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Chapter 19: Riyu; Reason

Mikan was about to ask more questions regarding Sumire but a voice echoed in her head.

"Come… come to me…"

Natsume, whose heart skipped a beat when he heard his sister's message, stood up and was about consult Tsubasa about a change of plans but he noted Mikan's lack of concern. Mikan merely sat at the edge of the cliff and allowed the wind to mess up her hair.

Squatting down so that he was at her eye level, he noted her glazed expression. At first, he thought she was paralysed with fear but then he caught her lips muttering something.

"Who… are... where…"

Natsume was confused by her incoherent speech and tried shaking her gently.

"We need you… hurry…"

Mikan stood up and walked towards the edge of the cliff.

"Come… come to me…"

Panicking, Natsume grabbed Mikan's hand and then the voice disappeared, causing Mikan to return back to consciousness. At this moment, she realised how close Natsume's face was to her own, so much so that she could see her own reflection in his crimson orbs. Blinking a few times, she tilted her head questioningly.

"Hyuuga-san?"

Natsume backed up took his hand off her shoulder.

"You were muttering something."

"Did you hear it?"

"Hear what?" Natsume was really confused right now.

"Her voice!"

"Whose voice?"

"That's what I want to know as well. She asked me to come to her." Mikan replayed the lady's voice in her head. Even though it was ethereal, she could sense the desperateness in her voice.

Mikan pushed herself off the ground, "first things first. We need to get back to the town to see my sister."

Natsume and Mikan both turned around and were surprised to see Tsubasa leaning against the wall at the cave entrance.

"When you're done with your little rendezvous, I was about to tell you two that the plan has been shifted forward."

"What plan?" Mikan asked.

"We have run into a little trouble back at the warehouse. One of my men left evidence allowing the royal army to arrest us. It's time my crew and I got back to the open sea."

Natsume opened his mouth to argue with his senior. They couldn't leave the port city now; they didn't even have enough clues as to where the Aqua alice stone was. Though the risks were higher staying, it was better than wondering around in the open waters where the princesses were not used to such conditions.

"Take me with you." Mikan said.

"What?!" Natsume and Tsubasa both looked at her.

"Take me and my sister aboard your ship." Mikan stood her ground.

Tsubasa narrowed his eyes and looked at her, "why should I? What good will two princesses do on my ship except slow down the crew?"

"Something has been calling out to me, something from the ocean. If you do not aid us in this journey, the world that you know now will be destroyed." Her hazelnut orbs flashed dangerously at Tsubasa.

"You know for a man your age, I would have expected you to take things more seriously, but here you are, asking useless questions once again." Hotaru stepped out from the shadows and stood beside her best friend.

"Ah the chibi speaks."

At this moment, he received a hard hit on the back of his head by Misaki, "sir I believe there should be a limit to your jokes."

Natsume tried his hardest to hold back his laughter.

After a moment of pondering, Tsubasa threw his hands up in defeat and surrendered, "all right all right, but we leave by nightfall, today."

"Sounds good. We'll meet up with you by the port once we've rescued Sumire-hime and Ruka…" Natsume trailed off.

Speaking of Ruka, no one had any news on him.

Tsubasa nodded at the plan and started ordering his men to get packing.

Ruka was on his way back from the town center when he saw Sumire pacing in front of the tree at the back door. Walking up to her, he gently placed his hand on her shoulder, and she jumped in fright.

"Ruka!"

"Relax, it's only me. Why aren't you in the inn helping Io-san?"

"Listen Ruka, the royal army is staying in our inn, we have to move out now!" Sumire said frantically.

"Wait if they are… then why are you outside pacing around in the open?" Ruka asked suspiciously.

Sumire played with the idea of telling Ruka about the captains which let her go. If she did, then she'd have to relay everything to him, including that embarrassing moment. The memory of Koko kissing her surfaced and her lips began tingling again. Scolding herself mentally, she decided to keep it a secret.

"I saw them walking into the inn and since the backdoor was relatively unknown to them, I stayed close to this tree in case."

Ruka seemed to have accepted that fairly flimsy idea, allowing Sumire to breathe a sigh of relief.

"All right, you stay out here while I gather our things, it's already nightfall and I've gathered some information that the next stone is somewhere in the ocean."

At this moment, Sumire felt the Alice stone in her pocket warm up. Taking it out of her pocket, Aoi appeared.

"Good evening Ruka-san, hime-san. My brother has instructed the both of you to wait at the pier at midnight. He did stress that the both of you should not be late."

The town's clock rang out eleven times and the duo looked at each other. Ruka then pulled his hair back once again and entered the inn with his disguise.

Koko was brooding over letting the princess go a second time and silently sipped his mug of beer. The bitter aftertaste left in his mouth reminded him of the punishment he was about to receive when the daily report to Mihara had to be done. Speaking of the devil, the man he didn't want to see the most came into the inn with a bang.

"Damn this blasted town! It's nothing compared to the capital!" The major complained loudly while throwing his muddy boots onto the table.

Not caring that he was dirtying the place, he shouted loudly to the innkeeper.

"WOMAN! Bring out some meat and beer!"

The innkeeper hurried to put some food in front of the irritated major. Then the moment Koko dreaded arrived.

"Captains! The daily report!"

Koko eyed Yoichi nervously.

"It's entirely your fault for letting her go. Don't look at me for help."

Glaring vehemently at his junior, Koko took a large gulp of beer before reporting.

"No disturbances in the town centre. The men are also at the post keeping watch for the princess…" Suddenly a flash of blonde hair entered his field of vision.

"Is that… Ruka?"

Koko shook his head. No, it couldn't be. He did tell Sumire to get out of his sight, why would she send the bodyguard into this place?

"Captain Yome?" Mihara stopped eating to look at his subordinate. Slightly turning his head to see what Koko was looking at so intently, Koko immediately continued his report.

"After this evening's fight, the town has gone back to its peaceful ways. Also…" Koko trailed off.

"Also…?" Mihara drawled.

Koko never let the blonde man disappear from his sight, and once he re-emerged from the room with a few bags, what confirmed his suspicion were those piercing blue eyes which looked directly at him.

Yoichi who was lazily watching his senior getting grilled noted how distracted he was and followed his gaze. Alike Koko, he too almost chocked on his dry bread when he saw Ruka looking at Koko.

"KOKO! It's really Ruka! What do we do?!"

Koko was having a difficult time reasoning everything out. It was the first time he had to think about so many things and multitask at the same time.

"Captain!" Major Mihara was starting to become very irritated at the slow report.

Yoichi got up from his seat, all intending to save his partner's hide when a piercing scream was heard. All eyes whipped to the kitchen to see the innkeeper's son sprawled on the floor. Linking the dots together, anyone could see that he had bumped into a drunken soldier and caused the bowl of soup he was carrying to spill all over his uniform.

"Why you brat, this was a fresh set of uniform! Now I have nothing else but that stinking one which I had worn for several weeks!" The burly soldier moved towards the boy and started hitting him.

"Major, please order your man to stand down." Koko warned.

Unlike the men which both Koko and Yoichi commanded, this man had an extra silver band round the sleeve of his uniform, indicated that he was in Mihara's special unit force.

The major having forgotten the half-done report, sat amusedly in his seat.

"Why? The boy deserved it. My men had been waiting for a long time to wear a fresh set of clothes. Anyone would get angry. Anyway, what harm would a few beatings do?"

The loud screams of the boy could be heard as the man's hand came into contact with the boy's small frame.

"STOP IT!" The innkeeper screamed as she rushed forward, attempting to knock the man away but in one swift movement, she was flung backwards.

"MAJOR! This will not sit well with the townspeople." Koko urged.

Yoichi jumped over the table to stop the man, but Mihara raised his voice.

"If you help the boy, you will be charged with being a deserter."

Yoichi froze in his position. Injustice was in front of his face yet when push came to shove, he couldn't move his feet. Didn't he join the army because his whole life had been riddled with injustice? Didn't he want to make a difference in this society?

The young boy's screams echoed throughout the inn and just as he was about to receive another hit, the town's bell chimed once, indicating the 30th minute in the hour. Accompanying the loud chime, the ground beneath the soldier shook and gave way.

Those who were watching grabbed onto the table for support as if they were experiencing an earthquake but both captains knew what was happening.

As the burly guard fell into the newly created ditch, Sumire jumped over the hole and crouched down beside the young boy. Immediately taking out a healing Alice stone from her pocket, she placed it in the boy's hand and willed it to work. Instantly, a soft golden glow enveloped the boy and his bruises disappeared.

"Well well, what do we have here? The guard and Sumire-hime… what a pleasant surprise…" Mihara choke out with surprise as Ruka's sword pressed against the major's throat.

Ruka's eyes flashed angrily at Sumire. He had instructed her not to come into the inn no matter what happened yet she could not stay put outside after witnessing Zen being hit relentlessly. Now it was going to be very difficult for them to escape.

All the guards got up from their seat and blocked the front and back exit, preventing any form of escape from the duo.

"At least we know that the princess here is attentive to her people's sufferings, despite her and her sister causing it in the first place." Mihara drawled on.

Ruka pressed the cold blade deeper into his pale skin, "silence you scum! How dare you allow your men to lay their hands on the innocent?!"

"Innocent?" Mihara laughed, "they were hiding fugitives. For that, they shall pay with their lives."

Seeing the young boy out of any harm, Sumire stood up and pointed her wakizashi at the major, "let them go."

"And you will take their place?" Mihara pressed.

Looking to Ruka, Sumire looked back into Mihara's cold eyes, "yes, but not now. I have something I must do first."

"I'm sorry to say that that is not possible." Mihara nodded his head ever so slightly and his men drew their swords and pointed them at Io and her son.

"Release them! This is between you and me!" Sumire shouted.

"Will you take their place?" Mihara grinned.

"I cannot. If you do not let me pass, the world will be consumed in so much darkness. Even more so than you can ever imagine."

"What becomes of the world is none of my business. Capture her captains!"

Koko and Yoichi remained rooted in their spots. Should they continue following this insane major? Couldn't he see the world starting the crumble? As they each took a step towards her, Sumire stopped them in their tracks.

"Why are the both of you following this man's orders? Didn't you see for yourselves that he's crazy, that he has no regard for anyone lower than him? Was this the reason why you joined the royal army, to go around terrorising the weak and disregarding any sense of justice? Is this why you both wear those 3 navy blue beads on your braid?!"

Truly, what was the initial reason they joined the army? Koko knew Yoichi's reasons but what were his own? He was an orphan, a nobody. The only reason he joined the army was because it was the one place which provided him with shelter and free food. Along the way, he loved the way the people looked up to him and thanked him profusely when he aided them in their small requests.

"What are you both standing around then for? Capture them immediately!" Mihara shouted again but neither captains moved.

Feeling fed up, Mihara activated his Alice and Ruka jumped backwards to avoid his arm being turned to stone. Then Koko leaped out of his spot to avoid being hit, thanking God for his Alice to read minds.

Sumire activated the wakizashi in attempt to distract Mihara but somehow the Terra stone would not activate. Confused at the lack of a response, she was pushed to the ground by Koko and when she looked up, she noted that the spot she was standing in was a pale white.

"Don't stand there like a fool! Move move!" Ruka urged Yoichi as he stood rooted to his spot.

Yoichi could not believe that a high-ranking officer could turn against his own men. Unable to fathom the idea, he just stood there in disbelief, hoping that Mihara would stop once he played around, but seeing how he attacked his senior and the princess, something within him snapped.

Ruka pulled the younger boy out of harm's way and shook him roughly.

"Snap out of it Yoichi! Or else Mihara's going to kill you!"

The other men seized the state of confusion within the inn and began attacking the group. Koko merely managed to block the attack of a special unit soldier under Mihara and threw him backwards. Behind Ruka, another man tried to stab him, but luckily Yoichi came back to his senses and quickly drew his sword, piercing him in between his ribs.

Looking backwards in amazement, Ruka uttered a word of thanks and helped Yoichi to his feet.

"Let's get out of here!" Ruka shouted.

"ATTACK MEN! INCLUDING BOTH CAPTAINS WHO ARE NOW DESERTERS!" Mihara bellowed.

The men which Koko and Yoichi commanded did not move from their spot. How could they attack their superiors who partook in the same treatment as them? They knew that the young captains gave their best in their jobs and treated their subordinates as equals.

Taking advantage of their hesitation, Koko and Yoichi bowed slightly and escaped from the inn, following closely behind was Ruka and Sumire.

"Where to now?" Yoichi shouted over his shoulder as he ran.

"The port!" Ruka shouted back.

At the same time, in the background the group heard Mihara shouting, "CATCH THEM AT ALL COST MEN!"

Like in the inn, the men which Koko and Yoichi commanded hesitated when instructed to capture them and due to this, they could escape with ease to the port. Once the port was in view, Ruka spotted Natsume standing on the plank leading to the ship.

Natsume motioned for them to hurry up and they heard the faint directions of the captain.

"Raise the anchor! Lower the sails!"

Natsume saw both Ruka and Sumire running towards the ship, and what puzzled him was the pair of royal guards that followed them.

"Start raising the plank!" Tsubasa yelled.

"Hold on… they can make it." Natsume mentioned.

"Remember Natsume, we are NOT to be caught at all, otherwise it's game over."

The raven-haired youth nodded his head and clenched his toes.

"Hurry… hurry…"

Close on their tails were a larger group of men from the army, brandishing they swords in the air and chasing them. A few of them were riding horses and were very close to capturing them.

"RUKA! Incoming horses!" Koko yelled as he picked up the thoughts of their riders.

Ruka activated his Alice and frightened the horses, causing them to rear and their riders to hold on to the reins with their dear life. Yoichi activated a few ghosts which were in the vicinity and these caused most of the men to stop in their tracks with fear as the ghosts walked towards them.

Then Natsume's eyes were instantly drawn to the small spark of light which was amplified by the surrounding darkness.

"Shit… explosives!"

Sumire's nose picked up the scent of gunpowder and turned around to see the horsemen holding ignited bombs.

"They're trying to kill us!" She screamed and the group pushed all their energy to their legs.

"400 metres more…"

"Natsume, raise the plank otherwise you can swim to your location." Tsubasa clenched his jaws and warned his kouhai.

Whipping his head behind, Natsume yelled, "IMAI! GIVE ME ONE OF YOUR GUNS NOW!"

The purple eyed lady glared at the demand and handed over her newest invention with much distaste.

"Do NOT break it." Hotaru then placed three smooth white balls into Natsume's palms and joined the rest below deck.

"Anchor's raised sir." One of the crew reported back to Tsubasa.

Tsubasa left the wheel and started walking towards Natsume, not caring if he had to shove the boy off his boat as long as it got them sailing.

"200 metres…"

Loud explosions were heard all around as the men threw their explosives in front of the group, trying to get them to stop. However, with Koko's mind reading Alice, Yoichi's ghost summoning ability and Ruka's animal control, they were able to stall most of the riders. For the explosives which were successfully thrown, Sumire was able to pick up its scent and steer the group away from it.

Natsume raised the weapon to his shoulder and looked into the scope. Narrowing in on one of the riders which was very close to Sumire, he pulled the trigger and the small white ball flew out soundlessly and hit the man squarely in the chest. This caused him to fall cleanly off his horse and land on the ground with a thud.

Satisfied with the efficiency of the gun, Natsume reloaded another white ball and took aim at another unsuspecting prey.

"HURRY UP!" Natsume yelled as he felt Tsubasa's presence close in.

Sumire was the first to reach the ship and using all her remaining energy, she leaped onto the plank and landed on the wooden floors of the ship. Ruka was next, carrying all the bags and crashing into the pillar. Natsume and Tsubasa started pulling back the plank but were stopped abruptly by Sumire.

"WAIT! Those two are coming along!" Sumire pointed to the two royal army captains.

Yoichi pushed all his strength onto his legs and leaped onto the hovering plank, landing soundlessly on the ship. Running 50 metres behind, Koko flailed his hands, trying to stop Natsume and Tsubasa from reeling back the plank. However, he was ignored and the plank was brought onto the ship.

"CAPTAIN YOME! HALT!" One of the men on horseback yelled out but Koko ignored him and jumped towards the ship.

At this moment, the ship was already more than halfway away from the docking area and when Koko leaped, Sumire held her breath.

"He's not going to make it, he's not going to make it!" Her conscious screamed.

Then suddenly, a loud thump was heard against the side of the ship and Koko held on to the part where the plank once was with his fingers.

Everyone who saw that amazing feat rushed to see if Koko was really holding on.

"Pull me up and stop staring!" Koko strained, feeling his fingers lose their grip against the wood.

Tsubasa and Natsume reached down and pulled the brown-haired captain on-board. Throwing him against the floor, swords were drawn and pressed against his back. Lifting his head up, he saw Yoichi receiving the same treatment.

"They're with us." Sumire said calmly.

However, Tsubasa was not so quick to accept the two captains. "They could be spies."

"They're aren't. If they were, they would not have let both Ruka and I out of the inn." Sumrie assured the unfamiliar man.

Tsubasa snorted and pressed his blade against Yoichi's neck. "Is the princess telling the truth?"

Yoichi looked into the dark blue eyes of the captain and answered with confidence, "What else? If we really wanted to spy, I don't think gaining your trust is the best way, considering how Ruka knows us."

"Lie to me and I find out that you betrayed this group here, know that you will never sleep with both eyes closed." Sheathing his sword, Tsubasa motioned for the men to release the two captains. "Give them each a set of clothing.

Pushing himself off the ground, Koko dusted off the dirt which had accumulated on his uniform and when he looked up, he was face to face with the green haired princess.

"Are you all right?" She enquired, with concern all over her eyes.

Koko half-smiled at her and nodded, "thanks for speaking up for us."

"Nii-chan…" Aoi materialised and spoke to her brother.

Youchi blinked a few times as he saw the familiar figure which appeared out of thin air. Prodding Koko, he asked, "can you see her?"

Koko looked in the direction which Yoichi was pointing at but stared only at thin air. Shaking his head, he ignored Yoichi and walked beside Sumire, who was pacing around the now sailing ship.

Natsume patiently heard all that Aoi had to tell him before urging her to return back to her stone form to rest. Feeling a gaze on his back, he turned his head and met the cold grey eyes of the younger boy.

"What is it?" Natsume asked coldly.

"Am I turning mad? Why is it I can see her, but my companion cannot?" Yoichi voiced out his concern.

Natsume chuckled and sat next to him. "You are not, but I understand how you feel. I felt confused when I first saw my sister in that form."

"Your sister?" Yoichi questioned, but thinking about it, he realised they both had striking red eyes.

Nodding to his question, Natsume continued, "Do you know what you're seeing is the soul of the Alice stone?"

Yoichi shook his head.

"Not everyone can see an Alice stone take the form of a human. If you remember, an Alice stone is formed when a person with an Alice dies before their Alice runs out."

The silver haired youth nodded.

"The reason why you can see them in that form is because you have witnessed a brutal death or the death of a love one." Natsume concluded his lecture.

Koko observed both his kouhai and the suspected person from that unit. So far, they seem to be on good terms, and he did not appear to be someone they were to be afraid of. Deciding to conduct a little test, he excused himself from the presence of the princess and disappeared into the darkness.

Sneaking up behind the raven-haired man, he attempted to scare him but was grabbed by his collar.

"What are you trying to do?" His crimson eyes pierced into his soul.

Koko chuckled nervously, "heh… nothing. I just wanted to ask you, where is Mikan-hime?"

Natsume stood up and faced the man his age, "she's below decks with her best friend and lady-in-waiting. Orders were given that they were not to come onto the ship's deck."

"Why?" Koko was clearly puzzled.

"Because she's been hearing someone calling her, and it's been getting louder. Sometimes she enters a trance and starts walking off on her own."

"Who's calling her?"

Natsume hesitated before answering, "The person at our next destination."

"How many do we have today?" Kuonji drawled on lazily while looking through a new batch of documents.

The guard quivered and handed over a small velvet bag. Kuonji placed down the papers and overturned the bag causing 5 big stones of various colours to topple out.

Smiling sinisterly at the large stones, he placed them back in the bag again.

"Sir…?" The guard asked cautiously.

"Work them harder. We need all the Alice stones we can get." Kuonji instructed before chasing the guard out of the room.