Chapter Five: The Land of Sakura Trees

Lillith walked steadily through the busy crowd of Morocc, her long blond hair lying perfectly still even at the rapid pace she was walking. Her priestess clothes were pressed and neat, upon the breast of which was emblazoned a badge with a bloody sword shattering a cross, an Advocate emblem. Lillith swept her hands through her hair, the morning sunlight pouring down upon her. She lifted her gaze and finally saw Alexander through the throng of people; he was surrounded by his and her own guild mates and seemed to be giving a rowdy speech. Lillith smiled at her guild mates as she walked over to Alexander, his shining armor reflecting the sun. He turned to look at her and nodded slightly in recognition.

"So that wraps it up for today boys and girls, meet here at 900 hours tomorrow morning, enjoy yourselves." Alexander said, clasping his hands together joyfully, his captive audience now dispersing. Lillith smiled at everyone as they walked away and stood before Alexander who was speaking with Dayna, his girlfriend.

Dayna was Alexander's new girl. She was a tall huntress with beautiful tanned skin that contrasted her long flowing white hair. To look at, she was simply amazing, however, she was quite vain and annoyingly dumb at times. It was these two qualities that pissed Lillith off the most.

"Can we talk," Lillith snapped, addressing Alexander before staring at Dayna reproachfully.
"In a mo-" Alexander began, turning to continue his conversation with Dayna.
"Now!" Lillith commanded, her voice giving no way for Alexander to dispute her command.

As Lillith guided Alexander over to a lonelier spot, leaving Dayna behind, her mind whirled. She knew that Alexander was madly in-love with Dayna, had been since he'd first met her. 'More Fool on him' Lillith thought. Lillith finally pulled Alexander over to one side and stopped, staring at him.

"Well, have you heard?" she demanded, staring into his eyes for a reaction.
"Heard? Heard about what exactly?" Alexander questioned her, almost toying with her.
"About Darum!" Lillith's voice began to rise a little.
"Oh, yes I've heard about that."
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"Aren't you the slightest bit…-"
"Worried?"
"Well… yeah, worried?"
"Me? No." Alexander snorted dismissively. "If that little boy is idiot enough to come after me, on his shoulders shall my blade fall."
"Alexander!" Lillith's tone of voice changed rapidly, it deepening almost, taking on a severe seriousness. "We killed his partner, we stood there and watched hi-"
"May I remind you that we killed Kane for good reason."
"Well it doesn't seem that much of a good reason on hindsight."
"Life doesn't give time for hindsight."
"So, you don't even feel the slightest bit guilty?" Lillith stared at Alexander in shock.
"No Lillith, I do not. Kane got what he deserved, Faia got in the way."
Lillith stared into Alexander's eyes, which now seemed frozen, the path to his heart long-chilled.

"Are you scared?" Alexander teased Lillith; his tone however, was not playful.
"Have you spoken to Hinata?" Lillith questioned, avoiding Alexander's own question.
"Do I need to?" Alexander retorted.
"I think you do, any one of us could be next."
"Don't make me laugh! That boy couldn't kill any of us. Let's face it, the only reason he killed Darum was because Darum was trashed. Faia is a weakling, he has no power and if he does try anything with me, I'll cut his head straight from his shoulders. Now, if you don't mind me, I have a girlfriend to attend to. Lighten up." With that final comment, Alexander turned his back on Lillith and headed off towards Dayna.

I sat in my bathroom, staring at my blurred reflection in the mirror where the steam was contrasting with the cold glass, a thin dewy mist blocking my reflection. I don't know how long I had been standing here, just staring, only a towel wrapped around my waist. Almost a week had passed since I had killed Darum in the alleyway. When I had returned home, I was violently sick and had had to stay in bed for a day.

I reached out and rubbed away the mist, my face now appearing on the glass. I stared into my own eyes before lifting my hand and writing the word "Killer" beneath my reflection. I continued to stare at myself before rubbing out the letters 'iller' and writing underneath the, 'ane' to form the word "Kane". I turned on my heel and began to go get ready.

I was now in Geffen, it was the place I managed to trace Hinata too. I knew she was no longer in Geffen, but some of her followers were. Although I had been ill and felt sick at the thought of killing Darum, I was determined to continue my mission. My entire body was now just a shell for warring emotions. Fear, guilt, revulsion, elation and hatred were violently abusing my senses, and it was taking its toll. My scarlet hair was thinning down, my skin paling and my body weakening slightly.

However, there were two emotions that appeared the most, two emotions that controlled me, overrode me and molded me into the cold-blooded killer it seemed I had become. Anger washed over me, those three faces swimming across my vision at all times. And a lust, a deep-rooted passion for revenge. Although killing Darum was sickening, I know it felt good, and slowly, day-by-day, the revulsion ebbed away like a tide, leaving only the gleaming feel of triumph.

I walked towards my bed, pulling my Sage outfit and adjusting the hem. The night before, I'd had to pull the seams in a little due to the amount of weight I'd lost, I couldn't remember the last time I'd ate. I had bought a bread roll and an apple juice and devoured them both hungrily. I sat on the edge of the bed, my thoughts wandering to their usual haunts. Hinata had definitely been a busy girl.

It seems, after their bitter betrayal, the four had decided to create a guild, however, Hinata being the total bitch she was, got involved in a large argument with Alexander about their future guild and all four went their separate ways. Alexander created Advocate and Hinata found her own Emperium and created Impression, her own guild.

The numbers for Impression weren't large, but the people involved were skilled. The last traces of Impression were in Geffen and this is why I'm here. I know for a fact that there are a few remaining guild members of Impression who will be heading to wherever Hinata is having her first large guild meeting. I intend to follow them.

I ran my hand over my Book of the Apocalypse, the cover was still slightly dusty and the pages were worn. I had got it from Storage, due to the sheer amount of people I could be fighting to get to Hinata, I had trained hard. I was sure that Hinata's guild members wouldn't let me just walk up to her and kill her, so, I'd learnt some fighting techniques, my strength and agility now greatly increased. In addition, my new skill Hindsight seemed to be doing me wonders.

My plan? I didn't have one; find Hinata, that was it. I knew this wouldn't be easy, I could possibly be fighting a large group of people at once, but I'd give it my best shot. I knew I planned to resort to my magical skills when it came to me and Hinata fighting face to face, so I had prepared my Staff and learnt a new trick, allowing me to conceal my staff and then pull it out of thin air. Easy for carrying. I opened my Book of Apocalypse and continued reading on more fighting techniques, I'd be leaving soon.

The crest of Impression was silver with a blue crescent moon on it. Only two of the guild members were left in Geffen and I knew they'd be leaving via the Kafra, I headed towards the south of Geffen, passing several happy children playing a game with a Poring and walked up the stairs, Geffen Tower looming above me. I sat on the bench, the fountain behind me and waited patiently. I had positioned myself so I could see the Kafra but she was unable to view me. It took three hours before the Knight and Rogue walked to the Kafra, their emblems shining in the sun.

I watched from a distance as they vanished into thin air and then waited a few minutes before running up to the Kafra and smiling. She looked at me curiously, me pretending to be out of breath. "Hey! Can you help me? I'm hoping you can help me!" The Kafra looked me over once and smiled, "As part of the Kafra Service, that's my job." She ran her finger through her long navy hair and waited for my response.

"Two friends of mine, I was supposed to meet them ten minutes ago, we were all going to warp together but I'm late and they've gone. Did you see them? They were a male Knight and a female Rogue and they wore silver emblems with blue crescent moons on." I spoke quickly and hastily, filling my own voice with faux-panic.
"Ah Yes! They warped to Alberta, do you wish to follow?" she said, running her hand down her clipboard. I smiled inwardly and nodded my head, paying the fee and feeling myself lifting from the ground, Alberta appearing before me as if in a blizzard of haze before clearing.

I straightened my clothes, carrying my Book of the Apocalypse under my arm and quickly worked my way through the streets, looking for them, hunting. If I lost them now, my plan would be blown and I'd have to start again. I pushed my way through some annoyingly aggressive merchants and kept looking until I finally spotted them, walking towards the docks, chatting merrily.

I grinned inwardly once again, the sickening feel of pleasure swarming my senses again. I fought off the nausea that came with this severe pleasure and kept my distance. They walked towards a large speedboat made of wood, the wood bent to form the shape of the nautical vehicle. I waited five minutes for them to board before I walked up to the Sailor and smiled warmly, although my heart was as cold as ice.

"Trip to Amatsu, 500 zeny." He said, no smile, no frill, just the destination and price.
"Fine." I said, equally as cold, handing him over the money.
"How long will the trip take?" I asked.
"Four Hours" he replied, ignoring my presence.

I walked onto the boat and went and sat at the front, my legs dangling over the helm. I was determined not to be seen. It took about twenty minutes before the boat slowly chugged from the dock. I turned back to look at Alberta as it slowly faded from view. Once again, thoughts invaded my mind. How I had changed, the monster I had become, was I really about to go murder someone for revenge. The nausea I had suppressed earlier erupted and I leaned over the side of the boat and vomited. "I'm sick of these thoughts," I thought. "I will get what I set out to do. Those bastards deserve to die."

I stared ahead, water spraying upwards and onto my face as the wind rushed through my scarlet hair, blowing it backwards, it billowing over my shoulder. I kept my eyes traced on the horizon as the boat picked up speed, looking for any sign of Amatsu. The hours seemed to pass by rather quickly, my gaze trained forwards until a small dot turned into a large island before me. "This place will be where you die Hinata, it'll be where you take your last breath. I'm coming for you." I thought. Standing up and grabbing my book, the boat slowly dropping in velocity as Amatsu drew nearer, as death drew nearer.