I'm sorry. That's all I can say after not updating for so long: I'm sorry. Life has been rather hectic over the past month, what with finals and then some personal problems coming up, that I haven't gotten the chance to do any writing whatsoever. Now that everything's resolved, however, I should be able to resume my previous update schedule. Again, I'm sorry, and please enjoy the newest chapter!

XXXXXX

CHAPTER 23

THE PLOT GETS MOVING ONCE MORE

Kasumi felt her legs go weak as Moka finished explaining. The Princess had told them the truth (excluding the fact that they were dating), and Kasumi had taken it quite hard. The poor women had grown paler and paler as Moka told of Tsukune's disappearance, and finally could take no more and collapsed into the nearby chair. Mr. Aono immediately moved to comfort his wife while Yukari stared at Moka in shock, saying nothing. Suddenly, tears start forming, and before Yukari realized what was happening she was bawling.

"Tsukune!" She cried, despairing at the loss of her beloved older brother. Even Mizore, who had slunk back into the room during the explanation, could feel her heart sink and her ice-cool demeanor start to melt. Moka looked at the scene, guilt weighing on her heart. She hardened her face to the scene doing her best to look nonchalant. One of the most important parts of being royalty was keeping a cool head in the face of any and all catastrophes. That included both public and personal issues. Moka was very good at keeping a cool head, or at least looking like she did. She had to take control of this situation, now, before things got out of hand. However, before Moka could say anything, Ruby burst into the room and practically flew over to Yukari.

The royal witch cuddled the young girl protectively in her arms. Or at least she tried to. Yukari reacted quickly, shoving her way out of Ruby's arms and dashing over to her mother. "Ruby!" Moka snarled, aghast at the witch's sudden outburst; Moka had known that Ruby was outside the room (her vampire senses had never let her down), but had seen no problem with allowing her to stay there. Now however, Moka was starting to very much regret her decision. "What the hell are you doing!"

"I couldn't take it anymore my Princess!" Ruby wailed, sounding a lot like Yukari had not two minutes ago. "I didn't want Yukari to cry anymore!"

"Why do you care?" Moka exclaimed, getting slightly fed up. What was with Ruby? She was normally so upbeat (admittedly a little creepy), but generally pleasant to be around. This was not the case presently. Ruby's eyes were as wide as saucers with an ocean of sadness, and there were tears water falling down her cheeks. Her lips were clamped together and wiggling with unsaid words.

"She…she's my daughter." Ruby said in a quiet voice.

XXXXXX

"How is he?" Corma asked. Hokuto grunted.

"Unconscious. He's surprisingly sturdy for a human. Even so, nobody would be able to hold out much longer." Hokuto replied, his mouth pulling up into a rather evil-looking smirk. He casually reached into hos pocket and pulled out a towel, wiping his hands. Torturing prisoners was, while fun, quite the dirty job, and Hokuto had figured out long ago that he should always carry around a towel.

Corma considered his options. He was in charge of leading the assault on the Akashiyas- he needed to plan each move meticulously and thoroughly before moving on to get the maximum impact. He knew, without a doubt, that Tsukune would be able to help him get his revenge-but how? Maybe a barging chip? No, no much too obvious. Any ploy set up like that would be as easy to see thorough as a Succubus's dress. Silence filled the air as Corma analyzed each and every choice. Finally, he settled on the nastiest thing he could think of.

A wicked smile spread across the face of the maniacal prince. Oh yes. This would do just fine. "Alert me when the human wakes up; we have business to take care of." He barked at Hokuto before pivoting and leaving the dungeon. Hokuto watched him go, him own plan forming….

XXXXXX

Kokoa let out a loud yell as she delivered the finishing blow to her practice dummy. The punch sent the wooden head flying across the room before hitting the back wall and smashing into a multitude of fragments. Kokoa stared at the now-broken dummy before crying out in exasperation and storming off to get another one.

Truthfully, Kokoa was getting bored. Over the past few days, little had happened around the castle. Even Prince Gin, who could usually be counted on to make a good ruckus, had remained suspiciously quiet. As such, Kokoa had been forced to do nothing but train all day, and while that normally would not be a problem, Kokoa had gotten the feeling that she was being left out of something very important in her older sister's life. It bothered her, being left out like this, and she-

"Princess Kokoa!" Fang-Fang burst into the room, startling the princess and destroying her train of thought. "I have important information regarding the disappearance of the human servant!"

Kokoa quickly gained her composure before speaking up. "What do you think you're doing here Fang-Fang!" She yelled, completely ignoring any and all formalities. "You're supposed to knock when you go into a girl's room!"

"Yes, well, that might be the case, but I feel as if this is the more pressing matter1" Fang-Fang urged seriously. Kokoa huffed but decided it wouldn't hurt to at least listen Fang-Fang might act like an idiot, but he wasn't the leader of one of the greatest armies in the world for nothing.

"What is it?" She grumbled. Fang-Fang leaned close and motioned for Kokoa to do the same. The Princess rolled her eyes but leaned forward anyway.

"I believe that someone is leaking information to the Stomoculas." Fang-Fang whispered. Kokoa's eyes widened.

"What?" she yelled. Fang-Fang frantically indicated that she should be quiet, and Kokoa grudgingly lowered her voice. "Do you realize what you're saying?"

"Yes, but I'm sure of it." Fang-Fang said confidently. Kokoa still had one question though.

"Why did you tell me instead of Moka?" She asked. Moka, being the older sister, technically was the one who should have been told.

"Princess Moka is…too close." Fang-Fang said. Kokoa was silent.

"Do you have any idea who the spy could be?" Fang-Fang nodded yes. Kokoa grinned wickedly. "Well then, let's pay them a visit, shall we?"