Author's Note: As usual, if there are any grammar errors, plot holes or any other things which you feel can be improved, feel free to drop me a PM or Review about it. Constructive criticism will be taken into consideration while flaming will be ignored and used to roast vegetables for my bunnies. Also, I try not to create Mary Sues and Gary Stus. If the (accidental) creation occurs, please inform me and I will rectify it ASAP.

Thank you and enjoy the story!

I do not own MÄR Heaven and everything in it. I only own my OCs.

Explanations regarding the accessing of magical power and the theory of it are all my own postulations.


The lot of us awoke early the next day and had a quick breakfast before gathering at the entrance of the castle once more. We trooped towards the strange purple imp from yesterday, ready to do battle.

"Did you sleep well last night, everyone?" The imp asked, though his tone of voice clearly said that he couldn't care less.

"It was a great night, thanks to those nice and comfortable beds I miss having." Ginta smirked.

"That's great to hear." I could hear the eye roll in the imp's voice. "Then I will now explain the rules for the War Game."

"There are rules?" Ginta remarked, surprised by that as he and Jack turned to face Nanashi.

"It is a game after all, so there should be." Nanashi looked a little confused as well.

"I see." Ginta and Jack turned to face the purple creature once more.

"Battles are coordinated by teams and the number of people is decided by two dice per match." The short, purple creature started.

"So it's all up to the dice!" Jack sounded strangely happy.

"The battle field will be determined by the dice as well." The imp turned to scrutinise us. "Let's see… What's your name?"

Jack looked surprised at being singled out before puffing up in pride.

"I-I-It's Jack!" He exclaimed nervously.

"Jack-san, is it?" The imp would have raised an eyebrow if it had any.

"Y-Yeah." Jack replied proudly and coughed self-importantly.

"Someone should give him a good smack to the head." Chase whispered to Ren and I.

"I have a feeling it will happen later." I replied while Ren simply giggled.

Our attention was recaptured by the imp once more when he began to speak.

"For example, if the dice decided that the match will be a 3 vs. 3, and Jack-san would be one of them…"

"Then why not make the other two Snow and me?" Ginta cut in.

"Even if Jack-san personally loses, if more individuals in his team are victorious, Jack-san's team wins." The imp nodded his head.

"I see, so even if Jack loses, as long as Snow and I prevail, our team wins 2 – 1." Ginta smiled while Jack gave him a dirty look.

"Yes." The imp seemed to be supressing a long suffering sigh.

"Why am I the loser in the example?" The farmer grumbled.

"'Cause you look like the weakest." Chase snickered, causing Ren and I to do so as well.

The demon cat's mean sense of humour was slowly but surely getting to me. Still, he was just playing around and it was meant to be an inside joke that no one understood so that we wouldn't offend anyone.

"On top of that, since you won as a team, Jack-san is capable of competing in the next battle, provided that he's still alive after the previous match." The purple creature continued nonchalantly.

"Urgh! That's not funny!" Jack protested wildly.

"It actually is." I snidely commented to my two companions, both of whom laughed softly at my comment.

Gods, we are so mean...

"On the other hand, even if the other team loses, the winner against Jack-san can participate in the next battle." The imp informed us blandly. "Meanwhile, Jack-san, who lost, will be given a rematch against the same opponent."

Ginta grimaced at that, seeming to be straining his brain as he thought hard.

"Eh… So what are the rules, Nanashi?" He asked the thief seriously.

"Is your head empty?!" Nanashi yelled.

"So as long as you win as a team, it's all good." Dorothy looked pleased. "Even if you did lose as a team, the winning individual can keep going."

"Yes." The imp nodded.

"So ultimately, only the strong people will remain." Snow frowned.

"Ah, I see. So it's good as long as you keep winning." Ginta smiled. "You should've said so from the beginning."

"Idiot." I muttered under my breath while my demonic friends snorted in agreement.

"I did." The purple creature looked as if he was about to explode.

How patient. I salute thee, purple imp-like creature…

"Sounds like the rules are the same as last time." Alviss commented coolly.

"Yes." The imp seemed relieved that someone understood his explanation.

"In that case, we'll have to decide on a captain." Alviss frowned.

"Captain?" Ginta looked shocked again.

"Indeed. We'll have to pick a captain out of you seven." The imp stared at us thoughtfully. "Even if the team wins, if the captain loses, the whole game will end."

"So let's say Jack was the captain…" Ginta thought hard. "Even if Snow and I won, since our captain lost, the team would lose?"

"Yes." The imp sounded quite irritated at Ginta.

"He's a blonde alright." Chase sighed. "How are we going to survive..?"

Ren and I chortled at that as Ginta replied that he understood rather joyfully. Meanwhile, Jack was depressed at being made an example of losing again.

"Looks like you're starting to understand." The imp looked satisfied. "Then please decide on your captain. Six years ago, Danna from the Cross Guard was the captain while our captain was the number one Knight, Phantom. So? Who will you choose?"

We stared at each other, measuring the potential of each member with our eyes.

"Well?" The imp pressed.

"Can you give us some time?" Alviss asked.

"Fair enough. But please do hurry, since there are people waiting for the match to begin." The purple imp sighed.

The eight of us – including the strange dog that Snow has with her – gathered in a loose circle.

"Based on Pozun's explanation, the captain is the key." Jack mused.

Oops… I guess I missed the imp's name since I wasn't paying much attention.

"I think Alviss would be good." Ginta suggested. "He experienced the previous battle and understands the rules clearly. Right?"

The silence that greeted his opinion made him look up and stare at everyone, only to notice that all of us were staring hard at him. A few seconds later, he finally got the hint and looked flabbergasted.

"M-Me?!" He croaked out.

"I'd like to make either Allan-san or myself captain, but Allan-san is inside the dog right now." Alviss looked frustrated. "And you have a common trait with Danna-san: you both came from a parallel world."

Oh, so Allan, the second most powerful man was trapped inside the strange dog that Snow had with her. Probably because of a curse I suppose…

"Are you sure I'm the right choice?" Ginta asked, not having much faith in himself.

Dorothy pushed Jack aside to stand beside Ginta with a wide smile.

"That means everyone has high expectations of you, Gin-tan." She ended her proclamation with a kiss to his cheek, causing him to blush madly while Snow looked angry.

"Wow… A love triangle huh…" I muttered to my companions who looked quite interested in the situation.

"Never seen one for quite some time." Chase nodded his agreement as he snuggled closer to my neck.

"Hooray for drama!" Ren cuddled deeper into my hair.

Ginta ignored the kiss, staring at his fist determinedly.

"I'm filled with anxiety but I guess it's just superstition." Alviss sighed and ran a hand through his spiky hair.

"Then why don't YOU do it?! Idiot!" Ginta hollered angrily at the teen.

"How dare you say that to Alviss?!" Belle looked absolutely outraged. "Stupid Ginta!"

"I should actually be the one, but…" Babbo decided to join the conversation.

"Babbo?" Ginta asked.

"Don't forget that I'm the reason why everyone chose you as the captain." Babbo smirked. "My first servant."

"Shut up, you loud-mouthed kendama!" Ginta shouted, glaring at Babbo, causing a fight to erupt between the two.

"Childish." I rolled my eyes as I stared at the scene.

"Have you settled it?" Pozun emerged from his sleep and stared at us.

"Yeah, we have." Alviss stated.

"The captain is Toramizu Ginta, me!" Ginta pointed a thumb at himself.

"Ginta-san, is it? Okay then." Pozun nodded.

"Is it going to be alright?" One person whispered worriedly.

"He's just a kid." Another murmured.

"He won't even be able to put up a fight." A third cynical voice commented.

"That boy is captain?" I could hear Gaira mutter.

I couldn't really blame them since Ginta was just a teen while the opponents were fully grown adults. They had the right to be doubtful since their fates rested on this farce of a game.

"I guess it's about time." Pozun stared at us. "We're officially starting the War Game! Princess Reginrave!"

The entire lot of us craned our necks to stare up to where the high balcony is. The Princess of Reginrave appeared in her usual yellow gown, looking slightly distressed. She took in a deep breath before flinging out the pair of dice from her hand.

The red die and blue die clattered onto the stone ground noisily, each displaying a proud three on the topmost face of the die.

Pozun took his time to look at the dice, analysing it before stepping backwards.

"They're both three. The first three means that the battle will be a 3 vs. 3. The second three means that the location is here, at Reginrave Field." The imp declared.


The ground opened up right in front of us and a large piece of rock emerged, ending slightly elevated to the ground.

"Wow, what a gadget. Good for them." Nanashi stared at the plate in slight wonder.

"And our opponents are?" Alviss directed the question to Pozun.

"I'll call them right now." The imp stated. "Come out, Chess' first team!"

As soon as he said that, a group of three people arrived in a red glow, revealing two males and a female.

"The Rodokin Family!" Pozun introduced with a flourish.

"So they're our first opponents." Ginta looked fired up.

"There's really only seven of them?" One of males – the one with a mask – of the Rodokin Family snorted condescendingly.

"Looks like an easy win for us, right pops?" The girl smirked.

Jack looked love-struck at the girl's smile, causing me to shake my head while Chase and Ren shook with laughter.

"Oh man, this is going to be rich." Chase managed to choke out.

"He's going to get his ass whooped!" Ren giggled.

"Now, decide on your three contestants please." Pozun ordered us.

"I'll go as captain." Ginta volunteered.

"If Gin-tan's gonna go, maybe I'll go as well!" Dorothy raised her hand enthusiastically.

"Then me too!" Snow didn't want to lose out against Dorothy.

"No, let me go first!" Jack argued.

"Why don't I show off what I've got?" Nanashi interjected.

"I'll go." Alviss snorted curtly.

"I don't really care as long as I get to fight." I chipped in.

"What, everyone wants to go?" Ginta frowned. "Alright, let's settle this with Janken!"

The seven of us closed in and got ready to play.

"Listen, only rock and paper, got it?" Nanashi decreed. "Those that get the same hand as our captain will compete, got it?"

And so, the game began. We went through several rounds until the results were finally out.

In the end, Ginta, Jack and Alviss were the lucky ones who were going to fight this round.

"Alright. We're ready!" The blonde announced.

"Damn it, I wanted to fight a girl. The one with pink hair or the cloaked one would be nice." The masked man complained. "It's so boring against just guys."

"Don't underestimate them, Leno." The bald male said in his gravelly voice.

"I'm telling you they're nothing!" Leno protested.

"Good luck, Ginta!" Snow smiled.

"Leave it to me!" Ginta pretended to roll his sleeves up and marched towards the fighting ground.

"Wait. I'll go first." Alviss stopped him.

"Good luck, Alviss." I nodded my head at the teen.

"Ah." He nodded back and hopped onto the plate.

"Alviss." Ginta stared after him seriously.

"Ginta, I'll show you what a real battle is." Alviss continued his confident gait.

Leno hopped up onto the plate as well, ready to battle.

"Rodokin Family, Leno." Pozun introduced. "Cross Guard, Alviss."

The two teens stared at each other, tension crackling in the air.

The next few minutes were boring to say the least, since Alviss was just toying around with his opponents. A few seconds after that, he ended the fight with just one blow using his ÄRM, the Thirteen Totem Pole. Needless to say, everyone was in awe of his accomplishment – other than me and my two friends since we knew that he was just jerking his opponent's chain – and were cheering wildly at his victory.

Meanwhile, Ginta commented that he had dodged all thirteen poles before so this was nothing while Jack agreed with him. Alviss got mad at that and said that he just wasn't serious on that day.

Ah, the pride of male youth. How adorable.

"You seem amused, Shin." Ren commented.

"I am." I replied shortly as I made my way over to Alviss, along with the others.

"Good job, Alviss." I congratulated him blandly.

"Eh, you could use some more work." Chase snorted as he poked his head out of my cloak.

"You should've just ended him in one blow." Ren agreed as she slid down from my head and poked her head out from my other shoulder.

Alviss only nodded his head calmly and thanked us before turning back and muttering something that I couldn't really hear while my demon friends hissed angrily.

As the team praised Alviss and congratulated him, I noticed Leno's father picking him up.

"I'm sorry, pops." I could hear Leno say.

"Un." His father grunted.

"This feels like when I pissed Günther off by fighting the entire mountain of bandits and won but had rather serious wounds." I sighed to my two furry partners.

"I remember how mad he was." Ren recalled. "But he was too worried about you to care about anything else."

"Yeah. He's pretty scary when he's pissed off." Chase gulped.

"Pano, take care of the rest." The bald man said.

"Leave it to me, pops." The aqua-haired girl replied confidently. "Don't worry, Leno. I'm next. I'll avenge you."

Pano swung her weapon to the side as she glared at us fiercely while their father set Leno in the entrance of the building before emerging out, as stony as he was in the beginning.

"That's a nice family…" I smiled softly and padded quietly over to them.

The two looked immediately on guard the moment I approached.

"What do you want?" Pano snarled. "Come to finish him off?"

"I… I'm here to heal him." I lifted up my hand to show her Asclepius. "This is a Holy ÄRM."

"Psh. Who knows wha-" Pano started but was cut off by her father.

"Leave him be and fight." The built man said, patting her shoulder.

Pano scoffed but hopped up to the plate anyway.

"So who's going to be my opponent?" She demanded.

"Alright! I'll take her on!" Ginta proclaimed excitedly.

"W-W-Wait a minute, Ginta!" Jack all but yelled as he stopped the blonde.

I snorted and shook my head before heading to where Leno was. He was laid down, facing the ceiling of the building. The moment he saw me, he immediately attempted to get up, wincing as he did so.

"I'm here to help." I walked over swiftly and gently pushed propped him up so that I can access his wounds easier and have a clearer view since this place lacked proper lighting.

"W-What do you think you're doing! Don't think that just because you're a girl I won't dare to hit you!" He threatened weakly.

"Keep quiet." I ordered as I took off Asclepius and placed it on Leno's chest. "Holy ÄRM: Asclepius."

A green glow emerged from the bracelet, washing over Leno. As with Gaira's case, the moment the green light touched his wounds, they knitted up immediately.

"There. I hope you feel better." I patted his head.

Just as I was about to leave, I could hear him cough and say something.

"T-Thanks." He mumbled, a mixture of shy and sulky.

"You're welcome." I smiled back, amused by his attitude.


The moment I exited, I saw that Jack had summoned his ÄRM, which was generously called a Battle Scoop when it was just a nice shovel.

Do you know what the best thing was?

It landed on his foot when he summoned it, causing him to shriek in pain.

"He's an idiot alright. Has the brains of a rat." I shook my head, sighing for the umpteenth time.

"Oh lord, we're going to die if he's supposed to be part of the team." Chase shook his head as well, disappointed.

"Well, I guess he can still become our entertainer or something…" Ren mumbled, trying to assuage her fears.

"Weapon ÄRM: Ball Hammer!" Pano yelled, catching Jack right in his stomach.

"Your daughter ain't half-bad." Chase told the bald man. "She's putting Jack on the defensive."

The bald man only grunted as he continued to observe the match.

"How rude." Chase huffed.

"He's just concerned about his family, so shut up." I rolled my eyes at the insulted cat demon.

"Ugh!" I could hear Jack call out in pain, only to see that the Ball Hammer is apparently detachable and had swerved in and hit him from behind.

"Man, he's done." Ren whistled. "Doner than done!"

"I knew this would happen!" Chase snorted. "I mean look at him!"

"So the monkey's done, eh?" Leno commented as he walked out of the den.

"Leno." His father stared at him.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Thanks to the pretty lady over there." The masked teen gave me a flirtatious wink.

"Oh man, he thinks you're a girl!" Chase chortled, whispering into my ear. "And even when you leaned so close to him, he couldn't tell you're a guy!"

Ren was just busy laughing madly while my eye twitched like I was having a seizure or something.

"What?!" Leno demanded.

"Nothing kid, nothing." Chase choked out and attempted to compose himself.

Just as the masked teen wanted to retort, Jack began to stand up, using his shovel as a crutch.

"It's…not…over yet!" Jack panted out, glaring at Pano determinedly.

"He's got guts." Chase admitted grudgingly. "Most would just stay down after that."

I could hear the crowd murmuring about how weak he was and how he couldn't measure up to Alviss. I was honestly getting pretty miffed by that.

I mean, sure, I made fun of Jack… But it didn't have any heat behind it, just some harmless teasing that where the words weren't meant to be taken seriously despite them sounding very cruel. But this? This is just plain discouragement.

"Just shut up and watch." Dorothy ordered them sharply. "He just hasn't shown us what he's got."

This caused the crowd to quieten and hang their heads in shame.

"Pfft. Only have the guts to say that since they aren't the ones fighting." I muttered angrily to myself. "Disgusting humans."

"You're a human too, Shin-chan." Ren patted my cheek with her soft paw.

"Well, sometimes I don't want to be one." I crossed my arms, annoyed. "It's pretty depressing to be the same race as those things."

As I brooded over the nature of humanity, I saw Jack drop some beans onto the plate and slam his shovel down as well.

"Grow! Earth beans!" He yelled out.

The moment he did, a large amount of thick, green vines grew from those tiny seeds and headed towards Pano, who was frozen in shock. The head of the Rodokin family tensed with worry as he saw the vines trap his daughter.

"W-What is this?! No!" She shrieked and thrashed about frantically.

Everyone began to clamour, amazed at Jack's feat of strength.

"Not bad. A little shabby though." Chase commented, bored.

"Now, it's time for your punishment." Jack smirked and began to walk towards the trapped girl.

"What's he planning to do with her, I wonder?" Ren yawned.

Jack walked forwards until he was right in front of Pano. He gave another smirk as he began to climb up until he was face to face with her.

"If he's planning to do that, I'll kill him myself." I snarled angrily, unconsciously activating Tessen. "I'll slice him to ribbons."

"He is a male…" Chase trailed off, most likely trying to rile me up.

"Bastard! Don't touch me!" Pano yelled her head off. "Pervert!"

"Why that monkey! What's he trying to do to my sister?!" Leno looked ready to charge in and mow down Jack.

Meanwhile, the crowd all looked shocked since their view was blocked by Jack so they couldn't tell if Jack really did touch Pano inappropriately.

"Looks like I can get some sliced farmer." I hissed out. "Anyone want some?"

"N-Now, calm down, Shin-chan! Don't do anything rash! You'll tear up the entire area!" Ren panicked, missing the raised eyebrow of Garon. "Chase, help me!"

"Maa, maa… Let it be." Chase waved off her concerns indifferently.

"He was peeping on me when I was bathing when we were in the Training Gate." Dorothy frowned.

"Eh?! So he really did touch her!" Snow shouted out for the entire world to hear.

"WHY THAT NO GOOD…! I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!" Leno roared as he tried to charge to the plate.

"Why am I the one restraining him?" I asked no one in particular as I grabbed hold of his arms and pulled him towards my body.

"Pervert!" Pano screamed again, causing Jack to backpedal hastily.

"I didn't touch her!" He protested.

"Pervert, pervert, pervert!" Pano continued to shriek.

The crowd gave him the stink eye and everyone chanted pervert, team MÄR included.

"I'm not a pervert!" Jack steamed. "I said I didn't touch her and I mean it!"

"Pervert, pervert!" Pano chanted.

At that moment, Jack groaned.

Why?

Because something truly painful happened. The Ball of Pano's Ball Hammer had detached and slammed right into Jack's groin, smack dab in the family jewels.

"Ow." I stated in monotone.

Pano looked shocked as well. Perhaps her ÄRM reacted in accordance to her feelings?

Whatever it was, everyone present was stunned into silence.

The ball rolled off a moment later, sending Jack crashing to the floor along with his shovel. With Jack downed, the vines also loosened their grip on Pano and retreated back to their master.

"Down! Winner, Chess Pieces, Pano!" Pozun declared.

"Wow…" Chase was pretty speechless. "That's gotta hurt."

Ren nodded her head stiffly, too surprised to speak.

"T-That's sis alright…" Leno stuttered in fear before regaining his composure. "Still holding onto me, beautiful? I guess you like me too!"

I quickly let go of the blue-haired male after that, causing him to pout behind his mask, not that I could see it. It's just the feeling I get.

Pano ran back to where we were and gave her father a bear hug.

"I did it, pops!" She giggled happily.

"Un." He grunted back.

"Way to go, sis!" Leno patted her back.

"Leave the rest to me." The tattooed man said and set his daughter down gently.


He walked slowly to the plate, standing there tall and proud as Ginta stepped up as well.

"Regardless, Ginta is the captain. If Ginta loses any fight, then all of you lose." Pozun commented cheerfully. "Captain fight! From the Chess Pieces, Garon! From Cross Guard, Ginta!"

"I'm with MÄR. Don't get it wrong." Ginta told a surprised Pozun.

"Now then, let's start this with a bang!" The blonde boy smirked.

"The final match of the first battle, begin!" Pozun announced.

Basically, the entire fight went like this:

Ginta went on the offense by shifting Babbo to some weird ball thing on his hand and smashing it to Garon's head. He was then promptly backhanded whereby Garon revealed that he has five body hardening ÄRM on one hand while the other has five physical strength enhancing ÄRM.

Ginta then proceeded to change his tactics to use the second form of Babbo, a bubble launcher where the bubbles explode upon contact. Of course, it didn't work on the giant of a man, who only commented that it hurt a little. The bear of a man dashed forward surprisingly nimbly and gave Ginta a harsh punch to his stomach.

Just as Garon was about to leave, Ginta stood up and panted hard, declaring that he's not dead yet. That was when the flow of his magical power changed and many Chess members were staring at him closely. His third form of that was a gigantic stone monster resembling a gargoyle with a gem-like bottom. Looks like he remembered what I taught him about Europe…

Anyway, the guardian ÄRM reared back a fist to hit Garon, who overconfidently took the hit since he thought it was just a regular guardian ÄRM… Oh how wrong he was… Garon was definitely having trouble holding his ground.

"P-Pops!" Pano called out worriedly.

"I won't forgive you." Ginta muttered, his eyes shadowed by his fringe. "You kill people just for entertainment. How could I forgive that?!"

With the last yell of fury, Gargoyle was powered up even further, breaking all of Garon's ÄRM, causing him to gasp in shock. With its great claws, the stone guardian scooped up Garon and slammed him onto the unforgiving stone ground, causing a large cloud of smoke to drift out from the point of impact.

When the stone finally cleared, Garon was seriously injured but forced himself to stand and face the guardian.

"Pops! Give up, pops!" Leno hollered frantically, fearful for his father's life.

"Leno." Pano stopped her brother.

"What?!" He snapped agitatedly.

"Pops ain't strong just because of those ÄRMs." Pano frowned. "When we were small, he saved us from the monster without any ÄRMs equipped."

"You're kidding…" Leno's eye widened.

"It's the truth, Leno…" Pano stated seriously. "He started to equip Nature ÄRMs after that incident in order to protect us."

The two siblings turned to look at their father, who is extremely badass, if I may add.

"Even without an ÄRM, pops can fight monsters." Pano declared.

I sense that I'm missing an important backstory here...

"I-I'm not done yet…" Garon panted out.

"Let's finish this, Gargoyle!" Ginta proclaimed.

The behemoth of a guardian started to move towards the wincing bald man, causing the two siblings and I to stare in horror.

He was a good man. It would be a pity to see him gone…

"Finish!" Ginta punched his fist forward, causing his ÄRM to let out an ear-splitting roar.

The gargoyle reared back once more, ready to punch Garon into oblivion.

"Stop it!"

Just as the punch was about to hit, Pano had ran up and stood in front of the heavily wounded Garon, her eyes welling up with unshed tears, the gigantic fist of the monster barely an inch away from her face.

"Stop, please." Pano begged. "It's fine if pops loses, so spare him!"

"P-Pano…" Garon wheezed out in shock.

"To us… He's our precious pops." She sniffled, ready to cry any moment.

Garon could only utter his daughter's name again, frozen in place. He gave a loud groan and was about to collapse but was supported by Leno.

"L-Leno…" He stared at his son in wonder.

"I get your point." Leno mumbled. "I always wondered why you never gave me a stronger ÄRM, but from now on, I will become stronger by myself and stop relying on ÄRMs so much."

"Leno…" Garon repeated his son's name, well and truly surprised by Leno's words.

"You haven't lost, pops." Leno stared at his father, full of emotions.

Upon seeing this scene, Ginta allowed his surge of magical power to fade away, causing Gargoyle to turn back to Babbo.

Just then, Garon couldn't hold on any longer and was about to collapse. I quickly ran up to the plate and brought out Asclepius. With a single mutter of the bracelet's name, a green glow emerged to heal Garon's extensive wounds.

"Pano. Leno." Garon rumbled.

"It's over." Pano told Pozun, who looked very startled by the turn of events.

"Y-Yes!" The purple imp gaped in shock and declared Ginta to be the winner.

The crowd cheered in happiness, overjoyed by the victory brought by Team MÄR.

"This is the best I can do. If I continue to use Asclepius, he might get magical poisoning from magical power overload since I haven't mastered the use of this ÄRM yet." I grimaced and attached my bracelet back to my wrist.

"You've already done the best you can." Pano's eyes shone brightly with thanks. "Thank you very much, for helping us."

"Thank you. I… I…" Leno faltered.

"Thank you." Garon cut in. "Let's go."

"You're welcome to come to the castle anytime. If anyone bothers you, just tell me and I'll… play with them for a bit." I smiled at the trio while Chase and Ren shuddered in fear.

"We'll take you up on it on a later date." Pano smiled and nudged her brother.

"Y-Yeah! You can come over to our home any time too!" Leno replied nervously.

With that, the family walked off the plate contentedly while I headed over to Ginta.


"That's a nice thing you did." Babbo commented the moment I stopped before them.

"It was nothing. I only did what I could to help anyone." I answered calmly, satisfied with what I had done.

"I don't think most people would do that, since the Chess are the enemy." Babbo stared at me thoughtfully.

"That's because humans only think of themselves, never once sparing a thought for others." My gaze started to sharpen in anger. "They don't think of the other party, if he or she or they had any reasons to resort to doing that. They only care about themselves."

I thought back onto my time on Earth where I was always misunderstood and the gangsters picked on me. Of course, I couldn't let them just beat me up so I always retaliated. Because of that, the adults always thought that I was a problem child and picked on me as well. I hate that world, a world where people were narrow-minded and insensitive to other's plights.

"You're looking scary there, Shino." Nanashi's voice broke me out of my reminiscing.

I realised that everyone had already gathered around us and were looking at me worriedly.

"I'm fine, just that I remembered some unpleasant memories." I shook off my scowl. "Anyway, congratulations, Ginta, and thanks for not killing Garon and stopping just before Gargoyle hit Pano. They're nice people, just people who picked the wrong side."

"Nah, it's no big deal. I could see that they were good people as well." Ginta gave a wide grin and put his hands behind his head.

"Miss Shino, I think that Leno guy likes you." Babbo cut in suddenly with a sly grin.

"What?!" Came the shout from Nanashi. "How dare he think of putting his hands on our Shino!"

"Calm down. It's just some puppy crush he formed on Shin-chan." Chase rolled his eyes. "It'll wear off eventually."

"Yeah. It's not the first time someone had a crush on Shin-chan." Ren snickered. "Oh, I still remember Lupus…"

"Huh..? What's the deal with Lupus..?" I was confused. "He just treats me as a good sibling."

"You blind sod… That poor guy…" Chase shook his head, peals of laughter escaping him. "He blushed when he looked at you for too long, for MÄR's sake."

"He did..?" I cocked my head aside, trying to think of any incident when I saw Lupus do that.

"Oh, Shino…" Belle giggled. "You're pretty popular, huh?"

"You guys got it wrong! I'm sure they just like me as a friend!" I protested.

"Shino, Shino…" Nanashi patted my shoulder. "Guys like nice girls like you."

"Enough already! I'm heading back to the castle!" I grumbled angrily as I walked past the group quickly, trying to get as fast as possible away from laughing people. "Geez…"

"It's the truth!" Ren sang happily. "Oh, I'm so happy that you're popular with the guys!"

"I am a guy, you know?" I deadpanned.

"Shin, you poor soul… She's something very, very horrible. Something that lurks in the dark, waiting to prey on poor unsuspecting males… She's a…" Chase paused dramatically, gulping and shivering in fear as he did so before lowering his voice to a fraction of a whisper. "Yaoi fangirl!"

I almost gasped in horror, just to go along with the mood set. The nekomata patted my cheek with his paw pityingly. "Good luck. She's going to try to match you up with various guys now."

"Oh, lord…" I almost staggered.

"Chase! Don't ruin my fun!" Ren whined. "I want Shin to find a nice man to settle down with. That Alviss seems like a nice guy, if a little too serious."

"Give me a break." I groaned while Chase continued to pat my cheek in an attempt to console me.

And thus, the day ended with a sumptuous feast and the joy of having been victorious over the Chess Pieces.