As a reminder for the significance in the font types:

- Normal narration and speech
- Recounting/ flashbacks into the past
- "Inner thoughts"
- Sound effects

Chapter 5: Omoide; Memories

Misaki hid behind the crates and occasionally looked at the grand manor across the busy road. Catching sight of the royal blue army uniform, she pulled her body back behind the crates.

"Search every alley! If the princesses escape from this kingdom, I will make sure you head rolls!" The commander shouted at his troops.

"Yes sir!" The troops began spreading out.

People on the road steered clear away from them, wanting to avoid all trouble. Ever since the attack on the palace commenced, everyone was set on edge; tensions were high and people were frightened. Kuonji taking over as temporary king did nothing to ease this trouble.

In fact, with his rule, more people were imprisoned for standing up to his personal army. Kuonji began his rule by locking up those in the King's Guard, the King's Elite Forces and anyone who was loyal to the Yukihira's. Anyone who mentioned the Yukihira's family name and their return were thrown in the dungeons and tortured. Those that continued to defy Kuonji were stirked down in broad daylight in the open streets. Soon the people learnt that silence was the ultimate guarantee to their lives.

Mikan had always mentioned to Misaki that if anything were to happen to her, she should immediately leave the palace and obtain help from the young daughter of the Imai family. Known for her brilliance and intelligence, she created many devices and objects that allowed the Nuru Kingdom to flourish financially.

As soon as Misaki heard the loud explosion, she was in her own servant quarters getting ready for bed. Misaki fought all instinct to run to Mikan's side and instead packed a few essentials in a small bag and left through the servant's entrance to find the little inventor.

Peeking out from behind the boxes, Misaki saw the thing she wanted to see the most. She caught sight of the raven-haired girl flying on her duck scooter.

"Put your backs to it men! The faster we scanned this area, the faster we can all go home."

The loud shuffling of boots against the cobble road grew closer and closer to where Misaki was hiding.

"Imai-san! Open the gates so that I can rush in!" Misaki silently shouted in her head.

"The commander sure is edgy today! How long has it been since our last day off… Hey you! What are you doing there in the corner suspiciously?!" One of the patrolling soldiers spotted Misaki and started walking towards her.

"Shit."

"Er… I… I lost my… my pendant!" Misaki stuttered in fear. She could not get caught now, after all, Mikan's safety must be ensured.

Immediately, Misaki crouched down on the ground and began looking for her imaginary pendant.

The soldiers sniggered while eying her up and down, "look here missy, there ain't no pendant here, you're obviously lying. What about this, you give us some of your services and we'll not report this to our commanding officer?"

One of them reach out their hand and pushed Misaki roughly onto the dirty alley floor.

Misaki grimace with pain as her body came into contact with the cold, hard ground, "Please sir… I have to find my pendant and return to my mistress."

"Ooh… a maid, now that is interesting. Hey boys, what say you doing it with a maid?" The older man laughed.

He stretched out his hand, about to touch Misaki who was trembling with fear, when a icy voice cut through their laughter.

"Lay a finger on my maid and it'll cost you 10,000 rabbits. But I doubt someone of your status would have that kind of money." Standing in the light, the petite girl with raven black hair glared at the group of men with her purple eyes.

Immediately, they backed away from Misaki and stood aside.

"Imai-sama." The chorused.

"What are you doing there Misaki? Get off from the ground, I sent you to buy me a pendant and here you are frolicking with people."

Misaki just stared at the Hotaru in shock, before launching into her act, "I'm so sorry Imai-sama, I was dropped your pendant and was looking for it before I was stopped by the guards."

Standing up and brushing the dirt off her clothes, she curtsied and apologized, "I'm sorry Hotaru-sama."

Hotaru walked to the crates Misaki was hiding behind and glanced under the crates before taking out a dark red broach. "Is this what you're looking for?" Hotaru cocked up an eyebrow.

"Y-yes Hotaru-sama." Misaki bounded towards Hotaru and stood in front of her.

Regarding the soldiers, Hotaru asked in a bored tone, "is there anything else you need from my personal maid sir?"

The soldiers fidgeted nervously, except for the highest-ranking person there. "Don't think that because you are the sole daughter of the Imai family, you will be spared if you go against Kuonji-sama."

Hotaru looked at the man straight in the eye, "I am free to do whatever I want. Just as how the Yukihira royal family depended on me for their economy, so will Kuonji-sama. Threaten me, and I will see to it that this entire kingdom crumbles to ruin." Picking up her dress, she boarded her scooter and flew back into her estate, with Misaki following closely behind, and commanded the guards to shut the gates.

"Hey man… weren't we instructed personally by Kuonji-sama not to intimidate the Imai princess? If he gets word of this, we'll all be in deep trouble." The soldiers murmured to each other before carrying on with their duties.

The soldier who spoke up simmered with anger. "Watch out Hotaru Imai. After you have humiliated me in front of my recruits, don't think I'll let you off the hook."

Once safe within the four walls of the Imai mansion, Hotaru whipped out her baka gun and pointed it squarely between Misaki's eyes.

"Speak, otherwise you'll be returning with a third eye."

Misaki shifted uncomfortably, "Mikan said if anything happened to her, I should ignore her safety and come straight here to find you."

"Stupid girl. I should be given the pleasure of shooting you after you made me exit my own house to save your pathetic life. I was in the midst of planning for a new creation and now I've lost that creative stream I was on." Hotaru lowered the gun and walked to her laboratory frustratedly.

"Mikan… Mikan-sama has escaped from the palace." Misaki chocked out while chasing behind Hotaru who was walking at a fast pace.

"Has she? That's a smart move from someone totally incapable of thinking 2 steps ahead." Moving to her cluttered desk, Hotaru sat on the chair and began twirling the quill in her hand.

Misaki shifted the numerous blueprints off from one of the chairs and sat down on it. "Yes… and so has Sumire-sama. They're both missing from the palace Kuonji is livid at their disappearance."

"Hm." Hotaru ignored the incessantly chatty maid and focused on the blueprints of her newest invention.

Twiddling with her thumbs and unable to deal with the awkward one-way conversation, Misaki dropped the bomb, "She instructed me to find you and told me to tell you that whatever it is, you must keep the kingdom from entering poverty. This is the least she can do for her people if she is not around."

"Hm… strange that this is coming from the princess who isn't first in line for the throne." Hotaru never liked Sumire, simply because she was more than often, worried about more trivial matters than state affairs.

After a long period of silence, Misaki spoke up, "You need to find her Hotaru-san. Ruka can't keep both Mikan and Sumire safe. She needs your help."

Hotaru placed the quill down and looked at the older lady-in waiting, "is this coming from Mikan or from you?"

"Hotaru-san, does it matter?." Misaki bowed her head.

"Tch, that girl can never leave someone in peace can she?" Hotaru shook her head while getting up from her seat to get some documents. "I'll just send these to Kuonji and we can be on our way to where Mikan is."

"What are those?"

"Blueprints for some war devices. Kuonji wanted them."

"WAR DEVICES?! Why are you creating them for him of all people?!" Misaki was appalled, she knew Hotaru was apathetic to the things occurring in the court, but she never knew Hotaru was that apathetic.

"You have been hanging around Mikan too much. I wouldn't give them to him if he could create them within a short period of time. He would need to get me materials from other countries, something he can only do if he has successfully established his status as King."

"Will Kuonji be satisfied so easily?" Misaki felt concern bubbling inside of her.

Hotaru sighed, "Kuonji is a man who is easily satisfied. Besides, he has more pressing issues, like getting Sumire and Mikan back within the capital."

"Oh… and how are you going to find Mikan?"

Hotaru grinned, "do you think I would let my best friend wonder around without me knowing where she's gone?" Grabbing a small device on the table, Hotaru turned it on and the screen lit up. On the screen, there was a blue dot and a red dot further away.

Misaki stared in amazement at the device. Seeing her amazement, Hotaru exclaimed, "we'll leave in an hour. Mikan's the red dot."

General Kuonji stomped around the King's study unable to comprehend how three people were able to hide from an entire army. He had sent out groups to patrol the capital and the lands surrounding it, making sure that no one were hiding the fugitives.

Then came the knock on the door which he was expecting. The lieutenant and his patrol group which were sent to the outlands had returned and were reporting in.

"Sir!" The entire group saluted in attention.

General Kuonji walked behind the desk and settled himself in the armchair. "Did you find them?"

The group fidgeted nervously, each of them eyeing their superior. "No sir."

In his frustration, Kuonji pushed off everything on the desk.

"ARGH!"

The group jumped in fear and moved backwards.

"I give all of you a simple job of finding two princesses and their guard, and this is what I get in return. How hard is it to find these wrenches?!" Kuonji roared.

Clearing his throat, the lieutenant spoke, "it is quite unlikely that the princesses would venture so far out into the wilderness. They will not be able to take the harsh conditions out there. Even as we were riding out, there was no one in sight for miles."

Kuonji raised his hand in frustration, about to strike down the impertinent lieutenant, before thinking about something and lowered his hands. Slumping back in the seat he was seating in, he crossed his fingers and gave a command.

"I want to see the Y squad in my office at noon. Dismissed."

Once again, the group saluted before leaving the fuming Kuonji in the room. The lieutenant walked down the halls of the palace to the barracks where he found the Y squad sitting opposite each other playing a round of chess.

"Captains, the general commands your presences at noon." The lieutenant saluted to his superior before walking out of the barracks for his much-needed rest.

The members of the Y squad looked at each other before smirking and returning to their game.

"You heard that Yu, we got a job." The older boy with brown-coloured hair and eyes looked at his junior two years younger than him.

"Finally…" The younger boy with silver hair replied in a bored tone before moving his chess piece.

Pondering on his next move, the older boy spoke his thoughts, "Seriously though, why call us the Y squad, it's not like we have a group of men here, rather it's just the two of us."

The silver haired boy looked to his senior and shrugged, "who knows. Checkmate."

"What?!" The older boy jumped in surprise, "Seriously Yoichi, I've only made less than 10 moves and you got me? Play fairly."

"I am Yume-senpai, you just think too slowly." Yoichi yawned before placing his head on the table for a nap.

"It's Koko, stop with the formalities you little imp. Hey, don't go sleeping off on me, besides it's unhealthy for a 16-year-old to be sleeping so much. We need to see the general in an hour's time!" Koko started flailing his hands in the air as the younger boy drifted off to sleep.

Yuuchiro just waved his hands in an attempt to swat off his annoying senior and went off to dreamland.

Mikan was wondering around in a pure white place. Looking up, she shielded her eyes from the glaring light source.

"You're here mistress…"

Looking towards the voice, she saw a girl around her age dressed in a deep violet dress.

"Who are you?" Mikan called out to the girl.

The girl started to walk away and Mikan chased after her.

"Wait! Where am I? Who are you?"

Reaching a reflective surface, the girl touched it and the scenery around her changed. It changed to one like the night the palace was attacked. Everything was burning, and then something cold and sticky touched her bare feet. Looking down, Mikan saw a stream of blood pooling and then a scream.

"Stop it! Leave my family alone!" A raven-haired man around his late twenties stood in front of a group of 6 bandits. He was injured, his left hand slashed and it was bleeding badly. The man on the ground was dressed like the bandits and a few other similarly clothed bodies were scattered around the large field.

"Kill them all." The leader said in a cold tone.

The man struggled to keep the perpetrators away from the small hut behind him. The leader obviously impatient with the slow progress took a torch and walked to the back of the hut, as the man was preoccupied, torching it on fire. Sensing the heat behind him, the raven-haired man spun round and horror took over him. The bandits took this time to inflict more wounds on the man.

"Otou-san!" A young girl the age of 4 burst out from the door. "Stop! Don't take take away otou-san!" She cried while pleading the men the stop. The feature which caught Mikan's attention were her crimson eyes.

The men were distracted by the small girl and turned their attention to her. Dropping his sword, the injured man ran towards his daughter and covered her small frame with his body. The bandits happily hacked and stabbed the man.

"Otou-san! Otou-san!" The small girl screamed.

Mikan stood paralyzed with fear. She wanted to do something, but her legs would not respond to her. The scene before her unfolded with such a flurry.

"ANATA!" A woman in her late twenties ran out from the fields and beside her was a boy around 6 years old, with bright red eyes.

Rushing towards her husband, the woman used her own body as a shield to protect her husband and her child. One by one, the bandits suddenly fell to the ground and the young boy's eyes shone blood red in the moon's light as he stabbed them unsuspectingly in the back with the small dagger.

The leader of the bandit saw his men fall and unsheathing his sword, he slashed the woman's back and kicked her body off. Then proceeding with the man, he drove his sword through his skull, killing him instantly. The boy had already taken down 6 men on his own but his sister's scream brought his attention back to her.

"OKAA-SAN! OTOU-SAN!" She crawled out from under her father and shook her father's body, then moving on her knees, she hugged her mother.

The leader looked at the small boy then back to his younger sister and smirked. "This is the end boy. Watch your family perish in front of you."

Mikan pushed her weight forward and ran towards the man. Whatever it is, she has to stop him. Running to grab his sword, she was struck with surprise as her hand went through the man's. Then she saw the girl in the violet dress stand behind the small boy.

"Help them!" Mikan screamed at the girl, but the girl merely shook her head. "Do something! ANYTHING!"

"Neither you nor I can do anything. We can simply watch." The girl spoke.

The leader grabbed the young girl by her hair and pulled her upwards. The younger boy charged towards the man but he simply laughed in a menacing way and hit him. Natsume flew right across to where he was originally standing.

"You're too young to fight me boy, your powers have not matured and you are just weak. Thanks to your father, I got the most powerful alice stone. Now, say goodbye to your sister."

The small girl whimpered as her hair was tugged. "Nii-chan! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

The leader sniggered at her pitiful attempts and in one quick movement, he drew his sword across her throat and threw her body against her parent's lifeless ones.

"Hmph, your slut of a mother and her makeshift family deserve the kind of death they have. Now it's your turn."

Mikan ran and hugged the younger boy, "NO! NO MORE! STOP THIS! NATSUME!" The man raised his sword and in that instant Mikan could feel the cold metal within her own body.

When she opened her eyes, she was back at the place which was a vast whiteness. The girl in the violet dress stood before her and all Mikan could see was the violet dress. Standing up, she tried to stop the tears running down her face.

"Why did you show me that?" Mikan whispered.

"It is the memory of your protector, your messenger." The girl took Mikan's hands. "He has hardened his heart and you must free it from its guilt if he is to fulfill his role in this lifetime."

"Why are you showing me his memories? Why are you showing me this part of Natsume?!" Mikan tried controlling her tears.

"Natsume is connected to you. The answer to how, you will find out when it is time. I can only show you this much. Just as you are suffering, so is he. This is only the beginning of his suffering."

"Who are you?"

"I am Kami's sword."

"You are Kami's sword?" Mikan repeated dumbly.

"My main role is to bring about absolute balance, but I am an entity. Living for hundreds of years, I carry the memories of your ancestors and the people connected to them." The girl explained in a monotonous voice.

"What about Sumire's sword?"

"Hers is mainly just a sword, destined to vanquish the darkness within people's hearts. She will never see me nor hear me completely. Unlike you, your sister is not blessed with the gift."

"What gift?"

"My time has run out. Please, open Natsume's heart."

"Wait!"

Mikan jolted out of her sleep and sat upright. Sweat seeped through her dirtied brown gown and she began to shiver as the cold night's breeze blew through the window. Swinging her legs off the bed, she walked to the katana wrapped in the cloth at the corner of the room.

Waiting for it to assume the form she saw in her dream, she stood there shivering. Realising that nothing would happen, Mikan replaced the sword with the cloth and opened the room door. Slipping into the living room, she saw Ruka sitting on the dining chair and sleeping by the fireplace. Seeing the backdoor open, Mikan slipped out and as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw how full the moon was.

"It's pretty isn't it?" A high-pitched voice softly whispered.

Mikan turned around and saw Aoi standing some distance behind her. "It is."

"The moon was this full that night. You saw didn't you? You saw how I was killed, how my parents were killed." Aoi stood with her hands beside her and a smile on her face.

Mikan did not know how to respond to such a statement.

"It's all right if you can't respond. You didn't choose to see it, but since you've seen it, please ease the pain in onii-chan's heart. He hasn't grieved properly."

"For over 12 years?" Mikan exclaimed.

Aoi nodded. "He never allowed himself to. Maybe my presence here is like a drug to him. He still believes that I live with him. Technically I do, but it's not the same. I cannot be here forever, you understand that right?"

Mikan nodded. "How did you know that I've seen that memory?"

"Our memories exist in the realm of memories which can only be accessed when we're asleep. When someone has seen into a particular memory, those involved in the memory will feel something. Isn't that why you can look at someone you don't know at all, but yet you feel as though you know them? We've all wondered into other people's memories but as soon as we awake, we forget them." Aoi explained and returned gazing at the moon.

"Onii-chan as well… he knows that someone was in his memories."

"He… He knows?!" Mikan stuttered. She did not want to leave a bad impression with Natsume but delving into someone's precious memories was a sure way of doing that.

"I know." A husky deep voice answered from the cottage's doorway.

Mikan immediately bowed and greeted him, "good evening Natsume-san."

"Hmph." The older boy stopped next to her. "Nice way of waking someone up."

Mikan looking for some support, looked to where Aoi was standing but she had already disappeared.

"I guess Aoi didn't explain fully, you can only enter someone's memories when they're also in a dream. That said…" Suddenly, Natsume's hand glowed a warm orange and when it opened it, a dark red Alice stone in the form of a pendant was in his hands, "Sheesh Aoi… don't go running your mouth." Natsume muttered while placing the pendant around his neck.

"I'm sorry Natsume-san, I didn't mean to." Mikan apologized.

"I know. That damn sword did it. Does she not know a sense of privacy?" Natsume kicked a rock on the ground.

"How… how did you know about the sword?"

"Because Ruka showed it to me?"

"Did you touch it? Cause that's the only way of communicating with the sword."

"Er… yeah?" Natsume was staring at the princess with a furrowed brow. "Is something the matter?"

Mikan pondered hard, why was it that Ruka could not touch the sword without her permission, yet Natsume can? Wasn't he supposed to be shocked?

"So you just touched it?" Mikan asked again.

"Are you deaf hime? Yes I just touched it."

"No… sorry." Mikan kept quiet before the scene of the bloodshed flashed before her eyes. She looked around and recognized the scenery, "Isn't this the place where your family was murdered?" Mikan softly asked. "Who is the man who killed them?"

Natsume whipped around and glared at her. Like the memories, his eyes shown a deep red colour. "Just because you've seen it doesn't mean I want to talk about it and it definitely doesn't mean that I would like you in them. Don't act all familiar with me."

Kicking another rock with vengeance, Natsume stormed to the back of the house and sat by the smoldered fire used to cook that night's dinner. Staring into the bright red embers always seemed to keep him calm, he cooled off and realized that he should not have snapped at her. It was not her fault; anyone would be curious and concerned.

Touching the braid which he held dear from under his headband, he relieved that nightmare. However, what disturbed him was not the memory of bloodshed, but his own inability to stop killing.

Sumire awoke once the sun's rays hit her face. Opening her eyes, she noted that her sister was not in her bed. Grabbing the small wakizashi from her bedside table, she emerged from the room only to face a somber atmosphere.

"Good morning." Sumire quietly said to both Natsume and Mikan who were sitting at opposite ends of the dining table.

Ruka entered through the back door while carrying 4 mugs filled with steaming fresh milk.

"Good morning Sumire-hime. Come drink this up and we'll be on our way." Ruka placed the mugs in front of everyone before sitting down and drinking his own.

Sipping the warm milk, Sumire felt the tension in her muscles loosen and her head began to clear. "Where are we going Ruka? We've already found Natsume-san."

Drinking the last bit of his drink, Ruka placed the mug down and explained, "before your father passed on, he instructed me to bring the both of you to see 'The Voice of God'. That is who we are going to meet next."

"How are we going to find that person?" Mikan asked.

Ruka looked to Natsume, "Natsume-san here… we'll let's say he's a walking encyclopedia. He has information from all over the country and it should point us in the right direction."

Natsume got up and walked to the bookshelf near the front door. Running his fingers down the spines the books, he stopped at a dark green book and pulled it out. Carrying it in his hands, he walked towards the trio and opened it. Staring at them was a small map of the country.

"This is the capital of the country of Nuru right? Also known as the Nuru Kingdom." Natsume looked up and saw the three of them nodding. "Also, it is the only kingdom in a valley, hence it is surrounded by a mountainous range with a large forest separating us from the neighboring country and the ocean."

"All right, 'The Voice of God' should be somewhere…" Running his index finger across the page, he jabbed a spot on the map, "here."

Mikan looked at the place which Natsume had poked and curiosity welled up inside of her, "that person is at the border of the forest?"

Natsume raised an eyebrow, "you doubt me?"

"No… but we'd have to go back to where we came from… pass the capital." Sumire spoke up.

The group remained silent.

Clearing his throat, Natsume spoke, "Ruka didn't come to me for help because I would provide you only with information, I'm coming along and with me, your chances of survival just increased. Besides, I have associates in town and they'll help us."

Ruka beamed proudly at his friend, he knew that with Natsume's help, they could probably outwit Kuonji.