Yes! I've been looking forward to writing this chapter! Hehe...please enjoy!

"Is this...the ocean?" I exclaimed, holding my hands up in the air.

Approximately two weeks had passed since our escape from the Headquarters.

Iki rolled his eyes in irritation (he's been doing that a lot lately; I noticed). He retorted, "This is a stream. Not an ocean. The sea is much greater, much more expansive than this." Iki pointed at the water flow in front of us.

I shrugged. "At least we found a water source. We might be able to find a place near where we can spend the night. Furthermore, we might be able to catch some fish in this...stream." I wrinkled my nose.

When we first set off into the unknown, Iki and I were forgetting about the most essential necessities of life: food and water. We'd managed to get by by living off of berries and plants, but it was never enough to satiate our hunger completely. "Maybe we'll even get enough to have a full course meal if we're providential."

Iki crossed his arms together. "Don't try to switch over the topic! That 'question' was even more senseless than the Indigo Ocean comment." Iki smirked.

I turned my body around to glower at Iki. "Can you please abstain yourself from being so frank with your words?"

"I'm merely iterating the truth."

As I was about to smack Iki on the forehead, a sound behind me caused me to turn my face towards it. I frowned. Nothing was there. "Didn't you hear something?"

"Your poorly devised pretexts?" Iki questioned, perfectly serious.

I turned my head towards Iki once more. "Isn't it normal not to know what an ocean is? At least, for a girl like me? I've been living under strict supervision up until now, you know. I barely had the liberty to go visit my friends!"

Iki grew silent. He averted his eyes from mine. I bit my lip. Scratching my head, I inserted, "I'm not blaming you or an-"

Iki interrupted, "I'll take you someday."

"What?"

"The ocean. I've only been there once myself, but it's beautiful. I want you to see it, too." Iki continued to stare at the ground. For a while, we soaked ourselves in the silence that penetrated our surroundings.

"I'm still hungry," Iki complained, slowly rubbing his stomach with his palms.

I rolled my eyes. "I told you I was sorry."

Iki continued on, "I should've never trusted you with the cooking."

I blew my bangs away with my breath, stood up, and announced, "Alright, alright! I admit it! I burnt eleven of the twelve fishes you caught for us and spilled half of the water you carried up to the cave on the floor!"

"And?"

My arms akimbo, I went on, "I also apologize for avidly gobbling up half of the fish while you were washing yourself in the stream."

Iki nodded his head in satisfaction. "Apology accepted."

Fuming, I commented, "Such a fastidious kid."

"What did you say?" Iki turned around.

"Nothing. Let's sleep." I crept up to the fire and closed my eyes. Sensing movement above me, I opened my eyes once again. Iki loomed over me. I jumped up with a start. "What are you doing? You scared the daylights out of me!"

Iki stared into my eyes. "I'm not a kid." I looked straight back into his eyes. I could feel my heart thumping against my chest; wanting to burst out...wanting to...

I averted my eyes and pushed Iki away. "It's late. I'm sleeping."

It took me a while to fall asleep and lose consciousness.

"Iki, hurry up!" I called from the other side of the river.

Iki bit his thumb and engraved his eyes onto the stone steps as if to assess the rock's features. He remained unresponsive.

"If we don't quicken our pace, we won't be able to get out of this forest by today!" I urged once more, crossing my arms together in a heap.

Iki refused to say anything in return. He merely stared intently at the water. I frowned. Was the clamor of the stream too loud for him to hear my voice? I cocked my head. Or, by chance, was he...?

"Iki, are you, perhaps, scared of the water?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow in the air. He glared back. I smiled knowingly. "Who says I'm scared of it? I was just pondering on which stones I should utilize to make my way to the other side!"

With that, Iki made his first step towards the water.

Now, if I'd known exactly how hydrophobic Iki was, I would've aided him in crossing the river. Nevertheless, I merely perceived Iki's fear of water as a inconvenient propensity; not a genuine fear or dilemma. This ignorance, naturally, caused issues.

As soon as Iki crossed the halfway-point of the stream, a fish, rather small if I say so myself, jumped out of the water. Iki, already quite shaken up, loss his footing and fell directly into the water.

Before I could react to this spontaneous event, a figure pounced out from the bushes on the other side. On closer observation, I realized it was Utau. She jumped into the water and began swimming towards Iki fervidly.

Almost instinctively, I followed after.

My luck, as expected, was not to be relied on. Almost as soon as I saw Utau grab a hold of Iki's collar, a waterfall loomed over the three of us. Somewhere in the corner of my heart, I wished it was all a mirage. What was happening to me was simply a dream. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Before I knew it, I was falling down; my surroundings comprised only of water.

Welcome. You're finally here.

Mom? Is it really you?

Yes. I've been waiting for you. You're almost there. You just have to let go. Let go.

Let go...the words had a nice ring to it... Maybe, mom's right. Stopping the government...is it really worth it? I don't have anything I need to protect...nothing to live for...

"Keep everything a secret. The fact that you saved me from those boys, the way I cried that day at my room, and...what you saw just now. Forget everything. Then, I'll forgive you."

"I'll teach you until dawn to make up for it."

"You...DO YOU THINK I ASSISTED YOU FOR AN ENTIRE NIGHT TO SEE YOU GIVE UP SO EASILY? IF YOU DIE NOW, I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!"

Iki...will I be able to seem him if I died? No, for sure, I won't be able to... I want to see him. Right now.

I burst out of the water; flailing my arms to make it to shore. I uplifted myself onto the dirt; coughing up water. Utau was with Iki further inland. I staggered towards the duo with much endeavor.

"He's not breathing. It's my fault...I should've stayed at the Headquarters until Ikuto arrived... What do I do? What do I do?" Utau cried, not even noticing my appearance. She seemed to be immersed in another world.

I crudely pushed Utau away from Iki. I leaned down and kissed Iki on the lips; supplying him with air. At the same time, I compressed his chest with my hands. I repeated the two motions again and again; desperately anticipating results. Behind me, Utau stayed silent.

Just as I was about to give up on Iki, he coughed and sputtered water on my face. I was never so glad in my life.

Iki jumped up with a start. "Why were you...?" Iki pointed to Utau and looked at me, his cheeks reddening. Instead of giving Iki a proper answer, I hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry," I whispered. Iki stayed motionless, seemingly accepting my embrace. My chest rapidly pounded against his.

"You should be. Daring to do ssssuccch a thing to someone like me." I smiled. Iki will always be Iki.

After what seemed like hours, I let Iki go. A voice interrupted from behind, "Ikuto, I'm sorry! I should never have left you alone. I was following you two from the beginning of your pilgrimage, but I couldn't disclose my presence to you...I was afraid you would never forgive me."

We both turned around to face Utau. On closer observation of her countenance, I could easily tell that she had been well equipped with food and water. Unlike Iki and I, her figure was rather corpulent.

This facet irked me. It caused me to retort, "That's no excuse for abandoning your brother! You...really do have a horrible disposition!" I scowled.

Tears cascaded down Utau's cheeks. If those tears were merely an implement to convince Iki of her innocence, I would've killed Utau then and there. However, the tears that clouded Utau's face were genuine. At least, it seemed so to me.

After catching his breath, Iki intervened, "Why...did you run away?"

Utau wiped her face with her sleeve. "It was because of...my husband." Utau's eyes slightly widened. "We need to stop him! No matter what."

Iki and I glanced at one another. I questioned, "What do you mean?"

Utau glanced at the floor; averting her eyes from our gaze. "Do I have to tell you?"

I grabbed Utau's shirt. "Hiding information from the people you love doesn't benefit them. It will hurt them someday anyway." I pointed my chin towards where Iki lay. He engraved his eyes onto Utau.

Utau stole a glance at Iki. He nodded his head.

"Come to my cave, you two. I'll tell you everything I know."

Short, but hopefully, to the point. Hehe... Next chapter is "The Chapter That Explains The Past And The Reasons"! Haha...I apologize for the weird title. Don't worry. I won't be giving the chapter such a dumb name. Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter! It'll solve all the mysteries in this story + reveal all the relationships between the characters! Thanks for reading, guys! I promise I'll add more Amuto scenes as I go on! *grins* Review! It really helps me write, those reviews! Flames are welcomed! Criticism is appreciated!