Chapter 32 Sabaku Natsuki's Past

Sabaku family consists of 4 people, the father, the mother, an elder sister, Natsuki and a brother who's 2 years younger than the sister, Fubuki. The father works as a mafia who serves the Italian Mafia Group. As the family of a mafia are never saved from danger and threats, the sabaku family often migrate from one place to another. They never settled in a place which they can call home.
One day, the father retired from the work because of his old age, so the family decided to spend their last moments of life in a peaceful state. In the end, the family settled themselves in a place called Helencia Central Town. The father bought a land and build a mansion which his children could call it "home".

Father: finally we can have a place which we can call it our home.
Mother :sou desu ne. Arent u happy Natsuki, Fubuki?
Both: haii! (cheerfully)
Natsuki: papa, papa, can i enroll to a school? I would like to experience schools and friends.
Mother: hmm, dou ka na? (looks at the father, smiling)
Father: (laughes) r u sure u want it? Papa will make an arrangement.
Natsuki: yaay! Arigatou papa, mama.
Fubuki: how bout me?
Father: fubuki, ure still small to go to school. Once ure big enough, u can follow ure oneechan.
Natsuki: sou sou (pats on Fubuki's head) oneechan will always walk u home from school okay?
Fubuki: (smiles) haiiii!

At that time Natsuki is just turning 9, which makes Fubuki to be 7 years old. But thats not the only reason why the parents didnt want to send Fubuki to school. Fubuki was born with a sickness, Chrome disease.
The rule was that children that was born with Chrome Disease should be hand over to the AOCA (association of Chrome Academy). Child with great potential to be Chrome users are most likely not to be returned to the family untill theyre used to their Chrome Magics. and that stage is usually achieved when theyre adults. By that time, the bond of family has already been severed due to the distance of the heart.
Sabaku parents so decided to not let Fubuki be out of their sight and keeps him at home. The only friend Fubuki has is his one and only oneechan, Natsuki. Natsuki too loves him dearly though she doesnt understand why her family restrict him from playing outside.

Years had passed and Fubuki only spends his time in the house, mostly in his own room. Its the habit of Natsuki to always play with him in his room after she comes back from school. At that time Natsuki had just entered her first year of middle high school, making Fubuki 10 years old when she starts noticing her brother's little change.

Knock knock!

Natsuki: (opens the door) Fubuki, im entering.
Fubuki: hai, oneechan. Come in.

Natsuki comes in and what she sees in his room shocked her. Curtains are all messed up on the floor. The railings of the curtains are literally ripped off the wall. Pieces of metals are scattered all around the place. Even the iron bars of the windows were broken. And there she sees her little brother sitting and playing with the iron rods, no, he is actually making spears n sword out of a piece of metal. She gasped.

Natsuki: (trembled) fu..buk..i?
Fubuki: (innocent) ne ne, mite mite. Im going to sell these weapons like in the game!
Natsuki: (speechless)
Fubuki: wanna join, oneechan?
Natsuki : i... etto.. i just remember i have homework to do.

Natsuki rushes out of the room. She still cant believe what she sees with her eyes. Her little brother is actually a monster, she thought. Ever since that they she hasnt play with Fubuki at all, let alone entering his room. That was the last day she sees her little brother.

ONE DAY

On this day, something bad happened to this family. Natsuki at that time didnt come home because she had to go on a trip organized by the school. That night, people with weapons such as bombs, snipers and pistols surrounded the Sabaku Mansion. At that time, both the parents r having their dinner when suddenly they heard the sounds of pistols shootings. The windows broke and shattered on the floor and the invaders came inside. To their own dismay, the father recognized them all. They are the mafia of another family which has come to take their revenge on those who had killed their subordinates years ago. The mafia killed the father n mother in a gruesome manner. After they killed them, they mutilated the body and leave it in the house. They snatched all important belongings and ran away. One of them, before running away, has placed a bomb in the living room which was activated 10 minutes after they escaped.

The next day, when Natsuki returned to school from the trip, the principal payed their condolences to her and informed her of her family's death. She couldnt believed what had happened to her family n insist to go to her home. But, alas, the people didnt let her and they took her to somewhere far away so she couldnt see the condition of her house.

A year later, when she is calm mentally n physically, her adopted parents decided to give her freedom. Natsuki requested that she be returned to Helencia. At first her adopted parents were relunctant to let her go, but in the end they give in to her wish, on a condition that shell continue depend on them even when she stays there. She promised them and the next day she departed to Helencia. Her main concern was not anymore about her parents. She knew that they were already dead and she even attend to their funeral. But her main concern is about her little brother. There was no news about her brother. Not at all. Not even his body not his remnants. She decided to come back to find out abt her brother.

When she arrived in Helencia, she immediately went to Helencia Central Town and went to her home. Tears roll down her cheeks when she sees the condition of her home. Big trees were grown around the area of her house making her house hidden in a forest like. Grasses n fungus were grown on the wall of the house. She wiped off her tears and gather her courage to enter the house. THe inner part of the house were badly damaged, especially the living room. Stained could be seen everywhere. The corner of the house is full of web of spiders and waste of wild animals. She went up the stairs. The picture of her nice house and happy looking family members are still vivid in her mind. She walks through the corridor as she remembers each room. At last finally, her little brother's room. Her heart raced in anxiousness. She tries to push the door open but she couldnt. The second try too. And the third time, she tries and the door opened. She gulped. She enters the room and it is as if it was the same as she last seen it, which was a year ago. No sign of her brother could be seen there. Not even his body. Her chest tightens. She regret that she couldnt spend the last time with her brother happily. She cries her lungs out, crying for her brother, fubuki. She cried and cried till she got tired and not noticing she fell asleep in her brothers room which is filled with metal junks.

posted from Bloggeroid

Chapter 31

"What are doing here?"

Asked the young shounen. Kiryuu Shori makes himself brave and answers him.

Shori: we meant no harm. We just came to take shelter from the sudden downpour. The front door got locked when the wind slammed the door closed. So we are searching for an opening to go out of this house.

The two boys glare are each other. The other boy take a step forward. He swings the spear that is in his hand and aims it towards Shori. He dashes forward aiming Shori's arm with his spear and in a split second, Shori extinguishes his flames that are on the mid air, making the room goes pitch black. In that pitch black, Shori managed to push Koizumi Yuu away and dodged the attack.

"Ure good"

Says the boy who attacked Shori. From his voice, they can sensed that he's smirking.

"Play with me more"

Sounds of someone rushing to a certain place could be heard. Suddenly sparks of flames appear at each corner of the hall, making the hall brighter. Koizumi Yuu is still laying on the floor, taking support with both her arms. The young shounen that attacked Shori earlier is standing further away from the stairs while Kiryuu Shori is now standing on the platform of the next staircase. The young shounen has a short dark purple coloured hair.
The boy once again dashes towards Shori with his spear. When he almost reach Shori he jumps and intend to strike from above. Smartly Shori defends the attack with an irod rod which he picked up from the floor earlier. The shounen swiftly moves away from Shori and Shori uses that time to emit fire on his rod, becoming a fire rod.
Both of the boys jumps from their spot and attack one another. The boy with purple hair fights with a smile on his face. At one point, Shori managed to pin the shounen down on the floor but before he could do anything, someone called out his name.

"Stoooop!! Kiryuu!!"(faintly)

Shori shocked. So too Koizumi Yuu. The voice belongs to a girl but not Koizumi Yuu. It belongs to someone familiar. Then they saw one figure taking support from the wall. Both of them knew that person.

Yuu: m..mai Hao san??!!

Cheng Mai Hao appears with lots of wound on her body. She could hardly stand up so much so that she has to take support from the wall.

Shori: what on earth happened to you? More importantly why r u here?

The young shounen uses the opportunity to punch Shori while he's distracted. And it did hit him. Shori falls down to the ground while pressing his wounded cheek. The boy runs and grabs his spear.

Shori: teme... (enduring)
Mai: matte, kiryuu. Wait. Dont attack. That person is... Sabaku Natsuki herself!!

Both Kiryuu and Yuu exclaimed in shockness.

Shori: eh eh? Datte sa...
Yuu: tashikani... otoko desu kedo...
Mai : chigau yo , what i mean is... thats Sabaku Natsuki's body..

Again both of them exclaimed awkwardly. They look closely at the young shounen. That is definitely the eyes, the hair style and the figure that can only belong to a boy.

"(Snorts) huh, dont put me as the same being as my sister. Thats disgusting. Im Sabaku Fubuki, her brother"
Shori: brother... so u do know who did those wounds on Sabaku Natsuki, dont you? Or maybe is it you who did it?
Fubuki: heh! On what basis r u accusing me on that? And for ur information, ive never seen my sister since years ago.
Shori: never see you sister since years ago? What do u mean?
Fubuki: it means what it meant. And this is my house that ure trespassing.
Shori: ur house? This old abandoned house?
Fubuki: (rage) one more word from you

Fubuki jumps into the air and aims his spear towards Shori. Shori defends the attack with his rod and attacks Fubuki in return. It hits Fubuki hard on his stomach and it made Fubuki crashed into the wall and falls down on the floor. At that moment, Cheng Mai Hao falls on her knees in front of Shori, defending Sabaku Fubuki.

Shori: mai hao san, why are you?
Mai: like i said earlier, this person is sabaku natsuki.

Fubuki lose conciousness. To Shori and Yuu's amazement, the hair on Fubuki's head grows quickly and the figure somewhat becomes that of a girl's. And on the second thought, the person now lying in front of them resembles Sabaku Natsuki very much.

Shori: eh? Eh? Wha..? (rubs his eyes)
Mai: like i said.. this is sabaku Natsuki.. anyway, while she's unconcious, lets bring her back to the guild..

Mai tries to stand up but she falls back on the ground. Koizumi Yuu slided her arm on her waist and pulls Mai's arm over her shoulder and lifts her up slightly. Mai looks at Yuu and she replies with a smile. On the other hand, Shori picks Sabaku Natsuki in his arms.

(The fight was actually quite long, but somehow the words arent just coming so i cut them short. If this is a manga, itll take about 1 n a half chaptr.)

AT THE GUILD

Hamano Hikari, Kitayama Tsuyoshi and Fukushima Shinichi arrive at the guild as quick as they can. And there they saw Sabaku Natsuki sleeping on the bed, full on bandages. Cheng Mai Hao is also seen to be sittinf on the chair, also filled with bandages around her arms n legs. Hikari runs towards Yuu and hugs her.

Hikari: yuu chan!! R u alright? Did anything happen to you?
Yuu: im fine hikari chan.
hikari: (hugs tighter) yokatta!

Tsuyoshi: (turns to Mai) geeh! Where did u come from? (suprised after not seeing her for a long time)
Mai: i went to search for her in ur place.
Tsuyoshi: eh? (turns to natsuki) eh? (turns to Shori) eh? (turns to Mai)
Shori: sou da ze, we found her beaten up.
Mai: (throws a rock) do u have to mention that up, kid?
Shori: am i wrong?
Mai: (sighed) sou, i did went to search for her all this time.
Hikari: no wonder u acted weirdly when we saw that abandoned house.
Mai: maa na, because i dont want u to know. I can sense that its quite dangerous. ANyway, i went to that house and saw Sabaku Natsuki was badly beaten up. So i attend to her wounds and suddenly (cut off)

Cheng mai hao's speech got cut off when suddenly Sabaku Natsuki woke up in a sudden. She puts on a terrified face. She looks around her and sees that everyone is looking at her.

Natsuki: eh? Why am i here again...?
Mai: bcoz we brought u here, again with bruises all on ur body. Its done by ur brother, fubuki right?
Natsuki: eh? Fu.. fubuki? (looks down) again with this....
Mai: what do u mean?
Natsuki: (emotional) thats why i hate busy body people!! Why cant they let fubuki be in peace?!! Everyone is always mentioning fubuki fubuki!! But ive never seen him since that day!! So stop mentioning about ppl who are not here anymore!!

The room was in a total silence. They listen to every word of her heart's thought. Tears start dropping from Natsuki's eyes and she starts weeping. Yuu, who is closer to the tissue box, takes it and brings it to Natsuki. She offers to wipe her tears with the tissue bit instead Natsuki hugs her, asking for a body comfort. Yuu cant help but pities her. She strokes her hair as to calm her down. Everyone else sighed and goes to the relaxing zone. Some sat down on the chair and some leans to the wall. They can only hear the sounds of Natsuki crying.

AFTER A MOMENT

Tsuyoshi hands a glass of water to Natsuki, which she takes it and drinks a sip. She has finally calm down after crying her heart out.

Natsuki: Go..gomen nasai for my behaviour..
Yuu: its okay, Sabaku san. We're fellow Emperors, right? So we are basically friends. U can always come to us if u need to.
Natsuki: u can call me natsuki..

posted from Bloggeroid

Chapter 30

FEW DAYS AFTER
AT SCHOOL

Kitayama Tsuyoshi grunts in irritation.

Shori: whats wrong, Tsuyoshi?
Tsuyoshi: its tht Mai Hao girl. EVer since the day we went to search for Sabaku Natsuki, Mai Hao has been avoiding me, saying that she's buzy or she has another mission to attend to etc....
Shori: maybe its because ure always pestering her.
Tsuyoshi: well, she did say she's gonna help us to find Sabaku Natsuki.
Shori: hmm. Thts true though. We'll come by the guild this weekend. Maybe if we're all there, she'll agree to come with us.
Tsuyoshi: hmm... but she hasnt been coming to the guild these past 2 days...

Shinichi who has his head on the table, lifts up his head, place his elbow on the table and rest his chin on his palm.

Shinichi: arent u too concerned about this sabaku?
Tsuyoshi: because i dont like it when a girl gets beaten up. It irritates me. Plus when she tries to hide it, thts irritates me more.
Shori: u got a point there.

Tsuyoshi caught sight of Hamano Hikari and Koizumi Yuu leaving the classroom. He slides his bag over his bag.

Tsuyoshi: jaa na, omaera. Anything, ill let u know.

Tsuyoshi walks quickly towards the door and walks out of the classroom. He caught up with Hamano Hikari who's walking alone.

Tsuyoshi: are..? Where's Koizumi?
Hikari: she went to the opposite direction, to the 3rd years building.
Tsuyoshi: oh (nods) she always walks with to uptill the entrance.
Hikari: (chuckles) because today her brother doesnt have any extra activities so theyre going home early.
Tsuyoshi: (soft) luckily u dont have an elder brother.
Hikari: did u say something, kitayama ?
Tsuyoshi: ah, nothing nothing. Ano, what flavour of crepe do u like the most?
Hikari: mint flavour
Tsuyoshi: really? Thts an interesting flavour.
Hikari: u think so?
Tsuyoshi: oishii ka? Ive never tried that out.
Hikari: u shld try it out. Sugoku oishii da wa.
Tsuyoshi: would u mind being the first to witness me tasting that flavour?

AT THE PARK

Hikari takes a bite of her mint flavoured crepe.

Hikari: uummm, oiishiii waaa! Arigatou na, Kitayama.
Tsuyoshi: sure, my pleasure.
Hikari: hayaku and taste it. I bet u would want more once uve taste it.
Tsuyoshi: (bites) sou da na, oishii.
Hikari: deshouu! It has this windy feeling in ur mouth when u eat it.
Tsuyoshi: do u like anything that has mint flavour?
Hikari: hai, but i dont mind eating other flavours too. Like caramel flavour or strawberry.
Tsuyoshi : mm. U sure like sweets stuff.
Hikari: onna dakara deshou?
Tsuyoshi: haha. Sou na.
Hikari: (stares at Tsuyoshi)
Tsuyoshi: (uncomfortable) na... nani?
Hikari: iie, its just that ure so different when ure amongst Kiryuu kun tachi and when ure with me.
Tsuyoshi: hmm (bites the crepe) maybe thats because ure a girl and theyre guys?
Hikari: mou! I dont mean that. Its like.... um.. how do i say... ure the most unreliable type when ure amongst them but...
Tsuyoshi: (stab stab stab)
Hikari: iie.. i didnt finish speak yet.. when ure with me.. its like i can depend n rely on u.
Tsuyoshi: (stand up straight and looks at the sky) maybe thats because im over protective when it comes to womans.
Hikari: eh?
Tsuyoshi: i live amongst my mother and my younger sisters and im the only boy in the household and the eldest brother.
Hikari: [no wonder he's concerned about sabaku natsuki san] ur father?
Tsuyoshi: ...... he passed away when i was 9.
Hikari: (sad) go..gomen nasai..
Tsuyoshi: (smiles) its okay. Im used to it. And what about urself? R u the eldest?
Hikari: hai, im the eldest and i have 2 younger siblings, a little brother and a little sister.
Tsuyoshi: aah... little sister.. theyre actually hard to handle..
Hikari: u think so? Haha.
Tsuyoshi: maji da yo. I can still remember when i was .......

The two continue speaking as they head towards Hikari's house.

AT NIGHT

Its still the early part of the night. The koizumi siblings had just finished their supper. The elder brother, Koizumi Kyoya is busy making deserts in thr kitchen. As for the younger sister, Koizumi Yuu is in her room, rummaging through her school bag.

Yuu: inai...

She continues searching into the pockets of her bag and still couldnt find what she's looking for. Disappointed she stands up and walks to her cupboard, sliding the hanging clothes to one side till she finds her jacket that she wore last few days. She pushes her hand in the pockets of the jacket and removes her empty hand from it. She slumps on the floor with a depressed expression. She thinks hard and finally she opens up her eyes and looks for her phone. She taps the contact icon and search for the name Kiryuu kun. She stares it it and thinking whether she should slide it towards the right side (to call) or left side (to message).
After thinking deeply for few seconds, determined with her decision, she slides it.

AT KIRYUU'S HOUSE

Shori's phone, out of the sudden, vibrates on the table emitting a vrrrr sound which shocks both Kiryuu Shori and Fukushima Shinichi who are on the bed. Out of shock, both of them sit up straight from a laying position. Shinichi pouts in irritation while scratching his not itchy head. Shori gets off the bed and walks towards the table.

Shori: gomen gomen, Shin..
Shinichi: what is it (angrily)
Shori: messages.
Shinichi: (pouts)

Shori taps his finger on the screen many times at different places and puts his phone back on the table. He walks back towards the bed.

Shinichi: the message?
Shori: it can wait.
Shinichi: r u sure?
Shori: drop that topic, can we?

.....


THE NEXT DAY

Ohno Narumi sensei enters the classroom as the clock strikes 8 o'clock. Koizumi Yuu looks at the empty seat near the window and the seat next to it. Both are empty. All the students stands up, greets the teacher and sit down again.

Narumi: im taking your attendance.

As Narumi flips open the attendance book, the door slides open and two boys appears at the entrance of the door, gasping for breath.

Narumi: ure just on time, Kiryuu, Fukushima. What happened? Forgot to set ur alarm clock?
Shori: (panting) yeah... kinda.. my phone was on silent.
Yuu: [no wonder he didnt reply my message yesterday]

Ohno Narumi begins calling each name for attendance as Kiryuu Shori and Fukushima Shinichi walks to their seat. As soon as Shori sits down on his chair, a folded paper drops gently on his table. He looks at it and immediately turns towards Hamano Hikari who in returns points to Koizumi Yuu.
Looking at Koizumi Yuu's face reminds him of something. He quickly flips open the paper and reads it.

"luckily u didnt get scolded by Ohno sensei for coming late. Sumi masen, did u get my message last night?"

Bingo!

He turns towards Koizumi Yuu and made a sign of sorry. He lifts up his palm, in line with his nose and chin and bows slightly while saying "gomen gomen" without emitting a sound.

BREAK TIME

Shinichi: wake me up when break's over.
Shori : dont sleep, baka. Im going to go buy some pan in the cafeteria.
Shinichi: (yawns) hai, hai.

Shori and Shinichi parted ways and on the way to the cafeteria, Koizumi Yuu sees Shori walking ahead of her. She walks faster and catches up with him.

Yuu: kiryuu kun, chotto.
Shori: ah, Koizumi. Nani?
Yuu: ano.. did u get my message last night?
Shori: eh? Message? (chcks his phone) ah! Sou da. Gomen gomen.. didnt read it last night...
Yuu: ii yo. Etto... dakara.. i need ur help.
Shori: hai?
Yuu: i kinda dropped my thumbdrive somewhere and i think... it might be at Kitayama kun's guild..
Shori: at the guild?
Yuu: sou desu... because i remembered having it in my pocket on tht day. So can u please help n accompany me?
Shori: sure wakatta. Shall we go after school?
Yuu: ano... can i go home for a while to change my clothes?
Shori: sure, meet u up at the train station.
Yuu: hai, arigatou gozaimassuu.

Yuu bows before she walks away, relieved. Shori smiles as she went away.

AFTER SCHOOL AT KIRYUU'S MANSION

Shinichi : are u going somewhere, shori?

Shinichi asked Shori as he sees Shori changing into casual clothes. He rips off the bandage that is around his neck, takes a new bandage roll and bandages his neck. He grabs his sleeveless vest and wears it.

Shori: yeah, im going to accompany Koizumi to the guild.
Shinichi: the guild?
Shori: un, she dropped something there so she asked me to accompany her to go there.
Shinichi: heeh whatever gentleman.
Shori: (chuckles) ill be back before night. Go ahead if u want to eat first.
Shinichi: (rolls on the bed) hai.
Shori: jaa, ittekimassu.
Shinichi: ........ (whispers) itterasshai.

AT THE GUILD

Mary, the guild bartender recognizes Kiryuu Shori and Koizumi Yuu as they enters the guild's yard.

Mary: irasshai masen, Kiryuu kun Koizumi chan. Looking for Kitayama? Im afraid he's not here today.
Shori: iie iie, Koizumi dropped something here the other day. What is it again?
Yuu: thumbdrive desu. Did u see it?
Mary: thumbdrive? (thnking) hmm.. im afraid i didnt. Did u really drop it here?
Yuu: (depressed) datte... i remember wearing that jacket when i was here...
Shori :that day when when we went out to search for Sabaku darou?
Yuu: un (nods)
Shori: lets retrace back our track. We did went through the forest. Maybe it dropped there.
Yuu: hai...
Mary: kiotsukete ne.

Both Shori and Yuu left the guild and headed for the forest thats on the outskirts of Helencia Central Town. They walk through the area which they walk through the other day. Suddenly something strucks into Yuu's mind. She walks briskly to one place with Shori following behind her.

Yuu: sou koko! I did fell down here.

Both of them searched the ground on their knees and finally Shori finds it. He picks it up and shows it to Yuu, who looks at the thumbdrive with such happiness.

Yuu: arigatou, Kiryuu kun!! I couldnt have thank you more. Yokattaa, my thumbdrive.
Shori: (smiles) no problem, glad we finally found it.
Yuu: there are my precious childhood memories in here. So thats why its too valuable to me.
Shori: childhood memories?
Yuu: well, i cant really remember my childhood, so oniichan keeps my childhood photos and videos in this so i can watch them whenever im ready.
Shori: .... so uve never look inside the thumbdrive?
Yuu: nope not yet. Im not ready.
Shori: ready on?
Yuu: saa ne, its just my instinction. So i always kept this with me in case i really need it.
Shori: hmmmm.

Shori looks forward and he there he sees the same old house which they saw the other day. While Shori is still examining the house with his eyes, suddenly the sky starts to pour down. Both of them are shock of the sudden downpour and they both ran to seek shelter within the old house.

Shori: now, tht was a shock. What a sudden downpour..
Yuu: sou desu... i hope it'll stop soon.
Shori: hmm (looks at the sky) this will take a while. In the mean time how about we explore the house?

Shori stops as he looks at Yuu's face who's gleaming in excitement.

Yuu: hai, ikou ikou yo!
Shori: ah....... so u like this kinda thing?
Yuu: hai, i love exploring new things.
Shori: ure not scared?
Yuu: zenzen.
Shori: if u say so. Ikou ka.

They both walks to the entrance of the house and found the main door. Shori pushes it open and enters the house.

Shori: ojamashimassu.
Yuu: dont act as if someone is living here!
Shori: (laughes) gomen, used to it.

After Yuu enters the house, the door closes behind them making a loud thump sound which shock both of them. The hall becomes pitch black.

Yuu: eh?
Shori: the wind maybe. Koizumi, did u bring ur phone?
Yuu: hai, but.. why?
Shori: try to switch it on and torch the screen on the floor. Let me try and find something damp.

Yuu took out her phone and torches on floor as Shori had instructed her. After looking for few minutes, finally Shori found an old fashioned oil lamp. He took it and lits the candle inside by flicking his finger. He hands over the oil lamp to Yuu and again he flicks his finger. Two flames appear floating in the mid air, brightening the area.

Yuu: (suprised)
Shori: shocked? Did u forget that im a fire emperor?
Yuu: iie, its just that.. its the first time seeing u using ur emperor in front of me.
Shori: (laughes)

Shori walks towards the main door and tries to open it. Unfortunately it wont even budge. Shori sighed and turns to Yuu. She could sense a bad news from him through his expression which she can see with the help of the fire's light.

Yuu: ano.. kiryuu kun?
Shori: the door's locked from the outside.
Yuu: demo, how come?
Shori: maybe the metal inside dropped from the inner part. The door is quite an old fashioned door anyways. We will have to search for any opened window or any doors that can lead us outside.

Yuu nods in agreement. They explore the dark old house with the help of Shori's flame as their light guide. The house is dusty and full of webs. Furniture, either they had been eaten by termites or they were just left there to rot as other wooden stuffs. The hall of the house is very big for them if they have to explore each inch of it. They found the main staircase that leads to the upper part of the house. Yuu looks at Shori, asking him whether or not they should go upstairs. Shori shook his head, suggesting that they should look for a way out.

As they turn their heads away from the staircase, something fast passed between them. Both of them halts in a sudden. They look at the floor and see an irod rod penetrates the ground. They freeze at the spot where they stand. Footsteps could be heard from the upper level of the stairs. Slowly the two turn their head and there they saw one young boy, probably the same age as they are, standing on the lever of the stairs with a spear.

"What r u doing here?"

posted from Bloggeroid

Chapter 29

THE NEXT DAY
IN HAMANO HOUSEHOLD

Hamano Hikari wipes her mouth with the napkin before standing up from the dining table.

Hikari: jaa, ittekimassu, otousan, okaasan.
Hikari's mom: e? Where r u going, hikari? Ur father is not done eating yet.
Hikari: im going to school with a friend. Otousan, u dont have to drive me to school anymore.

Hikari closes the door of her house. She stops in front of the mirror which hangs on the wall of the outer part of the house. She brushes her hair neatly with her fingers. She walks through the garden of her house, heading towards the side gate. There she could see a shadow of a person leaning on the wall outside. She blushes.

Hikari: o..ohayou, kitayama kun.
Tsuyoshi: un, ohayou hamano.
Hikari: gomen nasai, have u waited for long?
Tsuyoshi: iie, zenzen, i just got here too (looks away)
Hikari: (chuckles)
Tsuyoshi: saa, ikimashou.
Hikari: hai.

Hikari walks beside Kitayama Tsuyoshi, heading towards the school. It was a bright sunny day indeed.

Once theyve reach the school.

Tsuyoshi halts as Hikari continues walking ahead. She sensed it and turns to Tsuyoshi, whos blushing.

Hikari: Kitayama kun?
Tsuyoshi: ano.. go ahead.. i need to go to the cafeteria.. jaa na (runs away)
Hikari: ?? (confused face)

Tsuyoshi: [geeh... i cant let the other know about this or theyll make fun of me]

After a lap of running aimlessly in thr school building, Kitayama Tsuyoshi finally comes in their classroom. There, he sees an irritated Kiryuu Shori sitting in his place. He felt chills down his spine.

Shori: oi, where the hell have u been, aho? The assignment!
Tsuyoshi: (takes out the assignment papers)
Shori: baka!
Tsuyoshi: (fumes) nanda yo sore !! After i finished if off nicely yesterday!!
Shori: hai, hai wakatta ze. Urusei na..
Tsuyoshi: kora!! Wheres my thanks!!
Shori: haa? Is tht something i should give?
Tsuyoshi: kono yaro!
Shori: (smiles) arigatou na.
Tsuyoshi: (smug) heh! Thts more like it.

AFTER SCHOOL

Shinichi: do u have meeting after this?
Shori: no, i dont. Why? Do u want to stop by somewhere today?
Shinichi: yeah, to reject shop.
Shori: now u mention abt that. I need something from there too.

Tsuyoshi: matte matte matte

Shori and Shinichi glanced towards Tsuyoshi who's struggling with his bag. And when finally he settled himself, his phone rang. The three boys jolted. Tsuyoshi rummage through his bag, searching for his phone. Shinichi frowned as he is now irritated with the loud continuous ringing tone. Shori sighed.
Finally Tsuyoshi found his phone and answered it.

Tsuyoshi: hai?

Tsuyoshi's face expression changed. His face turns into a serious expression which grab the two boys' attention. He taps end call and drops his arm. He looks straightly into Shori's eyes then into Shinichi's eyes.

Tsuyoshi: she ran away.. Sabaku Natsuki ...

AT THE GUILD

The group arrives at the guild.

Mai: yo

Cheng Mai Hao suddenly appeared from the front door of the guild, with the usual smiling face. Kitayama Tsuyoshi rushes towards her.

Tsuyoshi: where is she?
Mai: aiya.. like i told u before, she ran away when noone is here to look after her.
Tsuyoshi: and u didnt stop her?
Mai: she was already gone when i came back. Shoganai deshou
Tsuyoshi: so why dont u go after her!!?

Tsuyoshi grabs Mai Hao's collar and lifts her slightly. He has this rage expression and the usual smiling Mai Hao draws a serious glare at him. Hamano Hikari comes forward and calms Tsuyoshi down. He let go of her and clicked his tongue.

Hikari: ano, gomen nasai desu kedo, why did u let her go, Mai Hao san?
Mai: mou, guys r so impatient. Listen here, even if we keep her here, it doesnt mean tht she'll open her mouth to tell us anything.
Shori: so u let her go back to where she want to go?
Mai: sou yo.
Tsuyoshi: thts just like wasting the effort of keeping her here then!!

Shori hits Tsuyoshi's head.

Tsuyoshi: itte!! Nanda yo kora!
Shori: calm down baka.
Tsuyoshi: demo, shori!
Mai: have u forgotten who am i? Im the earth emperor, basically i can sense people from the surface of the earth. The earth is like my sensory organ, touch.
Yuu: so you can get natsuki san's whereabout?
Mai: fufu, u cant get the cat if its in the bag right? If we want her to spill the milk, it has to be in the cats house. SO lets go!!. Let me lead you guys on!!

Mai Hao walks confidently towards a direction. Kitayama Tsuyoshi, concerned about Sabaku Natsuki, blindly follows behind her. Hamano Hikari too tag along him.

Yuu: (whisper)... ne, kiryuu kun.... does the cat has anything to do with bag or milk..?
Shori: ..... saa... chinese proverbs maybe....
Yuu: ah.. sou ne..
Shori: dont just agree to it.

AN HOUR LATER (in the middle of the forest-like)

Hikari: (sighed) mou konna jikan da wa....
Yuu: sou ne, its already so late. Oniichan will get worried.
Hikari: ne, mai hao san, is there any vending machine or stalls around here...?
Mai: Im not a map or a compass, you know...

Fukushima Shinichi suddenly stops walking. His movement alerts everyone else. The 2 girls put on a worried expression. Tsuyoshi moves slightly in front of Hikari.

Hikari: doshita no, Fukushima kun?
Shori: shh!

Yuu's sight fell on something. She shivers and tugs on Shori's shirt.
Yuu: i...i...is.. it.. tht thing...?

Everyone turns towards where Yuu's finger points and they saw an angered, no, two angry wild boar infront of them. The two boars stares at the group. All of them froze out of fright, except for one person. Cheng mai Hao, further away from the boar, tries to peek at the animals from btween Shori and Tsuyoshi shoulder. When she saw them, her eyes gleams.

Mai: wow! That would be a great dinner if we are camping.

It is as if the boars could understand what Cheng Mai Hao said. The two animals dashes towards the group which makes them scream out of fear and they run as fast as they could to save themselves.

Tsuyoshi: (while running) ba.. baka!! Why did u have to say that, mai Hao!!
Mai: nani yo, im being serious.
Tsuyoshi: but u had just triggered a taboo button on them!!
Hikari: yamate yo!! Keep on running!! Its coming nearer.

Shinichi turns left leaving the others to continue running forward. He focuses his Emperor and stretches his shadow towards the running boar, who are passing infront of him. The boars halt in a suprise as their shadow combine to Shinichi's stretched shadow. The boars, being a creation tht has no brain, unable to understand why did they suddenly stop running. They force their body to go forward and catch their prey. That makes Fukushima Shinichi to stagger. Yuu grasps the current situation, turns and lets out her Emperor magic from both her palms towards the boars, freezing the boars to ice. Kitayama Tsuyoshi then suddenly dashes from the opposite direction, running towards the boars while persevering his clenched right hand.

As he is near the boars,

"Kitayama puuuunchhh!!"

he punches them both with all his might, making them fly towards the sky and vanish from their sight. Everyone are amazed at Tsuyoshi's strength. He smugs and laughes idiotically. Cheng Mai Hao steps forward and smacks behind his head.

Tsuyoshi: (spurts) itteee!!!
Hikari: Kitayama kun!!
Mai: why did u throw our dinner away, kono baka !!
Tsuyoshi: haaa!? Youre the only one who's gonna eat that thing!

While the two are arguing, both Hikari and Yuu imagine themselves eating the boar. They cover their mouth, disgusted with their own imagination. Yuu takes a step back and fell on her back.

Yuu: kyaa!
Hikari: yuu chan? Daijoubu?

Shori rushes towards the fallen Yuu and helps her get up. As he bends down, something caught his eyesight and he stops moving, staring.

Tsuyoshi: what r u peeking at, Shori? Girls bathing?
Hikari: (blushes) baka! What r u saying!?
Shori: mite yo sore.

Shori points forwards, still slightly bending. Everyone comes towards him and bends down, peeking through the branches n bushes. In front of them, they saw a big old house. Everyone gulps. Tsuyoshi flinches. Shori took a slight step forward but he was stopped by Tsuyoshi who grabbed his shirt.

Tsuyoshi: iya iya iya iya.. dont even think about it, Shori.. (frightened)
Shori: (smirks) heeeh. Does this reminds u of something, Shin?
Shinichi: maa na.
Tsuyoshi :aaahhh!! Stoopppu! Its almost late, l..lets go home!
Shori: eh? Demo....
Mai: sou yo! (sternly) its better if we go home now. Ive lost contact of her kehai, so its no use continuing now.

Everyone silently agrees to Cheng Mai Hao. They return back to the guild and part ways at the Helencia Central Town.

posted from Bloggeroid

Chapter 28

The clock strike 9 o'clock at night. Kitayama Tsuyoshi has just returned from Helencia City sending his crush, Hamano Hikari home, straight to her doorstep. Though he had a fun day, he came back to the guild with a soulless face.

Tsuyoshi: ta.. tadai..ma....

In a sudden, Cheng Mai Hao comes out of the room, running towards him. As she comes nearer, she grabs his collar.

Mai: where's the first aid kit that u used yesterdayy!!!?
Tsuyoshi: oii! What the hell r u doing, mai? Cant u ask more nicer, u tomboy!
Mai: stupiid!! We're having a patient that needs treatment now!
Tsuyoshi: then tell me so earlier! Dont just go grabbing ppl's collar!!
Mai: (runs into the infirmary) come with the kit quickly!

Tsuyoshi grabs the kit under the table and brings it to the room where Cheng Mai Hao headed. As he enters, he looks at the patient. He gasped out of shock.

Mai : what are u standing there for? Hurry up and hand over the kit!

Tsuyoshi snaps and hands the kit over to Mai. He quickly comes out of the room, takes out his phone and search for the name 'Shori' in his contact list. Once he finds it, he taps call. Once its connected.

Tsuyoshi: shori, where r u?
Shori : huh? At home?
Tsuyoshi: guess who's in the guild?
Shori: hamano san?
Tsuyoshi: chige yo!
Shori: hm, the earth emperor, cheng mai hao or whatsoever her name is?
Tsuyoshi: noo!! Its Sabaku Natsuki!!
Shori: (sits up) what?
Tsuyoshi: she's seriously injured. Bruises and cut marks everywhere.
Shori: where did u find her?
Tsuyoshi: i didnt. I just saw her now in the infirmary of the guild.
Shori: (thinks) hmm.... tomorrow ill head to the guild. Just keep an eye on her so she wont disappear again.
Tsuyoshi: okay.

Both of them taps the end call. Tsuyoshi sighed and leans on the wall to support his weakened back. At that moment, cheng mai hao comes out of the room.

Tsuyoshi: mai hao san!
Mai: hm? Ure worried about the girl? Dont worry, she's just fine. No major wounds on her. Its just scrapes and bruises.
Tsuyoshi: but still she's injured! (concerned)
Mai: (sighed) when i was on my back from my mission, i found her unconcious amongst the bushes. Thts all i know. Reason or who, i dont know.
Tsuyoshi: (grits his teeth)
Mai: (pats on his shoulder) she'll be fine by tomorrow. And one more thing, she doesnt look like a normal person to me.
Tsuyoshi: ah, well... she's an emperor. A metal emperor.
Mai: now that explains it. U can go and rest. U had a long day today, right? Come back and see her tomorrow morning.
Tsuyoshi: arigatou, mai hao san.
Mai: no worries.

NEXT DAY

Shori and Shinichi arrives late at the guild. When he gets there, he found Tsuyoshi and Koizumi Yuu sitting on the chair, depressed.

Shori: koizumi san? Why....?
Tsuyoshi: i phoned hamano to come here.
Shori: what happened? Where is she?
Tsuyoshi: this morning when i came to the guild, sabaku is not here in the room. Mai Hao san went out to search for her. So i phoned hamano san if she could help since she's a wind emperor.
Yuu: and she bring me along.
Shori: gomen, koizumi san, involving you too.
Yuu: its okay. Its about the emperor deshou? Im somewhat related.

IN THE MEAN TIME WITHIN THE FOREST

Natsuki: leave me alone!!
Mai: no, we cant do that. We want to know what happened to you!
Natsuki: this has nothing to do with you people. Stop interfering!

Natsuki grabs a metal from her bangle and forms a spear from it. She attacks Cheng Mai Hao whom in return dodges it. She places her both palms on the ground and two large rocks grow from the ground, making 2 big walls, protecting her from Sabaku Natsuki's attack. Natsuki landed safely on a branch and jumps off it, aiming her long spear towards Mai.

On the other hand, Hamano Hikari could feel a weird wind movement from a place and heads towards it. There, she found two girls clashing one another.

Hikari: matte, mai hao san!!

Mai places one palm on the ground, making a thick sand rod appears from the ground, aiming towards Natsuki. It hits Natsuki and she falls down from the mid air. Before she could fall on the ground, Hamano Hikari manages to use her wind magic to lessen the imfact of falling, making her to drop on the ground safely.

Mai: why did u stop us, wind emperor?
Hikari: she's not an enemy!! (turns towards Natsuki) Sabaku san?

Hikari held her palm towards her but Natsuki slaps her hand away. Hikari sees the fierce face made by Natsuki.

Natsuki: i dont need ur help! Dont interfere.
Hikari: listen here, we dont mean any harm, we just want to protect you.
Natsuki: who r u protecting me from?
Hikari: eh? Well, sono..
Natsuki: see u dont even know. So just dont interfere with people's life if u dont know anything!

Natsuki forces herself to stand up.by herself despite the pain that she's feeling.

Natsuki: just mind ur own business, wind emperor.

As Natsuki turns towards the opposite direction, Hamano Hikari grabs her arm.

Hikari: ......
Mai: wind emperor san!
Natsuki: tch! Ure persistant arent you?
Hikari: (smiles) heh, thts one of my bad quality tht i have. And by the way, my name is Hamano Hikari. I take pride on my name rather than on my title.

AT THE GUILD

The three boys and two girls and a man waited patiently in front of the guild.

Mary: there! (points at one direction)

Everyone focus their gaze on one direction. Three girls appear from that direction, one helping another one to walk while another one walks ahead of them.

Ganz: u can bring them inside, mary san. (walks away)
Mary: hai, guild master ganz.
Tsuyoshi: hamano!! Are u okay? Ano, Sabaku Natsuki too? Etto.. Mai san also?

The three girls ignore him and walks past him, leaving him dumbfounded n confused.

Shori: looks like he has become a popular guy eh, shinichi?
Shinichi :u think so?

AFTER A MOMENT OF WOUND TREATMENT

Mai : sou sou! We havent know each other yet. Lets do ice breaking.
All: haaa?
Mai: lemme start lemme start!! Im cheng mai hao. U can call me mai. Im an earth emperor. Next (points to Yuu)
Yuu: eh? Um... Koizumi Yuu desu. Im an ice emperor...
Hikari: hamano hikari, a wind emperor.
Tsuyoshi: im kitayama tsuyoshi and im-pffhhh
Shori: (closes tsuyoshi's mouth) im kiryuu shori, the fire emperor.
Natsuki: eh?

Everyone looks at natsuki who attracts their attention.

Natsuki: ano... im sabaku natsuki.. and im a metal emperor..
Shinichi: ......
Shori: he's fukushima shinichi. A shadow emperor.
Mai: so basically we're the emperors for this era ka? Lets get along with each other okay na?
Hikari :arent u being too friendly and easy on this?
Mai: isnt it supposed to be like that? Thts why we are gathered in one place, so we can meet another fellow Emperors.
Shori: u sure know much about Emperors do u, mai hao san?
Mai: well, not that much though. Hehe.
Yuu: ano minna. Can i have a moment with Sabaku san please? Theres something i would like to speak to her abt privately. (seriously)
Shori: koizumi.....?
Hikari: yuu chan, u sound serious.. whats wrong?

Fukushima Shinichi stands up in such a way tht attracts everyone attention away from Koizumi Yuu. Seeing that, Kiryuu Shori too stands up and goes out of the room with Shinichi. The others too follow their lead, leaving Yuu and Sabaku Natsuki alone in the room. Hikari glanced at Yuu with a very worried face but Yuu sends her a smile, ensuring her. When Hikari closes the door behind her, Yuu turns towards Natsuki with a smile. Natsuki gulps.

Yuu: daijoubu, sabaku san. I just want to ask few questions.
Natsuki: un.. yeah..?
Yuu :remember when u attacked me the last time?
Natsuki: (remembers the day when she fought with Kiryuu Shori in Helencia Central Town)
Yuu: Ur friends
Natsuki: theyre not my friends.
Yuu: hai, gomen nasai. But those girls said something about Kiryuu kun interfering with ur matters. May i know in detail about it..?
Natsuki: (hesitates)... ano... i think... its a mistake.
Yuu: mistake? U mean?
Natsuki: kiryuu shori looks like Tht Person. So i attacked u two. Im very sorry.
Yuu: someone that looks like Kiryuu kun?
Natsuki: it was my mistake. Sumi masen.

Yuu looks like she wants to ask more question but her instincts stops her. She stood up.

Yuu: u can rest, Sabaku san. If u have any problems, u can tell us (smiles) we're fellow comrades deshou?

Yuu goes out of the room still feeling unrelieved. Even though she knows that there's something that she needs and wants to know.

"I can still ask her again later"

Is what she thought. She knows not what future lies ahead.

posted from Bloggeroid

Chapter 27

IN THE CLASSROOM

Narumi: Now ure in groups, one person from ur group please come here to pick a topic.

6 students went towards the Ohno Narumi sensei and take a slip of folded paper from the box that is on the teacher's table. They returned to their group and open the slip to see what topic do they get. Some cheered happily and some sighed in disappointment.

Narumi: thts all for today. U have till the next tuesday to submit ur assignment. so u have the weekends n monday to do it.

As the teacher steps out of the classroom, the classroom is filled with noise. Coincidently, Kiryuu Shori and Koizumi Yuu sighed loudly next to each other. They looked at each other in a shock expression.

Shori: (laughs) why r u sighing like tht?
Yuu: the same goes for u too.
Shori: tell me what topic did u get?
Yuu: u tell me first.
Shori: okay okay fine. (shows her the paper) here, give me urs too.

Yuu took his paper and in return gives him her paper. When they read the content, they both exclaim!!

"Thts easy!"

Yuu: eh?
Shori: seriously. I wish i got tht one.
Yuu: why? Urs is much easier.
Shori: well, its not tht i dont know abt it, its just tht i have a lot to say abt the topic u got.
Yuu: then, u have no luck on ur side.
Shori: same goes to u.
Yuu: sou ne.
Shori: wanna do together? Its Tsuyoshi, um, i mean Kitayama and Shinichi in my group.
Yuu: im with Hikari chan only.
Shori: good then. Lets meet up tomorrow.
Yuu: eh? Ii desu ka?
Shori: yeah. The more the merri.. i mean easier. Haha.
Yuu: ill let hikari chan know then.
Shori: okay. Whatever it is, message me by tonight. U have my numbr right?
Yuu: ano... i dont...
Shori: eh? Really? (takes out his phone) lets exchange email then.
Yuu: (blushes) umm.. okay.. (takes out her phone)

Hikari: yuu chan, lets go home.
Yuu: ah, haii! One minute.
Shori: yoshi. Done. Anything just (shows his phone)
Yuu: hai! Mata ne, kiryuu kun.

Shori glanced around the class.

Shori: oi, tsuyoshi!

Kitayama Tsuyoshi packs his bag quickly and dashes out of the room.

Shori: tsuyoshi!!
Tsuyoshi: sorry shori! In a hurry.
Shori: Tomorrow.....
Tsuyoshi: (out of sight)
Shori: (sighed)

Shinichi appears next to Shori and hands over his bag.

Shori: ah.. arigatou shin.
Shinichi: (yawns) kaero ze.
Shori: yeah.

NEXT DAY

The two girls, Koizumi Yuu and Hamano Hikari arrived at the train station and saw Kiryuu Shori and Fukushima Shinichi leaning on a pillar.

Yuu: gomen nasai, we're late.
Shori :iie. Dont worry, koizumi.
Hikari: sorry for asking but... why train station..? Arent we doing it at ur house, kiryuu kun?
Shori: ive never intend to do it at my place, did i, Koizumi?
Yuu: eh... ahahaha... gomen nasai, hikari chan..
Hikari: mou.... then i shouldnt have made the bento...
Shori: bento? For all 5 of us?
Hikari: sou yo.
Shori: so why waste? We will eat ur bento.
Hikari: arent we not allowed to eat in the library...?
Shori: (laughs) hamano san, ure funny. Always saying strange things.
Hikari: (reds) mouuu. Fine! Just take us anywhere then!
Shori :(laughs) jodan jodan. Dont be so serious.
Hikari: ure so acting strange, kiryuu kun...
SHori: (averts eyesight) eh, u think so? Its just ur imagination.

The group ride the train and off to their destination lead by Kiryuu Shori. As they arrived at the other station, they get off of the train. The signboard says "Central Town Helencia Kingdom".
Kiryuu Shori leads them to a guild name Silverlake.

Yuu: a guild?
Shori: yeah, is there any problem?

The two girls gulped while looking at each other in a confused expression.

Shori: (enters the guild) Tsuyoshi, we're here!

Kitayama Tsuyoshi heard his name being called and answered.

Tsuyoshi: Shori!! Shinichi!! Come in.

As the group of high school students enter the guild, everyone in the guild stares at them. Since its a rare sight to see youngsters entering the guild. Their staring are making the two city girls uncomfortable.

Tsuyoshi: guildmaster!! I hope u dont mind! Im going to do my homework here with my friends.
Ganz: yeah! Im not tht old tht i cant see tht, dammit.

Tsuyoshi: mary san, can u please bring water n snacks for us? Itll be for 3 of.. wait.. 5... eh? (shocked) aaahhhhhh!!

Tsuyoshi screams out of shock when he saw Hamano Hikari and Koizumi Yuu sitting in front of him. He rubs both his eyes in case he's day dreaming or still dreaming but the figure of the girls still remain there.

Shori: (taps Tsuyoshi's) relax, tsuyoshi. I invited them to do the project together with us. This is what i actually wanna tell u when u ran off yestrday after class (smirks)
Tsuyoshi: (grabs shori's collar and shakes him) why the hell didnt u tell me earlierrrr!!! I could have decorate the place or wear anything niceeee!!
Shori: oi oi.... this is not a goukon.... this is a study group...

Tsuyoshi glanced at Hamano Hikari who in turn smiles at him. His face reddens and he gulps.

Mary san, the manager of guild Silverlake, appears with a tray of juice and snacks and places it on the table. She greets the girls and they return her greetings. The time flies as they were doing their assignments. At times, they would ask each other for help if they dont understand anything. Hikari glances at Tsuyoshi who is busy making notes from a reference book. He has his glasses on.

Hikari: kitayama kun, r u short sighted?
Tsuyoshi: huh? Not really but glasses makes u smarter when u use them.
Hikari: ....... aa... eh?..
Shori: dont mind his stupid jokes, hamano san. He is short sighted.
Tsuyoshi: shut up, shori. Dont just butt in whenever u feel like it.
Shori: (shoves a book on his face) here, u can take few notes from this book too, megane kun. (stands up) Im going to go order green tea.
Tsuyoshi: urussseee!!
Hikari: (chuckles) coz u look nice with glasses kitayama kun.
Tsuyoshi: eh? Really? (blushes)
Hikari: un.
Tsuyoshi: well... its not tht i cant see anyway.. its just small words tht i cant see.
Yuu: eh? WHere did kiryuu kun go?
Shinichi: to buy green tea.
Yuu: aah... i wanna ask him about this...
Tsuyoshi: which one?
Yuu: (shows) this one.
Tsuyoshi: oh this one (explains)

The two girls were shocked when they listen to tsuyoshi's explanation.

Tsuyoshi: did u get it?
Yuu: eh eh ah... sorry u were too fast...
Tsuyoshi: (took out a high lighter and high light few lines in the book) here. This is the main point tht u need to understand.
Shori: (comes back with his green tea) shocked?
Yuu + Hikari: !!
Shori: this guy is actually pretty intelligent. Though not any better than me.
tsuyoshi: shu-shut it up, shori (modest)
Shori: (laughs)

The group continues doing their project. Suddenly a girl approaches their table and greets Koizumi Yuu.

Yuu: ahhh!! You! From that day!

Yuu stood up out of shock to see the girl whom she met during the Torunament appearing in front of her.

Mai: its fate to see u here, Ice san, koizumi yuu chan. (winks)
Yuu: yes now i remember, cheng mai hao!! The earth emperor!!
Shori: the what?
Yuu: remember when i told u abt the girl who i think is the earth emperor? Its this girl!
Mai: cheng mai hao desu. Yoroshiku.
Tsuyoshi: wait wait... u knew each other?
Yuu: sou yo. She was the one who made tht big sand barrier trapping the terrorist at the tournament.
Mai: sou. Thts me. ANyway just call me mai, yuu chan. Im off for a mission. Catch u guys later! (waves)
Hikari: (looks at Tsuyoshi suspiciously)
Tsuyoshi: (realized) ahh!! No hamano san. Dont think something weird. I only know her as a guild member. Not more, im serious!
Hikari: (looks away) what r u saying? I dont understand at all.
Tsuyoshi: (fearful face) ha..ma..no sa.....n...
Shori: okay guys. Lets hurry up and finish this up. U can have ur lovers quarrel later.
Hikari + Tsuyoshi: (speechless)
Yuu: oh my... so blunt..

The time passes as they are doing their assignments. At times they stops and chat amongst themselves. It was a good way of spending the time with friends at an unfamiliar place. Tsuyoshi would crack such a spontaneous jokes which ends up with laughter. Even hikari laugh though she was pouting earlier.

At one point, Koizumi Yuu's phone rang. She immediately picks it up as she sees her brother's name on the phone screen.

Yuu: hai, oniichan.
Kyoya: yuu, r u with ur friends?
Yuu: hai, at a guild.
Kyoya: (shock) g...guild??!!
Yuu: doing our project, mou... one of my friend stays here... i think..
Kyoya: [must be that friend of Shori who's always wearing a headband] oh okay. Is Shori kun there?
Yuu: (looks at shori) iru yo.
Kyoya: can i speak to him?

Yuu hands over her phone to Shori who receives the phone with such a confused face. He excused himself from the gathering.

Shori: hai, kyoya san?
Kyoya: shori, is yuu okay?
Shori: yeah..?
Kyoya: (sigh) yokatta...
Shori: (laughs) u worry too much, kyoya san.
Kyoya: Of coz im her brother. Anyway, r u done with ur projects?
Shori: nande?
Kyoya: if possible, i want u to send yuu home as earliest as possible. I want yo take her somewhere by the evening.
Shori: um.. why me?
Kyoya: onegai shori kun. I can only count on u.
Shori: etto.. wakatta yo, kyoya san..
Kyoya: arigatou shori kun.

Shori let a sigh as he puts down the phone. He comes back to his seat. He coughs and he slides the phone on the table towards Yuu's direction. Everyone look at him.

Shori: gomen guys, kyoya senpai asked me to take koizumi san home.
Hikari: eh now?
Shori: r u done? Ive done most of my part. So i think i can excuse myself. So too Shinichi's.
Yuu: lets wait for a little bit, kiryuu kun. At least till hikari finish with hers.. (concern)
Shori: well, i dont really mind but...
Hikari: its okay yuu chan. I can finish this up myself. U wouldnt want to make ur brother worry, dont u?
Yuu: demo.. how r u going home?
Hikari : dont worry. I still want to hang out in this place for a little bit after this.
Shori: ill leave her in ur hands Tsuyoshi.
Tsuyoshi: makasete!! (hits his chest with his clenched fist)
Hikari: mata ne, yuu chan. Be careful and dont let that guy do anything weird to u.
Shori: oi, what do u mean by 'that guy' haa?
Hikari: teehee (tongue out)
Yuu: mata ne, hikari chan. Arigatou.

Shori, shinichi and yuu left the guild building leaving only hikari and tsuyoshi finishing up their work. The atmosphere between wasnt tense at all. Both of them are good as conversing so they had a fun time finishing their project.

FINALLY

Hikari: (stretches) yatto owatta!
Tsuyoshi: (keeps the project papers in the file) Do u wanna walk around here? I can take u a very nice crepe shop.
Hikari: honto ni?
Tsuyoshi: yeah. Ikou ka?
Hikari: hai!

That afternoon the two spend time together roaming around aimlessly from one place to another. At one time, they even entered a cosplay costume shop whereby they change their attire and snap pictures together. They spend about an hour there. Entry fee paid by Kitayama Tsuyoshi, the gentleman. After they got tired walking, he took her to a very fancy yet simple restaurant for them to have their lunch. They joke around and laugh happily. The clock had just strike 4 o'clock. They ride the train together and take a stop at Helencia City.

Hikari: arigatou, kitayama kun. I had fun today.
Tsuyoshi: im glad that u enjoy urself today.
Hikari : kitayam kun, ure actually a nice guy. My first impression of u is so different of what im seeing now.
Tsuyoshi: may i ask whats ur first impression of me?
Hikari :well, i always though that ure a problematic child, a delinquent. Always involving in useless fight and stuff.
Tsuyoshi: (sweatdrop) aahaha... and now?
Hikari: i think ure reliable enough. Gomen ne, for having a bad impression on u.
Tsuyoshi: its okay. Im glad i can be seen as a different person in ur eyes.

For a moment, Hikari's heart skips a beat and for a moment the breeze plays its role on Tsuyoshi's hair, making it sways gently ultimately making Hikari, for a moment, thinks that he's charming. Tsuyoshi noticed that Hikari has been staring at him for quite a while. He gulped and his moves towards Hikari's hair, brushing it backwards, not realizing it. Both of them snapped as their eyes met each other and immediately both turns their gazes away.

Tsuyoshi: go..gomen.. my hand just... ano... reacts...
Hikari: i...iie....

They finally arrived in front of Hamano's residence.

Hikari: a..arigatou ne, kitayama kun.. for accompanying me home.
Tsuyoshi: well, i cant let a young girl to walk home alone, even though its still day, can i?
Hikari: um... jaa.. mata ne.
Tsuyoshi: ah, mata na.

Hikari closes the gate and walks towards her house. Tsuyoshi clenched his fist and lastly,

Tsuyoshi: hamano san!!!

Hikari: (turns) eh?
Tsuyoshi: ca..can i come and fetch u every morning to school?
Hikari: eehh??

AT NIGHT

Cheng Mai Hao enters the guild with a girl in her arms. The girl is badly injured. Bruises can be seen all over her body.

Mai: Guild masterr!! Help!! I found this girl lying amongst the bushes outside the Central Town.
Ganz: take her to mary's room for first aid treatment!!

The girl flinched in pain and the last word that she utters before she collapse is

"Fu.... fub...bu...ki.........."

posted from Bloggeroid

Chapter 26

The Student had their meeting till 5.00 pm. Everyone is completely exhausted when it actually ended. The other members are making their way out of the meeting room. Kiryuu Shori picks up his notebook and papers and was standing up as he heard Kuhouin Ryoki, the student council president let out a big sigh.

Shori: whats the matter, Kuhouin Oujisama?
Ryoki: (irritated) shori kun, how many times must i tell u.. u dont have to be formal with me.
Shori: how could i possibly do that in front of public.
Ryoki: now its just you and me here.
Shori: AND youre bestfriend, kyoya senpai.
Kyoya: (laughs) u can drop the senpai, shori.
Shori: mattaku, both of you... (heading out)
Ryoki: Shori kun, could u do me a favour?
Shori: eh?
Ryoki: can u please pick Haruki up from the middle school building? I still have matters to attend after this.
Shori: why me.... dont u have bodyguards or drivers?
Kyoya: well, ryoki and haruki kun decided to walk home with me today. But suddenly something came up.
Shori: (sweatdrop) etto... must i send him to the palace....?
Ryoki: take him to ur house. We'll pick him tonight, latest by 10 pm.
Shori: ....haa..... (worried)
Ryoki: dont worry Shori. Im sure he'll behave.
Shori: im not worried abt that... its just that... it has been 5 years since the last time i see him.

IN FRONT OF THE CLASSROOM

Shori enters the room and saw his bestfriend, Fukushima Shinichi was fast asleep on Shori's place. Light snores could be heard as Shori comes closer. He stares as Shinichi's unfrowned face and smiles.

Shori: (taps on his shoulder) shin, lets go home.

Shinichi wakes up.

Shinichi: (grunts) thts was late..
Shori: yeah, sorry bout that. Things come up unexpectedly.
Shinichi: (stretches)
Shori: haruki kun is coming over to the house.
Shinichi: haruki? (frowns)
Shori: stop frowning, shinichi. Yeah, kuhouin haruki, ryoki san's little brother.
Shinichi: why? (frowns more)
Shori: because they have something to attend to (looks at shinichi's irritated face) lets just hurry before it gets dark.

Shori pushes Shinichi out of the classroom.

MIDDLE SCHOOL BUILDING

There Kuhouin Haruki, the last child of the king and queen, sit on the edge of the fountain. Shori and Shinichi comes closer. The moment Haruki saw them, he stood up and lower his head slightly. His white hair stood out so much that immediately Shori could recognize him.

Shori: haruki?
Haruki: (nods)
Shori: havent seen you for long eh?
Haruki: we just met few weeks ago. (Softly)
Shori: eh? When?
Haruki: (looks away) ....... sports festival... with oneesama..
Shori: sou da! Sorry for forgetting. Shall we go?

During their way home from school, Kuhouin Haruki didnt even utter a single word. Kiryuu Shori had him wear a cap since he will attract a lot of attention due to him being the youngest prince of the country. The three boys did drop by few shops to buy groceries and a packet of cookies for Kiryuu Ken, who's waiting at home. As they arrived home, Shori brings his guest to the western style living room. Shinichi slumps himself on the soft sofa, placing his arm on his eyes intending to take a short nap there. Shori serves Haruki a hot cup of green tea. Haruki took a sip. Shori noticed haruki's face about to cry. Shori moves to sit next to Haruki. The sound of the sofa awakens Shinichi and he lifts his arm a little bit to see whats happening.

Shori: haruki, who am i to you?
Haruki: eh? ..osana na jimi..?
Shori: iie, besides that. What am I to you? Who do u regard me in ur life?
Shinichi: (glares as Shori)

Haruki's eyes is about to flow with tears as he says

"...o...oniisan..."

He makes himself fall on Shori's chest as Shori gently rubs his head and his back, calming him down. Haruki continues to cry his heart off. Shori did not even bother to silence him from crying. He just nods, rubbing his cheek on Haruki's soft hair. Shinichi turns his back towards them to hide his irritated face.

Shori: ii yo, cry as much as u want, haruki.

A MOMENT LATER

Haruki rubs off the last drop of tears from his face, though he still sniffles due to lots of crying. Ken has a box of tissue in his arms, sitting in front of Haruki. Finally haruki smiles as he sees Ken looking at him with a worried face.

Haruki: (ruffles Ken's hair) im fine now, arigatou.. etto..?
Ken: Ken! Im kiryuu Ken, 6 years old.
Haruki: hai, ken chan. Im kuhouin haruki, a third year in middle high school.
Shori: third year? How old are u, haruki?
Haruki: im 13 years old this year.
Shori: ho (amazed) sasuga the prodigy child.
Haruki: (awkwardly smile) ara, u heard abt tht..?
Shori: its true though. U start speaking when u were 3.
Haruki: (face change)
Shori: whats wrong, haruki?
Haruki: its... actually about ani ue..
Shori: ryoki san? Nanda.. ure actually sulking becoz he cant make it for today?
Haruki: (shook his head) iie desu.
Shori: ??
Haruki: since i was small, i always felt a distance between us. It starts on the day misa ane ue got missing. Ever since, ani ue has been so different. And i cant just talk to my parents about it.
Shori: so u have been keeping it in for these 5 years?
Haruki: (hurts) what can i do Shori oniisan... ever since that day, uve never come n play in the castle..
Shori: oh... gomen... (guilt)
Haruki: its okay oniisan, i can understand the pain tht uve went through at tht time. To keep myself occupied, i engrossed myself in studies.
Shori: no wonder u jumped so many classes.. (sigh) i dont know haruki. Things has changed so much from that time. Iie, im wrong. Many things had happened during that short period of time tht i dont have time to think why does it happen. They happened all at once that im actually lost in this current life.
Haruki: shori oniisan...
Shori: luckily i have shinichi by my side. He's always there when im down n need company.
Haruki: (glance at the sleeping shinichi) (smiles) thts good to hear shori oniisan. I had no idea what has to be done from my side. Thts why i thought if i get mature earlier, ill be able to understand......
Shori: did u (seriously asking)
Haruki: (shooks his head) im so confused...
Shori: (hugs Haruki) dont think abt it too much okay? If u have any problem, know tht im always here. U can even come n meet me at school or here. This place is open for you, haruki. (Smiles)
Haruki: (smiles) arigatou shori oniisan (hugs tightly)

Shinichi glares at both of them.

Shori: haha! Ure awake, shinichi?
Shinichi: che!
Haruki: sou da shori oniisan! Remember that oneesan tht was with u during the sport festival?
Shori: eh... dare?
Haruki: oneesama with a white dress!
Shori: ah, koizumi?
Haruki: sou sou. Is she the same class as you?
Shori: yeah why?
Haruki: (smiles) iie nandemonai yo!
Shori: hey, tht sounds fishy.
Haruki: i wanna meet her again, can i? She reminds me of misa ane ue.
Shori: (taken back)
Haruki: shori?
Shori: ah.. haha.. sou na. U can drop my class of u wanna see her.
Haruki: yaay! Arigatou, shori oniisan!
Shori: let me tell u in advance, she is kyoya san's little sister.
Haruki: eehh? Kyoya oniisan's? Ani ue's bestfriend?
Shori: yup. Koizumi yuu is her name.
Haruki: yuu oneesama ka. (Smiles)

The door bell chimes indicating someone at the front gate of the house. Ken ran and anwer the intercom.

Ken: sho chaan! I think its for Haruki oniisan.
Haruki: eh? Ani ue?
Shori: tht was fast.

The two of them get up leaving the living room. Shinichi heads towards his room. Haruki took his bag and Shori accompanied him to front gate.

Shori: tht was fast. U said ull be coming at 10
Ryoki: i said latest, shori kun. (smiles) Did u behave, Haruki?
Haruki: um.. hai.. ani ue.
Ryoki: i really appreciate this, shori kun. Arigatou.
Shori: iie iie, it has been a while since i last met Haruki, so it was a great oppoturnity, na haruki?
Haruki: (nods) ah..hai.
Shori: how r u going home? Walking?
Ryoki: (points outside) driver.
Shori: okay, mata ne, haruki.
Haruki: arigatou gozaimassu, shori oniisan. Mata kondou desu.
Shori: yeah!

The two princes ride the black car and went away.

posted from Bloggeroid