A Colored Warmth

written by: A Lucky Penny

Summary: As a fire lit in new colors burned bright, another seemed to glow in shades of a familiar red. Selected events of Chapter 14 - 15 told in Obi's point of view.

Disclaimer: I don't own Akagami no Shirayukihime.

Author's Note: I wasn't too sure about finishing or posting this one, but after considering how much I've already written, I decided to post it anyway. I hope you like it. ^^

P.S Thank you, ninjainmymind12 for liking, reblogging and commenting on the first draft of this on Tumblr.

Obi still remembers the first time Shirayuki shared a horse with him.

It was after the incident with Viscount Blaker at the fort in Kokoku. She had come down quietly and some steps behind Zen. She kept her head low and twiddled with her fingers as she waited for them to ready their horses. It didn't seem odd to him then. When he asked her if she would mind riding with him, she only shook her head in response.

As they rode back to Clarines, he suddenly felt a tug at his shirt. Normally, he would have asked her if she needed something, but he merely let her hold on for whatever reason she had. Her hands were hot, he remembered thinking at that time. Her hold on his shirt was light, but he felt it. There was something in that warmth that seemed to reach out to him. He hadn't been with them long, but his Mistress's warmth and mere presence felt distinct to him. But even then, he wasn't sure what that meant.

He noticed the change in the way she acted when they had arrived at the castle; even Mitsuhide and Kiki did. She was suddenly jumpy around Zen, but even when he asked, she ran away from him. He didn't choose to pry though. Something in the look in his Master's eyes back at the fort before seeing Shirayuki made him keep his silence on the matter.

Then, Shirayuki came to him asking if she could go to the forest. The warmth was lingering in the air again. Her warmth. He was only escorting her to the forest, but when he saw her hand simply at her side, something made him reach for it. Almost as if it something called out to him from within him - an apple red flame.

Unfortunately, Zen and the others had come around and Shirayuki, at his insistence, ran towards the forest. As soon as his Master left, he stared at his hand. What made him reach for it in the first place? Why did he even try to get away with a bad excuse? Then, he recalled how flustered she was as she hid behind him. He chuckled at that and silently bid her good luck.

He waited with Mitsuhide and Kiki for Zen and Shirayuki to return. He couldn't help but feel a little betrayed when Zen told them he had a guard escort her back. That was when Zen told also told them about what happened in the forest.

"She took my hand."

It felt like a shot through his chest when he said that. He could already guess what had happened back at the fort. Though he smiled when Mitsuhide embraced Zen in joy, he couldn't put his heart into it. And even that, he questioned. He should be genuinely happy for them, shouldn't he? But somewhere in him, it hurt. The flame began flickering.

He was relieved when Zen sent him on an errand. Something to distract him from the events that just took place. He didn't need to think about those at all. He was only a messenger. That is where his role begins and ends. Nothing more than that.

Suddenly, he felt cold.