Chapter seven: Captive
"Okay. You know what? Just let the girls go. We won't bother you anymore," Kanou suggested
Tora scoffed, "You think I'll let you go this easily? This isn't some fairytale. You can't just wave around your magic wand, abracadabra, and we'll let you pass. Nope. Something to compensate...and what will that be..."
"OKAY. JUST GET OUR FRIENDS DOWN RIGHT NOW AND NO ONE GETS HURT!" Misaki screamed as fast a she could before Usui covered her mouth again.
Tora smirked, and whispered something to the dark haired again, his eyes locked on the fighting couple.
"Get her."
.
.
.
Darkness.
"USUI!" Misaki breathed heavily. Her vision still not clear. But it was obvious that she wasn't with her friends. Nope. No where near.
Where the hell am I...
Misaki's vision somewhat cleared up. Even so, she would make out most of the things in the mysterious room she was currently in.
She was in a bed. A fancy one at that. Embroidered bed sheets and pillows. Probably a king size bed. In addition to the humongous size that she was definitely not used to, from above, drapes hung from a rectangular piece the same size as the bed, shielding Misaki from what was outside of the bed.
Dumbfounded, Misaki peeled away the thick blankets. To her surprise, her dirty white pirate uniform wasn't revealed. Nope. It was something else.
.
.
.
At that time, the curtains slid open. A line of butlers and maids with perfect posture outstretched all the way across the huge room. Now this room, was maybe ten times the size of Misaki's house (also shared with Shizuko and Sakura). Even considering that their run-down house with pretty small, the room was still considered to be humongous. And wait, there's more. Antiques and all kinds of imported expensive furniture were placed around the room after careful consideration.
Grasping the situation, Misaki immediately covered herself with the blankets. Thankfully, just in time. The large double doors swung open.
Blondie.
"So you're awake, Ayuzawa Misaki," the ear wrenching way he said her name rang in her head, and sent a cold wind down her back.
"You," she managed to spit out, her teeth clenched
"Welcome to Igarashi Mansion. I hope they've been treating you well," he motioned to his blank-faced servants, who immediately left after the gesture.
"Give me my clothes back," she demanded, completely ignoring him.
He smirked that irritating smirk of his, "Don't you like the outfit we gave you?" he walked over to the side of the bed. Automatically, Misaki scooted further away.
"Who would like this horrendous piece of fabric you call clothes!?" she yelled
"Seems pretty obvious," he leans in closer as Misaki inches farther away, almost having no where else to cover herself, "any woman who serves me," his expression growing even more disgusting (if that was even possible).
This disgusting, perverted, bastard...
He reached to pull off the covers, but at the last moment, Misaki pulled back to punch him straight in the face.
Disappointingly, he blocked it.
"Too slow,"
"Maybe. But that's the whole point isn't it? To hold you off. Because I'll never let your filthy hands touch me."
"MISAKI!" Sakura sobbed. Right after Misaki was kidnapped, Sakura and Shizuko were freed. Of course, they had no choice but to find the exit and get out of there before they did anything. In the process, they completely forgot about the treasure in the room right before their eyes.
"Misaki! Where are you!?" Sakura cried, Shizuko patting her back.
Even if the pink-haired was crying her eyes out, a certain blank-facaped alien obviously seemed to be the one most in pain. No matter how many times his friends whacked him upside the head, there was no reaction.
"Dude, COME ON! LIGHTEN UP!" Kuuga said, attempting to become the perfect example of a positive person. He stood straight with a big smile slapped on his face, his act completed with another whack on the back.
"Kuuga..."
"Stop sulking and get your thinking gears on. If you haven't noticed, we have a missing person...and we obviously need to find her," Kuuga reminded
"But how!? We don't even know where she is!" Sakura said
"Well, we do know that she's with some bastard called Igarashi Tora. If we find a village nearby, they'll probably know where he lives," Usui suggested
"Now we're getting somewhere!" Kuuga gave Usui another rewarding smack
"Takumi! We have spotted a pathway!" Yukimura reported
"Which direction," Usui said, his commander hat on
"Approximately south-south east from our position here," Kanou stated, also pointing out the way to the road. Usui carefully scanned the dirt area, trees scarce, to find the pathway. The pathway that was miles and miles away...Of course, with his alien hawk-like eyes.
"Oh, I can see it," Usui remarked, nonchalantly, everyone stared at him blankly, "Let's go."
Day and night, they trudged along, miles and miles. Even after finding the dirt road, it seemed like even more miles before they could arrive at their destination. Well, the destination they hoped that would exist. Thankfully, Usui possessed stellar survival skills, and could construct a shelter and find food anywhere and anytime.
Finally, after various minor injuries and complications (consisting of a certain man-girl who couldn't stand walking for so long), the could see the end of the extremely long path.
Pushing aside the branches and leaves blocking their view, like a true cliched story, they beamed. The sight of the village was mesmerizing.
The path ended at the top of a short cliff, jumping height from the small community. They could see almost everything, but enough to witness the wonderfulness of this new-found settlement.
Small huts posed as shops with products completely foreign to them, markets full of fresh fruits and assorted local delicacies, lining the roads. They could smell the freshly baked bread from some of the huts. Farms packed with animals and vegetables, families walking up and down the streets, children jumping and playing happily. It was much nicer than Maelivrin or Ahrior. Even though the quality and structure of the town was no match for the royal kingdom of Maelivrin, it was paradise.
"Wow," Kuuga whistled. They all took a minute to take in the view.
"I wish Misaki were here to see this," Sakura commented. Even at the mention of the name they so terribly missed, they remained captivated. When Usui motioned to descend from the cliff, they energetically followed.
Their feet touched the pale yellow dirt road, the one in which the small shops were lined on either side of. Citizens who were peacefully strolling down the road, looking at shops, purchasing goods, stopped to look at the newcomers. In who descended from the sky. But despite the unfamiliarity, the villagers greeted the crew happily, as they went on with their lives.
But one citizen didn't just pass them by.
"Ugh, I was sent by my aunt. Told to greet you, blah dee blah," a short young man came up to them, monotonous, "Welcome to Modorld, I'm Hyoudou Aoi. Now let's go, I need to take you somewhere..." he stuffed his hands into his pockets and sauntered away
"W-wait!" Sakura pulled him back by his shoulder,
"What do you want, weird pink-haired woman,"
"Hey, what did we do to you," Kuuga stepped in
"Nasty couples...nothing, I was just sent by my aunt to take you somewhere. Do I really need to explain it again? Do you speak Japanese," he drawled his words, and spoke slowly mockingly.
"Hey, if you're going to be so rude-" Kanou joined, "Hey! Takumi! Where are you going!?"
"To follow the little man," he answered, walking off on his own. Everyone sighed, they had no choice now. Once Usui sets his mind on something he won't give up.
"Hmph, stubborn elderly." Aoi said, and ran to catch up with them.
Along the way, they read the signs of the shops along the road. Manga World, L' Bakery, Modern Style, q.U.a.L.i.T.y. This town was obviously a lot more advanced technology-wise than the Seikan territories. What was this "manga" they spoke of?
They all stopped, when Aoi opened the door of the most interesting shop by far.
Maid Latte.
I AM SINCERELY SORRY. I APOLOGIZE A MILLION TIMES. This chapter has been long overdue. I am very grateful to you for being so patient. Around this time, school has been getting busier and busier. I apologize for that.
As for upcoming events, that would affect the update of this fanfic:
This week I have a major project to work on, so you could probably expect to not see an update this week again. Hopefully next week I will have time.
In the middle of the second week of November to the beginning of the third week, I will be out of town for a school trip. Obviously, I will not have time to write, and you will definitely not see another chapter around that time.
I apologize again, for being so late with updates. Even so, I will still continue to work and write this fanfic 'til the very end.
Thank you so much for reading!
