Chapter 33

When I woke up, I found myself back in my room at Hotohori's palace. I couldn't even remember what I was trying to do before passing out, but at the sight of Sakura sitting next to my bed, asleep, it all started to come back to me. Akiko had managed to summon Seiryu, and she had been successfully able to make her first wish. I just wanted to know what that wish was that she had made. Shaking the thought out of my head, I got out of bed, making sure I didn't wake Sakura up, and put a blanket over him. Soon, opening the door to get out, I bumped into someone almost immediately and, without looking up to see who it was, I quietly said, "Sorry. I didn't expect anyone to be outside the door."

Hotohori's voice quietly told me, "It's alright. My fault for being indecisive on whether I should go in or not." As I looked up at him with slight startle, Hotohori gently placed a hand on my cheek and leaned in, softly muttering loud enough for me to hear, "But with your brother in there asleep, worried about you, made it harder for me to go inside. I just wanted to be with you alone, even if you were asleep."

I soon felt Hotohori's warm breath on my lips, but I quickly looked down at the ground as I put my hands on his shoulders. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "I just can't after not being able to keep my promise. I mean, you've been good to me this entire time, and I couldn't summon Suzaku at the very least. Yet, you're still willing to treat me nicely."

Hotohori looked as though he was about to say something, but didn't bother as he grabbed my hands, quickly thinking up of something as he said, "I'm not being good to you because I want you to summon Suzaku for me. I'm only being good to you because I love you. Even if you failed, that wouldn't be changing my mind on whether I love you or not, Ichimutsu." As he forced me to put my hands on his face, he started to lean on towards me once more, saying, "Nothing else matters to me, Ichimutsu." Before I could say anything, Hotohori quickly pressed his lips against mine. I just stood there, kissing him back, and I forgot what I was going to say as I started to lose myself in time with Hotohori.

As Hotohori started to hold me around my shoulders, I quickly broke the kiss. Clearing my throat, I nervously started to say something, but a voice of a woman cried out with horror, "Your majesty! Hong-Nan is about to be under attack by Qu-Dong country!"

I ordered the woman, "Bring the map of Hong-Nan to the study immediately! As well as the all the generals of Hong-Nan!" The woman nodded and left immediately. I charged into my room, yelling, "Sakura! Get up!"

Sakura, yawning, muttered, "What? I was just staying in your room!"

I snapped, "Let's go! World War Three is happening!"

"Soccer game? That's just a game, Ichimutsu," Sakura muttered.

"Just get up," I barked at him. "Hong-Nan is being under attack. We're the only ones who actually have learned about all the wars that happened over in our world so far!"

Sakura quickly got up and left with me to head towards Hotohori's study. On the way, Sakura quickly asked me, "Why was Hotohori just standing outside your room?"

"I don't know what's he's thinking by just standing around," I replied. "But I know that we have to think up of a plan to drive the Seiryu country out of Hong-Nan, even if we're being outnumbered by many soldiers."

Not too long after we arrived at Hotohori's study, two generals and Hotohori began arriving with a map in hand. Sakura quickly took the map and laid it out on the table and we heard Santona's voice say, "You know you guys won't be able to beat the country of Seiryu. Nakago's the general. The commander. He's practically the head! Not only that, he's the strongest general from all four countries! Nakago gathers the strongest and the best soldiers around. Above all else, the Sieryu country has an army three to four times as big as this country's army!"

"Doesn't matter if the soldiers have to take three to four opponents at once, Santona," Hotohori quickly replied.

"Now get out while we discuss with these guys about some of the tactics that have been mentioned during history lessons in school!" Sakura and I cried out in unison.

When Santona ran out of the room, I just stared at the map for awhile as the generals talked out what they had in mind with Hotohori and Sakura. It could've been minutes that I have been spaced out, but I snapped out of it when I heard Hotohori asking me, "Anything you had in mind?"

Looking up and around at the table of generals, I nodded at Hotohori's question. Clearing my throat, I said, "There have been several tactics that I've heard of being used in several wars that Sakura and I learned about back in our own world."

"World War Two tactics?" Sakura asked hopefully.

"No World War One or World War Two tactics, Sakura," I told him warningly. "It'd probably be better if we went with a surrounding tactic." When the others looked confused, I quickly asked the generals, "Where are all the troops of Hong-Nan set up now?"

"They've all been set up to guard the country by surrounding the areas," one of the two generals replied. "It seemed the best way to keep the country as safe as possible."

The second quickly added, "But, of course, the weakest are the first line of defense while the strongest are the last line of defense."

"I like that way of thinking," I quickly said. "But how to attack is not well thought out."

Sakura quickly pointed towards north-east of the area on the map, quickly saying, "Since Suzaku is of the south and Seiryu of the east, we suspect that it's mostly north-east area that their soldiers will be charging in from. Leave the soldiers that you guys have set up on the east, north-east, and north side where they are. Have the rest quickly surround the other country's army, leaving them no way out." When the generals looked outraged, Sakura quickly said, "If the Seiryu country's soldiers have no way out, they'll be forced to stay and fight with the Suzaku country. And even though we're still outnumbered by three-to-one or four-to-one, we should still be able to take out quite a handful."

Nodding, I quickly added, "May not seem as though it would do much, but if we're lucky enough, we should still have enough people by the time they try to retreat. And we can't look at this tactic as a glass half empty. We have to take hope for the best and look at the tactic as a glass half full."

The generals seemed to doubt our plans slightly, but Hotohori cut their thought off short by asking, "How many are killed off already?"

"We were barely attacked today, your majesty," the first general had replied.

The second general quickly said, "Today's light attack was just a warning that they will be offially starting the war tomorrow."

Starting to become frustrated, I told them, "Okay. Tonight, start to have the troop go through the tactic that Sakura and I just told you about today. We have no other choice if we want to take out as many people as possible. Leave the last two lines of defense where they are though. We may need plan B if something goes wrong with the surrounding tactic. And I don't want any complaints. Now, go!"

When the generals left, Sakura slowly said to me almost in questioning way, "Uh, at least we have some tricks up our sleeves about tactics thanks to our school?"

I walked out of the room and muttered at him with slight frustration, "Don't need sarcasm related things right now, Sakura."

Hotohori quickly came after me and threw his arms around my waist from behind as he started to breathe on my neck. Kissing me lightly on my cheek, he whispered, "Ichimutsu, can you come into my room for awhile? I've been longing to be with you and at least talk to you. I really want to be with you alone right now."

When I turned around to face Hotohori, he quickly locked his lips with mine. Holding my body close to his, he closed his eyes slowly as I began to kiss him back with a small smile. Breaking the kiss and burying my face into his chest as I held him tightly, I whispered, "If you really need to talk to me that bad, then let's go talk in private in your room, Hotohori. I want to be alone with you, too. Any way, your room is more private than mine." Hotohori seemed slightly distant as he and I headed towards his room. Once inside his room, I quickly closed the door as I asked, "You alright, though, Hotohori?"

Hotohori caressed my cheeks and kissed me gently on the lips, whispering, "I'm getting worried about you. You seem to be stressing out way too much lately, and you're putting way too much pressure on yourself just because of what had happened. I can't stand seeing you like this, Ichimutsu."

Looking down, I whispered, "I'm sorry, but you don't have to worry about me, Hotohori. I've just been stressing out because of what happened with Akiko. I love you so much. You know I do, which is why I don't want you to worry about me."

As Hotohori forced me to look up at him and kissed me gently on the lips, he started to pull me towards his bed and laid me down on his bed. As he started to kiss me on my neck, he told me, "Ichimutsu, I love you so much just as much you love me. I have the every reason to be worried for you."

I felt my face redden a little as I quickly sat up. Hotohori seemed a little surprised by this as I quickly told him, "Hotohori, I'm thinking of going onto that field with the army." When I saw Hotohori opening his mouth to argue with me as he sat up as well, I quickly held his hands as I told him, "You have to understand where I'm coming from! I need to know that Akiko is alright at the very least! Even if she did summon Seiryu! This may be my only chance to try and talk things out with her, Hotohori!"

Hotohori's arms soon wrapped around me and, leaning in for a tight hug, he whispered into my ear, "What if I lose you in the fight, Ichimutsu?"

"You won't, Hotohori," I whispered back as I hugged him back just as tightly. Closing my eyes and resting my head on his shoulder, I turned my head sideways to face his face as I gently told him, "I promise I won't leave you behind by yourself with misery. I can never think of leaving you behind."

I felt Hotohori's lips on my forehead as he told me, "I'm going into the field with you and the army, then." When I looked up at him with a startle, Hotohori looked into my eyes and I saw nothing but dead seriousness. He told me, "I want to make sure that I don't lose you. And if you die, I'll be on that field, dying by your side. I want to be with you to the end, Ichimutsu. We'll die together if we have to." I quickly kissed him with a small smile and neither one of us broke the kiss. By the time we both lied down in his bed, I was asleep.