Please give a round of applause for Ms. Sakura Moon! My awesome editor!

She went over all my chapters including the new ones. Now thanks to her, there will be fewer mistakes to be stumbled over. She also forced me to reread Achromatic Colors XD. Thanks to her, I finished ch 7. (She also added several details, so please give her a round of applause!)

Achromatic Colors

VII. Misconception

It was morning. The sun was shining magnificently as always. Different species of birds in heaven sang their morning sonnets as they fluttered across the sky. The leaves rustled while their roots thrust deep into the snow-white fluffy clouds. Streams of water tickled against the cloud-made riverbank.

Sakuno ran through the peaceful scenery; her breath slightly hitched, and her two pigtails flopped behind her. The letter her grandmother had bid her to deliver was still somewhere deep in her bag. A rushing flow of guilt gushed through her; an entire day had passed by and she had not already delivered the message. Good thing her grandmother told her it wasn't needed to be delivered in a hurry. But, what if she couldn't find Ryoma-kun again? Oh how she wished she had the Sight instead of the Healing. That way she would never ever be lost ever again; and she will be able to find people so much easier.

The land she was running across belonged to Ryoma-kun. Technically, she was not allowed on this land because Ryoma-kun had never given her permission to. However, according to the boy's fan club data, the probability of him sleeping in his woods under the land's largest tree – his favorite spot – is the highest at this time of the day. Sometimes it pays to have an honorary member of the Prince's Fan Club as a best friend. Originally, Tomoka-chan was going to come with her too, but her parents forced her to take care of her two younger twin baby brothers. Deep inside her soul, Sakuno felt as if she was cheating on her friend.

Just as Sakuno was suspecting she was lost again, she spotted Ryoma sound asleep underneath the usual tree. Happiness and a sense of accomplishment filled her mind, body, and soul. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and took the envelope out of her bag.

Slowly she went closer and watched him for a few minutes, cautious in her movements so that he does not wake up. 'He looked so peaceful,' she sighed, hands tightening around the envelope. She snapped out of her daze and clutched the envelope tightly to her chest. Sakuno hesitated. Her heart fluttered slightly out of nervousness. Cautiously, she extended her free hand to shake him awake.

"…Karupin," The boy muttered abruptly. There was a lovingly tone when he said that name.

Sakuno's hand froze. Everything stopped. The bird's songs, the clouds, the river…everything. Her heart sank. She quickly jumped to her feet and gasped in horror. The rumors were true! Ryoma-kun has a sweetheart! Large droplets of tears began swarming out of her eyes. She quickly covered her mouth to muffle the uncontrollable sobs. She fled, sobbing, running, and forgetting all about the important letter still clutched tightly her hand… in the complete opposite direction of the exit.

Ryoma shifted to the side. Not knowing a thing.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Flashback

A short haired brunet was seen pacing around the prince's private quarters. Amber colored eyes scanned for signs of the First Prince. He is the second prince, second in line to the throne (officially third after Yumiko, since Lucifer's death has not been made public), Fuji Yuuta.

He came back from training in the Impossible Maze. Although he does not possess the Sight like his siblings – or share their eye color -, he has no problem navigating the maze because of his bloodline. Because of the maze's many strenuous monsters, it was a perfect place to train—that is the only reason why he was there in the first place. The scar on his right forehead signifies the victory over a giant Cyclopes in one of his most perilous battles. He refused to let the scar be healed. For many years, he has trained there in hopes that one day he may become victorious over his brother, and to be finally acknowledged as an individual by the people of the realm.

Yuuta came back to challenge his brother on a duel and to ask Syuusuke to battle him seriously this time. Instead, he found the castle in a frenzy, searching for his brother – again. He sighed and decided to wait for Syuusuke in front of his chambers. But that was at least seven hours ago and Yuuta's patience is running thin.

Just as he was about to leave and try to find Syuusuke another day, Yuuta's sharp ears heard his brother's soft footsteps approaching.

Yuuta braced himself for his aniki's overly loving embrace and greeting, but it never came. Odd. Usually Syuusuke would have been able to sense him way before he even notices and loves to surprise him when he least expects it.

His demon eyes were able to see his brother strolling closer, despite the long distance and the little light available. Syuusuke had the usual eerie smile, in Yuuta's opinion, plastered on his face. But there was something a bit different about him. He seemed a bit more… cheerful. More so then he had ever seen since a long time ago. Syuusuke appears not to notice him yet- and that was the strangest thing of all.

"Ni-san, where were you today?" A slightly tone of anxiety showed in his voce as he yelled to Syuusuke across the long hallway. "Is everything alright?"

"Ahh! Yuuta!" Syuusuke opened his eyes in surprise. He was right, his brother didn't notice him. And the glowing sapphire eyes are freaking him out – he'll never get use to those even if he is his aniki. "I'm glad you're back with us again!" Syuusuke managed to embrace his brother in less than a second.

"Arck, Aniki! Let go!" Yuuta yelled in alarm. He mentally hit himself for underestimating his brother's speed. He could already declare himself the loser at this point, but his attention wasn't on that.

There was something... slightly off about Ni-san. He seemed a slight bit livelier than usual. It's not something anyone can know by just looking at him due to his secretive nature, but once people get to know him, they can sort of sense the difference.

Yuuta doesn't want to admit it, but he really cares about his brother. At the bottom of his heart, he knows that his brother is much stronger than he is.

He pitied whatever caught his brother's interest. From his own experience with his brother, he knows they will need it. But before that…

"Aniki… will you please let me breathe now?"

/Flashback

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Four of the realm's greatest angels could be seen talking amongst themselves outside the practice courts. Actually, only three of them did the talking, since the only archangel there, Tezuka, was a man of few words.

"Where do you think Echizen's been off to do?" Oishi muttered worriedly. His brows furrowed together as he began to think of different scenarios of what could happen to the youngest archangel, each one getting worse.

"He's off to Earth every day. We know that much." Momoshiro replied. Though he has yet to gain the opportunity to enter Yukimura's study, there is no doubt that Momoshiro is among the best.

"If Yukimura is not commanding us to do anything about it, then I speculate that we can leave him alone." Inui said.

Their talks were interrupted by the sound of sobs. They noticed Ryuuzaki's granddaughter was crying and Tomoka was trying to comfort her best friend.

Worried that something must be wrong, they approached the duo. "Osakada-san, what happened?" Oishi asked. His mother hen mode now turned on all the way. He squatted down so he could look at the girls on the same eye level.

"Umm, I just met her here you see," Tomoka replied nervously, hands still rubbing Sakuno's back in hopes to relieve some stress off her. "I haven't managed to get anything out of her yet."

The sobs ceased a little bit. "I-I went to deliver a message to Ryoma-kun…," Sakuno gathered enough courage to mutter in between sobs. She tried to stop weeping in the presence of the great angels. "It was from my grandmother."

"And what happened?" Momoshiro asked kindly.

"Ryoma-kun… he was asleep w-when I found him."

"Go on."

"H-he mumbled something in his sleep…," Everyone nodded encouragingly. This could shine some light to the mystery. "He said…," she paused again to let out a sob, building more suspense. "…Karupin."

Silence engulfed the group for several minutes only to be broken by Sakuno's occasional sobs.

Oishi finally broke the silence, confusion written all over his face. "…And?"

"What's wrong with that?" Momoshiro added, scratching his head. He honestly don't see the significance of this 'Karupin'.

Inui spoke up. "I see, so Echizen has a girlfriend." His glasses tinted at the new revelation.

"EHHHHHHHHHHH!?" Tomoka, Momoshiro, and Oishi yelled.

"Not possible! Not Ryoma-sama!" Tomaka wailed. She was about to start crying herself.

"Well, from Ryuuzaki-san's reaction, I would presume this 'Karupin' is the name of Echizen's girlfriend." Inui quickly added. "But if the name is all she heard, then it could signify anything from a place, a person, an animal." Everyone stared at Inui in awe. "But of course, if he mumbles it in his sleep, than it must have some personal significance to him."

"So could this 'Karupin' might be Echizen's girlfriend?" Momoshiro inquired.

"There is still a low possibility." Inui noted, hands twitching to grab his notebook and to write this 'newfound' data down.

"Momoshiro," Tezuka finally spoke up in a commanding voice.

"Hai!" He instantly straightened. Tezuka is his boss after all. Momoshiro, despite not looking it, is one of the majors in Team Seishun.

Tezuka massaged his forehead. "As much as I hate to say this, tail Echizen the next time he goes to Earth."

"Tezuka, that's-" Oishi started to complain, but the archangel cut him off with his piercing gaze.

"Oishi, it's better if we know what Echizen is caught up on. If it's something dangerous, we need to stop him before it is too late."

"Why me?" Momoshiro interrupted.

"You are rather close to Echizen. If he manages to find you, you might come up with some sort of an excuse." Inui answered instead. "Plus, you are a Sight user are you not? Your Sight is best used for tracking. In fact, you specialize in recon."

"R-right" He blushed. He hadn't done a proper investigation ever since he took the position as a major – and that was at least two centuries ago. To his dismay, he has been stuck behind a desk doing measly tasks for so long that he almost forgot his field. He blames the peaceful times.

"Report to my office tomorrow. I expect results." Tezuka commanded.

"Yes sir!" Momoshiro replied. That was a direct order from his commander. No one disobeys an archangel whether or not they are their superiors – except… well, call him ageist but Momoshiro usually make Echizen an exception.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was already past noon when Ryoma sleepily rubbed his eyes. He stifled a yawn as he dragged himself off the clouds. Today was the supposed 'meeting' with the what's-his-name creepy smiling devil but there is no way he is going. He stifled another yawn.

The only thing he regrets about today is not seeing Karupin. She may be worried about him. She should be fine – she was a wild cat after all.

But this could be an opportunity to get some much needed training down. Ryoma's been neglecting his work out ever since he took ownership of the cat. He needs to train a bit before it gets out of touch.

Published: 05/06/08