This is no longer canon! Whee! Just to let you know right off the bat, there most likely won't even be any more chapters to this story. I just wanted to get this out before I read Volume 2 and everything became AU. …And to claim bragging rights as the first person to put up a story for this manga series.
Okay, chances are you've either never heard of this manga or think its stupid. Personally, I can see its flaws…the story moves too fast, the characters are unrealistic, this kind of thing has been done a million times over, the rabbit-like mascot is just a cheap attempt to add some humor…exc. Personally, I like it so much because it has potential. Although that potential is rarely realized, it's still there, and Prince Virid's situation especially intrigues me. In this fic, I was attempting to make a political "death penalty" case using him. Should he be killed? By all rights he should; he's a murderer. But what if he was only killing people to try to get his brother to kill him? Now that he's found Futaba, he has a reason to live and wants to live again…but it's too late; he's already condemned himself to death. Interesting, no?
Anyway, I urge people who've read my other fanfics and liked them to read this, even if you haven't read the manga "Beyond the Beyond" and won't understand some of the plot. Maybe I can convince you to read it! (That would be a great honor).
I've made up a lot of things for this fic, besides the non-canonishness. It picks up at the end of Volume 1, and is like an alternate Volume 2. I especially took liberties on color schemes. Only Kiara and Futaba have been seen in color, so Belbel's earring-things probably aren't red, and Virid probably doesn't have black hair and green eyes (though he must have some green on him, obviously…Viridian.) I looked all over the internet trying to find more information on this manga, but couldn't find much of anything. I wish I knew its original Japanese title…any information would be appreciated, if you have any.
Everything here belongs to Yoshitomo Watanabe, except for the stuff I made up, of course.
(-)
Prologue
Darkness soon laced the sky, wrapping the thin, abandoned adobe walls inside of it. Simply looking at the half-demolished wreck that had once been a full-fledged, livable house was enough to make you shiver…yet it felt unusually warm. The building no longer had a ceiling, but it didn't make much of a difference. It only allowed for a pleasant breeze to drift down through it, and the walls kept out any dust that the wind might happen to pick up with it.
Lighted pinpricks of stars illuminated the sky. Well, it appeared they were still on a planet of some kind, but there was no way of knowing where that planet was. He could be billions of light years away from Earth…oh, well.
Billions of light years away…and still, Earth's undecided struggles persisted. The problems of Earth didn't seem so far away from this world. It contained even further problems that had become sparse or obsolete in the global world of today…while others of earth were practically nonexistent here. Pollution…deforestation… Of course, this also came with a lack of technological advancement, but who needed technology when you had magic?
He looked over towards his peacefully snoozing friends and counted the hours. He'd have to go back to sleep as well; they had a lot of ground to cover tomorrow. However, he paused to take in the sight. Everything was so serene…he felt wrapped in the warm blanket of safety…just as he'd predicted. There was no need to worry. And on that note, he finally closed his eyes again, to drop back down between blank determination and astonished dedication.
He had no idea how prophetic his statements earlier that day would turn out to become…or of the intense struggle that would be born from the pure existence next to him. In just one more day, his world would transform again before his eyes…for the better or for the worse, no one is able to say.
(-)
The little wooden shack sat by the long metallic gate, just at the edge of the border…and at the edge of sense and reason. Well…it had never made any sense before, or followed any kind of pattern…why should it now?
A young and thin figure passed under the glow of a moth-attracting lantern hanging just above this shack's doorway. The shawl over his shoulders shifted just slightly as he swung the creaky door open and stepped inside. Everyone else had evacuated immediately on the condition that he would be spending the night. He always felt guilty in the depth of his heart when others willingly sacrificed for him on a daily basis. Of course, he had always been the more considerate one, but he has a feeling this wasn't a sentiment exclusive to him.
Who in the world could have…? Who would bother…? It couldn't possibly have been what he had initially thought. He would've been brought back immediately, or at least been searching for him. Street punks…it had to be. They had found a rallying point. And as he had explained to the very guards who had abandoned this sleeping space, he was insane. He was insane…but he wasn't stupid. He was out there, hiding, running away from his duties…trying to be just another normal human being. It was kind of sad in that way.
In the pale glimmer of the moon as its reflected rays streamed through the open window, the figure removed his cloak and draped it over the dirt-spattered ground. His pale skin caught the moonlight as he seated himself on the windowsill and stood out in sharp contrast against the deep green sleeves.
Why? Why was this always his fate? He was suffering too…suffering in the silence and grave tidings that had seized and submerged his life for five years.
"You care too much," everyone else always told him. These guards had told him the exact same thing only an hour ago. Of course he did…but what was the other option? Not caring at all? He already knew how catastrophic that could be.
So as late into the night that figure slumped against the wall with the weight of a country and a heart, he would have no idea that only five miles away, that same peace and normalcy he desired was taking place. But he would be too late to see it in action. He, as everyone else touched by this phenomenon, was only a victim of fate.
(-)
The softly illuminated hall was decorated with long green banners. They hung from the chandelier, strung themselves through the jagged ceiling decorations, and wound around every table and chair. It was also completely empty. That was extremely unusual…but it was much better this way. It actually looked kind of nice when it had no people in it. The smooth marble floor shone and reflected every piece of furniture set upon it. It was so silent…he could hear his own breath, his own heartbeat.
Something else was echoing into his earshot. A very familiar voice, made chillingly unreal by the fact that it resonated, disembodied, from the high, decorated ceiling. "No. You've got to stop. Don't you see what they're doing to us?"
No, he didn't see. He didn't see anyone. He was completely alone, wasn't he?
Just up ahead was a table draped in deep green and set up with various plates of glistening fruits. He hadn't seen such fresh fruit in a long time. For a fleeting second, the image of rice and meatloaf flashed through his memories, but still, that wasn't the same as fruit. That spike-shaped vegetable thing hadn't seemed very edible.
It didn't take much to reach the edge of the table. In fact, he hadn't even felt like he was walking. Slowly, he reached out for a shiny, plump pear near the edge of the nearest plate. It began to change colors. The closer he brought his hand, the more its light greenish hue began to blend into a dull gray…as did the rest of the fruit around it.
At last, he snatched it off the plate…and it suddenly felt much harder, pricklier, and heavier. Turning his eyes down towards it, he realized that it had become pure metal, thin metal points stabbing at his palm.
The metal pear dropped from his hand as he looked back up and noticed the transparency of the table. It faded back out of existence, as did the unnoticed pear before it even hit the ground. The shiny, marble floor was changing colors as well. Red.
The red spot diffused out, spreading towards the very edges of the gigantic ballroom, covering both green and white space alike. The floor was bleeding. Images began appearing in the center of the pool, where the fruit table had once stood.
A little boy…his face and body frozen. He wasn't breathing. His eyes the size of the tea saucers on the adjacent table. His small mouth dropped open and quivered for a few moments, as if he was trying to say something. But he couldn't. All of the color drained from his face. At first, it seemed as if he would hit the floor any second…but he finally broke out of his paralysis. Rigidly, he turned his black-rimmed head, and gathered all of his air into one horrific scream. "SECURITEEEEEEEE!!!" The image faded out as the boy turned and bolted for his life from the doorway.
A second image replaced this one…of the same boy. He was crashed in an unusual kneeled position against the besmirched wall, one small, trembling fist clutching at the wallpaper.
It was that sound again. A cold panic stabbed at his heart as soon as it erupted from the watery image. Not many things in the world scared him anymore…but this always managed to fill him with the most awful terror. The little boy was crying…not only crying, but shrieking. His high-pitched voice pierced through the air, screaming in anguish, occasionally coughing and choking on his own tears. His heart was being torn in two crucial directions. Soon, it would be torn to pieces.
"…I'm sorry…" he heard his own voice slip from his lips. "I'm sorry it has to hurt so much right now. But you'll get stronger. It doesn't hurt as much now, right? You'll be able to do it, I know you can…"
At this point, he began to feel something tugging at the ends of his shoes. The room was fading out…the atmosphere grew deeply cold, tingling on his exposed arms. Everything was drenched in darkness. It didn't frighten him, even though he couldn't see anything. This was his habitat.
Instinctually, he reached backwards to feel for the wall. It wasn't there. His hands lifted up to feel his neck, but only folded over the oversized coat collar. Yet, for some reason, he was unable to move from this spot. Maybe his feet had been bolted into the floor…that was a new strategy. Maybe there was just some sort of unexplained paralysis gripping his body.
Those echoing voices began to drift back in again.
"Well that's a bad sign…"
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean you."
"They told me to go get the other one."
He gritted his teeth. They'd always treated him just like a thing. He wasn't important at all. He was being brought up to be dispensable. Still…that was when the other voice came in.
"I hate it when they ask for revenge."
"I'm sorry…"
"I can't. They always search me before they let me in here."
Another image appeared…this one more recent. He gripped uneasily at his cloak, as he always did in such circumstances. "No! You mustn't do that! If one of us captures the Amaranthine, we'll both be able to live!"
This faded into another from a further time, though of a similar nature. Clutching, this time more tightly at the actual deep green shirt, a determined voice cried out, accented by a pained tone. "I know what you're trying to do!" His eyes pinched tighter and his eyebrows squeezed downwards, even though droplets of tears were forming at their edges. "And it's not going to work! I won't give in to you!!! I'm not like you!!! I'm not going to just give up!!!"
Silence fell over the little darkened corner of the world. Then he heard his own voice again. Was he really speaking, or was it just in his head? He couldn't tell anymore.
"I guess…it is still hurting you…isn't it?"
Again, his surroundings began to morph. The darkened nothingness broke into a stream of hazy sunlight. Feeling a light lapping around him, he looked down to find himself waist-deep in water.
A small figure was standing next to him…he could somehow sense his presence. Turning, he looked into a pair of wide, innocent purple eyes. "Here, let me help you…"
Suddenly, that other world seemed like a million miles away. It didn't matter anymore. He could make a new life for himself with this person. There would be no more complications. That voice in the back of his head was saying: I care about you.
The boy smiled, gently. "Everything is going to be just fine."
Yeah…maybe he didn't have to do this. Maybe he could matter in the world…and not have to die in the process. Slowly, again, he reached out to touch the boy. He wanted to embrace him, hold him in a grateful and delighted hug for the rest of eternity.
The boy blinked. He smiled. "…So you really are a prince, huh?"
He froze. It was a difficult position in the first place. What could he do? Both options carried risks attached. He couldn't…he couldn't bring himself to say anything more.
He moved sluggishly forward towards the boy again, but the water was suddenly in his way. How had it gotten all the way up to his chest so quickly? Glancing back at the boy, he found it sitting comfortably at his waist…like it had been a few moments before. Those bright purple eyes scrunched and crinkled in an expression of confusion and surprise.
He could no longer see his outstretched hand. It had been swallowed by the rising water. He felt it lapping around his chin.
Something about the water was changing. It didn't feel right; it was…heavier. Sticking out his tongue to taste it, it met a bitter and thick taste quite unlike the clear water. Blood.
And at that revelation, the lake began reaching upwards again. He flailed his arms and tried to swim up, but found that he couldn't. The blood soaking his baggy coat weighed him back down.
Craning his neck up, he called, desperately, "Futaba!"
The boy took no notice.
"Futaba!" he called again, but it was no use. The ground dropped away suddenly beneath him.
"Futaba!!!" he screamed with one last breath before he plunged down into the red ocean. He stretched an arm up towards the surface, but it was to no avail. He couldn't even see the sun anymore. And thus he continued to spiral down…into the dark red vortex below him.
(-)
Chapter 1: Drowned
Sixth-grader Futaba Kudo stretched casually as he awakened from that night's slumber. For once, he hadn't had his sleep disturbed by some giant cat decided to play a practical joke on them. Well, this was only the second night he'd spent in…wherever-the-heck-this-was. He briefly wondered if his parents had sent out a missing child report on him yet. Wow, he would be all over the news! …Never mind all that.
He glanced over to observe his surroundings. They sky was unusually cloudy, as if it would rain very soon. Kiara, as always, was still sleeping a few feet away from him. He'd probably have to wake her up himself. The little rabbit-like Lady Belbel was nowhere to be found, maybe off looking for some local landmarks. Prince Virid had already been awake, and from the amount he'd slept earlier, he figured he must've woken up early.
"Good morning, Virid!" Futaba cheerfully called to him, since there was no one else conscious to greet.
The prince turned from his perch on the windowsill and just stared icily at him.
"Uh…is something the matter?" Futaba shivered a little bit. Even though Virid would never hurt him now, he still managed to make him a little nervous every now and then.
"Oh!" Virid shook himself and smiled back over at Futaba. "Sorry. I had a…weird dream last night. Good morning!"
"We've got to get out of here soon, but I have no idea where Lady Belbel went…"
"She went to go look for breakfast," Virid informed him. "She should be getting back in a little while."
"Okay," Futaba pulled himself out of his makeshift bed and folded up the sheet he'd used to cover himself with. "I think we should take these sheets with us; we might not be able to find stuff like this again when we need it."
Virid just nodded to himself and went back into "silent observer of the clouds" mode.
"Now I'm going to need to wake up Kiara…I wonder how many tries it will take." Futaba was more or less talking to himself now, but he didn't care. He slipped on his socks and his jacket and began rolling his blanket up so he could stick it in his backpack. "I hope the little rabbit remembers to get some water for Kiara," he muttered to himself as he worked. "If she didn't, then there's no way I'm paying her a catering fee!"
"Water! Ow!"
Futaba turned his head, unexpectedly, at the sound. Virid had shot up off the windowsill and banged his head against the upper sill. "…Are you sure there's nothing wrong? Do you want some water too?"
"N-No, it's fine," Virid stuttered as he pressed a hand to his head. "I just…dreamed that I was drowning."
Futaba frowned and pulled the first-aid kit out of his backpack. "Well you don't need to worry about that. You know how to swim, don't you? Besides, we're nowhere near the ocean, or anything deep enough to drown in."
Virid's deep green eyes lit up at the sight of the little drawstring sack. "Do I get head bandages?!" he excitedly cried.
Futaba blinked, a little disturbed at how excited he was about this. Virid would still be happy if he had to be put in a full-body cast. "Er…no. But you do get an ice pack. Here."
He pulled the blue, gelled sack out and was surprised to find that it was still pretty cold. He handed it to the prince, but he just stared confusedly at it as if he'd never seen one before…which he probably never had.
"You hold it on your head where you hit it," Futaba explained.
Virid placed it gently over the spot and cringed. "Uhh…this hurts!"
"Well it will, a little bit, but it'll help. This way, you won't end up with a big bump on your head."
Virid just frowned and turned back around to stare out the window from a safer distance this time.
Futaba returned to his previous work, and he had just finished up sticking his blanket into his backpack when a familiar, cocky female voice floated to his ears.
"Yoo-hooooo! I'm baaaaaaack!"
"Lady Belbel!" Futaba cried, turning from his backpack to search for the voice's source.
The small white streak of the diminutive wizard appeared in the doorway of the broken adobe building, clutching two small baskets—one in her paws, and one in her mouth. She hopped up to Futaba's side and set the basket in her mouth down against the hay floor. "Lookee here, I got some spring water for the Amaranthine and some fresh fruit for the two of you. I already ate on the way up."
Futaba set the water basket gently beside the still snoozing girl. "Well, thanks Lady Belbel. I never asked you to…"
"Catering fee!!!" the little creature cried, breaking into a wide and devious grin. Her hind legs thumped in excitement. "What, did you expect free room service? Nuh-uh, buddy!"
Futaba grumbled as he kneeled beside his lightly snoring friend. "…I was hoping she would've forgotten about it…"
"I heard that!" Belbel burst out. "And there's no way I'm forgetting! Your fees are adding up, and you better be able to pay the bill once our little adventure is over!"
Futaba briefly imagined being stuck in this world for two additional years as he tried to work off his debts. Where would he work? He hadn't even seen any stores or service stations so far in this dimension. Well, Virid was a prince, so maybe he could get him a good job at his palace or castle or whatever.
Back to the matter at hand. Futaba turned his eyes back down towards the unconscious Kiara and reached out to nudge her a bit. As expected, she didn't even stir. She certainly was a heavy sleeper, and he wondered if this was yet another fact of being the Amaranthine.
"Hey, Kiara…?" he tried again, poking her a little harder. She rolled over a bit, but still showed no signs of awakening. "Kiara! It's time to get up!" Still nothing. Futaba scowled. "I hate to do this, but…" He sucked in a big, deep breath.
"Try shining a light in her eyes," Lady Belbel unexpectedly piped up.
Futaba was so startled that he let go of his breath. "What?! Light?!"
"Yup," the creature affirmed. "She's a flower, remember? She'll wake up when she feels it's bright enough. It's probably taking her longer to wake up now because it's so cloudy and dark."
"Oh…yeah…" Futaba managed as he glanced back up towards the overcast sky. "Well…I might have a flashlight in my emergency kit…" He turned to rummage through his backpack yet again. "Now, where did I put that bag? Oh, here it is…" His hand closed around the plastic handle and yanked it out from its prison. He deftly flicked it on and brought it close to his friend's face. "I sure hope this works…"
As soon as he held the flashlight over Kiara's closed eyelids, they immediately popped open, shining a clear dark pink as they took in the rays. "Huh?" she asked. "What? Is it morning already?"
Futaba quickly yanked the flashlight back away from her face. "Uh…good morning, Kiara!" he sheepishly called. "You were sleeping for a long time. I had a hard time waking you up."
"Oh…good morning, Futaba!" Kiara replied, in her normal delicate tone. She sat up and pushed her blanket away from her. "We're…still in that building-thing, right?"
"Yup," Futaba told her. "And we've got to get going soon, because it looks like it might rain. Oh, Lady Belbel got you some water; it's right over there in that basket."
"Thank you…" Kiara swung herself out of her hay-bed and pushed her strapped slippers back on. She briefly ran her fingers through her hair to brush it and knelt down next to the water basket.
Futaba sat down beside the other basket and started picking through it, seeing what the little wizard had managed to pick up. It was a few more minutes before Virid joined him, and he mostly just sat, staring awkwardly at the basket.
"Aha!" Futaba cried, pulling out an apple. "I knew there had to be one in here somewhere. Geez, Lady Belbel, why'd you get so many blueberries? I don't even like blueberries!"
"Well, it's not like I knew that!" the little creature snapped back. "Someone here better like blueberries. If not, then I guess I'll just have to save 'em all for myself!"
Futaba sighed again and looked over to the basket's other side. "Do you like blueberries, Virid?"
The prince didn't answer; he was too busy digging through the basket of fruit with trembling hands. At last, he pushed aside some more apples and apparently found what he had been looking for. His eyes went light trance-gray for a second. "Augh! Pears!!!" He ripped away from the basket so quickly that he tumbled backwards onto the hay.
Futaba was tempted to burst out in laughter. "…Why are you…afraid of…pears?!"
Virid crawled back to his knees again and stared at the basket as if it were cursed. "Th-there were pears in my dream too…"
"Oh," Futaba recalled. "That nightmare of yours. So…did you want one?" He pulled the green fruit out of the basket and held it out.
"No!" Virid shouted. "It's going to stab me!"
Futaba snorted. Just seeing the tough fighter screaming about a pear stabbing him… He dropped it back into the basket, deciding not to torture him any more about it. "Well, make sure you eat something, okay? And chill out; if you keep freaking out like that, you're going to injure yourself again."
"Okay…" Virid complied as he straightened his ice pack in recollection. He gingerly picked a few blueberries out of the basket and poked them to make sure they were real.
Kiara continued sipping water and stared blankly at them in confusion. Meanwile, Lady Belbel sat back, just laughing at them all.
(-)
Finally, after everyone had finished eating, Futaba proceeded with rolling up the blankets and stuffing them in his backpack. Along with the extra fruit, it just barely fit. They had a few minutes to spare while the others were still getting ready. Kiara was in the long process of reattaching her collar and retying the enormous bow on her back, while Virid was trying to tie his headband into position over his ice pack.
Futaba chuckled. "Uh, Virid, you can give that back now; that should be long enough."
The prince disappointedly handed the flattened sack back to him and fixed his headband again.
Futaba quickly shoved it back into his backpack and turned to glance down towards the little creature at his side. "So where to, Lady Belbel?"
A scrap of parchment magically appeared in the creature's small white paws, and she looked almost humorously serious as she studied it. "We need to go North…which is this way…" She pointed one small rounded paw to indicate the direction. "The first country we should come to is Azure. Right now we're in the small undisputed territory between Viridian and Azure. That's why all of these buildings have been abandoned. Everyone who lived here before was forced to move out and choose a country of residence."
"So we're going to Azure first, huh?" Futaba needlessly reiterated. "And then we can figure out what country Kiara's master is in! So…what's it like there?"
"Azure is quite populous. It holds some of the biggest cities on the continent. Needless to say, most of the border people chose to live in Azure rather than Viridian…probably because of Viridian's unstable political situation…" With this, the wizard stole a cursory glance at Virid, which thankfully, he missed. "Anyway, Azure is much further advanced in technology. It's almost as good as magic!"
"Cool," Futaba commented. "So let's get going! You guys ready yet?" He turned back towards his two other traveling companions.
"Yup!" Kiara called as she fluffed her bow out behind her. Virid nodded as he maneuvered his headphone-like decorations into a more comfortable position on his head. They immediately snapped to attention and were at his side. Then, at last, they were off.
Futaba followed down the path that Lady Belbel had pointed out. "Are we going in the right direction, Kiara?" He turned to ask his female friend.
"Hey! What's the matter?!" Lady Belbel protested as she hopped back onto his head for the ride. "Are my directions not good enough for you?! Do you not trust me?!"
"It's just to make sure," Futaba reassured her. "I want to be sure that this is the direction her master's in as well."
Kiara fell into silence, and remained that way for a while. She closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she nodded. "Yes. I can hear his voice coming from this way."
"Okay then!" Futaba exclaimed, breaking into a run. "Let's hurry and get closer!"
"Ah!" Kiara exclaimed in shock. "Uh…W-wait up, Futaba!" She broke into a sprint as well, along with Virid, and the two of them raced to catch up with him.
"Whoooaaa…" Lady Belbel struggled atop his head in order to keep her leverage. "Couldn't you at least have given me a warning first before you took off?"
"Sorry!" Futaba replied, although his voice was anything but apologetic. "I'm just excited! And besides, you never give me any warning before you try to charge us more."
The bunny wizard groaned and gripped his spiky hair tighter. She'd just have to tear it out first!
And thus, the morning passed, as well as the early afternoon. Futaba eventually stopped running and the others caught up. They continued walking and making plans for their stay in Azure. They'd find an inn, firstly, and then go exploring the city streets. Futaba was getting even more excited just at the prospect of staying at an inn. No more scratchy hay piles! And they certainly must have more than one bed.
During their journey, he found it strangely amusing the way Kiara and Virid followed him around like infatuated ducklings. Once, he even began skipping just to see if they would skip as well, and he was humorously obliged. It was both disturbing and endearing at the same time, especially since they were both at least two years older than him.
At last, sometime in the afternoon, after their small lunch break, they began seeing something unusual materializing in the distance. A large wall began jutting up towards the horizon in the distance, ringing it in barbed teeth. Futaba had been so carefree up to this point, leading his older friends through this deserted land…and perhaps he should have been a bit more concerned.
As they drew closer, and the wall became larger and larger ahead of them, Lady Belbel nodded from her comfy perch in recognition. "Yup, that's it, folks! The border to Azure!"
"Hey, wow!" We're there already!!!" Futaba cried, breaking into another delighted run. "That was quick, considering how long it took us to get out of Viridian yesterday!"
"Hold it!!!" Lady Belbel barked from above. "You can't just go zooming up there all on your own!!! Aren't you forgetting something?!"
Futaba screeched on the brakes, his rubbery boots kicking up dust clouds in his wake. He had suddenly realized it too.
A large group of armored and armed men stood just in front of the tall gates that led into Azure. Azure national border guards. Unlike the other set they'd encountered before, these seemed a little more professional. They were a much larger group, and each guard was covered with a metal helmet and a large metallic collar. Somehow, they seemed much more threatening…and rightly so. Entering into a new country was always more difficult than leaving an old one.
Futaba quickly snuck behind another abandoned shack, pulling Kiara and Virid with him. "…Great," he panted in the aftershock. "More guards. Just what I was hoping for. Fortunately, we've got our own border pass… At least I think we do…" Futaba turned towards his princely, dark-haired companion, who'd been awfully silent since they left their little campsite. "Virid, do you think you can get them to let us pass, like you did before?"
Virid just frowned a bit, as if thinking it over.
"I know it's not your own country anymore, but they should understand…you can just tell them you're here for an international peace conference or something…" Futaba desperately suggested new strategies. He had no idea how the countries in this world interacted or what role their leaders played, but he had to think of something.
Virid briefly muttered something about it being "two days" before putting on a more settled expression at last and exclaiming. "Of course! I'll do anything for you!"
The boy shuddered at these words. It always kind of disturbed Futaba the way he blindly followed him everywhere and obeyed his every whim…and Virid was the royal one. Well, at least it came in handy as protection. Virid had become almost like his personal bodyguard.
Just as their royal bodyguard moved to step out of their hiding spot to confront this set of guards, a familiar, loud voice piped up. "Oh, they'll be no need for that."
Futaba noticed, surprisingly, that it came from above him. Everyone else turned to focus their eyes on Lady Belbel. "What do you have to do with this?" Futaba tersely asked. "Don't tell me you're really a princess in disguise or something…"
"Uh-uh," the little white creature shook her head, causing her round, red earrings to bounce. "Although it's nice to know you think of me as a princess."
Futaba gritted his teeth in irritation. "That's not what I meant…"
"I have contacts in Azure, remember?" Belbel continued. "Surely they'd recognize me as the greatest wizard in all of Aureole and perhaps even the world. Who would deny someone with as much power as me?"
Futaba rolled his eyes. "You're sure modest."
Lady Belbel smiled, wryly. "Aren't I?"
Meanwhile, Kiara worriedly glanced back over towards the guards. She hated just standing in one place, unable to do anything. This was partly because she could always see her master in her visions. She saw him suffering…and there was no way for her to help him.
"…But I still think Virid is a safer bet," Futaba continued deliberating with his rabbit-like passenger. "He got us by before, and we're not completely sure the guards will recognize you. We may have to stand around while they look up records and do background checks or something."
"Look, I'm just trying to get us used to a different strategy. We can't keep using this guy as a passport every time we need to cross a border. Some of the more foreign countries may not even recognize him."
Futaba glanced over and noticed the way Virid shifted his eyes towards the ground at that statement. "So…what do you think?" he finally asked him. After all, the decision concerned him too. "Should we try it?"
The prince fiddled with the end of his baggy shirt and twisted it around in his hands. "…Sh-she's right," he admitted at last. "I don't know these guards. I might not be able to deceive them as easily as the others."
Futaba was briefly confused about the way he said "deceive," but he didn't have much time to think about it.
"Let's all go together," Kiara suddenly proposed, much to everyone else's surprise. "We can try the bunny first, and if that won't work, we'll try the prince!"
Futaba smiled and punched one fist into his other palm. "Yeah! Sounds like a plan to me!"
"Don't call me a bunny!!!" Lady Belbel snapped at the girl from her lofty perch, just about level with her face.
Kiara only blinked calmly, in spite of the threat. "Oh…I'm sorry, monster."
"Don't call me a monster either!!!"
"C'mon, you guys," Futaba spoke up, both trying to get the plan into action and stop Belbel from yelling at her. "The sooner we cross this border, the sooner we'll find some information about Kiara's master!"
Kiara eagerly nodded and stepped just in back of him, where she would be best protected. Virid finally stopped picking at his oversized collar and took his position beside him. And then, finally, they marched out together to boldly confront the Azure border guards (except for Belbel, of course, who was still riding the Futaba Express).
Every single one of them snapped to attention at their appearance. Scattered whispers broke through the group. Futaba trembled a little under their intimidating glances. They had recognized one of them, no doubt, and he hoped that it was Lady Belbel or Prince Virid.
A few of them began to shuffle restlessly, as if they were getting prepared to defend themselves. Why would they need to do that? If they had recognized the right one… Again, Futaba gulped nervously. Something wasn't right here, but he had no way of telling what.
"Greetings, fair men of Azure," the confident voice of Lady Belbel boomed from atop his head. She swiftly hopped down from her cushion to stand singularly before the guards, seeing that that way would be more effective. "If you would recall, I am the…"
One guard stepped assertively forwards, cutting off her sentence. He was larger and more heavily armored than the rest of them; they could barely see his eyes from underneath his helmet. Obviously, he must have been some kind of leader to them. "…I don't care if you are the Great Wizard who rescued the Queen…we want to know what you are doing in such company!"
Lady Belbel blinked incredulously and glanced briefly back at Futaba, Kiara, and Virid. "This company? Well, you see, these are my loyal attendees…"
Futaba mentally rolled his eyes. How did he know she would say something like that?
The little wizard never got a chance to finish. The guard captain clenched his large, gloved hands into fists. "Stop!" he commanded. "You do not have to lie for us, Lady Belbel!!!"
And just like that, the world fell into a disastrous chaos around them. All Futaba could see was a handful of grayish streaks for a split second. The guards. They were rushing towards them. He suddenly felt his hands being yanked backwards and pressed hard together against his back. "What?!" he cried, but when he looked up, he noticed that one of the guards was holding him in a death grip, as if to arrest him. When he looked up again to see what had become of his friends, he saw that another one had grabbed Kiara in a similar fashion. Virid looked alarmed, glancing around him with wide, alert eyes.
Meanwhile, Lady Belbel stood immobilized by the shock. Her small mouth dropped open. Why? Why were they doing this? After all she had done for them… The captain slipped behind her and swiftly plucked her from the ground, holding her protected in his arms. They needed sufficient safeguarding techniques for the others, of course.
A group of four or five guards had zipped up into preplanned positions around Virid, completely surrounding him. A strange expression flashed across the prince's face. It seemed like a mixture of shock, panic, and just plain anger. For a second, his eyes became blank solid green, and he took on a fighting stance, but he would never get the chance to defend himself.
Another guard, not initially in the circle, jumped forward at his back, shoving a long pole into the back of his neck. Virid never even had a chance to react.
It was a horrible sight to behold. Futaba wanted to close his eyes and block it all out, but for some reason, he found himself unable to peel his eyes away from the awful spectacle. Virid's dark green eyes bulged all the way open. His mouth dropped open as well, but he was unable to shout or even to scream in agony. His entire body convulsed crazily as the electricity coursed throughout it. They'd electrocuted him! He was dying! They were going to kill him!
"Stop it!" Futaba suddenly yelled in protest. "What are you doing to him?! Why are you…?!"
His protest ceased as the guard removed the shock pole at last and Virid's weakened and paralyzed body fell backwards into the others' arms. Immediately, they pulled out various chains and shackles, attaching them to several parts of his body…around the wrists, ankles, and neck…they were even in the process of binding him in a straightjacket-like device, when Futaba cried out again.
"You never answered me! What are you doing to Virid?! He hadn't done anything!"
One of the guards steadying the unconscious prince looked up and almost began laughing. His expression resembled a sneer. "Yeah, right. Trying to stand up for him. Just like a true accomplice."
Futaba blinked. "Accomplice? I'm not an accomplice. Accomplice to what, anyway?!"
That was when Futaba recalled the first time he'd seen Virid. He'd been fighting with an older man. He'd slashed the man across the face and sent him crashing to the ground.
"…Okay…so maybe he did hurt that man very badly and needs to be punished…but there's no need for all this…electricity and stuff… And, by the way, I had nothing to do with it. My friends and I were traveling through Viridian and he just…decided to come along with us. He wouldn't do it again, I swear; he's very sweet…"
The captain, holding a very unsettled Lady Belbel, frowned a bit to himself. "So you really don't know the full story, do you?" He sighed as his comrades finished binding Virid in the background and held him upright and secure. The captured prince was beginning to regain a bit if his consciousness by now.
"I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but…" the captain looked up again at Futaba, though his eyes were still hidden in his helmet. "…Your 'friend' here is a brutal murderer. Younger Prince Virid…commonly known as 'The Mad Prince'. On the day you recounted, he not only caused permanent damage to that man's eyes and nose, but he also slaughtered his wizard sister and partner in practice. The two of them were bounty hunters. Though the bounty hunters had been ordered not to attack him, there is still no excuse."
Futaba slowly blinked, trying to let this information into his brain. He looked over towards the prince's face. His eyes were still closed. "No…" he whispered in disbelief. "No…he must have had a good reason…he was just trying to defend himself…"
"And that's certainly not all, either," the captain continued. "In previous years, he'd killed three servants in the Viridian court and even a few innocent citizens who just happened to be in his way."
Futaba's eyes widened further. "No…it can't be true…" To think that he'd been sleeping beside a convicted murderer for two nights…
"When you met him, didn't he have a chain around his neck?" The captain's insisting voice enhanced the inner cold dread crawling its way into Futaba's chest…because he was beginning to realize these things for himself. "What did you think that was? A fashion statement?! He was still serving out his first life sentence in the Viridian Palace dungeons. Elder Prince Virird had just made an agreement for his temporary release so they both could go searching for the Amaranthine, to be fair. Bless that poor boy; he's too good to him."
Futaba closed his eyes. His eyebrows pinched upwards in pain and confusion. He was remembering all those times… Virid defending him from the giant attacking cat, hugging him in gratitude, sleeping peacefully in the adobe building, helping them get across the border, and asking excitedly for head bandages just that morning… It couldn't have all been a cover-up, could it?
"We had all been a little leery about this temporary release. Setting a psycho-killer loose again seemed like idiocy. He had had to sign a contract promising that he would return to the palace by sundown. By then, when he didn't return, they'd known that he'd run away…with you. The Palace sent out a warning message to all the neighboring lands, but it takes about two days before the message is processed and received. It had not reached the Viridian border guards at the time that he managed to pass by pretending to be his brother. Elder Prince Virid came by later that day, and that's when they figured out that it must have been him. They sent an immediate notification to us to be on the lookout for you."
Futaba recalled how nervous Virid had seemed earlier about confronting these guards, what he had muttered about it being "two days", and the way he'd said he'd had to "deceive" the guards. He had known all this time…
A sudden, bitter anger rose to explain the confused emotions tumbling around in his chest. He felt betrayed. He'd been lied to! Tricked! His feelings were so mashed together and foreign to him that he could only respond with more stark denial. "No! No, I won't believe it! It's not true, right Virid?! Tell me it's not true!!! It isn't, is it, Virid?! Tell me it's not true!!!"
By that time, the prince had been able to return to consciousness. His dark green eyes cracked open just a bit, but he kept them averted from Futaba's line of vision. It was difficult to get a clear view of his face between the swarms of guards that surrounded him, but Futaba was sure he saw what he did at that exact moment. Though Virid's head was turned to the side, away from him, and his dark hair fell down into his face, Futaba could see as he gently closed his eyes again…and a shining trickle of teardrops slipped down his cheek.
And then, that was it.
"Okay, men, you may escort our little guest to his room now," the captain announced.
The guards surrounding Virid began prodding him into a slow walk. He couldn't move right because he was still weak from the electric shock, plus his new chains and bindings weighed him down.
"Virid!!!" Futaba called again. "Answer me!!!" But there came no reply. As much as the boy persisted in calling after him, the prince wouldn't respond.
It was almost chilling how silent he was as they carted him off to his prison. No farewells. No attempted explanations. Not even any struggles or objections. Just tears. A lot of them.
Futaba caught one last teary glance from his former friend before he was forced back around and slowly, the caravan disappeared into the faraway distance of Azure.
It was a long time before Futaba could think straight again. Peace and normalcy were beginning to return to their little gathering in front of the Azure border. That was when he noticed that his hands were still pinned behind his back.
"Hey, you can let us go now," he spoke to the guard holding him in place. "I've already told you we weren't his accomplices."
"I know," the captain stated. "But I cannot allow you admittance into this country. You possess neither a passage permit nor an ID card from your country of origin…"
"Let them pass." Everyone, including the guards, turned to look at Lady Belbel in the captain's arms. She'd remained completely silent through the whole ordeal, partially because she'd been just as shocked as the rest of them. "In fact, I insist upon it. And by the way, Captain, thank you for protecting me."
The captain bowed his head and lowered the little creature back to the ground. "Of course. It is always my pleasure, Great Wizard. If you completely trust these two…"
"Yes. These two, at least, I am sure of. Please allow us passage into your country."
With that, Futaba felt the pressure on his wrists slacken, and a sharp pain pulsed through his hands as the blood rushed back into them. The other guard released Kiara as well, who flexed casually, as if she were just waking up.
The Captain stepped back and opened the gateway into Azure. "Friends of the Wizard are always friends of ours," he added, with a visible smile.
(-)
Finally, they were in Azure! A brand new land! And an excellent opportunity to get information on Kiara's master! Yet Futaba just couldn't get himself excited or even happy for the event. He marched straight ahead towards the conglomerate of rectangular buildings in the distance.
Kiara tottered contentedly beside him, unaffected by any of the recent events. She and Virid had never even really spoken to each other, aside from a few polite "hellos". In a way, they had been competitors for Futaba's attention, and she had probably always thought of him as an enemy.
Futaba was just too flabbergasted after the incident—he couldn't even concentrate on their objection for coming here in the first place.
"Geez…" Lady Belbel commented as she hopped back up to hitch a ride on his head. "…a psycho-killer. You sure know how to pick 'em, Futaba."
"I didn't actually pick him," Futaba argued. "He just sort of clung to me after I helped him out…"
The boy felt sickened and disgusted as he thought about it. To think that that pool of blood he'd found Virid in might not have been entirely Virid's… How could he have been so stupid not to realize?! The attack…that chain… It disgusted him to think that he'd helped out a convicted, insane murderer. He wished that he'd never ever seen the prince. That way, he might've just got sick and died in the lake and justice would've been served…
Yet a part of Futaba felt a twinge of sorrow when he thought about that. To die all alone like that… No, the devil deserved it.
Another part of Futaba recalled something else… The image of Virid's smile after he had finished bandaging his arms filled his mind. He'd been so happy, so grateful… It seemed impossible that such a sweet and innocent face could be that of a vicious killer.
"I'm sorry," Belbel's unusually serious voice jolted him out of his musings. "It's partly my fault. If I had been paying more attention to the local news, I would've identified him right away."
Futaba just shook his head, twisting Belbel around in the air with him. "No. Let's just not talk about it anymore. It's best if we all just forget him. We've got to gather information to find Kiara's master! C'mon, let's go!" The boy was just too confused to try to figure this all out…so he decided to do the smart thing and just forget it.
"Yup!" Kiara enthusiastically echoed. "Everything is going to be just fine! …Probably!"
Futaba chuckled. "You really like my motto, don't you?" She was right, he decided, and listened to his own advice as he settled into a comfortable walk with his new best friends. They were almost to the actual city by now.
Suddenly and unexpectedly, Belbel slipped from Futaba's head and plopped back onto the ground. The two travelers stopped in their tracks.
"What's the matter, Lady Belbel?" Futaba teased. "Finally decided to use your own legs for a change?"
Belbel shook her long, feathery ears and offered a decisive scowl. "No. I'm sorry, but I won't be able to join in your frolics around Azure. I've got a few personal duties here I must attend to."
Then, Futaba recalled the way in which the captain guard had submitted and adhered to the little creature's wishes. It had been a very odd and awkward sight. "So, uh…Lady Belbel?" he finally asked. "How come the people here treat you like their queen?"
A wide, sly grin appeared on the wizard's round, white face. "I was waiting for you to ask that."
Futaba groaned. Here it comes…
"Well, you see…" Belbel began. "A few years ago, Azure wasn't the cheery and flourishing place it is today. A terrible darkness had settled over the land, and the Queen had fallen ill. The residents were afraid that the country would soon fall under the control of the C-Men, awful monsters that had been bred and infested Azure's cities. Everyone was in a panic as more and more of them began to die as victims to the C-Men, and for a while, it seemed like they had completely given up all hope. Well, then I came along. I was just a regular, normal-level wizard at that time, but I offered them all the help I could give them. First, I invented a spell that could cure the Queen of her illness. The people of Azure, seeing that their Queen was better, began to have hope again, and together with my power, we drove away all of the C-Men!"
Futaba and Kiara stared at the little rabbit-like creature with mouths agape. "Wow!" Kiara finally broke out. "That's amazing!"
"Yeah, you better be telling the truth," Futaba was finding it hard to completely trust anyone anymore.
"Of course!" Belbel replied. "And now I've got to get to a meeting at the Azure Palace. There have been reports of more C-Men sightings here again, and we've got to take care of them."
"Oh…" Futaba realized. "So is that why you wanted to come here? …Well, alright, we'll help you out! If we see any of those monster-things you were talking about, we'll come tell you about it, okay?"
"Okeee-dokee!" Belbel cheerily agreed. "I'll be off then! Good luck in the city! I'll be looking out for any information I can pick up at the Palace as well." She began to hop off in a different direction.
Futaba waved at her as she disappeared against the grayish, modernized backdrop. "See you later, Lady Belbel! And thank you for everything!"
There was no answer from the white form receding into the distance, and Futaba slowly lowered his hand. Somehow he felt…emptier than he'd been before. He'd been alone in this world before, but why hadn't he felt this way? He guessed it was a bit different when your friends left you than if you'd had no friends to begin with.
Wait…that wasn't true at all. Futaba glanced over towards the blank-faced girl next to him. "Looks like it's just you and me again, huh, Kiara?"
(-)
The darkness again. The light tinkling, metallic noise. Metal and granite, metal and granite… It was no different here…except they had taken his clothes and bandages, replacing them with a slippery, baggy blue uniform. The man behind the bars next to him wore the exact same one, except his fit him better.
Why? It shouldn't make any difference. Everything was the same…bare, quiet solitude. Why was it so horrible now?
From his new cell in the Azure dungeon, Virid buried his face in his hands and tried to stop the tears. He didn't understand…he hadn't cried this much since he was eight years old…the first time he'd been beaten. After that, he hadn't cared much about what happened to him…but why did it hurt so much now?
The prince sniffed and wiped his eyes on his parachute-like sleeves. The chain around his wrist clinked with the movement. That was when he realized. Futaba… That was why he couldn't tell him about his past—he knew this would happen. He knew he would be angry…and he would reject him. Futaba hated him now. The first person that had ever really cared about him now hated him.
Virid sighed deeply and lowered his arm again. "Futaba…I'm sorry…" he whispered. He turned his head downwards and traced the granite's cracks with his eyes.
Suddenly, he was disgusted with himself. It wasn't a foreign feeling to him, but this was the first time he'd felt it again in a while. Why? How could he have been so stupid? He'd allowed himself to get his hopes up. He'd thought that if he just ran away with Futaba and his friends and "disappeared", that would be good enough. Now he'd have to die alone and friendless.
As much as he regretted being with Futaba after their meeting, he still couldn't help feeling glad that they had met. Why hadn't he listened to the warning? He knew this would happen…it was fate, after all.
Finally, Virid just gave up and slumped against the dark concrete wall to which he had been anchored. More tears slipped down his cheeks, but he didn't bother to wipe them up anymore. "Futaba…Futaba…:"