Hey you guys! Two weeks since my last update, not that bad, right? I am really sorry, but I was busy with the results and all, the graduation party my parents held for me, and you know. I will try to update sooner next time.

Review replies:

Super freak: so sorry about the late update and thank you for both of your reviews. You really made me go to the computer and type. I'm glad you liked the chapter and thank you for your comment, it was really sweet. I hope this update was faster than the last one, lol. This chapter is dedicated to you for you stayed with me all this time and, somehow, forced me to update^^

xXPhantomGirlXx93: I won't say a thing, read to find out. Thx a lot for reviewing^^

Lol: glad you liked it, thx for reviewing and hope you'll enjoy this one.

Dan and Runo 4 eva: Glad you liked it and thx a lot for reviewing. Hope you'll enjoy this one^^

Colorfullife1993: thank you so much! Glad you liked it, hope you'll enjoy this one, hope you're doing fine without Jack *smirks*

Fluffy cloud: Yes, he was and he is creepy. Glad you liked it; hope you'll enjoy this one.

Helios: ya, it was long. Glad you found it nice; my chaps are always full with emotions. Hope you enjoy this one. And I am really sorry for the late update. Lol! Hope you'd enjoy your trip.

MarshmellowsSleeping: I am so glad you liked them. Yup, that's how she died, pretty harsh. What are your questions? Not that I'll answer or anything, but I do wanna know, lol. Being patient is always good. Thx a lot for reviewing.

xxFadedscars97xx: thx so mush for reviewing, I'm glad you liked it and hope this is soon enough for you. Thx for the complement, it was really sweet. Well, we all hope she would. Hope you'll enjoy this one^^

Akiko Suzuki: I'm so glad you liked it. I'm happy that I'm back as well; hope I updated soon this time, lol. Hope you'll enjoy this one.

InnocentDiamond: yes, the fire was terrible, you just have to wait and see. Thx for reviewing and hope you'll enjoy this chapter^^

RockyBlue DanXRuno: I'm so glad you like the story, hope this was soon enough. Thx for reviewing and hope you'll enjoy this one^^

Jstanwix: I'm glad you liked it, thx a lot for reviewing^^

Luke: I'm glad you liked it, thx a lot for reviewing^^

Tenshi Haneno: I'm glad you liked it and thx for your suggestion^^ thx a lot for reviewing.

Who Cares: Jazzgirl123 is one of my fav authors too. I wish I was in control of bakugan, the show would have been the way I wanted it; lots of romance and little action. Thx a lot for reviewing^^

ShiningSunrise: I'm glad you liked it, thx a lot for reviewing^^

Drake0: ya chapter 8 was romantic; I enjoyed writing it XD glad you liked it. Thx a lot for reviewing^^

Katzike123: yup, 'he' is the Dark Lord. The kissing part was cute and sad at the same time, lol. Thx a lot for reviewing^^

AliceXShunMEGAFan17: Thx a lot for the compliment. Hope you got to read chapter 9, thx a lot for reviewing^^

Ok, so on with the story^^

Disclaimer: I, sadly, own nothing.

Charmed
Chapter 10: The Blue Assassin's Plan.

The young blonde walked inside the base with the small green lizard resting on his right shoulder. He was wearing a white shirt and a pair of black pants. They were not form fitting, but were a bit loose around his figure. His attire was completed with high black boots, a sword on his belt and a blue cloak. The hood of the cloak though, wasn't covering the face of its owner as the wind was blowing a few strands of his short golden hair.

Marucho has just returned from another mission, successfully completing it. He wasn't the strongest or the fastest, but he always found a way to do missions, sometimes without even breaking a sweat for he had the help of some creatures that aid him in his tasks.

The base seemed quieter than he remembered, normally his friend, Dan, would come up to him and through him in the air and his other friend, Shun, would come rescue him from Dan, but they didn't seem to be around, that day. Perhaps, they are at a new mission? He thought and walked upstairs to his room.

"I can't believe we're finally home," a small blue fairy said as she stretched her arms and breathed in the fresh air outside of her little pearl. Her hair was put into two Chinese like buns with two ponytails coming down from them. Each one of them resting on one of her shoulders. She wore a short dress that reached her knees, it was sky blue at the top, but it changed colour into shades of blue and indigo as it moved down the dress till it reach it deepest blue at the bottom.

"Got that one right, Melanie," He said as he threw himself on the bed.

A yawn escaped the little fairy's mouth, helping her master for the past week was sure tough. She took a deep breath then flew back inside her pearl that rested onto the silver bracelet her master wore.

Not much after that, a knock was heard on the door. Marucho looked up from his bed and gave permission to the entrance of the knocker. The door was opened to reveal, Kia, standing at the doorway. He, quickly, stood up and saluted the general. Kia did the same and they stopped after mere seconds.

"Congratulations on the success of your mission, Marucho. I am so glad you're back," she said with a smile. Marucho scratched the back of his head with his right hand, to say it was nothing much.

"Would you like me to give you a report of the mission?" Marucho asked. Kia shook her head, in a 'no' gesture.

"His majesty wants you to give it to him, directly. I don't know why, but he said he needed to see you at once," Kia said.

Marucho nodded. It was not strange for Marucho's ears to hear this; after all, he was one of the few people the king enjoyed talking to. The king, usually, would open up to him about the problems and situations he would face and Marucho would always advise him. To the king, Marucho was never judged by his size nor his age, but by the wisdom he held in his brain.

…

Marucho and Kia walked towards the throne room, both eager to know what was up. The guard at the gate greeted them and opened the huge golden gate for them to enter. The guard walked in front of the two, holding his spear, and knelt down in front of the king. So did Marucho and Kia.

"My lord, the blue assassin and the general have arrived," he informed.

"Thank you, you may now dismiss," the king said as he stood up from his throne. The guard bowed and left.

The king had a solemn look in his eyes, one that hid the sorrow, pain and despair he truly felt, as he paced around the room, putting his arms behind his back. Marucho looked at him, concerned.

"Your majesty, is there anything of the matter?" Marucho, finally, voiced his question. The king looked at him, then at Kia.

"Yes, unfortunately, there's. It's highly confidential," he answered, still looking at Kia. She took his glances as a cue for her to leave; she felt it was something the king didn't wanted her to hear.

"If you'd excuse me, your majesty," Kia said and bowed. She, though, couldn't shake the curiosity she felt. She was about to leave when the king's voice stopped her.

"I apologize. I didn't mean for you to leave, in fact I would need your help as well," The king said. She nodded; she was now more than eager to hear what he had to say.

The king sat on one of the chairs placed near the window; the two followed his actions and seated themselves on the other two chairs. Marucho looked at the king, his face showed hurt and regret. The worry raised itself in his heart.

"I have done terrible things as far as I could remember. But nothing could be compared to what I am about to ask you to do," he paused for a second and then continued, looking at them in the eye. "You know that the former king of Valdolit was a dear friend of mine. Before he died, he had asked me two things; one was to rule the country after him and the other was to take care of his daughter. The former princess of Valdolit," he paused once more and shifted his eyes to the window.

"I have been trying ever since to be a fine king for Valdolit, I have faced some troubles, but things are better now. It's the second request that keeps me up at night. For some reason, I was never able to complete it," He continued.

"But, the princess was killed in that fire by wizards. It wasn't your fault," Kia said. She watched how regret and sorrow filled his being. She looked at him, confused.

"It wasn't wizards that killed her; I had to say that to my son. It…It was a plan of mine to kill the child in order to stop the blood-sucking war. Sadly, it didn't solve any of that matter," he said and looked at the ground, ashamed by every word he said.

Kia wanted to comment on the king's confession, but was interrupted by his words.
"But, the girl lives. We have learnt that a while ago and we have no idea how she had survived,"

"We?" Marucho exclaimed.

"We, as in Marcus and I," a feminine voice spoke from behind them. The duo, Marucho and Kia, turned around to find Seera standing before them. She walked towards them with her dark purple dress being dragged behind her on the floor. She stood behind Marcus's chair and looked at the two before her.

"Shun and Dan were sent to kill her once more, but she was introduced to them as an anonymous target so Shun wouldn't know," she picked up the speech from where Marcus had stopped. "A team of wizards was sent to protect her. Marucho; Runo and Julie were members of that team," She said and glanced at Marucho. Kia looked at him as if asking who the two girls were.

"They are friends of ours. We haven't seen them in about ten years; we were children when the truce ended. Contacts between us have stopped ever since; we had to, or Verona was to know that their families were our allies," He answered her unspoken question. Kia nodded to say she understood.

"They had a fight, but none was hurt," She paused a bit then continued, "I was watching the two, to make sure that the job was completed, but shun…he-" she was cut off shortly.

"He didn't do the mission, now did he?" Marucho half asked, half stated in a matter of facility. Seera nodded.

"He knew it was her…he felt it, right?" He spoke facts again. The king looked at the two sitting before him.

"Now, to my request…" he trailed off, making the two pay attention to him, "I don't know what to do now, and I ran out of ideas. Shun always listens to you, you are his best friend. I beg of you Marucho, you must convince him to continue the mission," He said. Marucho's eyes widened; how was he to convince him to kill his fiancée?

"Why didn't you send Marucho in the first place? Why send Shun?" Kia asked while folding her arms in front of her chest, not in a way that sensed disapproval or annoyance, but in a casual way.

"I thought of it, but it wouldn't have worked anyway," He said. Kia raised an eyebrow at him, signifying him to explain his statement. Marucho did that for him.

"Shun and Alicia were betrothed since birth by a magical bond. The bond is not only created to make sure the two were to marry, but to protect them both from harm. People, who are not Shun, will not be able to get passed the magical powers of the bond, so Shun is the only one who can harm her," He said. Kia looked at him, blinking in confusion; she didn't quite get what Marucho had said.

"Meaning that Alicia can't be harmed unless it was Shun who does it," Marucho explained. Kia's mouth opened in an oval shape, while letting out a simple 'oh'.

"Would you help me, Marucho?" Marcus asked, almost pleaded.

"It will not be easy your majesty. I know why do you want her dead, but…Shun; he simply won't agree," Marucho answered, while pushing his red glasses up the bridge of his nose.

Kia looked at Marucho, with the words 'I know why you want her dead' repeating in her head over and over. Why would someone want his future daughter in law, dead? She never knew. The situation was rather bizarre to one's ears, but, strangely enough, she didn't find it weird at all. It seemed familiar, yet she didn't know in what way exactly. She sensed that the king didn't want to do it nor did Marucho or Seera, but she felt that it was, somehow, a burden of some sort, one they all carried. She gritted her teeth in anger; she couldn't believe they were looking for a way to kill her and not save her.

Marucho felt Kia's tensed body and curled up fists. He looked at her in confusion; he didn't get why she was enraged, after all, she loved Shun and reason says she should be happy they were trying to kill his fiancée. He put a hand on her right fist in order to calm her down. She looked at him and breathed in, then nodded her head to say she had calmed down. He let go of her hand, then turned to look at the king.

"Your majesty, we may be able to complete it ourselves," Marucho said. The three eyed him, closely, as if asking him to continue, still not believing he found a way. He nodded his head and repositioned his glasses and continued to speak, "The bond protects Alicia when it senses that the attacker is not Shun, but what if…just a theory, if the weapon used had Shun's DNA on it, the attacker could be identified as Shun, for the weapon is carrying Shun's genetic form on it," he finished explaining and waited for their response.

Marcus looked at the young boy with widened eyes and his mouth was opened a bit. He, simply, didn't get a word from what he had said. He was the king, but he wasn't that smart when it came to science, science to him was in weapons and strategies. Seera and Kia, though, gave much thought to what Marucho suggested. If his theory was to work, then, they may be able to do something. After a good minute or so, they nodded, agreeing on Marucho's plan. Marucho smiled at them, but at the same time, he felt horrible that he was about to betray his friend.

"How we'll you get Shun's DNA?" Seera asked.

"Leave that to me," Marucho said and stood up. Kia and Marcus followed his actions.

"Very well, then. When you come back, you'll find a gate opened here, in the throne room. Don't be late," She said. She raised her hand to where a blue gate lied and said 'katarka, code 98' and the blue glow of the gate increased. Marucho nodded.

"What are we looking for exactly?" Kia asked as she opened another wooden drawer and started looking in it.

"For anything that could have Shun's DNA on it, a shirt or a comb for example," He said. Kia nodded.

Marucho looked at her. She was searching through one of the drawers that contained Shun's clothes. That look on her face; it confused him. It somehow contained hurt, care and sorrow all together, feelings that shouldn't be mixed. Looking closely at her eyes, he noticed a few tears dangling from the edge of her eye as if refusing to escape. Every few seconds, she would blink, wiping those stubborn tears away, trying but failing, to not show her deep sadness.

"Are you alright, Kia?" Marucho asked. Kia jumped a bit and looked at him, surprised that he asked that question.

"Y-yes, Marucho, I'm perfectly fine," she said and shot a fake smile in his direction. After mere seconds, she turned her face away from his and returned to the task in hand.

Marucho didn't look quite convinced, he knew she was hiding something, identifying that something was an impossible task at that moment. He sighed and continued to look inside Shun's closet. Abruptly, he stopped and looked back at Kia, who was deep in thought.

"Why do you love Shun, Kia?" He asked. Kia looked at him and forced herself to let go of her previous thoughts as she stared at Marucho, not quite understanding the question.
"I mean, how come an immortal such as yourself fell for a mortal like Shun?" He explained, sensing her lack of understanding. She turned her head away.

"Not from your business, Marucho," she answered, coldly. Marucho gazed at her a bit, not understanding the sudden harshness in her voice. He let go of the question, not wanting to get into her personal matters any further.

…

"This is boring," stated Melanie while sitting on the windowsill. She was looking at the tired duo that had been looking for the required DNA sample, sadly it was never found, not even in the space of the two hours they had spent in the room.

The once clean room was turned upside down in the hope of finding anything that could help them. Some shirts were on the floor while a black pair of pants rested on the bed. The sheets were now on the floor and the weapons Shun stored in his closet was put in a pile near the window.

"This is impossible! Not even one thing out of place, no dirty shirts, no hair on the comb, no nothing," Marucho said in disbelieve while sitting down on the floor.

"Shun is either not a guy or he's one that's very tidy," Kia said, panting.

When they were on the ground, one of the palace's maids entered the room. She was holding a broom and a gray bucket of water. A cloth was put in the bucket, half dipped in the water and the other half rested on the ledge of the metallic container. She looked at the two, then at the room, only for a frown to appear on her face. A vein popped up in the area between her eyebrows as she placed the broom aside to lean on the wall next to her and put her hands on her hip. Her eyes where filled with flames as anger washed over her being.

Kia and Marucho quickly stood up and shot apologetic looks in her direction. Kia bowed and voiced her apology, but the maid didn't seem to calm down.

"Do you know how many hours I spent cleaning his highness's room? Hours and hours! Why did you do that, sires?" she said, angrily, trying to maintain her manners and stay polite in front of her masters, but failing miserably.

"I am so sorry; it was not our intention to ruin your work. We were looking for something," Kia said. The maid was about to say something, but was interrupted by Marucho.

"Are you the one who's responsible of cleaning this room?" He asked, this glint of an idea sparkling in his eyes. The young lady nodded. "When was the last time you cleaned it?" he asked once more.

"Shortly after his highness left," she answered. Marucho smirked.

"We need some of the prince's clothes," Marucho stated. The maid blinked in confusion, but nodded her head. Kia looked at Marucho, and then smiled knowing what Marucho had in mind.

After several hours of snowing during the night, the city of Wardington was clad in pure white attire. Gray clouds floated in the sky close to each other, hiding the sun rays behind its cotton like matter. The trees were covered in snow as well, and some snow piles would fall occasionally from the tips of the pine trees. Birds stopped singing and animals returned to their safe homes, hoping to feel a little bit warm instead of the cold chills that travelled through their bodies.

The streets were empty as well. The once busy street was now only occupied by the little children, who found joy in throwing snow balls at each other. A few of them chose to make snowmen, using carrots as their noses and small rocks for the eyes and sometimes even covering them with their hat or scarf to 'keep them warm'.

Runo looked outside of the window of the café. She sighed. It was one of relief. She was happy snow chose to fall down at that particular night, now customers would not be able to come and they might as well have a day off to go play outside. She liked the fact that she wouldn't have to go on that 'date' with Dan and his friend. She just couldn't shake the feeling that she had seen them before.

She walked to where her other two friends were. The two girls sat lazily on one of the tables, with Julie moving an empty glass of water back and forth, feeling bored. Runo wanted to laugh at the sight, but refrained on doing so. It seems the cold weather had, even, affected the hyper active girls. She smiled.

She dragged a chair and sat on it, and placed her chin on the palm of her hand while her elbow rested on the clean table. She looked at Alice and her eyes changed emotions into ones of worry and concern. The said redhead was wiping the surface of the counter, which was already shining, with a blank expression on her face. She was in a different world; Runo didn't believe she was even awake.

Runo stood up and walked to Alice's side. She put her hand on her shoulder, Runo expected her to jump in surprise, but Alice kept on wiping, not feeling Runo's hand pressing lightly on her shoulder. Runo's worry was raised. She shook the girl in order to wake her up from her daydream. Alice finally took notice of Runo's presence. She looked a bit startled, but composed herself shortly after. She looked at Runo and smiled.

Now that Runo was close enough, she saw the slight redness in Alice's eyes and that dry trail across her face, the one tears leave behind after they fall. She looked at the girl seriously; as if asking her to leave that fake smile she plastered and that mask she hid her true feelings behind. Alice's smile dropped into a sad line as she put her head down, not wanting to look at Runo's eyes that drilled through her. Runo always had that effect on her.

"What's wrong?" Runo asked. At first she wanted to ask 'are you okay?' but it was more than obvious that the redhead was not. Alice shook her head.

"Nothing, it's just…there are many things on my mind right now," she answered, but that fine line she formed with her mouth never lit up in a smile, not even a small one.

"You know, I am not only your protector, I can be your friend too if you want," Runo said and smiled at the girl. Expressions of shock and joy appeared on Alice's face. She smiled a true genuine one.

"I would love to," she said. Runo looked at her, demanding in the name of their friendship to know the thoughts that haunted Alice's head. Alice sighed and tried thinking of an escape and just said the very few words that came to her. "I miss someone, dearly," she said. It wasn't a complete truth, but a part of it in the least.

As Julie and Miono heard this, they both joined the duo, moved by curiosity.

"Is it a guy?" Julie asked with stars in her eyes.

"Is he cute?" Miono followed Julie's words. Alice blinked in confusion, why assuming that it was a guy? That was until she felt her cheeks, which were a bit warm. She blushed a deeper shade of red at this.

"AWWWW, she's blushing! He is a guy!" Julie said, more like squealed. Runo rolled her eyes, but giggled afterwards.

"What's his name? Where is he?" Miono asked.

"I won't tell and…I wish he would go home soon," Alice said. The three girls were confused. Alice noticed this and moved her hands in front of her. "I mean, so I would see him again," she said, sweat-dropping. The girls nodded and Alice sighed. She feared they would suspect for she started saying contrasting statements.

"I hope you would reunite with him soon," a male voice said, with slight bitterness. The three girls looked behind them to find Shun and Dan. Shun was the one who voiced that wish.

Alice froze; she quickly put her head down. Seeing him was the last thing she wanted. Runo noticed her stiffens. Runo, too, didn't like it that they were here. The girls walked towards the two guys.

"Sorry guys, you have to wait. Snow is covering the ground, we won't be able to tour you around," Runo said with a grin crossing her features. At that moment, she couldn't be happier.

The moment lived short.

"It's ok; we can still have the date here. The point is going out with you," Dan said with a mischievous grin. Shun slapped his forehead with the balm of his hand. Julie and Miono squealed while Runo rolled her eyes, taking no interest into Dan's statement.

"Very well, then. Let's sit down," Runo said and she, Miono Dan sat to one of the tables that were close to the door. Julie left to the kitchen to make hot chocolate for everyone.

Miono and Dan sat next to each other, much to Dan's dismay. Runo sat opposite from the two.

Shun and Alice stood in the middle of the café in awkward silence. Alice kept her gaze fixed to the ground and Shun's was fixed on her. She felt his glances, it made her more nervous. Why was this to happen now? She even started regretting asking him for this visit.

"Can I talk to you for a bit?" Came Shun's voice again. Alice wanted to say no, but that would only make things worse. She nodded and moved with him to a table put in the farthest corner of the diner. He wanted privacy.

They sat down, opposite from each other. Shun hated the fact that Alice was still not facing him. It added to the pressure he felt. What if he could not prove it? He shook his head. He must not let the negative thoughts sneak into him.

Alice was shaking, slightly. She tried to stop the fear and worry she felt, if he was ever to know…the fate that awaits her friend would be horrible. She was not to let Shun or anyone else find out, she wouldn't bear it. She summoned every bit of courage she held within herself and raised her head. She stopped trembling and looked at Shun with a smile on her face, taking Shun by surprise.

"I-I want to apologize about yesterday. I'm sorry," he said, still a little shocked. Alice shook her head to say it was okay.

"It's fine," she said. Shun looked at her for a moment, then continued, with a serious look in his eyes.

"Why are you really going to Verona?" Shun asked.

"But, I already told you I-" he cut her off.

"You lied. If it was true I was to be informed of such a serious thing," he said. Alice looked to her right, avoiding his gaze. What was she to say now?

"I-I…honestly, I don't know why," she said, looking at him again.

"Why did you say that, then?" Shun asked.

"To see if you were true about not killing people," Alice said and smiled once more. She giggled shortly after seeing the weird look Shun had. He frowned a bit and turned away.

Alice stopped and put her left arm on the table, using it for support. Her wrist didn't have the bracelet as she hid it with a spell. If Shun was to see it, then he was to know right away. She was deep in thought that she didn't 'wake up' until she felt Shun's hand engulfing hers. She jumped a bit, and looked at him, confused by his actions.

"I want to ask you something and I need the true answer. It's a matter of life and death…Who are you?" he asked, every word dripping with seriousness.

Alice felt her heart beat faster and her breathing became harder. Now she made sure; he knew, but he just wanted to hear it from her. What is she to do now?

:P remember when I said I updated in two weeks, well I started writing the chapter so I would update last week, but I had so many other things to do and I took my time to write this chapter with every little detail. Most of them in the least so this won't turn into a boring and really long chapter. Sorry about that XD, it's really long huh?
so, how was the chappie? Marucho finally appeared. I'll try to update soon.

Tell me how it was and remember to R&R please =]