Wow, sorry it took me so long guys. But, alas, I am here! I'm glad you all liked chapter two. That was the longest chapter I've ever written...Lol.

I don't know how to spell Zatch and Kiyo's spells, so if somebody could write those in...that would be great!

Onto three! It will be just as long.

xXxXxXxXxXx

Previously...

"Really now, I-I didn't mean anything," the man stammered. He was on the ground now. The book was defenseless beside him.

"Like hell you didn't," Akito said harshly. He picked up the book while the man began to sputter his apologies. Then, quietly, he walked over to Holli who was crying softly. He bent down on his knees and held the book. She knew it was over, that was clear. Akito placed his hand on her forehead and pushed away a lock of blond hair. "I am sorry," he said gently. Then, he snapped the book in two. It burst into flames and Holli dissipeared into the air.

Akito made his way over to Risshou, who watched with interest. The man had gone now and most likely wouldn't be coming back. He had bigger problems to worry about. Akito stopped infront of Risshou and she looked at her feet.

"Akito...I'm sorry," He didn't say anything. "I should have been stronger. If I had been stronger then this wouldn't have happened. I would have been able to break free. I'm so sorry. And I know, I'm weak and horrible and you probably-"

She stopped. Akito took a step forward and engulfed her in a hug. She fell to her knees with Akito, her arms around him and tears flowing easily from her eyes. Akito wrapped his hands around her waist and one hand was clutching onto the back of her head, weaved into her purple hair.

"There is nothing," he said sternly. "-to be sorry about."

He held her closer and Risshou cried harder. It was just the two of them, sitting in the middle of a forest...

Their hardest yet to come, yet so many things won already...

xxxxxx

"Eat."

"I told you...I'm not hungry..."

Akito glared at her, and pushed a plate of noodles at her. Risshou returned his glare, though her's wasn't as hard as his, and pushed the plate back. Akito groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Risshou, will you just eat?" He said, leaning his head on one hand. The annoyance was clear in his voice.

"I'm not hungry." Risshou answered, taking a sip of the ice water she had ordered.

They were sitting in a resturant at a window seat. The sky was dark now, and Risshou had no memory of how they had gotten here. She remembered opening her eyes once...only to see trees passing them by... She remembered having Akito's arms around her, carrying her as he ran. She remembered how safe she felt... Then, when she fully awoke, she was lying on a park bench and Akito had told her he had found a resturant for them to eat. She hadn't cared either way.

Akito picked up the fork and stabbed a noodle, then held the fork out to her. "Eat one, and I'll stop asking you," he said, waving the fork infront of her eyes.

"Fine." Risshou said, grabbing the fork and popping it into her mouth. The noodle tasted so good...with a hint of a creamy butter sauce on it. She hadn't reilized how hungry she really was until she had taken that bite. She dug the fork into the plate, snagging two more noodles and shoved them into her mouth. Akito stared at her with a smug smile. Risshou stopped chewing the noodles and blinked. "I'm not hungry...I'm just eating so you'll quit talking..." she managed to say.

Akito raised his eyebrows as if to say 'yeah...sure...'. He didn't say another word as Risshou ate the whole plate of noodles, then gulped down her glass of water. Then, he stood, and smiled at her. Risshou blinked and watched him head out the door. Did he really...smile? At me? she thought to herself, reilizing that the possibility of that was...impossible...

She ran out the door, catching up with him. He was walking slower, allowing her to catch up. "So...what now?" Risshou asked him, clutching onto the bag around her shoulder. It had the book in it.

Akito just shrugged his shoulders. Risshou glanced around, aware of how close he was walking next to her. His arm brushed her's a couple of times, but he seemed not to notice. "Do we...train?" Risshou asked, her tone a bit sarcastic.

Akito looked down at her, frowning. "No." he answered.

Risshou stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and stared at him, eyes wide. Akito, reilizing that she wasn't beside him, stopped and turned around to face her. "What?"

"You just said...we weren't going to train. You love to train. Well, I don't know about love it, but you certainly enjoy it and if you had to love anything it would be training!" Risshou exclaimed, ignoring the stares she was getting from random passer byers.

"Risshou," Akito said, lowering his voice and walking over to her. "We were almost beat today... We do need to train, and we need to get stronger. But...we can't train...now..."

Risshou looked up at him, the disbelief plain on her face. "Why?" she asked, and Akito glanced away, looking uncomtroble. She blinked. She had never seen Akito look uncomtroble.

"Because...because you...you... You lost a lot of strength." He finally said, then he grabbed her elbow, pulling her back into a fast paced walk. "Now, lets go."

Risshou let herself be pulled along with him only because she was thinking over what he said. He didn't want to train...because of her? Sure, she felt somewhat drained, but he still could have trained.

Akito stared straight ahead, keeping close to her side. He glanced down at Risshou every once in a while, just to make sure she was there. He had to make sure she was. He never wanted her to look at him like she had today... He didn't like it at all. Thinking about the way her eyes looked...completely dazed...made him cringe.

--

"Risshou, come on, you can break this..." he whispered into her ear. "I know you can because I know you,"

Tears formed at the edges of her eyes and spilled down the sides of her face. The man laughed at her display of determination. "Just stop. Who are you kidding? You're only putting her in more pain," --

Akito glanced to the side nervously. That man had been right in more ways than one. With him in her life, he would always put her in danger. Put her in pain... Everytime they fought, her life was threatened. Sometimes he could protect her...and other times...like today...he couldn't. He didn't want Risshou ever to be hurt. He couldn't handle that. More than anything he just wanted to hold her and tell her that he would never let go, and that he would always be there for her.

But he couldn't do that.

He wanted to, but he didn't know how. He knew for a fact that he would never let Risshou out of his sight. He wanted to know where she was. He needed to know. Then, he could protect her. He wouldn't let anything ever happen to her again.

Finally, he stopped walking when they came to a closed graveyard. Risshou shuddered and moved closer to him, only because she didn't like the looks of it. "Please...tell me you're not thinking of staying...here." she whispered, eyes wide with fright.

Akito nodded. "Yeah. You don't believe in ghosts...do you?"

Risshou shook her head to quickly. "No! No, not at all!" she exclaimed, though he knew better.

Akito grinned, though this was a mocking grin. "Oh, and I guess you believe in the Tooth Fairy?"

Risshou glared at him, pushed past him, and opened the gate to the graveyard. She looked back at him, only to say: "Don't be an ass, Akito,"

Then she made her way into the graveyard. Akito rolled his eyes and followed. They stopped when they reached a large tree that was in an older section. Risshou had picked this spot out, though she didn't tell Akito why.

There were no gravestones around it...

She plopped down on the grass and stared up at the sky. It was so peaceful... Sometimes, she wished that they could run forever... No danger... No evil men... Just the two of them, running, and laying out beneath the stars... Akito would wrap his arms around her...and she'd never feel cold... He'd whisper in her ear and-

"What the hell is the matter with you?"

Risshou shook her head, snapping out of her daze. She hadn't reilized that she had been staring longingly at the sky. Her expression must have been insane looking... "Nothing..." she muttered, lying down and turning on her side. She knew that Akito would stay awake all night, just sitting in the same spot. He never slept. At least, she never saw him sleep. What he did at night was his buisness, not hers.

Akito watched from his spot below the tree as her eyes fluttered closed. He closed his own eyes and sighed, then opened them and scanned the area. He couldn't see anyone. Quietly, he took off his jacket and got up, walking over to Risshou. He laid the jacket around her shoulders as a sort of blanket. She muttered something that he couldn't make out, and pulled the jacket closer. Akito smiled softly, and pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes.

"I was afraid today." he whispered, when he was positive she was asleep. Sometimes he did this. Just...talked to her. It was easier to talk to her when she couldn't make a remark. He was so sure she would laugh at him. "I was afraid I'd lose you..."

He looked up at the sky, remembering the fight...remembering every detail.. "I really thought you were gone... And when you said it was your fault... Risshou... It's never your fault...it's mine, but I'll do everything in my power to keep you safe...even if I'm the biggest jerk in the world sometimes..

"No one will ever hurt you again..." He bent down, kissing her forehead gently and walked back over to his spot below the tree. He sat, unmoving like a statue, and watched for anyone who was wandering through the graveyard. No one was getting near her. Especially if they were men like Almondi.

xXxXx

Risshou pulled her bag closer to her. It was early morning now, and they were walking down the street. Few cars passed by them, though a bunch of school kids did once in a while. Risshou would watch them sadly, and somewhat enviously. She wished she could go to school...though she always dreaded it. Still...

Akito had resumed to being his normal quiet self. She still remembered how he had held her yesterday, telling her that there was nothing to be sorry about. She had liked that. Liked it far to much for her own good. She was about to say something to Akito, when her eyes froze.

A boy, wearing a school uniform had just turned the corner. Beside him...was a small boy... He had blond hair...but that wasn't what she noticed. What she noticed was the streaks coming down from his eyes...and the book that stuck out of the boy's bag. She reached out and gripped Akito's arm, but he had noticed it as well.

"Almondi just keeps sending them younger and younger..." Akito muttered bitterly, the hate obvious in his voice.

"He's even got this one in an outfit... He didn't do such a good job..." Risshou muttered back.

The boy and smaller one were approaching now and it seemed that they didn't even notice Risshou and Akito. Then, the taller boy glanced up and saw the book that was in Risshou's arms. He froze for a second, as if he was thinking the scene over. That's weird... Risshou thought. He actually looks confused...

The street was clearing now, and in the distance she could hear a school bell ring. The four of them stood perfectly still.

"I don't know why Almondi sent you, but we won't make this easy for you just because you're young." Risshou said, her voice cold.

The taller boy looked perplexed. The smaller one, obviously the mamodo, tugged on his pant leg. "Kiyo..." Risshou heard him whisper. "What is she talking about?"

"I don't know, Zatch," the taller boy, Kyo, answered. He looked up at Risshou. "Who is Almondi?"

Risshou let out a laugh. "Ha! Like you don't know!" she exclaimed, opening the book. The boy named Kiyo did the same, though he moved slower than her.

"We don't want to fight you..." he said slowly.

"Yeah... Somehow I doubt that..." Risshou muttered and ran a hand down her book. "Ishtorko!" (Ish-toor-ko (like ro in row)) She exclaimed suddenly. This had been their first spell. Dark wings sprouted from Akito's back as he closed his eyes, accepting the sudden pain. This spell worked quite easily. It made him quicker. His senses weren't as good, but speed was always a helping hand.

"Zakare! ((Alright. Spelling is bad on that. Send me correct spelling guys!))" The one named Kiyo yelled. The smaller boy's, Zatch he had been called, eyes rolled back into his head and his mouth opened wide. A bolt of electricity burst out from his mouth right towards Akito who flew off to the side.

"Where is Almondi?" Risshou yelled, glaring at them both.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Kiyo yelled.

"Risshou..." Akito muttered so only she could hear. "Just tell me to strike and I will..."

"No..." Risshou said quickly, and stared into Kiyo's eyes. "Wait..."

She took a step closer and both Zatch and Kiyo flinched, ready to say a spell if they needed one. She stopped when she was about five feet away. "Do you know a man named Almondi?" she asked, quieter this time.

Kiyo shook his head, standing up straight. "I've never heard that name before." he said, and Zatch nodded his blond head in agreement.

Risshou motioned for Akito to stand next to her, and she shut her book slowly. The wings that sprouted from Akito's back slowly shrunk, and he closed his eyes once again. The jacket he wore had two large holes in it.

"I believe you." Risshou said, getting a look from Akito. When she saw that, she added, "Only because the look in your eyes say it. If you lie to us, we will have to fight you. Though, we would end up fighting sometime."

Kiyo nodded and held out a hand. "I'm Kiyo," he said, though holding his book firmly at his side. "And I'm Zatch!" the smaller boy piped in, then glanced at Akito. "You're really tall, mister..."

Risshou laughed and slipped her book into her bag. "My name is Risshou and this is Akito. I'm sorry for attacking you like that...it's just that...we can't really trust people..."

Kiyo nodded. "Because of this...Almondi guy?"

"No shit." Akito said, his voice monotone. He glared at Kiyo, the hatred still in his eyes. This remark only got him elbowed in the side by Risshou who smiled.

"Don't listen to him. He's just an ass." she said quickly, as if that explained everything. "And yes, because of him."

"We'll help you guys defeat him!" Zatch said, giving Risshou a smile. She smiled back, a genuine smile.

"I'm afraid we have no idea where he is...and we just spend our time running...not going after him," she said quietly.

"Then we'll help however we can." Kiyo said, rephrasing Zatch's offer.

Akito rolled his eyes and Risshou nodded. "Thank you. We actually do have a request..."

"We do?" Akito asked, only to be elbowed again.

"Anything," Kiyo said, shrugging his shoulders.

"We need a place to stay tonight...if that's alright." Risshou replied.

"You can stay with us!" Zatch said and Kiyo nodded.

Kiyo gave Risshou an adress and told her to go there when the school bell rang. Risshou thanked him more than once, and waved to Zatch as they walked away. She turned around...only to face Akito and his glare.

"We needed help." she said simply, before he could speak.

"Risshou, those guys could just be pretending to be who they say..." Akito said, angry, but controlling it.

"I trust them, Akito. I'm going to."

"You can't trust anybody."

"Then I can't trust you?"

Akito stared at her, trying to find the right words. Risshou shook her head. "I'm trusting them, Akito. If that's the wrong thing to do, then let me rot away in hell."

She turned, walking towards a large park and Akito kicked a rock. "This isn't going to end well..." he muttered, then turned and followed not far behind her.

xXxXxXxXx

Yes...I really do need those spells... As you can see, Ponygon (spelling?) isn't in this. It's somewhat in the beginning of the show. I really just want Kiyo and Zatch in this story, so they are the only ones mentioned. But hey, that's alright.

You'll get another long chapter...when I can write it.

Bye now!

-Emma