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Tanaka Gundam, Supreme Overlord of Ice, Rightful Ruler of the Netherworld, birthed directly from the very hellfires of the Shadow Realm, had risen above base carnal desires.
So he repeated to himself in a hushed whisper, a fevered mantra, as he tried to banish thoughts of Sonia Nevermind.
To meet a thrall of the Dark Arts on a school trip was shocking enough, but as their time on the island marched toward the Apocalypse, Dark Lady Sonia proved she was no mere human. Perhaps demon’s blood coursed through her veins, or perhaps she had summoned her own arcane powers through some forbidden arts known only to her royal line… perhaps, most importantly, she was someone with whom he could commune.
It was a foolish thought; not befitting one of his stature.
Although he was well aware of that fact, he increasingly found his attention fixated on the gentle curve of her waist (he wondered how it would feel to place his hands around it), the glimpse of pale thigh peeking beneath her skirt (or the time he accidentally saw her hiking up her stocking). There were several other facts of which he’d also become well aware, actually, and they were all about her.
Dark Lords certainly didn’t focus on the gentle laugh of a princess, or the way she smiled at him, the way she doted on the Dark Devas…
Stewing in his pitiful earthly dwellings did nothing to help clear his mind. He left the Four Dark Devas of Destruction to their dastardly deeds (they liked to run through their habitrail at night), and stepped out of his cottage.
It was a humid night, as most on Jabberwock tended to be, but a cool breeze picked up and rustled his scarf ever so slightly. He enjoyed when such a thing happened; it made him feel that there must be a great force stirring.
Some great force within him stirred instead when he rounded the corner. His fiendish heart skipped a beat when he saw Sonia in a simple night dress, seated at the edge of the hotel pool, feet dipped in the water. She stared down at the underwater lights and idly kicked her legs, unaware of his presence.
Gundam froze. He took one step backward, back to the safety of his cottage, but the pier connecting the cottages to the main hotel betrayed him with a loud creak.
Sonia turned her head at the sound, a little too slowly to have just now noticed him. She must have heard him approach, he cursed inwardly. He should have masked his footsteps, but again, as she always did, she caught him off guard.
“Oh, Tanaka-san!” Her face lit up like a kindling hellfire. “I hope I did not wake you.”
“O-of course not,” he stammered, grateful that he’d thought to wear his scarf-- it gave him a place to hide. “It would be foolish to assume I am not on nocturnal vigil as well. The night is more suited to my demeanor, anyway.”
“That’s true. I think you look quite dashing in the moonlight.”
Sonia’s compliment caught in his throat and struck him mute. He opened his mouth to respond, but no voice came out; it would have had to compete with the beating of his heart to be heard, anyway. Finally, he mumbled a lame, “what about you?”
“I’ve had a lot on my mind, and it was keeping me awake. I thought the night air may help me to think.”
Gundam wished somewhere in the back of his mind that Sonia could be an animal instead-- at least then he could understand what she was feeling right now. As it stood, he was at a loss. Instead, he stared expectantly, discerningly, for what was probably way too long of a time to do so at anything that walked on less than four legs. She only managed to match his gaze for a moment or two before she demurred.
“I was wondering how one goes about ‘eating someone out.’”
He made a horrible coughing noise as he choked and sputtered and tried to prevent his soul from leaping out of his mouth.
“Did I say something wrong? I mean to request a courtship.”
“D-do you mean… ‘asking someone out?’”
“Oh! Oh, that’s it. I still have some trouble with idioms,” Sonia laughed nervously, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Though Gundam hadn’t quite recovered from the shock, he couldn’t help but smile a tiny, nervous smile behind his scarf.
“I can’t say I have much experience in this matter,” she continued. “After all, in my country, one of my stature would normally be arranged with a suitor. But, since I have arrived here, I’ve begun to fancy a certain individual, and I’m not certain how to proceed.”
“Feh, I have no insight or care into the trifling courting rituals of mere humans. The Overlord of Ice has much larger concerns.” The words ‘fancy a certain individual’ made his chest hurt, more so than he’d expected. Gundam looked back to his cottage, wishing he’d never thought to leave.
“Therein lies my issue. If it were just some human, I would have no problem. But,” She paused, taking the time to choose her words. She flickered a glance up to Gundam before returning her gaze back to the water. Something about this made Gundam very, very nervous.
“But, this is no mere human we are talking about. I’ve no clue how to ask out a walking calamity, born of human and demon... a Supreme Overlord of Ice. I’m simply not aware of the procedure here.”
Oh.
OH.
“Would you have any suggestions on this?” She looked to him, blue eyes full of starlight. Gundam was fairly certain that he'd burst into flames from the spark. He attempted to extinguish the heat in his face by burrowing deeper within his scarf, but it didn't seem to be doing much good.
"Feh," he laughed, more a nervous response than he would have liked. Hopefully to a mortal it didn't seem much different. Though he tried to exert control over his voice, he couldn't quite stop the slight tremor that betrayed him.
"I...I suppose if a human such as yourself would like to challenge me... I do have pair of trip tickets. Um. If you should like to accompany me. To the movie theater, that is."
She stared, uncomprehendingly, for what felt like eons. Gundam began to wonder if he'd misunderstood; if perhaps there may have actually been a different Supreme Overlord of Ice to which she referred. If that were the case, he prayed for the ability to shift himself from this plane of existence, just to get away from his shame.
"Oh! Tanaka-san! I would love that!" Sonia exclaimed as she jumped to her feet. "We could watch that movie about the puppies. I saw that in the listings and thought of you immediately."
"O-oh."
"This is excellent! Shall we meet tomorrow after our chores?"
“S...sure. Of course.” His voice shrank away from him, into a deep place within his throat that felt small and vulnerable, but not frightened. At least, not a bad kind of frightened. He kind of liked it.
“Wonderful! I shall make sure I am prepared to meet you then. Oh, I’m excited!” She swayed in place for a moment as she lifted her foot to move toward him, but thought better of it. It was likely for the best, Gundam thought. She may be powerful, but surely she wouldn’t be able to breach his magic barrier.
Though in a way, he supposed, she already had.
“I...will retire for the night,” Gundam announced, more loudly than he’d intended. “I don’t believe we’ll be beset by fiends tonight.”
“Good! We’d best both get plenty of rest tonight, after all. Goodnight, Tanaka-san. Sleep well!” With a wave, Sonia took her leave, practically bounding back to her cottage. He watched her disappear around the corner, then stared dumbly at the wet footprints she left on the pool concrete.
His tempestuous damned soul had not been soothed by this walk at all, and Gundam knew he’d still have a hell of a time trying to sleep tonight. It was nice to think that it would be for an entirely different reason, though.