Disclaimer: I do not own Klonoa, but Kuroi or Ame and OCs are mine. You can't steal them unless you ask. X3

Chapter 7: Lion, a True Angel

I walked into an inn where I was told Klonoa and Guntz were staying at when they had found out my true identity. Currently, I was holding a plastic bag filled with food to last Klonoa and Guntz until this afternoon so I can come back after my meeting with my boss. It seemed average looking and not much people were out since the sun had just risen so I just shrugged it off. I opened the door to see that the innkeeper was leaning uninterestingly leaned against the counter he was behind. The moment I came in he sat up in shock, sitting up straight the moment he saw my masked face.

"M-Mister Okami, what brings you here?" he asked in a sheepish stammer.

I smirked toothily at him making him flinch in fear.

"What's wrong, you think I'm going to throw a massacre here or something?" I asked in humorous tone.

He shook his head sheepishly waving his hands in front of him.

"Not like that, sir!"

I let out a good-hearted chuckle then took out twenty dorees from my pocket.

"Sorry, if I scared you, here's something for your troubles. I just need to know which room Shinigami Guntz and Kaze No Klonoa are relieved at." I told him letting the jewels fall on the counter top.

"They're in room D-10. I was a bit surprised when Mister Shinigami came in here unconscious. Did something happen or do you not want to talk about it?" He frowned at me.

I frowned before shrugging.

"I don't think I should say so. Anyway, I haven't been myself lately, so I guess that should be one of the reasons why Guntz is unconscious right now." I replied before walking towards the stairs.

"Are you sure you want to give me this money?" He asked in a concerned voice.

"Yeah, I have enough cash and my medical funds are too much in my pocket anyway." I replied staggering up the stairs.

As I walked through the halls I was being watched by many of the cleaning maids around here gossiping about how young and handsome I looked. I don't get why they think I looked handsome. I'm only twelve for goodness sake and I'm disguised as a boy too. I even heard them saying what I would look like without my mask.

I grumbled annoyingly when I finally reached Klonoa and Guntz' door and knocked on it. I heard someone mumbling sleepily before opening the door to reveal a groggily eyed Klonoa without his hat. I chuckled at little as he looked at me as if he forgot who I was.

"Well, looks like someone didn't get a good rest last night, how's the wolf-dog?" I smirked as I walked into the room.

"Still asleep, he was mumbling in his sleep about the fifteen kingdoms of the main fallen kingdom or something like that." He replied scratching the back of his head.

I smirked at Klonoa resting the plastic bag near the door. Then looked down to Guntz' unconscious body on one of the beds in the room. Just as I thought, the same as me, when he's asleep he's more serene and calm. Like me, it's the same. You might think that we are at our weakest when we sleep, so I usually stay up until I feel exhausted enough to sleep.

I put a finger to his neck to feel his heart beat, a little off balance, maybe from an old battle, but still healthy from what I could see. It was then I noticed the bandages on his chest. They looked a little tattered, but not as tattered as mine and they seemed to cover at least more than half his chest. Well, that made sense.

He must have received that when the big heist back a year ago happened, I knew it very well because I was apart of it. At least over fifty well-trained bounty hunters were to take part within a capture in Volk last year. It was a big thing because a massacre big shot named Janga was the master mind behind this and he was the most dangerous around. I was told to help hunt him down until the golden killer was there to finish him off.

Unfortunately, at least more than half of our group was injured and I was the last surviving ten along with Guntz. I remember seeing him once, favoring a bloody shoulder then two other men and I were left to distract Janga while Guntz was to jump on him. It was successful, but I heard Guntz got a bad chest wound and I was left with a badly bruised leg after a group of men and I ran into a fifty yard bomb. That day we lost at least twenty good men out there.

I couldn't help reminisce back to when we lost a lot of good men during the war. It's still hard to believe us who are immortal can die to, makes sense, but what I want to know is how my Roza Mystica stayed in me. I looked over at Klonoa who was placing the bags on his bed while yawning tiredly.

"Klonoa, did you watch him the whole night like I told you to?" I asked.

He nodded sleepily.

"Yeah, Guntz got a fever last night, so I had to stay up until it went down. He still hasn't woken up yet." He yawned.

"Makes sense, it's normal for new mediums to get fevers from losing a lot of energy. Although he seems more mature than his kid self." I smirked.

Klonoa looked at me questioningly before I told him what I did. I explained to him how I was able to look into the past by extracting a generous portion of my Roza Mystica power and using it to filter out the past through objects like the rifle. It was simple actually, but the more I use the Roza Mystica energy, I could end up like my parents and drop dead. And by estimate, I should be dead during the ball if I'm unexpectedly found out that is.

"You know I could just break our ties together." I suggested half to myself.

"Then why don't you do it?" Klonoa asked in a yawn.

"Because, I want to know more about my new medium," I replied simply.

Klonoa looked at me questioningly as I smiled like the wolf I partly was. I've been suspicious now that I found out the truth about Guntz and his Clan. But I want to know is where all of the Soul Takers were, so far the only one I found is Guntz and knowing him he won't tell me a thing. If only I had the opportunity, but I would have to wait until Klonoa is asleep too.

"Klonoa," I called only to see him nodding off.

"Hmm,"

"I'm going to see my boss, try and get some sleep. I'll see you later tonight to give you dinner, okay." I smirked putting a hand to his shoulder.

He nodded sleepily and I quietly left through the door closing it shut behind me. I wonder how Lion is doing.

--

I sighed knocking on the door of Mr. Seion's front door of his somewhat large home. He was a wealthy generous man and he had a nice wife, and a daughter named Lion. She was an only child and she had a very bad heart condition. She only had half a heart.

To make it a little more specific, when she was born her left heart was already shut down so they removed after she had become a toddler and had to live with half a heart. Unfortunately, her right heart was already failing and they needed a transplant before it failed and she would die. Luckily, business between me and her father were going well and we were able to raise enough money to pay for her medical bills and the transplant together. The last I heard about her she in recovery for a half a year this year, I think she's done now and relaxing in her home. I smirked when I saw Mr. Seion opening the door with a grin.

"Well, looks like someone's finally recovered. A bit ironic don't you think?" he said divertingly as I limped into his house.

"Lion's your daughter, not mine, anyway I don't need that much cash, and I have enough to last me for the rest of my life." I replied in the same tone.

He nodded as we walked into his office and sat down at his large, oak wood desk. His office seemed like an average size one with just one large book case filled with all kinds of books from almost around the world. Some were of the four other kingdoms and villages with famous tourist sights. Mr. Seion used to travel a lot before he got married and had Lion. Usually as part of my pay, Seion would buy me books on special occasions or on a day called 'Christmas'.

I heard from him that Christmas was a time when people get together in harmony, in turn they receive presents on 'Christmas Day'. A few days before that day, I wasn't very happy. I shot someone who was holding up a huge heist while taking a pregnant woman and her children hostage for a big ransom.

On the day it was 'Christmas Eve' the woman's baby boy was born and was named after my pseudonym, Kuroi. I tried to ask her to change his name before they finalized the baby's birth certificate, but she insisted on it. I thought it was too dark for a child to be born on such an angelic day, but now that I saw him as a young toddler he would get in a lot of trouble and would follow me if I were in his sights.

"So what did you want to talk about?" I asked leaning against the soft chair I was sitting on.

"I want to know, have you ever taken a vacation here ever since I employed you?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"I usually use my free time taking as much rest as I need or run errands for my guardian, what do you have in mind?" I asked suspiciously.

It was then I noticed my boss smiling sheepishly as if he did an imprudent thing.

"Well I received seven tickets to the hot springs and I can't go because Lion is going to start school tomorrow and she wants me to come." He told me scratching the back of his head uneasily.

"And you want me to take a vacation since I have been doing most of the hard work right?" I smirked resting my back against my chair.

He nodded.

"That and Lion wanted to make sure you were fine, she was very worried after we heard you fell off the cliff I almost thought you died."

I raised an eyebrow at his statement.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, the one who brought you back here was Leorina herself. She brought you back here after Guntz carried you out of the lake. I almost thought you were going to die until a day later you survived. I tried getting you medical supplies, but you were already full and you seemed to cooperate with your situation quite nicely."

I smirked as he explained in which turned to a chuckle then a good-hearted laugh. This was actually the first time someone had told me how equate I was with my injuries. I was a bit surprised when I saw my boss' face. He was looking at me questioningly with a somewhat humorous smile.

"What's so funny?"

"It's just that, back when I used to fight for someone else I was told I wasn't going to make it after I received a fatal wound to my side. It turns out fate had different plans and I was left to stay alive. Afterwards, I ran away to here, so that I could just hide away from my fears." I chuckled.

"Why do you intend to hide, is it because of your face?" he asked sadly.

I looked down thoughtfully as a faint smile made way to my lips.

"I don't want to say," I replied simply before standing up.

"Boss, I want to know... On Guntz' file during the huge heist last year, what were his medical reports?" I turned to him.

Mr. Seion looked up thoughtfully leaning back in his large chair.

"Now that you mention it... he did receive a very bad cut to the chest. The doctors who were taking care of him said that the cut almost killed him, but he'd be able to stay alive. Why do you ask?" He asked looking at me.

I just shrugged before turning to leave the room. I think it's best to keep things that shouldn't be known stay a secret.

"Kuroi, are you really going to keep fighting like this until you die?" he asked seriously.

I just continued walking out of the young man's office and made my way towards the door. Only to be stopped by a small Akita, it was Lion. She was a twelve-year-old light brown Akita with sky blue eyes and was in a yellow sun dress with frills at the bottom. She was looking down the floor nervously with a bento in her hands. I looked at her questioningly as she shoved the box into my hands.

"T-thank you, for paying my medical bills and transplant," She said quickly and nervously not even looking at my face.

I frowned in surprise as she began to turn a cherry red.

"You know, Lion, you'll strain yourself if you keep blushing like that I wouldn't want you to go back to the hospital again." I smirked coolly at her taking the box.

She began to turn from cherry red to scarlet red making me chuckle a little. I guess someone has a little crush on me.

"If you want you can dance with me at the upcoming ball, I won't hesitate your offer." I smirked taking her hand.

She nodded with a weak smile. I looked down to the bento and opened it a little, the food almost looked gourmet. I remember Lion's father telling me that she was a very good cook, maybe even better than her mother's, who was a full time chef at one of the best restaurants in La-Lakoosha.

"Wow, did you make all of this?" I asked incredulously. She nodded again this time with a brighter smile.

"Wow, you're very talented, Lion. You should become a chef when you grow up." I smiled to her before stashing the small box in the bag on my hip.

She shook her head quickly protesting that she shouldn't. I smirked putting a hand to her shoulder making her look up to me with a blush.

"You know, I've seen lots of angels in my time, as for you... out of all of them you're the purest." I smirked before leaving to the door.

What I said was true. Lion was as Pure as Seed, they were both alike no matter how I saw it. They were both honest, caring, and they had suffered a lot, usually more than me. Lion lost her heart while Seed lost almost all of her kingdom. I guess those two do have a connection together, maybe I should introduce them to one another during the ball...

I froze when I heard an unfamiliar voice call behind me. I turned to see that sky pirate, Leorina, she was dark skinned and red-haired with a golden headband and a nicely hand made uniform. Beside her was a floating, puppet-like, dark blue and white cat with yellow eyes and stars on the palms of her paws. On her other side was an orange and yellow dog-like creature with shattered emerald eyes and long ears and arms. His arms looked like it was large enough to fly with.

I cocked my head as Leorina walked up to me with a cool smirk and held out her hand.

"It's nice to see you're up, Kuroi, I'm Leorina, the sky pirate you failed to capture." She smirked taking my hand and shaking it "Do you feel better? I heard it was a hard fall into the water."

"Y-Yeah, someone threw me off the cliff, hopefully I won't run into that person again." I replied smiling sheepishly.

Leorina nodded looking at me up and down as if studying my stature and my features. Then she widened her eyes when she saw my star medal on my chest.

"Oh you're a hero, that's a bit rare for a bounty hunter." She said pointing at the pin.

I looked down to it uninterestingly only to widen my eyes in shock, it already turned silver. How can that happen so fast?

"W-When did it turn silver?" I said half to myself.

"Oh yeah, I was wondering where Klonoa and Guntz were. The High priestess wanted to discuss something with you guys, Lolo was supposed to tell you, but something came up and she asked me to get you." She explained as I fiddled with my medal.

I flinched the moment she mentioned Guntz and Klonoa and an uneasy chill went up my spine. I forgot, how was I supposed to explain what happened to Guntz to the high priestess? Would she throw retribution at me like the priestess' from my world?

I remember one of my older sisters, Fuji, was hiding as one and whenever I went to war without even telling her, bad things would happen. The last time she punished me was a few days before my third Alice Game, she tied me to a log and used me for target practice by using a real gun. Even now I still get nightmares of her punishing me for doing things that were right, but dangerous and idiotic. Suddenly, the small dog creature waved a long hand in front of my mask face.

"Hey, Lunatea to Kuroi did ya hear her?" he asked annoyingly.

"G-Guntz and Klonoa can't come, G-Guntz caught a fever and Klonoa's watching over him."

There, that wasn't a whole lie, right?

"Oh I see, let's go check up on them to see if they're awake." She suggested.

I flinched and grabbed her hand. I was very desperate; I wouldn't want to report what I did to someone like the high priestess who has the same high authority like my big sister, Fuji.

"NO- I mean let's not bother them, we were training yesterday and they're really exhausted." I smirked uneasily.

Leorina sighed and nodded in acknowledgment. Suddenly, the cat floated up to me then looked at me intently. I raised an eyebrow as we both locked eyes then she yowled in happiness and began hugging me. Then I began to panic at the next thing she said.

"You're the angel-lady who ran away from heaven, nya." She yowled happily.

I panicked and put a hand over her mouth as I looked around making sure no one heard her. Why can't short people keep their large mouths shut every once in a while?!

"Tat, don't burst out so much." Leorina barked angrily.

"Y-You're a girl?" the dog creature said loudly, pointing a claw at me only to have my other hand cover his mouth.

"Popka!"

"Jeez, why don't animal side kicks ever learn to shut their traps?" I growled as the two struggled in my grasp.

"Let's just get to the temple and you can tell us about everything." Leorina suggested.

--

I panted hard as Leorina and I took a breather while the two loud mouth guardians in my grasp were still struggling. Sheesh, what makes these guys so hyper? It's already been at least over an hour and they're still going. I guess they have what all guardians have, a childish personality. I'm kind of relieved that there were more like Suppi around. She's been kind of lonely without her brother and her friends.

Currently, the four of us were in front of the double doors where the High priestess was sitting in the room. I opened the door slowly to see her with her eyes closed sitting up straight as if waiting for me and Leorina. She slowly opened her eyes as I let Tat and Popka down. She smiled at me calmly before turning to Leorina.

"I'm very sorry of having you do this, Leo." She apologized with a nod to Leorina.

She shook her head smiling sheepishly.

"I would do anything for you with great obligation, ma'am." She bowed formally to her.

The high priestess chuckled happily before frowning to me.

"Leo, Tat, Popka may you please wait outside? I would like to talk to sir Kuroi alone." She frowned to them.

They nodded and immediately left only leaving me and her. For a few long minutes, we just stared at each other in silence trying to read each others thoughts. Knowing her, she'll try and ask what kind of Tsubasanian I am and which clan I'm from. I frowned at her as she sighed sadly, getting up from her seat. She slowly walked up to me and put a hand to my cheek making me narrow my eyes. That feeling again, it's burning in my chest again. What was it? Why do I feel so scared and sad all of a sudden?

"Why are you here, Ame...?"

Nya: In the next chapter, I'm going to try and make it a little funnier. BadLuckCat, Chibikawa, this one's for you. X3 Chibikawa, guess what, I'm going to publish a book soon my English teacher is going to help me publish it and you get to edit it. I'll give you the first parts of the story somewhere near christmas, so tell me if you want the offer or not around that time, okay. X3