Naomi? Irie Shoichi thought. "What do you want to know about her, Byakuran-sama?" he asked.

"My, my. You seem hesitant today, Irie-chan," Byakuran teased.

Irie shook his head stubbornly.

Byakuran shrugged. "Oh well. Whatever your reason is it's none of my business. Anyway, what I want to know is how you met Naomi-chan, her rank in the Miliefiore and why she has so much power in her," he said.

Irie gulped and nodded.

So Byakuran has seen Naomi use her power before, huh? I wonder what was so important that made her use it…Could it be that Byakuran had realized her secret and attacked her? Oh my, Naomi…WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE YOU?

"Irie-chan?" Byakuran cocked his head to the side.

"Yes, Byakuran-sama!" Irie nearly jumped out of his skin from fear.

"Are you okay? You seem different…somehow," Byakuran said.

Irie nodded and said, "I'm sorry, Byakuran…I was lost in my thoughts…"

Byakuran nodded and said, "I know what you mean…this world is so boring…"

Byakuran sighed and smiled at Irie.

Irie gulped. He had known of Byakuran's intention from the very start and was willing to do anything to stop him. I must be careful of what I say round him and how I react. The slightest mistake could make the whole world come crashing down.

Irie's stomach reacted to his feelings. Ouch…ouch… Irie sank to the floor in pain. His stomach was very pain.

"Irie-chan? What's wrong? Are you scared of me?" Byakuran asked genuine worry in his eyes for a second. Then it disappeared. Byakuran shook his head, remembering that he needed to find out about Naomi-chan.

Irie stood up after a minute. The pain had reduced to just a slight pain in the stomach. "I'm fine, Byakuran. Anyway, let me start the story. It's quite a long one though…" Irie said.

Byakuran nodded. "Sure…please proceed," he said and took out another packet of marshmallows. He took one and played with it. Then he popped it into his mouth.

Irie let out a sigh of relief. Byakuran had calmed down… At least for now…I hope… Irie thought. "Anyway, this is how it goes…" Irie started.

"I met her a long time ago in a very small town at the north of Italy. I was on a mission to examine the Miliefiore hideout that was about to be built at that time while I was there, I stayed in a small inn with a very nice innkeeper."

"There were not many people staying there and to eat I went to a very old uncle's ramen shop. His ramen tasted good. His shop was known for having the best ramen in that small town. That uncle had a daughter. Her name was Naomi. She helped out in his shop a lot and was always smiling," Irie said.

Byakuran smiled as he thought of Naomi smiling. She has such a beautiful smile…I wish that she would smile always… he thought.

Irie was too busy remembering the day when he and Naomi first met to notice Byakuran's change in feelings. Byakuran had a faraway look in his eyes that made him look almost at peace.

"The daughter talked a lot although she was sometimes shy. She also used to blush a lot. No matter where she went, she always stuck by the uncle's side. Whenever he needed help, she would be more than willing to help. I never saw her complaining and she always smiled whenever he needed help. Everyone saw her as a kind girl…" Irie continued.

Byakuran smiled. So Naomi had once been very famous in her own little village. Even though this story happened a long time ago, Byakuran could still notice some of the traits that Irie mentioned in the Naomi today.

"Then one day the old uncle died. I could tell because there was a funeral procession outside the ramen shop. Many people attended. In fact, almost the whole village was there. Everyone liked the kind old man and his daughter. I went to the front of the line and saw the daughter crying."

"Tears were flowing freely down her cheeks. It was truly a pitiful sight. I was about to turn around and leave when I saw something special. A really powerful presence was present. I turned around and noticed that the flame was coming from the daughter. It was pure blue mist flame. It didn't have a solid form but it was really something," Irie said.

Byakuran opened his eyes wide. No wonder she could so easily dispatch that mist barrier that I set up. She was a mist flame wielder herself. Byakuran thought.

"After the funeral, I took her aside and asked her if she would like to join us. She hesitated but I managed to convince her. I took her back to the inn and comforted her. She grew warm to me in no time. After the Miliefiore base had finished being constructed, I took her back to Japan and had some mist wielders train her."

"She was always patient and never complained although the training was tough. She grew reasonably stronger after the training. In fact she was even stronger than most of the experienced mist wielders themselves. I believe that we may have been able to awaken her full power," Irie said.

Not…Irie thought. I sense that Naomi has much stronger power than this. But I suppose that it will take time to awaken, just like Byakuran's power did. Even now, Byakuran isn't at his strongest…

Byakuran nodded. He was so entranced by the thought of Naomi being so powerful that he didn't notice that Irie did not completely tell the whole truth about Naomi's power.

I guess she wasn't lying when she said that I hadn't seen her power yet. Now I know why she wasn't afraid. This power… to think that such power could actually exist in such a young girl.

"As for her rank in the Miliefiore, she hasn't been given any yet as she is new. We have been debating over what rank she should be given, based on her power. She has not fully matured yet though so we couldn't give her too high a rank even if we wanted to," Irie said.

"I see…" Byakuran said, "Well, bye, Irie-chan! I feel that we may meet soon…in person."

Irie frowned. What was Byakuran up to? Could he have gotten closer to achieving his goal already? Could Naomi be the key to achieving his goal? Maybe I have told him too much, even though I left the most important part out. The truth is, I believe that Naomi could only be using a small portion of her power when she showed her power to Byakuran. Naomi, please be okay…