Sanctuary Agency-Chapter 26: Golden Heart

〘Date: 2/12 - Tuesday〙

〘Time: 1:30 PM〙

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〘Location: Texas, Crystal City - Reigns' Residency〙

"Ugh...we've been in this study for hours, Ana. Can we go out and do something already? There's no possible way you have that many reports to go through," I groaned softly, leaning back in my chair and raising my head with boredom.

Anastasia continued to type on her keyboard, going through each and every report meticulously. "If you're so board, my Liege, maybe you should go entertain yourself in the city. This is very important work, and also..."

Anastasia paused in her typing, taking off her glasses and setting them down on her desk, glancing at me with a raised eyebrow. "You're my advisor, you haven't given one piece of advice sense being here. Just whining like an impatient puppy."

"Now, hold on. I was not whining. I was just strongly expressing how boring this is. And don't think this is just a you thing, I also hate sitting through the mountain of reports Charlotte goes through as well. Much rather watch paint dry," I said, looking at her with a slightly snarky expression.

Anastasia hummed softly at me, tilting her head with a smile. "Well, Reinhart just finished recoating a wall down in the training halls. You can go watch that dry while I finish~"

I rolled my eyes at her obvious sarcasm masked as cute ignorance, scoffing lightly at her in response. "Oh har har... We got a wise woman in here, I'm supposed to be the sassy, sarcastic one here."

"Well maybe, you've just never met a fiery personality like me. Anyways, I need a snack, all this work has me quite famished," Anastasia hummed, standing up from her desk and making her way out of the study.

I stood up from my seat as well, following behind her with Maika following behind me. Anastasia and I began making our way downstairs, continuing our small banter all the way to the kitchen. Once we made it to the kitchen, I playfully shoved her forward with a soft chuckle.

Anastasia stumbled forward, catching herself on a chair then looked back at me with a challenging expression. "Oh...so you wanna play rough huh?"

I grinned at her, shrugging my shoulders nonchalantly with a light chuckle. "Oops~"

Anastasia lunged toward me, grappling onto my shoulders to try to wrestle me down to the ground. I let out a soft chuckle as I stood my ground, holding her back with only a firm stance. Anastasia grunted as she put all her strength into trying to push me, even if it was just a step back.

"You're not gonna win this, Ana~ Charlotte is a retired Hall of Fame wrestler..~ You're not gonna win any of these battles," I said in between my playful grunts, getting her in a gentle, yet firm headlock.

Anastasia squeaked as I managed to get her in a headlock, her hands finding their way on my back and stomach to try to squeeze herself out of my headlock. "Let me out..!"

"Not until you yield," I chuckled, keeping her in a light headlock and looked down at her with a challenging grin.

"No..!" Anastasia defied, stomping down on my foot heavily to make me break my hold.

I grunted loudly, immediately letting go of Anastasia and bent down to rub my foot. "Damn, girl...you ain't have to stomp that hard.."

Anastasia fixed her hair and let out a soft exhale as she recollected herself, looking at me with a victorious smirk. "Hm~ I win~"

I looked up, watching as she began skipping toward the refrigerator, shaking my head with a smile and chuckled lightly. "Yeah, okay. I'm gonna let you believe that fantasy."

Anastasia took out a container filled with grapes and opened a cabinet full of dishes, reaching up to grab a bowl. She grunted softly as she stood on the tips of her toes, her hand barely reaching the top bowl on the shelf. She let out a frustrated sigh, turning toward me for assistance.

I chuckled softly at her struggle, walking over to her and grabbing a bowl from the shelf for her. I handed to her, letting out a soft hum. "Here you go, Your Highness..~"

Anastasia blushed lightly, closing her eyes and snatching the bowl from my hand. "Hmph...Thank you, I guess..."

I couldn't help but to laugh at her passive aggressiveness, turning around to lean back against the counter, my gaze landing on her. "Always such the firecracker. Can't take one compliment from yours truly?"

"You're charming, but it's not enough to make me fall for you," Anastasia denied, turning her royal nose up at me as she began transferring grapes from the container into the bowl. "I sleep with you one time, and now you think you're in home base."

〔Phroa: Me when I lie like a toothless dog.〕

I snickered softly at Phroa, lowering my head to hide my laughter from Anastasia's gaze. I let out a calming sigh, raising my head once again to look at her. "Hey, I never claimed to be in home base with you. But I mean, if that's what you're implying..."

"No!" Anastasia barked immediately, her face flushing into a deeper red, her heart racing from my insinuation. "W-We are nothing of the sort, just a Queen and King who happens to be on the same page."

I let out a hearty laugh at her quick shut down, reaching over to gently stroke her chin. "I'm just tugging your leash, Ana..."

"Mhm...yeah, well learn to tug softer..." Anastasia said, her tone softening at my gentle touch.

I smiled at her warmly, my hand finding its way to her hair, my fingers slowly gliding through multiple strands. Anastasia closed her eyes at my touch, almost leaning into it instinctively, her body gradually relaxing with comfort.

As I showed Anastasia my physical affection, Maika mewled at me, hopping on my leg to beg for attention as well. I looked down at Maika with a chuckle, crouching down and picking her up into my arms.

"Mmm, a jealous little kitten because Queen Anastasia is getting some attention as well?~" I asked in a soft, babyish tone, gently petting Maika's fur with fatherly care.

Maika purred happily in my arms, her head nuzzling against my arm as she relished in my physical affection. Anastasia watched as I pet Maika with care, her cheeks flushing with subtle jealousy. Maika looked up at Anastasia, her eyes meeting hers with a sharp and calculating superiority.

Anastasia grunted softly at Maika, her hormones gradually awakening in her body, activating her drive and crave for my attention due to Maika's subtle taunt. "Ahem! Actually, I feel like enjoying the sun while eating grapes. Maybe, a little break outside in the Crystal City heat could help me focus better."

Maika let out a confused trill at Anastasia's emphasis on the word heat, her body tensing greatly as she watched Anastasia take my hand. I grunted as I began getting dragged with Anastasia, practically hopping on one foot to catch my balance.

"Whoa, Ana, hold on..! I can walk on my own you know," I said, finally catching myself and following her outside to her grand backyard.

Outside, the sun blazed down upon us, her smile a bit too bright for Maika's liking. Anastasia began leading us toward her outdoor courtyard, stopping at cute decorative white crystalline table with four chairs around it.

Anastasia sat down gracefully, setting her bowl of grapes on the table with a serene sigh, looking up at the sky. "Ahh~ The day is really bright today isn't it?"

I looked up at the sky, noticing a personal cloud over my head sprinkling down snowflakes. I glanced over at Maika, noticing her salty expression due to her being in the heat outside. "Well...I can say the day is...pretty chill."

Anastasia glanced at me, noticing the personal snow cloud over my head that Maika conjured up, her gaze shifting over to Maika herself. "Hm, seems like she's not too fund of being outside.."

Maika let out a low, annoyed meow at Anastasia's sarcastic statement, rolling her eyes at her. She curled up in my lap, continuing to make it snow on my head and shoulders, the cool breeze keeping her fur cool.

"Well, Maika is a Snow Cat, so of course she wouldn't like being in damn there 90 degree weather," I chuckled softly, looking down at Maika and continued to pet her. "But that doesn't mean the day still isn't beautiful even with a snow cloud over me."

Anastasia lowered her head in temporary defeat, letting out quiet sigh. 'Ugh...how did this backfire on me so badly..? Now he's got her attention even more...'

"By the way...I wanted to ask something. It is about your family, or rivals in this sense. I wanted to ask about Leonidas and Claudio, what are they like?" I asked, looking up to look at Anastasia with genuine curiosity.

Anastasia plopped another grape in her mouth, leaning forward against the table and resting her cheek against the palm of her hand. "Well, Leonidas is my blood brother and Claudio is our first cousin. Leonidas is...well, he's a righteous leader and works very closely to the Trinity Church."

"Claudio on the other hand is...let's say he's quite the dreamer. A chill laid back guy who seems to only go where the wind leads him, and it so happened to land him an alliance with Leonidas," Anastasia finished, her tone filled with slight frustration, plopping another grape in her mouth.

"The way you speak about Leonidas... it sounds rough. Do you mind if I asked what happened?" I asked, unsure if I wanted to really pry more into her bloodline history.

Anastasia hummed softly, pushing her bowl forward and closed her eyes, letting out a soft sigh. "No, I don't mind. It's better you know now than to figure it out the hard way..."

Anastasia took a soft breath before beginning to go over her relationship with Leonidas, her gaze meeting mine to make sure I was listening. "The rivalry between Leonidas and I began when we were just children. Someone destroyed Lion Rock City for ownership of Leon Valley's resources, which ended causing a generational war between us."

"Someone? You don't know who?" I asked, my voice laced with intrigue to figure out more about the situation.

"Well, I know who said someone is...and it was an organization named Judgement that destroyed his city, but he won't believe me... because the man who was shown committing those crimes was my father," Anastasia answered, letting out a frustrated huff.

"And it's not fair because I even asked him about it years later before his passing, and till this day, I believe it was never my father. But Leonidas believes another story," Anastasia added, shaking her head slowly.

'Judgement..? The same organization that killed Haku in cold blood..? Hm...' I thought to myself, scanning Anastasia's body language to see if she was lying.

The energy around her was blue, signalling she was telling the truth and she genuinely believes her father was never involved with the attack. I knew there were two sides to every story, but until I met Leonidas, I only had Anastasia's word to go by.

"Anyways, enough about me and my dysfunctional family. Tell me about yourself. You have all of these Godmothers and I know nothing about them. History for history," Anastasia said, her eyes meeting mine with innocent curiosity.

I chuckled softly at Anastasia's innocent pry, leaning back in my seat and letting out a soft exhale. "Oh man, where do I even start? Uh...well I guess we can start with how many I actually have. As you know, Whitney Dawn is my biological mother and she has a lot of sistren now."

"Okay...so how many? I mean you have an entire bloodline right?" Anastasia questioned, raising an eyebrow at me as she waited for my answer.

"Yes, yes I do. I have exactly 14 Godmothers, all of them Destiny Women and around 15 half siblings," I answered, nodding my head with my eyes closed.

"What..?! Fourteen Godmothers and fifteen—!? Sweet Mother Gaia, who the heck is your dad to be having that many kids?!" Anastasia exclaimed, physically recoiling back in her seat in deep shock.

I chuckled softly at her surprised reaction, looking down at Maika and petting her gently as she napped on my lap. "Well...since I know your deep secret, I suppose it's fair you know mine. But you have to promise to keep it a secret from everyone else..."

Anastasia nodded with enthusiasm, unable to contain the anticipation within her that desperately needed to know who my father was. She leaned forward against the table, her tone lowering into a confidential level. "Okay, I promise...who is he?"

"My father is the legendary Shiro Moji, Earth's Savior and the previous Tribal Leader of the Mojis," I answered, bringing my gaze up to see Anastasia's reaction.

Anastasia froze with disbelief, her entire body shuddering at the truth of who my father was. She slowly sat back in her seat, her mouth slightly open as she tried to process my answer. "No...what the heck..? You aren't just royalty... You're a Demigod...! All of you are..!"

"Not exactly," I said lightly, a light chuckle rumbling in my throat. "Only two of the sixteen of us actually inherited our father's, I guess...Iridescent Genes, if that's what we can call it. Me, and my half sister, the Moji Alakai, Leilani Moji."

"And even still, I wouldn't classify us as Demigods, we still bleed and hurt like you do. If anything we are more Awakened Humans than anything as my Godmother, Ui Okabe, would call us," I chuckled softly, bringing my gaze back down to pet Maika again.

Anastasia watched as I pet Maika as if this was some average news report on TV, blinking at me with slight disbelief. 'The son of Shiro Moji...and inherited his genes? What do we call a guy like this? A...Destiny Child?'

"So, do I call you a Destiny Child since you were birth by a Destiny Woman like Whitney?" Anastasia spoke instinctively, the words seemingly flying out of her mouth.

I looked up at Anastasia, raising an eyebrow at her with genuine interest. "Oh? Y'know, some people in my family actually call me a Destiny Child. They call Leilani that as well."

"Huh...so that explains all the tattoos and your different abilities huh? Does that also explain how you're such a smooth talker?" Anastasia asked, her tone laced with a mix of interest and sarcasm.

"Duh, of course it explains my Abilities and charisma," I answered back, returning her sarcasm with a hint of playful sass.

Anastasia rolled her eyes at me, pushing her bowl of grapes toward me with a smile. "Oh shut up, smartass. I didn't ask for lip, I just needed an answer."

"And I gave you one, Princess..~" I retorted with a light smirk, plopping a grape into my mouth.

Anastasia stood up with a soft huff, turning on her heels to make her way back toward her manison. "Hmph! Whatever, I'm going back to the study. I still have work to do!"

I stood up as well, transferring Maika around my neck to she could lazily relax along my shoulders. "Hold on, you don't gotta run off so fast..!"

〔Anastasia-Aurora's Affection for you increased to 30%〕

〔Bond with Anastasia-Aurora increased!〕

〘Date: 2/12 - Tuesday〙

〘Time: 3:00 PM〙

〘Location: Texas, Crystal City - Reigns' Residency〙

I stood behind Anastasia's chair, leaning against the back of her seat while gently running my fingers through her hair, watching her work on her computer. Anastasia rested against the back of her seat, her breathing soft and calm as she focused under my gentle touch.

Maika rested on Anastasia's desk, sleeping soundly beside the small portable fan, resting beside the cool breeze. The atmosphere was calming, the room filled with the sounds of soft lofi music and our quiet small talk in between reports.

Anastasia closed her eyes and hummed softly as my hands began to glide down to her shoulders. "Mmm...Ryder, I've gotta focus...on these...reports.."

I smiled as I felt her body starting to relax during my gentle massage, my hands skillfully loosening the tension in her muscles, my thumbs gently pressing against her back. "You've been working for the last hour...you can take breaks y'know..."

Anastasia shivered in delight, a quiet moan slipping from her lips as my hands pressed against her body with the right amount of pressure. "Ahh...just a little harder..."

I nodded lightly, pressing my hands against her slightly harder, listening to her let out a pleased sigh in response. I chuckled lightly at her, tilting my head slightly to look at her face. "You seem to enjoy this, my Queen..."

"I do, my Liege..." She whispered back, her tone laced with intimate pleasure as she lowered her head. "It's...the first time someone's ever willingly given me...a massage.."

I began scanning her body, using my Heart Scanner to detect any tension within her body. The aura around her body began to illuminate a light orange hue, signalling her body was tense, in need of relaxation.

I stopped massaging her, gently taking her hand and leading her around her desk toward the royal red couch sitting next to a bookshelf. "Follow me."

"What are you—" Anastasia began, letting out a surprised squeak as she was pulled on top of me as I sat down. She placed her hands on my shoulders, looking down at me with a bewildered blush heating her face. "Have you gone mad..?! We absolutely can not do this..! Not in broad daylight mind you..!"

"Relax, Ana..~ I'm not that bold to try something so scandalous. Here, just lean on me," I said, gently pulling her closer to me, wrapping my arms around her waist.

Anastasia let out a soft, conflicted grunt, hesitantly leaning against me, her chest gently pressing against mine. Upon her resting on my body, I awakened my Tengoku Mode, using a small amount of Peace Aura to sooth Anastasia's body.

Anastasia let out a soft hum as I began rubbing up and down her back, closing her head and burying her face in my neck, her arms wrapping around my nape. "I suppose...this is nice..."

I smiled at her peaceful statement, one hand rubbing her back while the other gently rubbed up and down her thigh. "See..? Nothing too crazy..."

"Yeah, shut up..." Anastasia mumbled, her lips curling into a soft smile as she continued to relax in my arms.

The two of us continued relaxing with one another, Anastasia humming softly as a vocal stem, her body shuddering lightly from every gentle touch. Anastasia began to gently grip onto the collar of my shirt, her breathing growing softer as I began to slowly claw down her back.

"Gosh...you're going to kill me here..." Anastasia whispered, her voice quivering with a mix of tranquility and tactile senation.

I smiled softly in response to her soft whispers, my fingers continuing to gently claw her back while my free hand gradually moved her hair to one side. "I am..? It's hard to believe no one else has given you this opportunity to be a woman..."

Anastasia's breath hitched at my words, her grip on my collar gently tightening. "Sh-Shut up..! I've...I've been allowed to be a woman many times..!"

"Oh? And I'm sure Tony has allowed you to relax like this in his presence?" I asked in a low, teasing tone, my voice no louder than an intimate whisper.

Anastasia huffed softly in response, one of her hands unconsciously moving to rest on my chest. "W-Well...that lunatic was different. Controlling and just outright dirty...but, I don't want to talk about him right now..."

I chuckled lightly at her, tangling my fingers in her hair gently and leaned down, inching my lips toward her smooth skin. "May I..?"

Anastasia opened one eye slightly, her eye shifting down toward my lips silently waiting for approval. She slightly turned her head, giving me better access to her neck and collarbone. "Do your worst..."

I hummed softly at her challenge, gently planting my lips against her neck, a soft gasp escaping her mouth in response. As I trailed soft, tender kisses up and down her neck, Anastasia's grip on my shirt tightened, her stomach tightening with a hidden pleasure she never knew she had.

Anastasia whimpered softly as her entire body began to tingle from a deep sensation she couldn't describe in her mind, her breathing deepening in attempt to regulate her pattern. Her body seemed to be unable to sit still, pressing further against me to recieve every bit of my affection.

Anastasia's hands began trailing up to my hair, causing it to become a tangling mess as she basked in my skilled affection. "Ryder..."

My hands slowly moved to her waist, gently holding her firmly to me, not wanting to let go of her body. Anastasia moved leisurely, sitting up slowly and looked down at me with half lidded eyes. I met her gaze as well, my eyes continuously trailing to her lips.

The heat between us two began to rise, the beautiful passion inside us slowly rising. In the heat of the moment, Anastasia gently held my face, leaning down into me and pressing her lips upon mine. I kissed her back nearly immediately, the two of us deepening the kiss and letting out a sound of pleasure.

Quickly, Anastasia broke the kiss, her eyes wide in shock as she looked down at me, panting softly and reeling herself back into reality. I looked up at Anastasia, my eyes scanning for what was wrong as I locked eyes with her.

Anastasia gently bit her lip, narrowing her gaze and blushed lightly. "Did...we just..."

I let out a soft chuckle, scratching the back of my head. "Yeah...I think we did..."

Anastasia gently touched her lip, letting out a soft sound of contemplation. She couldn't believe herself, but at the same time she's never felt more alive before, her heart and mind fighting for dominance over how to react.

"Are you okay..? I'm sorry if I kinda moved too fast," I said softly, looking at her with gentle concern, tilting my head to meet her gaze.

Anastasia looked down at me again, her gaze softening as she noticed my look of concern. She smiled softly at me, shaking her head and placed her hand on my chest. "No, it's okay...I enjoyed it more than I'm willing to admit. If...I'm being honest, that was actually my first kiss..."

I smiled at her, relieved that I hadn't become pushy in the moment. I gently brushed her hair behind her ear, locking eyes with her. "I'm happy to know that I was your first..."

Anastasia let out a soft, satisfied hum, slowly getting off my lap and fixing her clothes. "Me too..~ Well, these reports aren't going to finish themselves. Time to get back to work."

I let out a soft chuckle as I watched her march back to her desk, standing up as well and following behind her. "Of course, back to the chopping block~"

〔Art of Love EXP +600〕

〔Anastasia-Aurora's Affection for you increased to 35%〕

〔Bond with Anastasia-Aurora increased!〕