During the last few days, Kyoko had been escorted by Dyrus and the Ishibashi brothers as she went to the different festivities. A few of those times she had gone out with Maria or some of the other concubines, but it was still awkward with not one but three men were following her. Thankfully, nothing had happened since the last Reino incident. This morning however, she was greeted by another addition to the party.

"Prince Kuon." blinked Kyoko. "And Setsuko. What are you two doing here?"

"It's the last day of the festival." said Kuon, gesturing to both her and Setsuko. "You two are the only concubines I've yet to escort through the festivities. I wished to take this morning to do so now, if that is alright with you."

It would be a lie to say she was completely fine with it. She was cautious of both of them for different reasons. Setsuko intimidated her with her calculating looks and her dominance over Kyoko. For prince Kuon, her heart was still recovering from the last encounter when they had been alone together.

Kyoko stood, dazed. She knew that there were people around her, cheering at the current battle taking place, but she couldn't concentrate. A certain recent memory kept creeping to the front of her mind. One where the prince and his light green eyes were getting very close to her face.

Why had he done that? What was the meaning of that kiss? 'Pull yourself together Kyoko, you're not one to get this upset over a simple kiss on the cheek…'

And there she was, being broken all over again. Her mind seized up with the memory of the sensation of lips on her cheek. It was completely unbearable!

"Prince Kuon!"

Kyoko froze, unsure of how she had gotten back down stairs. She was mingled in with the rest of the concubines who had come down to see Kuon as he had just won his first round. At least, that's what she gathered from the congratulations because she had definitely not seen a single bit of the fight.

The prince graciously accepted the congratulations from each of the woman, lips pulled into a calm smile. Her gaze was transfixed by movement.

Someone tapped her shoulder, startling her out of her thoughts. It was Risa.

"What's got you in a daze?" she asked,

"It's nothing."

"I'm sure." Said Risa with a smile. "Anyway, how about we go check out the boat races after this? They should be showing the semifinals this afternoon."

"Sure. Why not?"

"Alright. We just have to wait a minute for Yumi. Yumi! Hurry up we're waiting on you!"

The tall concubine frowned unhappily at her friend, she had been in conversation with the prince. She gave an obvious sigh, no doubt meant to show Risa that she found the concubine's actions tiring, then waved at them indicating that she'd be there in a minute.

Kyoko was happy to hang back and wait for her to come. It gave her an excuse to leave without congratulating the prince. She was glad he had won, truly she was, she just couldn't look him in the eye at the-

Kyoko's eyes went wide as she watched Yumi place a kiss on Kuon's cheek. Prince Kuon seemed to take it in stride, smiling and obviously wishing her well before she came over to where Risa and Kyoko were.

"Must you always be so embarrassing?" said Yumi frowning at Risa who chuckled.

"Can't help who I am."

Kyoko lost the rest of the conversation as she walked with them towards the river. How naive she had been. Of course a kiss wasn't anything important to Kuon. He had concubines for fires sake! Even if he hadn't had any intercourse with most of them that didn't mean there weren't other benefits.

Kyoko's mood instantly soured at the thought. No wonder he had mocked her for freaking out about Sho's kiss. She must look like a child in his eyes.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Yumi suddenly demanded to know why Kyoko was with them since they "Weren't friends."

"It should be fun, don't you think Kyoko?" said Setsuko, her smile not reaching her eyes as she looked at her. Kyoko subtly swallowed. Fun was not what Setsuko's eyes were saying.

"I-It's fine your highness." Said Kyoko. "It's thoughtful of you to offer, but surely we have spent enough time together before the duels, that escorting me through the city is not needed. I do not wish to impose on your time, which I know is very limited."

"And yet, I insist." Said the prince, his smile turning up a notch on the sparkle chart. "Perhaps you feel spending the afternoon with me is tiring. Perhaps you are displeased with being in my company."

"Of course not!" she said, probably too quickly. There was no need for him to know she was still wary of him. "I just don't wish to become a burden."

"Then there is no problem." Said Kuon, coming to stand next to her. Her body tensed at the closer proximity. "I wish to enjoy the morning with you and Setsuko."

Kyoko noticed Setsuko giving her an expression of amused disbelief mixed with frustration. "And here I thought you were kidding Kuon."

The bright smile was now turned towards Setsuko, who appeared to see it for what it was. A mask of his irritation. Kyoko was instantly curious, wondering what they were talking about, but before she could ask, the prince had spoken again.

"Let us get going. We wouldn't want to waste the day standing here."

Resigned to her predicament, Kyoko followed Kuon and Setsuko through the streets.

As always, Kyoko was impressed by the assortment of shops and entertainment inside the city. She had spent every day of the festival wondering through the streets, but the capital was so big there was always something new to see. That, and several entertainers had come from other countries just to celebrate the festival.

There weren't a lot of them, but the few she did see took her breath away. There had been people in strange outfits, the woman wearing hats with feathers sticking in them. And then there had been a group that danced in pairs, swinging each other around with linked arms. She had to admit, it looked like a lot of fun.

Setsuko had watched everything with a calm demeanor, completely unlike Kyoko who gaped and giggled along with everyone else that watched. Occasionally, she noticed the concubine eyeing Kyoko as if seeing her for the first time. When she'd notice Kyoko had seen her, she'd stare for another second before looking away.

The prince was all calm decorum and graciousness. Every time they would approach a group, the entertainers would pull out all the stops to impress the prince. He would calmly accept things handed to him, his kind smile and demeanor captivating the hearts of the citizen.

But Kyoko couldn't help noticing how they treated him at first. Most of the citizens seemed petrified that the prince was in their company. Thankfully, all it would take was one brave soul to interact with him before the rest would relax. It was obvious they all respected and honored their kingdom's prince, yet didn't know how to interact with him.

At one point Kyoko had wondered off with her guards to comfort a little girl who had gotten separated from her parents. Kyoko had reunited them, accepting their thanks and asking a question.

"Can I ask you, what do you think of Prince Kuon? Why is everyone so hesitant to approach him?"

"Well who wouldn't be?" answered the wife. "He is a higher being then us, son of King Kuu, bestowed with Rosa's blessing. Also…" the wife gave a shy grin at this point. "There have been a lot of mixed rumors about the prince. Some say he is a saint, kind and wonderful, while others say he has a fiery temper. It's hard to know which is right."

A second later her husband realized who Kyoko was and the woman became nothing short of panicked. Kyoko had almost calmed her down when the prince came to see where she was, sending the wife back into a frenzy. When he heard what the problem was, he had given a short laugh, thanking to woman for being honest.

Kyoko, Kuon, and Setsuko were currently at a large pavilion that sold jewelry when something caught Kyoko's eye. Curious, she followed the blue glint, leaving the pavilion to enter a smaller stall located beside it. She identified the source of the glitter as a choker.

The piece was not as elaborate as the jewelry in the other stall, but it was beautiful in its simplicity. Silver leaves connected to a large blue gem set in silver worked to look like petals, and another tear drop blue gem hanging down. Other chains draped down as well, un-ornamented, but adding to the delicate look of the piece.

"Like something you see Mistress?" said the shop keeper. He was an older man with a kind face, wrinkled from spending many years in the sun.

"Did you make this piece?" said Kyoko, fingers brushing the necklace.

"I did indeed mistress. I take it that you like it."

"Very much so." Nodded Kyoko. "It's beautiful. The way it's designed, it reminds me of a crystal aster. I can tell it was made with particular care."

"High praise from one such as yourself." Said the man, giving her a small bow. "You honor me by saying so."

"What?" Kyoko broke out of her daze to take her surrounding into consideration. She just now noticed how much smaller and worn down the stand was compared to the grand and fine jewels located in the one she had drifted from. She also realized that as a concubine, she attracted attention. More than one person was discreetly eying whatever a royal concubine had left the other store to examine.

Kyoko gave a nervous chuckle, not sure what else to say.

"Would you care to try it on?" the man said, gesturing at the necklace. Kyoko shook her head.

"I'm afraid such a beautiful thing would end up wasting away in my closet. Until I am no longer a concubine, this choker must always be on my person." She rested a hand on the chains on her neck. For the first time since getting it, she wished she could replace the splendid piece with something else.

"That may be." Said the man. "But you may find yourself regretting not purchasing it since it is a unique piece."

She hesitated. She really liked the necklace, but the practical part of her said that she didn't need it.

"What are you looking at?"

Kyoko jumped at the sound of Prince Kuon's voice by her ear. She whipped around.

"D-don't do that Prince Kuon. You scared me."

His eyes fell to look at the stand where the necklace lay. Understanding shone in them.

"You were looking at this weren't you." He said, taking the necklace and holding it up. "It looks a lot like a crystal aster."

"It does doesn't it?" said Kyoko, distracted by the beautiful choker. "I saw it and thought immediately of Ren and… "

My dad.

Kuon didn't appear to notice her incomplete sentence. Instead, he was examining the necklace with interest.

"The gems, they are aquamarine am I correct? Said Kuon appreciatively, examining the necklace. "They are very good quality. Very even in color, and you can tell by the heft of this that the metal is real silver. It's a nice piece. Would you like me to buy it for you Kyoko?"

"N-no that's not necessary." Said Kyoko quickly. "I can't wear it anyway while I'm a concubine."

Kuon, raised an eyebrow at her. "And you plan on being my concubine for the rest of your life?"

Kyoko's face immediately went red. "No! That's not what I meant. I just meant that I doubt I'll be wearing such nice jewelry once I'm no longer one. I'll be busy at the clinic and such."

"But you wear your current necklace in the clinic all the time. Why wouldn't you wear this one after that?"

"It wouldn't suite someone like me."

Kuon scowled at the comment. "I wish you wouldn't say things like that."

"Regardless." Said Kyoko, ignoring the fierce stare he was giving her. "I appreciate the offer, but it's not necessary. I'm going to go back to the other stand."

She quickly hurried away before he could say anything else. She wondered back towards Setsuko, who was talking to a merchant about some jewelry. The concubine was comparing earrings to the circlet she wore on her head.

"What were you two looking at?" said Setsuko, trying the earrings on and looking at it in a mirror.

"Nothing."

"Hmmm. I'm sure." Said Setsuko, handing the earrings back to the merchant. "These are no good. Do you have anything a little bigger?"

Kyoko stayed with Setsuko, the prince eventually wondering back to where they were. She did her best to not pay too much attention to him, keeping her eyes on the items being sold. There were too many feelings swirling within her. Embarrassment was a large part, especially after he had offered to but her the necklace.

She tried to remember the last time someone had offered to buy something for her and couldn't remember. Not since her dad had died. Then there were all the little things that Prince Kuon had already gotten for her. A whole new wardrobe, spending money for her pleasure… a new home. How much was he determined to give her?

"Kyoko, come look at this."

Kyoko looked towards where Kuon had gestured, noticing a mage putting on a light display. It wasn't like the opening ceremony Ruriko had done, rough and stylized in brushes of color. The magic was realistic and highly detailed, tricking Kyoko into believing that she could see a bouquet of flowers in the man's hands. He offered them to Kyoko, who couldn't help reaching forward, entranced. When her finger made contact, the image burst into a thousand delicate butterflies, their yellow and pink wings swirling around her as she giggled in delight.

Smiling there alongside her was the prince, who appeared to be also enjoying the show. How he managed that when he wasn't actually paying attention to it, she couldn't understand. What she was starting to understand was just how much she enjoyed spending time with Kuon. Sure, sometimes he did things that surprised her, and he teased her a lot, but the reason she disliked those moments was because of something not wholly related to him.

And that 'something' was a very dangerous thing. An emotion she had sworn to crush within herself. Kyoko had no desire to become a useless woman again which mean she needed to head him off before that something grew out of her control.

Everything was boring.

B-o-r-i-n-g.

Reino leaned back against the wall of the stadium, eating some strange looking fruit. He had no idea what it was. Some odd imported thing. It was also probably expensive, judging by how fat the merchant was that he'd stolen it from.

He spat out a seed, watching as it fell into the crowd below him. He had teleported to the top of one of the towers, completely ignoring what he was supposed to be doing at the moment. Naomi probably had everything covered. She did like to suck up to the big boss, and he was happy to let her do his portion of the work. This was, after all, his last job before they killed him and took his relic. Now he just needed an idea of what he should do as his last act before his death.

That, unfortunately, was a problem. He'd done as he liked all his life. There weren't any regrets or decisions to look back on. No last minuet hell to raise. How completely boring…

Something in the crowd caught his eyes. It was a group of people, two of the them in particular catching his interest.

Reino smirked. Ah. How kind fate was. That could amuse him before his death. Reino sat up, tossing the rest of the fruit into the crowd. He followed the party with his eyes, determining their current destination. It appeared to be the stadium.

It was time for the plan to begin, but first, Reino was going to have a little fun. What better way to spend his last day then by messing with what was considered off limits? It wasn't as if they could give him any more warnings.

The finals were only an hour away and Kyoko felt nervous. True, she had felt like this before every match the prince had participated in, but with each battle, the feeling just got worse. How was it possible to feel this sick? She wasn't even the one competing.

"Good luck prince Kuon." She said, smiling at the prince.

He returned the smile, a playful twinkle in his expression. "Kyoko. If I didn't know any better, I would think you were the one competing with how petrified you look."

"I can't help it." Defended Kyoko. "I know how important this fight is to you. I want you to do well." Hence the reason for giving him the charm.

Kuon seemed to be thinking along the same lines as he fingered the pin on his jacket. He had insisted that she attach it to him herself, wearing it at each fight.

"I'm sure you will do splendidly." Said Setsuko, reaching out towards prince Kuon. She gently guiding his face down, placing a kiss on his cheek. "For good luck."

Kyoko's face immediately flared at the gesture for a multitude of reasons, half she would never admit to. Kuon again took the gesture like it was a normal occurrence, further cementing in her head that he was a playboy. He was giving Setsuko a complicated smile that obviously spoke something that only they two could understand. A second later, she jumped as his eyes came up to meet hers.

"And what about you Kyoko?" said the prince, pointing to his other cheek. "Are you going to wish me luck as well?"

That complete flirt!

"Y-you already have my pin for good luck." Sputtered Kyoko, trying and failing to sound unruffled by his teasing. "Too much of a good thing can be just as bad."

He laughed.

"I'm not sure if I can agree with that at the moment." Mused Kuon. "Thank you both for allowing me to accompany you two this morning. I will see you after the fight."

Kuon then left, Kyoko watching him disappear around the hallway. Once he was gone, she turned to talk to Setsuko, only noticing that the concubine had already left. She was now alone with her three guards in one of the entry halls of the coliseum.

I should have figured. Thought Kyoko. It had been apparent for a long time that Setsuko wasn't going to warm up to Kyoko, but that didn't stop her from trying.

Kyoko began to wonder down the halls, slowly making her way towards the stands. Her brain was again swarming with thoughts, making it difficult to assess her own feelings towards her current situation. There was so much to consider, so much to block. Did she want to figure out what was going on inside her, or was it better to stay unaware and wait until everything blew over?

Something caught her attention. The torches that lined the wall were flickering, casting an odd shine across the stone floor. She stopped a few feet before where the weird light started, staring. Was it just a trick of the light? Or was it…

Dyrus seemed to notice it at the same time she did. He quickly stepped in front of her, holding out an arm to block her from whatever spell was placed on the floor.

"Stay back." He warned.

Kyoko didn't need to be told twice. She slid back between the other two guards, both men with their weapons drawn, expressions grim.

For a moment nothing happened, then the feeling of a cool breeze blowing on her neck made her shiver. She immediately spun around, recognizing idiot #2 standing in the hall.

"You!" she cried, pointing at Reino.

Reino gave her a lazy smirk, ignoring Dyrus as he moved to shield Kyoko again.

"Good to see you again Kyoko." Said Reino, "I honestly didn't think I'd have the pleasure. Lucky me I was wrong."

"Reino." Said Dyrus calmly. "You are wanted for several accounts of theft, murder and assault. I request that you come with me-"

"Don't get started on that crap." Said Reino, waving a hand lazily. "It bores me to tears."

"Then we have no choice but to force you to come."

Dyrus moved his hand in a twisting motion, lights swirling around the gem encrusted hilt of his sword. From beneath Reino, several bright cords shot from the ground, surrounding him. They halted in a perfect circle around him.

Reino gave a yawn, breaking the spell with a wave of his hand.

"How drawl. Did you think such simple tricks would catch me?"

A second later, the ground lit up beneath the three guards, revealing several magic circles. Kyoko let out a cry, realizing it was the same spell that had caught them last time. A second later, there was a loud crack, and the circles disappeared.

Dyrus smirked "Did you think we would fall for the same trick a second time?" he advanced on Reino, Shinichi flanking his right.

"Let's get you out of here." Said Yuusei, urging Kyoko to move. He quickly dispersed the spell blocking their path on the ground, the two of them hurrying away from the scene. They sprinted through the corridors, getting as far away as possible. It was around the third bend that Kyoko noticed that something was wrong. They had yet to run into another person since running from Reino.

"Yuusei." Said Kyoko, running beside him. "I think-"

The wall in front of them lit up in a dark light, cutting her off. She cried out in surprise, the two of them sliding to a halt.

From the wall, Reino stepped out, black energy and smoke pooling around him.

"There you are my little kitten." He said, the darkness dispersing.

Yuusei put Kyoko behind him, leveling his sword at Reino. "Get out of here Lady Kyoko. I'll hold him off."

"Yuusei…"

Kyoko didn't want to leave him. Obviously Reino was prepared for a fight this time. What had happened to Shinchi and Dyrus? She prayed that they were alright.

"Don't worry about me." Said Yuusei. "I'll be fine."

Kyoko couldn't see his face, but she could imagine him giving her one of his usual smiles meant to comfort her. She hesitated, torn between running to lure Reino away and staying to help fight.

A second later the decision was taken out of her hands. Dark runes activated, surrounding Yuusei. The guard attempted to shatter the darkness with his magic, but it deflected the spells, completely enveloping him in darkness. Then it disappeared, together with Yuusei.

Kyoko stood, stunned at what she had just seen. Yuusei had been there one second, then another second, he was gone, swallowed up by the magic. The hall was eerily quiet, the only sound audible was her own erratic breathing and beating of her heart. That silence was broken as Reino stepped towards her.

"What..." Kyoko swallowed, fighting down her nerves as she did her best to glare at the man. "What did you do to them?"

"It's just a transportation spell." Said Reino with a shrug. "There was no reason for them to get all violent like that. I just wanted to talk to you."

"Do you honestly think I'll believe that?" said Kyoko, feeling some relief that they weren't killed. "You want to put that… thing inside of me!"

"Ah, are you talking about this?"

Reino waved his hand and the dark energy appeared again. He held it out, and Kyoko shrunk back from the dark aura it emanated, body spasming from the memory of pain.

"Don't come near me!" She cried, trying to put some force behind the command, but it just came out as a plea. The man noticed, and gave a lazy smirk. A second later, his form blurred as he approached her to quickly for her to see. He pinned her against the wall, still holding the dark seed.

"No more guards." Mused Reino. "No more interruptions. I'm going to enjoy this."

Kyoko's eyes widened as Reino descended upon her.

Kuon was almost to the reception room when he felt something was wrong. He pulled a round device from his belt, several runes etched into the surface of the ceramic. The spell activated as Kuon channeled magic into the locator.

The device lit up, showing him the direction and distance certain people were from him. He had placed a spell on Kyoko's choker that morning, as well as one on each of her guards as an extra precaution. Currently each indicator was pointing in a different direction, indicating that Kyoko and her guards were no longer together. That did not bode well.

He stuffed the device back into his pocket, sprinting back towards Kyoko's indicator.

Please let me be on time. he prayed internally.

Merry Christmas Everyone! This is definitely my favorite time of year!

ROFL, meehansamantha. Your review. XD

chainedheart999: "[are] the attack[s] of the caravans revealed in the latest chapter… related to the one when Kyoko was traveling with Moko-san?" So rather than answer, I'm going to give you what we do know. The Accused are attacking caravans to put the seeds (pods) in items. The seeds can then transfer to a person and then, given the right circumstances, turn them into a dark creature.

We also know that Lory said that Kyoko was targeted by a group of well-organized mercenaries acting as bandits. We also know that Lory eventually found out that they were hired by the company that had a monopoly on the blazefern plant, the only other cure for gangrene. (Which Kyoko found a new, cheaper cure for). Whether these two things are related... we will have to see. (Information found on Chapters 3, 7, and 33.) (I know I've thrown a lot of stuff at you guys. Sometimes even I forget what I've told you!)

Like always, thanks a lot for all your reviews! I do my best to live up to everyone's expectations. XD

-Blushweaver.

Fun fact about Imouto, AKA me. I went through a huge rock and minerals phase as a kid. I called Blushweaver last week, and she told me she'd been trying to find a specific light blue colored stone for like an hour. I named three off the top of my head. Glad it finally came in handy. Just goes to show, no information is useless!

Hope you liked the chapter!

-Imouto