This is a slightly longer chapter and I hope you enjoy it! Please leave a review if you like what you've been reading so far!

Chapter 4: Sogu; Encounter

"What are you doing here, on my land?" Natsume hissed at the girl.

"I, we, need to find someone. Please just let me go, I'm just passing through." The girl looked pleadingly at him, tears starting to form.

"Tch, I didn't know ruffians and thieves were so sophisticated with their lies now." Natsume was not going to fall for some soap opera tale. Staring into her eyes, a feeling of familiarity stirred within him. He has seen her before. "You mentioned 'we', where is the rest of your gang?"

She shifted her eyes to the side, uncomfortable that his crimson eyes were really piercing. Mikan felt that if she stared at them, she would burn.

The interrogation was cut short when the sound of galloping horses could be heard from afar.

"Tch." The day could not get any better for Natsume. He turned back to look at the girl but saw her face drained of its colour.

"Please…" the brown-haired girl whispered, "I can't be caught here, not now. We've come so far."

Natsume stared at the girl for signs that she was just using the incoming commotion as a diversion, but seeing how she was so fearful, he sheathed his dagger.

"Argh, this is such a pain." He ruffled his hair and loosened some strands of hair that was tied up in a loose half ponytail. He crouched down and pressed his ear to the ground in order to identify the direction the horses were coming from and how many there were.

Standing up, Natsume walked to the nearest tree and clutched his hands together.

The brown-haired girl looked at him with a puzzled look.

"Can you hurry up, they'll be here soon. I'll hoist you up the tree." Natsume said in an annoyed tone.

"Oh… right." The brown-haired girl looked at the hands then ran towards the clutched hands before being hoisted up into the tree.

"A little light for a girl."

"Remain quiet." He instructed and within seconds, a group of 4 men galloped towards him.

Dressed in royal blue uniforms, Natsume recognized that they were from the military in the capital.

"The uniform hasn't changed much."

"You there, peasant, have you seen a girl with brown hair, around 16 years old?" The leader spat at Natsume.

Alarm bells began ringing in his head, "she fits that description."

"Answer your superiors, scum!" The man beside him raised his voice in a threatening manner.

Already annoyed that he lost his hunt and had to help a strange girl, the barking order snapped any remaining patience within him.

"Look here, sir…" Natsume began.

"Lieutenant to be exact," The second man clarified.

Natsume rolled out his eyes in frustration. "Lieutenant… this place is far from the capital. There are very few travelers to this part of the kingdom. The last time I saw someone, it was a month ago, and those were bandits, all men, running away with someone's valuables. Out here, there are no women, the conditions are harsh as you would have noticed. If you have so much time looking for a good time, why don't you do something about the rising number of bandits who use this as a pass to the other kingdoms?"

The second man drew his sword ready to strike the raven-haired boy but was stopped by his officer. Natsume did not flinch in fear but stared back in defiance. His words had truth in them and if they hit him, they would not get anything out from it.

"Sheath your sword." The officer told off his subordinate. He stared back at the young man and asked again, "are you sure you have not seen such a girl? She could have slipped past. Lying to a commanding officer is treason."

"Oh, the laws have changed drastically, treason now for lying huh?" Natsume retorted. "I have not seen such a person, as I have said before, I have not seen anyone here for a month."

The officer looked for signs that the boy was lying, but deep down he knew that she could not have gotten far especially since they were travelling in a group of three. It was true that the conditions out here were inhabitable unless one was trained for survival.

Gripping the reigns in anger and gritting his teeth, the officer barked out an order, "Move out, she's not here." Then digging his heels into his horse, they turned back to the direction they were riding from.

Once they disappeared out of sight, Natsume picked up his quiver of arrows and started walking away.

Mikan seeing the raven-haired boy walk away, swung herself down from the tree and hurried after the young man.

"Wait!" She called out to him and he spun round, obviously very very irritated.

"I've done as you've asked, could you get off my land? I'm in a bad mood."

"Thank you." She wheezed. The days of not eating was beginning to catch up with her. "One more favour please?"

Natsume saw that she was breathing very heavily, did he walk that far within that few steps? "What is it?" One more request and he could be free from this annoying woman.

"Do you know a person named Natsume, Natsume Hyuuga?" She placed her hands on her knees and looked to the ground, trying to stop it from spinning.

"It depends on who is looking for him."

"I am."

"Who are you per se?" Natsume retorted.

Mikan struggled to keep her vision as it slowly clouded and darkened. She tried shaking her head but it felt so heavy.

"I… I am…" She struggled to push her voice out of her throat, "Mikan… Yuki…hira…"

Mikan collapsed to the ground unconscious.

"Oi! That's a really bad joke." Natsume knelt beside her to check her pulse.

"Shit, it's weak. How am I to know whether she's lying or not? Anyone can claim to be the princess of this kingdom and why are the guards looking for her? Her satin ribbon already indicates she's of nobility and if what she said was true, then she is the princess. Why are they looking for her?"

Slinging the quiver of arrows around his back, he supported her back and with his free hand, pushed her hair out of her face, getting his fingers caught between the strands. Pulling his hand out, he had undone her braid and beneath the satin ribbon, was the proof he needed for her identity.

There staring back at him, was the small braid that was similar to his. However, unlike his, beneath the satin ribbon was the golden bead with the royal insignia that only the royal family could wear.

"This girl is really the princess of Nuru?!"

Stuffing the ribbon into his pocket, Natsume placed his right hand under her knees and lifted her.

"She is really too light, how long is it since she's eaten something? But why on earth is she doing out here in this desolated place in clothes that looked like they haven't been washed in weeks?"

Natsume jogged as fast as he could back towards his cottage, with a million questions popping up in his head.

Once the little cottage was in sight, Ruka let out a sigh of relief. The three of them had been travelling with as little breaks as possible for the past week in order to reach Natsume's home. However, due to both princesses never venturing further than the capital, it was a little difficult for them to keep up with him.

Various village people were generous enough to offer them shelter and some food during the week, but majority of the inhabitants were wary of the three of them. The commotion at the palace had set the whole kingdom on its edge and it did not help that the military were tasked with securing the return of the trio. With the increase in number of guards roaming the kingdom on the lookout for them, it only made their current situation worse.

As soon as they had left the palace and the fighting ceased, news of a temporary ruler was announced, and the identity of the mastermind was revealed.

"King Izumi's rule has been overthrown in a coop. People of Nuru, a temporary ruler has been decided by the council and ministers. From this point on, General Kuonji would serve in place of the King until the princesses, Mikan-himesama and Sumire-himesama can be found and returned to the palace. Your support of General Kuonji would be greatly appreciated."

The announcer loudly proclaimed in the city square and after the brief introduction, General Kuonji walked onto the small platform.

"Good people of Nuru, it saddens me greatly that King Izumi's reign was short, but change is inevitable. As of now, we are working hard to locate the 2 missing princesses who were viciously kidnapped by the mastermind of this coop. Until they return, I will work hard to ensure that the Kingdom of Nuru continues to prosper and state affairs tended to. In the meantime, people of Nuru, the military has been activated and given the authority to quell any of those who threaten the peace in this kingdom. Anything that disrupts this peace would garner you a stay in the dungeons. Carry on with your daily work."

The trio were hiding in a dark alley, on the outskirts of the town square, when the revelation echoed through the public announcement system. Sumire was in disbelief that her own uncle would come out as a mastermind behind all the violence witnessed the night before, but most of all, she found it hard to believe that he would give the orders to massacre her parents. While General Kuonji was Luna's cousin and lavished Sumire with gifts and hugs when she was younger, it never crossed her mind that he would plot to overthrow her father.

Not willing to believe that her kind and generous relative turned against the royal family, she broke from Ruka's grasp in denial, running to the nearest military guard and demanding to be taken to her uncle until that same guard almost killed her. Fortunately for her, Ruka followed close behind and took the guard's life with a clean strike to his throat.

Ruka shoved the sputtering dead guard aside and wipe his blade clean, then kneeling down so that he was at eye level with Sumire, he spoke, "Sumire-hime, I know it is hard for you to accept all this, but your uncle has abandoned you. If he could order the murder of your mother, he would do the same to you as you have just witness. Everything he has said, they're all lies. He wants to find you and Mikan-hime and eliminate anyone that stands in his way of the throne."

Sumire stared teary eyed at Ruka, then looked to the guard which had blood pooling around him. As much as she hated the events in the last 12 hours, it was hard to refute the possibility that her uncle really wanted her dead. Nodding slight, Ruka helped her to her feet and Sumire tried steadied her trembling feet.

"Let's go. We shouldn't stay here too long, we have to find Natsume-san." Ruka quietly escorted her back to the alley where Mikan was waiting.

With the three of them finally together again, Ruka warned the princesses that the journey to Natsume's cottage would take a trained soldier 4 days from the capital of the kingdom. Due to certain circumstances, Natsume had chosen to live on the outlands at the edge of the kingdom's territory, and the only way to reach the outlands was to cut through the forest. The journey would push them to their physical limits, but they would need to listen to his commands and keep up in order to evade not only the patrolling guards, but the wildlife in the forest.

Being mentally prepared, Ruka ensured that he bought enough food from the last inhabitable village before venturing into the forest.

One week later

The sight of the cottage filled the trio's heart with joy and elation. In the past week, Mikan and Sumire had to accomplish things ladies of their status would not be expected to do. Sleeping on the forest grounds in the initial few nights were rough, especially when both princesses woke up at different times in the night screaming. For Sumire, she dreamt of her uncle hunting her down and assassinating her. For Mikan, she would often find herself in her father's bedroom, eyes open and dead.

Then the long hours walking, and lack of a proper hot bath made them feel extremely uncomfortable, but they knew better than to complain to Ruka. Ruka had to juggle finding food, keeping the princesses safe and leading them to Natsume. He was actually surprised that they managed to go through so many days without a peep of complain, especially from Sumire. Then he realized that they were doing it out of consideration for him.

Not used to walking so much, Sumire's feet were blistered and bleeding to the point where she could not hide her limp from Ruka any longer. Luckily for her, they were half a day's journey to Natume's cottage, and Ruka offered to carry her there since further walking would only aggravate her wounds further.

The sun was already starting to set when they finally reached the cottage. Pushing the slipping Sumire-hime further up his back, Mikan and him walked to the closed door.

"Who is he Ruka?" Mikan inquired.

Ruka thought for a while, wondering how he should introduce Mikan to him, "He's… a good friend. I haven't seen him in 5 years. Just a warning, he'll be a little gruff."

"Why haven't you seen him for so many years?"

"His story is his to tell. We're here, could you please knock on the door?" Ruka again readjusted Sumire's position on his back.

Mikan lifted her hands towards the door and gave it a quick knock. After hearing nothing, Mikan was told to knock again.

"Hm… he's probably not in. Maybe he's hunting." Ruka voiced his thoughts out loud.

Pressing her ear to the door, Mikan heard the shuffling of furniture. "If he's not in, then who's inside moving the furniture?"

Putting Sumire down on the ground, Ruka asked Mikan to stay with her sister. Ruka knew that this area was used as a pass for many bandits to enter the other kingdoms and they had probably thought of robbing Natsume. He drew his sword and kicked down the door. However, he did not see anyone within the small cottage.

"Who are you?! What are you doing in our house?!" The raven-haired girl screamed at Ruka. However, Ruka's eyes were not fixed on her and was looking around the whole house. "HEY! It's rude to go around kicking someone's front door down then ignoring them when they're right in front of you!" The girl bounced furiously in front of an ignorant Ruka.

Sumire stirred from her sleep and the pain from her blistered feet shot straight up her legs when she tried to move them.

"Where are we?" She noted that her surroundings were not that of the forest.

"At Natsume-san's house." Mikan replied her sister while wiping the beads of sweat away from her forehead.

"And Ruka?" Noting the kicked down front door.

"He's investigating the house. We heard noises but Natsume-san is apparently not in. Hunting probably, according to Ruka."

Upon hearing another girl's voice, Mikan's head turned to see Ruka towering over a smaller girl. She got up and walked into the house.

"If you continue to ignore me, I am going to kick you!" The raven-haired girl stomped her foot on the ground.

Giggling at the apparent frustration of the girl around her age, Mikan spoke up, "he can't see you."

The girl turned and looked at Mikan, her crimson red eyes flashing with anger. "Who says he can't see me?! He's been standing there like a fool for the past few minutes." She was clueless.

"Er… Mikan-hime, who are you talking to?" Ruka sheathed his sword and turned to face Mikan.

"There's a girl my age, raven hair, crimson eyes, behind you." Mikan pointed.

Turning around and trying to pinpoint the girl, Ruka responded, "Oh… she's…"

"Yup." Mikan nodded.

Ruka could faintly see the outline of the girl but could not hear what she was saying.

"I am a what?! You know it's rude to speak of someone as if they're not here." The crimson eyed girl interjected.

"Sorry. Do you not know that you are… an Alice stone?" Mikan hesitated before asking.

"That… how… how do you know?" The girl wore a mixture of amazement and shock on her face.

"I can the souls within Alice stones."

"Hm… all right then I believe you. Who are you though?"

"I am Mikan Yukihira, this is my bodyguard, Ruka Nogi and the lady outside is my sister Sumire Yukihira. We're looking for your brother, do you know where he is?"

"Onii-chan is out hunting. You'll find him in the grassland to the west of the cottage. My name is Aoi by the way." Smoothing down the apron that she was wearing, the broken door hanging by its hinges caught her eyes as they widened in horror, "Besides that, we need to fix the door before he's back or he'll start complaining!"

The smaller girl rushed to the back and began looking for the planks of wood that they kept.

"Ruka, I'll go find Natsume-san, you stay here and help Aoi fix the door. She seems to be at the back of the house finding for the extra wood."

"I'll go look for him, it's dangerous to be out there alone." Ruka insisted.

Mikan tried persuading Ruka, "If you look for him, who's going to fix the door and defend Sumire? Let's not make Natsume-san angry especially since we need a favor from him. I can defend myself and we haven't passed anyone here."

Ruka pondered for a while before Aoi's shrill voice interrupted the silence, "Erm… Mikan-chan… I need some help carrying the wood."

"Aoi-chan needs some help. Try explaining that you can't hear her and she might understand why you were ignoring her. I'll leave this in your care." Mikan pulled the katana over her head and handed it to Ruka.

Ruka placed the sword over his own back and went out to help Aoi carry in the wood.

Mikan hurried out and helped support Sumire onto a chair within the dining room.

"I'm going to find Natsume-san Sumire, try not to move your legs so much. Here, hold this, it'll help ease the pain." Mikan unhooked the pouch with the Alice stones and opened it, giving her a light pink stone.

"I didn't know you had so many Alice stones… thanks Mikan." Sumire said while clutching on the pink stone. Immediately the pain in her legs began to subside and she drifted off into sleep for the pain was draining a lot of energy from her.

"Take care of her." Mikan instructed the elderly lady from the healing stone.

"Yes mistress."

Upon returning to the front door, Ruka placed the planks of wood on the ground and saw an outlined figure of Aoi bound up to him.

"Erm… Aoi-san, I can't hear you, but I can sort of make out your outline. Is it possible for you to show me to a bed? Sumire-hime here needs to elevate her foot." Ruka asked the girl.

Straining his eyes to see what Aoi was doing, he knew that she was complaining and gesturing animatedly, but she motioned for him to follow her. Ruka went over to the dining table to carry Sumire. Skipping past the dining room, she turned left and showed him the room with two beds. She then pointed to the one which had a light pink bed cover and Ruka laid Sumire on the bed.

As soon as he laid her down, a small knife fell out from the sleeve of her blouse and it clattered to the ground. Bending down to pick it up, Ruka was suddenly stung by a bolt of electricity. Noting that it was a wakizashi with a similar pattern to the katana Mikan was carrying, Ruka grit his teeth and endured the shocks of electricity before placing it beside Sumire's pillow.

When Natsume finally reached his house, the sight of the front door being open made his heart pound even faster.

"Crap, did those stupid guards break into my house?!"

The girl in his arms began fidgeting in his arms and the heat from her body was searing into his hands.

"Hold on, we're almost there…"

He placed her gently in the shadow of the cottage and drew his dagger. His senses began to heighten as he kept his back against the outer wall of his cottage. Surveying the ground, he saw three pairs of footprints. One of them exited the home, but two of them never did.

"So there's two of them."

He then heard hammering against wood.

"If those idiots destroy my house, they're going to get it."

Jumping in through the front door, his blade immediately met another, and he stared into familiar blue eyes.

"Natsume?"

"Ruka?"

The two men looked at each other before lowering their swords. Natsume took a step back to take in a fuller picture. Behind Ruka was his front door, which he was repairing, and hiding behind the dining table was Aoi.

"Nii-chan!" Aoi sprang out from her position as soon as she saw him.

"Aoi, go boil a pot of water, I'm going to make soup now. And, go prepare a bowl of water and a clean towel." Natsume said coolly before turning around, ignoring Ruka's presence.

He left the house and picked up the brown-haired princess, who was starting to regain consciousness.

Ruka put down the hammer in his other hand and sheathed his own sword. "Where did you… Mikan-hime!" Ruka ran towards Natsume. "What happened to her?! Is she injured?!"

Natsume ignored his panicking friend, he quickly carried her to the bedroom and when he opened the door, he saw another girl with green hair on his sister's bed. Noting the elderly lady in light pink in the room, he nodded to her slightly and acknowledged that she was an Alice stone, probably being clutched by the green-haired girl.

Laying Mikan down on his own bed, he touched her forehead and confirmed that she was having a fever. Sweating profusely, Natsume knew that he had to get some food into her system and cool off her fever before her body started to shut down.

"Natsume! What happened to Mikan-hime?!" Ruka was starting to panic at the pale colour of Mikan.

Walking out from the room, Natsume pointed to Sumire and ignored his questions to ask, "who's seaweed?"

Ruka turned towards the direction Natsume was pointing in and replied, "Sumire Yukihira."

"You gotta be joking. The other princess?" Natsume raised one eyebrow as Ruka nodded.

"What's with these princesses? They're so… weak." Natsume remarked before closing the door.

"A lot of things have happened, and they've been having a hard time..." Ruka tried explaining before being cut short by the piercing red eyes of Natsume.

Natsume let out a sigh and remarked, "She's undernourished and is suffering from exhaustion. The fever has already kicked in, so we need to get some food into her system."

Walking past his friend, Natsume entered the storeroom and began slicing up the dried rabbit meat from the week before.

"Nii-chan, the pot with water is boiling outside. What do I do with this bowl?" Aoi asked her brother.

"Go to the bedroom and clean up the wounds of those two girls, an infection would occur if they're not taken care of. Think you can ask that old ba-saan in the corner of the room overlooking Seaweed to help. Thanks Aoi." Natsume instructed and his sister ran off to the room.

All Ruka could see were a bowl and a towel floating in mid-air before entering the room which Mikan and Sumire were sleeping in.

"Your sister's been very lively." Ruka tried to break the silence between them.

"Hmph."

Ruka knew it would be difficult to get Natsume to return to friendly terms with him. Keeping the guilt within his heart, Ruka never forgave himself, but this was not a time to be feeling guilty.

"What happened to those two? Why aren't you feeding them properly since they're royalty?" Natsume finally spoke up after throwing the meat into the pot and returning to chop the carrots and potatoes.

Moving to the empty seat, Ruka picked up one of the carrots and began to chop them up.

"You didn't hear the news?" Ruka asked.

"You do realise where I live right Ruka?" Natsume said a little too harshly before calming down, "what news?"

Ruka ran his hand through his dirtied blonde hair, "The king, Izumi-sama and the queen consort, Luna-sama, have been murdered. Those two princesses are now wanted by the mastermind of the assault, General Kuonji. The whole kingdom is in chaos and no one dares to oppose him. He's already made an example of those who tried, ends up they're either thrown in the dungeon or executed on the spot. It has been hard, trying to avoid all the guards and finding enough food. I hunted what I can in the forest, but.. I'm not as good as you."

"What about getting the villagers to feed them?" Natusme could not believe that people wouldn't want to help at least the princesses.

Ruka shook his head, "not many people want to run the risk of harboring wanted people."

Natsume got up and threw the chopped carrots into the pot. Returning to his seat, he asked "So I assume those guys from the military want them back?"

"They came here!?" Ruka stood up in paranoia.

Natsume looked at his blonde-haired friend. 5 years had passed but yet he still reacted the same way as he did when he was younger.

"I didn't give anything away. They returned to where they were coming from. So, they want both princesses back?" Natsume prodded.

"More specifically, they need Sumire-hime to secure his position as Nuru's new ruler. Mikan-hime is more like a spare tire, they want her disposed of."

"So if my memories serve me right, this General Kuonji is…"

Before Natsume could finish his sentence, Ruka interjected "He's Sumire's uncle. Cousin of Luna-sama."

Natsume paused midway in his stirring. "So that damn bastard is the new king…"

"Nice screwed up family, the royal family, I mean. Family members killing each other for the power, what's new?" Natsume spat.

Ruka knew that Natsume did not particularly have high regards for the royal family, but he knew that Natsume detested Kuonji in particular.

"We need your help…" Ruka trailed off.

Natsume's blood started to boil. He hated the royal family, he hated Kuonji even more. His entire life was turned upside down because of them. Why should he help them when they were the one who placed him in this position?

"Why should I?" Natsume growled.

"I don't have the training in being a scout like you and we need to move silently. Both princesses have been tasked by their father to seek out 'The Voice of God'. You're the only one with the connections, the information and the skills to do something like this." Ruka pleaded. "Besides, you're the only one we can trust now."

Staring back at his friend, Natsume clenched his fist and sat down on a large rock in front of the pot. Taking a deep breathe, he held it in and counted to ten. Then out of nowhere, he suddenly felt a surge in power.

"… answer me…"

Natsume's eyes shot open and it immediately narrowed down to the package Ruka was carrying on his back.

"What's in the cloth Ruka?" Natsume indicated to the sword.

Ruka removed the sword from his back and laid it on the ground in front of Natsume. "It's a katana. Mikan's been carrying it around since the assault happened." He slowly unwrapped the piece of cloth and the sword's shiny blade reflected the fire.

Eying it suspiciously, Natsume cautiously brought his hand nearer to it.

"… protect… darkness…"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Ruka warned, "I got electrocuted the last time I wasn't personally tasked to carry it."

Natsume was entranced by the sword not because of its looks, but rather it was talking to him in his mind. Laying his hand on the sword, he did not experience the electrical shock that Ruka was describing and this caused Ruka to be awed.

Removing his hand from the katana, Natsume wrapped it up and pushed it towards Ruka. "Keep it." Then he returned to chop up some herbs for the soup.

Ruka was obviously puzzled by his friend's reaction to the sword and yet amazed that the sword did not attack him in defense. Sitting there thinking of a way to convince him to help them, Natsume finished chopping up the herbs and threw them in the soup which was beginning to smell good.

Returning to the house, Natsume found the door fully repaired and all he needed to do was to place it back in its hinges. Gathering his strength, he attempted to lift the heavy door.

"You're still the same Natsume though, forever unwilling to ask for help." Ruka got up from his seat and took up position beside Natsume. Together, the door was returned to its hinges and the soup was cooked.

Mumbling a word of thanks, Natsume urged Ruka to go stay by the princesses as he attended to dinner.

Once Ruka left, Natsume allowed his thoughts to stray to what the sword told him.

"Darkness is entering this world once again. Protect my mistress, protect the savior. Listen to your heart, listen to 'The Voice of God'."

Entering the kitchen to grab two bowls and spoons, Natsume scooped two generous helpings of the soup and walked into the bedroom.

Without knocking, he entered the room and Sumire was already awake.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Natsume-san." Sumire bowed her head while Aoi was tending to her superficial cuts.

"Wake her up, she needs to eat now." Natsume instructed Ruka.

Ruka gently shook Mikan awake, "Mikan-hime, please wake up, you need to eat."

Aoi began propping the pillows behind Sumire and Natsume passed her the bowl of stew. "Eat and after you're done, get some rest."

He then stood by the door and watched both the princesses.

Aoi wanted to bandage Sumire's feet, but Sumire shook her head placed her hands on Aoi's. "Thank you Aoi, you've helped a lot. Please rest yourself." The raven-haired girl bowed and got up to clear the bowl of water which was now a dirty red.

Mikan tried her hardest to open her eyes but they felt like lead. Her whole body felt like it was on fire.

"Ruka… where am I?" Mikan whispered, mouth parched.

"We're in Natsume's home. Here," Ruka propped the pillow behind her, urging her to sit up before cooling down a spoonful of stew. "Eat this, you need your strength."

"What about Natsume-san, how are we going to ask him? What if he says he won't help us? What if he turns us over to Kuonji's guards?" Mikan rambled on and on in a delusional daze while trying to find the energy to open her eyes.

"Mikan-hime…" Ruka tried to calm her down.

Upon opening her eyes, Mikan saw Ruka looking at her with great concern. Turning her head to the side, she saw Sumire eating quietly and she smiled at Mikan. Finally noticing that there was someone standing by the door, Mikan looked past Ruka's head and saw a man that shared Aoi's raven hair and crimson eyes. Blushing a deep colour of red, she realized that Natsume had heard every word that she had spoken. Finally able to take a good look at him, she noted that he was the same age as Ruka and was relatively well-built. Like his sister, his crimson eyes stood out amongst his facial features.

"I won't turn you into the authorities. I'm not that traitorous." Natsume replied in a biting tone.

"Thank you very much Natsume-san." Mikan refused to look him in the eyes out of embarrassment nodded her head in thanks.

"Eat and thank me later." The crimson eye man grunted.

Ruka brought the spoonful of food to her mouth and she ate quietly.

"What about you Ruka? Have you eaten?" Sumire asked as she finished her own bowl.

"I will when you two are done." Ruka replied.

Natsume walked up to Sumire and took the bowl from her hands. "Do you want another bowl?"

Sumire shyly shook her head.

"Then go and sleep. Your wounds would heal soon, since that obaa-san is helping you." Natsume used his head to indicate the elderly lady standing beside Sumire's bed.

"You can see her?" Mikan and Sumire said at the same time.

Taken aback by the remark, Natsume answered, "yeah. She has this pink outline around her, much like my sister has this reddish one."

"So he can see the souls of Alice stones…" Mikan mumbled and Natsume left the room.

Mikan continued eating in silence while Sumire fell back asleep. The elderly lady held Sumire's hand patted it rhythmically.

Once MIkan was done with her own food, she told Ruka that she was tired and Ruka helped her lie back down in the bed. As soon as her eyelids closed shut, Mikan drifted off into sleep. Ruka stood up and covered Mikan with the blanket before turning to Sumire to ensure that she was comfortable in her own bed. Once he was satisfied, he closed the room door and walked towards the sink to wash the used bowls.

Natsume was sitting at the dining table with 2 bowls of soup, waiting patiently for Ruka to be done. As soon as Ruka sat down and took one spoonful of the soup, Natsume spoke up, "Ruka, I'll help you."

"Why the sudden change in mind?" Ruka inquired, spoon midway to his mouth.

"Because without me, you'll never know who 'The Voice of God' is."