Dream Saga: Nakatsukuni

Author Notes: Ahhh! Sorry! Sorry! This is very late! School started last month and so far, I got pretty busy or too lazy to even work on this. I also apologize for that abrupt cliff-hanger ending from the previous Act! It didn't really come out the way I wanted it but I had to make it as short as possible. If I could, I wish to change it but for now, I'm leaving it in. The beginning of this chapter will explain that ending much better……I hope.

I also went back to the other chapters to proof-read them again. Found some other errors so I changed them a little. Can't help doing so.

Disclaimer: I don't own Megumi Tachikawa's manga "Dream Saga: Takamagahara", her characters, her storyline, and also, her website. All of what has been mentioned is, and will always be, of Tachikawa-san's property.

: Through the Door of our Other Side - Act 3 :

"Tadaima! I'm home!"

Yuuki was exhausted by the time she got through her house's front door. She was running very late for her rendezvous. Stifling a yawn as she took her shoes off, she didn't notice the footsteps of her mother coming down the stairs. Only after slipping onto her slippers did she notice her mom's presence standing right beside her. She jumped a little.

"Kaa-san! You scared me!" Yuuki placed an arm on her chest as she felt her heart beat skip.

"Sorry, sorry! I was just surprised to see you coming at this time. Your brothers are all upstairs. Papa is waiting for me at the restaurant so I'm in a bit of a hurry. What happened?"

"Ah. Um. There was a long line at the super market," Yuuki lied as she glanced at three plastic bags that were sitting next to all the shoes on the floor.

"……………I see. I guess it can't be helped then," her mother sighed putting one hand to her cheek. Yuuki expressed a half-hearted smile to her as she turned around to grab the plastic bags.

"Now, remember to put the dishes into the dish washer right away. I don't want to see any dishes on the dish rack," her Mom went towards the closet that was situated next to their umbrella rack. She took out a long brown coat.

"Haiiiii," Yuuki responded rather solemnly as she positioned herself to face the kitchen's entrance. Her hands were gripping rather hard on the three plastic bags.

"And Yuuki? Make sure they all eat properly and not leave a big mess on the table like last time. Also, check to make sure they've done their homework," her mother flashed her a quick grin as she ran towards the living room to fetch her purse.

"Haiiiii!" Yuuki raised her voice. She then walked slowly carrying the three plastic bags into the kitchen. She could easily hear her mom going back towards the front door area and hastily putting on her high-heeled shoes that she usually takes to special occasions.

"You left your school bag by the door just to let you know!"

"Haiiiii!"

"Ok! I'm leaving! See ya!" Yuuki's mom slammed the door in a hurried fashion. As soon as Yuuki situated all three bags onto the kitchen's counter, her eyes changed into an instant glare. She ran back into the foyer and started charging up the stairs.

"Kousuke! Youichi! Youji! Get your lazy selves into the hallway NOW!" Yuuki yelled as loud as she could. Once she reached the second floor's hallway, she saw all three of her brothers standing rather stiffly shoulder to shoulder six feet away. For a moment, all of them were staring at each other in silence before the boys started to explode pointing fingers at each other.

"It was Kousuke's idea! He's the one who asked Mom and Dad for permission!"

"Na-ah. Youji was the one who came up with it. He was tired of you having to come into our rooms all the time trying to bring us to order."

"No! Kousuke's the one!"

"Youji!"

"Kousuke!"

"Actually, it was all three of us. We all agreed to change the clocks," Youichi stared at Yuuki with an innocent look as he said this.

"Youichi! I told you to be quiet! You're too gentle to be even blamed for this!" Kousuke snapped at his little brother. Somehow, in the midst of their commotion, Yuuki walked right up to all three brothers and gave them a big hug.

"Ah? Whaa?" Kousuke's face blushed a little as he felt the warmth emitting from his sister's embrace. All three boys looked up to see their sister's face and what they saw was a surprise. It was an expression of gratitude. A warm smile.

"Thank you. Thank you very much," was all she said.

-----------------------

That night, for once, was rather peaceful in the Wakasa household. Yuuki's brothers were whispering for most of the time during dinner wondering what happened to Yuuki at school. They were rather suspicious about Yuuki's good mood.

Yuuki, on the other hand, didn't need to explain to them what happened. She was too happy about Takaomi's return that she cooked too much at the end. Her brothers, who usually make fun of her if she does this, didn't seem to mind at all this time.

Once bedtime approached, there was very little arguing going on and Yuuki appreciated the quietness. So much has happened in one day that Yuuki almost felt over-whelmed.

She took a very long time in her bathtub soaking in the warm water with enjoyment. Memories of the hug that Takaomi and she shared earlier in the morning repeated endlessly in her mind. Soon, the images switched over to the magatama, and that made her both anxious and excited.

"A new magatama. Is there something out there that we must find out?"

-----------

Yuuki, now dressed in her pajamas with a towel laying over her shoulder, was walking out of her bathroom when suddenly, the unexpected happened.

"Yuuki…," a voice as soft as the wind outside was echoing around her room. Yuuki blinked but decided to ignore the voice. It should be all in her imagination, right?

She headed towards her cheval mirror to examine her semi-messy wet hair. In an instant, the voice came back, which ultimately made her jump.

"Yuuki! Get away from your mirror! Hurry! Run!"

"Eh?" Yuuki froze. She gazed at her mirror in puzzlement before realizing something weird was on it. A black hole with light smoke pouring out of it, which reminded her of a boiling tea kettle. In a mere few seconds, an insect-like tentacle leg was creeping out of the hole slowly. Yuuki instantly backed away. She turned and ran towards her window which was next to her bed. Her hands pushed as hard as they can against the glass but it was no use. Yuuki realized that they were stuck shut.

'What?' she whipped herself around to see what came out of the hole. Her eyes bulged out as what she was staring at was a huge house fly. Its head almost touched the ceiling and its wings were almost the width of her bedroom. For a minute or so, Yuuki could do nothing but stare at it. Without warning, the house fly moved by inching slowly towards her. Yuuki wanted to scream, but knew, she didn't want her brothers to be involved. Closing her eyes shut tight, she waited for the giant insect to eat her in one gulp.

"I apologize for any inconvenience, girl of Nakatsukuni," the house fly suddenly spoke which sent Yuuki to the floor. "I was sent immediately here to fetch you by my master."

"That….that voice! It was you telling me to run from my mirror!" Yuuki instantly got back onto her two feet. Feeling her fear diminishing, she approached the giant insect with a little bit of caution.

"Yes. I had to warn you, or else, I'd fear that my giant proportion would crush you right away," the insect bowed its head with a tiny sweat drop dripping down.

"How can this be? We can easily communicate without a magatama? Where did you come from anyways? And who is this master of yours?" Yuuki's curiosity got the better of her mind as questions began to pour out of her mouth without a single breath. "You came out of my mirror? Why?"

"I can't explain here. I can only tell you when we're safe in Yomi Nakatsukuni."

"That name again! Is your master, Yun, by any chance? I thought it was all a dream."

"Yes, he is. Please, we don't have much time! I must take you to Yomi now before the gateway between our worlds is broken."

"Gateway?" Yuuki could not ask any more than that word. She felt her feet leave the floor and her body was flying through the air. "Kya! Careful!" the insect was picking her up by the collar of her pajama shirt with the very tip of two of its legs.

"Sorry. There's no other way you can get onto my back though."

"Ah," Yuuki gasped as she found herself lying across the back of the fly. She felt the hairy back to be a bit uncomfortable for her hands and bare feet.

"Now, hang on!" the insect cried out as he slowly turned his body around to face the mirror. Yuuki watched in awe as she clutched tightly to the fly's hair. Her own long hair went flying up and down in the air matching the fly's movements. The giant fly used one of its front legs to touch the small hole that was still billowing smoke. A flash of light erupted around the bedroom and then, they were gone.

-----------

-----------

"Miss! Are you alright? Miss!" a voice was shouting through her ears. The girl groaned feeling pain aching on her side.

'Kousuke, you're so loud. Can't you let me sleep a bit more? I was having this funny drea---,' Yuuki's eyes popped open at once. She found herself staring into hundreds of eyes that were staring back at her.

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" she quickly sat up and scoot herself backwards until she hit a wall. The large group of people who were watching her all sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness," the owner of the voice, that she heard earlier, smiled. It was a young blonde haired man who was holding onto a bunch of shopping bags.

"Young lady. You gave us quite a fright falling from the sky like that. You should be more careful. Lucky you did not end up in the city's slum areas. If you landed there, there would be no compassion for you whatsoever," piped up an elderly lady who was standing next to the man. She adjusted her small spectacles that were sitting perfectly on her nose. Pretty soon, the young girl found herself surrounded by the attention from the rest of the people who were watching her. She found the event to be pretty weird. Especially since they were all adults asking her questions.

"Yes! Be more careful! What's your name?"

"Why are you dressed in your pajamas? It's the afternoon for crying out loud!"

"Where did you come from?"

"Why were you falling from the sky?"

"Does your parents know where you are?"

Yuuki looked puzzled for a moment. She gazed about her surroundings ignoring all the people who were questioning her. The sun was high in the sky and blazing down at her. It appeared that she ended up in a city that resembled Tokyo. Tall buildings. Neon signs left and right. There was even a giant TV screen on the wall of a building but it appeared to be off. In fact, she's pretty much convinced that she is in Tokyo. The funny thing is that there were no cars at all on the streets. Everyone was walking.

"Ano, um…. Excuse me!" Yuuki interrupted all the people interrogating her. She managed to get them all to quiet down. "Where am I? Is this Tokyo? Which part of Tokyo, exactly? Am I close to the Bay?"

"To-ke-yo?" asked the young blonde haired man slowly.

"Yes. Tokyo. You know. We're in Japan, right?" Yuuki was beginning to feel silly for asking such basic questions to people older than her. The blonde haired man's response was quicker than she thought.

"No, this is the country of Honin. You're in the capital city called Kyoto."

"…………..Say that again?" Yuuki's mouth went dry. Her face paled. Was she really in another world?

"I said, you're in the royal capital of Honin, Kyoto. For someone who doesn't seem to be from around here, you sure can speak perfect Honinese," the young man freed one of his hands from his shopping load and began to scratch his face a little. Yuuki couldn't think beyond comprehension. Here she was in a country that has Kyoto as its capital. Further more, it's like the exact opposite of Japan but very slight, or so she thinks.

"One more question then," Yuuki managed to gain back her composure. "How did I survive falling from the sky as many of you were trying to tell me?" Once she ended her question, everyone watching her began to explode.

"First of all, there was this loud boom----"

"I was walking down the north-east road when suddenly----"

"There you were cruising down the sky like an arrow----"

"If it wasn't for that thing-----"

"Ka-BOOM!"

Yuuki immediately clamped her ears. There were too many voices speaking at once.

"Everyone! Please! Stop! You're making her confused!" the blonde haired man shouted to the crowd. At once, everyone stopped talking and looked down apologetically. Yuuki gently lifted her hands off her ears and looked up. She noticed that the young man and the old woman were the only ones who weren't with the rest of the crowd. The young man sighed, walked up a few steps, and crouched down beside Yuuki's sitting form.

"I apologize. These people rarely see anything as strange as your coming so it's only natural that their behaviors are somewhat childish."

"So-soka. I see. Well, that's understandable. It's the same from where I come from,"Yuuki smiled for the first time in awhile. The young man nodded his head in response.

"I'll be the one to explain everything and perhaps, help you find a way back to your home."

"That would be nice of you. Thank you."

"My name's Muta. I use to not be from here either until I got married and so, my wife and I were able to move into an apartment here in the city. That's my mother over there who also lives with us," he made a gesture towards the old woman standing among the throng of people. Muta stood up abruptly and held out his right hand towards Yuuki. "Come on, we need to get you to my home as quick as possible. The royal police are rather strict when it comes to unusual stuff around the capital."

Yuuki didn't have to think twice to accept his hand. As soon as she stood up, the crowd took a small step backwards. The young girl craned her neck once more to get a better look at her environment. She was amazed that there were no tar streets which explains why there were no cars. The ground was all made out of concrete side-walk.

"Come on!" Muta exclaimed as he pulled Yuuki with him. The old woman, who he claims is his mother, began to follow them. The remaining crowd, on the other hand, were still standing at their spots watching Yuuki disappear into the throngs of the busy public atmosphere.

"And what's going on here?" thundered a new voice behind the spectating crowd. Everyone turned quickly to see a man dressed all in navy blue with a small round hat. On the hat was an insignia that represented his alliance to the royal family.

"Arrgh! Run!" shouted someone among the crowd, and hence, they all mingled into the commuting Kyoto crowd that are just trying to move from one part of the city to another. The only person remaining from the spectating crowd was a tall shaggy looking man wearing dirty baggy pants and a dark sweatshirt.

"So, what exactly fell from the sky?" the policeman walked up to the shaggy man. A glint shimmered in his eye as he did so.

"A girl, Captain."

"A girl? Could it be? This has to be reported to the palace immediately!" the policeman turned around quickly into a specific direction. The shaggy man followed behind the man closely as both of them made their way through the crowded area.

----------

The district that they arrived at looked very worn down. Trash were strewn across the ground like fallen leaves. Cigarette butts littered the side of an alleyway. Windows were broken on some buildings. There was even a deserted convenient store on one of the street's corners. Yuuki couldn't help but stare in horror as everything whizzed by her. Muta was a very good runner being able to balance holding her hand, at the same time, holding onto his shopping bags. Craning her head a little to look in back of her, she was even more surprised by how fit Muta's mother was being able to run pretty fast which contradicted her elder look.

Soon, they arrived at their final destination which was a dead end street. Feeling that everything was okay, Muta let go of Yuuki's hand. The young girl immediately examined and shook her hand to make sure it didn't fall asleep from the very beginning. As soon as she was done shaking the hand, the girl looked up to see a run-down apartment complex adjacent to where they were standing.

"Is that it?"

"Yes," replied Muta and lead both Yuuki and his mother towards the complex. They climbed three flights of stairs that were located on the side of the building. Yuuki was starting to doubt that being taken care of by complete strangers was a good idea to start off. She knew she shouldn't be too surprised about being in another world, but still, everything around her made her feel uneasy.

They ended up in front of a door marked with the number '304'. Muta inserted his key into the keyhole and unlocked the door. He slowly pushed it open.

"I'm home!" he called out. Yuuki waltz right in after him feeling exhausted from all that running. What she found in the inside of his apartment was rather startling. Everything looked very nice and clean. Even the small kitchen was clutter-free of dishes in its sink. The place was the complete opposite of the outside.

"Make yourself at home. I don't think my wife is back from her job, yet. Do you want something to drink? Tea, perhaps? " Muta asked immediately. Yuuki barely got her shoes off when she was asked the question.

"Nothing. I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Hai."

"Ok then. Mother, I'm going to go make some tea. Please keep our guest company and explain to her more about our country," Muta instantly slipped into his slippers and dashed into the kitchen. Yuuki was speechless at the amount of energy he was carrying. As soon as Yuuki was able to put on her own slippers, she let the old woman direct her towards the living room's sofa The sofa, itself, was very comfy and not as bad as she originally thought it was going to be.

"So," began the old woman once she sat herself on a sofa that is on Yuuki's opposite side, "I guess I should be the one to properly introduce ourselves."

Yuuki nodded with a blank expression. Muta's mother, on the other hand, simply smiled gently at her.

"My full name is Asami Hana. I was born in a small little village that was built along the sea high up north in the country. You may have been a little surprised about my energy but do not worry, I feel like I'm still 23," Ms. Asami began to chuckle lightly.

"Aa," Yuuki pondered thoughtfully and tried to picture Hana chopping giant trees in a peaceful village without any fear while all the villagers watch with worried faces.

"And you, young one?" the old woman easily brought Yuuki back to reality.

"M-my name is Wakasa Yuuki. To be honest, I'm not really from this world as a whole. I just came here as you can see. I was brought here by a giant house fly. You haven't seen him by any chance before I fell, have you?" Yuuki looked anxious as she asked this.

"Oh dear. So, that explains everything."

"What?"

"You're lucky that my son and I saw the whole event. We found it odd to see an animal roaming high in the sky in plain daylight. There was a streak of light that came directly from the palace and struck the poor thing. Before we all knew it, we saw you falling while the animal was sucked towards the palace in that bright light. Thankfully, you landed on a soft surface but was unconscious. Someone from our spectator group managed to get you off of it and after that, my son was able to wake you up."

"He's at the palace? Ahhh… He's my one way of being able to go back home!" Yuuki stood up immediately.

"Child! Please, sit back down and calm yourself. The palace has high authority across this land. If you were to storm up towards them right now, who knows what horrible things they might do to you. They might even accuse you of siding with the animals."

"…….. I don't understand. I always wondered why I saw no birds or even other kinds of animals around here. Is this kingdom afraid of animals?"

"The thing is, we're currently at war with nature itself."

"At…war?"

"Yes. It's been like this for a decade now. All thanks to the current King. The previous King, the present King's brother, wouldn't have allowed this to happen. Many people across the country are split on our views. There are those who support the royal family's vision of an animal-free kingdom will turn blind eyes towards everything that's obviously wrong. You've seen the decay going on around our city, yes? This is all because of those people and the royals, themselves. They have no consideration towards the environment and they wouldn't listen to the people who are most in terrible need of help. When fights break out in the city, the police are rarely there to stop them."

"Why? Why are you guys living in such a terrible city? You should just go back to where you came from."

"It's not that simple as it seems," Muta's voice found itself flying into the living room.

"Not that simple?" Yuuki blinked and a huge question mark popped over her head. Hana sighed and continued speaking.

"Yes. I'm afraid, it isn't that easy. You see. We aren't just the average commoners here. We're rebels fighting for the freedom and to rectify this city back to its old clean self. We are also a secret search party of the Prince."

"Why? Isn't he…?"

"We've heard rumors and stories coming from the palace staff through a spy network. The Prince never quite got along with his family at all. One day, he just went up and disappeared. No one knows where he went. This gave us some encouragement that perhaps, we can bring awareness towards the Prince and hope, he be the one to change things around here once he's king."

"………….," Yuuki was speechless. She couldn't think of anything else to ask from Hana.

"So, Wakasa," Hana adjusted her spectacles, "you say you come from another world. Is this what you mean by Ja-pan and To-ke-yo?"

"Yes. I was brought here to meet someone but this happened so now, I don't know what to do."

"Tea is ready!" Muta's cheerful voice was once again floating into the living room. He now appeared walking towards the two ladies holding a tray filled with tea cups and a ceramic white kettle.

"Ah, n-no! It's alright. I said, you didn't have to…," Yuuki was waving her arms like crazy in front of her.

"No. You're a guest and as a newcomer to the world of Yomi Nakatsukuni, you deserve a proper welcome treatment. Besides, you just got here so you must be super tired," Muta handed Yuuki a cup. Yuuki accepted it gracefully but she couldn't help to feel alert when Muta mentioned 'Yomi Nakatsukuni'.

"Yomi. I need to know! Please tell me. Why is this world called 'Yomi'? Isn't it too much?"

Hana and Muta exchanged glances. Muta carefully placed the tea tray onto a small table that was in the middle of the two sofas. He then stood up to stretch and rub the back of his head before turning to Yuuki with a sad expression.

"It is true though. We are known as the 'shadow world'. The world that will never fall in harmony with its twin. The legendary world of Nakatsukuni that is said to be in very good condition. We use to have a different name but as residents of a world that is now lead by evil, we felt that we don't deserve the name so we had it changed."

Yuuki fell back on her sofa almost dropping her cup. She felt so moved by both Muta and his mother's stories that the compassion inside her began to grow immensely.

"Are you alright?" Muta asked in a concern tone.

"No, I'm just…..," Yuuki hid her eyes for a second underneath her hair before looking up at the people who graciously took her in, "touched by everything you said." The girl almost looked she was going to cry. Muta and his mother both smiled earnestly.

"Muta, show Wakasa the guest room. She should be pretty tired after having such a big fall."

"Right," Muta walked to the side of Yuuki offering his hand to her once again. Yuuki gazed up and back to Hana with a pumped up expression.

"I'm fine! Really! I don't need to rest. I want to explore more of Kyoto."

"You sure?"

"Yes!" Yuuki couldn't stop her containment of curiosity. She needed to learn as much about the city as possible. The girl completely understood now why she was brought out to this world. A world where those who wish for hope haven't seen it yet. Yuuki decided to save it no matter what. Even if she has to conceal her identity to those around her. One thing that puzzled her though is if Muta and his mother ever realized that she really is from Nakatsukuni. It seemed pretty obvious by the way she's described everything thus far, yet, no one bothered to ask her anything else about her world.

----

Yuuki grabbed a hold of Muta's hand. She stood up and was about to head for the front door when it suddenly opened on its own.

"I'm back!" called out a new voice. "There's been rumors at the palace of the captain keeping an animal in the prison cells." A curly brown haired woman came through the door wearing a plain blue dress. Her face was covered in soot.

"Welcome back, Nirame," Hana's voice softly greeted the woman in the background.

"Ah," Yuuki stepped back in surprise. The woman didn't seem to notice her standing in front of her until she was done taking off her shoes.

"Oh? Who are you?" she smiled at Yuuki in a cordial manner.

"Nirame, this is Wakasa Yuuki. A newcomer to our city," Muta spoke switching his attention from the woman to Yuuki. "And Wakasa, this is my beautiful wife, Narime."

"An outsider, eh? Someone just like us?" the woman expressed a cocky grin. "Where are her parents? Do they even know she's here?"

"I came….I came from another world," Yuuki said in a hesitant tone.

"What? For real," Nirame exclaimed. Yuuki cringed a little fearing for the worst that the woman might think she's crazy. Instead, Nirame extended a welcoming hand towards her. Yuuki looked up at the woman, speechless.

"Wakasa. It's a pleasure of meeting you. Can I call you Yuuki instead? I'm tired of traditional formalities."

"Sure," Yuuki nodded her head as she accepted Nirame's hand shake.

"So, let's forget about the current events for now and have some fun. I want to give you a grand tour of Kyoto." Nirame winked to her husband as she spoke.

"Ah but…," Muta raised his hand into the air a little in a form of protest.

"Don't worry. We can discuss the big news later. Right now, the poor girl barely just got here, right? You must've just dragged her here and expect to keep her safe from the outside world. Ha. Well, it's better if she gets some fresh air. Who knows. She might end up being separated from us so we have to show her way around town."

"But…," Muta continued trying to speak of his own view.

"Save it old man," Nirame began walking through the living room and headed towards a closed door. "Today's Yuuki's day out and there's nothing you can do to keep her cooped up here," she quickly turned around to face everyone with a tongue stuck out. "Nyahhhhhhh!"

Both Hana and Yuuki quickly laughed but Muta, on the other hand, only crossed his arms with a stern look. He knew he lost this round, but, that doesn't mean he's given up yet.

Once Nirame changed into more casual clothing consisted of jeans and a buttoned blouse, she and Yuuki were soon finding themselves wandering a huge bazaar that wasn't too far away from Muta's apartment.

"Now, this is the best place in the city to find fresh food. Don't go to the city's central more populated market. It's full of spoiled stuff," Nirame advised Yuuki quite easily with a smug on her face. Yuuki was amazed. There were a lot of different types of meat, fruit, and vegetables that were old and new to her. Some of the fruit looked very bizarre looking such as baring spikes all over their surfaces. There were several shouts in the air as vendors were constantly advertising their goods non-stop.

All of a sudden, Yuuki couldn't help but be stared at for the majority of the time that they were browsing around the open air market. The stares were so powerful that Yuuki couldn't bare them any longer so she stopped in her tracks making Nirame turn around to look at her puzzlement. Yuuki flashed a quick grin on her face as she hugged herself.

"Um, Mrs. Asami? There are lots of people staring at me. I think, it's because I'm still wandering around here in my pajamas."

"Oh?" Nirame gave a good look at Yuuki, up and down. "In that case," she grabbed Yuuki's hand tightly, "lets go to the mall, shall we?" Both of them went dashing off exiting out of the market area and zigged-zag through several streets.

-----

"Are you sure you're comfortable in those?" Nirame asked in a concerned voice as they were exiting out of the small two floor run down shopping mall. Yuuki dashed over to a nearby shop's window to examine herself one more time. Her new clothing consisted of a light blue cut-off and a yellow shirt with a few white stars printed all over it. The pajamas were safely packed away in a shopping bag that she was carrying with one of her hands.

"Yes. I'm fine. Thank you, but, I'm sorry! I must be quite a burden to you. Spending that much yen on this! I'll pay you back!" Yuuki immediately bowed. She didn't even know how she'll explain her new clothing to her parents once she goes back to her world.

"Aw, you're cute! Don't worry about it. It's all on me. I always wanted to have a child of my own and just having you around supplements my yearning, " Nirame slightly giggled as she gave Yuuki a big slap on the back. Yuuki felt herself reeling over from the slap and landed face down onto someone's back.

"Ah! Sorry!" Yuuki quickly jumped back in embarrassment. She looked up to see who she bumped into. It was a sandy brown hair colored girl who strangely reminded her of a classmate from school. Her hair was tied into a bun and she apparently was waiting for someone to exit the store as she was holding the door open for whoever it was.

"Hm? Oh, it's alright," the girl said with a smile as she turned to look at Yuuki. She turned to look forward again and stared at the empty open door. "Hurry up little brother! Mom's going to have one of her nervous break downs if we're not back by eleven!"

"Sorry! Coming!" shouted a familiar voice, from inside the store, to Yuuki's ears. Her eyes widened. Soon, a figure, wearing an ivy green shirt, emerged from the door frame and was holding onto a small plastic bag. He had on a panicked expression and his hair seemed to be a bit messy. Just his aura alone made her feel secure all over again.

It was…. Takaomi.

Yuuki couldn't even move. She could barely speak. Yet, she didn't even need to get his attention. Nirame did it for her.

"Hey, you! Boy!" she ran past Yuuki and stopped right in front of the boy, "Your face. Your appearance. Aren't you… You are him, right? The Prince!"

For a few seconds, Yuuki's heart beat began to pound rapidly. Everything happened in slow motion in front of her. The boy, who resembles Takaomi, took a small step backwards. The girl, that Yuuki bumped into, grabbed a hold of his shoulder and looked straight into Nirame's serious eyes.

"We have no idea what you're talking about. The Prince is nothing but a selfish child who doesn't even deserve such a title. My little brother here isn't him. Now please, leave us alone in peace!" the girl snatched the boy by his left arm and dragged him away from the area. Soon, their figures were tiny dots in the distance down the long busy street.

Nirame stared at where they once were standing with a blank look on her face. Soon, she sighed and scratched the back of her head.

"I scared them away. Too bad. I was pretty convinced that that guy was him," she stopped remembering that she had Yuuki standing behind her. "I'm sorry. It's part of our family's job, you see, to seek out the missing prince. So, once in awhile, I always happen to check just about every guy that I come across," Nirame turned around to face Yuuki. The younger girl was still frozen on her spot, looking in the direction that both the other girl and boy took off in. Her mind was racing endlessly as to what she just saw could possibly mean.

'Takaomi? Prince? He's……'

"Yuuki?" Nirame moved to have her face planted right in front of Yuuki's face. "YUUKI!"

"Ah! Wha? Huh?" Yuuki snapped out of her thoughts in an instant. Her eyes bulged as she fond herself staring at Nirame's face.

"Sorry dear but we gotta move. It's almost lunchtime and I'm in charge of food preparation. You want to help?"

Yuuki didn't waste any time to nod her head. Nirame grinned, and once again, grabbed Yuuki's free hand.

"Excellent. Let's go!"

---

"Geeze. What's up with all these people thinking you're the Prince? Before you know it, we might even have the royal military coming up to our front door---- Hey, are you listening?" the tall girl looked to her right to see the blue haired boy pausing in front of a tree.

"……………….."

The girl stamped her feet and decided to shout in order to grab his attention.

"Oi, Kiseki!"

"Wha?" the boy's head turned quickly to face the girl, "Oh. Sorry!"

"Sheesh. So easy to distract," the girl whapped her face. "So, what were you thinking when staring at those trees? Did something come back to you?"

"Sakura."

"Hm? What's that?"

"I don't know. It just popped into my head when looking at those Coco trees."

"Then, that definitely has to be something from that missing memory of yours!"

"…….It's hard to say," the boy shivered a little to himself. "I'm a bit afraid to even find out…."

The truth.

Once the boy and the girl continued on their journey, the Coco tree that Kiseki was looking at began to flash a bit of light before fading into darkness.

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>>>To be continued…

Note:

"Kiseki" means "miracle".