And we're onto Act II! The good news is that I'm almost done writing said Act. The bad news is that I was hoping to have the entire story done by the time I went back to school. I go back on the twenty-seventh, a week from Monday. I'll continue to post every Monday and try to write in my free time, but apologize in advance if I run out of chapters. My own fault. Actually, I blame the jerk who gave me writer's block for two or three weeks. –cough– Jack –cough–

Ahem. Moving on…

My thanks to AnimeKiwi369, Mixer18, Rapis-Razuri, Seeker Heart, FiringShootingStar, ProChampionDuelistA. K. A. Pyro, RobotFish, theforgottenpeople96, RunoandAkizafan, and TFRiD Queen!

And anons are LDC, Mariah, Pepsi Chick 6, ChibiX, name, PDS, Seeker Heart, Me, and one guest! LDC: Thanks! Yeah, Yusei and Akiza will be together for… probably just about the rest of the fic now :) Mariah: I'll do my best! Thanks for the support! Pepsi Chick 6: I wish I could, too, but time just isn't my friend right now. Thanks for reading! ChibiX: I don't think the storm will be that bad… just yet, anyway. name: Haha, there'll be another filler between Act II and III, so hang tight! PDS: I'll do my best! Seeker Heart: Yeah… Yusei took care of him and did a good job of it :) Me: FLUFFY IS MY SPECIALTY. On the plus side, it's a good way to die :P

As always, my thanks go out to RobotFish for his awesome beta work!

Sunset Horizon
Chapter 18 – Ominous Appearance

Act II

He stood in the middle of the night, looking up at the building before him while strong winds whipped past. This would be his home from this day forward. He certainly could have done a lot worse, but with a lot of luck, things would turn out well. He had hope that they would. That was the whole reason he had gone to that town, anyway.

…

Yusei jerked awake, groaning as his pleasant sleep drifted away into something uncomfortable and heavy. His eyes opened to the sight of Akiza lying beside him, still sleeping away with a slight snore. A half a year ago, he never would've imagined she would be the type to snore. Now, five months after their first official night together, he found he'd grown fond of it and actually thought it was cute.

Of course, she would scoff and say he was making it up, that she didn't snore and he was just trying to rile her up. He always laughed a short response, then kissed her forehead and agreed with her because it was pointless to argue. He had learned to just let her be right on certain things.

He couldn't help but smile at the sight of her, lashes feathered in the morning sun and red hair spilling across the pillowtop. He loved her. He loved waking beside her, kissing her each morning, and then going to sleep next to her every night. He wasn't a religious man, but he found himself randomly thanking the Crimson Dragon for the way things turned out.

He frowned, just realizing that something was weighing down on him, and turned to look down the bed. Curled beside his leg was Annie, her head resting on his side as she snuggled against him. To his right, Max lay sprawled out on the bed, his legs crossing over Akiza's and his head lying back on Yusei's chest.

Chuckling, he laid back as he remembered the heavy storm that passed through the night. It must have scared the kids and made them run to them for comfort. It was a good thing he and Akiza had gone to bed clothed last night. The kids started to wake as he laughed quietly, his chest rumbling and stirring them out of their slumber.

Max peeked one eye open, groaned heavily, and rolled to lie on his stomach. Annie sat up, wiping her eyes free of sleep and frowned at her brother. "He's so lazy sometimes," she muttered, addressing Yusei while directing her statement towards Max.

He shifted to move one hand behind his head, using the other to touch a finger to his lips in a 'shh' way. Quietly, he whispered, "It's okay. Akiza's not even up yet."

She just shrugged slightly and stretched her arms out, rolling to get off the bed before reaching over and flicking Max on the forehead. He shifted to get up, grunting as he sat up. "I don't want to..."

Yusei grinned. They were definitely siblings. He'd lost count of the number of times he woke his brothers like that. He was enjoying spending time with the kids, now almost completely free of the terrors of their youth. Annie had since turned ten, while Max was still seven. He motioned for the boy to sit up and followed suit, whispering, "Want to watch me wake Akiza?"

Max shrugged like he wasn't sure what that meant while Annie climbed on the bed to sit next to him, nodding with a knowing smile. She was learning. Yusei flashed a grin towards them before he leaned over the woman he loved, waiting. There it was. The light snore started up again, giving him his signal as he braced his hand on her opposite side and kissed her.

She jumped awake with a snort, caught between the kiss and her snore. Shifting to sit, she shoved Yusei back as she shook herself awake and glared at him. "Synsuka! What the he-"

Yusei decided it was too early for an argument and leaned closer, shutting her up with a second kiss. This time, one of his hands moved to settle on the back of her head and held her close while the other found her hand and held it. Somewhere to his left, he head Max start sputtering and making gagging sounds as he jumped off the bed.

He pulled back with a laugh, unable to keep a straight face as he touched her cheek gently. "It's good to see you're putting those Sephylon lessons I gave you to good use."

She rolled her eyes and withdrew from his touch, muttering, "You've only taught me how to say 'I love you' and curses."

He grinned as he shifted to climb out of bed, patting Annie on the head supportively before replying, "That's all you really need to know."

She rolled her eyes, turning back to the bed to make it before muttering, "You're such a pain."

His smile widened. "Ya tebya lyublyu, slishkom."

She sighed heavily and pulled the blanket to whip him with it before turning to Annie and Max. "Why don't you two go get dressed and see if Leo needs any help?"

They nodded and walked out, one more sleepily than the other. Yusei watched them go, then moved around the bed to wrap his arms around Akiza's waist and kiss her neck. "So…"

She shook her head good-naturedly at his approach before shrugging out of his hold. "Get dressed. After breakfast, there's something I want to show you. It could take a couple hours, so I asked Bruno to handle the bar this morning."

His eyebrows went up as leaned back to get a better look at her, but didn't let go. "The last time you wanted to show me something, it took more than a few hours," he murmured, smirking over her shoulder.

She rolled her eyes and shot him a stern look. "I'm not talking about sex. There actually is something I want to show you."

He frowned and pulled back, peering at her curiously. "What do you mean?"

She turned away slightly before muttering, "I… I'm sorry. I couldn't tell you all of my secrets right away."

He reached out to cup her chin and offered a smile. "That's okay. I understand, Akiza. I haven't told you all of mine, either, but I promise I will soon enough."

Nodding, she met his gaze and smiled back. "Okay. This… is probably one of my most well-guarded secrets. I know you won't tell anyone, and I feel comfortable telling you now." A low chuckle escaped her lips as she added, "Also, they're not giving me much choice."

His eyebrows rose. "They?"

"Mm-hm," she hummed, reaching up to touch his cheek before pressing a quick kiss to his lips. "They want to meet you."

His brow furrowed, confusion flooding through his mind. What was she talking about? Who was she talking about? "Akiza…?"

She stepped out of his hold and over to her closet before pulling out a change of clothes. Glancing over her shoulder, she shot a playful wink his way before saying, "Get dressed and eat breakfast. We'll go after that."

…

Yusei followed Akiza through the lower level of the residential area of the Dragon's Claw. The place had become his home over the past few months, and he had gotten used to helping Akiza with a few things around the bar. He knew the layout well by now, often ending up helping Akiza carry liquors from the stock room to the front and was even learning a little about cooking from her and Leo. Though he openly admitted that he would much rather stand beside his kiln over a stove.

Now, he followed in curiosity as she led him to the back and towards the room she used for supplying liquor. It was either that room, or she was taking him out the back door. He knew it would be useless to ask her until she was ready to say anything, so he kept his mouth shut as he trailed after her.

As he half-expected, she stopped in front of the door to her storage room and paused for a moment before opening the door and leading him inside. He followed a few steps behind, wondering desperately what she was going to show him.

She inhaled deeply and walked inside, motioning for him to close the door. Once he did, she bent down to sit beside a lambskin carpet. "This is one of my most well-guarded secrets. I trust you, Yusei."

He stayed standing, but reached down to take her hand and squeeze it supportively. He elected to remain silent, offering a quick smile to ease her mind. She flashed a sly grin in response before gripping her fingers into the carpet and tugging. To his surprise, a panel of the floor came up with the rug, revealing a tunnel hidden in the floor.

He gaped in awe. In the time since he had arrived in town at the age of fourteen—seven years ago already—he had never known about any sort of passage like this. He looked up to her as she started to speak, saying, "This tunnel… It leads to an underground mineshaft beneath the town. Almost four hundred years ago, people came to this place because the ground was rich with gold. New Domino was built up around the mine, and the town was established."

He blinked in confusion. He had known about tunnels along the outskirts of town, but he didn't know how deep they ran or what they were for. His assumption had been a mine, but he never had any proof of the thought. "But there's no trace in the town's history of it being a mining town."

She nodded in understanding. "The mines were depleted within a century, and the town shifted to become a trading town. Being so close to the Graneli border, it was almost the perfect place for merchants to go to. They say that children would go down to the mines to play, and during a tragic accident that led to the death of them, the mines were sealed to prevent it from ever happening again. The entire existence of the passages was covered up, keeping curious children from ever wandering in again."

That explained why he'd never heard of it, but… "Then how do you know about this?"

A soft smile fell on her lips as she met his gaze. "My ancestor was the governor of this town at the time. He protected the secret and passed it down through the family lines. Obviously, we don't hold the same power in town today. You see, a good century ago, we assisted in the escape and emancipation of slaves. Using these tunnels, my twice-great grandmother helped slaves escape across the border. Granel didn't have any such slave laws, so they were able to live freely there."

He inhaled deeply, taking a guess at the next part of her story. "And Yliaster found out about this?"

She nodded. "Yeah. They never found these tunnels, but instead assumed it was the one in the governor's residence that she was using. Needless to say, she was put to death for her treason, and her children were punished to be low-class citizens. My father was that same low class until he built his bank. That's probably why Yliaster refused him a loan, but that isn't important right now."

"I see…" he mused. "It makes sense now. I still can't believe there's an expanse underground like this."

She moved to place herself over the opening and settled onto the ladder. "Come on down. There's more."

He watched her disappear down inside and shifted to follow, squinting to prepare his eyes for the darkness below. "Akiza," he called below him. "I can't see if you're still on the ladder. I don't want to climb on top of you."

Her jovial voice sounded from below, saying, "Why not? You do it all the time."

He couldn't help but chuckle, completely missing the innuendo in his statement until that moment as she continued, "I'm at the bottom. You're clear. But can you close the hatch behind you? I don't want anyone to stumble across it while we're down here."

He nodded in the darkness and reached up, grabbing the panel and pulling it down so it fell back into place. A fire lit below him, giving him enough light to see the ladder as he shifted to brace his feet on the outside edges of the rungs and slid down. When he reached the rough ground below, his eyebrows rose as he realized the fire wasn't a torch or lantern, but a standalone flame hovering over his lover's open palms. Though she had made a point of practicing with her powers, she still didn't use them often and he was usually taken by surprise when she did.

She smiled, keeping the fire in front of her as she walked over to pull a torch from the wall and lit it. "You know about my powers, Yusei. I don't hesitate to use them around people who know anymore."

He walked over to follow her as the seemingly magic flame dispersed from over her hand, leaving the torch as their only source of light. "This way," she said, nodding her head down the tunnels.

"Who's there?"

Yusei's hand automatically gripped Stardust, but Akiza's fingertips on his wrist stopped him from drawing. She took a few steps forward and held up her light so the new person could identify her. "Relax, Martha. It's just me."

He squinted past the fires to try to make out the guest's identity, spying a short woman with dark skin and a thick build. Her face showed signs of years she'd seen, and, he cursed himself for only noticing this now, her hands held a shotgun aimed at him. Akiza's fingers folded around his sleeve, tugging him a little closer to her to indicate he was welcome before saying, "This is Yusei. Yusei, this is Martha."

The woman, Martha, released a laugh as she lowered the gun and shifted to place it over her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Akiza."

"Don't be," she said, smiling. "It's good that you're on your guard."

Martha walked over towards Yusei and crossed her arms with a humored smile on her lips. "So, this is him, eh? You said he was good-looking, but you didn't do him justice!"

He stood still, completely clueless as to what was going on. Who was this woman? Why was she living beneath Akiza's bar? As if she read his mind—though he was fairly certain she couldn't just yet—Akiza glanced at him and said, "Martha is a good friend of mine. She was my nanny while I was growing up."

The thought gave him a little more comfort, knowing she wasn't just a crazy woman living in his lover's basement. His childhood manners kicked in and he gave a slight bow, saying, "A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Martha."

She gave another hearty laugh and spoke as if he weren't standing there, saying, "Akiza, I thought you said he was about as civil as a boar?"

Akiza shot him a confused look as she muttered, "That's usually the case. I've never seen him behave politely at all."

He was thankful for the dark at that moment since it hid the slight blush that dusted his cheeks. Crossing his arms, he turned slightly and muttered, "My mother raised me to respect my elders."

Martha's eyes narrowed at him as she muttered, "Are you calling me old, now?"

He stammered, mumbling, "Uh, no, Ma'am! I meant-"

She cut him off, saying, "You wouldn't be too far from the truth. I'm just messing with you, boy. Akiza said you were fun to tease. Now I see what she means."

A small sound of frustration rose in his throat as he fought to keep his opinions in check. He carried all of his mother's lessons closely and wouldn't disrespect his elders unless they gave him a reason, like Goodwin had. This woman was a good friend of Akiza's, and he didn't want to get on her bad side. He turned away slightly and asked, "Akiza, did you really say that about me?"

She turned to him with a bright smile, full of devious intent mixed with feigned innocence. "It may have come up during our conversations."

He frowned and turned away, deciding to change the subject. "So, what do you use this place for, anyway?"

Akiza giggled at his avoidance but graced him with an honest answer by saying, "Martha took in orphans in town up until ten years ago. I'm sure you know, but Yliaster has a half-assed law where children under the age of eighteen must be living in the care of a parent or legal guardian, or must be a registered member of an orphanage. Children who aren't are 'relocated' to an 'appropriate' orphanage. But, of course-"

He picked up on what she saying, having done the research before, and finished, "They take them to be sold as slaves instead."

"Exactly," she said. "When Yliaster caught up with Martha, my family invited her to live down here with the children so they could all be kept safe from the law."

His ears perked up at that. "Wait, there are children down in these caverns, too?"

"Mm," she hummed with a slight nod. "It was the only way to keep them safe from Yliaster."

He nodded slowly, taking her words seriously for a moment. Suddenly, he flashed a boyish grin and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her against him playfully. "You sly little minx! All this time, you've been judging me for fighting Yliaster when you've been doing it yourself!"

She shook her head, leaning away from him to move away without trying very hard. "I was protecting children. You were being an ass and hurting people, even killing now and then. There is a difference."

He shifted to wrap his arms around her waist from behind, still laughing as he hugged her close. "I know, I know. I was just saying, you really can't judge me," he muttered, shifting to press a kiss to her temple.

Martha laughed while still standing in front of them. "You two are cute."

Yusei froze, just remembering they weren't alone and slowly let Akiza go, shifting to stand next to her and settle his arm around her back to keep her near. She giggled melodically as she leaned up to press a kiss to his cheek before saying, "Thanks, Martha. I, personally, couldn't be happier."

She coughed a hearty laugh and muttered, "Just wait until your father sees this."

Her face paled and Yusei glanced down at her, just connecting the pieces. "Wait… Does that mean your father has been staying down here since I broke him out?"

Akiza pulled away from him and pointed a finger at him in triumph. "I knew you were behind that!"

He turned awkwardly and ran a hand through his hair. "I thought that was obvious by now."

"I still wanted to hear you admit to it." She shrugged and continued, "Yes, he's been staying down here, out of the eye of the governor since then."

"Huh," he mused in wonder. "I wondered where you magicked him away to. But I'm glad he's safe."

He leaned in to kiss her, but she reached up and set her forefinger on his lips to stop him from getting too close. "Let's see how much he likes you."

He paused. Wait, did she mean that she wanted him to get her father's approval? That much should have seemed obvious, but the thought had escaped him. He didn't know how to go about getting a father's approval!

She burst out laughing at the look on his face and reached out to take his hand before tugging him down towards the tunnel. "Relax, Yusei. He'll like the man you really are."

Martha sighed and crossed her arms, still wearing a humored smile. "Actually, Akiza, your father's asleep right now. He was up late helping me keep the children calm during the storm. He's not as used to taking care of kids as I am," she said, giving a little chuckle.

"Oh, that's too bad," she murmured, glancing back at Yusei with a pouty lip before saying, "I guess you're off the hook this time, Yusei."

He blinked and let her pull him down the tunnels, glancing back to try to take note of which paths they were taking. There were forks in the path every few feet, making Yusei wonder exactly how deep they went and how Akiza knew her way around. Martha walked next to Akiza, talking about something Yusei had tuned out a little while ago. He had too many questions, but he wasn't sure how to ask them. Instead, he decided he would just follow them and see what happened.

They came around a corner and Yusei paused at the faint sound of children laughing. A few more feet and they turned another corner, opening up a room carved out of the earthen tunnels with a fair amount of children inside. He did a quick headcount and found a rough total to be about fifteen kids. Akiza said her friend was taking care of orphans, but were all of these kids missing their parents? If so, how?

One of them looked up and spied the three of them standing in the doorway and shrieked, "Akiza's here!" before running over and throwing her small body against the woman's legs.

Akiza reached down and pat the girl on the head, saying, "Hey, Haruka. How've you guys been?"

She smiled up at her as a few more kids ran over and greeted her. "I've been good! Martha said so!"

"That's good. How about the rest of you?"

Yusei stood back and watched her interact with the children while wearing a smile. She would make a good mother someday. As quickly as the thought came, he suddenly choked on his own spit as he realized what had just passed through his mind. He sure as hell never wanted to see another man lay a finger on her, so if she was a mother, then that would mean…

He shook his head, snapping back to his senses as he pushed back unwanted thoughts. He wasn't opposed to the thought of someday having kids, but he was nowhere near ready. The thought of kids seemed like a far-off thing. Maybe, maybe someday. In the future. When he was old. Like, thirty.

"Excuse me…!"

He snapped back to attention at the sound of an unfamiliar voice and he shook his head again, glancing down to find a pudgy boy pulling on his sleeve and staring at him. "Uh, yeah?"

He frowned and asked, "Who're you? Akiza doesn't let anyone new in here."

Akiza overheard the boy and reached a hand out towards him, laughing as she said, "Hey, Bob. Don't worry. This is Yusei. He's a friend." Clearing her throat, she raised her voice so she could be heard over all the chatter and announced, "Hey, everyone! I want you all to meet Yusei. Come on and introduce yourselves, okay?"

The boy by his arm looked up at him and said, "I'm Robert, but everyone calls me Bob. Nice to meetcha!"

He nodded and pat the kid on the head, not really sure as to how to treat a child. He loved the innocence of youth and adored watching kids play, but he really didn't know how to treat any but Leo, Annie, and Max. "Nice to meet you, too, Bob."

The girl that had greeted Akiza refused to let go of her leg, but reached one hand out to take his in a shy handshake. "I'm Haruka."

Another boy ran over, this one with spiked maroon hair that reminded him of Crow's. "I'm Ginga!"

A girl with pinkish-red hair smiled and bounced on the heels of her shoes before saying, "I'm Kokoro."

The children all came forward and offered their names, smiling or shaking his hand. He struggled to figure out a way to remember each of their names as they gave them, but found them getting ahead of him quickly. He decided he would ask Akiza to help him memorize them later, assuming he would be coming back down here again.

He counted sixteen introductions and glanced down at the kids, hoping he could keep them straight. He caught sight of a pale hand entering his peripheral vision and turned to see a young woman standing there, probably about Akiza's age, and wearing a smile on her face with her hand extended for a shake. Her face shifted to something of a devious smirk as she spoke, saying, "You're Yusei, eh? It's nice to finally put a face to the name."

"Eh…" he started, glancing back to Akiza for help. What did she mean by that? "Nice to meet you?" he asked as a question.

The girl giggled and shook her head. "I'm sorry. Excuse my terrible manners. I'm Luna. Akiza tells me you've been helping take care of my little brother and showing him a few things?"

He reached up to stupidly scratch the back of his head. "Your brother?" He frowned and ventured a guess based solely on her green hair, asking, "You mean Leo?"

She nodded. "Mm-hm. Akiza hasn't mentioned me? Not even Crow?"

He started to shake his head, then paused as she mentioned one of his best friends. "Uh, no. You know Crow?"

She nodded and walked over to sit down on a part of the earth shaped like a bench seat along the wall. "We grew up together. Leave it to him to be a jerk and forget to mention me."

He shook his head as he slowly moved over to sit next to her, watching Akiza giggle as she ran from the children chasing her. She was a truly extraordinary woman. He snapped back to his conversation with Luna and considered a response for a moment before saying, "I'll bet he didn't forget about you. He was probably just trying to avoid us ridiculing him for having a friend who's female." He decided it was best if he avoided the term 'girlfriend.'

She nodded. "That could be. Akiza tells me you and him live in a tiny home with two other guys. I imagine he wouldn't want you mocking him at every turn."

"That's probably true." He leaned back comfortably, not caring if his clothes got dirty. "How long have you two known each other?"

She chuckled, thinking back to some sort of happy memory that he didn't know of before saying, "Since we were kids. We were neighbors and often walked to school together. He was my best friend."

He wasn't sure if it was his place to ask, but the words tumbled out of his lips before he could stop them, "What happened?"

She sighed and leaned forward to rest her palms on her knees, watching with a smile as Akiza tripped and was immediately tackled by the kids. Yusei leaned forward as if moving to go help her, but Luna caught his sleeve and pulled him back down. "She'll be fine, Loverboy. Akiza's built tough."

He nodded and leaned back again, his eyes staying locked onto her form under the kids until she finally managed to sit. She reached out to hug all of the children in her reach as she looked around. When her eyes fell on Yusei, a smile crept on her lips as she blew a kiss in his direction. He flashed a smile back and leaned into the seat again before glancing back at Luna. "Yeah, I know."

"But…?"

He shook his head, knowing he was going to sound ridiculous, and muttered, "But I love her too much to let anything happen to her."

A light laugh tumbled from her lips as she mumbled, "You really are a sap underneath the rough exterior, huh? I mean, Akiza told me you changed after she confessed, but I didn't think a badass, hardcore vigilante fighter would turn out to be such a whipped puppy."

…

Yusei stood in the bedroom that had long since turned from being hers to theirs, changing his clothes from the filthy set worn down into the caverns. He watched a little too closely as Akiza changed hers beside him, unable to fight the smirk that crossed his features when she started to deliberately striptease. He shot a wink in her direction before saying, "You better stop that if you don't want to miss Trudge's announcement."

She laughed as she moved to pull a clean set of clothes from the closet. "You're learning a little reserve. Good for you."

He reached out and caught her wrist as she moved over towards the bed, tugging her closer. Pressing a kiss to her lips, he moved back to tug his pants on and asked, "Hey, Akiza?"

She glanced over her shoulder, frowning at the serious tone his voice took. "Hm?"

"Your friend, Luna… Why is she down in those tunnels? Martha and your father were both accused of wrongdoing by the government, so they're hiding, I understand. But why is she down there when her brother and childhood best friend are up here?"

She gave a light shrug. "I'm not sure. The only explanation she gave me is that she's lying low on orders from the church, all the while looking for someone. She refused to tell me anything else. Her way of not getting me involved, I suppose."

He nodded slowly. "So, she's just looking for a place to stay while looking for this person?"

"I guess so. I don't know what this person did or why she needs them, but the church wanted her to stay as quiet as possible about it. So, please, Yusei. Don't say anything. This person might know they're being searched for and flee if they find out."

He reached out and pulled her against him, kissing her softly. "Don't worry. My lips are sealed."

She chuckled lightly and ran her fingers down his bare chest softly. "Against mine, apparently."

A smirk fell across his features as he tugged her closer. "I'm not telling anyone Luna's secret, am I?"

Her eyes narrowed teasingly. "Are you blackmailing me into kissing you?"

He nuzzled his nose against hers and lowered his hands to her hips. "I don't need to."

She released a playful laugh and reached up to wrap her arms around his shoulders, pulling close enough to kiss him before drawing back altogether. "Get dressed. I want to know what Trudge has to say."

The sound that rumbled from his throat was a hybrid of a groan, a hum of excitement, and a sour laugh. "When he's done, can we come back and have sex?"

She pulled her dress over her head before turning a casting a wink over her shoulder. "If you're a good boy."

It was his turn to roll his eyes and mutter, "Now who's blackmailing who?"

…

Yusei stood in the crowds, leaning back against the pillar of a storefront, his arms settled gently around Akiza's waist as he held her snug against him. She held her parasol over her head, deflecting the sun's rays and protecting her pale skin from the burn while staying settled comfortably against Yusei's chest. He leaned down to press a kiss to her neck before looking back up towards the town square as Trudge stepped forward.

He didn't really care to hear anything the lug had to say. He probably should have, but he just couldn't bring himself to pay any mind when he had such a beautiful and passionate woman in his arms. But he promised he would be on his best behavior, and he didn't want to disappoint.

Trudge awkwardly patted his pockets as if looking for something, then finally pulled a paper out of his jacket. Clearing his throat, he muttered something intangible in a low voice before realizing how quiet he was, then spoke louder and said, "So, uh, as you all know, our former governor, Divine Sayer, was killed almost a half-year ago in a tragic fire at the governor's estate. It's my job to let you all know that there's a new governor in town. He arrived last night and is currently residing in the repaired governor's estate."

Yusei's attention snapped up from where he was suckling Akiza's neck at the announcement. What did he just say? A new governor? But who?

He scratched the back of his head and continued, "The governor hasn't revealed his identity, even to me. More than a bit fishy, if you ask me, but he's in charge now. At the end of the year, in about two months, he'll be hosting a party to celebrate arriving in town. Though he's not showing his face, he wants everyone to know that he's honored to be here and intends to work hard so you don't have to."

He didn't like this. Something wasn't matching up with all of this. Why would someone come to a backwater town like this, then hide behind closed doors? Yusei didn't know, but he intended to find out.

After he spent some time alone with his love.

So, there's the first chapter of Act II. Hm, so who could this mysterious governor be? Any guesses?

Anyway, from here on out, we'll revert to one chapter every Monday. Thanks for bearing with me and I'll see you guys then!

Oh, and please visit my Facebook! www. facebook. c-o-m /OCValkyrie (Remove spaces and hyphens)

Please review!

-Valk