A/N: I know the last chapter was sort of hurried, but now we go onto my favorite part: Aladdin and Alibaba meeting with Dunya, and Alibaba (?) befriending Kougyoku. Sort of. Maybe. Kind of.

Yeah, I'll put in some more Hakumor moments, even if I'm not a big fan of the pair. I can't just exclude those after all, they're part of the main story. And I need for Sinbad and Kougyoku to fight, too. Whether or not Mikado will come is beyond my knowledge. I just go where my muse takes me. One thing's for sure, with Kassim alive, things will definitely change.

Yes, KassKou and Alimor are official pairings. Doesn't mean there won't be one-sided Alikou though. Kougyoku kinda falls for any guy who's nice to her, lol.

Chapter 11 Befriending the princesses (And Hakuryuu is hitting on Morgiana?)


Dunya Musta'sim sat, arms folded, on the bed she'd been placed in since coming here to this wretched country-everyone was so happy that it bothered her. She'd been "cured" of her dark rukh as though it was nothing but a curse. That Sinbad was up to something, she knew a liar when she saw one, and he was no different from how Ithnan-sama had been using her. He was just a smart one with a beautiful face. Those types could often woo any type of female.

Unfortunately for him, Dunya was very smart and couldn't fall for those kinds of lies.

The group of teenagers hadn't been in to see her with the exception of the blue-haired boy, Aladdin, who was very nice and amused her.

The door opened, and she looked up, in time to see a girl with pink hair walk shyly into the room, followed by that Kou Prince. Both of them muttered an apology, before the black-haired one spoke up.

"Are you well? I was concerned that you would be dead." He said.

She could tell-the one before her had suffered much in his short life-if the look in his eyes was of any indication. She nodded, slowly. "You are...the Kou Prince and Princess?"

She hadn't met any of them, but had been informed of them by Ithnan. Judar apparently liked both of them very much. The girl was no one special who'd conquered a dungeon, while the boy was very intelligent.

"Kougyoku, we've paid our respects, now let's go." He said.

The pink-haired princess remained.

"What's wrong, Kougyoku?" He asked her.

"I wanna stay." She muttered.

Confused, the black-haired teen walked out, shutting the door behind them.

It was just her and the naive princess. Great.

The princess fidgeted slightly, looking hesitant to talk until she began: "Um, I heard you fought against my cousin and his friends in the dungeon." His friends. She heard the way the tone shifted.

She must be envious of him, Dunya thought. It seemed like she, too, was an outcast, forgotten and alone, just like Dunya herself.

"Yes, I did. Why weren't you there?" She asked.

She hesitated. "I already have a djinn. I was just wondering...what your story was. Why did you...?" She asked, sitting down.

"Ah, you want to know the same thing everyone wants to know: why I fell. Basically, I had a kingdom like you and a happy life-until everyone died."

The girl gasped.

"How awful. I'm sorry-"

"Save your apologies. It was the country of Magnostadt that did that, not yours." She said gently.

The girl flushed. "Then what happened?" She asked.

"Well, Isaak came back to life and I fell into darkness. I served Ithnan, hoping to get my pride back. What about you? Aren't you tired of always standing in the shadows?" She asked. "I've seen you walk around, you act like you're afraid of doing anything to make yourself stand out."

"My siblings are more remarkable than I can ever hope to be." She said, hanging her head low. "I never introduced myself, I'm-"

"Kougyoku, right? I heard him call you that. What a pretty name. I'm Dunya."

"Pleasure to meet you!" Kougyoku said, bowing.

"There's no need to bow. I'm not a princess anymore." She said softly.

Before they could speak further, the door opened and Aladdin came in, followed by the same blond boy who'd killed her Isaak. Rage boiled inside her. How dare he come in here after what he did!

"You two! What are you doing in here?" She asked.

"It's the rude princess!" Aladdin cried.

"Now, now, Aladdin, get along with the princess. She's an honored guest." Sinbad said, causing Kougyoku to flush.

"Um, Sinbad-sama, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Yes, princess?" He asked.

Dunya noticed the blond cast a suspicious glance in Sinbad's direction before turning back to her, a curious look on his face as he walked toward her.

"Sorry about what happened with your knight." He said lightly.

"You think that's enough? He's dead because of you." She said angrily, tightening her fists.

He blinked in confusion. "I apologized. Is that enough?" He asked tonelessly.

His lack of emotion annoyed her.

"Aladdin, could you leave the room? I have something to tell her." He said, quietly.

Aladdin looked at him in surprise. "But, Alibaba-kun-"

"It won't take long." He said, smiling thinly.

Aladdin nodded warily before walking out, a little upset that he wasn't able to spend time with Miss Dunya.

"What do you want?" She huffed.

"We have a lot in common, Miss Dunya." Alibaba said softly, sitting down on a chair near her.

"I don't think so, you killed Isaak." She snapped.

"He was already dead." He pointed out.

"True, but even so." She growled, "You're in league with that Sinbad, aren't you? You obey everything he says-"

"No, I don't." He said in a quiet, serious tone. She suddenly stopped upon seeing the dark look on his face.

"I don't obey anyone but myself." He said softly, "That's why I'd like to introduce you to someone."

Suddenly, a black ball of light appeared on his shoulder, drifting around lazily, before it spotted her and looked at her.

"Is that...black rukh?" She whispered.

"Yes, it's from inside me." He said, "You see, I'm also fallen like you. And this is Dark. He's a dark djinn who lives inside of me."

"How can a dark djinn live inside someone?" She said in awe, "Is it..."

"Yes, he's sentient. He saved my life. If it weren't for the darkness, I'd be dead." He said softly, as the dark orb disappeared.

"Master was right about you. You are our Dark King. How come the Magi can't sense it?"

"Dark can conceal himself well." Alibaba answered, folding his arms. "You're dying, aren't you? So this is a secret you will carry with you to the grave. But I wanted to tell you...you're not the only one who's lost everything. I lost my parents at a young age and was betrayed by those who I thought cared for me." He said in a quiet, wistful tone.

"Only those who've been through such pain fall, they see the truth of the cruel world they live in. Those out there are blinded by their naivete. Aladdin is kind but he's blinded by the benefits of the darkness." Dunya said, smiling at Alibaba. "I knew when I saw you that you had suffered some form of inner pain."

"How?"

"Your smile always looks strained, your eyes look tired and worn, you have a mature look to you and the way you walk. You're always carefully analyzing everything. Those who have gone through the same things can find those who suffered as they have easily." She explained.

"I see, so I was easy to read, was I?" He said with a laugh. "You're one smart girl."

"You're a talented, cunning boy. Why do you act? Why act so fake?" She said, "You can never be like the rest of them, so why try?"

"I know and understand that. I simply wish to get along with them, to understand them...and to fulfill my own objectives." He said, glancing out the window.

Dunya looked curiously at him. "Why are you trying so hard to win my sympathy? I'm dying."

"No, I'm not looking for pity from you. I wanted to ask you...what does being a Dark Djinn feel like?" He asked, tilting his head in interest.

"I don't know...what does being in your djinn equip feel like?" She asked.

"I guess it's kind of...hot." He muttered.

She laughed slightly, but then the door burst open and Aladdin appeared again.

"Alibaba-kun, I wanna talk to Miss Dunya! Leave!"

"But, Aladdin-"


Aladdin just pushed Alibaba right out of the room and onto the floor. Great.

He got up, shook himself off, and stuck his tongue out at the little brat with his eyelid pulled down and then scurried off with the energy he was known for, eliciting a surprised gasp from a maid nearby. He flashed her a smile and she flushed.

Kida Masaomi charm-works every time. Now to find Morgiana and Hakuryuu.

Sure enough, he went outside...and was immediately greeted by an unpleasant sight. Hakuryuu was up there, talking to Morgiana about something...and he was blushing. Fuck no. No, he wasn't allowing this to happen.

He looked around for something to throw and then picked up a rock and threw it up to where they were, out of sight. The rock hit the side where Hakuryuu was, startling him and causing him to nearly fall over, but Morgiana caught him.

Dammit, he'd been hoping for the little fucker to fall down and maybe injure himself, or at least show his undies. That'll teach him to steal women from Kida Masaomi.

"What was that?" Hakuryuu asked, looking slightly scared.

"I think a rock came flying from somewhere. Did someone throw it up here?" Morgiana asked, picking it up and examining it. It just looked like a regular rock. But it smelled of someone. Alibaba?

No way would Alibaba throw a rock at her or at Hakuryuu-san.

"It was probably just an accident." Hakuryuu admitted, blushing slightly. "Anyway, Lady Morgiana, what I wanted to say is that you're really-"

"I'm really, what?" Morgiana asked, a little flustered by the attention she was receiving.

"You're really powerful. Kind, and strong. I admire that in you."

"You do? As a friend, right?" She said, smiling, "I'm glad we're friends!"

"No, I don't mean just as friends! I-I mean, that I like-"

"OWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!"

A loud, piercing cry broke the confession in two, as Morgiana turned her head, in time to see Aladdin staring in disbelief at Alibaba, who had a huge bump on his head from Aladdin's staff. Apparently, he had run into it.

"Aladdin, that really hurts!" He whined, tears streaming down his face.

"Alibaba-kun, you were running too fast! You always do clumsy things like this and then get hurt! Remember how you destroyed that expensive statue of Mister Sinbad's by running so fast to Mr. Sharrkan you knocked into it?"

"Shush, that was an accident! This really hurts! Owww!" He whined, flailing about.

"It's all right, Alibaba! I'll get Miss Yam to look at you!" Aladdin cried, picking him up.

"N-No, I'm fine! Use your healing!"

"I can't heal you." Aladdin pointed out.

Alibaba's face fell. "Well, I'll go look for something-some plant to heal myself with."

"There should be some healing plants around here somewhere!" Aladdin cried.

"I could find some with Zagan." Hakuryuu muttered, a little suspicious of Alibaba's timing. Could it be that he noticed the two of them and was jealous? Well, he wasn't good enough for Morgiana, in Hakuryuu's opinion. He was a clumsy idiot. He'd probably knock into her and hurt her one day if he wasn't careful.

He paused, thinking over the image of the Alibaba who'd coldly suggested stabbing the villagers to end their suffering and imposing it on the image of the whiny Alibaba, before suddenly becoming confused. Which was the real Alibaba?

Was Alibaba just acting cool in battle, or was that his true face?

Had this whole thing been a ruse he'd been trying to pull on him?

But on the other hand, that wound and his tears looked real enough. Yes, Lord Alibaba was just someone who happened to look cool in battle and was a total idiot in actuality, he decided. There was no way in hell Alibaba was smart enough to hatch a plan like that.

Besides, wasn't he too oblivious to notice women, anyway?

Speaking of women, he glanced around for Kougyoku, only to see her lingering in the flower garden. What was she doing down there, anyway?

Even Ka Koubun wasn't around. She could be in danger.

He turned away, his gaze focused more on the sniveling prince, who had a bandage put on his head by Miss Yamuraiha, who promptly scolded the prince on how to be less rambunctious.

Was it weird that he didn't feel bad for the boy? Perhaps it was because of that disturbing behavior he had witnessed him have in that dungeon. Hakuryuu shuddered, seeing the cold look on Alibaba's face, as he prepared to raise that blade down, inches from the tree-person's chest...could that really be the same person down there, sniveling?

Either he was a talented actor, or else there were multiple personas to the boy known as Alibaba Saluja. The boy he'd initially dismissed as little more than an idiot had more to him than met the eye. And Hakuryuu wanted to know if his initial suspicions about him were correct.


Grumpily, Alibaba trudged around the gardens, looking for something to do. He was irritated at having to be told off by that annoying water woman. He found her to be the most annoying of all of them, mainly because of the water part. But there were other parts, too, that were just as annoying about her: her incessant doting on Aladdin, the way in which everyone acted like he was a total fucking idiot...he knew he was acting like an idiot, but it still pissed him off.

He slammed his fist into the ground in frustration...before a noise caught his attention. Planting himself behind a set of bushes, he could spy a figure busy in the flower garden. It was that princess...that royal brat. She was totally distracted and unaware of what was around her. She was smelling flowers...what the fuck? Was she getting high off of them? He didn't want to know what was in those flowers, to be completely honest.

Even so, he might as well scare her. Scaring people was funny. He liked doing that.

He was very mischievous, after all, and he had to fulfill his boredom somehow.

Quietly, he prepared to sneak up on her.

One...

Two...

She was so distracted, she would never see this coming.

Three...

And off he leapt, into the air, stomping right on the flowers she was trying to pick, causing her to let out a shriek and jerk her hand away from where he might have stomped on it. Aw, man. He wanted to see her break a nail, she was that annoying.

"H-Hey, don't do that! You scared me!" She yelped, then her face turned sour when she realized who it was. "Oh...it's you. The rude prince."

"I thought that was funny." He said, scratching his neck, stifling his laughter.

Unfortunately, flowers were boring targets. They couldn't move or fight back.

Instead, he picked up a bug and started idly fiddling with it, making it run away from him and then playfully stepping on it.

"What are you doing?" She asked, her eyebrows raised.

"Stomping on a bug." He said, still in the same flat tone.

"I hate bugs." She muttered, "So do what you want."

"Sweet." He said, before stomping on it in one swift movement, killing it.

Kougyoku was pleased. At least he was useful for something. Bugs were super creepy, why did Judar-chan sometimes place spiders in her bed?

She shuddered.

He smiled and shook his head. "Oh, so what are you doing?" He made his voice as friendly as could be. Unfortunately, she took that as an insult.

"Nothing you'd like! You're a boy, after all. Not like you'd be interested in making flower crowns."

"Flower crowns?" He said. What a dumb thing to do. Besides, he couldn't make those. His hands just destroyed whatever they touched. He had been absolutely horrible in art class with making crafts. He was a good artist and a bit of a writer, if he did say so himself, but with things like papier mache, let's just say he would pretty much mangle whatever he did try to make.

Perhaps that should have been a warning, this kid is a sociopath!

"I can't make them." She whined, showing a completely dismembered flower corpse, lying in pieces. What had she done to it? "Can...can you make one?"

He stared at her. "...I can try, though I doubt I'll be any good."

Sure enough, his attempt left a tangled mess wrapped around his arm, with the flower crushed. Why did flowers hate him?

He'd tried to grow flowers before, but when he watered them, they shriveled up and died.

It was like they thought he was pure evil or something.

She snickered. "You're just as bad at it as I am! I knew you couldn't do it."

"Shut it. I can try again." He muttered, his face turning red with anger.

The next one was still mangled.

And the next one.

He stopped after the third attempt, flopping down on the ground, tossing a rock in his arms.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Trying to take a nap." He said, yawning. 'To escape this boring scenery. It's too peaceful. There're no fires burning, nothing to steal of any worth...just too much grass, too much happiness. I'm allergic to happiness. And I'm allergic to her weirdness.'

She poked him, causing him to stir.

"What?"

"You know, I was out here picking flowers to give to Sinbad."

Oh, no.

Oh god.

Why had he come over here?

Time to run away.

Fast.

She was an empath, and he drained empaths of their energy and turned them into withered husks. Seriously, empaths should stay away from people like him.

"I don't even know why I'm telling you this."

Then don't tell me.

"But...But he's my first love."

Alibaba groaned inwardly.

Why did he have to be tortured like this?

Didn't she have a therapist?

Why didn't such things exist back then?

"I came here, thinking I could win his heart. But I really couldn't. I'm useless like that." Then, she started crying, leaving Kida wishing he could die.

So fucking manipulative. If he got up and left, he'd be seen as some jerk for not helping a girl. If he did do something to comfort her, he'd be rewarded with a most unwelcome follower and devotee.

He paused, before simply sitting there, waiting for her to stop crying. That seemed like the mature thing to do, just don't judge or say anything, just sit there and wait. The crying has gotta stop sometime soon, right?

She looked up at him, confused as to why he wasn't reacting. "Aren't you gonna comfort me?" She whined.

Are you serious?

How entitled was she?

"Let it all out. Don't be afraid to cry." He said, repeating trite phrases he'd read from some stupid positivity book years ago. His school counselor had given it to him. It was probably long gone now, along with that apartment he'd rented out from Izaya. Presumably someone else was living there.

Maybe Mikado had taken in some of his stuff.

He'd have to ask him for some of it when he got back. Whenever that was.

Her eyes widened and she wiped her tears away, smiling brightly. Oh, no. Oh my god, why.

"Thank you...you're not that bad." She whispered.

Holy shit...why was she suddenly friendly and nice?

She was insane.

He only feared what the rest of her family was capable of.

Time to get away.

"Hey...I was wondering if...if you could hear me out."

Oh no. He wasn't going there.

'I'm not your therapist!'

"I...I'm actually a lowborn princess. My mother was a prostitute."

If Kida could slam his head against the wall, he'd be a bloody mess. As it was, his head slumped forwards, but his face still maintained the "interested" face.

"No one really talked to me or liked me."

Boo-hoo, he'd been through that, too, and yet here he was.

"My siblings didn't understand me-"

"At least you had good siblings." He muttered, suddenly catching her off guard.

"Eh?"

"My siblings are estranged. They're on an island right now, away from me."

"What about your family?" She asked, leaning in closer to him.

He hesitated. "...My father was the king and he abduc-er, got me and eventually died from old age or something. I missed him, he was a nice guy and all."

You know, besides the abducting a random kid to fulfill your sick son fantasy part.

"What about your mother?"

Alibaba stared at her.

"What about your mother? Was she nice?"

Shit, what should he say?

He bit his lip, remembering bruises, beatings and bite marks.

'WORTHLESS! I WISH YOU WERE NEVER BORN!'

He hesitated.

"I...didn't really know her. Kassim raised me, she died when I was really little."

This was the cover story Kassim had told him to use.

"Oh, so you're friends with him?" She said.

"We go way back." He said, but only about five years, of course he omitted that piece of information from the story.

"We seem like we have a lot in common."

Oh boy, doesn't that sound cliche?

He was leaving.

"I was-"

Ten, not interested.

"Thinking,"

Nine, he's going to leave now.

"That, maybe..."

Eight, he's not interested, goodbye.

"We-"

Seven, he's not here anymore. He's starting to get up.

"Could-"

Six, he doesn't care.

"Possibly-"

Five, he is sick of this conversation and needs to nap.

"Maybe-"

Four, he is just going now.

"Potentially-"

Three, how do you know such an advanced word?

"Be-"

Two, he's about to leave now. Make your own flowers and butcher them.

"Friends?"

One, wait...what?

He stared at her, wide-eyed.

"Pardon?"

"Friends. You and I could be friends?" Her eyes were sparkling. "I mean...you listened to me without judging me-"

Oh boy, he had judged her a lot.

"You don't tease me like Judar-chan does-"

Oh boy, he was beginning to like this Judar person more now. But he still attacked Aladdin.

"So, can we?" She said, looking desperate.

In that instant, he was faced with an ultimatum, reject her and look like the world's biggest dick, or accept and be the world's biggest dick, condemning her to be manipulated by a sociopath with no regrets.

He really didn't want to manipulate someone as innocent as her. He really didn't.

But it was too late, he'd exposed himself to her. So he might as well fulfill the nice guy image.

Swallowing, he extended his hand.

'I've either made the biggest mistake...or the best mistake of my life...'

After all, she could be eyes and ears into the family of many secrets. Perhaps the Kou Empire knew a way to take him home? Maybe he could use her to figure out a way back home and maybe he could explain everything to her later, much later?

Nah, he's not letting her know the truth.

Maybe Morgiana could know...maybe Aladdin.

But not this girl. He barely knew her, nor did he wish to get her involved in his affairs.

"Sure, let's be friends."

'Boy, I sure wish you had better taste in friends.' He thought darkly, as she smiled widely. It was a pure and genuine smile, one that made him pause and honestly wonder if he was a villain as she genuinely believed this was a real friendship.

All it was was a partnership.

He knew she was a human being. He understood that much. He understood people had motivations, goals, and the like. It was just their feelings he struggled with.

"I'm Kougyoku!" She chirped.

Holy shit, what?

Why was her name Japanese?

D-Did they possibly have Japanese people here?

Did people from his world come here before?

Wide-eyed he stared at her. "Do you know what language your name is from?"

She blinked in confusion. "No. It's just the Kou Empire tradition to name a kid Kou."

Oh boy, nice individuality. They're probably all mini dictators.

"I'm Alibaba!" He chirped.

"Do you wanna fight with me?" She asked, suddenly transforming her hairpin into a sword.

He paused. Oh wait a second, wasn't this girl...a w-water user?

Oh no. No way.

"I'm...I'm afraid of water." He muttered.


She looked at him as though he were mad. "I won't get you wet, silly. It's just a match!"

"I'd be willing to partake." Sinbad, thankfully intervened, catching the princess's attention enough in time for them both to transform, Kougyoku into her Magical Girl uniform...gee, why did she show so much chest? And what the fuck was with the earrings and...blue hair?

Why was her hair blue now?

And now Sinbad looked like a giant Pidgeotto. Nice.

He watched them fight in interest.

Then Sinbad turned into a smurf. It wasn't a smurf? It certainly looked like one.

"Cover your ears, Alibaba." He said.

He did so.

Then Kougyoku fell to the ground. He just watched her fall.

Then it occurred to him...yeah, she was no good dead, after all. And she didn't seem to hate him, having someone around who didn't hate him was a bonus. Plus, maybe she could teach him about these strange emotions he was missing. Maybe she could give him more insight into how empaths lived and understood things. He was honestly missing large pieces of the puzzle.

He walked forward for some reason and just as he was about to extend his arms out to her, she floated to the ground, unharmed and landed there, sleeping.

"Did you bring a Jigglypuff or something, Sinbad?" He joked.

"What's a Jigglypuff?" Sinbad asked.

"A mythical creature that sings people to sleep, then draws on their faces." He said sarcastically.

"Sounds dumb. Anyhow, I put her to sleep with Zepar." He explained.

"You look kinda strange like that." He said.

"I don't choose how I look." He said.

"Alibaba-kun, I've been wondering about your djinn equip. I haven't seen you use your djinn much."

"He hates me." Alibaba whined.

"Some practice should make him change his mind." He suggested.

"Did I fall asleep?" Kougyoku asked him later.

"Yep." He chirped.

"I don't remember."

Huh, brainwashing?

Mind control?

Maybe she was just forgetful.

Kougyoku declared that she wouldn't fight a war against Sindria, and that's when Alibaba knew. Sinbad had used some form of subliminal advertising on her, like some kind of suggestion. Maybe a Drowzee or Hypno was involved.

He'd played Pokemon too much as a child.


That night, when he dreamed, he dreamed of Mikado, and of putting his lips against his.

"Mikado...I love you more than anyone."

"Masaomi, what happened to you?" The smaller teen said, but Alibaba silenced him.

"Shh, it's okay, Mikado. I'll be back soon, don't you worry about me. I'm still alive! Don't worry about me!"


Elsewhere, Mikado awoke with a start.

He'd just dreamed...of Kida-kun, wearing funny clothing, hugging him and telling him he'd be back soon.

Was Kida alive?

If he was alive, where was he?

Mikado decided that maybe he could find his friend.

He just wondered how.

Those clothes looked like desert clothes. Maybe he was in the Middle East?