Chapter 9

Viola City

Outside In the Streets (Naru's POV)

They ran on. Both him and Mai didn't have a choice. Guards were tailing behind them, attempting to arrest them to be brought to their Majesty. From what Naru assumed, it was Jiasoka. He would have allowed his arrest back in the apartment but he knew he was in no condition to fight Jiasoka. He was tired from the walk and nearly out of energy. If he was wise enough, he would have just remained there to rest. But right now, they were on a chase. Mai, who was tailing behind him wasn't going to last long. He needed to find a hiding place soon.

"How much long do you think you can hold?" Naru asked, looking at Mai briefly before back at the road.

"I don't know. I don't think I can hold up much longer." Mai admitted, her voice sounded exhausted. Naru sighed and stared straight ahead. The young teen thought of hiding places that they can't be discovered easily. He came up with a few but with such a huge cluster of guards, it's silly to assume that the plan to hide would work. Yet, Naru had no choice since the two of them are in a similar condition. He would have to take the risk.

Naru waited for the right opportunity before he ducked into an alleyway, hiding behind a trashcan, dragging Mai with him. The moment they were out of sight, Mai collapsed into his arms, panting in heavily but quietly. Naru allowed himself to be pinned onto the wall, as he heard the sounds of the thundering footsteps from the soldiers rumbling past by. Once the thundering footsteps faded away, he sighed in relief.

Finally...We outrun them without being spotted. Naru thought to himself, both relieved yet tired. He leaned against the wall of the alley, his eyes closed. The soft burden of exhaustion laid upon him, weighing him down like a heavy boulder. He in all honesty really needed some sort of rest. Mai, who had been on top of him and catching her breath was looking at him. Naru looked back at Mai, the worry hidden in the cold, expressionless face. From the look on Mai's face, she seemed flustered and her face flushed from running such a long distance. He stroked her back gently.

"Are you alright?" He murmured quietly. Mai flashed a small smile of reassurance towards him.

"I'm alright. Just tired from all the running." Mai replied, breathlessly. Naru nodded and peered from the trashcan. The street itself was empty, only a few people walking around muttering about the excitement of the soldiers in the chase. Other than that, the streets were quiet and peaceful. Naru turned his head away from the street and leaned back against the wall again. The boy noticed that Mai had shifted her weight out of his arms and leaned against the wall next to him. It made him partly relieved to have the extra weight off his arms yet at the same time sad to have the comfort of Mai out of his range.

"Say Naru." Mai said quietly next to him. Naru turned to look at Mai, his brow raised.

"What is it, Mai?" Naru replied back, in the same quiet tone. He saw her fiddle her fingers what seemed like nervously before answering.

"Do you think...Jiasoka is going to come towards us face to face to fight us off?" Mai asked, the tone of her voice sounded a bit lost, almost distant. Naru turned to stare at the opposite wall of the alleyway.

"I can't say. If his soldiers couldn't succeed in capturing us then yes, he might come towards us and do a head on battle." Naru responded, hint of uncertainly in his voice. From his peripheral vision, he saw Mai nod.

"I-I just have a feeling..." Mai trailed off before she could finish her sentence. Again, Naru turned to look at her fully.

"What is this feeling you have?" Naru questioned, not in his usual tone but in a soft way.

"A feeling that the spirit that is creating this dimensional world has turned on its own master." Mai spoke barely a whisper now, her tone sounding a bit down.

"I guess it sensed that Jiasoka has only did it out of his own greed and not for true love." Naru suggested but Mai turned her head sharply towards him, almost taking him off guard.

"But, Jiasoka's a human! It's just so wrong to kill him in this world when he can change his ways as he is living! It's just not fair!" Mai protested quietly. Naru knew Mai was feeling sad for Jiasoka's life as a human, not him as some crazed guy out to get Mai and for his own greed. He sighed.

"Nothing is ever fair, Mai. It's just how life is. People die when the time is right." Naru replied quietly, trying to reassure her with those words.

"But...!" Mai wanted to protest more but Naru stopped her in doing so by putting his finger on her lips.

"I know, Mai. Jiasoka can change his ways in life if you convince him to but sometimes things are not how they played. Don't be so sentimental towards someone that has hurt you already. Don't you think that would bring victim towards yourself?" Naru coaxed her gently. Mai looked down on the floor, quiet. Naru released his finger from her lips and sighed quietly.

"I just...feel kinda sorry for him. While we were hiding, I suddenly got this vision. I saw him in a world of nothingness, crying in bitter and desperate tears. I got sad and...and felt bad for him. I began to weep along with him, unable to help myself. He looks so lonely, Naru. No one to take care of, no one to turn to. Always trying to bring attention upon himself just to make himself popular. I can feel those emotions inside of him. I..." And Mai broke down into tears, flowing freely down her cheeks. Naru had to pull her into a hug, stroking her back gently.

"What done is done, Mai. We cannot rescue him anymore. All we can do is get married in this world and head back to our world. Just forget about him, okay?" He asked, trying his best to comfort her. Yet, he cannot seem to find the right words to comfort his lover. It's just so hard. He wasn't really the type to become sentimental and comforting towards other people. It's just not him at all. He felt Mai hug him, almost clenching onto him for dear life. Naru responded by hugging her back.

"J-Just promise me one thing..." Mai said through her tears, her voice bubbling while she cried. Naru continued stroking her back gently in comfort, still holding onto the hug.

"What is it?" Naru asked, softly. He didn't want to hurt Mai from deep inside and implicate a wound in her heart. He was determined to make her happy in whatever way possible.

"B-Be with me forever." She finally whispered, quietly and she looked at him straight in the eye, her face stern and determined. Naru was silent at first but then nodded slightly.

"Forever." He promised and to prove that he was saying true, he kissed her gently on the lips. The blush came on Mai's face but she closed her eyes and returned the kiss. Naru held it for a moment longer before releasing it, giving her a soft smile. Mai smiled back, her smile more happier than ever before. Naru was glad to have Mai be happy and gently brushed some of her hair away. He didn't know how long they have been staring because a shadow had befallen them, pulling them away from their love moment and into alert mode. Naru scanned around and soon saw a dark figure hovering over them. He narrowed his eyes.

"It seems like you two both truly love each other. How romantic." Came a voice from the dark figure. Naru held protectively against Mai, glaring at the dark figure.

"Who are you?" Naru asked cautiously. The figure remained in the shadows.

"I'm Volcus, one of the former servants of King Jiasoka." Came the reply.

"Former?" Naru rose a brow. Volcus sighed in contempt.

"I used to work with King Jiasoka in his castle grounds, serving him as one of the High Commanders in the ranks. About a year ago, I began to realize he had began to change, especially his personality. He began to grew more violent, more shakily aggressive towards the servants. Because of that, my sister, Aldora was killed in his hands. I grew quite heart broken and I resigned from my job as High Commander. Now, I am free where I am roaming." Volcus explained his story.

"That's so sad." Mai said quietly, in her sad tone.

"It is and I mourned for my sister's death. I also vow to finish off Jiasoka once and for all." Volcus said, his voice bitter in harsh words. It was then he appeared in from the shadows. Volcus had blue shaggy hair, one side of his hair covering his left eye. The rest lay limp, almost near his shoulders. His body was slightly muscular, and his shoulders a little square on each side. He wore a dark cloak over his entire body and he wore pine green pants and grey boots that went to his knees. Slightly sticking out was his sword. The only top outfit he wore was a dark vest with yellow stripes. The chest was a bit exposed. Naru could tell that he was indeed a fine warrior.

"Why are you really here?" Naru questioned suspiciously. The man heaved a sigh.

"I'm here because I want to shelter the both of you from Jiasoka's forces. There's no knowing what he might do you." Volcus replied, brushing back a strand of hair that dangled on his right eye.

"What if you are here to ambush us?" Naru's eyes narrowed in suspicion, his eyes examining for any sign of suspicion on the man's body language. So far, he found none. Mai touched his shoulder.

"Naru, it's fine. He's telling the truth. I can sense it." Mai reassured him gently. Naru looked over at Mai and then nodded, turning his glaze back at Volcus.

"Lead us to where your hideout is." Naru commanded, almost like he was in charge of things here.

"As I intended to do." Volcus replied and turned and began walking deeper into the alleyway. Naru rose to his feet and pulled Mai up to her own feet before walking after Volcus to his secret hideout.

Dimensional World

Nothingness (Jiasoka's POV)

Are you done babbling yet? The voice of the spirit rang in his head. Jiasoka remained in his position, quiet. He had been crying for 3 hours now and he had just stopped crying, not enough tears to cry his heart out. He was upset. Upset to lose the chance to streak his perfect record of having so many ladies. Now, that dream was over and that made things really sad for him. However, that was just a facade. In his deeper, much darker mind, he was planning a way to get out of the dimensional world of nothingness and to get back at Naru and so he can have his Mai.

The figure of the spirit shimmered into form and he walked toward him, kneeling down next to him."Don't even think about trying to bust your way out of here. There is absolutely no chance for you to get out."

"I'm certain I'll find a way. Even if I have to swallow your damn soul up." Jiasoka sneered. He felt a hard blown kick came from the spirit. Jiasoka whimpered quietly but made no move to curl up or hold his bruised side. He wanted to show how strong he can be. He wanted to toughen up and become a strong man. To also show that nothing will get past him and that he would die if he had to. He was that desperate. Desperate to get what he wanted and what he desired.

"Don't be an idiot. You cannot bust out of here with me in complete control. There is absolutely no way you can do that. You are just being stupid you know." The spirit snarled at him, out of distaste rather than of hatred. Jiasoka glared at him.

"I'll find a way, I'll swear on it." Jiasoka growled and slammed his right fist down onto the nothingless. Much to his surprise, the ground began to shake violently, almost as if it was echoing in his whines and calls. The spirit himself seemed surprised and taken aback.

"What the...!? This isn't supposed to be happening!" The spirit shouted, almost in a frantic manner. Jiasoka grinned as he felt himself began to boot up in power, like he was gaining the spirit's power.

"Perfect. I can do what I want now." Jiasoka snickered as he saw the spirit began to fade away. At this point, this is all what he wanted. He wanted to get all of them to himself. It was just perfect. Absolutely perfect. He began to laugh evilly, and the realm of nothingness seemed to follow along with his trend.

"Grrr...Damn you...!" The spirit said before it completely vanished and gone. Jiasoka laughed evilly more, enjoying this.

You see, Kazuya? I can be a whole lot better than you. Jiasoka thought, snickering as he vanished from the world of nothingness.

Reality World

Shibuya Psychic Research

1:00pm (Lin's POV)

It had been two days since Mai and Naru had disappeared into the dimensional world. Lin had began to worry about the lengthy time that they were gone. For that, the assistant had to work twice as hard into Naru's reports and try to get them done, sending back to England, via email. Plus, he had to switch around both accounts in order to not arose suspicion. That was tiring for him and caused him to not have good rest for the past two days. He heaved an annoyed sigh and looked at the time. 1:00pm in the afternoon. He shook his head and resumed working on his work again, typing away on his reports. Just then, he heard the doorbell rang followed by the door opening. He pushed his chair out from the computer reluctantly and spun the chair around to face his office door. He got up and walked towards the door, keeping a bit on the cautious side when he approached the main room.

"Oh hey Lin. Naru around?" Monk appeared in the main room, seeing as how he walked down the hallway and towards the main room. Lin's face somehow remained neutral.

"Unfortunately, he and Mai are out at the moment." Lin replied, his tone monotone. Monk scratched the back of his head.

"Huh. Looks like I came at a bad time." Monk blinked.

"Do you need something from him?" Lin inquired, his head slightly tilted to one side.

"Nah. Just want to drop in and hang out is all. No biggie." The yellow-haired man responded, shrugging his shoulders."Since Mai and Naru are out, I guess I'll just leave then." Lin simply nodded and headed back to his office when he heard another bell. Lin turned around and blinked.

So they came back at last. The assistant thought. Naru and Mai had walked right in, hand in hand. When they saw Monk, their hands let go immediately. Lin would have chuckled quietly if Naru or Mai wasn't around. Still, he kept a neutral expression despite the bubbling laughter slowly rising up inside of him. It was just simply humorous.

"Looks like the love couple came back, eh?" Monk teased. Mai blushed a bright red while Naru let out a 'hmph' and turned his head away.

"Why are you here, Takigawa?" Naru asked curtly.

"Just droppin' in is all." Monk replied, using his right hand to scratch the back of his head."So what are you and Mai up to anyway? Out for another date maybe?"

"None of your business." Came the reply of the thick-headed boy. Lin sighed. His head is so uptight that's it's near impossible to not let it pass by. Typical.

"Actually, it's a long story but I doubt Naru would want to spill the beans." Mai responded and let out a soft giggle. Naru shot a glare at Mai.

"Oh. I guess I won't know it then. Big deal." Monk shrugged his shoulders. Naru went to head towards his room. Lin wanted to know what was going on during the past few days so he followed after the young teenager. Once he arrived in the front door of the boy's office, he waited for him to settle in. Once he made sure that he settled in, he spoke.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"It's not worth holding it back from you." Naru responded with a sigh. Lin listened at Naru explained what was happening in the other dimensional world. The time before they left they had felt something changing in the dimensional world, like another person was taking control of the dimensional world. They were lucky to get out of it, since they didn't want to stay there any longer. Plus, the wedding marriage in the dimensional world was not necessary. Just a simple kiss was good enough. Once the boy had finished explaining the happenings, Lin nodded.

"I'm just glad you are back here safe and sound with Mai." The assistant said.

"I'm glad that the Jiasoka guy is no longer around." Naru retorted."He was a troublemaker and a complete idiot."

"Right." Lin then left the boy alone and headed towards his own office. Just when he took a step into his office, he heard the door of the office open, the bell ringing of another costumer.

Who might that be? Find out in the next chapter...


Dear Readers,

Finished this chapter! Gosh, I'm really glad I still had time to finish this! Although, I take too long to try to finish one. Oh well. I'm still glad that you guys are always supporting me and making my writing time here really enjoyable. I really do appreciate it. Well, see you all in the next chapter!

Update soon!

Icestar123