Kaido

I couldn't help but gape at the splendour of the palace into which I had just walked. I had never been to the capitol before, let alone the palace in which the royal family lived, so I hadn't quite known what to expect.

The moment we all walked through the gigantic entrance, the first thing to catch my eye was the couple waiting for us in the middle of the lavish foyer.

The taller of the two, the male, had a wise face and astonishing amber eyes, which I could see Ryoma and her older brother had inherited. He wore his emerald-green hair in a loose pony-tail that reached the middle of his back and a simple band of gold was wound around the crown of his head. Beside him stood his wife who was about a head shorter than him with kind brown eyes and matching brown hair that was even longer than her husband's and hung down her back in a neat braid. On her head was a circlet similar to that of her husband's.

Bowing deeply, Ryoma said, "Tadaima, okaa-san, otou-san."

The rest of us all followed suit, saying, "O-sewa ni narimasu*!"

The king, Nanjiro-sama, merely smiled and said, "Okaerinasai, dear," while his wife walked forward and enveloped her daughter in a gentle hug.

"Okaerinasai, dear," she repeated after letting go. Then, turning to us, she said, "Welcome to our home, dear guests. I hope you enjoy your stay here. We have already got rooms and garments ready for you all, and if you need anything at all, please do not hesitate to ask."

With that, both she and her husband inclined their heads slightly in acknowledgement, then turned and disappeared through a large set of ornately carved double doors.

When they were gone, Ryoma turned to us and said, "Sorry they had to leave so early. What with the rebuilding having just finished and now the preparations for the party in a week's time, they're incredibly busy. So, why don't you guys get settled in your rooms so you can freshen up a little before dinner? Afterwards we can have a tour of the palace, and tomorrow I can show you the town!"

Before any of us could respond, she clapped her hands once, and three young women seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

Turning to the three of them, "Annalise, please show Oishi Shuichiro-san and Kikumaru Eiji-san to one of the guests rooms, for humans of course. Dianne, same with Momoshiro Takeshi-san and Kawamura Takashi-san, please. Sonia, please show Inui Sadaharu-san and Kaido Kaoru-san to guest rooms for our own kind. "

Performing a curtsy, the three of them said in unison, "Right away, your majesty."

Then, turning to us, Ryoma said, "I'm really sorry, but it seems like you'll all have to share rooms. On any other day, you would have your own, but due to the upcoming party, many family members from around the globe will be coming to stay with us over the next few weeks, so we don't have all that many rooms available."

"No problem, Ryoma-chan," said Momo, throwing his arm around her shoulder in a familiar way. "We totally understand. Anyways, what about buchou's and Fuji-sempai's rooms?"

"Well, Kunimitsu can stay in the same room he always does, and if it's not too much trouble, Syuusuke can room with him?" she asked, making the last bit a question.

"I don't mind," said her cousin with a rare smile on his face.

"It'll be cool rooming with Kunimitsu again," replied the other sempai, with a similar smile on his face.

"Great!" said Ryoma, bringing her hands together, beaming happily. "Anyways, sorry for leaving you guys like this, but I'm off to change into something more comfortable!" And with that, she spread her wings out, and took off, heading in a direction opposite to ours.

Ryoma

After finally arriving at my much missed bedroom, I immediately stripped off the landwalker clothes I had been wearing (which were heavy and uncomfortable in my current form). In their place, I threw on a dress quite similar to what the humans called a sun dress. It was bright yellow and had a halter-top, which cleverly left the back uncovered. It was made of very fine, sturdy cloth similar to silk, and was lighter than anything the humans could make. Immediately, I also threw on a pair of white leggings (with all the flying I did, it kept people from seeing my undergarments) and opted to go barefoot. Then, going over to a pedestal that had been embedded into the wall, I picked up the simple band of gold that was set upon it and placed it on my head, relishing the feeling.

I usually didn't like to brag about my position, and actually preferred it when people didn't know who I was, but it felt odd when I didn't have my crown on. No, I didn't see it as a sign of my power, but merely as a headdress to which I had grown accustomed after wearing for oh so long. My outfit just didn't feel complete without it.

Sighing in contentment, I danced over to the double doors that led out onto my balcony, though it was more like another room. It had two walls and a roof, and was carpeted, and had chairs and fluffy cushions scattered all over. The only reason it could really be called a balcony was the delicate looking parapet that had replaced the furthest wall, with a screen which could be pulled closed over the opening above it.

Ignoring the chairs and cushions, I crossed the space (which was about five or six meters wide), I slid open the screen to let the fresh mountain air into the now stuffy "balcony" which had once had a light, airy feeling to it.

Leaning against the ledge, I looked out over my beloved hometown, which sprawled freely below. To some, the layout of the town may look haphazard and maze-like, but to those who had grown up in it, such as myself, each and every road was memorized like the back of one's hand.

Looking beyond the houses, my eyes danced at the sight of the currently flowering meadows I had played in as a child, which were also sprinkled here and there between the houses. And beyond the meadows themselves were the craggy mountains; dangerous to some, but perfectly welcoming to me.
They were tall and majestic, and I felt as if I had never seen anything so beautiful. I had never realized how much I had missed waking up to this view every morning.

Suddenly, I was snapped out of my reverie by the soft flapping of wings, and when I looked to the source, I almost fell back in shock.

By the time I had regained my composure; my visitor had landed on the ledge and was grinning widely at me. "Why so surprised, princess," he asked, saying the last word a little teasingly. "I used to visit you like this quite often, or don't you remember?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

Blushing as I realized that I had overreacted, I stood up and dusted imaginary dirt off my dress (the floor was as immaculately clean as everywhere else in the palace). "Shouldn't you be in your room, Syuusuke?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

Pouting a little, he said, "What don't you want me here?"

"That's not what I meant-" he cut me off by letting out a gentle laugh.

"I know, Ryoma-chan. I was just teasing you," he said, jumping down to the floor and walking towards me.

When he stopped, we were just centimetres apart as we stood in silence, staring into each other's eyes and not saying anything.

"We never really got a chance to talk about…" here he paused, not quite knowing what word to use. Finally, he settled on, "…everything."

I stared at him with wide eyes, not saying anything. When I had first realized that Syuusuke had regained his memories, my feelings had had to be set aside, as a result of the pending attack. In the two weeks following the attack, we had been so busy helping rebuild the school, the two of us had never found time to be alone, so I'd never had a chance to really talk to my long-lost childhood friend.

"Ryoma…I've missed you so much," he said in a quiet voice.

And suddenly, I couldn't take it anymore. Throwing my arms around him, I cried my heart out; letting out all those years of pent-up frustration and loneliness.

"I've missed you so much!" I sobbed into his chest.

He wrapped his arms protectively around me, not saying a word.

When my sobs were finally reduced to soft hiccups, he tilted my chin upwards so that our eyes met, and he smiled. "I've missed you too, Ryoma-chan."

I couldn't help but blush at his closeness. We'd hugged before, when we were small, but this was like a totally different feeling.

Seeming to notice my blush, he smiled and asked, "Ne Ryoma-chan?"

"H-hai?" I asked.

"Do you still plan on keeping that promise to one day become my bride?" he asked, a mischievous smile playing on his lips.

It took everything I had to force my lips to form the one word I so desperately wanted to say. "Hai," I replied.

His smile grew wider, and he bent down and touched his lips to mine in a gentle kiss.

SkyGem: Phew! That chapter is finally done! Sheesh, these past few days, I've had the most terrible writers block. Thank god that's gone. Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter, and please do leave a review, ne?

*O-sewa ni narimsau – I will be under your honourable care from now…or so I understand. I've gotten quite a few different translations, but they all generally mean the same thing. If I got it wrong, don't hesitate to correct me, ne?

Now normally, I don't have a glossary for all the Japanese phrases I include in my fics for two reasons 1) it would be way too long and 2) you guys (hopefully) know most of them, or can infer their meaning from the rest of the sentence. I only included this phrase 'cause I doubt many of you would know it…basically, it's pretty much the same as ojamashimasu, except it's used when you first enter a household (besides your own) that you will be living at for any amount of time, be it one night, or 5 years.