Author's Note

So oh my gosh, I got so into Owari no Seraph and Attack on Titan over the last two weeks. They're sooo good, and I can't wait for them to be updated. Ahh. Other than that, I've been doing a lot of roleplaying these days. Working on my writing skills, ehehe~ Managed to squeeze out a new chapter in time though, so here goes!

Milana16: Aww, thanks for the regular reviews! I always look forward to reading from you. I do address the fact that Ryoma has some gist of what's going on later in the story, no worries there. I've also been working the creative muse by participating in text-based forum roleplays, as I said above, but maybe I'll throw a short ditty up or something soon. And... I thought that the Abhorsen trilogy was already finished! Are they really coming out with another addition? (Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen, right? I think those are the names of the books so far...)

Puppiesssss: I find so many opportunities to make Sanada do cute things. It's because he has such a serious and passionate personality, I think. But yeah, I like to throw in a couple cute moments to lighten up the story every here and there. I'm glad you enjoy them!

miyaka0008: Hey, thanks for reading and reviewing! I'm glad you're enjoying the series so far. This arc has already far surpassed how long I want it to be, and there doesn't seem to be an ending in sight quite yet. I apologize if you want it to hurry up and end, but I have this problem where I take way too long to write things. I'm sorry! I hope you'll stick with me and the rest of the Bells universe to the end though. As for the Golden Pair... I didn't plan to have too much of them in this arc, but they will be in the final one (yes, it's already in the making!) so stay tuned~

Thanks for all the reads and reviews! Your support means a lot to me. See you in the next update!

(Disclaimers are as usual.)

Chapter 24

It was late by the time the weary travelers arrived in Hyoutei. Immediately, Atobe had his servants summoned and the travelers were given rooms within the kingdom's looming castle. Although there were enough rooms for each to have his own room, or even two if he so wished, Tezuka had declined that offer, saying that they would double up in order to reduce the duties of his maids. Surprisingly, Atobe immediately agreed with Tezuka.

"Ore-sama shall allow the brat to share his chambers tonight!" he announced loudly. Tezuka gave him a stony glare, and a silence stretched through the group.

Sanada coughed into his hand. "Perhaps you need some rest, Atobe," he said as nonchalantly as he could. "I do not mind watching over the princeling for the night."

Sensing an argument approaching, Shiraishi quickly excused himself and, with a sleeping Kintarou on his back, followed one of Atobe's maids to a guest room. Tezuka cleared his throat. "As Seishun's captain, I feel that it is my duty to guard my prince while he rests," he announced, averting his gaze to avoid the expressions of suspicion on Atobe and Sanada's faces.

The three larger males began to argue amongst themselves, each trying to prove that he was most worthy of sharing a room with Ryoma. The prince in question watched them with tired eyes before sighing. He turned to the only one who was not arguing – Yukimura.

"Ne," he said in his deadpan voice. "Do you mind rooming with me? I want to get some sleep, and these three will probably be arguing for the rest of the night."

The three froze in their argument and turned to face Ryoma. Atobe opened his mouth as though to speak, but no words came out of his mouth. Tezuka managed to speak first. "But… Prince Ryoma…?"

Ryoma harrumphed. "I don't care who you room with, I just want to sleep. This was easiest." He lifted an arm and signaled to one of the maids, who blushed and bowed her head. "I don't really care which room you put me in, as long as it has a bed. Let's go, Yukimura."

The Child of God giggled, following the retreating back of the grumpy prince. "Have a good night, Sanada!" he sang out, waving at the Emperor. Sanada blushed dark red, before turning his back on everyone.

"Ta-Tarundarou!" he practically shouted. "Tezuka! Let's find a room and get some rest now!"

The captain fought the urge to sigh and instead adjusted his spectacles. "Hai."

Atobe watched as everyone walked off, the shocked expression still on his face. His mouth gaped open and closed like a fish gasping for air. By the time he had recovered enough to speak, all of his guests had already been shown to their rooms for the night. "But… who's going to sleep with Ore-sama?"

Yukimura sat down at one of the many tables within his and Ryoma's shared room. The tired teenager had gone into the bath first, leaving Yukimura with enough time to set up his scales. The delicate balance still tilted towards the side of chaos, the Keeper noticed. However, it did not tilt quite as drastically as it had nights ago. Rather curiously, the scale continued to wobble incessantly. It was almost as though the universe could not make up its mind.

The blue-haired boy frowned. His thoughts turned towards their battle earlier that day. Marui had recognized Sanada, so it was not as though Ryoga had wiped their memories clean. And the redhead had still retained his own personality and habits, which eliminated the possibility of mind control. 'How exactly is Ryoga controlling our men?' His thoughts fell upon Ryoga as he absentmindedly flicked the delicate scales with his finger. The Dark Prince had seemed hesitant, confused, and in pain. It confounded the Keeper. When Ryoga had first appeared, he had seemed confident, strong, and hell-bent on ruining Ryoma's reign. But from his observations of the two, it seemed that Ryoga had lost his resolve and that Ryoma lacked the will to kill his brother.

The door to the bath opened and Ryoma walked out, a fluffy purple towel around his waist and another in his hair. Yukimura raised his eyebrow in an amused inquiry. Ryoma scowled. "Can you believe that the only towels the Monkey King owns are purple?"

Yukimura laughed. It wasn't just the towels that were purple. The walls of Atobe's castle's chambers were all styled in various shades of purple, the furniture and carpets co-ordinated carefully. The bedsheets were purple, the blankets were purple… Even the plush seats of every last couch was some shade of purple. Ryoma grumbled about a "garish" purple under his breath as he stalked over to one of the two beds in the room. Atobe's maids had quickly arranged for the travelers to stay in guest rooms with two king-sized beds, finished with full canopies. Upon entering, Ryoma had claimed one bed as his, and had ripped the canopies down. The look had been too effeminate for him, he said.

'Although, he does have a rather effeminate build…' Yukimura thought, his eyes trailing Ryoma's body as the younger boy towel-dried his hair. He gazed appreciatively at the slender but muscled boy. Sensing that someone was looking at him, Ryoma turned around.

"What?" he blinked in confusion. "Is something wrong?"

Yukimura chuckled. He stood and walked towards the prince, taking the fluffy towel from Ryoma's hands. "Nothing at all, boya," he said smiling as he continued to dry the prince's emerald hair for him. Ryoma hummed in content, his eyes drifting closed in appreciation. Yukimura smiled, and bent down to peck the top of Ryoma's damp hair as he finished. Ryoma's eyes shot open, and he tilted his head up to face the blue-haired male, who was much closer than he had realized. He opened his mouth to protest, but Yukimura beat him to speaking.

"Well, I suppose I'll just hop in the shower now," he said, his lips tilted up in an innocent smile. He walked towards the open bathroom door. "I hope you've left enough hot water for me!"

Fuji collapsed in his room soon after he had returned with Ryoga and the others. He curled up in bed, shivering. The fight had left him cold and weak, but what affected him most was the way Ryoma had looked at him, right before they had left. Fuji wrapped himself up in his thick blankets, his mind replaying the moment Ryoma had turned his gaze upon him. 'Even after everything I've done…' There was no mistaking the emotion held in those wide golden eyes. 'He still loves me.'

A knock on the door announced an interruption. Fuji sat up quickly. "Come in," he called. The door swung open and Seishun's main strategist walked through the doorway. Fuji tensed, expecting Ryoga to be following, but the dark prince was nowhere to be found. Fuji began to pull the blankets off of himself, moving to stand up. "Inui, to what do I owe this pleasure – "

"Probability that Fuji is no longer under Ryoga's spell," came the monotonous voice. Fuji's movements froze. "One hundred percent."

The brunet was up in a flash, shutting the door to his room. "Inui, I can explain," the words tumbled out of his mouth, his mind in a blitz of activity, trying to come up with a good excuse.

Inui turned to face Fuji, the thick glass of his spectacles gleaming. "No need for excuses, Fuji," he said darkly. "I have already compounded all of my observations and deduced the entire situation."

In the time it took for Inui to finish his sentence, Fuji was upon him, brandishing one of the heavy lamps in his room. "I guess there's no other choice," he said, smiling maniacally. His normally-hidden eyes were wide open and gleaming wickedly. "I'll just have to beat the memory from your head."

"Ah, wait, Fuji, stop!" Inui screamed, holding both his hands in front of him. "It's alright, I'm on your side!"

"My side?" The seer paused in his assault, still holding the lamp above Inui's head. "What do you mean by that, Inui?"

"I mean that I am still loyal to Prince Ryoma," Inui said quietly. He glanced around nervously. "We must make sure that no one else ever hears me say that, at least while on the grounds of Ryoga's castle."

"Ryoma?" Fuji asked. He lowered the lamp, placing it back to its original place, before gesturing for Inui to sit. The relieved man gratefully collapsed into a chair, while Fuji sat back down onto his bed. "What happened? I thought you had fallen under Ryoga's enchantment."

Inui readjusted his glasses while opening up his notebook. He gave Fuji a smile. "I was never under his enchantment, Fuji," he admitted. "Through logical analysis, I merely reasoned that being near Ryoga and his men would be beneficial to my data gathering, which would in turn be useful for Prince Ryoma upon our return. And I was right, I have gathered much information that would benefit our kingdom, especially on teamwork and construction strategies. Ryoga is also a very charismatic leader, and Ryoma could pick up a few tips from observing his brother."

"Ahh… That's all well and good to hear, Inui," Fuji said, his voice soft. He was a little upset that the strategist had managed to fool even him, the Tensai. "But what if Ryoma is angry that you left his side? You don't even have the option of blaming Ryoga's dark enchantment, since you left by your own will. Perhaps Ryoma will not even allow you back into the kingdom of Seishun again, never mind within the castle walls…"

Fuji smirked as he watched that realization dawn on Inui, whose face grew more and more contorted as he thought. He cleared his throat when Inui seemed about to shrink himself into the size of a bug and run off to hide. "Anyway, we'll worry about that when the time comes. For now, let's figure out a way to stop Ryoga."

The water shut off, and Yukimura lay back with a content sigh. He lounged in a large golden tub, warm scented water lapping at his skin while steam rose in spirals into the air. The Child of God really had to hand it to Atobe, for the King really knew his luxuries. His muscles relaxed, tired from a long day of travel and battling, although he was usually forbidden from fighting by Sanada. Yukimura had been born with his great powers as the Keeper of the Homeostasis, but this had greatly hindered his physical health. As a result, Yukimura grew into a frail beauty who was frightening when it came to emotional and mental strength, but lacking in physical prowess.

His thoughts turned to his silver scales and the mission that he and the others had embarked upon. The need for a Keeper had appeared long ago, while the spirits still roamed the earth freely. Yukimura closed his eyes, remembering the legend told to children by their parents, who had learned it from their previous generations. He could still recall the voice of his mother, the previous Keeper, as she held her young child in her lap by the fire. It was the myth of how the realm of the dead came to be.

At first, there had been the Creator. Some said that he was a wise, all-powerful being who held, within his head, all the knowledge of the world. Others said the Creator was a female, a loving and giving mother to all the children of existence. However, Yukimura's mother had told her son that the Creator had been a child of Life, just like him, who had been given a young planet to raise and care for, all on his own. The Creator had taken his role seriously. He warmed the planet with courageous fire, and balanced the burning flames with healing water. He gave the planet the wistful wind, and anchored it with steady ground. He gifted it the dimensions of space and time, which would allow for existence. He instilled it with his vision, for a utopian world, and reinforced his vision with truth, the morals taught to him. Finally, as Life had created Him, He created Life in the world, gave her a form so that she might breathe life into his planet. From each of the elements sprung forth a spirit, to govern each power, and each spirit molded creatures to inhabit the tiny planet. Fire created dragons and phoenixes, whose flames would warm the earth. Water created serpents and mermaids, who would dwell in earth's seas. Wind created playful and willful creatures, while Earth molded created creatures of strength and sturdiness. Space created intelligent creatures, such as the dolphin and the pig, while Time's beasts could endure the passing of its own element. Vision created animals that were witty and deceptive, while the beasts of Truth were proud in their morals. Finally, Life gifted the little planet with angels, guardians to watch over the planet and bestow upon it happiness.

The Creator looked at his world, and smiled, for he believed to have truly created a utopia. However, he slowly began to notice things. There were little at first, a mean word here, an offhanded remark there. But eventually, problems began to arise. Resentment rose and wars were fought as the elements struggled to maintain control. That was when the Creator saw it. There was darkness in his perfect world, one that should have been filled with light. Angered, the Creator sought the source of the darkness, only to realize that it had been his own shadow all along. In a fury, the Creator cast aside his shadow, splitting his own being into two. With the last of his strength, a separate realm was created, the Realm of the Dead, where the shadow was banished to, destined to forever guard and direct the souls of the dead. His strength depleted and his soul torn in two, the Creator disappeared, leaving his world in the hands of his Spirits.

Yukimura rose, and stepped out of the bath. He reached for a towel, and began to towel himself off, while still hearing the words of his mother echo in his head. 'The forces of Darkness and Light did not disappear with their owners, Seichii,' his mother had warned him. 'They continue to battle to this very day, struggling for control of the world, unable to accept the other. That is why the Keeper came to be. The Keeper of the Homeostasis is one whose destiny is to observe and record the struggle between the forces of Darkness and Light, of Evil and Good.'

The blue-haired male opened the door to the bathroom, steam rushing out along with him. As a child, he had not understood what the responsibilities of the Keeper truly were. He had believed the scales to be a boring old toy for his mother, one that she would lock herself in her room to gaze upon for hours each day. He had resented the silver scales for taking up his time with his beloved mother, and for dooming him to the same fate when he was announced as the next Keeper. However, now Yukimura was fighting alongside those who worked in the name of Light, trying to restore the balance portrayed by those same scales.

He chuckled, as he selected his bedclothes and slipped into them. It was quite strange to see the events of his past finally meet those of the present. He had thought that he would forever curse the fact that he had been chosen as Keeper. Yukimura stepped out of the closet, and froze when he turned to face the beds.

On one of the beds, a little figure lay under the sheets, dozing peacefully. Yukimura smiled, and tiptoed quietly towards the bed. He crouched down and gently brushed an emerald lock from the boy's face, watching spellbound as the boy nuzzled into the warmth of his hand. Casting a glance over his shoulder at the other bed in the room, the Keeper shrugged and gently lifted the sheets off of the little Prince, slipping into the bed beside him. 'Well…' Yukimura thought as he reached over to blow out the candle on the bedside table. He lay down, drawing the smaller male into his arms and settling down for sleep. 'Maybe there was a reason I was destined to become the Keeper.'