Hello readers! I'm sorry for not posting anything for a long time! Been busy with work and been traveling for the chinese new year! So here's the chapter! I realised that I have not given Luna any writing space, so this chapter is mostly about her. Also, no one seems to know much about Persona, so in this chapter you'll find out about him! :) Enjoy!

Chapter 27

"Firenze's prince helping vigilante Shadowfox?"

"Various parts of kingdom seeing an increase in numbers of murder"

"Speculations of war between Kingdom of Firenze and Nula"

"Massacre of Southern Village in Firenze. 100 dead and many injured"

"Is our royal family doing anything to stop these thugs?"

"Where is the great Shadowfox? Has the great assassin abandoned us?"

"Rumors of Shadowfox being great mastermind behind these attacks"

These were merely the tip of the iceberg in terms of news being reported after the incident which Mikan was involved in. The people of Firenze were starting to get unnerved as turmoil started to spread like wildfire around them. They were helpless and were looking for someone to take the blame for all that has happened. Seeing that this was one of those times where they could count on Shadowfox, they waited patiently, hoping that the great vigilante would come to their rescue. It has been a week since Shadowfox saved that household from being killed, but since then, there had been no sign of the assassin. Many were starting to believe the rumors that Shadowfox had abandoned them and with this thought, the kingdom of Firenze was slowly falling into chaos.

The crimson eyed prince stared out the window of his room, looking into the horizon trying to find comfort, but all he saw, was smoke rising.

"Another village burnt down?" Ruka stroked his pet rabbit and asked.

"The usual." Natsume curtly replied.

Ever since that day, the number of killings, robbery and rape increased almost three times its usual numbers. To appease the people, Natsume has been placed in charge of the troops that were sent out to protect the people. On good days, the men would catch the bunch that were causing trouble and these people would get interrogated. Sometimes they were interrogated so brutally, out of desperation for the next movement given by the mastermind that they died. On bad days, he would be left with cryptic messages, warning him to stay out of the chaos if he wanted his kingdom to be kept intact. On the very worst days, he would be informed that either Luna or Mikan was suffering in one way or another from their pregnancy. However, everyone knew what the kingdom had come to, it had entered a dark period and in a sense, they stood firm for they knew that their prince was in as much a difficult position as they were.

Hotaru was hovering over Natsume's desk inspecting the cryptic messages that were obtained. She first studied the type of ink that was used, then the handwriting, the parchment used and finally sat down to decipher the messages.

"Any luck?" Ruka again broke the silence and spoke to the ice queen.

"If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here trying to decipher these ridiculous messages from that idiot." She shot back in irritation.

All that was heard after this was the ticking of the table clock. The trio understood that they were running out of time and that they had three more days before Luna and Mikan were due. Due to Mikan's intuition alice, she could feel that something major was about to happen. Shiki had been training her to expand her alice capabilities, despite protest, while Misaki-sensei had been researching on more herbs that would make Mikan's delivery less painful. The wound that Mikan had sustained in the last week was healing slowly and though it posed no threat, it was painful for her to move around, especially when her waist had expanded about three times its usual size. As reported by their respective doctors, both Luna and Mikan were carrying a healthy baby and they had finally reached their ninth month. Also, Mikan was told specially to minimize movement as her body was relatively weaker than Luna's.

The ice queen gave a large sigh, "It's written by him all right, the handwriting is consistent. As grotesque as it may sound, the ink used in each note is written in a different animal's blood. The first was mice, then rat, cat, dog and finally horse. Not just any normal animal, but exquisite breeds that are found only in the forest of your kingdom. There's your first clue."

"So he's trying to tell us that he's planning something big, with the use of the animal's blood." Ruka clarified.

"Bingo. I don't suppose you have any tigers or lions in the kingdom do you Natsume?" The question broke Natsume's trance.

"No… but we do have mountain cats. They're the largest animal I've known to exist in our kingdom."

"Great, then we can try to catch that bastard Kuonji where these mountain cats live. You see, the chaos isn't dying down, and I'm sure this nut of a guy wants to end things with a bang, so he'll kill one of those creatures."

"The thing is this, how are you so sure that Kuonji's the one personally going down and getting his hands dirty with these animals?"

"You ask trivial questions."

"You skip too many steps, as usual." Natsume retorted.

"Ruka, explain to him while I try finding other clues." Hotaru turned her back and focused all her attention of the parchments again.

Looking to Ruka for further explanation, Natsume crossed the room and sat on the sofa.

"Well, I've been receiving reports from the animals that there is a man who would enter the forest and kill these animals. What more, this man would enter a day before the notes are received, plus the scent from the man has been consistent. You get the connection?"

"And why haven't you told me this?"

"It could have been any man going into the forest to do such a sadistic thing that's why. So I waited till there was enough of a correlation before telling Hotaru."

With her head still bent down, Hotaru butt in to defend Ruka, "Don't blame him. I told him not to tell you till we had further evidence. Keep your cool and save it for the fight with Kuonji later."

Natsume sighed and drank the tea that was sitting on the coffee table, "So right now, we know that Kuonji is after Mikan so that he can remove the nullification stone in his body and he got Luna into this mess because she's in the same boat as him."

"Right… but that's not important right now, we need to find out how he's going to get Mikan to oblige and when he's going to attack." Hotaru replied him.

The clock started to chime, indicating that it was eight at night and that it was time for him to spend time with Luna.

"It's time, whatever it is, be careful. She knows that you're on to Kuonji through Persona who has been seen leaving the palace at various times. The barrier placed around her was of no use because we didn't think Persona would leave his mistress' side." Hotaru calmly said while getting up from her seat to sit next to Ruka.

Natsume leaned on the side of the door and thought of his next move, right now he felt trapped. He could not help Mikan much nor did he know what Kuonji was planning. "The guards will keep Mikan safe and I've instructed spies to follow Persona. That's all we can do right now."

"Mikan's safety is of utmost importance and you know that despite all you have done, it isn't going to keep her safe forever."Ruka looked at his worried friend.

"I know, but at least, she will be safe until she delivers the baby. Till then, we have to plan our next move." With that, Natsume turned the door knob and exited his room. Closing the heavy oak door behind him, he leaned against the door and looked up at the ceiling. Not wanting to lose himself in his thoughts, he gave a sigh and made his way to Luna's room on the ground floor.

The sharp knock on the door made Luna turn around from her dressing table. Eyeing her servant, the maid quickly left her mistress' side and attended to the person at the door.

"Milady, it's his highness, would you want me to tell him to wait in the living room?" The maid asked nervously. Luna merely nodded as she tried to finish up her hairdo. As soon as she placed the finishing touches, she slowly got up and was careful not to bump her tummy against the table. Luna walked over to the window over-looking the rose gardens and was about to close them when Persona stepped out of the shadows.

"What is it?" Luna asked.

"He's here isn't he?" Persona coldly asked. Despite having spent 17 years together, Luna could not read Persona's real mood. His porcelain white mask reflected light from the moon and hid his eyes.

Staring hard into his eyes, Luna gave up trying to decipher what he was feeling, "Yes he is. It's my turn to spend some time with him."

"You know he's on to you and Kuonji-sama."

"I do, and so?"

"So, Kuonji-sama wants you to control him."

"And after that?"

"Make him kill himself."

Luna looked at Persona in the eyes, hoping that she would see him smile and say that it was all a joke, but she knew that was far from reality. The Persona she knew was cold and detached even though she had brought him up.

One day while walking in the Kingdom of Nula, seventeen year old Luna chanced upon a small boy of eight who was huddling in the corner of the street, begging for money. People would spit on him and curse at him for he was known throughout Nula as the boy who killed his parents. Unknown to them, Persona could not control his alice and as it was activated when he was eight, the outburst of power killed his parents. Not only that, he released so much power, that his Mark of Death alice consumed his own flesh and his skin started to rot.

Luna stood in front of him and stretched out her hand out of pity for the boy. Everyone who saw this muttered that Luna was a fool. Even though Luna was known throughout the kingdom of Nula to be the friend and protector of the princess, none of them dared to tell the strawberry coloured hair girl that what she was planning to do, would ultimately kill her. The motion of an outstretched hand was foreign to the boy for all he knew was hostility and cruelty, no one wanted to come close to him. He too stretched out his hand, eager to take the welcoming hand of someone who was not afraid of him. But before he could do so, the imperial trumpets sounded and as he covered his ears and eyes due to the loud sound, Luna quickly fled.

From a hidden corner, she saw the parade of guards walking down towards where the young boy was sitting. The prince engaged to her beloved Yuka from one of the kingdoms was taking a tour of the town and the very sight of him disgusted her.

"So this is the man who is going to take away my Yuka…"

Thinking that he was one of those snobbish, arrogant and stupid princes, she expected him to scream at the sight of the disfigured boy, but to her astonishment, he squatted in front of the boy and smiled. Dismissing the unnecessary guards, the prince was left with a mere handful. Moving from her position, she hid behind another wall which was closer to the duo to get a good look of what the prince was doing. Again she was shocked as the prince held out his hand to the boy.

"Here take my hand." The prince said.

The young boy stretched out his hand, almost about to touch the prince's fingers when a villager screamed, "NO DON'T TOUCH HIM! Your highnesses hand will rot like the flesh on this boy."

Everyone turned around to see the screaming woman and everyone who heard her statement nodded in agreements. The guards who were near the prince pulled him back up to his feet and stood in between him and the young boy.

"Don't be silly, he's just a young boy." The prince tried to pacify his guards.

"I'm sorry your highness, but the ruling family of Nula would be upset if their groom were to be infected with any kind of disease." The guy sternly said while staring disgustedly at the rotting boy.

The prince merely pouted and walked away with his guards.

"Ha, he is a stupid prince. How different can he be?"

Luna caught how crestfallen the boy looked and decided to tail the prince. She noted that he was walking quickly towards a jewelry shop.

"Buying something for Yuka I guess…"

Walking into the same shop, she decided to see what kind of jewelry this man could be buying for her beloved best friend. Luna could openly do so for the prince has not seen her yet despite staying in the palace for a few days.

"Do you sell any controlling devices my good sir?" The prince asked cheerfully.

"What do you need it for your highness? We are not permitted to sell such devices to anyone."

"But you know that I am not just anyone. I need it for someone."

The man eyed the prince suspiciously.

"My good man, I'm not buying it for my new bride if that's what you're thinking. I've heard of her powers and I respect her as much as she does for me," the elderly man let out a sigh, "I need it for a boy."

This again caused the man to gasp in shock, "ILLIGETIMATE SON?"

The prince could not contain his amusement any longer and burst out laughing. Despite the look of horror the man was giving the prince, he continued laughing. "No no, it's for the boy on the street, the one who has rotting flesh. It seems that he is unable to control his alice."

Recovering from his shocked state, the man answered, "Ah… that boy. Well, there have been a few people like you, asking for alice controls but each of them came back saying that the device broke. That boy's alice is too strong for any that I have on sale."

"But you are the only man that sells these devices am I right?"

"Yes."

"Can you do alternations to a device?"

"Of course." The man looked quizzically at the prince.

Clapping his hands in glee, he grasped the elderly man's hands in his own, "Let me choose from the devices then! Do you have rings?"

The old man reached under the counter and brought out many rings for the prince to choose from. After a long while, the prince finally chose a simple silver ring from the number on display. "I'll be purchasing this."

"You have a good eye for materials my lord. This ring is made from the finest silver in the land and will not tarnish. But my lord, didn't I tell you that the ring would be destroyed once give to the boy?"

"Oh yes yes I almost forgot, here attach this stone to it."

"What stone?"

"Give me a moment."

In an instant, a white glow envelope the prince and in his hands appeared a smooth white stone in his palm.

"He just produced an alice stone!"

"My… your highness is talented. I believe that is an alice stone? Never in my 60 years of living would I have the opportunity to see someone produce one up close. I've heard only the most powerful are able to do so."

"Well, I must be pretty powerful then." The prince joked.

One of the guards entered the shop and the tinkling of the shop bell was heard. "Your highness, we've secured the boy, he's outside the shop."

"Haven't I told you not to use such terms…" the young prince sighed, "very well, give me a moment." Turning back to the jeweler, he instructed, "I will be back in 2 hours time. Do set the stone onto the ring and place it in nice box. It's a present for that boy. I presume 50 gold coins would be enough for your services?" The prince placed a bag of coins on the counter.

"Oh yes yes it is, in fact it's too much. I only charge 20 coins for the setting of the stone and the ring itself is another 20 coins."

"Keep the rest for yourself then. I'll be off." The prince waved as he exited the shop.

"God bless you your highness, you are really too kind."

After attending to the princes, the jeweler happily kept the coin pouch safe and attended to Luna but she turned down his goods and continued following the prince.

"Ah there you are, here, let's go for lunch, you're hungry aren't you?" The prince asked the young boy. The boy nodded shyly as people around them were staring in shock. "Don't worry about them, we'll have some fun but first let's get you cleaned up. Here, take my hand."

The boy nervously stretched out his hand, afraid that he would rot away the hand of this kind savior, but to his surprise, he could touch the man's hand.

"How are you able to do this?" The boy looked up at him and asked.

"Well I'll tell you a secret, I have a special alice."

"What kind of alice?"

"The alice of nullification."

"Who are you?" The boy looked up to this kind man who would risk his reputation and his health to just reach out to him.

"I thought I was well-known in this kingdom… perhaps not…" The prince mumbled to himself. Clearing his throat he bent down to meet the boy's eyes, "I'm a friend and my name is Yukihira Izumi, Yuki for short."

The boy's mouth was agape and could not believe that the prince that he has heard about along the street was here beside him, holding his hand.

"I'm… I'm… Rei Serio."

"Hello Rei, I can call you that right?" Yukihira smiled.

The boy nodded and held on tightly to the hand of the man who was the first to show him kindness.

However all that changed. The boy received the ring and after wearing it, the rotting subsided and he looked like a normal boy. Yukihira got married to Yuka and Yuka was expecting Mikan, but all this happiness was not to laugh. Luna met Kuonji and he used her feelings of animosity towards Yukihira to get rid of him. Luna turned the young boy against his savior by telling him lies like how Yukihira could not meet up with him anymore because he was too disgusted with the boy. Within a short time, the poisoning of his mind was successful and Reo took on the name Persona and did Luna's bidding. It was then that he turned his own tamed alice against the man who trained him to control his alice. Persona killed Yukihira with his own hands, 4 months before Mikan was due. (A/N: Refer to chapter 20 on the backstory of Luna.)

After a long silence of reminiscing, Luna spoke, "You know that I can't use my alice at this point in time. It will tire me out and cause a defect on the baby."

"Do you think our master cares about all that? The baby is not even real, who cares if it's deformed."

This caused something within Luna to snap and her maternal instincts took over. "He knows that I would do anything for him. Just tell him this, this baby is mine and how I want it to look is my decision. I will have Natsume under my alice after I've delivered his baby. Until then, I will not be entertaining any request to use my alice. Do you understand me, Rei?"

For once, Persona took a step back in shock. It had been a long time since someone called him by his real name. All these years, he had grown up to be a fine man and to love this woman who he looks to as a mother and a sister. Sometimes there were feelings within him that he did not understand, but that did not deter him from keeping Luna safe.

"I understand. Do take care, I'll be around… if you need me." Bowing low, Persona walked into the shadows and disappeared.

Luna finally closed her window and walked slowly out into the living room. The first thing she saw was how bored Natsume looked at he stared into the flames at the fire place. Straightening her back, she walked towards him, ensuring that he could well hear her heels clicking against the marble floor.

Natsume's head whipped round towards the sound and he stood up, "Good evening Koizumi-hime."

"Good evening Hyuuga-sama." Luna curtsied. "Please call me Luna, aren't we on first-name basis now?"

"Ah… all right. Do have a seat Luna. I've instructed your maid to go bring up some light tea and a few biscuits. How are you feeling?"

"I've been feeling… bloated and heavy. Trips to the loo have been frequent as well and it seems like this baby of ours loves moving around." Luna placed her hand lightly upon her swelling belly. In a motherly way, she rubbed her tummy. She giggled to herself and exclaimed, "Look, the baby's moving."

Natsume stared at the seventeen year old girl, or supposed seventeen year old, and this was a side that he has not seen before. He knew Luna to be a malicious killer, not a loving mother. As shock as he was, he was concerned about her health as well. "Can… can I feel the baby?" Natsume asked nervously.

"Of course, silly me for not offering. Here," Luna took his hand and placed it on the spot where he could feel the baby kicking. "Can you feel the baby moving?"

Joy swelled up in Natsume's chest as he felt the baby give two strong kicks. "What are you planning to name him, or her?"

"Kumiko for a girl, cause it stands for beautiful child and Tetsuya for a boy, it meaning wise."

"They are good names…"

Luna let out a sigh and decided to come frank with Natsume. "All right, enough with the pretenses, I know you don't like me, nor do you want me to win this bridal selection."

"It's true, I don't really like you, not do I want you to win. But tonight, I've seen a side to you that I have not seen before. Throughout my entire life, I've believed that evil is in a person since they are born, but the way I see you love this child, even if it's not real, I can see that evil is cultivated."

"Is that all you want to say?"

"No. I know that you are not evil Luna, you're just acting on feelings of jealousy. Just like how you were jealous that Yuka-san was getting married and you were going to be alone. Now that she's dead, you're just passing this feeling of jealousy on to Mikan."

"Don't say things you don't know boy. I may be older than you by more than a decade, but you have no right to pass such accusations."

"Am I wrong then? If I'm wrong, why don't you correct me?"

Luna remained silent.

"I see…"

"How do you know all these?"

"Mikan has been telling me about her past, and yours."

"Why do you care so much then? Just expose me, won't that make your troubles all better?"

"No, because by exposing you, I'm harming Mikan. I know you're not evil, and Mikan too can sense some good within you. Why don't you change for the better?"

"I can't, I've tainted my hands by killing Yuka, I owe Kuonji a lot more than you nor Mikan can comprehend."

"It's not too late. You still can turn back, turn back to being good."

"I cannot! Stop twisting my mind with these words." Luna was breathing very heavily and she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her stomach. She immediately bent down and clenched it.

"Are you all right?" Natsume asked concernly.

"I'm tired. This happens when I stress my body too much. Why do you even care if you know I'm a fake?"

"Because I believe you can be good, because Mikan and I want to be your friend rather than your enemy."

"Sweet words cannot tempt me boy. Now get out of here before I use my alice on you. I will deliver this child and win this competition, whether you like it or not. All I need is for that girl to take out that dreaded stone within me and I can be happy."

"Happy? With what? Bloodshed and war between both Nula and Firenze?"

"I was never a compassionate person to begin with. But since I am the ruling princess of Nula, I will perform my duties well. At least till I'm bound to you in matrimony." Luna smirked.

"You can't. You never will." Natsume let out a resigned sigh, "Get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night." Natsume got up from his seat and opened the door only to see the maid returning with the tray of tea and biscuits.

"Going so soon Hyuuga-sama?" The maid asked.

"Luna-sama is tired. She's having some sort of pain and asked me to leave. Do take care of her." And Natsume walked out of the door, making his way back to his own room.

Upon reaching his room, Natsume saw two notes on his desk.

Natsume

Ruka and I left first to attend to some…final details. Kuonji has been repeatedly mentioned something about a child, quoting from various storybooks and fables. I'm not sure what it means, whether he will use a child or kill one.

Whatever it is, don't mention these notes to Mikan. I have a feeling she'll go all berserk on us if you tell her.

PS: You might have to leave the palace and accompany the next group of guards to the dwellings of a mountain cat, most likely tomorrow or the day after. Orders from your mother. Be prepared.

Hotaru

Putting Hotaru's note into the box where he kept all of Kuonji's little notes to him, he picked up the second piece of paper.

Natsume

I know that tonight is Luna's turn to spend some time in your company, but I was hoping that by the time you saw this note, it would be around ten at night. Do meet me by the fountain in the gardens at 10.15. I've got a surprise for you.

PS: It's to cheer you up since you've been looking so gloomy in the palace and an apology gift.

Forever yours

Mikan

Folding the paper and putting it into another box where he kept all the little notes Mikan had given him, Natsume looked at the clock and realized it was only 8.45 at night.

"Great I still have some time. I can go make her a strawberry pudding."

Looking at the recipe one last time, he went through the ingredients and procedures in his head before whipping and mixing. Within an hour, he was done with the pudding and decided to put it in a little box with two teaspoons. Glancing at the clock, he noted that he had 15 minutes to take a quick shower and meet Mikan at the fountain.

In the past week, Natsume had not seen much of Mikan due to her recovery and the mess that Kuonji was giving him. He missed her a lot and felt guilty that he could not spend more time with her, other than the allotted time every other night. Running to the fountain, with the box of pudding inside, Natsume saw Mikan in her pink satin night robe.

"And who might you be, oh beautiful one?" Natsume teased and this gave Mikan a shock.

Mikan lunged into Natsume and gave him a long and tight hug.

"I've missed you," She whispered.

"As have I." Placing his chin on top of her head, he breathed in the subtle strawberry smell. The scent alone was enough to calm him down. "So… what's the surprise?"

Natsume led her to the fountain and placed the box behind him, surprised that Mikan has not asked him about it. After taking her seat, Mikan pulled out a small box from her night robe's pocket.

"Here, open it." Mikan gave the box to him.

Opening it, Natsume saw an earing inside the box, and set within the earing was a pearl sized orange stone.

"I heard from Tsubasa that you mentioned needing a stronger alice controlling device, so I got one made specially for you. You mother has also mentioned how you've been over using your alice, so I got the jeweler to set in my alice stone."

"Hey polka, your stone is a little tiny."

Mikan punched Natsume in the arm. "Don't mock it. Shiki-san has said that my alice has grown stronger. This small stone is equivalent to someone's large one."

"All right all right… not need to get all physical with me." Natsume grinned.

"NAT-SU-ME!"

"Shush, you want to wake up the whole palace?" Steam was literally coming out of Mikan's head. "Thank you by the way."

Natsume removed the crimson earing that he had in his current earhole and wore the one Mikan gave him. Instantly, he could feel her alice flowing through him but unlike the control deivces he has worn before, this control device gave off a warm feeling rather than a menacing stifling feeling.

"Here," Natsume took Mikan's hand and got down on one leg. In his hand, he held a ring with a crimson stone. Before running out of his room, he remembered the ring he had asked Ruka to help him make when he found out that Mikan wasa live. It was supposed to be the wedding ring he gave to his new bride, but deep down inside, he knew that it was going to be Mikan.

Natsume stared deep into the brown orbs of Mikan's eyes and took a deep breathe. Within his hands, he could feel that Mikan was as nervous as he was.

"Will you, Mikan Sakura, marry me?"

"I thought that was meant for the person who wins this last test?"

"It is, but I want it to be you and I know it will be you."

"How about this, I keep this ring warm for you, until it is confirmed that I will marry you. I don't want to raise your hopes then get it all down again."

"Sheesh polka, you talk too much and just ruined a romantic moment."

"Sorry for not being romantic enough for you then. Besides, this test is really unexpected, who knows what the test, your mother was talking about before she made us drink the vial of potion, is."

"Aish," Natsume got up from his pose and handed her the box with the pudding inside, "I've made your favourite. Strawberry pudding. You're craving for it right?"

"You know me best!" Mikan happily opened the box and started gorging herself with huge heaps of pudding.

As a promise to Hotaru, Natsume did not mention anything about Kuonji or that he had to leave the palace soon.

YAY! It's done. So the next chapter will be time for Luna and Mikan to conceive! I betcha that's what you've all been waiting for. Keep reading! and do review! :D

Now for the replies:

Enigmasonatarocks568: I'm trying really hard with the NXM moments, so I really hope this one's ok as well. Have never written anything mushy, so this is a first! :) Thanks for the compliments once again!

Meryq: Hey! Yeah haven't seen your review in quite sometime. Glad you've liked the progress of the story so far. Your feedback on the names really solved my predicament cause I wanted to be truthful to the Japanese culture and wanted only one name, but i was so torn between the names and thought "heck why not, it's a fanfic i'm writting." Thanks!

RandomDalmatian326: Hopefully this chapter has less grammatical and spelling mistakes. Just curious, do you want a permyXkoko moment as well as more RXM moments?

Saikono-san: The next chappy is the giving birth chappy! Can't wait to write it. Yeah I was thinking along the lines of your review for the child... we'll see in the next chapter!

Little Strawberry RiRin Chan: oooh... I like where you're thinking. haha. thanks! Your review will definitely be part of the story.

Sweetest Revenge: I couldn't find a way to squeeze in all the characters from GA so yeah, I thought Yuka would have inserted an amplification alice stone into Shiki. :)