on a lot of adventures, huh Nishi?" Kougyoku sat on the edge of the bed at Nishi's feet which dangled off the bed.

"No, not really actually. I lived in the Great Rift until I was fifteen, then I met Sinbad and I've been in Sindria since." Nishi raised her hands in front of her face and looked at them. Although I did a lot before that... She quickly pushed dark memories from her mind before they could ruin her happy mood.

"Oh. How'd you meet Sinbad?" Kougyoku asked.

Nishi lowered her hands and looked at Kougyoku to check if she was really interested. Seeing the princess's curious expression she answered with a chuckle, "I ran right into him. I didn't even know he was a king."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Then that night I went to talk to him and he instantly wanted me to be Sindria's magi." Nishi smiled at the memory, "He was soooo drunk." Kougyoku smiled as Nishi continued explaining how she met Sinbad.

"Wait, you lived in the Great Rift?!"

Nishi paused, she'd forgotten the rift wasn't exactly a place people lived in. "Oh, yeah. I lived with one of the other magi, I don't think you know him. His name's Yunan."

"Oh, I've never heard of him..." Kougyoku trailed off. "What's he like?"

The female magi thought for a while, "He's really nice, and he knows a lot about everything. He taught me all the magic I know. I kinda think of him as my father."

"Do you know what the other magi is like?" Kougyoku asked.

"Scheherazade? No, not really. I hear she's been around for a while though. And Aladdin's pretty strong, but he's really young." Nishi thought for a while.

"I know Aladdin. What do you think of Judar-kun?"

"What's with all the questions?" Nishi sat up and looked at the princess.

Kougyoku shrugged, "I'm just curious."

~(A/N: Lots of perspective skips here, I'm sorry if it's confusing, but it works pretty well)

"So Judar, what do you think of Nishi?" Kouha asked the dark haired magi.

"How many times do I have to tell you we're not dating?" Judar glared at the prince.

"I know, but do you like her?"

"Like her? No." Judar crossed his arms and frowned. They were both in Kouha's room alone, Kouha had told his servants to leave for a while.

"Not even a little?"

"I said no." Kouha frowned, clearly not convinced.

"Do you like Judar-kun?" Kougyoku asked Nishi back in the guest room.

"Where's that coming from? No." Nishi denied.

"What don't you like about her?" Kouha questioned Judar, meanwhile Kougyoku asked Nishi the same.

"For starters, she's way too nice. She cares too much about others, she wastes her time on stupid things, she's always getting lost, and she won't even join Al-Thamen with me!" Judar continued to list the things he disliked about Nishi.

Meanwhile, Nishi began ranting about what she disliked about Judar, "He's so mean! He doesn't care about anyone but himself. He's obsessed with war and always knows what to say to hurt you. He even calls you an old hag!"

"So you don't like him?"

"No! I don't! I hate him." Nishi insisted.

"If you hate her, why do you spend so much time with her?" Kougyoku and Kouha both asked the magi's they were with.

"W-Well I..." Nishi frowned. "I don't like him like that." She crossed her arms as her cheeks burned dark pink.

"Shut up, why do you care anyway?" Judar snapped at Kouha.

~(A/N: end of the really quick perspective changes xD)

"I think you'd be cute together," Kougyoku smiled at Nishi.

"S-Shut up..." Nishi pouted. "I do not like Judar like that. I just feel bad for him, that's all."

"You feel bad for him? Why?" Kougyoku asked.

"He might not show it, but I think he's lonely." Nishi explained then quietly added, "I kinda get how he feels." But Kougyoku didn't hear that. Nishi thought about when Judar attacked Sindria and he cried about being a victim of Al-Thamen too. She also thought about her first life as Kana, how she pushed everyone away who dared try and get close to her, and how it ended with Rin's death. Nishi didn't want anyone to suffer the way Kana did, so she wanted to help Judar, even if she knew it wouldn't work.

"Lonely...?" the princess frowned in confusion.

Nishi sighed, "Maybe I do like him a little..."

Kougyoku gasped excitedly, "I knew it! You should tell him!"

"No...It would never work." Nishi shook her head.

~

"Come on Judar, admit it, you like her." Kouha continued to pester the fallen magi.

"Shut up already, you annoying brat." Judar hissed.

Kouha pouted, "Admit it and I'll stop."

The prince then proceeded to poke and annoy the magi until he finally cracked, "So what if I do?! Just shut up already." Judar crossed his arms angrily, turning away from the prince to hide the light pink on his cheeks.

"I knew it! I knew it!" Kouha cheered. "So when are you gonna tell her?"

"Are you insane? Never."

"What? Why not? I bet she likes you." Kouha walked to Judar's other side so he could see the magi's face.

"It wouldn't work." Judar turned away from Kouha again. "Now leave me alone, I'm going to bed." He walked out of the room.

~

"I'm going to go get some fresh air..." Nishi stood and awkwardly left the room before Kougyoku could reply.

Nishi walked through the palace, not getting herself lost this time. She walked outside and leaned against a railing on one of the palace's back decks. She sighed and looked at the starry sky, Do I seriously like Judar? I must be going insane...Sinbad will literally kill me!

"Oh, of course you're here." Judar scoffed, rolling his eyes.

Nishi turned and watched him walk over. Seriously? Now?! What horrible timing... "Hey." She tried to play it cool, but was having trouble stopping herself from blushing. Damn Kougyoku...

She looked at Judar and frowned, do I really like him? Nishi had to admit, it wasn't like he was unattractive. She exhaled sharply and looked back at the sky. What do I even see in him?! Sure, he reminds me of Kana, but...

"What are you doing out here anyway?" Judar interrupted her thoughts.

"I just needed some fresh air." Nishi turned around and leaned her back against the wooden rail.

"Kougyoku harassing you too?" Judar assumed.

"What?" Nishi raised an eyebrow.

"Nevermind."

There was a long awkward silence and neither of them knew what to do about it.

Nishi almost felt compelled to confess to him, but every way she thought of doing it made her blush more than she already was. I do not like Judar. I do not like Judar. She tried to convince herself over and over.

"What's wrong with you? Are you sick or something, your face is darker than Kouen's hair." Judar frowned at her.

"W-What? No, I'm fine..." Nishi looked away from him. This is so awkward...Kouha must have said something to Judar...

Judar sighed, "This is annoying. Did Kougyoku ask you anything?"

"About what?"

"About me."

"Oh...uhm..." Nishi could feel her heart thumping in her chest, while Judar looked calm and slightly annoyed. Nishi gritted her teeth and decided to grow up and tell him, "Yeah actually...She asked if I liked you..."

"Kouha asked me the same thing for you. What'd you say?" Judar watched her.

Nishi paused, Kouha asked him the same thing?!? Oh no... "What'd you say?"

"Hey, I asked you first." Nishi swore she saw Judar's cheeks go light pink, if only for a second.

"I said yes..." She mumbled, looking at her feet.

Judar chuckled and moved in front of her, "So you wouldn't mind if I did this, then?" He lifted her chin with one hand so she was looking at him then quickly pressed his lips to hers.

Nishi stared at him wide-eyed, unsure what was happening. Her heart was racing and every part of her said not to, but she relaxed and kissed him back anyway. She could feel Judar smirking as she kissed him, clearly pleased with her reaction.

When they pulled apart, Nishi tried to take a step back but her back was already against the rail, "Uhm...I-I should go..."

"Aw, you're no fun." Judar pouted, trying to kiss her again.

"Judar." Nishi's voice was suddenly harsh and angry.

"Oh, come on. Loosen up, will ya?"

"Just...Don't." Nishi swallowed hard. Millions of memories of things happening against her will suddenly ran wild across her mind, making her completely incapable of even thinking of touching Judar again.

"Alright, fine." Judar sighed and backed off. He frowned and looked Nishi over, "You ok?"

"Yeah...I'm fine...I'm sorry, I like you...I just..." Nishi trailed off. Not only were these memories bothering her, but she could feel herself getting angry, and she really didn't want to end up hurting Judar.

"Is this cause that guy Al and his gang?" Judar asked.

"Uh...Yeah...I suppose." But it's a lot more than just that...

Judar frowned again, "I'm not that bad."

Nishi breathed deeply before replying, "I know...But don't you think you're rushing this a bit? You never even said you like me back." She tried to lighten the mood by teasing him.

Nishi smiled as she noticed Judar was blushing again. She chucked and placed her hands on her hips, "Scared?" She managed to shove all the memories to the back of her head and reminded herself that she can fight back if anything was to happen.

"Shut up. You're just as bad as Kouha." Judar looked away. Nishi continued smiling as she waited for Judar to crack, "Ok, ok. Yes, I like you. Now stop smiling like that, idiot."

Nishi laughed a little and slowly stopped smiling. She felt torn and unsure about how she felt about all this, but she forced herself to ignore her doubts and enjoy it.

~