Chapter Twenty-One

The dorms were in a separate hallway, and were behind wooden doors. It was basically a small room with a bed and a wooden dresser beside a miniature window. The group slept well overnight, and immediately got ready for the boat trip the next day. There was a back exit as it went along a different road, or would lead them to the harbor.

It was raining that day, as the sky was gray and ominous. The amount of downpour varied as it would sometimes drizzle, or come down like a waterfall. It eventually lifted up as they reached another crossroad.

"Okay, what we're about to do is very risky," Tomoko told them while they stopped by the side of the street. No cars had gone by for a while as Haruki had the feeling that they were heading away from society again. "As we get closer to the city the likelihood of seeing a Flounce will rise. We got lucky so far, but I can sense them already."

"Do you think we'll be safe on the boat?" Chisuzu wondered. She was still sleepy as she kept rubbing her eyes with her hands.

"I'm not sure. I just get the feeling that we'll be ambushed. Anyway, the ship is a cruise, but we're only going to stay on it for one stop. It goes from town to city along the shore. We'll try to blend in with the tourists in the meantime." The girl sighed, as she seemed anxious about something.

"What then?" Ayume asked. "I mean, are we even halfway to the city yet?"

"The trip stops at Yorako Town, so yeah," she continued. "We'll have about a half-hour walk after we reach the port, and then we'll be downtown. This is it."

"So basically in the meantime we can't be spotted," Masako mumbled.

"We're that close already?" Haruki sheepishly questioned. The sudden thoughts rampaged through his mind as he exhaled, like what the plans could be when they were done, or what would happen when they got there. Tomoko didn't speak anymore as she turned to the road, and began walking. Xinu was sitting on her shoulder as it eyed the path up ahead.

They sauntered along the side of the road as everything seemed quiet, and the time of day was difficult to see with the cloud cover. About a few hours later they reached a gas station that was beside what appeared to be a pale and long bridge.

"There it is." Masako pointed out the view of the harbor, which could barely be seen through the fog. However the bridge was there first. They gathered by the road's edge, and glanced up and down the street to see if anyone was coming.

"Hm. This is trickier than I thought," Tomoko admitted. "We have to somehow cross this bridge without cars hitting us."

"It's the only way of traffic as well," Ayume added. "It's not expected for people to be on foot." Haruki heeded what they meant, or could see that they were about twenty feet high up from the start of the ocean. The land had quickly altered into water, as there was no ledge provided to go to for diving.

"Let's just go." Masako shoved Tomoko onto the road as the female let out a yelp. The others went along behind her as they tried to stay off the street as much as possible. The bridge was about a few hundred feet long and fifty feet across. The thought of being over water made Haruki a bit uneasy, but he tried to keep his eyes on the view of the horizon.

Suddenly, Tomoko pulled out her gun as it transformed into the scythe. "Shoot! They're here!" The female was correct as several Frames and Fringes emerged from the bottom of the bridge, and began sweeping onto the road with their shadowy forms. All of them started shooting as colorful blasts went everywhere. "Run!" The girl in front began scurrying as the amount of Flounces was swiftly increasing. Haruki felt their tentacles touch him a few times, but he managed to destroy them just in time.

They ran as fast as they could across the wide road, as the view of the harbor was coming closer and closer. Chisuzu shrieked as Masako spotted her being grasped by a Fringe, but she shot at it with ease. Haruki kept glancing behind him to see the monsters chasing after them like a swarm of bugs, or the number was becoming too massive to count. The bridge suddenly began descending as they felt themselves slip a little from the deep slope.

Just as they were almost off the structure Xinu's wings grew ten times larger as it began to glide into the air. Its body also grew, as it was now big enough to fit them all. "Get on Xinu!" Tomoko ordered. She jumped onto it first as she held onto its fur with her hands. Chisuzu was next as Ayume went after Masako, and Haruki was after the both of them. Xinu flew into the air as Haruki could see the Fringe's arms extending into the air, but they eventually couldn't reach any further.

"Whoa!" The wind picked up and felt like brutal speed as their hair and clothes were rasping about. The creature flapped its wings as it went toward the top of the boat. It was bigger than Haruki expected, or a white boat that was big enough to fit about several hundred thousand people. Three smoke puffs were on the top as it had layers and layers of balconies and walkways along it. It was about five hundred feet long, and a hundred feet wide. The view of the town was below them, as no one seemed to notice them flying in the sky.

Haruki took a last glance at the shore as the Flounces were gone, and all that he could see was the bridge slowly disappearing from view. The place below was a port, or where a lot of tourists went to trade or shop. The beach was about another several miles to the east, as they wouldn't be going there. Xinu began falling as it went over the water's surface for a bit before plunging them onto the side of the boat, or near the back of it. They tumbled and rolled, as the beast became small again.

"Ow!" Ayume exclaimed. They quickly got up and brushed themselves off as the boat was leaving the shore.

"Here's your tickets. We need these just in case they do a passenger check," Tomoko told them. She handed out a tiny piece of paper with a fake name and their room number. She would be with Ayume that night as Masako and Chisuzu were paired up in a different spot. Haruki would be alone, but he didn't mind. "Once we get to the rooms there should be a change of clothes there for us."

"How do you know all this?" Haruki wondered. He scratched the back of his head, as he felt bewildered with awe. It was his first time being on a cruise, and he pictured himself vacationing more than being on a mission.

"Genjin was able to reserve and place everything in advance," she retorted. "Alright, we should be at Yorako Town by tomorrow morning. Hopefully none of the Flounces made it here." Haruki remembered the place being called a town, but it was really a rural area with skyscrapers and such. "I would use this time to relax and prepare for the morrow. We don't know what kind of Flounces we'll see once we reach their territory."

"Right," Chisuzu whimpered. She seemed more childish by the hour.

"You have your cell phones, so remember to call if something happens," Ayume told them. "We're here to be hidden so remember to act casual."

"Our rooms should be this way." Tomoko led the group through a door as they found themselves in what didn't even look like the inside of a ship. There were various pale hallways as the floor was a smooth expenditure that showed everyone's reflection on it. The ceiling was about twenty feet high as there were shops and other convenient type of stores about. They turned a corner, as the path became smaller or about ten feet long and high.

The rooms were about a few feet apart as they went down a long hallway. Tomoko handed them the room keys as they separated and entered their personal areas. Haruki stepped into what appeared to be a bedroom, which had a small circular window covered by an azure curtain. The entire room was cerulean blue with a deep sapphire colored carpet. The bed was white with a set of clothes on the edge of it.

'Hm. So we basically have all day to do nothing,' he thought. He didn't like the idea of spending more time waiting and sleeping, but he was beginning to feel uneasy about the final battle. It was just the five of them with Xinu against hundreds and maybe thousands of Flounces, unless there were other members that he didn't know about.

The male pushed those ideas to the side as he began changing into what seemed to be a dark emerald T-Shirt with a collar, and with beige shorts. He was wearing black flip-flops as each step caused a sound. The youth placed his belongings into the wooden dresser as he sat on his bed and waited.

'Now what?' Right after he released a sigh there was a knock at the door. He stood up, slid off the bed, and opened it. Standing there was Tomoko, but she was completely different.

"Hey," she smiled. She was wearing a black dress with strings as sleeves and tight dark pants that went up to her lower thighs. She was also wearing slip on shoes as her hair was up in ponytails. "Ayume went to the spa and Chisuzu is out eating. I was wondering if you would like to hang out with me." Her cheeks turned red as her hands fondled behind her back. "I asked Masako, but she volunteered to keep watch outside."

"Uh sure." Haruki faintly beamed as he stepped out of his room, and locked the door behind him. He had his cell phone and ticket in his right pocket as he added the key to it. "You look nice."

"T…Thanks…" She wiggled a little as she blushed even harder. "I hear that there's this party going on, so I was thinking we could go browse some shops before heading there."

"It's your choice," Haruki razzed. "I don't have anything planned." The female weakly giggled as she grasped his right hand with her left palm. He felt his cheeks grow warm as he glanced down at her. "W…What's this?"

"I don't want to lose you," she whispered. "I'll tell you about that later. For now, let's have some fun."

End of Chapter Twenty-One