Name: Mei Ling (It really should be put like Ling Mei. Ling's her first name, Mei's her last name.)

Birthday: Thursday Emperor 21st.

Age: 18

Class/ Current Level: Mei Ling is a Monk that is on level 25.

Blood type: O+

Eye color: Light blue

Hair color: Pink

Height: 5'3" and 1/2 (Mei Ling was the tallest girl in her family. She is ashamed of that trait.)

Hometown: Konto. Konto is a village in the Eastern Continent. Mei Ling was banned from going back there.

Notes: Mei Ling is considered a bad omen in the Eastern continent. Since she was considered such, she saw herself high above others. She acted this way to make herself feel valued. Her most famous act was when she burned down an orphanage. She claimed that the children had no purpose. She did that crime after she teamed up with Ezra and was punished for that deed. Ezra used to dislike Mei Ling, but that dislike quickly turned into fear when he was dared by his father to kiss someone. He was ten and naturally went for Himi (even though Isis was ready for that kiss. She had the perfect clothes on and everything), but since Himi was afraid of germs she pushed him... Into Mei Ling. Mei Ling proceeded to lodge two chopsticks in his eyes. That is why Ezra seemed scared while introducing her. Mei Ling doesn't like to seem useless. She hates children ,and the only children she's willing to accept are the members of Gears. She actually adopted Zero after she turned eighteen. She's a close friend to Himi. Mei Ling considered leaving Gears to join Brawn several times because they invited her. They would have invited Isis , but Mei Ling called her immature and a child.

Pros: She's a talented Monk who seems to understand people. She is bilingual and she is intelligent enough to defeat most of gears in a battle.

Cons: If she sees that something lacks a purpose, she purges it. She's mean to all children unless they're in a guild. She's blunt and violent. It's impossible for Ezra to read her mind because she thinks in Chinese.

Hobbies: She's great at knitting, sewing, and creating tapestry. She likes to cook, but her food is highly poisonous and it's discolored.

You see that I added the level. So now... I might as well tell you all of the past character's levels. (I'll put 'em in order.)

Hana: Her current level is 15. Tanaku: Her current level is 16. Hanasaku: Her current level is 17. Aoimi: Her level is 19. Ryuunosuke: His current level is 18. Isis: Level 26. Meru: Level 16. Marin: Haha. She's so strong she's on level... Um... Marin. Bare: Level 17. Ezra: Level : Level 53. (Marin and Kujura trained her well.) Inki: Level 35. ( This is due to her past experience in battle and Pandora's training.) Dove: level 18. Luna: Level 25. (This is due to the fact that Luna trains everyday and asks around the bars in town.) Zero: Level 25. Kogageru: Level 27. Himi: Level 25.

Done. This chapter's gonna be shorter than usual. Thank goodness for that.

Chapter Eighteen: Stop Your Antics!

Hanasaku sighed as she plopped down at the desk in her room. That day had been one of the scariest she had experienced. She was finally able to sit in peace. Hana was "busy". Hanasaku laughed while she thought about that. Hana was obviously going to talk to Ryota. Hana was weird around boys. And if Hana did something bolder than usual she had some interest. Hanasaku knew that much. She took a few breaths. With Hana gone and with Aoimi sleeping, she thought she could relax in the silence.

She peered across her desk. She saw that book, the Prophecy, laying there. She shivered. That book made her want to tremble. Why was it so cruel and violent? It wasn't even physically violent. It killed the mind. Hanasaku didn't want to read it. Did Ezra even know what was in it? She felt her hand move to the book's cover. She flipped the book open to the first page. The words on it seemed to be more noticeable than ever.

Beware of the Red Eyed Madwoman.

Hanasaku pondered about who that title could belong to. While she was thinking, her door suddenly opened. She felt her blank face turn into a more hostile one. She turned to see who it was. She was pretty sure she'd be safe for the evening. That was unless Bare was bored or something. Maybe Luna wanted to pick on her. She anxiously turned to see who it was.

It was just Ryuu.

Hanasaku let out a sigh of relief. He wouldn't judge her much. She hoped he wouldn't. Her alleviation suddenly vanished when she realized that she had the Prophecy out in the open. That was the book Ezra told her not to show anyone. She didn't know what to do.

Ryuu seemed to notice her shock. "Did I come in at a bad time?" He asked nervously. "You aren't going to slap me, right?"

Hanasaku was slightly offended by that. She didn't want to make him think she slapped people if she didn't get her way. Her mouth opened , and she gave Ryuu a speech that the exact opposite of what she was thinking.

"No, you came in at a pretty good time." She lied. Ryuu narrowed his eyes at her.

"What are you reading?"

Hanasaku turned red and picked up the book. She then proceeded to close it forcefully. "Nothing." She half-stuttered.

Ryuu glanced to his side and smiled. "You're not reading that stuff Hana reads, are you?"

Hanasaku covered her face. She was embarrassed just because Ryuu accused her of that. "N-no." She looked away. She felt really light. She put her hand on her head. "Hey, um... Ryuu. If you could describe someone with the words 'Red eyed madwoman' who would it be?" Hanasaku inquired quietly.

"Huh? That's a weird question..." He wondered about it for less than a second. He remembered Isis's aura on that day they looked for Niku. "Lady Isis. She's been acting strange."

Hanasaku heard that and realized what Ryuu was saying. "That makes so much sense!" She suddenly gazed down at her arms, the place where the book was supposed to be. It was gone. She nearly had a minor heart attack. She slowly stared at Ryuu. "When did you take from me?" She crossed her arms. Ryuu always acted different when Hana wasn't there.

"It kinda scared me when you didn't notice."

Hanasaku walked toward Ryuu. "Well, you can give it back now." She reached for the book.

Ryuu lifted the book above Hanasaku's head. "Tell me why you wanted to hide it so badly."

"No." Hanasaku attempted to slap him. He moved back.

"I guess I'll have to read it then." Ryuu wore that same smile he wore when he beat Herald.

"Ryuu, stop it!" She whispered loudly.

He ignored her. "Hm, 'Beware of the Red Eyed Madwoman'... Is this why you asked me that...?" Ryuu's voice suddenly faded down to a murmur. Hanasaku detected the fact that he had both of his eyes opened. The door was widely ajar and he stared out of it. In the distance, Hanasaku could hear humming. The sound of Isis Pompadour's humming. Ryuu dropped the book ,and somehow understood how urgent the situation was for Hanasaku. He grabbed her and pulled so quickly she couldn't comprehend what was going on.

"This is the twenty third try, I'm done after twenty five." Hana stared at Ryota. They had been locked up in that kitchen since six. Hanasaku was with them at first, but she left after it turned eight. It was about elven fifty. Hana usually went to bed at twelve, but this little baking session was killing that idea. Hana didn't even want to tell Ryota about her sleep schedule. He'd probably call it her bedtime.

"Eh... I told you I wasn't any good at this. I thought I was bad, but not this bad." Ryota sighed. "I'm surprised you stayed."

Hana's eyes moved around the room. "Why do you think that?" She tried to pick up a full bag of flour.

"What? You don't know? You're Hana Venus Zaki. Your mom was in charge of a restaurant ,and my dad cooked for it." Hana gave Ryota a strange stare that hardened into a sort of glower. She remained silent and put the bag of flour on the counter. Ryota laughed. "Ezra told me you didn't like her. I didn't think you'd hate her, Hana."

"I came here to bake bread. Not to get another lecture on this." Hana's voice was rather bland and she didn't turn to face Ryota. Ryota moved next to Hana, and watched her pour sugar into the bowl the batter was in. "Watch me, and don't mess up next time." Hana's voice remained the same. "You have to make sure the batter is fine. There aren't supposed to be coarse parts, got it?" Ryota heard Hana's voice get a bit brittle. He wondered why. She obviously didn't care about her mother. Ryota couldn't tell.

"Aye." He replied after watching Hana stir the batter. Hana's face was blank, but it kept on going down into a grimace of sorts. Ryota could tell that her pulled her last straw. "Is something bothering you?"

Hana pushed a bowl toward Ryota. "You try." She didn't acknowledge his question. Ryota followed what Hana did.

"You didn't answer..."

"Yeah, I didn't." Hana began to edge away from Ryota. "Read the instructions again. I'll be back." Hana walked out of the kitchen with no pride in her steps.

Ryota looked around and scratched the back of his head."Auntie~! You can come out now!" Ryota cried out. Haruka appeared out of nowhere.

"Eyy~!" She put her hands out to hug him, but he pushed them away. "I see that you're finishing up my request!" She grinned.

Ryota gave her a guilty smile in response. "Why are you making me do this? I feel bad. She looked like she was going to cry."

Haruka closed her eyes. "It's obvious. She won't listen to me. She's different around guys. She wasn't raised around them. I coulda made Ezra do it, but... He's busy with Hanami. She has to learn about this, Ryota. Okay?"

"Fine."

"Welcome, Mistress Hanasaki." Obi welcomed Hanasaki and the Guild-master to Marin's house. Elizabeth was laying on one of the couches and she was barely awake. "Sushi" screamed out her name and she woke up. "Keep watch ,Elizabeth!"

"Wha?" She rose up. "Fine. I'm going to get my armor."

"No... If you're going upstairs, take them to Marin's room." Sushi looked around. "I'll keep watch."

"O~okay." Elizabeth yawned while speaking. It made her sound like a whale. "Come on." Elizabeth stood up and began to walk up the nearing stairs.

"Dude, this place is as big as balls." Hanasaki nudged the Guild-master.

"Marin's rich. What else did you expect?"

Hanasaki shrugged. "I dunno. I have to see Hana after this... So... I hope this entire thing is short, straightforward, and truth. And I hope we don't get lost."

"We aren't going to get lost." Elizabeth pointed to a door. "Her room's the closest one to the door." Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. "Don't expect her to be all formal. She's feasting on animal crackers in a night gown."

"Oh... Okay then. I didn't know she still did that." Hanasaki walked into the room first.

Marin was doing just as Elizabeth said. There was a big pitcher of tea next to her. Hanasaki couldn't tell what expression she was making. She felt like laughing at Marin, but she knew that Marin barely opened up. She shouldn't abuse that.

"What are you staring at?" Marin was glaring at the wall. "Why're you judging me when you asked me to act like myself?"

"I didn't say anything." Hanasaki took a seat on another couch. "Now would you stop being a lazy bum and tell us?" The Guild-master sat next to her.

Marin sat up straight. "Oh,yeah. Pandora wants to kill RAGNAROK. And all of a sudden the Senatus doesn't trust me." Hanasaki's brow raised.

"That's all?" Hanasaki asked.

Marin let out one laugh. "That's all I wanted to tell you."

Hanasaki glared at the Guild-master.

"Is there anything you need to tell us?" He asked Marin.

Marin's eyes widened a great deal. "Shoot, you're still able to see through me like that?" She muttered. "Fine. I might as well make this short." She sat up and looked around. "I assume that you know about Pandora already. There's no need to worry about her though. I'm working with Lady Elizabeth and... 'Sushi' to annihilate her."

"How the heck do you know about this?" Hanasaki interrogated.

"Welp, that book you had was the Prophecy, was it not?"

Hanasaki seemed as if she was choking on air. "How do you know what that looks like?"

Marin glared at the ground. She was way past her comfort zone. "That day twenty two years ago... Blackbeard had that book." She murmured at an unusually low tone. She stiffened up. "Anyway..." Marin tried to cover up her sudden loss for words after that. "Senator Flowdia also has part of the book that lord Seyfried gave to her. The whereabouts of the second half is unknown." She finally spoke. "Chances are that Seyfried gave the piece to 'her'."

Hanasaki moved her harsh stare back to Marin. "And who's the white haired woman? She's not Sushi."

Marin mumbled something. "She's..." Marin felt a strange presence. She peered at the doorway. Elizabeth gave her a gawkish glower. She knew what that mean. "Sushi's just a sobriquet for Susumei." She was better at making up names than Obi was.

Hanasaki wasn't taking the bait. "Why do I even try with you?" She seemed to have actually aimed at Marin. "Why do you trust them more than us?" She wasn't speaking as loudly as normal.

"I have better tastes in friends, Hanasaki." She turned away from them and moved her hand in a certain fashion. She was shooing them away. Like always. "Go, your efforts are fruitless." She didn't make any sort of eye contact with them.

"Um... Ryuu... Why did you choose the closet of all places to hide? She could just look through here..." Hanasaku asked with a near silent voice.

"If she's a princess, she'll respect your privacy. But there are exceptions. Like Meru." He sort of groaned.

"Be quiet. She'll find us." Hanasaku murmured. "You should have closed the door, you bum. I don't like how I'm leaning on your chest like this." She blushed. "And... If anyone catches us they'll get dirty thoughts on this."

Ryuu peered down at Hanasaku. "Huh? I doubt that anyone would find us."

"Quit being so loud." She tried to move, but Ryuu held her tightly. "You idiot, move your hand down."

Ryuu let out a sigh. "But wouldn't I be touching your butt?"

Hanasaku yelped before she slapped him. "Don't touch me like that!"

"I didn't!" They both stopped when they realized they were yelling. They could see a shadow through the slightest crack in the side. Hanasaku regretted her decision put her face on Ryuu's chest. Ryuu looked out the crack again to see two shadows.

"Ryuu, why'd you even come in here?" Hanasaku's voice was barely heard by Ryuu.

"It's nothing..."

"You dolt..." Hanasaku burrowed her head back into Ryuu's chest. "You're lucky that I like how warm you are..." They stood in silence before Hanasaku felt a warm feeling on her bottom. "Ryuu!" She shouted a bit too loud. She turned red. Even though that was a bellow full of anger, it could have easily been interpreted as "something else".

The closet door slowly opened. Hanasaku stared at the two figures. They were Yakusoku and Inki.

"Are we disturbing you?" Inki examined them. Her face was oddly inquiring.

"W-what? No, I wouldn't do that!" Ryuu stuttered.

"Yeah, we wouldn't! This pervert just touched me!"

"NO!" Ryuu tried to defend himself.

"Ryuu, I know what your hand feels like!" Hanasaku was the same color as Inki's scarlet robes.

"W-well, fine! But you were all over my chest, and I didn't want you there!"

"Yes, you did." Yakusoku quietly retorted. Hanasaku stared at her.

"What are you doing here?"

"Inki guided me here. I wanted to speak to you." Yakusoku stated.

"I guess I can leave now." Ryuu began to walk away. Inki silently followed.

"Wait, Ryuu. Could you stay?" Yakusoku reached out for him.

"Huh? Oh... Yeah, I guess." He stopped.

Yakusoku moved onto Hanasaku's bed. "I heard that you spoke to Ezra about Blue Sky." She seemed scared. "Ezra had nothing to do with the death of most of Blue Sky..."

"Yeah, I know. Ezra told me about that." Hanasaku stared at Yakusoku.

"It wasn't Ezra... It was Isis." Ryuu and Hanasaku gasped in unison.

"What? How?" Ryuu cried out first.

"What proof do you have?" Hanasaku followed shortly after.

Yakusoku muttered a sharp remark at them. "You say that like you two weren't hiding from her earlier."

"You're right..." Ryuu's face carried a guilty expression. "But why would Isis do anything like that? And how do you know it's her?"

Yakusoku hugged herself. "I was there when they all died... I saw everything." Her lip was quivering. "Blue, Lamia's adoptive sister, Ezra had it for her. Lamia still has it for Ezra, but since she found her sister dear... She didn't do much. That day when Blue Sky disappeared... Blue wanted to try a new party formation that would ensure victory... She wanted a Hoplite, a Princess, two Zodiacs, and obviously a monk. We didn't have a Princess. We asked Ezra if we could take Isis with us. He was fine with that, and made it very clear that he would do anything Blue requested. Isis is deeply in love with Ezra. She began to act strange. And by the time we made it to our destination, Isis began to speak. Her voice..." Yakusoku tried to think. "It wasn't her's... It was deeper and her eyes were glowing yellow. Blue moved to help Isis, but She began to laugh before she started saying something. She pointed to Blue, and... It all happened... There were towering fish... and I fainted after I saw them kill Blue... I woke up and Lamia was there somehow, and Flame managed to survive. Isis was fine too. But she was drenched in blood. She has no memory of that event. But I know that she's lying." Yakusoku sighed. "Then Ezra got there somehow too. And Lamia blamed it all on him. Although, she knew she was lying to herself."

"Oh..." Ryuu didn't seem to be as affected as Hanasaku. His birthparents died and so did his adoptive mother. Nothing really saddened him. "Still, that doesn't prove anything really." He stated the truth.

Hanasaku slowly nodded. "Yeah... It's not like Isis can summon animals..."

Yakusoku grimaced. "I knew I couldn't get anything better than this from you two." She got up. "Whatever." She tried to to regain the sullen voice she usually used, but her attempt didn't work. "Could you two... Do me a favor?" Yakusoku whispered. "Please, just avoid contact with Isis. She doesn't seem stable anymore. She's become a hazard... I...I don't want her to hurt anyone else."

Hanasaku couldn't take the look on that girl's face. She was traumatized. Hanasaku vowed that she would take those words to heart. Ryuu might not have believed her, but something told Hanasaku that she was right.

Hanasaku swore the entire way to the Aman's Inn. She couldn't believe Marin. Marin was still a know-it-all. And she had only become one after what the dominnion had done to her.

While Hanasaki muttered that profanity to herself, she noticed a small figure. In front of that inn was the girl Hana. Hanasaki could see her mouth moving as if she were talking. Hanasaki crept closer to the orange-haired Zodiac.

"I guess I only have these stars to talk to me, huh." Hana voice was shaky. She put two of her fingers on her temple. She was probably talking to the stars. Hanasaki thought that was the strangest thing about Zodiacs. But Hana had shown her love for the stars since her early childhood. "What's so special about her? Why won't you guys tell me yet?" Hana waited for a response. "What? I don't want them to tell me... They tell me the same things... You guys get it. You've taught me."

Hanasaki suddenly knew what Hana was talking about. "Hey, Hana! Its pretty late. Why are you still up?" Hanasaki exclaimed. Hana froze.

"Oh, Hanasaki... Hanasaku's in her room if you want to speak to her. I'm pretty sure Ryuu's up there too." Hana replied with an irrelevant statement.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You think I'm falling for that? I can tell if there's something wrong with you, Hana. And the fact that I haven't seen you in person for four years, doesn't change that." Hanasaki sat down next to her. "Tell me what's up."

Hana gazed at the stars for a minute or two before she spoke. "Hanasaki... What was she like?" Hana asked.

Hanasaki saw it coming, but she couldn't hold in her shock. "What? You want to know about your mother?" Hana nodded. "She was... Just like you in a way... She was strong, and held onto her beliefs. At times that could become cumbersome, but everyone loved her."

Hana muttered something. "Didn't she believe that everything in this world was controlled by her?"

"Uh, yeah." Hanasaki let out a laugh. "She was so powerful, she could take down the leader of the Imperial Army if she wanted to. And that woman controls most of the world."

"Thanks Hanasaki..." Hana didn't seem like she wanted to continue. She stood up and moved toward the door to the inn. She opened it to see her teacher with Ryota. Ryota seemed to be happily holding a batch of bread.

"Hana, look! I made it!" He shouted. Hana stared at her teacher.

"You two were related. I should have seen through that. That would have explained Ryota's questions..." Hana stopped and glared at the ground. "When do you plan to leave us?" Hana asked her teacher sharply.

Haruka smiled. "I need to teach you something, Hana." Haruka stepped outside. Ryota was still staring at his bread. "Your mother... How do you feel about her?"

Hana's eyes suddenly widened. "Why do you keep on asking me this?!" Her voice came out in a scream. "Stop talking about her!"

"Didn't you ask Hanasaki about her a few seconds ago?"

Hana stepped back. "She doesn't make sense! She's not something I need to to think of!" Hana whimpered. Hanasaki turned away from the event.

Hana went to move away from everyone, but Ryota grabbed her arm. Hana was surprised to see that he actually dropped his bread to grab her hand. "Hana, what do you dislike about her?"

Hana eventually stopped struggling. She seemed to be thinking. "She... She was so strong, but when I needed her... She... She just... Died." Hana whispered with a lone tear streaming down her face. Ryota made eye contact with her and let her hand go. "Why couldn't she stay for me?" Hana sobbed. Hanasaki stared at Hana.

"Hana... I thought I told you that she'd always be there for you." Hanasaki added with an annoyed expression.

Haruka nodded. "You remember those bursts of power that you would get, Hana?" Haruka poked the center of Hana's chest. "That's her. Her love for you is so strong that she can deny death and help you unseal your powers."

Hana blinked. "But... I... I don't see her." Hana wiped away some of her tears.

Ryota spoke next. "Hana, even if you can't see her, she'll always be in your heart." he put his hands on his chest. "That's how I know my father's still with me."

Hana seemed to be dumbstruck for a minute or two. "Oh..." She turned red. "I'm sorry then... I better go." Hana ran off into the inn.

Hanasaki grinned. "Sorry, Haruka. She's a weird one..."

Haruka nodded. "It's fine. That's the only likable thing about her really."

"Yeah..." Ryota sighed.

That Hana part was the hardest thing for me to write. You see Hana's only really the main character because she's the hardest one to write in. She's not relatable. In this chapter, I tried really hard to make her a tiny bit more relatable. I hoped you liked it. And I know it's short. Thank goodness.

Next Time: Guess who decided to write in the Ayutthaya sea quest!? I got good plans going on! Asuka admits to Dove that she worked in the guard corps once before, there's a time skip, and Mei Ling gets a "puppy"! All of this bs happens next time in Chapter 19: Knights in Shiny Armor!

"Ezra, you are aware that you cannot depend on Hanasaku or Isis? They are both corrupted, and will meet their ends before the final battle between 'them'."

"I understand, Hanami. Instead I'll leave it to the chosen ones."