Chapter 50

Leaving the Shadows of the Past

Riku watch from the air as the rebel troops marched triumphantly to the city. He'd been in many battles against the Dark Moon pack but he'd never seen a battle like the one he just saw. He looked at the battlefield in front of the cliffs. The area was covered with craters created by Treble's attack. He saw mostly Black Legion dead because most of the rebel corpses were in the blast area and were completely destroyed.

Ryu looked to the sky around where Riku and Gurumin watched. "What is it?" Katana asked. "I just have a feeling someone's watching us" he replied. Katana looked at the area Ryu was looking at. "Not so much as a bird" he said. "Guess I'm still recovering from the battle" Ryu said as he looked ahead of him. 

"So how many casualties?" Ryu asked. "We lost 73" Katana replied. "Any koorime?" Ryu said. "Just our troops" said Katana. Ryu looked back at his troops. "Most seem to be wounded. I'm sure the koorime can help us with that problem" Ryu said as he looked at the approaching city.

As they entered they were greeted by the cheers of the koorime. Ryu chose to ignore it since he always got a headache from so much noise. Katana was kind of enjoying the fact they no longer feared him. The troops headed back to their lodgings to celebrate. Ryu, Katana, and the officers were heading for the palace to report the news.

They reached the palace and dismounted. As servants took the horses to the stables, Ryu and his group headed for the throne room. The doors to the room were already open when they reached it. They walked in a bowed before the queen.

"Your majesty, the threat to your people has been dealt with" Ryu said. "We are in your dept Ryu. Please honor us by staying a few more days to recuperate" Arcticus said. "Thank you for the offer but I must decline. The rest of my army needs me. But I will stay the night" Ryu replied. "Very well. Prepare their rooms" Arcticus ordered. She summoned a servant forward. "There will be a feast tonight. Summon the best cooks on the island" she said. The servant bowed and left.

"We'll go prepare" Ryu said as he stood up. He and Katana left while the officers went to explore the city. Servants were waiting for them at the room exit. They followed them to their rooms.

The servants stopped in front of two doors on opposite sides of the hall. "This one is yours Ryu" one said pointing to the room on the right. "The other is Katana's" she said pointing to the other. Ryu and Katana nodded and went inside.

Ryu walked into a large room with walls made of ice like the rest of the palace. The floor was made of blue marble. At one side was a four post, king size bed with light blue and aqua sheets. The posts were decorated with engravings of birds. The other side featured a large round table. On it was a sack Ryu brought that contained a few outfits to change into. Not to far from the table was a dresser with various makeups on it. Ryu knew only women use these rooms so he decided to ignore the makeup. Next to the dresser was a doorway that led to a bathroom. The last wall was an entrance to a balcony.

Ryu walked to the sack and rummaged through it. He pulled an outfit from inside. I knew I'd need this he thought. He then picked up a foul odor. "I need a bath" he thought as he headed for the bathroom.

Later that night

Ryu and Katana walked out of their doors at the same time. Ryu wore a similar outfit to the one he wore to battle but it didn't have the armor on his chest and the gauntlets. Instead he wore long black gloves and a red cape. Katana had also replaced his armor with a cloak similar to Hiei's but it had blue flames along the bottom.

"It should start soon" Katana said. "Let's go" Ryu said. They headed for the dinning room.

They approached a pair of large doors with two servants standing in front of them. "Enjoy" they said as they opened the door. Ryu and Katana walked into a huge well lit room. Hanging from the ceiling was a chandelier with a hundred candles on it. Various candles along the walls helped to light the room. The rebel army sat at twelve long tables covered with food. Servants ran through them to deliver a constant supply of food to the hungry troops. At the far end of the room was a smaller table. Seated on it were Arcticus, Relena, Serenity, three girls who looked a lot like the queen, and a few koorime priestesses. Ryu figured the three girls were Relena's sisters. 

Relena was in an outfit similar to the queens but it had black lining instead of white and without the crown. But just like the queen's, it hugged her body in all the right places. Serenity wore a strapless aqua dress. She wore a necklace with her first tear gem on it around her neck.   

Two seats next to the queen were empty. Ryu and Katana headed for the table. "Glad you could join us" Arcticus said. "Thank you your majesty" Ryu said as he and Katana bowed. They headed for their seats. Almost immediately they were served food. "Good service" Ryu said before digging in.

After his plate was empty the sound of music filled the air. Some of the troops were already dancing with koorime. Ryu smirked and rose from his seat. He walked to Relena and held out his hand. "May I have this dance?" he asked. Relena blushed and took his hand. They walked to the dance floor. "You seem nervous" he said. "Well I've never danced with a man before" she replied. Ryu held her hand in his and slipped the other around her waist. She instinctively placed her arm around his shoulder.  "Follow my led" he said. The two started to spin on the dance floor.

"I can't thank you enough for helping us" Relena said. "Well I can't let the Black Legion destroy an entire civilization" Ryu replied. "Why do you fight the Black Legion?' she asked. "Because of what they did to me" Ryu replied. Relena had a puzzled look on her face. "They released a virus through my race. It infected every wolf demon but it was fought off by our species. It only merged with me and gave me the power to become the Devil Wolf" he said. "I'm sorry" she said. "Don't be" Ryu replied smiling. Relena thought she would faint when she saw his smile. She looked around and saw Katana and Serenity dancing together.

What she didn't notice was all the stares she and Ryu were getting. Others in the room were amazed at how perfect the two looked together. The handsome Devil Wolf and the beautiful koorime princess looked like a match made in heaven. Ryu and Relena were to busy staring at each other to care. After what felt like hours to the two the music stooped. They walked off of the dance floor and onto a balcony.

Relena leaned against the railing as Ryu stood next to her. "That was fun" she said. "You're a natural" Ryu replied. "I hear your leaving tomorrow" she said. "Yes, I have an army that needs medical attention" he said. "You think I can help?" she asked. "Will your mother approve?" he asked. "Don't worry, I'll just give her my special puppy dog eyes and she'll cave in" she said. Ryu laughed.

After he calmed down they stood in silence and gazed at the stars. "Why must we fight this war?" she asked. "The Demon King wants to enslave the humans. I won't let that happen" he said. "That's very noble of you" Relena said. "Thank you" he replied.

"Are they're many wounded?" she asked. "Yes, it's not a pretty sight" Ryu said. "I'm sure we can help" she said. "I want you to be careful" Ryu said. "What do you mean?" she asked. "A wounded demon is very dangerous. Our medics have been killed by our own troops when they were wounded. I'll make sure you have armed guards with you" Ryu said. "You care that much about my safety" she asked blushing. "I care about more than just that" Ryu replied. His face was now centimeters from hers.

"Master Ryu, the queen wishes to speak with you" a servant said. Ryu quickly pulled back and looked at the servant. "Very well" he said as he started to walk back in. "Ryu wait" Relena said as she grabbed his arms. "Yes?" he said. "What were you going to do, before the servant came" she asked blushing. Ryu smiled and pulled her toward him. Before she could say anything, he pressed his lips against hers. He broke it and headed to the queen, leaving a mesmerized koorime princess standing on the balcony.

Relena came out of her trance and placed her fingers one her lips. He…he kissed me. He actually kissed me she thought. Then something dawned on her. That wasn't only her first kiss, but the first time in history a koorime had kissed a male. She spent the next few minutes just standing there.

Riku smirked as he watched the events unfold. "Reminds me of Yukina and me" he said. "It is time we headed back to our time" Gurumin said. He clasped his hands together and started the chant an incantation. The world swirled around them. In no time Riku and Gurumin were standing in front of the pond.

"That was some adventure" Riku said. "I'm glad you liked it" Gurumin said. "So now what" Riku asked. "Right now, you need to go home. Tomorrow we start the training needed to make you powerful enough to transform" Gurumin said. "How long will it take?" Riku asked. "That depends on your dedication" Gurumin replied as he started to walk off.

"Wait" Riku said. "Yes?" said Gurumin. "Why did you take me to see that battle? Why not another, like the final battle?" he asked.  "Good question. You see that battle was the turning point in the war. Before the battle on the floating island, the Rebel Forces were fighting defensively while taking a few small castles. That battle was the first offensive move they made and was the first time one of the Apocalypse Ten was killed" Gurumin replied. "How many are left?" Riku asked. "Four of the Apocalypse Ten were killed in the war. Any other questions" he asked. Riku shook his head.

"Oh one more thing. Your friend Yusuke will be your training partner. Genkai insists" he said before disappearing. "Well at least I won't get to lonely" Riku said as he headed back to the temple.

Along the way he saw Hiei and Nami standing by a lake. Hiei pulled out a necklace of tear gems from his cloak. "Oh my god it's beautiful" Nami said. "Not as beautiful as you" Hiei said as he helped her put it on. "You didn't have to do this for me" Nami said. "Just shows how much I love you" Hiei replied. "Come here" Nami said as she grabbed his collar and pulled him in for a long kiss. Riku sighed and continued on.

When he reached the temple he found Crystal sound asleep on the couch and using Kuwabara's jacket as a blanket. Yukina walked into the room. "Welcome back" she said smiling. "What happened here?" Riku asked. "We all played cards and Crystal fell asleep. Kazuma was nice enough to lend her his coat" she replied. "I'm gonna to take a bath" Riku said as he headed for the bathroom. Along the way he heard forbidden sounds from Rogato and Lila's room.

An hour latter

Riku stood on top of a hill while gazing at the stars. He was nervous about starting training the next day. But what he was most nervous about was Yukina. He knew he had to tell her about his training. He might be gone awhile and he didn't want her to worry.

"Riku" Yukina said from behind him. Riku turned around and saw her standing there with a worried look on her face. I guess it's time he thought. He walked to Yukina and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Yukina, there's something I have to tell you" he said. "What is it?" she asked looking up at him. "You see…" he went on explaining about what had happened that day and the training he would be starting. He left out the part about seeing her father and great-grandmother  "How long will you be away?" she asked when he finished. "I don't know, a week, two weeks, a month, it all depends on how well I do it" he replied. "Alright I understand. Just be careful" she said. "I will" he said. They stood there staring in each other's eyes.

Riku smirked and looked around. "Remember this place?" he asked. Yukina was puzzled and looked around. After a few minutes she realized what he meant. "This is where…" "We confessed our love to each other" he finished for her. Yukina smiled and looked back at him. He dipped his head and caught her lips with his. He pulled her closer and deepened the kiss. There was little tongue play this time. They broke it and stood in each other's arms for a few hours.

I got some bad news. Next week I'm starting school again *cries*. *sniff* But I'll try to update as much as possible. Don't worry. While I might take awhile with some updates I have no intentions of discontinuing this fic.

Next chapter, training begins. Review please.