This is a while after Runari and Jericho actually meet, Jericho is poisoned and Nari takes care of him. Runari is Shirou's, Jericho is mine, and I start this one.
He should have known something was wrong. That pitiful demon begged far too much for want he wanted. But Jericho had given in, had wanted to go home to make sure his boys...and Nari...were doing okay. He'd been longer than he said he would and despite his best efforts, he worried. So he'd taken the sacrifical goblet filled with the demon's blood. It had tasted off...but he attributed it to the type of demon he was dealing with. Now he knew why they'd sent that particular type of demon. His body shook, and he broke out in a cold sweat even though his body temperature rose. With a feral growl, he moved to reach for the demon, but his movements were slow, his blood felt like molasses in his veins, and the demon dematerialized before he could make it anywhere near him. He cursed viciously and fell to one knee. Another curse and before he could pass out, he dematerialized in the house, he was hoping somewhere near where Nari was. He didn't know where else to go. Seconds later, he passed into unconsciousness.
Nari could've sworn she felt something wrong, something tugging at her stomach like it normally did when either of her brothers were in trouble or hurt. It had been brief, a sort of sting in her heart, and she had nearly dropped the five plates she had been delicately carrying, only barely managing to catch them and somehow frisbee them into the sink before they could break, though one did from her throwing it too hard out of concern. Both her brothers were sleeping, with their lovers, having exhausted themselves away doing less than appropriate things to talk or think about. Ethan and Nathan too, were napping, having played to hard outside and tired themselves out. The last of the people she had a connection with her demonic blood.. was Jericho. It was true enough, he was late, and that he normally showed up on time, his concern for their sons, and even that slight concern that Nari knew not he had for her, mattering more to him than his work. Nari gave a worried glance in the direction of the pull, biting her lower lip alittle, before the direction suddenly changed, and Nari could feel it stronger than ever. Something had gone wrong with Jericho. Taking off from the kitchen, Nari ran, her own concern for the demon whom she claimed to loathe, consuming her. Why did she worry about him though? He was a jerk, an a*****e, a stubborn, careless, arguemental idiot with a temper and attitude problem. Well, at least, that's what Nari had been convinced of before their sons had taken breath. A short gasp left the koi girl as she found the man who had given life to their twins unconcious on the floor. Why did she fear what had happened to him? Why was she so scared for his safety and health? She left these things unanswered. "Jericho!" She yelped, getting on her knees and lifting him alittle in her arms, nearly dropping him in shock as she felt his skin, hazel eyes suddenly swirling a deep orange, and even though she tried to hide it, even yellow was making it's way into her iris. His skin was burning, and he shook, even unconcious. Nari could feel tears well in behind her eyes. What was wrong? "Jericho! Jericho wake up! Jericho!" She begged, even though she knew he couldn't hear. HIs breathing erratic, he was sweating, and looked like he was in pain. Biting back her lip, she threw one of his arms around her shoulders, holding him and basically dragging the taller, heavier man to her room, waving her hand alittle as she settled him onto her bed, a small amount of water materializing over her hand, which she quickly placed over his forehead in an attempt to cool him, thinking and giving the water an icy chill, to help as she looked around for anything, anything that could help. Why had be become so frail? So weak? Had she ever seen him this way? Nope. He looked so sick, and all Nari could was sit there by his side, an icy, water coated hand, which was slowly crystallizing into ice, over his hot body. "Dammit you idiot.. what'd you go and get sick for?" She mumbled, trying to keep back the blue ring that was starting to form around her pupil, before she bit her lip as he kept getting worse. What had happened to him? Why did she care? Neither had answers. She slowly unbuttoned his suit with her freehand, the ice coated one still over his forehead, openign his shirt and flushing lightly, hoping the exposure to the air would help. She knew not how to treat illness. That was Kaito's forte, and even then, this seemed like so much more than just some sickness. Some part of her wanted to go grab Kaito, the other half told her to stay and figure this out on her own. "What do I do?" She whispered, letting two tears fall from her blue, orange and yellow eyes.
Somewhere past the poison haze that fogged his mind and pulled him deeper into the darkness, he heard Nari calling his name, but...that couldn't be right. Could it? He had gone to the house in hopes...but never thought she'd really help. Maybe that she would have gotten her brother, Kaito. Even then, the chances that he knew what it was that made him so sick was slim to none. Jericho wasn't your normal demon, he was one of the original demons. He was supposed to be tougher, stronger, harder to hurt. The only way something could effect him this strongly was if The Source himself had given the demon something this powerful. Or if another demon like him had done it. That didn't make sense though...there weren't any other demons like him, were there? Far too soon for his liking, he slipped past all thought, though he still felt the ice cold water on his forehead. He felt his suit being opened, and the air that hit his chest both burned and froze him. He took a deep, ragged breath, and let it out the same way, still shivering and shaking. "C-c-cold..." he murmured in his fevered haze, though he was unable to move to get a blanket. "N-N-Nari..." he let out a low whine, his face scrunched up in pain second before he cried out and arched his back off the bed. A second later, he turned on his side and curled into a tight ball, whimpering from the pain and nightmares that flashed through his mind of his precious children being hurt, being tortured. All because of him. Nightmares of living forever with Nari hating every breath he took. That hurt him more than he cared to think about, not that he was able to think of much right now.
Nari could feel her worry intensify as he breathed so harshly, and shivered, his shakes scaring her. Why was she so afraid of him hurt like this? Why wasn't the sadist part of her Jiang raised laughing at his misery and enjoying all the suffering he went through? She squeaked abit when he murmured, and then whined, blushing as she recognized the whine as her own name. She couldn't answer though, before he cried and arched from the bed, scaring her back so that she actually fell form the bed onto her behind, scrambling back up in time to see him scrunch in pain and curl into himself, his whimpers making a part of her slowly deteriorate. Simply acting by instinct, she got back onto the bed, slipping her arms around him and pulling him to her, up, so that he leaned against her chest, and body, one arm keeping him there as the other dragged her warm, fluffy blankets over his back and shoulders. "I-it's okay, I'm here. I'm not leaving Jericho." She breathed, hoping her words would reach him, as she felt more tears slip from her eyes unwanted. She grabbed a shirt she had kept on her nightstand soaked it in cool water with her hydro kinesis, pressing the cool cloth against his face, still keeping her other arm around him, flushed lightly from their closeness, but not caring, her concern overpowering her shyness about being in contact with the demon broker. How she wanted to take away what ever caused his pain. "Jericho what happened? Jericho please.. wake up.. Jericho.." She pleaded, pulling him closer, praying he could hear, he would hear, and could answer.
He breathed a little easier as Nari pulled him to her and covered them with a blanket, though he still shook and whimpered. It felt like his stomach was being torn apart from the inside out. Hours passed this way, with periods of calm and periods of extreme pain. Close to dawn, Jericho's fever broke and his shakes stopped, though he still didn't wake yet. He lay there for another few minutes, breathing shallowly, his heart beating far slower than it should. A few more minutes after that and his eyes fluttered open though it took him a moment to be able to focus and realize where he was. "...the hell?" he murmured before trying, and failing, to sit up. He tried to turn, to lay on his back instead of his side, and found he couldn't do that either. In fact, he found he couldn't move much at all. He could feel all his extremities, they just weren't responding to him. He flushed a bit, hating to be so helpless. "N-Nari?" he called a bit nervously.
Nari felt a sort of relief washing over him as he calmed, puling the blanket more snug around them, and holding him closer. She let the hours pass, her wearyness taking her to short periods of sleep that would be waken by Jericho's pain, where she would hold him to her and pray to anyone listening that it would end soon. She didn't know what to do, how to act. All she felt was that she had to stay there. Her brothers had come to check on her when dinner hadn't been prepared, a rare feat that only occured when it had become physically impossible for her, or she was in some sort of exetreme situation that couldn't allow for her to cook. Both had been true the time they had found her, and she apologized and asked Julian to make their dinner. She just couldn't leave, not then, and still not when Jericho's fever broke, and his shakes passed away. She had woken again, from another short nap, resting on her back, Jericho ontop of her mostly. The beat of his heart scared her, as did the way he breathed, but in a few minutes, she heard his murmur and looked down at him in concern, the orange and yellow swirls in her normally hazel eyes. "Jericho.. Jericho I'm here." She answered, feeling him try to move, and sitting up, sliding him up with her, pulling with one hand to keep the blankets over them, still worried. "It's okay.. I'm here." She whispered to him, flushing delicately. "What happened?" She breathed, the worry in her voice betraying her, even though she didn't want to show her concern. He had become so helpless.. And all she could do was hold him till he recovered.
He flushed a bit when she moved him, and felt how close she was. Warmth flooded him when he caught the worry in her voice, though it was a much nicer warmth than the fever's heat had been. "P-poisoned. S-someone poisoned m-me.." he murmured, his voice croaking a bit from the dryness of his throat. He felt so stupid, then blushed as he realized Nari must have stayed with him the entire time he'd been in the poison's clutches. It had to have been her body heat and proximity that had helped him fight the poison and win. Had he been forced to go to his own home and deal with it alone, he almost curely would have died. Of course, The Source would have restored his body, but he would have forgotten about Ethan and Nathaniel. He would have forgotten about Nari. He didn't know if he'd still feel as pull toward them or not. He'd never had a family before...not that he would remember if had been before one of his deaths. He flushed a little harder. "...y-you stayed?" he asked softly, the effort sending him into a coughing fit. It took him a moment, but he recovered shortly, taking deep breaths.
Nari could feel the soft warmth wash over Jericho as she held him closer, flushing, but worried it might've been the fever coming back. It was not until he murmured that she put it aside and sniffed, crying lightly. "Baka.. boku hounto kowaii-yo.. kowaii.. baka! Meiwaku o kakemasu.. anata.. baka.. (Idiot.. I was so scared.. so scared.. idiot! Making me worry.. you.. idiot..)" She cried, her grip around him tightening lightly, speaking words she couldn't say in the language neither needed to translate, even though she knew Jericho would understand anyway. She opened her teary eyes again as she heard him speak, but the coughing fit came before her answer, and she was caught up too far in concern for him to work out the words he had asked. "Jericho!" She breathed, the orange and yellow in her eyes brightly shining behind warm tears, a dark blue ring she couldn't get rid of around her pupils. Why was she so afraid? So concerned, so upset? All because Jericho had gotten himself hurt, poisoned. "Stop.. don't speak." She whispered, as the coughing calmed, and the brightness of her orange yellow eyes fading abit as she too relaxed. The momentary calm gave her enough time to work out what he had asked moments before, and she flushed darkly, nodding abit, trying to find her voice. "H.. hai.." She whispered, barely above her breath, still glancing off to the side as she spoke, but keep him close to her, his head reasting on her shoulder and collar bone, and the rest of his body draped over her own, still warming him, the blankets around them softly.
He blinked. And blinked again. Was she...crying? Over him being poisoned? His heart skipped a beat, them started beating a little faster. Her words, combined with her tears and her grip, cut through his facade of ice, and hit him hard. After his coughing fit, as she told him not to speak, he tried to move, and found he could turn his head to look at her. The color of her eyes and her whisper told him everything he needed to know. A moment later he found he could move his limbs and he did so, moving onto his side and pulling her into a tight hug, wanting her to know he appreciated what she'd done, though he couldn't find the words or voice to tell her so.
Nari flushed deeper as she felt him shift, looking down at him alittle and watching him, tears still falling slowly. She could barely believe though, what he did next. Before she knew it, his arms had slipped around her, held her softly in a hug that whispered to her words she knew he didn't have the voice to say. She could feel her tears falling faster, as she hugged him back, shutting her eyes, and holding him to her lightly. "Jericho.." She breathed, content with knowing he was okay, alive. After a long stretch of silence, Nari flushed alittle deeper at their closeness and ran a hand through his hair, her eyes still orange yellow, but less, hazel bleeding back. "A-are you okay now? H-hungry? Thirsty?"
He stayed like that for a while, unable to move, but also not really wanting to just yet. Slowly he was able to move his arm again and he reached up to wipe away her tears. He didn't want her to cry, especially over him. He'd been such an a**, fighting with her every time they spoke. He didn't deserve her tears. He wanted to take away all her pain. He took a slow breath as she asked if he was okay now. "B-better..." he murmured, "Thirsty..." His throat was so dry and sore, but he still didn't want to move yet, especially if it meant Nari would leave.
She flushed deeper as he reached up and stroked away her tears, feeling her heart skip a beat, and her mind trying to beat it up for doing so. Why did she care? What made her so worried, so upset, when he was hurt? And then so relieved and happy when he was alright again. She gently reached with one hand to touch his, the one against her cheek, more tears replacing the ones that he had swept away, out of relief that he was better now, at the very least. She gave a silent thanks as Jericho replied with thirsty instead of hungry. She felt so wrong to move away from him right then. She didn't want to, at all, and it puzzled her, but she swept away those thoughts and let alittle more of her normal hazel slip back into her irises, before moving away her hand from his, and sweeping it across the air, pure, untainted water flowing after it, into a small round blob above her hand, as her eyes searched for something like a glass, but found none. She shook her head though, and forgot about it, as she gently settled her hand beneath Jericho's lips, letting the water slide into them, letting him drink, concentrating on making the water as pure as she could get it with her hydrokinesis. Some part of her gave another silent thanks for her special ability that allowed her to stay beside him as she let him drink slowly, watching to make sure she wasn't giving too little or too much.
His breath caught in his throat for a second when her hand touched his. What was going on with him? Why was he feeling this way? He knew he'd been softening toward her, but he thought it had been because she was the mother of his children. What was it that was making him crave her touch, made his heart beat faster with her so close? What made him not want her to leave him? The corners of his mouth twitched up into a small smile when he saw her create the water and floated it toward him. He opened his mouth for her, letting the pure, cool water flow in. She made it go slowly, and he didn't have any problems drinking. When it was gone, he smiled at her. "Thank you," he murmured softly. His throat felt much better now that it had been soothed with her water. Still he didn't want to let go, wanted to keep her in his arms.
Nari smiled lightly through her gentle tears as he smiled up at her, and drank. She kept the flow slow, careful, afraid of hurting him or possibly choking him. As he finished, she lowered her hand and placed it against his chest, noticing his heartbeat now fast, instead of the old slow beat. Flushing softly, she looked up at him as he murmured thanks, and she gave him a smile back, rubbing away her tears lightly, calming slowly as her hazel eyes overtake the orange and yellow now, though there was still a ring of orange at the edge of her iris, tinted with yellow. "No problem." She whispered, pulling him alittle closer, asking herself why, but ignoring the questions in her head. "Is there.. anything esle you need?" She asked softly, wanting to help more, and perhaps distract herself from all those questions inside her heart, yet content with the warm feeling of knowing she probably already knew, but didn't want to dare thinking about it in case the feelings weren't shared.
He flushed a little when she put her hand on his chest, feeling a strange fluttering in his stomach. As she rubbed the rest of her tears away, he felt a twinge of guilt at being the cause of her tears, despite the fact that he hadn't been able to tell the blood was poisoned. His breath caught again as she pulled him closer still, and he tightened his arms around her as much as he could, wanting her closer. He flushed deeper when she asked if there was anything else he needed, and before he could stop himself, he found himself whispering, a sound barely audible, "You," before kissing her lips softly, barely using any pressure. One hand came up to brush the backs of his fingers over her cheek as his face hovered just an inch above hers, tri colored eyes watching her carefully for a reaction.
Nari flushed lightly as his arms tighted around her, but she kept close, smiling abit through the pink across her cheeks. Eyes widened though when she swore she heard an answer to her question from him that she hadn't expect would ever leave his lips. Looking up, she burned scarlet as their lips pressed together, despite there being almost no pressure, the flush deepening as she felt the backs of his fingers against her cheeks, and his eyes watching her. She pulled away with a gasp, too surprised at first from the bold move to respond in a positive manner, hand reaching up to brush her lips with the tips of her fingers, heart beating faster, and breath coming alittle faster as well. Hazel eyes gazed up at him in slight confusion, but that strange feeling in her heart hit her again as her body remembered the kiss, and she couldn't help but slide her arms around him and press them into another soft kiss, hardly there, sustaining it for abit before pulling away again, flushed dark and looking up at him nervously, unable to believe, and yet still believing.
Just when he thought that that was the worst idea he'd ever had, her arms slid around him and she kissed him. His eyes slid closed, and he murmured softly when she pulled away. He saw the nervous look in her eyes and wanted to dispel it, but he also wanted another kiss. He hesitated for another second before deciding if he was in for a penny, he might as well be in for a pound. He kissed her again, using a little more pressure, but not pushing any further yet. He was nowhere near being sure that he was doing the right thing, but the foreign feelings in his heart and stomach did not allow him to back away from her. If she wanted him to stop, she would have to tell him so.
Aaaand we cut off here. The rest of this is more heated kissing, buuut I thought it best to kinda...leave off. So yeah.
