Akane looked like and an angel, her hair blowing around her face and arms reaching out to me. I felt as If I'd seen this in a dream before. Behind her was the distant view of Kyou. The placed that i had been born and had planned to die. I had just finished the climb to the the top of Mount Funaoka overlooking the capital. We had been there just a day before to say our farewells. It was there that Akane has asked to meet me here before she left.

"Come with me Eisen." She smiled. "Come to my world."

"Why me?" I asked approaching her. "I'd only be a burden."

"No Eisen." She looked straight into my soul. So many times had I thought about leaving this world, the closest I ever came was becoming a monk. How could I abandon that though? I'd made vows, I left my worldly ways. To just leave? To just leave… I'd done that so many times before though. I'd left my old life because of the anxiety it caused me. The conflict between my brother for the throne. How easy would it for me to follow Akane to her world. Horrible memories began to flood my mind.

"Please Eisen…" She was no longer smiling. "I want to share my world with you. I just know you'll find happiness there..."

Happiness… for me? The first time I truly felt happy was when I first saw Akane awake from the cursed Koto's spell. She was so spry and full of life. She had a love for life unlike anything I'd ever seen. Akane is what made me happy. I wanted to do anything to keep that smile on her face. I had to go with her. I had to protect her. I had to make her happy no matter what. All my reasons for staying were selfish, I was a guardian. I had to follow her. I grabbed her hand. Before I knew it my body was enveloped by the wind and the world around me blurred. We moved through space, my hands firmly grasped in hers. Good bye brother, good bye Kyo. I live for Akane. I live as her guardian.

My body hit ground, Akane roughly landing on top of me. I felt another arm hit mine. In the pitch black, I heard Tenma curse.

"Ran!" He yelled. I heard him moving through long grass, picking up the arm that had landed on mine.

"Ran, wake up." Panic filled his voice.

We had landed pretty hard. It was then my eyes adjusted and I noticed that Akane wasn't moving. My heart was racing.

"Priest..ess…." I stuttered. Her eyes fluttered open. Her head on my chest. She was so light. I gave a sigh of relief trying not to think about the contours of her body on mine.

"Eisen… You came with me." She looked up and gave a light smile. Her body must have been weak from using so much of the Dragon God's power. I sat up, moving her with me. She closed her eyes again and leaned against my shoulder. I avoided looking at her, feeling my face flush. I decided to preoccupy myself with our surroundings. We were in a grove a trees, in the center was an old well. I could finally make out Tenma holding an unconscious Ran.

"Akane?! Akane, are you alright?" Tenma shouted.

"She's here with me." I replied. Akane rubbed her eyes.

"I'm… alright. I just need to rest…a bit..."

"You're here!?" Tenma quickly turned to me. I could make out a scowl on his face.

"How'd you get here!?"

"I brought him with me Tenma..." Akane grasped the ground and changed her position. "You'd better be nice to him since this is where he'll be living for now on." Tenma muttered something under his breath. I knew it was nothing friendly.

"Ran didn't take the trip very well, we've got to get help." I could hear him moving around again.

"I left my cellphone with Shimon before we left." She rubbed her eyes again with one hand.

"I wonder how long we've been gone. Maybe it's the same day we left."

"I doubt it." Tenma said hoisting Ran onto his back. "Ran was missing for three years here and said she'd been in Kyou for that same amount of time." I stood and gently helped Akane up by the arm.

"Come on, there's a hospital up that hill. I don't know how hurt Ran is but I can't lose her now." Tenma ushered us out of the clearing and we began the steep climb. We walked up the smooth stone road for a while. Large lit carts passed us quickly, pulled by some strange ghost making howling noises as it went. Fences of metal contoured the road and a sea of light shown below us. I watched as Tenma hiked his unconscious sister higher onto his back. No conversation was made as we walked. The sound of early summer crickets, our only accompaniment. One of the carts slowed when it saw us and pulled to the side of the street. A man dressed in dark clothing got out and ran to catch up with us.

"You kids shouldn't be out this late at night. Is everything alright?" he asked, his attention darting to each of us and then focusing on Ran. Tenma stopped and faced the man, looked him in the eye and without hesitation said

"No... we were kidnapped."

The earth seemed to whirl around me as the man ushered us to sit near his cart. He began to ask us questions.

"What are your names? Who are your parents? Is anyone hurt?" Tenma explained that his sister was unconscious and needed medical attention. The officer agreed and looked to Akane, asking if she was alright. She waved her hands around in defense.

"I'm alright, honest." He insisted that they take her with Ran. After conversing with Tenma a bit he turned to me asked about my parents and wanted some sort of number. I didn't understand, I kept silent and just shook my head. He took a square device from his waist and uttered numbers into it.

"We've got a group of kids that say that they were kidnapped, two males, two females. one's unconscious and needs medical attention and we better have the others checked. three match missing profiles and one that doesn't match any description." A voice came from the device, replying with more muffled numbers and intelligible speech. I could feel the anxiety build up inside my stomach. I didn't understand anything about this place, I began doubting my decision to follow Akane here. She could probably sense my fear because she grasped my hand at that moment and began to rub her thumb across my knuckles.

"It's alright," She whispered near my ear. "He's going to help Ran." I became even more anxious with her touching and whispering to me, my ears felt hot. However, it was easier to have her here with me during this. This was her world after all. This might be completely normal here… but a kidnapping? I wasn't kidnapped. I was more of a runaway than anything else. I guess… they really had been kidnapped. Akaram had brought them to my world by force. They'd been there for almost two years. I began to hear an eerie sound unlike any instrument I'd ever heard come from the top of the hill. It was then I saw the lights, Flashing red and white. The unearthly whaling became louder as a large white cart came around the corner, the source of the horrible din. The noise stopped as the cart pulled alongside the road. A man and a woman emerged from it and ran to the back, opened the doors and produced a bright orange plank. They worked with ease, placing ran onto the board and secured her with belts. Another vehicle like the first man's had arrived, this one however this one had lights like the white cart.

"I'm going with her." Tenma demanded to the woman. The man that was asking questions before put his hand on Tenma's shoulder trying to ease his stress.

"We'll follow behind them. Just come with me." Tenma turned his head to him, a fire of worry and fear in his eyes.

"I'm not losing her again. I'm going." The man looked at Akane and back at Tenma.

"I'll be taking your other friend to the hospital myself. You'll be with your sister after they've thoroughly checked her. The other will go with another officer." Tenma looked at Akane and then at me. He then agreed with the officer and followed him to the vehicle. So he was an "officer." I still didn't know what he was doing but at least he had some sort of title now. He motioned for Akane. She stood, still clutching my hand.

"I'm sorry but I have to go with him, but don't worry. We'll be back together soon." I began to panic again as her hand left mine. I watched her get into the back of the cart. It shuttered alive and then followed the larger one with Ran up the hill.