Chapter 10

Among Trust

Staying at the hotel was a risk so to ensure the safety of everyone it was decided by a unanimous decision that they would all stay at the palace until the culprits were caught and disposed of properly. In the mean time they were to have guards with them at all times to ensure not only the safety of the princess but also the safety of everyone who was associated with the royal family. Everything seemed to quiet down though as the sun began to fall behind the horizon and to relieve some of her stress from the following day Minami decided that it was time to take a nice bath. After she grabbed her bag that held her herbal mixture he proceeded to the room right down the hall that held a rather large bath, in fact it didn't look like a bathroom at all, more like a spa. There were huge bath tubs that looked like they could hold every single one of them, paintings of vivid landscapes and angelic beings, sinks that lined both sides of the wall, chairs and benches, it looked nothing like a bathroom she had ever seen.

At least she would be alone to soak in the warm water while the guys were down at the east end of the palace taking their bath. As she poured the herbal mixture into the water it brought her back to the previous winter, when she along with a few others of her friend stayed at Ryo's castle for their winter break and how he had joined her in the hot spring.

"Huh, so you're the only one?" she heard as she looked behind her.

Standing right behind her was Tali who only had on a towel that perfectly outlined her figure. Seeing her out of her dress Minami couldn't help but admire her form, she was gorgeous.

"Yes Princess Tali, I was just about to take a bath."

"It's ok, you can just call me Tali. I'm not much for the whole princess title anyway." She said as she threw her towel to the ground and stepped into the tub.

She had everything, the looks, the personality, and the wealth. While she didn't know much about the princess according to Ryo they were good friends back when they were toddlers, but that's all he had told them. In terms of beauty they were both evenly matched, but which one did Ryo like the most.

"Ah, isn't a warm bath so relaxing?" Tali sighed as she stretched her arms.

"Yeah, it's nice." Said Minami as she stepped into the warm water.

Once she had settled into the water she slumped down some until the water barely touched her chin.

"You know you and Ryo seem too really get along. It's kind of strange seeing him like that." Said Tali as she started to scrub her arms with a loofa.

"Hm, why is that?"

"I guess he didn't tell you what he was really like in his childhood. When he was a kid he always use to get bullied due to his, disability with his powers and every time he was insulted he just stood there and took it, even when he was beat up."

"But he defended himself right?"

"Hah, yeah right! When it came to defending himself he was a complete wimp and no matter how much they beat him he always stayed down."

She hadn't known that about him, from what she had heard from him she thought he would have been the same strong willed person, but it turned out he hadn't been.

"So how did he go from wimp to courageous?" she asked as she dumped some water over her head.

"In all honesty I have no clue, I walked out there one day and saw him fighting Make and the others. He was getting his ass kicked badly but when I saw him actually stand up after he was knocked down to the ground I saw he had a smile on his face."

She couldn't imagine how badly he had gotten beat up that day with his limited power, but it also made her curious as to who encouraged him to stand and fight. Could it have been his father, mother, brother, sister, or even Magi, who knew?

"Tali, I'm just wondering. What kind of relationship did you and Ryo have growing up?" she asked.

Tali could tell she was a little nervous to ask from the trembling in her voice, but she knew just how to answer.

"We were just friends, why do you ask?"

"Oh it was nothing, I was just curious. I better get back to my room and change before he does."

That was a relief, she hadn't known if Tali had been having feelings for him or not, but now that she had her answer she could rest at ease. As she walked back down the hall towards her room she could hear the boys talking to each other just a few doors down, it sounded like they were talking about new events for the fight club. While being on vacation was great and all she couldn't wait to return to Yokai Academy and start fighting with Naomi and the others again, they all really posed a challenge to her and she did like fighting with them after all.

Once she opened the door to her room she flipped on the light switch so that she could see the bed and closet. All she needed now was some fresh clothes, but as she let her towel drop to her feet she heard a thud come from behind her. Was there someone in there room? Was it them again? As quick as she could she swung her fist but as soon as her body turned she stopped her attack. It was Ryo with a sandwich in his hand as some crumbs fell from his mouth as she looked up to him from the floor.

"Damn it, warn me next time will you?"

But he didn't answer, instead his gazed seemed fixed on her.

"What?"

Then she remembered, she had been sitting on the floor completely naked. She tried to hold back her scream, but it couldn't be helped. The high pitched scream echoed through the palace as he stood up.

"Wait, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to look!" he pleaded.

But it had been too late, death was upon him just as it had been that very same morning. In a matter of second her mother and father came bursting through the door.

"What's going on in here?!" exclaimed Moka.

He wasn't exactly in the best position, with Minami kneeling only a few feet away from him with her towel pulled up to her body he only backed up as her mother began to approach him with a blood lust look in her eyes.

"Wait a second, I swear it was just a mistake! I'll never do it again, I swear!"

But it had been too late, his back was up against the glass window as she cracked her knuckles.

"What did I tell you would happen if you did anything to my daughter…?"

"But it was an accident…" he struggled to say as she stood in front of him.

The power he could sense inside her was incredible. Even Minami's wasn't even that high. His arms and legs began to shake as his became paralyzed just as she reared her foot back.

"I think it's about time that you know your place!"

With a swift kick to his head followed by another kick to his chest he was sent out the window and into the moat below that surrounded the castle.

"Hmph, he better not think this is over."

Before she could chase after him Tsukune took her shoulder.

"I'll take care of him. Why don't you go talk with her and make sure she's ok."

She wasn't sure, while he was powerful he was usually soft when it came to situations such as this. Normally he just talked with them.

"Alright, but you better get the message through that thick skull of his."

"Oh I will." He said as he walked out the door.

Meanwhile outside on the carnival grounds Ryo had just sat down to think about what had just happened. Not only did he get his ass kicked, but she had left two big bruises on the left side of his face and chest. He was going to be feeling that for quite some time. What had he done to deserve such treatment? He had tried to tell her that it was all an accident but nope, instead she gave him a foot to the head and chest. Ever since they had arrived it seemed as if she had been holding something against him, but what? Oh well, he would figure out later, now all that was on his mind was how much the bruises hurt, the slightest touch sent a shot of pain from his cheek and chest.

"Hurts like hell doesn't it?" he heard from behind him.

When he turned his head he decided that it was best to not plead his case but instead just take whatever punishment was coming his way.

"Go on, I won't fight back." He said as he stood with his arms to his side.

"I'm not here to fight you, I just want to talk." Tsukune said as he sat down on the bench in front of him.

That was strange, he expected her father to be the most furious, but he seemed rather chill about it, but sill he was cautious.

"Look, I didn't mean to see her naked, it just happened so fast and it was such a shock." He said as he sat down.

"I understand, trust me I had similar problems when I was your age. I also have similar bruises too." He said with a smile.

"So you trust me? Just like that?"

"Yep, that about sums it up. Look, you seem like a nice kid and all, but you really need to be more careful when your around our daughter, especially when her mother is in the same building."

"Yeah, I kind of get that now." He replied as he rubbed his cheek.

For her father he seemed to be the exact opposite of her mother, it was kind of strange to imagine how they ended up together.

"You have to understand though that she didn't do what she did to be mean, but instead she was trying to protect her daughter. She's very protective of both of our children."

"But I told her I was sorry and that it wasn't an accident…"

"Hah, yeah that doesn't exactly work on her. She's a very nice woman though, she's rough but she's also very loving. Just think of her as a diamond with a few rough edges."

It was strange to Tsukune, his daughter had never really told him much about his family. All she had said was he had a brother and a sister, a mother and a father. While he didn't want to get to personal he wanted to know more about him and his family.

"So Ryo, what's your family like?" he asked out of the blue.

The question almost caught him off guard, but he didn't have a problem answering it.

"Well I have a mother and a father who are barely home, a tech nerd brother and a perverted sister. Yeah that about sums it up."

"You said your parents were barely home, why is that?" he asked as he kicked his feet up.

"Well their usually out on business with the Mecha Empire and sometimes are out training new recruits of the Elemental Defense so me along with my brother and sister barely see them."

"I see, so what was that like as a child?"

"Well usually I was alone until I met Tali and Magi. My brother and sister would always be out playing with their friends while I would just walk around. Still, there was this one time I remember from when I was nine. I was a complete wimp back then, one that would stay down like a dog when I was knocked back down, but one day when I returned home my father was there waiting for me. I said to me that "When I give up on myself everything I have and will work for, it will all fade away.". From then on I pretty much worked my butt off to become stronger."

"Heh, well I could tell by your little fight yesterday that you seemed rather strong."

"Yeah well years of training will do that to you." He replied with a chuckle.

As they sat out on the bench they could hear the fireworks being fired off up into the night sky.

"Well ready to go back inside?" Tsukune asked.

"Eh, lets just watch for a little longer."

He didn't want to leave just yet, after all it was his fathers festival.