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Chapter Seven: The Princess

Finally, after walking in silence for an hour… Well actually, the silence was interrupted by me evil cackling every two seconds. I will admit it: I lost my marbles for a while, but I found them! Anyway, after walking in silence for about an hour, Renkotsu broke the silence.

"Big Brother!" he called out, "I see the castle!"

Bankotsu was snapped out of a daze and squinted slightly as the castle came into view. I gasped quietly as I saw the castle. It was huge!

"Wow, that forest was a shortcut; it would've taken forever if we took the regular way!" Jakotsu exclaimed.

"Told ya so," Suikotsu replied smugly.

"Listen men!" Bankotsu noticed the dirty look I was giving him, "and Pandy," he added. "It is important we do a half-decent job here. I know we don't usually take jobs, but the pay this Lord is offering is huge."

"What is the job anyway?" Jakotsu asked. "I sort of spaced out when you were explaining earlier."

"A demon has been attacking this castle and others couldn't defeat it, so the Lord got so desperate he called us in," Bankotsu explained.

When we got to the front gate, the guards warily ushered us in. I guess they weren't too keen on letting a group of mercenaries near their Lord, but I don't really blame them. They led us to a fancy room where the man, whom I presumed was the Lord, was pacing back and forth. Behind him, two handsome, muscular boys, who were about Jakotsu's age, were sitting down: the younger one looked bored while the older boy looked a bit preoccupied. Oh, they were definitely muscular.

'They're probably the Lord's sons,' I thought. Not too much of an observation, but it still was in my mind. Next to the boys was a girl about my age: she was pretty, but her eyes were arrogant, and… well… full of it! Until they landed on Bankotsu, that is. Then she smiled a dazzling smile and tried to act all cute. I tried not to laugh at her failed attempt.

"I'm glad you're finally here. I am Lord Yutaka, thank you, Band of Seven, for helping."

"No prob, where's the demon we have to kill?" Bankotsu asked nonchalantly.

'Bit blunt, aren't we Bankotsu?' I thought to myself.

"His name is Riku; he is a brutal and hideous monster. I need you to protect Natsuki, my daughter, from Riku who plans to kidnap her and make her his bride."

Bankotsu appeared to be deep in thought, which I honestly doubt. Then he spoke: "Mukotsu and Suikotsu will go and kill Riku. Jakotsu, Renkotsu and I will take Natsuki somewhere safe."

"Aaaaaw," Mukotsu whined, "How come Jakotsu gets to protect Natsuki; he doesn't even like girls!"

"Exactly, he won't bother her like you would," Bankotsu retorted.

"I would like my eldest son, Daichi, and second son, Daiki, to come along," Yataka stated.

"Fine," Bankotsu said.

"He just doesn't trust us with his precious daughter," Jakotsu grumbleg.

"Hey, at least Daiki gets to come along. I saw how you were checking him out," I replied with a smirk.

"I'm not the one whose jaw dropped when she saw Daichi," Jakotsu retorted.

"He's hot!" I replied defensively.

"True, true."

"All right, you all better get going," Yutaka said. I stopped poking a bruise that I had somehow acquired and saw the family saying goodbye. Natsuki didn't look too upset to be leaving her father and having a disgusting demon want her to be his wife and all. In fact, she didn't even say goodbye to her father, she just latched onto Bankotsu's arm and made goo-goo eyes at him. It was truly disgusting.

"This should be fun," I grumbled to Jakotsu.

"I know! That girl is throwing herself at Big Brother!"

We left the castle and entered the forest again. This part of the forest wasn't creepy like the part we traveled through earlier, which was great! It was also a lot less dangerous, but we should still be wary of demons, particularly ones that try to snatch Natsuki for Riku. Though, it wouldn't be a BIG loss if we lost her…

Speaking of the Devil, I noticed Natsuki staring at Bankotsu as if he were a god. She noticed me and stuck her tongue out as she buried her head in Bankotsu's chest.

'What is up with this chick?'


Then I secretly started to pray that a demon DID come and take her: One less burden for us.

We had been walking for what felt like an hour and I was extremely bored.

'Where are we GOING?' I thought, feeling extremely frustrated and lonely.

Jakotsu and Daiki really hit it off. It's been an hour, and they're already holding hands! I'm so going to get the details out of Jakotsu later. I would be tempted to try to talk to Bankotsu, since he's the only other member of the Band of Seven I might be able to talk to, but Natsuki was chattering in his ear non-stop and I don't think she'd appreciate it if I interrupted. Every once in a while, she looked back and shot me a glare. I haven't even said a word to her and she already hates me. Maybe I just have vibes emitting from my very soul that scream- BEWARE, ANTI-SOCIAL GIRL WITH VIOLENT TENDENCIES AND ANGER ISSUES!

I definitely can't talk to Renkotsu. He finds me tolerable, but I guess he doesn't find me pyromaniac enough to talk to him. Maybe if I set someone on fire…. The thought of setting somebody aflame had me nervously chuckling to myself. If it had to be anybody, I'd preferably set Mukotsu or Natsuki on fire. Which would probably be the most fun I'd have on this trip.

I tried to think of anyone else I could talk to and my eyes fall on Daichi. I was about to go over and introduce myself when- "I'm TIRED!" Natsuki screeched. Her voice was so high-pitched and popular teenaged-girl like, it made me cringe. Nobody's voice is actually like that! Well, except for this nut-job!

"I need to rest!" she screeched again.

Jakotsu sent me a look and rolled his eyes. I tried very hard to hold back a laugh.

"Alright," Bankotsu announced as he cleared his voice. The group came to a stop. "Let's rest."

There was a big tree next to me and I decided to climb onto a really high branch. From up here I was able to see a river with crystal blue water leading into a magnificent lake.

'Maybe we're heading there,' I thought hopefully taking in the beautiful sight.

I felt the branch slightly as someone else's weight joined mine.

'Maybe it's Bankotsu? Well, I hope not! Because… he's mean and… NO! I don't want Bankotsu up here with me instead of with Natsuki! Right? RIGHT?'

I turned to see who it is, and tried not to let my face fall when I saw it was Daichi.

'Wait… why would I be upset? Daichi's hot'

"Hey Daichi." I said, trying to sound calm and collected.

"Well, it's obvious you know my name. Sad thing is, I haven't had the pleasure of learning yours," Daichi said with a kind smile.

"Huh? Oh! My name is Pandy," I said, returning his smile. His was so genuine, so gentle.

"Such a gorgeous name! Is it foreign though?"

"Yeah…" I answered. I wasn't used to this kind of attention. He looked me in the eyes when he talked to me and he really listened to what I said. It was weird… but nice.

"I'm sorry about my sister: I noticed those looks she kept giving you. She can be so immature. I honestly don't understand her.

"Oh, you don't have to apologize," I told him. "It isn't your fault."

"Yes, I know but-"

I cut him off. "It's fine," I said.

We both smile again, and I scooted closer to him. We talk for a while; he told me about his siblings; I told him about how I wasn't really liked as a child and about Ayaka and Acacia. He's angry when I tell him about how I was bullied and he laughs when I tell him about my grandmother's antics. He actually snorted when I told him about Acacia's obsession for mini tacos. Then he asked what a mini taco was. I, feeling guilty, I up with a lie and told him it was some concoction my grandmothers had made. Then realization hit me so hard that I almost fell off the tree branch. Luckily, for me, Daichi was there to catch me.

"Are you okay?" he asks with a worried expression on his face.

"Oh… my… God…" I whispered in shock.

"Pandy! Snap out of it!" Daichi says, shaking my shoulder slightly, "What's wrong?"

"It's just… I realized that…"

"Pandy!"

"Well, when I came here, it was unexpected. Well… how do I say this?"

'How do I explain everything without giving away my secret and making him think I'm crazy?'

"You said you didn't know you were coming here? As in, you were kidnapped? I didn't think you traveled with the Band of Seven on your own free will but… but…"

"It's alright, they didn't kidnap me. I just meant, well to put it simply and vaguely… I didn't really expect to be sent on a journey; it just happened and I never had time to really tell my family.

"When all of this started…" I stared to say, but stopped as I looked for the words. I was beginning to feel guilty for what I was saying, but I sort of forgot how my family would feel about this. I took a breath, and continued, "My Grandmother's are probably worried about me because I was so irresponsible. I'm so stupid! And as for the Band of Seven, I really didn't have a choice. They said I had to be their servant, but they don't really treat me like one. Jakotsu and I are friends and Mukotsu doesn't really bug me that much…"

"Well you don't have to travel with these… monsters any longer," he said as he spat out the word. " I'll have my father convince them to let you stay at the castle!"

"I'm really flattered that you care so much, but I'm fine with the Band of Seven. Really! I'm starting to think of them as friends…" I said. My mind was still on Ayaka and Acacia.

"It's fine. I'll give you until the end of the Riku scenario to think about it, just in case," Daichi said with a calming smile. "As for your grandmothers… from what you've told me, they're amazing people. I think that deep down, they know you're alright and safe. At the beginning of your journey you weren't worried about them being worried because you knew they would understand. Is all of that clear?" Daichi asked.

"Crystal," I replied with a smile. "Well… sort of."

We both laughed. He was right; my grandmothers would get it. They always did.

"Wow, I've known you for less than a day and I feel like I can tell you anything," I said.

"I feel the same way," Daichi answered, smiling his gorgeous smile.

Slowly we edged closer, our lips mere centimeters apart, I closed my eyes and-

"Yo! Pandy! What are you doing? Get your ass down here; we need to get a move on!"

I was so startled I almost fell out of the tree. Again, Daichi steadied me so I wouldn't fall. My face went red as I realized what we were about to do. We were about to kiss. My first kiss. Wait a second…

'DAMN YOU BANKOTSU, WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, RUINING MY FIRST KISS!'


Thanks to lexiwolf for putting this story on story alert! Thanks Roxie-fearlessstorm for reviewing!

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