Disclaimer: I own none of the characters.

So here's the second chapter for this story that I'm trying to keep controlled. If I didn't have it limited it would be all over the place. Still no Kai yet, but other characters will be jumping in. I think by the end of the next chapter there will be a brief entrance by Kai and if my chapters play out the way I'm hoping I'll have chapter four as Kai's shining chapter.

Thanks to my reviewers and story-alert adders. You realize I know who reviews and who adds me. This new FF.N email service is handy. LoL. Just kidding.

"Rei…this is not something that is going to be accomplished easily." Olivier said as Rei rubbed his head.

"I know… I realize that…but…"

"If there is anybody who stands a chance it's you." Olivier said supportively but firmly.

"I don't want to do this alone." Rei whispered lowering is head.

"And you won't be. Now, get up on Unicorion. I don't want you to waste any more time." Rei sighed before pulling himself up to sit on the unicorn's back. Olivier let go of his arm and stepped back. Looking up at Rei he smiled at the uncomfortable look on the neko-jin's face.

"He won't let you fall or get lost. He knows the way."

Chapter Two

Rei and Unicorion made their way through the rest of the land in pursuit of the boundaries. The longer Rei traveled the blurrier the landscape became. It took some getting use to Unicorion before the neko-jin felt comfortable releasing his grip a bit, letting a little more blood circulate in his fingers.

Hours passed by and soon the jungle that Rei had known his entire life thinned out and he was met with open stretches of land, with hills that's sculpted the earth. Looking ahead Rei managed to make out the barren landscape. Those rolling hills were nothing but rock and tall grass.

"Ugh….Unicorion s-stop for a moment." The unicorn made a few whines as he came to a trot before stopping completely. Rei sighed as he readjusted himself upon the animal. His stomach grumbled loudly as Rei placed a tanned hand on it.

"I know you want to get there quickly, but I really need to eat something before I pass out and I don't want to move too much further before we're stuck with nothing. How much further is it?" Rei said almost pleadingly. The unicorn jutted his head towards the mountain up and down a few times whining slightly. Rei cringed as he tried to understand. Looking at the hills he brain clued in.

"Oh! Just over the hills." A nay replied. Rei smiled at his cleverness, but the dread and worry that had developed continued to weigh on him. "Oh…okay. Well….at least let me get some food before we go. Um…" Rei said looking around. Spotting a few bushes off to the side he directed Unicorion over there and slid off the beast remembering to keep his hand on him as he bent down. In front of him were a few bushes that sported strawberries and a few others. Rei pushed the bushes around, before sighing.

"Well it's not much, but I guess it'll do until I get closer to the sea right?" Rei asked as Unicorion made a sound. "Right." Rei said more to himself, has he started to gather the berries with one hand and placing them in a small pouch that was hidden under his shirt. Looking over the bush a few more times he sighed when he saw that there was nothing else worth getting. His pouch was full and he had eaten whatever had not fit in. His stomach felt a bit better, but he was sure this wouldn't last him long. Standing up he looked around. The sky was a little cloudy and the wind was a little stronger here. Foreign smells crossed his nose, making him close his eyes.

"That…salty smell. Is that the sea Unicorion?" Rei asked a small smile coming to his face. The unicorn gave another nod. Rei let out a small laugh. "I never realized how close we were. I hate to think of how sheltered my life is…I…well as long as we're close I guess that's good right?" Unicorion nudged Rei's head as if to tell him it was alright. Gripping the unicorn's mane, Rei leapt back up onto the animal before it started off again swiftly over the hills.

Looking around Rei took in the state of ruins that littered the ground. Judging by the lack of growth and weathering around, these were not old archaic ones. Rei felt a chill run through his body as the thought of what would happen to his city if he didn't get help quick enough. Despite the weight of terror, this gave him a bit of a push forward in knowing what he had to do.

The day slowly passed by, as the clouds shifted letting the sun peak for a bit, although not doing much to lighten the mood of the scenery. The air became saltier and a bit of a chill settled in from the sea breeze. Rei squinted ahead noticing that there appeared to be no more hills past this last one. He was more than a little shocked that it had only taken a day to reach here, but than again maybe that was Unicorion's divine gift; to move swift and quick like the wind. The chill of the wind caused Rei to move closer to Unicorion's body, his arms wrapped around the thick neck. The unicorn slowed down as he entered the rocky terrain, climbing slowly. Rei watched as smaller rocks fell back down and settled near the bottom.

Above Rei could see white birds flying overhead. Gulling and making noises that Rei was easily becoming annoyed with. The sky above them had taken on a pallet of colours. Behind him stretched the indigo colours of night, which melted into a pale navy before exploding into warm rouges and oranges; the clouds were tinged lavender and salmon. Rei watched as the sky opened up and soon he was looking out of a wide, vast view of open waters.

Sitting upon Unicorion, Rei straightened himself as he stared at the horizon watching as the sun set. So caught up in his own world he almost fell when Unicorion moved to get Rei's attention. In the movements Rei's vision moved down past the edge of the cliff he resided on down to the drop of what appeared as a small town on the edge of the sea.

The town was stretched across the coastline, dotted with street lanterns and lit buildings of wood and brick. Rei could see many people walking through the streets as well as entering and exiting buildings. A mix of music could be heard, the beating of drums and the whistles of flutes in harmony with the laughter and voices that echoed up to Rei's position.

Overwhelmed Rei sat back, letting this new scenery set in. It was unlike anything he had ever seen. It was…dirty, in a sense, in comparison to Sasin and its alabaster buildings and columns. Shaking his head he looked out into the waters, noticing the figures that danced upon it. Ships larger than the ones that drifted through the rivers back home. These ones dominated the waters with their strong bodies and proud sails. Few were anchored off shore while a few were anchored at the gigantic pier that stretched for a few miles. Ships were moving through the waters, their destinations here and over the horizon. Shaking his head he leaned forward.

"I didn't know that this was here, then again I've never left the country. Kind of rhetorical huh?" Rei said. Unicorion began to lower his front legs, Rei realizing that the time to leave the unicorn's side had arrived. Sighing he slid off the unicorn, hesitant to remove his hand from the animal.

"I guess this is where we part, huh?" Rei murmured quietly, his fingers entwined in the silky pearl strands of Unicorion's mane. A nod of his head and Rei lowered his head fighting away the tears.

"Olivier said I need to cross the sea, right? Don't people usually pay or give something? I don't have any money! How does Olivier think that I'm going to get across? Urgh." Rei argued fisting his hands in his wind-matted hair and turned around groaning in frustration before he realized that he had let go of Unicorion. Lifting his head he went back to reach for the unicorn before it hit that the beast was no longer there. Turning around hoping that he was somewhere near, he closed in eyes as his body sagged before he sank to the ground head bowed in despair.

"Dammit." Rei cursed quietly pushing rocks over the cliff.

"Oww…" A voice echoed up to Rei who lifted his head, eyes wide. That sounded like a person. He froze as he strained his hearing to listen to confirm his thoughts. There was silence, apart from the wind. Relaxing he brushed a hand over his forehead.

"Hey! Anyone up there?!"

"Takao, you know there's no one up there. Probably just the wind." A lighter voiced followed. Movement reached Rei's ears and he cringed.

"Wind? I know what wind can do! That ain't no wind!" The first voice, Takao, replied. Fear and curiosity ran through Rei's blood. He wanted to see what these people were like yet he wanted to keep a safe distance apart from them. Holding his breath he slowly crawled towards the edge, gripping the rocks between his hands. Peaking over the edge he was met with the sight of two figures, who were staring back at him. All three had their mouths open, and neither of them moving.

A minute passed and Rei was getting anxious as he looked down. One of the figures had dark midnight hair that was poorly restrained by a red bandana. He had tanned skin and was dressed in clothes that consisted of dark shorts, a charcoal shirt, covered by a weathered vest that looked heavy and a counter to the elements.

The other person was smaller and had a head of golden yellow and a face of freckles. Bondi blue eyes stared up curiously at Rei. Pale skin contrasted against the dark clothes similar to the other with the addition of dark bands around each wrist. Another minute passed before a smile etched itself across the darker skinned one's face.

"H-hey! You!" Rei cringed trying to crawl back.

No, no! Come back! We're not going to hurt you! Please!" Rei rolled his eyes. Stories from childhood always had the antagonist tricking the hero that way. Rei stopped, but didn't advance.

"Maybe he doesn't understand you Takao." Silence.

"Oh…Hey! Do you understand me?"

"Don't ask him that." Sigh. "Takao you're probably scaring him."

"I'm sorry guy-up-there!" There were a few moments of silence before Takao scowled. "Urgh. Max I don't think he's coming down." Takao said putting his hands on his hips. Max looked sympathetic at the loss of his friend's attempts, casting a look up towards Rei.

"Well we can't make him come down. Let's just leave it. We're going to be late. You don't want the ship to leave without us."

'Ship?' Rei thought as he looked back down.

"Heh. Like the ship could leave without me."

"They almost did last time. Come on." Max pointed out, pushing Takao's shoulder. Giving Rei one last glance Takao turned making his way back down towards the town.

Rei grew nervous as they began to leave. This may be his chance. Tapping the group in anxiety he pushed himself to his knees.

"W-wait! Wait a minute!" Rei called out. Takao and Max stopped and turned around yielding to the neko-jin's call. Rei came closer to the edge, looking down as the windward draft blew in his face causing him to squint. Looking along the edge he noticed a few outings that look like they could support him. Edging a leg over, and the other one following he dropped to the closest one before doing the same till he had reached the ground landing in a crouch. Taking a deep breath he slowly raised himself till he was standing in front of the two.

"Shit! Max did you see that?! He was down in like thirty seconds. That cliff is like eighty feet high. That was awesome!" Takao said running towards Rei who stepped back until his back was pressed against the rocky cliff. Max sighed and grabbed Takao before he could advance any further.

"My friend here gets excited easily." Max said with a friendly smile. Rei nodded stiffly in agreement. "My name is Max. Mizuhara Max. This is Kinomiya Takao. We're sorry to scare you like that." He said pointing to each. Rei nodded. Clearing his throat he responded with his back still to the cliffs.

"I'm Kon Rei." He said. "Uh…sorry about the rocks." He added with an after thought. Takao smiled.

"It's alright. They just scraped me." An awkward silence passed by them Rei unsure with how to proceed.

"So…are you from around here? The folks here don't normally go up to the cliffs. From what we hear there's some awful things going on up there. They're a bit superstitious you could say."

"Who says this?"

"The people of the village. The one behind us. It's called Seaside Port; really good trading place for those of the seas and whatnot." Max explained. Rei gave a confused look.

"What kind of people are you?" The neko-jin asked innocently. Takao and Max shared a grin.

"Kaizoku." Takao said with a hint of pride. Rei shook his head with a guilty smile. Takao's grin faltered a bit. "Pirates?" Blank stare. "Raiders?"

"Oh…ohhh." Rei said as the meaning started to sink in. His eyes narrowed a bit. These were dangerous people. "That's not a thing to be proud of." Rei said dully. Max and Takao laughed.

"We're not as bad as you think. You didn't even recognize the word. You probably have a different view. Where are you from anyways? Definitely somewhere sheltered I'm guessing." Takao said. Rei considered being insulting, but his situation made itself know when his home was mentioned. Scratching his head he pointed up.

"From that country up on the cliff. Achisa. Ever heard of it?" Rei said walking away from the cliff a bit as he peered up.

"Achisa? No. We don't get much news from there. We heard savages live up there who don't interact with anyone outside."

"I'm not a savage! My land is very sophisticated." Rei replied offended. Takao raised his hands in defense.

"Woah. We weren't making a statement. Only what we heard. And you don't look like a savage. You look different, in a good way. I'm just saying that's all." Takao said. Tension was beginning to increase. Max who was silent decided to step in.

"Moving past all of that, what are you doing here Rei? You must be far from your home." Max asked the question Rei was weary to answer. He rubbed a hand on the back of his neck massaging the tense muscles.

"I—I need…" Rei hesitated. Takao and Max waited. Sighing frustrated he gave in. "I need passage across the sea. I need to get to Renormi." Rei said a relief that he had finally gotten it out.

Takao and Max shared a look. One that made Rei wary.

"Renormi? Why would you want to go there? Well I can understand the prospect of it. The trades, the food.…the entertainment. I mean I just don't see why someone like you would want to go. It's not exactly a haven or safe for that matter." Takao informed Rei.

"I know…I realize it's not safe, but I have to find someone in Renormi. The god of my land said so. You do believe in gods right?" Rei asked hesitantly.

"Who doesn't? You'd be surprised how often you meet them. We have no god that looks after us, but if a god asked you to do something than it must be important right?" Max answered watching as Rei nodded silently.

"So you need to get to Renormi? Hm…" Max thought glancing over at Takao nodding his head in Rei's direction quickly. The other one caught the look Max was giving him and glanced over at Rei again as though they were confirming something silently. Rei was unsure what was happening, but he stayed silent observing their gestures.

"He's not going to be happy Max." Takao sighed. Max in return gave his friend a puppy-eye look which caused Takao into a groaning fit.

"I know he won't like it, but he'll be even madder if we don't head back now. I'm sure there's something we can do to get Rei onboard with us." Max negotiated. Shaking his head radically, Takao turned around to face Rei who was looking at them with curiousity.

"Who are you talking about?"

Takao smiled and cocked his head to the side.

"The captain of course."

Walking behind Takao and Max, Rei surveyed the area with a critical eye. He was more than a little unnerved at the less than proper manners that the people of this town seemed to uphold. People were drinking freely in the streets and many were intoxicated, falling and making vulgar gestures at others.

"It's not so bad once you get used to it." Takao said cheerfully as if he was actually proud of such a scene.

"Used to? How old are you?" Rei asked bluntly.

"I'm eighteen. Max is seventeen. We've lived in these conditions for most of our lives so we're used to it. You don't look much older than us."

"I'm nineteen. Did you two grow up together?"

"Nah. I met Max when I was fourteen, but that's too long of a story. Short version, we both ended up on the same pirate ship. The captain is only a few years old then us. He thinks a young crew will work better." Takao explained as he picked up an apple that was resting in a cart. Rei looked back before looking at midnight haired man.

"You didn't pay for that." Rei said his sense of justice kicking him.

"There were a lot of them. One won't matter."

"One is the difference between a child who goes hungry and one who lives to see the morning. Have you no morals?" Rei asked standing tall. Takao threw Rei a look.

"Geez. Relax. It'll be fine. There's no one starving here." Max sighed at his friend before shooting Rei an apologetic look.

"Anyways, there's our ship." Takao said taking a large bite out of the apple. Rei retained his glare before looking over towards where the other was pointing. His golden eyes widened in awe.

At the end of the pier was a large ship with red sails. The hull was a dark stain, and looked like it was a solid fighter. It was impressive. Rei had never seen any ship this large before. It dwarfed him.

"Wow." Rei let out as he stared at it in a trance.

"Gorgeous isn't she? Haha. She gets more looks from good-looking people than you do Takao." An accented voice entered the area as a figure walked past Takao giving him a good nudge causing the man to stagger into Max. Straightening themselves up, Rei noticed that they didn't retaliate. Peering over Takao's and Max's head Rei watched the figure stop at the edge of the pier.

He could only see the back of the person, but from what he could see, this man was fairly tall. He has similar clothes to Takao except he had black pants that tucked away into hard, black gripped boots. His arms were lean and tight with muscle, with a navy shirt rolled up to the elbows and a leather belt around his waist. Most striking was the gravity defying vermillion hair that supported a blue bandana that only covered a portion of his head. He had stopped to curse a few insults and directions at a small group of people before turning around to face the trio with a grin.

Slate coloured eyes peered past the figures of Takao and Max, staring straight at Rei who froze under the stare. Rei cringed inwardly as the calculating eyes studied him. They were eyes that were clever, but also arrogant.

"You two are late again. You let the rest of the crew load supplies while you two go scampering around town. You do have to pull your own damn weight around here. I might be better off without you two." The man said as he berated his two crew members.

"Awww…but captain you need me to help sail and Maxie to cook and take care of everyone." Takao said casually. The captain scoffed and a telling smirk made its way upon his face.

"For the right price I can afford another navigator and cook. Don't forget that." He said as his voice lowered and with a hint of seriousness to his response. Takao's smile faltered slightly as the words rang through his mind.

"Listen…Johnny; you don't need to go doing that now. We'll remember to be on time next time. Okay? But we actually were busy with something. You see our friend, Rei, he needs to go to Renormi." Takao explained pulling Rei to stand in front of him under the scrutinizing eyes of Johnny who raised an eyebrow at the midnight haired one's explanation.

"And what? You expect me to take him there? Now when did you become the captain of this ship? Huh? You really need to learn your damn boundaries." Johnny snapped at him, his short-temper taking over as he stomped over to the trio standing in front of Rei, a good few inches taller then Rei's 5'8 build.

"Look I thought since we're headed in that direction anyways he cou—"

"We're not going there anymore. I cancelled that business deal. I didn't manage to get a hold of anything for the treasury." Johnny said abruptly obviously not happy with the situation.

"Well...um…captain. I think Rei could help out with that." Max's quiet voice cut. Glancing over at the blond, Johnny nodded at him to continue while Rei looked confused. Giving Rei an apologetic look the blond stepped up to the dark-haired neko-jin who stepped back as Max reached towards the top of his shirt.

"Wh-what are you doing?!" Rei stuttered and Max's fingers dove under the collar of his shirt before quickly pulling something out which jerked Rei's neck.

"I noticed it when we were talking to him back at the cliff. Rei said he was from Achisa too. It's like the ones that the trader was talking about. And you said so yourself that this area was know for such jewels." Max explained as he held a golden plated necklace with coin sized emeralds centered in it. Johnny's eyes lit up and he took the necklace from Max's grip further pulling Rei's neck towards the holder.

Rei was not happy with this. He had been tricked by two idiots who wanted a stupid necklace. He narrowed his eyes at them as they all inspected the necklace. A voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Where did you get this?" Johnny asked as he inspected the necklace with a keen eye. Growling slightly Rei tried to pull away to give himself distance from the people.

"My father gave it to me."

"And do you have other types of items similar to this on you now?"

"No."

"I'll take that as a yes." Johnny said giving a fierce tug as the chain snapped at its clasp releasing itself from Rei's neck. The neko-jin rubbed his neck at the pain that spread across as he glared at the pirate captain. Takao and Max had backed away slightly putting distance between their captain and the stranger. Giving a final look Johnny pocketed the necklace, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'll make you a deal then. You give me the rest of these, and I'll give you passage to Renormi since you've reinstated a business contract for me." Johnny said. Rei's brow furrowed in thought.

"That's it? You'll take me there if I give you sentimental items?"

"You can call them whatever you like. I just want them. So are you going to give them to me willingly?" Johnny asked raising his chin as his looked down at Rei. Rei was silent for a moment before he sighed reaching into his shirt and fumbling with something on his arm. There go the trinkets he had tried to take from the castle earlier in the morning.

He undid the clasp of the band as he loosened from his arm. Pulling it up and out of his shirt he placed it in Johnny's waiting hand before reaching back in to pull the small pouch he has used to store the strawberries in earlier. At the bottom were a few brooches that he had thrown in. Stuffing the pouch back down his shirt he continued his search, lifting a leg to pull up an ornament dagger and hand it over. Lastly he loosened the sash around his waist and caught the five rings that fell out of it. Grasping those he placed them in Johnny's hand before tightening and straightening out his clothes. He straightened his posture in one that showed that he was not happy with the situation.

Looking down at the items with a more than pleasant looked Johnny glanced down at Rei.

"Is that everything?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Well that solves most of my problems now. We'll take you to Renormi." Johnny said. Throwing a look towards the other he called out to someone. "Oi. Michael!"

A body leaned over the railing of the ship. "Yeah?"

"I've changed my mind. We're going to Renormi. Our new cabin boy has just given us a generous gift." Johnny told him turning his head back to grin at Rei. The neko-jin glared at Johnny as Takao and Max came up behind him and gently pushed him along to the plank that led the way onto the Salamarion.