FairyLyte: Here's the next chapter people!

Kaito: A chapter of humiliation.

FairyLyte: What was that?

Kaito: Nothing.

FairyLyte: You said something! Tell me what it is!

Kaito: No way.

FairyLyte: Tell me!

Kaito: No!

Haruto: FairyLyte doesn't own Zexal. Neither does Frozen Galaxy-san.

Chapter 5

Rio continued to stare at Kaito, the shock still evident on her face. The small kit sat silently beside her, as she knelt down and raised her hands to rest on Kaito's thighs.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

Ryoga had retreated into his room, accompanied by the small boy Haruto. Ryoga was pacing around his room, the latter boy sitting on the chair in front of the window. He was swinging his legs in a childish manner, proving how young he really was. This continued for a few more minutes before Haruto broke the silence.

"Something you wanna ask me?"

Ryoga paused in his step. He slowly turned towards the young boy. "What?" he asked.

Haruto chuckled. "Believe it or not, my brother and I are very observant. I can tell just by looking at you. You really wanna ask me something. May I ask what it is?"

Ryoga walked towards Haruto, a serious expression on his face. "Actually, yes, there is," he said. "What are you?"

Haruto paused. He turned his head towards Ryoga, a smile on his face. "What are you talking about?"

Ryoga answered swiftly. "You people do things that a beast should never be able to do. You can bandage wounds, you can cook, you can fight. You have feelings. Monsters don't know how to do such things. Not real ones. So that's my question. What are you?"

Haruto sighed. "My fault for asking," he said under his breath. He raised his voice for Ryoga to hear, "Nii-san might get mad at me for this, but I guess I should tell you."

Kaito let out a 'tch' in irritation. He wished he had held his tongue. Now he was in a situation he couldn't worm his way out of.

Rio, regardless, continued to ask.

"What do you mean by, 'the kingdom is in danger'?" she urged, "What is it, Kaito-san?" She tightened her grip on Kaito's thighs.

Kaito gave in. Sighing, he took Rio's hand, lifted it off his thigh, and looked her in the eyes.

"If you really want to know," he said, his eyes glowing green, instead of his natural light grey, "I'll tell you the tale. Of how Esmea became this terror."

Rio's eyes widened as the world around her became dark. All sound was drowned out. She seemed to float in the air, surrounded by the dark. No. A better word would be nothingness.

A world of darkness and silence.

Rio brought her hands to her eyes as the world began to fill with light. The world of darkness was replaced by one of light in a matter of seconds. Slowly, the light began to fade, a castle room revealing itself. Gentle daylight shone through the window, white drapes adorning it. The room itself was big, a large bed of polished maple against one of the walls. A wooden floor revealed itself, allowing Rio somewhere to stand. More of the light receded, showing a tall wardrobe, a sheathed sword resting against it. Rio walked over to the window, and began to reach for one of the drapes.

She had barely touched it when she heard a sound. The first since she got here.

The innocent giggle of a baby.

Curious, Rio turned around. To her surprise, the light had revealed one more thing.

A crib.

She slowly walked towards the wooden rocker, wondering what was inside. She laid her hand on the edge of the crib, and slowly peeked into it.

Inside was an infant, possibly only a few weeks old. His eyes were a dark blue, eyes that seemed to sparkle with innocence. He had blond hair, a small green fringe adorning the front. As Rio looked at this child, a single word escaped her mouth.

"Kaito-san?" she wondered.

"Yes. That is me. I was born to the King and Queen of Esmea."

Rio jumped back, her hands retreating towards her face. "Kaito-san?!" Her eyes darted around the room, "Where are you?" she asked.

"In the room. Where we both are. I'm simply showing you what happened in the past."

"What does this have to do with Esmea?" Rio questioned.

"Look out the window."

Rio promptly obeyed. She walked over to the window as she did before, and, raising her hand, she pulled away the drapes.

What she saw was nothing like what she saw before, in her room.

It was bustling little kingdom, full of happy people and cheery faces. Children played games in the streets, games of tag, or hide and seek. Nothing like the dreary wasteland outside her window. Tears came to her eyes as she asked, "What happened?"

"He came."

"Who?" Rio asked.

The room began to grow darker, rainclouds gathering in the sky above. Thunder roared, lightning clashed, rain began to pour. Lightning flashed, revealing the transparent form of Kaito. His fists were clenched, a look of anguish on his face. He looked Rio in the eyes, a spark of pure hate visible in them.

"Rulereign."

Ryoga stood in the room with Haruto, who had closed his eyes when he began to tell the story.

"My mother had died," Haruto continued, "from an illness that I soon fell victim to. There was no hope for me. Both my father and my brother despaired. More so than anyone would think."

Rio had now found herself in a throne room. Grand marble pillars held the tall ceiling in it's place. A long, red embroidered carpet decorated the floor. Grand doors stood behind Rio, three maple thrones in front of her. In the middle sat the largest throne, a slightly smaller one to the left of it. To the right sat an even smaller throne, meant for the children the royal family might have. In front of the King's throne stood Kaito's transparent form. He silently stood there, with his hand resting on the arm of the throne. Rio listened when Kaito continued to explain.

"My father sold his soul. He wanted to save my brother. Save Haruto. But that madman exploited his love for the two of us. Rulereign cursed this entire kingdom, grew this forest. Because of this, my father is now dead."

"Rulereign cursed both me and my brother," Haruto said. "He cursed us to live as vampires. He cursed the rest of the kingdom, every single person here was transformed into a beast. You wanted to know why we act like people, so there's your answer. We are people. At least, our minds are. Sometimes, people just... let go. They can't hold onto that human side of themselves. They become true monsters, like the one that attacked you two in the forest."

Ryoga's face softened. He began to speak in a low tone. "How long have you lived like this?" he asked.

Rio's eyes widened at the truth. All to suddenly, she was jerked back to reality. Kaito was still in front of her, his eyes still glowing green, her hand still in his. There was only one difference.

She knew.

With a quivering hand, Rio laid her other hand on Kaito's shoulder. "How long?" she asked. "How many years have you lived like this?"

Both boys looked up at their respective twin. Both of their eyes flashed, Haruto's glowing a brilliant blue. With a determined expression, they both answered the question.

"Two-hundred years. Two-hundred years have passed."

FairyLyte: And, that's that. Hope you liked the chapter, everybody! Please review!