Calming the Storm (Crimson Storm Chronicles Book 2) Page 3

  "Hey," I mumbled, unable to stay tense in his loving embrace. I already accepted Aki would be my new weakness, having developed a soft spot for him after the mountain incident.

  I knew Aki had chased after me with Urufu, saw me die, and miraculously revived me. I could tell the experience made Aki somewhat clingy and he confessed he just wanted to ensure I wouldn't disappear.

  I looked up to him, and he lifted his hand to slide through my short black locks that had more silver highlights than before.

  "C'mon, Malachi and Itsuki. They're gonna have a loving moment," Haru whispered but said it loud enough for our group to hear.

  "I want to be a part of the mom-AH! Fucking QUIL!" Malachi exclaimed to Quillian, who grinned in satisfaction.

  "Move it, Hottie McHot Pants."

  "Why didn't you say anything to Quillian?" Itsuki asked Haru as they began to walk towards the exit.

  "Because Quillian’s more romantic than both of you and didn't need me to tell him we should leave," Haru replied with a shrug.

  They continued walking and left the training room, leaving Aki and me where we stood. I took a slow glance at the door to see Yoshi was still quietly standing there.

  "Crimson," Aki whispered. "Are you still upset?"

  I was quiet, not liking how lonely Yoshi looked standing at the doorway. I could see the regret coming off him in waves as he tried to remain still.

  "...Yes," I admitted, hesitantly looking back to Aki who I assumed would think my admission was silly. Instead, he nodded and pulled me back into his arms.

  "Listen. We weren't allowed to say anything. We swore in front of the Emperor himself because not many know who Yoshi really is. Don't get the idea that we didn't want to tell you. I bet my life Yoshi would have told you long before everything happened that led to our meeting earlier today. You're allowed to be upset and don't need to keep denying it," Aki explained.

  "Isn't it selfish of me? To be mad..." I questioned. I felt horrible for feeling upset, but I wasn't going to act like it didn't bother me anymore. It really did upset me, but now that Aki put it in a better perspective, I understood just a bit.

  "No. Not selfish at all. Took us a long time to find out about it too. Yoshi's pretty good at hiding it, though he sometimes slips up here and there with his royal behavior," Aki revealed.

  "Royal behavior?" I asked.

  Aki grinned and leaned in to whisper in my ear. "In the Empire, they teach you to eat with utensils instead of chopsticks for when they have foreign guests. We always have to remind him right before dinner to use his chopsticks, or he immediately starts taking every type of spoon, fork, and knife from the drawer."

  I snickered, recalling the time I asked Yoshi what he was doing when Haru had served sushi. He’d been quietly complaining about two specific forks that looked identical. Quillian had to come and pat his back, telling him to ‘let it go.’ Then Yoshi seemed to snap out of his puzzled daze and grabbed his chopsticks from the drawer.

  "That would explain the time about the forks." I giggled.

  "He hates forks. Doesn't get why there are five different names for little forks that all look the same."

  "There aren’t really five...right?"

  "Too complicated for my brain. Westerners can keep their traditions. Chopsticks are better," Aki declared, before whispering, "and you can stab people with them."

  I laughed, slapping his chest playfully. "That's so cliché."

  "The stabbing or chopsticks?" He winked and began to chuckle. He gave me one more squeeze and leaned in to place his lips on mine.

  I closed my eyes, feeling the tension leave my shoulders as I enjoyed the tender kiss. I could sense Aki wanted to deepen the kiss, his fingers digging into my sides as he held my hips, but then he pulled away. I met his hooded forest green eyes, and he leaned in and gave me another quick peck. Then he whispered, "I really want to kiss and hold you for the rest of the evening till we make passionate love at dusk, but my guilty conscience is telling me I should let Yoshi talk with you."

  "Rain check?" I whispered.

  "Hai,” he agreed in Japanese.

  "Woof?" Uru tilted her head as she sat patiently at our feet, staring up at us. We exchanged a look and grinned before Aki knelt down to give Urufu a hug.

  "Let's go, Miss Uru. I bought some treats for you," he said cheerfully.

  "WOOF WOOF!" Uru leapt out of his embrace to run around the both of us, stopping to rub her head on my leg before she darted to the door. She stopped just next to Yoshi, who gave her a small smile. She sat down, waiting for Yoshi to pet her.

  He shook his head but leaned down to stroke her head a few times. "Woof!" she triumphantly, before running out of the room.

  Aki rose up and snuck in another quick kiss, brushing my cheek with his hand. "Don't be hard on him. He gets all quiet and shit when he's in trouble."

  I nodded, lifting my left hand to press against his that lingered on my cheek. "Hai. I'll see you later?" I questioned.

  He gave me a seductive smirk and licked his lips. "Rain check, remember?"

  I nodded confidently and watched Aki turn around and walk towards the entrance. He stopped next to Yoshi and patted his shoulder. I couldn't hear what he said, but Yoshi nodded.

  "Thanks, Akihiro,” he mouthed, which was easy for me to decipher from this distance.

  Aki nodded and with that, he left the training room. I took a calming breath as my eyes looked down at my feet, which appeared extremely intriguing compared to facing Yoshi, who walked over to me.

  "Crimson."

  "You said I should never lose confidence in you. How am I supposed to keep my word when you couldn't tell me you're the Emperor's son?" I questioned, deciding to make this a little harder for him. I could easily forgive him, especially when I knew he wasn't allowed to tell me anything, but I wouldn't give in so quickly. That's what I hoped to project, that is.

  "I had to swear in front of my father and higher guards not tell anyone, Crimson. I'd failed at it once, and my father forgave me the first time. I couldn't afford to tell you, even though it hurt every day not informing you of my family background," Yoshi confessed.

  "Failed once before?" I asked.

  "Aki, Quil, and Malachi knew of my royal background. So did Storm. They found out by accident during one of our missions, and I had to inform them of who I was and the severity of the situation before we were able to come up with a plan and survive the mission we were in the middle of. My father wasn't pleased but didn't punish me for it, which he still gets criticized for. I vowed I wouldn't screw up this time around, even though there were times when I wanted to reveal who I was and bring change to some parts here in Nokamato," Yoshi explained.

  "You mean like the time at the festival where those men approached Melody and me?" I remembered the night well.

  It was a typical situation that many women, regardless of whether they were a prostitute or not, had experienced, and Yoshi had interfered. I could have defended myself, but since we were in the middle of the market, it would have caused a problem and caught unwanted attention.

  Yoshi nodded and sighed, looking exhausted. "I want change, Crimson. I crave to bring peace to everywhere in Homatomashi. Maybe even in other countries around the world. I hate that I have to hide my identity for the sake of clearing out people who don't want peace or have connections with N.R.O. I hate all of this." He clenched his fists while he looked to the side in shame.

  The last bit of anger that resided in me faded with his confession, my heart unable to listen to the vulnerability in his voice any longer. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him into an embrace.

  "Yoshi..." I whispered, and he held me tightly.

  "I don't want to live a double life, Crim. I do it because I need to stop things like this from happening. You lived 23 years not knowing who your real father was and endured a tough childhood because we had individuals in charge who only cared about power and used manipulative tactics to get and maintain t
heir status. Every day, a woman is either raped or abused. People are kidnapped off the streets, and the crime rate has soared since Storm Yuna's passing. It's like everything is spiraling downward, and I can't do a single thing to help, all because I'm on an undercover mission to find the culprits responsible for these crimes."

  He pulled back to look into my eyes. Anger and determination flickered in those sapphire orbs. "One day I'll have to follow in my father's footsteps and be the Emperor of Homatomashi...yet, I'm so disgusted at what our country is becoming. Even though I'm trying my best to solve the many issues going on, I feel that more problems keep arising. This peace talks we were supposed to have...it was aimed to help solve all the problems going on in Nokamato, and then would spread out to the other cities until the peace movement was implemented in all of Homatomashi. Instead, Storm...was murdered, her pocket watch was stolen and thankfully picked up by you, but now we dragged you into this mess. Who knows what's going to happen now while we try and locate the remaining crystals from Storm's pocket watch?"

  He took a calm breath and continued. "I'm afraid of uncertainty. I love being in control and having enough information to ensure everything goes well and no one gets hurt. I didn't want to hurt you, Crimson. I really did want to tell you and planned to ask my father if I could tell the woman I was interested in who I was. I wasn't afraid that you would judge me. I was afraid of this happening. Of you being upset by my dishonesty. Then the James thing happened and you were getting ill. I thought once you recovered and you saw your family before your birthday, I'd get the opportunity to tell you."

  He pulled out of our embrace and knelt down, bowing his head in apology. "I know my explanation may sound like an excuse, but from the bottom of my heart, I am sorry for keeping my family heritage a secret. You have the right to be upset, and if you can't trust me to continue to help protect you and be in our mutual relationship, I will back out. You just have to say the words,” he promised sadly.

  I stared at him in shock, unsure how to react. I came from a life where no one would think to apologize to me. I wasn't worthy of such empathy because I wasn't a shifter like the rest of them. I'd apologized plenty of times in the last four days, but seeing Yoshimitsu down on his knees made me tear up and my heart hurt.

  My Kitsune whimpered, and I could already imagine her pink eyes becoming glossy with tears.

  "I care dearly for you, Yoshimitsu. Just like I've realized I care about the others. When I died...I regretted not giving my fullest in this life. I was displeased with the fact that I hated myself so much for not being something that everyone else wanted me to be. I'd put up a strong front that told the world I was a tough human who didn't give a damn about their opinions...but in reality, I did," I admitted before I knelt down before him.

  I lifted my hands to cradle his face, tilting it up so that my eyes met his. "I also realized how precious life can be and how vital it is to tell the people you love how much you care about them. Hearing that you were the Emperor's son...yes, it hurt, because I was afraid that I ended up in a situation where I didn't feel good enough. I was scared that I'd have to one day face your family and deal with the same backlash I dealt with from James’ family," I confessed, taking a trembling breath before I went on.

  "I'm mad because I feel pathetic. I'm afraid of not being accepted. I'm upset because we live in a country that is trying to modernize themselves so we can be like western countries, but our mindset for our own people is still stuck in the past. I'm frightened I won't be good enough for you, and that would spread to the other guys and, well, six months later, we’d drift apart and I'd be back in my flat with no one to love. I’d be lucky to have Urufu with me," I whispered.

  "Crimson, we'd never abandon you like that," Yoshi defended.

  "A part of me knows that, Yoshi. A big chunk of me knows that once you guys commit, you do it till, well...you can't anymore. I've seen it with my own eyes and I know I'm only lucky enough to be loved by you guys thanks to Storm Yuna. It's just that tiny part inside me, the little bit that whispers in my ear questioning if you'll stick by me. What if there comes a time where you have to choose? Or, I don't know, you have to make the decision to be loyal to me? I just...my insecurities are what I'm mad about, and maybe I'm just using the fact I didn't know that you were the son of the Emperor of Homatomashi as a pathetic excuse to hide it all," I confessed, my voice barely a whisper.

  Yoshi sighed and pulled me into his arms. "Crimson, we'll never abandon you. Doesn't matter what trials we have to deal with in the future," he whispered.

  "What if the battle is with myself? What if I lose hope or make the stupid decision to think this won't work out because I'm scared?" I asked.

  "Then we'd have to prove to you that it will work out and that we'll love you regardless of the bumps on the path of our future as lovers. All we need is for you to believe that no matter how hard things may get, we'll always find a way to conqueror them, together as a team," Yoshi reassured, placing his hand under my chin to lift my head up to look at him.

  "I hope I’ll never have to keep secrets from you again, so if you could give me one more chance and trust me, I can vow with confidence that I'll always fight for our love. I know you're new to dating all of us, and well...we're new to dating you, but that's why we have time to grow and learn about one another. When this is all over, we'll have all the time in the world to strengthen these bonds and even tackle the insecurities we have in ourselves."

  He pressed his forehead against mine, his lips just inches from my own. "I'm really sorry, Crim. Can you forgive me?"

  Instead of saying the words, I closed the distance between our lips, pressing mine firmly against his. He responded immediately, kissing me back with force as his hand pressed gently against my cheek, making it impossible for me to move my head, not that I wanted to pull away from his deep kiss anyway.

  We broke apart for air, and I gently tugged his lower lip with my teeth while my eyes remained locked on his. His eyes darkened with lust, and in seconds I was pinned down to the blue mat and being kissed passionately while covered by Yoshi's body.

  I moaned quietly and tried to think straight, even though I felt dizzy from the exchange. After another minute of deep kisses, Yoshi pulled away, pressing his forehead against mine as we both tried to catch our breaths.

  "Does that mean you forgive me?" he questioned with a silly grin on his face that made me giggle.

  "You look kinda high right now." I continued to snicker and he grinned, leaning in to quiet my giggles with his lips.

  "High because of you,” he whispered.

  I laughed. "That sounds totally hot, but also like something you wouldn't say."

  "True. That's Malachi's job." He chuckled before giving me a gentle kiss on the nape of my neck.

  "Tickles." I squirmed, just before his hands let go of my wrist and lowered to my stomach where he began to actually tickle me.

  I laughed hysterically, trying to move away from him and he grinned with amusement. He pulled back and shifted to his knees. I sat up, crossing my legs to face him.

  "I forgive you, Yoshimitsu. Kinda hard being mad at you anyways. I burn stuff," I admitted.

  He looked to the remains of the punching back and nodded. "You do burn stuff. So when we train, we should focus on fire first,” he suggested before his expression softened. "Thank you, Crimson. I'll make sure to work hard to regain your trust."

  "You never necessarily lost my trust. It just derailed and bumped into a few things, but it’s back on the tracks," I explained.

  "Ready to go back?" he asked.

  "Yes. I'm actually exhausted. I think my little training session is beginning to take a toll on me," I confessed.

  "That's what happens when you go against the doctor's orders," Yoshi scolded playfully and rose to his feet. I uncrossed my legs and was ready to try and get up, but Yoshi shook his head. He reached my side and leaned forward, scooping me up with ease.

  "You don't need to carry me!" I exclai
med.

  "Just till we get back to the house. Then you can walk on your own straight to bed." Yoshi met my gaze and raised an eyebrow at me. I pouted my lips but sighed.

  "Fine," I mumbled.

  Yoshi kissed my nose, which made me grin like a silly school girl. "As compensation for my actions, I have a peace offering,” he began as he headed towards the door.

  I rested my head against his chest and looked up at him with curiosity. "What is it?"

  "Green tea ice cream as a first course for our meal, because dessert first is always the best. Then I have a nice batch of marshmallows where you can test that firepower of yours and enjoy some gooey sweetness before bed,” he proposed.

  "That sounds lovely with a hint of cavities. Marvelous," I hummed.

  "I guess if you aren't tired, you can brush your teeth before you go to sleep," Yoshi added.

  I smirked. "Arigato, Yoshi."

  "No, Crimson. Arigato Gozaimashita for accepting and loving me,” he whispered. We made our way back home to my place, which honestly was starting to become ours.

  I didn't know what to expect now that I knew the truth about everything, but I was ready for this new challenge and willing to tackle this path of uncertainty head-on.

  "You sure you're okay?" Yoshi asked as we reached the door of my place.

  "Yes, I'm fine. Arigato," I reassured him, leaning up to give him a quick kiss. He continued to support me as he let my legs go so I could stand on the ground. He kept his hands on my waist until I gave him a reassuring nod. I hugged him tightly and thanked him once more before I pulled my keys out of my pocket.

  "Are you guys done with your meetings?" I questioned.

  "We have one later tonight to prepare for, but I think I need to have at least three of the others with me. I want two of them to stay with you, just in case James finds out you didn't die on the mountain and he decides to try again," Yoshi admitted.

  "Good plan. Now that we know his true colors, we can't be too careful," I commented.