Pinkshuchan: LALIHO! It's Pinkshuchan! Last chapter, we are introduced to Misaki and 'Usagi' had lost his memories. What will happen? Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 13

Demons and Soldiers

An entire day had passed and Hiroki and Miyagi hadn't found Akihiko. They were not sure where he could be. Even Suzuki was having trouble finding where his master was and he had the skills good enough to track him down. It was obvious that Akihiko was not dead, otherwise the bear demon would have disappeared. But then how come he couldn't be located?

During that entire time, Hiroki had been uneasy. Akihiko's almost death had scared him the most. But Miyagi, having known the cinnamon haired male for a long time, knew that that wasn't the only thing that was bothering him.

"You're that bothered with Akihiko not being found yet?" he asked, "Or is there more you care to explain to me?"

Hiroki sighed. He didn't really want to bring this up; he couldn't look weak now. But what could he do? It was obvious the older man could see Hiroki's distress. And if he lied about how he was really feeling, Miyagi would pick it up right away.

"It was what you said before the encounter with that Damonen Knight girl," he replied, "About how Akihiko could get any girl he wanted; that he could even win the heart of a princess. It disturbed me. What if that really is the case? What if Akihiko actually wins the heart of a princess and she wins his heart."

Miyagi just pat Hiroki's head, receiving a growl. "Don't worry about it. I doubt Akihiko will ever encounter a princess. If he does, then lucky for him. And you said so yourself which Akihiko himself agreed on; he's not interested in finding anyone just yet."

It was making Hiroki feel a little better, but he still couldn't get that worry out of his head. At least, not until they heard a sound. Putting their guard up, they slowly moved to the sounds. Considering that Suzuki went hiding somewhere, it was either a demon or something else that would be dangerous. When they were close enough, they made a jump before staring at what made the sounds.

Two young men, both very close to their 20's, stood there dressed in brown loincloths, shoulder guards and wrist guards made out of something hard and white, and headbands. One of them had a little good muscle on him, meaning he had to have worked hard on training, while the other was completely lean but sneaky looking. The more muscular one held out a mace and the lean one had out two short axes.

"Who are you?" the muscular one demanded, "You are not from Erden."

Hiroki was ready to put up a fight when Miyagi stopped him. "We are travellers who have come a long way to Erden," he replied calmly, "We are looking for a companion of ours. We were separated when we were attacked. Maybe you both have seen him?"

The muscular one lowered his weapon. "So you too are searching for someone."

"Too?" asked Hiroki.

"We are searching for someone very important to Erden. It is Erden's flower."

The cinnamon haired man crossed his arms. "Its flower? And here I thought you were looking for a person."

"Not an actual flower," the muscular one continued, "It is the nickname of our princess; a beauty that wins the hearts of any man. We were ordered by our king to find the 'flower', who has gone missing."

"Which is completely silly," the lean one spoke up, "I am sure the princess is safe. The king always overreacts when the princess just goes off somewhere. The princess may even be heading home right now. What a king we have!"

"Don't speak ill of our king, Sumi," the muscular one snapped at the lean one, "He is a remarkable king. Taking over the throne under the circumstances; he is a strong one."

The lean one, Sumi, sighed. "Just hope something like 'that' doesn't happen again, Todo. Erden will fall into darkness should anything happen."

Hiroki and Miyagi were not sure with what was going on. The muscular one, Todo, looked back at them. "I'm sorry about Sumi," he explained, "He just gets cranky whenever we search for the princess."

"So this is not the first time," said Miyagi.

"I'm afraid so. The king deeply loves the princess and tends to be a little 'overprotective'. Anytime the princess is away, the king orders all the soldiers on the search. Crazy, I know. However, even the people get antsy if the princess is not around."

"We'll help you find this 'princess'," Miyagi replied, "At the same time, we'll be looking for our companion. Unfortunately, we don't know our way around Erden. Do you mind if we accompany you in searching?"

Todo shook his head. "Not at all. It would be helpful, actually."

Hiroki couldn't believe it. Miyagi was good at persuading. But something didn't feel right. He looked over at Sumi. It seemed like he didn't really want to find this princess. But why? Even so, he followed them, hoping that along the way they find Akihiko.

Meanwhile, Usagi followed Misaki through the forest. It wasn't as beautiful as the hidden flower garden, but it was still remarkable. He couldn't wait to get his memories back, but only because that would mean he could get another kiss from Misaki. And he couldn't help it. Never in his life had he seen anyone as beautiful. He actually looked like a girl. It then reminded him.

"I have a question," he spoke up, "If you are male, why do you dress like that? Is it Erden custom to dress like that?"

"No, I'm the only exceptional male to dress like this," Misaki replied, "Not that I even want to dress like this. It was just something that happened because my parents wished for it."

"Your parents?"

"They wanted a girl but I came instead. It didn't change anything; they still cared about me and loved me, but because of the circumstances, I was made to dress like this. I don't enjoy dressing like this, but I've gotten used to it by now."

It didn't really make sense. "But if you really don't like dressing like this, why don't you tell your parents that? I'm sure they'd understand."

Misaki stopped walking and lowered his head. "My parents… died ten years ago."

Usagi froze. He wasn't sure how to respond to that. "I'm sorry… I didn't-!"

But Misaki only shook his head. "No, it's fine. What's done is done. It's impossible to change the past. I've learned to just accept it a long time ago."

The silver man didn't know what to say. He never thought that he would only bring something depressing up. He tried to think of a different subject. "That song you sang at the flower garden. It was really beautiful."

"Both the garden and the song were something my mother showed me when I was little."

Usagi groaned. He only made things worse, he knew it. He tried thinking of something else. "You like putting flowers into bouquets? What are they for?"

"They're usually for a lot of things," said Misaki, "In this case, it's for a celebration that is… Damn, now there's another reason why we need to hurry!" He began to run with Usagi following him. So much for making the conversation more comfortable. He only made Misaki more determined to get back. Even so, it would mean that it would be sooner for him to get his memories back and have that kiss.

But it wasn't to last long.

Before they could get any farther, a demon blocked their path. It looked like some kind of giant lizard thing. Usagi stood in front of Misaki to shield him from the monster. "I'll take care of this." He took from behind him his staff and began fighting the demon. Usagi knew that he just needed to use his special skills and…

What were his special skills? He had the basic fighting techniques, yes. But he needed to remember his special skills to defeat this demon. It was no use. The demon took the advantage and did some attacks on Usagi. The silver haired man was able to block the first one but got hit by the rest. He was knocked down to the ground. But he had to protect Misaki. He couldn't let that demon get him.

He was shocked when he saw Misaki standing on his guard, holding what looks like pink fans with white spikes on the edges.

The demon roared before charging at Misaki. But the chocolate haired boy began moving and attacking as if dancing. Although he was able to land some attacks on the demon, it wasn't enough to bring it down. There was only one thing left to do. Misaki raised one arm, still holding one of the fans and his hand glowed pink. Out of the blue, flowers flew in, surrounding the demon, and shined light onto it. The demon gave a cry before disappearing.

Once he was sure the demon was gone, Misaki ran to Usagi's aid. "Are you alright?" he asked before noticing a few wounds. He sighed. "What is with you and getting hurt?"

"Probably danger loves seeing that I get hurt," Usagi joked. Obviously Misaki didn't laugh at the joke.

"Sit still," he told the older man as he knelt down, "I'm going to heal your wound." He held out his hands so they were floating over where the wounds were and closed his eyes as his hands began glowing again. The only difference this time was that his hands glowed multiple colours and a pink light in the shape of a flower covered the wounds. When the light subsided, the wounds were gone. That must've been how Misaki was able to heal him when he fell from 'the sky' as he put it.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to protect you," said Usagi, "Apparently, not only do I not remember my real name or my past, but I can't remember what abilities I have besides fighting physically with my hands or with my staff."

Misaki shook his head. "It's fine. It can't be helped. Hopefully you can remember things at the village. The sooner you get your memories back, the better it is for you," He stood up. "We should continue on. We're almost there."

Usagi nodded. It is hope that they meet someone that should know where he comes from. He too stood up and continued on to head to the village. As they walked, the silver haired man couldn't help but speak up. "I never thought that you could fight like that."

That statement didn't please the boy. "What do you mean by that?" he snapped back, "I know how to fight very well, thank you very much! However, even though I can fight physically, it appears that my strengths when fighting are by using my magic, whether it's the small amount of attack magic I have or if it's my healing magic."

The silver haired man couldn't help but smile. With every minute they are together, Misaki just keeps on surprising him. A boy far more beautiful than anything he'd ever seen with a lovely voice and can fight but is better off using magic. Were there to be anymore surprises?

Indeed there were.

Before they could move further, someone swung off a vine and grabbed Misaki. Usagi grabbed his staff and tried to follow them on foot but his path was blocked by men dressed similar with spears. They looked like tribal soldiers. They had to be soldiers of Erden.

They wouldn't give Usagi a chance to talk with them. The moment he tried saying something, one of the soldiers whacked him hard. They tied his wrists together in front of him so he couldn't fight back. They then pushed him forward. Where were they taking him? Were they going to take him to the village? What had happened to Misaki?

His first question was asked right away. Indeed, they were at a village with people having trees for houses as the bark was thick enough. They continued on until they reached what looked like a giant unusual shaped stone wall with holes that looked like windows and a giant hole that served as an entryway. Inside held many carvings of different things, whether it was foreign writing or pictures of something. Torches were lit against the walls to provide light.

They continued down the path until they reached a room filled with torches and a throne hiding in the shadows. A figure was sitting in the throne.

"Y-Your Majesty!" the soldiers broke out in fear in front of the figure, "Th-This is the man!"

"Good!" the figure replied in a cold tone, "Now leave us!" The soldiers did not hesitate. They bolted out right as the figure, which sounded like a king, told them too. Usagi was left alone with this king hiding in the shadows.

"Now," the king in the shadows continued, "Who are you? Why are you here in Erden? Do you want blood? Or have you come to take away Erden's precious 'flower'?"

"A flower?" asked Usagi. For some reason that sounded familiar, but the memory wouldn't come to mind. He quickly caught himself from trying to anger the king anymore and continued speaking. "I do not know who I am, Your Majesty. That is why I am here. I do not desire a vile thing as blood and I do not know what you mean by this 'flower'. I am here to recover the memories I had lost."

"How do I know you are not lying?"

"I do not know what my real name is, but I was given the name Usagi to serve as my name until the memories return. I was told I would possibly get my memories back here."

"And who was it that told you you could get your memories back here?"

"I believe he is a resident of this village. He goes by the name Misaki."

The king was frozen in his seat. "Misaki?" He stood up and began walking to Usagi. He was going to see the face of the scary.

But the king didn't look scary at all. Far from it. He looked like a kind king. The king smiled as he continued walked to Usagi. "I apologize for what happened," said the king, "I was just a little cautious." He released the silver haired man from the ropes that bound him. Usagi rubbed his wrists which were full of pain and kept looking at the king as he continued.

"Welcome to Erden, traveller! I am sorry to hear that you don't remember your memories. Allow me to introduce myself; I am King Takahiro of Erden. I myself along with the people of Erden will be willing to help you in any way possible."

Usagi bowed. "Pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty."

King Takahiro laughed. "Please, no need to be so formal! You are a guest here. And you are in time for our annual celebration; the birth of our Mother Nature, Erden. You must join us. I will have someone provide you with the proper attire and teach you the dances ready for tonight. Don't worry; the dances are quite simple to learn. Even a child can get the hang of it easily."

"You are too kind, Your Majesty," Usagi replied. Indeed, too kind. The soldiers considered him frightening, and even Usagi himself could admit that while he was in the shadows he was. So why the change of heart? He had a feeling he was going to learn tonight what it was.

Pinkshuchan: And now we have met King Takahiro. What will be happening now? What happened to Misaki? Will Hiroki and Miyagi find Akihiko? Read and Review!