[PP-F8/F5] The Shadows Bonding (ValexHik) <<Dragon Hunter Anthology V]

[Vale 1]

[This is a Pre-Lude to "The Passion in the Shadow's"]

The sun shined through the large window, Vale's eyes slowly opened. The first time in a while she slept in past five AM. Vale realizing as she slowly becomes conscious that her habit kicked in once again, throughout the night to dressing down to accommodate the heat until she was wearing her bare essentials. She felt an arm underneath her head and a man in front of herself. Her eyes looked the fit man in his street clothes instead of his usual battle attire. Vale was content, happy, satisfied, and comfortable all at the same time. She wasn't worried about the fact that her battle attire armor pieces were unequipped manually to stay cool throughout the night. She brought her slender human hand up to his face, with the gauntlet removed she was back to being regular Vale. Nothing physically hidden between the two of them, only small things unrelated to one another kept secret to protect one another from the problems of tomorrow. With her hand resting on his cheek, she brought her lips up to his lips and to put a sweet, slow, and sensual kiss on the person who was slowly putting the shattered pieces of her heart back together.

She slowly arose and looked at the mirror, her heart skipping beats as she thinks about the night before. Passing out in his arms in the middle of the field, he took her home and brought her safely to her bed. What was most important, was that he stayed with her that night. A smile stretched across her face as she feels the emotions coursing through her, finally, she could lean back and feel safe. Vale finally reaches over and pushes the sleepy Hikoru softly and sweetly without equipping her armor back on, "Rise and Shine." Her voice sounded heavenly as music began to play in the background, subtly moving her hand away from a Music Crystal created by Jomei. Something she had set up into the nightstand to make the most use of.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru had fallen asleep that night peacefully, the first time in awhile. He hadn't slept in a bed for months, so the blankets and the pillows felt heavenly to him. It gave him all the more reason to buy a house and to get his own room. He gave a mumble as he was kissed, but he was too tired to really react except to kiss back. A few moments passed and he felt himself being shook awake. He mumbled and rolled over, to open his eyes and see Vale without her armor, with only the bare essentials. He only mumbled a morning, not entirely processing what had happened. He stood up and stretched, reaching for his cloak when he saw her again, and it finally registered. His face was immediately covered in a blush and covered his eyes. 

"Y-your... Your clothes are m-missing..." he said, stammering and blubbering like a fool. He had never seen a woman like that before so it was entirely new to him. He wanted to enjoy it, but his mind was overwhelmed with the new information. He turned around and made sure to not look and he hoped that she wouldn't try anything, but knowing her she would try to seduce him. He wouldn't complain, but he knew that he probably couldn't mentally handle the thought of... Her. Just the way she was now. 

[Vale 1]

Hikoru was still groggy from a peaceful and enriching night's sleep, he hadn't even fully grasped his surroundings yet. The Shadow Stalker stood up stretching to help awaken himself faster, in that instant, it seemed like something clicked in Hikoru's mind. She laid there looking at him, comfortable enough around the man to stay in her undergarments. A sweet and gentle dotting feeling could be felt from the gaze of the woman, she was completely at peace. Hikoru couldn't handle the image of her and turned away with a blush across his entire face, Vale didn't want Hikoru to look away. She walked upon her knees across the bed to Hikoru's side and gently tugged on his shirt, putting her other hand on her bicep of the arm that is holding Hikoru's shirt. She shifted her eyes shyly to look away from Hikoru, "P-Please, don't look away." She said through her embarrassed voice.

"I-I have a habit of overheating at night, I can usually only wear a little bit because of the sweat." She admitted to him closing her eyes. She went many months trying to hide from others while she slept, this habit being prevalent her entire life made her stay away from spending time with people. Being in close proximity to Hikoru just made Vale feel calm and collected, "B-But please... It makes me feel hideous if you can't look at me." She said honestly. Vale was very much aware of her natural looks, but she wanted someone to be able to see who she really was, not just what she looked like on the outside.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru felt a blush as she grabbed onto his shirt, and she explained that she sweat in her sleep, so she did her best to stay cool. He was happy she didn't undress entirely, or he would be seeing much more than he already did. She asked for him to not look away. He felt himself redden as red as a tomato, and he gave a small sigh. 

"Give me a minute.. " he said with a small sigh. He knew that this was something to get used to. It would take a moment to get used to however, so he took a moment to mentally prepare himself, before turning around.His eyes widened as he finally got a good look, he was unsure of what to say. Without her armor, she looked very slender, and her curves seemed almost perfect, chiseled from the hard work she had done in the game. 

"W-wow.." he said as he found himself staring, blushed, and looked back into her eyes. He knew that it was rude to stare so he took a moment and registered things in his head. He gave a small smile and took a hold of her hand. Doing his best to try and be supportive of her, but he was still beet red and visibly shaking. 

[Vale 1]

Vale slowly rose out of the bed, meeting Hikoru eye to eye. She stared into his eyes, exactly as beet red in the face as the man she found herself with, "I know I have been asking for a lot. And I am sorry to ask for more, but since this is just starting. Could I please have a couple days of your time before we go back to our individual training regimens." She asked sincerely, Vale wanted so desperately to enjoy the relationship that was budding for the first few nights they started. A day date into the town of whatever floor the man would be willing to take her. Vale leaned her head on his chest and hugged him close to her, "I want to go out on a date, would you mind going with me on it? I'll cover the expenses, I have no need for the money anymore." She asked and expressed to Hikoru hoping he would agree to spend a day with her for the night they could spend together as ever enchanting as it would come to be.

The toned goddess pecked him on the underside of his chin, "I'm going to freshen up. There is a Guest Bedroom down the hall with its own amenities." Vale let him go and she pranced over to the bathroom, shutting the door and locking it behind her. With her back pressed against the door and a hand over her lips with a smile and tears beginning to stream down her eyes. Vale was truly happy.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru listened for a moment as she asked if he would be willing to take a few days. He hadn't relaxed in a long time, and it was definitely something that he knew he would like to do. For the first time, he could relax and sleep in a bed. Not in a tree or in a hidden cave he had on the tenth floor. This felt... Perfect, for him. Something that he had truly missed. He looked at her and gave a small smile

"Of course I would..  I think i need it" He said with a small chuckle. He then felt her peck under his chin, and said she was going to freshen up. The temptation to follow her was great, but he knew that he couldn't. They had just pronounced their love for one another, that was going too fast. She offered the guest bathroom and he took up the offer, looking around and looking through shadows to find the right room, then entered the bathroom,  hanging his cloak on the coat rack near him, just in cade he needed to hide, the mist and the shower in the room would help him to hide well enough if he needed to. 

[Vale 1]

Vale smile was wide and cheeky when he agreed, she wanted to make the man happier. Something she thought that she was already doing with the red cheeks and smile the handsome devil seemed to always have adorned on his face around her. After a happy and relieving moment to let tears stream down her face she prepared herself for bed. She grabbed the bottles she had crafted in her shop to help with the showering process. It was much nicer using the coding of the system to assist with her unruly hair. After a deep and enriching shower Vale spent a good amount of time in front of the mirror trying to get her make-up on point. Using her personal crafts she wanted to change the look to completely surprise Hikoru.

Starting with the <Dark Eye> eye altering eye drops she had created a while back, she put one drop into each eye turning their entirety black. She then reached and grabbed a <Clear Iris> eye drops and put one drop in each eye, creating a clear white iris on a black background eyeball. Each was only visual status effects that lasted for a period of time, nothing she would have to worry about since her testing proved there were no harmful side effects that came with it. Vale walked over to the closet of the Master Bathroom, which was a walk-in closet filled to the brim with clothes. Vale didn't have much Col or materials left on her from her days of training in isolation as she had spent them all to have such different clothing options. Sifting around, she found a devilishly sexy dress to wear for the night to accentuate her best visual qualities. After putting on the dress, she did one last look through all of her jewelry for something to match the outfit, She left her hair out of the bun and went with a wavy and gorgeous hairstyle to finish up her look for the evening.

(In White/Black Design)

Edited October 3, 2017 by Vale

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru took a shower quickly and quietly, making sure to not use much of the product in case she had used some of it. Then he started to blush again as he realized he was showering in her house. He shrugged the thought aside and came out,  looking through the different clothes that he could wear. He found some clothes that fit him well for the occasion. He hadn't worn them before, but he knew that for a date he would want to look... Less scary. He chose clothes that made him a bit more appealing to people. He went to reach for his cloak, but the realized that it was missing. He gave a sigh and remembered the cloaks ability and reached for it, and he felt the fabric beneath his fingers. He put it into his inventory and walked out. He came to the master bedroom and knocked before entering

"Hey im ready to go if you-" He looked to see Vale in a stunning dress, with her hair wavy,  making her look amazing and him feel like an absolute slob. He felt a blush run all over his face and he was unsure of what to say. He was in awe of her beauty, and realized how truly lucky he was. 

Hik's attire:

Spoiler

https://static.zerochan.net/Gareki.full.1529226.jpg

 

 

[Vale 1]

With her entire look ready, all that mattered was the shoes. She looked through easily one or two hundred different pairs until she found some that had just a small incline since the girl was already a slight amount taller than the young man. She grabbed her purse, which held her gauntlets just in case. As she brought the strap over her shoulder she looked at the time and went to grab something specific when she heard a knock at the door. HIkoru opened the door to see her dress with how much her back was exposed, the poor young boy wasn't even ready for the front side to be seen just yet. The low-cut dress was just enough to cover everything needing to be hidden, but showing off everything that would get the attention of Hikoru, "Come in." She said.

Hikoru started speaking as he entered and saw the bombshell for the first time. Vale grabbed a see-through and thin black shawl to go over her. Turning the boy would get the full image that she presented herself. The Black and White look on the lass was almost mystifying with the black background and white iris eyes. The woman used the system to its fullest extent, she was ready to make Hikoru's day off with her the best he'd ever had. As she reached the stunned Hikoru, Placing a soft and sweet kiss on his cheek leaving a black kiss mark on his face, "You ready to go Hikki." She said with a blush stretched across her face.

Edited October 3, 2017 by Vale

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru's blush turned a shade darker as she turned around. She was...  Beautiful, and here he felt like a kid compared to her. She pecked his cheek and asked if he was ready to go. He could only nod, completely flabbergasted. He didn't forget his manners however, and held his elbow out and waited for her to link her arm in his. Once she did, he started to head to the door. This was his second actual date in SAO, the first that he had in a long time. His first was with Ariel a long time ago, back when he was a far weaker player. He gave a sigh and ignored the thoughts about her. Today was about Vale, and he would treat her like a princess. Hr coughed and before he opened the door,  he looked at Vale.

"I want to ask a favor of my own..." he looked at the floor "Today i don't want to be called Hikoru... That,  isn't me... " he said, then looked at Vale. "Its Ace... My actual name is Ace... Ace stevens... I told someone my fake name a long ago, but this is my actual name... " he said. He hadnt told anyone, so he was making himself very vulnerable at this point. 

[Vale 1]

The elegantly dressed woman looked directly at Hikoru's eyes, they were clearly stuck to the plot of her outfit. The girl sighed slightly, placing a finger on his chin lifting it up so his eyes could meet her currently uniquely designed eyes, "All because I want to spend my day with you, and it makes me happy that you are interested in my looks. I would still like to be treated like a respected woman." She said with a slight sternness to her voice. Vale kissed Hikoru on the cheek, "If you wish to be called Ace, I will do so today. But you'll always be my Hikki-kun." She said with a smile and a blush on her face. If calling him by his birth name was what he wanted, Vale would follow suite. Pulling his body by wrapping her arms around his arm, placing it in a spot he originally couldn't get his eyes removed from. She intently maintained eye contact, "But if I am to call you Ace-kun, then you have to address me by my first name as well." She leaned up against his ear and whispered her name, "U-mi-ko. [Pronunciation: You-me-kou]" finishing her name she breathed lightly on Hikoru's ear to rile the boy up.

She began to move forward, sliding her hands down his arm until their hands touched. Vale slowly interlocking her fingers, weaving them in between his fingers. She didn't want to seem like she was being courted by a man. She wanted to feel like she was one with Hikoru and holding hands was the most direct way to get that across to people. She whistled causing Eclipse to hop down from his Platform Chandelier and come up to them, "Eclipse if you could watch the house, I'll get you that Minotaur meat you love." The beast shrugged, nodded, and walked away. She turned to look at Hikoru with the biggest smile she could give, "Shall we go, Ace-kun."

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru gave a blush as she said she wanted for him to treat her like a respected woman. He felt his blush rush madly up his face and down his arms. He had been caught. He looked down ashamed with himself, and slightly bowed "S-sorry... It's just, i've never seen..." He realized what he was saying and immediately coughed and dropped the subject. She said she would call him Ace, and a small smile formed on his face, then she said she wanted to be called by her name as well. He nodded and she came to whisper in his ear, and she breathed lightly in his ear, sending a chill up his spine. He blushed and weakly smiled

"O-okay... Umiko..." He said shyly. Instead of locking her arm, she took her hand in his, and he blushed and squeezed her hand comfortingly. She spoke to her familiar and told him to guard the house. He knew for a fact no one would step foot in this house. He would get first hands on the player and kill them before Vale or her familiar could get a hold of them. He just now notices her eyes, which seemed off.. It was then he realized the colors were reversed, and he was slightly mesmerized. She asked if they would go. And he pulled in for a small kiss, pulling away with a smile. "Yeah..."

[Vale 1]

Hikoru pulled himself in to leave a soft kiss upon Vale's lips, agreeing to go with her to town. She kissed him back during the brief period of time that he came in for his kiss, smiling happily the two walked hand in hand toward town. With the Sun at it's highest point, the two of them walking with only the shadow under them and the long winding road that lead to the town. Wind slightly pushing around her dress, making it seem like at any moment something could be exposed. But thanks to the systems equipment function she wouldn't have to worry about the system revealing anything she doesn't want revealed. The girl looked at Hikoru with delight in her eyes, "So what do you want to do while we're in town for the day Ace-kun?" She asked inquisitively, the walk to this point having been mostly silent.

The sound and sight of the great green river within a few steps reach of them to their right, the mansion slowly disappearing into the distance behind them. Vale was absolutely stoked, she wanted to know where it was that Hikoru wanted to take her. She wanted to know what he did for fun, she wanted to know more about him. To this point the information had been mostly one sided, her sharing with him. Vale didn't want to push the young man, he was dealing with things the best he could and making strides at his own pace. He had opened his heart this much to her, that was enough for her to accept for now.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru walked with silence as they left the mansion. The road to town was quite long from here and it was a beautiful sight to look around at, but he knew that he really wanted to continue the quest line and fight. He was itching for it. He promised to spend the day with her on a date, but he hadn't done something like this in months, maybe a year or so by now. He gave a sigh and did his best to make himself not feel uncomfortable. He really didn't know what to do with her today. He hoped she had an idea for them to do something together. But to his dismay, she asked him to think of something in town. He blushed and looked down, his stride slowing down to a crawl, then stopping a few feet later.

"I...I don't know..." He said, looking at her. "I've never... gone on an actual date..." He looked down again. "All i've done for so long is train, train, eat, sleep, train, fight, kill, conquer... I haven't ever taken time to relax. The most I get to relax is when I meet friends and we stop to talk..." He felt small tears, but forced them back. This was no reason to cry. "So, if I could ask.. Could you, lead us? I don't.. know.." He said, admitting something that he wasn't comfortable with doing. He hoped that she would understand and not think of him poorly for this.

[Vale 1]

The young man began to slow his movement to the point where he stopped, she put her delicate hand over her mouth worried if she had upset Hikoru. He began to explain why he was nervous, something she could feel as though it were a brick wall standing in front of her. He told her that he had never really been on an actual date, practically telling the woman that he had absolutely no clue what to do and needed guidance. She walked up to him still holding his first hand, she slowly moved her fingers into his second hand to take control of both of them. Now standing slightly taller than him due to her shoes, she stared deeply into his eyes, "You don't have to beat yourself over it so much." She started as she brought his hands up to her face. Delicately kissing each hand trying to display as much of a loving feeling as she possibly could.

She brought the hands down slightly, opening her eyes after having just finished kissing his hands, "It is okay Ace-kun, you're safe now." Were the only words she could think of at that moment that she felt were just as true being said. He still lived in the idea of his mind that he was still in danger, "I'll protect you from now on.' She moved a hand from his hand to gently on his face, "Just believe in me." She said with a smile, closing her eyes to add to the moment.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru stopped as she took both of his hands. She said he didn't have to beat himself over it, and he gave a warm smile as she kissed his hands. It was... a weird thing to do, but it made him feel like she was trying to make him feel better. He sighed and gave a small smile. He was glad she was doing her best. He gave a small smile and gave her a kiss on the forehead. He was happy that someone truly cared for him. It was a feeling that he didn't know that he missed. He gave a sigh and nodded as she said he was safe. He knew he was, he just... Felt out of place. He gave a final nod then smiled.

"Okay then, what do you want to do? Today is your day m'dear." He said politely, keeping eye contact. He liked the feeling of her hand in his. It felt... warming to him. Something he hadn't experienced in this game before, not even with Ariel. He mentally grumbled to himself and threw her out of his head again. Vale was the one he truly loved. Ariel had betrayed him. He needed to remember that, and Vale was... Perfect. She trusted him so much and she truly loved him. He mentally smiled, and a bit formed on his lips. He felt happiness for the first time in what seemed like forever, he couldn't let go of that.

[Vale 1]

Hikoru displayed a smile to the girl, a convincing one at that. It seemed as though the Shadow Stalker had bought into Vale's words and took what she said to heart. The second he told her that the day belonged to her, she smiled happily at the man, "Thank you, so much Hikki-kun" She couldn't help but call him by the nickname she gave him. It felt special to her that she got to call him that, "I-I'm sorry, Ace-kun." She blushed and smiled at him. Pulling Hikoru along as she increased the pace, she continued to pull Hikoru along giving him a chance to check out her entire figure from head to toe. Something she was certain of would happen, and felt it was already to let the man ogle at her a little bit. He was the only person she wanted to have looking at her body and it's entirety.

It wasn't too much further to go and they stood before the entrance to Friben Village. She eye'd down the Teleportation Gate and thought of the various places to go to have a wonderful date night. The Town of Beginnings was honestly the only one that came to mind. Due to the sheer size of the town there was always something to do including walks in the park and various other means of enjoyment. Pulling his arm forward so he stood beside her, she hooked her arm around his, "Shall we go to the Town of Beginnings and have our date now dear?" She smiled at him sweetly. The two of them already had people stopped in their tracks looking at them, but it was easily to figure that the attention was on the scantily clad woman.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru gave a small smile as she called him Hikki-kun. She then flustered to call him Ace and he jist kissed her cheek, a small smile widening a little larger. She was adorable and he was happy that she felt that she could be herself. He noticed that she seemed to purposely flaunt her stuff, and he thought that she was testing him. He blushed and made sure to avoid staring and kept his eyes forward.  They approached the town and looked around, and she said to go to Floor 1. He knew the Town of Beginnings was large enough to keep them occupied for the day. He gave a nod to her and smiled a bit more.

"Sounds great Umiko." He said. A few men seemed to be staring at Vale, and he gave them a look that meant every murderous intent he could think of. The players looked at one another, then fled from the two of them. He was sure Vale saw this and he looked back, blushing with a small and embarrassed smile. "S-sorry.." he said with a small and awkward chuckle

[Vale 1]

The natural instincts of a male, enforcing his dominance over a pack as though he were the Alpha amongst a den of wolves. Something that spoke into Vale's soul, natural instincts was just that very something. Hikoru looked at the panther woman who had already found what she witnessed slightly arousing, he looked embarrassed and tried to play it off with his chuckle. Vale put a finger to his lips to hush him, she meowed, "You never have to apologize for being the Alpha." a quiet low and sexy tone whisper fluttering off the tip of her lips which were beside Hikoru's ear blowing a bit of air in them to get under his skin. Without giving him much chance to respond she quickly started moving forward, and since she had his hand she could easily tug him along until they reached the Teleportation Gate. The entire crowd could help but watched as she giggled along loudly but somewhat yet adorable at the same time.

As they reached the Teleportation gate the girl turned to Hikoru, a small peck on the cheek, "Warp Floor One: Town of Beginnings" She evaporated into blue light right in the man's hand. Within moments the girl was displaced into a very bustling town of not only low level players, but a plethora of high level players preparing for the next floor boss raid. There wasn't a single walking direction the two of them could go without running into people, "I think it'd be great to start with a walk in the park. There'll still be plenty of people but at that same time they'll be dispersed enough for us to be uninterrupted." She chuckled, having waited a sufficient amount of time to say so Hikoru could warp to where she was.

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru felt a blush spread as she shushed him, then basically purrs into his ear, sending yet another chill up his spine. He could feel the heat radiate off of his face as she continued to pull him towards the teleporter. She gave him a peck on the cheek as she went to the first floor, and he followed behind suite, her hand disappearing from his as he turned into pixels and appeared back onto the first floor. He looked to see quite a few players still around, although not as much as it had been that first day those months ago. He had lost count of how long it had really been that he had been in this game, but there comes a point where you don't care. This was one of those moments. He looked at Vale and gave her a small nod and a smile

"Sure thing, anything you want bab-" He stopped and blushed, almost giving Vale a pet name, or whatever they called them. It just sort of... slipped out of his mouth, like it was natural. He coughed and held her hand "I mean... Umiko..." He said with a small and embarrassed look on his face. She was probably going to find a way to get  back at him or to make him blush more, and it was moments like these where he really wished he had his cloak over him.