Previously:

"…" Hakuei paused for a moment outside the tent, having just heard everything. She sighed as she allowed her fatigue to show for a moment. "… I can't. As general, I've got to keep everyone in line!" she scolded herself, clenching her fists as she straightened up again.

"Good evening, onee-san!" Aladdin greeted her from above.

"!!?" Hakuei gasped, surprised to see him hovering over her on his magic turban. "Who's there!?" she asked nervously as he came lower, preparing to draw her sword. Aladdin grabbed his turban and quickly wrapped it around his head again as he landed before her.

"Hi! I'm Aladdin, a traveler." He greeted her with a friendly smile and a little wave. "Thanks for this afternoon. I'm a little interested in you, onee-san, so I decided to drop by!" He had made up his mind to come without the twins since they seemed to want to avoid being captured.

"…!?" Hakuei said, staring at him in astonishment. 'The boy from this afternoon… why is he here?' she wondered. 'More importantly… That cloth… can it be possible…'

"I want to chat with you for a little while… Can I?" Aladdin asked.

"…" Hakuei let out a small sigh as she relaxed and took her hand off her sword. "But of course, young man. There are things I would like to discuss with you as well."

Chapter 24: Slave Hunting

Ryosai was just about to retire for the evening when one of his men rushed over to inform him of the arrival of a special message that he had intercepted.

"Sir, this just arrived by falcon! It's from General Ren Kouen himself!!" he said urgently.

"Let me see that." Ryosai said, snatching the small scroll from his hands. As Ryosai read, his eyes widened. "This is…!!" A smirk grew on his face as he immediately swept off to find the men he had ordered to raid the Kouga village, hoping they hadn't left yet. He had some special instructions for them now.

"Huh? Where's Aladdin?" Faith asked her sister as they were getting ready for bed.

"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen him for a while…" Hope said, glancing around. "Should we look for him?"

"Nah, he probably just went to pee." Faith said with a shrug. "Speaking of which, my bladder could use some relief as well."

"And judging by that look you're giving me, you want me come with you, huh?" Hope said, sweat-dropping.

They hadn't gone very far when they spotted something suspicious.

"Hey, what's that carriage doing here?" Faith asked, wondering why it had been hidden in the shadows.

"!?" Hope gasped upon recognizing the design. "That's from the Kou Empire! What on earth…?"

"Don't move!" A deep voice said, causing them to whip their heads around as they immediately went into fight mode. "Say or do anything to alert the men, and I'll slit her throat." The Kou soldier threatened, holding a knife to a very frightened Toya's throat.

"…" The twins frowned in distaste at the man, and reluctantly dropped their fighting stances.

"I take it you're not a child from this village?" Hakuei asked Aladdin as they sat down to talk.

"No, I'm a traveler. Right now, I'm traveling with some friends." Aladdin answered with a smile.

"Just now… that mysterious cloth…"

"This? It's great, right? As long as I've got strength from food in my stomach, I can fly with it! Though it's not all that fast."

"… That's a dungeon item." Hakuei told him.

"Dungeon item?" Aladdin asked, touching his turban.

"Such tools also exist in my country. They have the power to split the earth and fly through the heavens. As you can see, they have powers far exceeding human comprehension. And to get them… one has to come out alive from the 'dungeon'." She explained, pausing for a moment to regard the boy before her once again. "So a child like yourself… got that piece of cloth from a dungeon…?"

"Uh, no. This is something I already had." Aladdin corrected her.

"Already had…?"

"Yeah, back when I left the 'Room of Fortitude'." He said.

"That… is a dungeon?" Hakuei asked.

"Uhm… I'm not sure…" Aladdin replied honestly.

"What a mysterious boy…" Hakuei mused. "What… are you…?"

"I could ask the same of you, onee-san!" said Aladdin.

"Hm?"

"'General' of the 'army'? You know, the ones who invaded the village?" Aladdin said. Hakuei's expression suddenly became much more serious. "If that's the case, then I hope you know when to stop. Otherwise obaa-chan will cry… Obaa-chan taught me about 'family'. She's a good person, and I like her. Please don't kill her." He requested calmly but firmly, staring her straight in the eye.

"…" Hakuei squeezed her hands together, then she and brought them up and held them before her, just as she had done before when addressing Baba earlier. "I have no intention of killing anyone. You have my word." She promised solemnly. Aladdin's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Worry not, boy… My intention is not to invade your village. The world is undergoing changes, ones that will lead to war and danger. Someone has to take responsibility and stabilize things… If someone who has a heart of righteousness would take the world's helm…" Her hands trembled slightly with emotion as she spoke. "Then he would have the power to create a world where no one has to die…! To achieve that, I only need the villagers' cooperation. Please believe me." She finished resolutely with a firm determination shining in her eyes.

"…" Aladdin stared at her for a moment. Then, he smiled. "The rukh around you, onee-san, have no hesitation… so you must really mean it."

"Eh?" Hakuei said, a little surprised. This boy could see rukh?

"Princess, I brought your sleeping attire…" one of her maids said as she came out to check on her, but she was startled to see a strange boy there as well. "Wa!? Who is that child!?" the maid cried, dropping the clothes in her surprise. Aladdin took that as his cue to leave.

"I get it, onee-san!" he said, grabbing his magic turban to unfurl it again. "I'll tell obaa-chan… about our conversation! See you later! I've still got a lot I want to talk about with you, onee-san… so let's meet again!" Aladdin said with a smile as he flew off into the night.

Once he was a fair distance away from the camp, Aladdin switched from his magic turban to Ugo.

"Ugo-kun…" he said after awhile. "You didn't come out this afternoon when we met that onee-san… or when we met Hope… It's the same as when you first met Alibaba-kun, right?"

"…" Ugo was silent.

"Um, back when we were in the seventh dungeon… and you met that other Djinn… What did you two talk about?" Aladdin asked.

"…"

"Is that so? Don't worry, I already know that you have a lot of things that you cannot answer, so… I will search for my own answers using my intuition!" Aladdin said. "And I have a feeling… that I will find out something in this village." Aladdin was surprised when the rukh suddenly became alert and drew his attention to something on the plain below. "Huh? That carriage… isn't it coming away from the village?"

"I'm back…? What happened?" Aladdin asked when he returned to the village and saw all the men standing around outside, looking worried about something.

"That's…" one man began uneasily.

"All the girls disappeared?" another asked anxiously.

"My daughter too!" said another.

"Dorji! Toya is also gone…" Bator alerted his friend. Dorji's eyes widened in fear for her safety.

"Even those twins sisters are gone!" said Boyan.

"!" Aladdin gasped. Faith and Hope too…? What was going on?

"Hey!! Over here!!" someone yelled, calling everyone over to see what he had found.

"These are traces of wheels… and a struggle."

"Were they kidnapped?"

"… Just now, I saw two carriages heading towards the Kou Empire camp." Aladdin said, pointing the way.

"!!!" Baba gasped in alarm.

"The army!? Then… could it be…"

"Slave hunting!!" they all exclaimed with a shudder.

"Slave hunting?" Aladdin asked as one man fell to his knees.

"Again!?" he cried. "How many times must we experience this anguish!? The bigger countries… just snatch our family members like cattle and enslave them for life! Slave hunting…" he sobbed miserably.

"…" As Aladdin stood there listening, he was reminded of the two slaves he had met before, Goltas and Morgiana. His expression hardened as he frowned slightly. Was that going to happen to Faith and Hope…?

"Riders!! Chase them!!" Baba ordered. "You have to rescue the girls no matter what!!"

"Yes!!" The men shouted, grabbing their weapons.

"Bastards even mentioned the 'dreams of our forefathers' during the day…" Dorji said angrily, gritting his teeth. "They might speak really poetically, but they're still just big countries with a big agenda! They look down at us and see free labor!"

"Remember, you're forbidden from killing the enemy! War will erupt if you slay even one of them!" Baba said urgently. "Don't worry, they left not long ago. On this plain… Nobody can escape our tribe!!" she declared proudly as the men mounted their horses.

'Toya, please be safe…' Dorji thought anxiously.

The twins and Toya were sitting bound and gagged inside one of the carriages with several other girls.

"Hehehe, captured successfully~" one of the soldiers laughed, waving his sword in their faces. "Come on, sir. You gotta admit that this is a steal." He told the slave trader they were working with. "These girls are foreigners who won't die, even if you pierce them with swords… Want to try?" he asked, pressing his blade against Toya's chest.

"…!!" she gasped as frightened tears formed in her eyes. He was pressing just hard enough to break the skin. The twins narrowed their eyes and shot the man a warning glare.

"That's a no go." His superior officer told him. "We're going to use them to earn 'future funds'."

"'Future funds'? What do you have in mind, boss?" the soldier asked. His superior smirked.

"Keep having them make us brats! See, it's much more lucrative for us if they keep poppin' out kids!" he said deviously, tapping Toya's womb with his sword. "We're gonna be together for a loooong time, baby…" he leered at her.

"…!!" Toya gasped as all the blood drained from her face, horrified. The twins furrowed their brows deeply as angry veins throbbed on their foreheads. That was the last straw for them. The next thing the disgusting perverted bastard knew, their feet were smashing into that smug face of his.

WHAM!

"…!?" his subordinate and the slave trader gasped in shock, while Toya's eyes widened in astonishment.

"K…!! I'm gonna kill you bitches!!!" the officer shouted furiously, cradling his broken nose. "My sword! Give me my sword!!"

"Eh!?" his subordinate said, startled. "B-But… didn't you say we had special instructions not to harm these two? Ryosai-sama especially requested…"

"They both match the description, but we only need one!" the officer yelled with multiple veins throbbing on his forehead. "And accidents happen…" he sneered at the twins as the light of the crescent moon gleamed on his blade. The twins glared defiantly at him as beads of nervous sweat slid down the sides of their faces. The carriage was too cramped. They wouldn't be able to get out of their restraints in time to disarm him…

"But… will your general allow this?" The slave trader asked nervously, not wanting to be part of a bloodbath.

"Ain't no big deal… our princess doesn't know a thing about fighting!" the officer said carelessly.

"Leader! Leader!" his subordinate said urgently. "Trouble's brewing! Look…" he said, pointing out the back window.

"Huh…?" the officer said, turning to see what all the fuss was about. Every single man of the Kouga Clan was coming after them in full force, galloping towards them at a break-neck pace.

"They're from the Kouga! They've caught up with us!"

"What did you say!?" the officer demanded, turning his back on the twins completely, throwing open the back doors. "Shoot 'em down, boys!" he ordered. "Then we can just sweep up the dead!" The Kou soldiers fired a volley of arrows at the troopers, but the Kouga horses dodged swiftly.

"!?" The soldiers gasped.

"So… So fast…!"

"I can't nail 'em!" the officer cried in alarm. "Why can't any arrows hit them!?" He was further startled when his two of his men were suddenly kicked out the back of the carriage by the twins. Faith head-butted the third, while Hope tucked and rolled to pull her hands around over her feet so she could start untying them. While soldiers were distracted by the arrival of the cavalry, the Hope had started working on her sister's restraints. "You…!?" he shouted furiously, reaching for his sword, but Faith quickly kicked it out of his hands.

"…!!" Hope and Toya exclaimed, rolling out of the way just in the nick of time as it embedded itself in the floor of the carriage between them. Hope shot her sister a look for that, while a chagrined Faith looked away to avoid making eye contact with her.

"Hey… bastard…" Dorji said darkly, alerting the officer to the fact that he was now right behind him.

"…!!" the officer paled in shock as he spun around to face him.

"Don't underestimate the Kouga Clan!!!" Dorji roared angrily, glaring fiercely at the rotten scoundrel with his sword in hand.

Meanwhile, Aladdin and Baba were bringing up the rear. Aladdin was riding on Ugo's shoulders while Baba took the magic carpet. Ugo was doing his best to keep up with the troopers, but even the giant Djinn was having trouble matching their speed. Baba stared at the boy in amazement. She had no idea he could summon a Djiinn or control a magic turban like this.

"Aladdin, what on earth are you?" she asked.