Akira spurs Arsene into a gallop for the entirety of the trip to Bank, turning a normally six day journey into two. They reach the gates of the rich city where Akira and Morgana dismount from the stallion. After a quick question from a passing bounty hunter; the pair made fast tracks towards the entrance of the underground tunnels. Crystal incased lightning orbs lit the way as the hunters descended into the subterranean market. The hidden marketplace was noisy and crowded as the pair reaches the last set of stairs. The underground tunnels are surprisingly well kept despite the heavy amount of foot traffic. A small river cuts the marketplace in half, the riverbed is littered with crystal covered fire orbs and lighting orbs.

Akira leaned against the wall, holding his bleeding side as gray eyes quickly switching from stall to stall in search of some sort of clue to the fighting ring. Morgana climbs up the brick wall, claws latching on tightly as he searches the crowd.

"See anything?"

"No. This place is-"

"Are you two looking from something?"

Both of them snap their heads towards the voice. A long hooded robed figure stares at both of them, yellow eyes gleaming from under the hood. Morgana mutters something about unease as Akira responds.

"We're looking for a werewolf fighting ring."

Yellow eyes narrow. "Spectators?"

"Rescuing someone I love."

The figure jerks its head towards the very far end of the tunnel. "May whatever god you believe in have mercy on your lovers' soul. I hope they're not the one on the ring."

With that, the figure leaves just as Akira and Morgana take off in that direction. They push through the crown and ignore the insults that are hurled at them. They reach the outside of the stone walled fighting ring and Akira pushes open the heavy metal doors. He is greeted by the sounds of defeating cheers and the smell of blood as Morgana joins his side. A caged wall encases the arena as men and woman of various species lean or hold onto the bars, yelling wildly as a fight from inside the cage goes on. Akira can't see through the massive crowd gathered around the ground floor.

"Akira!"

Akira looks over to see Morgana waving at him from the stair case nearby. The hunter quickly follows, practically leaping up the stairs with haste. The upper floor is less of a mess and less crowded as elevated stands are set against the wall. Kaneshiro watches from his spot in the center of the stands, guards placed on either side of him. Akira glares at him while he clutches his blood soaked side and takes a few deep breaths. Morgana moves past him and peers over the side of the railing. Akira joins after a few moments and his eyes grow wide as a larger white wolf throws Ryuji into the blood soaked caged wall. The white wolf's muzzle is covered in blood and it advances towards the unmoving black canine. Deep wounds litter the werewolf's black pelt as Ryuji's eyes stare blankly at his attacker, making no move to get up.

"Why isn't he getting up?" Akira's voice is nearly drowned out by the yelling.

Morgana responds, pressing close against the hunter as he speaks. "Last time he saw you, you were bleeding and he was being dragged away." Blue eyes move from the dark haired hunter back towards the ring. "He probably thinks you're dead."

Akira feels his heart sink as Ryuji is grabbed by his bad leg and is dragged across the ground. The white wolf heaves him up and slams him into the ground.

"Ryuji!" Akira yells out, hoping to gain the black werewolf's attention. "Ryuji!"

Brown eyes blink before moving over to where he heard his name. They widen upon spotting the hunters and he struggles out from under the larger wolf.

"Oh, now he fights back." Akira can hear the calm voice of Kaneshiro above the noise. "He was practically dead for three days. Maybe now we can get a proper slaughter and move onto the other fights."

Akira glares heavily at the king as Ryuji gets to his paws, struggling to stand up under the weight of his wounds. The white lycanthrope rushes forward and Ryuji quickly moves, but soon falls to the ground as he lands wrong on his bad leg. The white wolf doesn't hesitate and clamps its jaws over the black werewolf's neck in a vice grip. Brown eyes go wide just as the wolf tears a chunk out of Ryuji's throat. The crown cheers louder, drowning out Akira and Morgana's yelling. The hunter jumps down, lands in the ring, and rushes at the larger canine. Akira pulls out his daggers and sinks them into the white wolf's back as he jumps on them.

The lycanthropes howls out in pain and drops Ryuji's body in favor of trying to shake Akira off. The hunter ignores the cheers and excited yelling as he tightens his grip. Ryuji's breathing heavy, watching them fight from his spot on the ground. The white wolf bucks Akira off, sending him to the ground, and shakes the daggers out of his pelt before jumps the fallen hunter. Akira brings up his arms to block the attack, swallowing down a scream as the wolf's teeth sink into his forearms. The white werewolf increases the pressure, trying to break the hunter's arms as chants ripple through the air. Akira's eyes flick upwards, trying to find Morgana through the crowd only to find the werecat missing.

Akira can feel his arms breaking under the increase pressure and he feels helpless. Ryuji's dying and the hunter is about to join him, both dying or soon to the larger alpha above him. Suddenly, a black blur lands on the white wolf's back and rears the larger canine back off of the hunter. Akira watches as Ryuji digs his teeth and claws into the white lycanthrope's neck and snaps the canine's neck, killing it. The werewolf falls bonelessly to the ground and Ryuji lands on his back, transforming back into his human form just as Akira rushes over to him. The hunter takes off his trench coat and presses it against Ryuji's neck as the crowd boos. Akira glares at the spectators, seeing how none of them call for a cleric.

Kaneshiro leans over the railing from above, eyes narrowing as gray eyes lock onto the king. He opens his mouth to speak just as a trio of werewolves jumps the ruler. The crowd stares in horror as the canines start tearing Kaneshiro apart, filling the air with yells coming from the king. The crowd starts panicking as more werewolves pour out from all over, each of them jumping the closest person to them. The air fills with screams of pains as Morgana jumps down from the railing and rushes over to Akira and Ryuji. The blond quietly places his hand on top of Akira's, slowly gripping the blood covered hand.

"S…"

"Save your breath, Ryuji, please." Akira pleads.

The blond tries again. "S…af….e."

"What is he-"

"Safe. He's asking if I'm safe." Akira increases the pressure as more blood gets soaked into the dark fabric. "I'm safe. You killed them."

Ryuji lets out a choking laugh, causing him to cough up blood and having it trickle from his mouth. His grip on Akira's hand goes slack before falling to the side, his eyes closing just as the hand hits the ground.

Akira feels the world end as he stares down at the blond. "Ryuji? Ryuji! Ryuji, please! Open your eyes!" The hunter places his forehead against the body. "Please…"

Akira feels tears fall and the surrounding noise becomes static in his mind. He misses Morgana digging into his pack for something until he feels the instant effects of a teleport orb. Suddenly, the dirty blood covered ground morphs into the glass floor of Pyramid's throne room.

"Akira!? Morgana!? Why are you-"

"Ryuji?!"

"Someone get a cleric, quickly!"

"Move!"

Evening desert air harshly whipped Akira in the face as he and Morgana chased a manticore down the street and into the marketplace, people looked towards the voice before quickly moving out of their path.

"Why do they have to run?" Morgana whines as he jumps over a thrown box of multicolored fabric.

Akira can't help but agree with the werecat as he ducks under another thrown box. The manticore runs further ahead and the dark haired hunter fears that they'll lose the beast until he spots Arsene and a hooded figure walking up the street. The figure was juggling an apple, eyes covered by their hood as they walked alongside the hell horse. Akira can't hide the smile that shows on his face.

"Hey!" Morgana yells out, apparently he's noticed the figure as well. "Get Titanomachia!"

The manticore looks back at the hunters, missing the figure wigging an arm out from its pocket after giving the remainder of the apple to Arsene. Titanomachia lets out a surprise sound as the figure grabs it by its neck and slams it down onto the sandy street, causing dust to fly up into the air. Akira and Morgana catch up as the figure throws off its hood. Morgana takes Titanomachia as Akira helps up the person up after they shake the sand from their gray sailor pants.

Akira smiles and nudges the person. "Not so bad for your first catch, Ryuji."

Ryuji looks at him and rubs at the back of his neck, jostling the ruby anchor pendent and shading the mangled mess of scars on his neck. Akira chuckles and pulls the blond close, he moves in for a kiss only to have hands cover his mouth.

"Dude." Ryuji mildly growls, face turning slightly red as his eyes shift away. "We're in public."

"And?" Comes Akira's muffled response.

Nearby, a group of women spot them and giggle at Akira's attempt at kissing the blond.

"Seems the prince has flustered his love once again."

"Lucky. He gets to have Prince Akira's undying love."

Ryuji's face gets darker as Akira lets loose a laugh, burying his face in the warm shoulder before him. They walk back to the castle with Arsene following them; Morgana catches up with them as they pass by the bounty hunter tavern. Night falls as they enter the palace and Arsene departs for the stable while Morgana walks towards the garden. The pair makes their way into the palace, passing Ann and Futaba on their way to Akira's room. The women make kissing noises at the men, causing Ryuji's face to redden and snap at them while Akira gives a smile and pulls the werewolf closer to him. The blond mutters under his breath as the hunter bides the ladies goodnight. Akira opens the door to his bed room and Ryuji strolls in, setting his weapon besides Yusuke's katana, Akechi's saber, and Mishima's lance.

Akira turns on the lights, casting the room in a warm glow and sets his weapons next to the others. The off white of the walls is barely visible under the amount of paintings hanging on the wall. On one side of the massive bedroom sits an easel near one of the windows, paints and brushes put up neatly in the cupboard under the windowsill. On the other side, a trio of large bookcases is pressed up against the wall. Besides the cases, a mahogany desk sits, facing them with papers scattered across the smooth and polished surface. On the floor in front of the fireplace, lay tools and other helpful looking knick knacks with a polishing and sharpening stone sitting among them. An extra-large bed sits on a mahogany bed frame that's pressed up against the back wall, on the mattress lay white sheets and a dark brown comforter.

At the foot of the bed, an equally extra-large mahogany dresser stood against the edge of the footboard. Above the bed, the bones of a Harlen Dragon Quake and a picture attached to it were mounted on the wall. In the center of the room, a polished mahogany table sits between pair of dark colored couches. Ryuji walks over to one of the curtained widows and unlocks the doors; he opens balcony doors causing the room to be filled with the cold air. He steps out and leans against the railing; Akira follows him and stands beside him. Together, they look up towards the beautiful night sky above.

The normally dark sky is filled with stars of varying sizes and brightness; there are long streaks of blue and splashes of white among them. Ryuji leans on Akira, who wraps an arm around him in response.

"Hey."

"Hm?"

"I didn't get my kiss from earlier."

Ryuji moves away and levels the fluffy haired hunter with a soft glare, Akira just smiles and points at his lips. The blond sighs before giving the prince a kiss, said prince wraps his arms around the werewolf's waist and brings him closer to deepen the kiss. In the end, despite everything the pair had faced, Akira was glad he met Ryuji.