So I'm facing a bit of a mental block from Secrets. I am trying to get a grip on how I want the end to go so I thought I'd leave it for the meantime than get the whole story cycle on lockdown and not update at all. I'm trying to find a good way to get the ending done for Secrets so just stay tuned for that.

For the meantime, I'll skip over that fic and proceed with the story cycle until I can get my groove back for Secrets.

xoxo Lexi1989


Previously:

"It was. I was there, hiding, when they took him and I saw who did it. It was a shadow freak with a star tattoo near his left eye."

"What are you going to do if you ever find that guy?" Misaki's demeanor changed from sadness to anger. The dying flame reflected in her eyes as she turned towards Mikan to answer her question.

"I'm going to kill him."


CHAPTER 9: CAPTIVE

"Are we there yet?" Misaki's eyebrows twitched as the words wafted through the air.

"You don't even know where "there" is. So shut the hell up." She shouted from where she stood at the helm. She needn't turn to the origin of the voice to know it was Natsume who had asked the offensive question.

Their voyage had been smooth sailing so far, and except for a small commotion about the sleeping quarters between Natsume and Mikan, she'd had no problems with the small band of Fairies that were financing this trip.

There were four quarters on the ship that Misaki decided to use on this trip. One for the captain (which was her), one with bunk beds was claimed by Hotaru, stating Youichi could sleep on the bottom bunk so as to avoid anyone accidentally touching him when they were asleep. The one with the single bed was offered to Prince Ruka, since he was royalty and deserved his own sleeping quarters, and the last room with a big double bed, was given to Natsume and Mikan. Mikan vehemently argued that the basis on which the rooms where provided to was unfair but no one would bulge. She refused to sleep again next to Natsume who merely shrugged. In the end, she had no choice. She could not ask Hotaru to switch with her, for knowing her best friend, she was sure she would deny. Nor could she ask Prince Nogi. He was royalty after all. In the end she had had no choice but to bunk with Natsume.

"It's not like we haven't slept together before." Natsume said with a gleam in his eye that earned him a smack to the head by the brunette Fairie.

"Don't say it like that!" She exclaimed, slightly irritated. She crossed her arms across her chest and pouted.

"But it's true!" The firecaster Fairie seemed to have taken a liking to teasing the young brunette.

"You make it sound perverted." Mikan fluttered off to the other end of the ship, whilst Misaki looked on with an amused smile on her face. She wished she could go back to the time when she was young and seemingly naïve and innocent but life had dealt her with too many a loss at a young age.

They had been travelling for roughly three weeks by sea. And by Misaki's calculations, they should be reaching the small cluster of islands in another week.


THAT AFTERNOON

The sudden disappearance of sunlight made Misaki look up towards the skies. Ominous Nimbus clouds were gathering at an unusual speed towards their location and a fog began to form immediately cutting visibility to the bare minimum.

"Everyone gather round the helm!" Misaki shouted.

Before any of the Fairies could act, a loud crash was heard at the stern of the ship. And all at once, there were strangers onboard and scattering in every direction. Throughout the cloudy fog, Misaki could see that a ship was beside them, though she had no idea how it had gotten so close at a small amount of time. They were being boarded. She called out to the Fairies to be alert.

Mikan was on the way to the helm when she heard a grunt from Natsume who was behind her. One of the people who boarded was trying to attack him, wielding a sword. He pushed Mikan forward and away from the fight as he summoned a flame in his hand and threw it at his opponent. He began to summon multiple fireballs and aimed at the many opponents running towards them.

Hotaru, who was in her cabin with Youichi, had brought her peculiar contraption with her (the baka gun) and fired automatically at those that were in her line of sight. She had to go at a slower pace, making sure Youichi was untouched. Ruka came out of his cabin just in time to see three enemies getting knocked out by Hotaru.

"Don't just stand there, your Highness. Get a move on!" They ran towards the helm, which was above them and felt relief seeing (though just barely) Natsume and Mikan already with Misaki.

They stood with their backs to each other in a circle formation with Misaki (steering the ship) and Youichi (behind Misaki so no one could touch him), in the middle of the circle. They all had their weapons at the ready. Mikan had her bow and arrow, Hotaru had her baka gun, Ruka had called upon the seagulls and nearby sea creatures to help ward off the enemy ship, and Natsume was ready to summon fireballs for any enemies that dare cross his path. They stood waiting for another ambush but minutes pass and there was none.

The enemy ship was nowhere to be seen and the ominous clouds had disappeared partway, as the sun was shining behind them.

A seagull perched on Ruka's arm and through his power, he was informed that the enemy ship had been sunk by a nearby pod of orcas that had heard his cry for help.

"The enemy ship is gone." Ruka murmured and they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Before they could relax however, they felt a strange sensation.

"I can't move." Mikan said. Her body was frozen in place. She could talk, but there was nothing else she could do.

"I can't either." Misaki exclaimed. All of them were paralyzed.

"This is strong shadow magic." Hotaru murmured. She had read about this before. Though this was the first time she'd encountered it.

"Your extremely smart for a half-blood Fairie." They were surprised to find that they could turn their heads in the direction of the voice. It was right above them.

A cloaked figure jumped down from the mast of the ship and stood in their line of sight in front of the wheel. The enemy lowered the cloak covering his face to reveal himself. It was the guy with a star tattoo on his face.

"YOU!" Misaki screamed.

"Shut your mouth, filthy half-blood." Hotaru noticed his eyes were glazed and dark, his sclera was completely the opposite of normal, the white was now a dark grey. A clear sign that he was under the spell of the shadow people.

"Why are you doing this? And how?" Hotaru asked and the figure laughed manically.

"You said it yourself. I have strong shadow magic. I control the shadows. And it just so happens all your shadows fall in one place." Their eyes darted towards the place where their shadows fell and they saw that there was something written on their shadows, a clear indication that it was indeed shadow magic. The star tattooed man laughed again as he saw the contempt in the group's eyes.

"For a powerful shadow freak you're pretty stupid." Natsume murmured, much to the surprise of his colleagues. The cloaked figure flew towards him, confirming his suspicions that he was also indeed a Fairie.

"You're immobile and unable to do anything. How can that make me stupid, little Fairie boy?" He taunted the firecaster.

"Because you don't know how to evaluate your enemies." Natsume responded as he summoned a flame in his hand. It was a small flame but it was enough to dispel his shadow away from the shadow Fairie's magic. He regained the use of his hands and summoned a bigger flame to cast away the shadows of everyone around him. And as if on cue, Mikan and Hotaru aimed their weapons on the shadow Fairie, ready to fire.

The shadow Fairie, although quite surprised at the turn of events, was quick to dodge any attacks coming his way. He was fast, like a ninja and pretty soon, both Hotaru and Mikan were out of ammunition. Natsume was also getting tired, his strength depleting with every fire he summoned. Ruka was able to summon a few seagulls but they could not do much considering the shadow Fairie's immense power.

They were beginning to lose hope when Youichi stepped forward with his wishbone shaped stick. He tapped the stick on to the floorboard of the helm and a dark aura appeared within him. He summoned dark spirits that quickly surrounded the shadow Fairie and before the said Fairie could react, the spirits all entered him, rendering him unconscious on the floor of the helm.

"What just happened?" Mikan asked, trying to process what she had just seen.

"I think we can ask Youichi for details later, although I doubt he can tell us much. We need to restrain him." Natsume replied as he and Ruka carried the shadow Fairie to the brig to tie him up there.

There were no windows in the brig so no light could enter hence, the shadow Fairie could do no harm to them there.


When the shadow Fairie awoke a couple of hours later, he was confronted by the whole group. They had reached shallow waters, although still far from their destination, and dropped anchor for the night. Natsume had a small flame in his hand, but stood far from their captive, to avoid any altercations brought about by the shadows that fell from his fire.

"Who are you?" Hotaru demanded.

"You are not worthy to know my name." The shadow Fairie spat. Just as the words left his mouth, a sharp slap hit his cheek. Misaki stood in front of him, her hand stinging from the strong force she'd used. This was the person who had killed the person she loved.

"That barely hurt, filthy half-blood." The shadow Fairie sported an evil smirk.

"Don't talk to her that way!" Mikan exclaimed.

"And why not? Both of them…" His glazed eyes darted towards both Hotaru and Misaki who were half blood Fairies. "..do not deserve to be even spoken to by true blood Fairies."

"You are a murderer! After what you did! You and your kind have killed so many people. Fairies and humans alike! How can you do such things?"

"Everything I do is for a higher purpose. Those I have killed are mere specks in this world. Nothing of consequence."

"YOU ARE DESPICABLE! TO CALL THE PERSON THAT I LOVE NOTHING! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU MISERABLE BASTARD!" Misaki raised her hand again to slap him but was restrained by both Mikan and Ruka. The shadow Fairie only laughed at her threats.

"I'd like to see you try, filthy half-blood!"

"That's enough. We're clearly not getting any answers from him. He's our captive now so let's leave him to rot." Hotaru said in a disgusted tone before turning away.

"Dying doesn't scare me, you know." He taunted as the group climbed the stairs that lead to the deck, closing the door behind him, engulfing him in darkness. What they didn't know was that he had a secret up his sleeve.


Mikan crept out of bed, careful not wake the sleeping Fairie beside her. She couldn't sleep after that ordeal. Something bothered her about the shadow Fairie and his words. Despite knowing that she wouldn't get any answers from him, she decided she needed to try to talk to him again.

She took the small lantern on the table by the bedside and walked quietly out of the cabin, heading towards the galley. She picked up a small piece of cooked fish that had been leftover from dinner and a glass of water. She lit the lantern when she was outside the brig's door and carefully treaded the steps until she felt the hay under her feet.

The captive raised his head when he heard her enter. Mikan placed the lantern near the foot of the stairs, making sure it didn't raise any shadows that the captive could manipulate. Despite him being bound, she was taking no chances at all. She walked towards him and placed the plate with the fish and the glass of water in front of him.

"What is this?" He raised his brow at the items before looking at her suspiciously.

"I do not like letting food go to waste." She said in the most brave voice she could muster.

"And I cannot eat with my hands bound." She wasn't as smart as Hotaru but she wasn't stupid either.

"Then let me do the honors. Do something stupid and you'll regret it." She showed him the small hunting dagger she kept with her and he merely smiled as if amused. She cut the fish and fed him like a child. He let her do as she intended without any protest, the sustenance adding to his own strength. It was only after he finished the fish that he made his move.

He used his feet to knock Mikan off balance, causing her to lose hold of the dagger that flew up in the air. He used his momentum to jump off against the wall, grabbing the dagger with his hands bound behind him and with one flick of the wrist, cut off the rope binding his hands together. Before Mikan could scramble to her feet, he had cut off the rope tying his feet together and was now advancing towards her.

"I think between the two of us, it's going to be you that will regret your actions tonight." The reflection from the light of the small lantern flickered in his eyes as she began to crawl backwards to get away from him. A surge of adrenaline coursed through her, as she tried to evaluate how to escape. The shadow Fairie was blocking her escape route, and she was cornered at the back of the brig.

"Whatever you're feeling, doubt, fear, let it go. Just feel your body. Feel the blood flowing through your veins. Feel the beat of your heart. And let your wings do your job."

She remembered Natsume's advice and tightly shut her eyes, concentrating. In the next instant she was now hovering above the hay covered floor. She took a chance, and garnered her strength to hasten her flying speed. She was fast, but not fast enough for at the last minute, the shadow Fairie was able to grab hold of her wings, pull her back and pin her to the ground, aiming the dagger straight at her chest where her heart was. She could feel the dagger's tip pushing at her clothes.

"Do something stupid and you'll regret it." The shadow Fairie mimicked her words with an air of irony and sarcasm.

Mikan could feel the tip of the dagger pricking her skin and felt a small trickle of blood from the small laceration. Her hands were shaking as she grabbed onto the cloaked arm that was trying to force the dagger into her. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she could no longer think straight. Who knew she would meet her end in the brig of a ship out somewhere at sea?

She shook her head. Now was not the time to give up. Something within her stirred, an energy force from within and she used her last ounce of strength to push the shadow Fairie's hands away from her body. The shadow Fairie stumbled back and over his feet, landing in a tangled heap on the floor, his cloak in disarray. Mikan used this to her advantage and kicked the dagger away from him. She sensed that he was about to use shadow magic, as her shadow fell upon him and before he could act, she grabbed onto his hands making him scream.

She felt electrified as her skin touched his. And only a second passed before she released her hold on him, stumbling backwards. He lay on the floor unconscious yet again and her chest heaved as she caught her breath. She felt something in her hand and upon checking she found a dark stone in her palm. It was a muddy black. She had no idea what it was.

"MIKAN!" Hotaru rarely called her by her name and she was surprised to find her best friend next to her.

"I'm fine Hotaru." She stood up on wobbly legs and held on to Hotaru's arm to steady herself.

"Where am I?" They turned towards the shadow Fairie who was looking disoriented on the floor of the brig. Natsume and Ruka were quick to pull him up on his feet and holding his hands behind his back, restraining him.

"OW! Who are you and why are you restraining me?" Hotaru looked at him suspiciously but was shocked at what she saw. His eyes were no longer glazed. In fact, his sclera was back to the normal white, and she could clearly see the color of his eyes now. They were blue.

"Who are you?" Hotaru asked.

His aura was completely different than how he was earlier and when he responded, they could hear the fear in his voice.

"Tsubasa Andou."


END OF CHAPTER 9

Anyone notice a couple of manga/anime easter eggs I used? ;)

And I know this is late, my wifi was busted and I can't write well knowing I'm relying on my measly data on my phone so forgive me onegai?


newroz – definitely Tsubasa. And as for Misaki's special person, I'll be keeping it a secret for now ;)

Derp1Derp2 – I'll think about the YouichixAoi pairing, and yeah so Tsubasa is here now. XD Will Misaki still try to kill him? Stay tuned to find out.

Anilissa – definitely not Tono. LoL. And yeah, I just wanted to switch it up a bit and have Tsubasa as an enemy well sort of hahaha..

millie – It's not as easy as I may make it look. I've been updating less and less the recent months since I just got a new role at work a couple of months ago and things have been hectic. I usually write when I have a slow day at work, like today. LoL. It's hard to do but I don't want to disappoint anyone who's always looking forward to updates so I try my best.. ;)

mikan26 – Wow. Thank you for the praise. 'You Are Mine' was my very first fic posted here on ff and not my most polished one either. LoL. I may write another post manga fic continuing the story but as I have a lot of pending story ideas on my writing board, it may take awhile as I want to make sure that what I write isn't common or already found on another story. (Kinda hard to do that these days with all the budding authors here on ff) but if I ever do start another post manga fic, will be sure to look you up.

As for the readers, the numbers don't really matter to me and hearing from those who follow and favorite and review my story is more than enough. I know some authors get bummed when no one follows or reviews but for me, it's not really a dealbreaker. My readers are important which is why regardless if I get a review or not for any chapter, I go on updating. It may be irregular since I have work and other things in real life to do, but rest assured my stories never get abandoned ;)


STORY CYCLE UPDATE

Starting Over Again - The Scam - Philophobia - Probability - Secrets (ON HOLD) - Fairie Tales

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Ja Ne!

xoxo Lexi1989