Hi Guys

Sorry I was in a bit of a writers block

really wasn't sure how to connect the rest of the story in.

Things should speed up a bit soon

Somewhere in the King's Castle in Prontera

"Damnit! They have struck again. We need to act faster! Where's your report?" An angry voice screamed.

"Here you go sir." The solider answer as he handed a file to the General.

"All these are done by them?"

"We suspect so sir. They seem to be targeting rare artifacts. All the people that have been killed are somehow linked to the artifacts that are reported missing later."

"Get our investigators to figure out what the latest victim knows about rare artifacts and try to find the other experts in that area. Set up guards to protect those people. Also, find the location of the artifact and we'll get the assassin guild to send their men for a stake out team." The General ordered.

"Yes sir." The solider saluted and left.

"Sir, the church suspects something is wrong at Mother Marthilda's and has requested our help." Tsubasa reported after the first solider left.

"What makes them think something is wrong?"

"Well recently, they started to review all the recommendations she had sent back with the novices who went to her for the Acolyte test. They noticed at the bottom for all the letters, the number "505" was written there. "505" in Alphanumeric is SOS. They think she's trying to ask for help. But since she's doing it in secret they're not sure what to do."

"Hum, I'll contact the Assassin guild to have them send someone to check out what's going on. They have stealth so they can easily check up on Mother Marthilda without being noticed. Let the church know we're working on it and we'll get back to them as soon as possible."

"Yes Sir." The solider saluted and left the room.

"Well you heard all the reports. Please report them to your guild leader so he can properly assign people."

"Yes sir." A voice spoke from the corner of the room but no one was seen.

The General took out a butterfly wing and held it out in the direction where the voice was heard. An assassin materialized and took the butterfly wing and used it to teleport back to his base.

"It's been a long day." He sighed as he took his coffee and drank it.

At the church

"Hi Yuki! What are you doing here today? I thought you were supposed to be at Mother Marthilda's today." Mikan said.

"Yeah, that got cancelled. Actually, everyone that was scheduled to go help Mother Marthilda's for the up coming weeks all got reassigned to do other stuff." Yuki replied.

"Hum, I wonder what's wrong." Mikan said out loud.

"Shhh, lets find another place first before we talk." Yuki said as she led Mikan to a quiet room inside the church.

"Why so secretive?" Mikan asks.

"Well, there's a rumour floating around. They think something bad has happened at Mother Marthilda's, that's why they cancelled all our assignments there."

"Something bad?" Mikan asks.

"Well, the novices they're sending there for the Acolyte test are coming back with weird messages in their letters. It seems like she's trying to ask for help through some secret signals." Yuki told her.

"If she's asking for help, why did they cancel your assignment?" Mikan asks. "She's probably just overloaded with work as usual and wants more people to go over there to help her."

"I don't know about that. If it's just work overload, you wouldn't need to send secret messages back through those letters. She can just contact us using her communicator. But apparently communication with her seems almost lost. The only thing we've been getting back from her are the letters the novices are bringing back." Yuki said, "I have a bad feeling about this. I wish I knew what was going on. Only the high ranking officials at the church seem to really know what's going on."

"I hope she's ok." Mikan said, then Yuki left for the library to report for duty and Mikan went into the city.

Mikan is happily walking around Prontera looking at the different goods the vendors were selling and accidentally bumped into someone.

"Opf," She cried as she fell onto the ground.

"You know, you should pay attention to where you're going." A voice said as he reached out to help her up.

"I'm sorry about that." Mikan apologized without looking up as she took the hand and got up.

"Don't worry about it." He replied and ruffled her hair.

Then Mikan looked up and exclaimed, "Tsubasa-senpai! What are you doing here?"

"I just came from the Castle. Going to get some lunch now. Would you like to join me?" He asks her.

"Sure!" She replied and they walked off to a nearby Café.

Over lunch they talked about lots of things. Mikan told him about all the adventures she's been on and the new friends she has made since the last time she saw him. Tsubasa listened attentively as Mikan chatted animatedly.

"So what have you been up to Tsubasa senpai?" Mikan asks him when she finally finished telling him her stories.

"Nothing as exciting as what you have been doing. The Crusader guild is very busy lately and has asked a lot of us to go back and help them. I've been assigned to help assist the Royal Guards in their investigations." Tsubasa told her.

"Wow, that's a big responsibility!" Mikan said.

"Yeah I guess it is. I wish it wasn't so busy so I have time to go do my own thing. Misaki is really busy too. The Monk Monastery is also helping the Royal Gaurds. It seems like they have asked all the guilds for assistant since the Dark Guilds are so active lately." Tsubasa said with a sigh.

"Tsubasa senpai, I'm a little confused at how this works. I thought you can do anything you want as an adventurer. Why are you getting assignments? I thought that only happens if you decide to hang around the school and work for them." Mikan said.

"Well, that's usually the case. But when things happen and it gets really busy, the guild for your specific job class can call on you for extra help. Of course you get paid for your services but it's not as fun as going exploring on your own. You don't have the freedom to do what you want. You must complete your objective. It gets stressful." Tsubasa replied.

"So does that mean when I change into a Priestess, the Church can still call on me whenever they have an assignment for me?" Mikan asks.

"Yup. That is until you join your own guild. Then all job requests will have to go through your guild." Tsubasa told her.

"My own guild?" Mikan asks.

"Yup. It's very similar to the party system. You need an emperium to apply to form a guild. When you're in a guild, you must follow their rules and listen to your guild master. All job offers will go through your guild master and they assign them to the guild members. Guilds also get to participate in War of Emperium. The weekly event where you get to battle for control over castles." Tsubasa explained to her.

"Eh?! Why would people fight for castles?! Is dying to get a castle worth it?" Mikan said.

"There are rules in War of Emperium. No one ever gets killed. There's some sort of Magic surrounding the battle field to keep everyone in line. Plus, it's really like one on one fighting matches. Except you have guild verses guilds in this case. There are many rewards when you get castles. Each castle receives prizes every day and those items are very good. Also, you get access to the underground training facility." Tsubasa told her.

"Wow, why don't you join a guild then?" Mikan asked him.

"I enjoy my freedom too much to join a specific guild. Misaki and I just want to wander around and see the world without any obligations to anyone. I guess once we're done with travelling we may join a guild. Until then I want to be free." Tsubasa told her.

"Interesting. So you also loose your freedom if you join a guild?" Mikan asks.

"Not really. I mean, you still get to do all the stuff you want. It's just that you have obligations to your guild. Especially if you're in a big and powerful guild, there might be lots of duties assigned to you. If you're in a guild that doesn't participate in War of Emperium, then there is less stuff to do. But still, it's different for everyone." Tsubasa stated.

"I guess. Well I have to worry about changing my job class first before finding a guild." Mikan said with a sigh.

"Don't worry about it too much. Enjoy your time as an Acolyte, there's no need to rush things." Tsubasa told her.

Mikan smiled at him in return then something hit her.

"Wait, so those Dark Guilds everyone has been talking about, is that the name of a Guild?" Mikan asks.

"Nope. We actually don't know the name of the Guild. We don't even know if it's one or multiple guilds that are involved in all the recent problems. That's why we refer to them as Dark Guilds. It's really just a title for the trouble maker guilds. They attract a lot of people who have evil intentions and create all sorts of trouble for the rest of the world." Tsubasa stated while silently cursing them for causing him trouble.

"Oh, I see." Mikan replied, "I hope Mother Marthilda isn't involved with something like that."

Tsubasa stiffened at the mention of Mother Marthilda, then with a serious face he asks, "What have you heard about Mother Marthilda?"

"Nothing much, just the rumours about how something might have happened and that she's trying to get help." Mikan replied.

"I see. It's getting late now; I have to get going to my next destination." Tsubasa stated as he asked the waiter for the bill. "It's nice to see you again. We should keep in touch. Call me anytime or even mail me a letter."

"I will! Thanks for inviting me to lunch." Mikan said as they left the Café and parted ways.

Later that day

Mikan is sitting in her garden busily trying to write in her journal before it gets too dark.

She smiles as she recalls today's event. She really enjoys her time with Tsubasa Senpai. He was really nice to her and she's really happy to have such a nice senpai.

As she was writing she sensed someone else in the garden with her.

"Come out, Neko-san." She said and an assassin appeared beside her.

"Who's this Tsubasa fellow?" He asks.

"He's my Senpai that I met when I was doing my Acolyte test." She stated, "How do you know him?"

He points to her diary.

She realized that he was reading what she was writing and got mad at him. "Hey! A dairy is a private thing! Don't read what I'm writing!" She exclaimed while she slammed her book shut and started to hit him with it.

"Hey ouch, cut that out." He said.

But Mikan wouldn't stop so he grab her wrist to stop her from hitting him.

Mikan struggled to break his hold but he was just too strong. Soon she gave up struggling and sighed.

He released her wrists when he noticed she stopped trying to break free.

"Where have you been lately? I haven't seen you around." She asked him while she took the opportunity to look at him.

She noticed that he has gotten thinner over the time they haven't met. His hair is messier then usual and his eyes are dull and reflected how tired he was.

"It's none of your business." He stated.

"Sigh, well at least you should eat properly. You got skinnier." She stated as she reached for his arm.

When she touched his arm he flinched in pain. She noticed this and sighed. "You're wounded again aren't you."

He didn't replied but sat stilled and stared at her.

She started to roll up his sleeves but he caught her hand and stopped her. "How can I tend to your wounds if you won't let me see them." She stated.

He didn't reply but didn't let go of his hands either.

She sighed again, "Fine, I won't look. But you know, heal spells can only do so much. You should really let me look at things to make sure they're healing properly." Mikan said as she started casting heal spells on him.

He grunted in response as a way to thank her.

"Hey, I should get going now. It's getting late and Ji-Chan will be wondering where I am. Will I see you again tomorrow?" She asks him as she started to gather her stuff and put them into her bag.

"Maybe, I doubt it though." He replied.

"I'll wait as long as I can." Mikan replied with a smile.

"Ja." She said then she teleported home.

"Mother Marthilda's, eh. I wonder if that's where you are Aoi. Don't worry, I'll find you." He said as he disappeared into the shadows once more.

Don don donnnnnn

What's he gonna do?!

We'll just find out in the next chapter :P

hopefully that won't be a writers block

and just a heads up...i will be writing about Mikan's changing to priest exam

just b/c she's special :)

Thanks for the reviews: HyuugaYingLan, oObroken-wingsOo, ilovelunae