I AM SOOOOOOOOOOO SORRYYYYYYYYYYY! Last chapter i said it wouldn't take so long! I'm a dirty liar! Waaaaahaaaa! DX I promised this chapter months ago. But stupid writer's block happened! I'm sorryyyyyyyy! Please don't hate me. But good news is it's here now, and i finally have the rest planned. So now it's time to get this story back into gear! Let's do it to it!

Kaito and Lucia

Chapter 8

Meadow: The walk back was very uncomfortable. Johnny remained 5 feet ahead just as Lucia had said, but it wasn't because he was being a good boy. Nikora repeated kicked him if he got closer than he was supposed to be.

Lucia and Kaito walked as closely together as they possibly could, not wanting to be separated for a minute. Nobody said a word except Johnny with the occasional 'ow' from being kicked.

Lucia didn't like walking through her meadow. It was like leaving the home she shared with Kaito. She felt as if she'd never see either one again. Kaito could see the sadness in her eyes and tightened his grip around her waist. He understood.

Lucia felt safe though. Even if she was about to encounter a very bad situation, she felt safe as long as Kaito was with her. But what would happen when he went back to the kingdom? Would they arrest him? Would someone tell the king? Would they execute him? She shook the terrible thoughts of Kaito leaving her out of her mind.

She would never let them take him away from her. And Father Mitsuki and Nikora wouldn't either.

"Father, do you think we have a chance of stopping them when it comes time?" Nikora whispered, it was so low the others didn't hear. "I believe if we can somehow show Lucia to them that they'll pause long enough for an explanation. Don't worry, i've got a plan prepared for all scenarios." He assured quietly.

By then, they had left the meadow.

Outside The Kingdom Of Tokyo: "Well, here we are." Mitsuki said. The gates were wide open, which was strange for that hour of day, it was nearly sunset.

"Why are the gates open?" Lucia asked. "I don't know, maybe the guard fell asleep on duty." Mitsuki shrugged. "Well come on, we've got to get you to the house milady." Nikora said and hurried them inside.

The streets inside were deserted, not a person in sight. It was way too quiet. "What's going on? Where is everyone? Even the street guards are gone." Kaito said.

"This is bad, some kind of emergency must have cleared the streets. But this hasn't happed for fifty years. What could the emergency be?" Nikora asked. "Unless..."

"You all head for Nanami house, i'll check Domoto house!" Mitsuki said and ran in the opposite direction. "Come milady! We must hurry!" Nikora said and took Lucia's hand.

It couldn't be that... Lord Nanami has taken this war away from here? Nikora thought as she ran. She had the same thing in mind as Mitsuki had.

Upon reaching Nanami house, the doors were wide open. Nikora let go of Lucia's hand and ran inside. One look and she knew. "The house is completely empty! Your father had returned to the sea!" Nikora said as she ran back.

"But then why is the city empty?" Johnny asked. "Obviously the streets were evacuated because they must've started fighting out in the sea. And when wars start, tsunamis often occur. So someone evacuated the city in case of a tsunami. But who alerted them, and does the king know?" Nikora wondered.

"Everyone!" they turned and saw Mitsuki running back to them. "Domoto house is spotless, all the furniture is gone and all the people too." He explained. "Nanami house too." Nikora said.

"Someone's evacuated the city. Quickly we have to get to the ocean." Mitsuki said and they were running again. The wind began to blow roughly as they neared the beach.

I hear the waves... Lucia thought. They're crying out to me... Crying out for help. Father... What have you done? She thought.

Upon reaching the beach, they saw that the waves were high and the tide was too. "If the war goes too far, this might flood the entire city. And the king will know who to blame." Mitsuki said.

"What'll we do?" Johnny asked. "What else is there to do, we have to go back into the sea and stop them." Lucia said. "Yes, that's all we can do, and pray they stop long enough to listen." Nikora said.

"You all will have to go alone, i'll stay here and try to reach the king. Maybe i can fool him into thinking it's just a natural phenomena." Mitsuki said and turned to run back to the kingdom. "Good luck to you all." He said as he dashed away. Being a priest, he wouldn't have been able to go to the sea.

"Come Lucia, Kaito, we must go!" Nikora said as she tugged them towards the sea. Without a backwards glance, all four of them ran straight into an oncoming wave, thus entering the ocean for the first time in a long while.

Inside The Ocean: "I can feel the current get stronger this way, they must be the force creating it." Kaito said. "We have to find some way to stop them, Lucia, i think you should go ahead of us." Nikora said.

"No way!" Kaito shouted. "We haven't got a choice, this is Lucia Lord Nanami wants and maybe if we show her to him, he'll pause." Nikora said.

"But let her go alone?" Johnny asked. "Unfortunately yes, but we have to be close." Nikora said. "I'll do it." Lucia said. Kaito didn't like the idea, but they had no other option. Lucia swam ahead a few yards.

She swam over a reef and her eyes widened at the sight.

Merpeople fighting left and right, and giant angler fish biting into each other. She couldn't see anybody dead, but she saw plenty of those injured. She swam back a foot. Nikora placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Don't be frightened. I know it's a horrible sight, but they won't dare to hurt you. Just look for your father." She whispered. "We'll be close behind."

Lucia felt a little better that Nikora was there behind her, but she still felt scared of going out there.

Aqua Regina... Why are you letting my princess face such a horrid sight? Nikora wondered.

Lucia swam a little out and then leapt out into the deep to begin her search. She swam down and down into the deep towards the fight that raged on. Several merpeople saw her.

"Princess!" "Your highness!" Princess you must leave to safety!" They called out to her. "But i have to find father!" She called back. She then swam into the giant fight and went through, constantly looking for someone who resembled her father.

"LUCIA!" She heard Kaito's voice shout and turned to see a giant angler fish swimming for her. She froze since she had no way to escape it in time. She shut her eyes tightly shut and waited for the strike to occur.

It never came.

With slight fear, she slowly open her eyes. Then they snapped wide open when she saw why her attacker never reached her. Kaito had somehow made it there fast enough to take the blow for her. The fish's teeth piercing him, and Kaito's sword in it's side.

"KAITO!!!" She shouted, and it felt like the rest of the world went away as she reached out for him and caught him as the angler fish released him and fell into the darkness towards the ocean floor.

"Kaito! Kaito!! Open your eyes! Don't leave me, you can't!" She cried and lightly shook him. He wouldn't open his eyes. Lucia's eyes overflowed with tears that just dissolved into the ocean. She began to weep.

"Kaito! Please! Come back!" She cried and held onto him tightly, silently praying that somehow he would just open his eyes. Nikora and Johnny, who had reached them by now, just looked over the scene, seeing as there was nothing they could do.

The merpeople around them had stopped fighting and had witnessed everything.

"What's going on?! Why have you all ceased!" A commanding voice roared. Lucia looked up through her tears and saw her father in the distance. He looked around until his gaze landed on her.

"Lucia! At last you've come back!" He said with a smile that quickly faded when he saw the person in her arms. "What happened here?!" He demanded.

"My lord." Nikora said and bowed before him. "Milady was here to find you and stop you from going on with battle. But an angler fish made an attack on her. But before it could strike her, the Domoto boy stepped in and saved her." Nikora explained.

"A Domoto saved her?! You really expect me to believe that the same boy who kidnapped her saved her?!" He growled. "But father! He never- " "Lies! I do not believe any of this! And why do you defend Nikora?" He demanded.

"Sir, i accept full responsibility for my actions, but i left to find milady. And beg you to reconsider this war." She asked. "No!" He roared.

"But why sir? Lady Lucia has returned, why continue when you have her back?" Nikora asked. "It does not change the fact she was taken in the first place! Where is Domoto?! I wanted to fight him myself!" Lord Nanami roared.

"If it's a fight with me you want then so be it! You'll pay for killing my son!" They heard and saw Lord Domoto approach with three extra large angler fish at his side. His sword in his hand.

"I never killed your filthy son! I wouldn't dare taint my hands with his blood. But i'd gladly taint my hands with yours!" He smirked and snapped his fingers. Three equally large angler fish came to him. He withdrew his own sword.

"Then bring it!" Lord Domoto said and he and the angler fish sprinted towards Lord Nanami who also charged for them.

"STOP IT!!!" They heard a voice shout and a giant bright light emerge around the entire area, blinding them and causing them to cease their charge.

The holder of the voice and light, was none other than Lucia, still holding onto Kaito. Her pearl has given off the light.

"Lucia! Stay out of this!" Lord Nanami commanded. "No father!" She shouted. Lord Nanami's eyes widened.

"Father! Can't you see this is doing nothing but killing innocent people? Look at Kaito, he never did anything wrong! He just tried to protect me and was willing to give his own life to do it! Look at all these people, they're giving their lives for you and your stupid fight!" She shouted.

"You've kept me hidden from this world my whole life, and told me the outside world was full of dangers. Well right now, you're the danger. You're causing people to die just because of something that happened years ago!" Everyone listened closely.

"Why can't you understand that i don't want a life in royalty, i want to be free, to make my own decisions, to be with the man i choose! And now look! Because of you and your fight, you've killed him!" She cried, clutching Kaito closer to her, tears overflowing again.

Everyone around them began murmuring to each other. Nikora swam back to Lucia.

"Lucia is right, this war is pointless. What reward do you gain from all this? Do you get pleasure out of killing an innocent man?" Nikora demanded. "Do you take pleasure in killing your own daughter on the inside?!" Lord Nanami cringed.

"Father, it's not fair to blame others for something you might've done. It's not fair to destroy lives for your own benefits. These people were there to defend you from attacks, not fight your personal wars. If you wanted to fight, you should've just discussed it like a man with Domoto-san instead of trying to kill him." She saw her father's head bow in shame.

"Can't you see this whole fight is bringing nothing but pain to everyone?" She asked, tears still flowing.

He was silent. For a long time. Then Lord Domoto surprised everyone.

He dropped his sword.

"Hey Nanami, i think she's right, this whole fight should never have happened. It was just a stupid disagreement." He said. Nanami nodded. "Yes, i should've seen that i was being an incompetent fool, and i apologize for the three years of fighting, and blaming you for my ignorance." Lord Nanami said.

The two approached each other and shook hands. Everyone in the crowd cheered at the newly found alliance between the two who fought for three whole years.

Everyone except Lucia.

She looked into his peaceful face. He looked as if he was only asleep. She ran her fingers through his hair and held him tightly, praying for him to wake up. Nikora had her hands on Lucia's shoulders.

"Kaito... please, wake up." She whispered and silently sobbed.

"Lucia... I don't think he's coming back." Nikora said quietly. "But, he was only protecting me, he didn't have to die! It's all my fault!" She cried into his hair.

"Never say that Lucia, it wasn't your fault, he only did what he did because he loved you." Nikora said soothingly.

"But if i hadn't been so careless i could've avoided that angler fish and Kaito would still be with me!" Lucia cried. "Lucia..." Nikora couldn't continue what she was going to say, it was too hard. And it was agonizing to see her princess in such pain.

"I love him more than anything, i just want him to come back." She whispered. She grabbed her pendant with her pearl and silently prayed.

Please, let Kaito come back to me! Please! I'm begging you, let him open his eyes! She prayed. But she knew in her mind it wasn't going to happen. She looked down into his peaceful face once more before leaning down and kissing his forehead.

"I love you Kaito, forever." She whispered.

"Dear princess, do not cry anymore..." They heard a heavenly voice say. A large glow appeared above them and they looked up. The glow began to take the shape of a woman.

"Aqua Regina- sama!" Nikora exclaimed. The goddess nodded.

Everyone around them bowed to the goddess as she lowered herself towards Lucia. She shook her head. "Please, do not bow, stand and focus on this." She held a hand towards Lucia.

"Even through the most troubling of times, these two managed to find love and happiness. They fought together to keep their love alive and braved the most dangerous of fights to save their family. Self sacrifice for the one you love is the most bravest and greatest of honors. I have come to stop your tears, and save this young boy's life." Aqua Regina said.

"You'll save him? You'll make him open his eyes?" Lucia asked. "Yes. Not everyone can find true love. It's a rare thing. But when two people love each other as much as you do, their love influences others and brings peace to the sea and shores. As a reward for stopping this war, i shall grant your wish and bring him back to you." Aqua Regina said and reached out for Lucia's hand.

Lucia took it and Aqua Regina guided it to Kaito's chest. "Pray with me..." She commanded softly. Lucia did as she was told.

"Please, let Kaito come back. Let him open his eyes..." She prayed once more. A glow appeared in hers and Aqua Regina's hands. "Let this boy live..." Aqua Regina said.

The glow disappeared and Aqua Regina gently removed her hand just as Kaito stirred. Lucia gasped. "K-Kaito...?" She softly called.

Kaito's eyes squinted tightly shut for a minute and groaned as he opened his eyes. "Kaito! You're alive!" She exclaimed happily and squeezed him to her.

"Ah! Hey, watch it, i'm still sore!" He groaned. "Oh, sorry!" Lucia said apologetically and shifted him so he was more comfortable. "I'm just so happy your back." She said as the tears came back.

Kaito smiled. He lifted his hand to caress her cheek and wipe away her tears. "Me too." He whispered. This time she lightly hugged him.

Okay! That's all for this chapter! Again, sorryyyyyyy for the lateness. Now, i told you before that i wasn't going to make them die. well, i felt it wouldn't really be Romeo and Juliet unless someone died. So i made him die and come back to life. Hey, it added to the drama. Anyway, i have one last chapter. So don't forget to review. Please don't flame me for the lateness! I said i was sorry. Flame writer's block!!!

Laterz! RedPearlVoice.