SO! Due to a careless mistake, I uploaded the wrong file for Chapter 7 (or chapter 8 if you count the prologue as 1) ._.
Many thanks to Kawaihana for pointing out the mistake. It gave me the joy of finding out that people actually read this lol confidence much?
Okay, here is the real Chapter 7 (or 8) ! Happy reading!
Yayoi remembered the way around the city, some of it, from her days with Tatara. Homra, Scepter 4 base, her apartment, shopping district. Unless they had changed the road in the course of the time, she won't be completely lost.
The Green Clan hasn't found out about her real identity, so she'll be safe walking around the city for now. Not to mention, she's mostly sure a Rabbit is still keeping an eye on her.
She needs to find Shiro, but first a change of clothes.
Munakata wasn't surprised at the report he had been told. She escaped again.
"Captain, should we pursue her?", asked Awashima.
"No, leave her be."
"Understood."
For a moment, Munakata wanted to admire the Gold King's strength and wisdom. He had guarded the Slates for almost seventy years and placed Yayoi between his reach, mostly managed to keep her in for all the time. Now, in just a span of a short time, he lost them both.
With the Slates lost, everyone's morale seems to be down. Yata was out, Anna was upstairs. The bar was quiet.
Kusanagi kept his bar going. Until he heard the bell on the door.
He was shocked.
"Kusanagi-san.", the voice called.
It was Yayoi.
"You looked like you saw a ghost.", she continued.
"I thought I saw a ghost. You changed your clothes, it feels nostalgic."
Yayoi had changed her kimono to a dress Tatara bought for her, her geta with a pair of black shoes. The funny look on Kusanagi made Yayoi twirl on her dress.
"Made you feel like Nemu has come back?", she asked.
"You are still her. Something bigger than her."
She sat on the bar stool, Kusanagi was going to prepare a drink. After all this time, he still remembered what she liked to drink.
"That's why you're so curious about all the drinks here. Staying inside the palace all that time, tea must be your only drink.", said Kusanagi.
Yayoi giggled at the memory Kusanagi brought up.
"You are really like a child that never saw the world. You don't even know how to use a cellphone.", Kusanagi said.
"Why would I need a cellphone?"
"Yata's face when you were completely lost about cellphones."
"Speaking of cellphones. I'm going to need one, now that I've known how to use it."
"Ah, I couldn't believe the time will come for this. Wait here."
Kusanagi exited the table and went upstairs. Yayoi scanned the bar. Nothing really changed much. Even Tatara's camera is still there, the Faberge egg he bought and lots of other things.
In just a moment, Kusanagi brought back a small box. He put the dusty box in front of Yayoi.
"What is this?", she asked.
"Just open it."
Inside the box was 2 cellphones. The two she knew very well. It was Tatara's and hers.
"I cleaned Totsuka's because it got blood on it, and yours was dented when you fell unconscious outside. It probably run out of battery right now and the program would be outdated... But you can keep it if you want."
"I'll keep it."
"Sure. Here, I'll help you power it back up."
Kusanagi took the phone on the corner to charge it up. He looked at the girl in front of him. Same drink, different time, different girl.
"Nemu and Yayoi..."
"Hmm?"
"They're both are you but it's like a different persona. Nemu was the shy and pure girl, like the bigger version of Anna. Yayoi was this confident, commanding ... you.", said Kusanagi.
"Will Tatara fell in love with Yayoi like he did with Nemu?", asked Yayoi.
"Well... That's a tricky question. But I think you know the answer yourself."
Yayoi replied with a bitter smile at Kusanagi. She tapped her shoes at the stool while finishing her drink.
"So, what happened at Scepter 4 last night?"
"Reisi wanted to keep me safe and supervised, but I ran away.", Yayoi answered lightly.
Kusanagi hit the table hard in surprise.
"What? You ran away? Again?"
Yayoi replied with a simple nod.
"First you ran away from the Gold King, now you ran away from the Blue King.", nagged Kusanagi.
"It was different with Reisi now! He wasn't going to fight back, he's not doing anything to get the Slates back."
"I heard he got a hard time from the fight with the Gray King."
The look on Yayoi's face says it all. She made a promise to continue her duty, Reisi, the one in charge of the Slates now let it slip away.
"So, why did you run away from the Gold King in the first place?", asked Kusanagi.
"Daikaku was a good man, he got a sense of duty but he's not quite the best companion. Especially if you're going to be living with him for half a century. Shiro ran away, as soon as he can."
"I don't think that's why..."
"Sometimes we don't get along. That's why I had the sleeping pod made. So when I can't stand him, I'll sleep it off. And the pod was next to the Slates, so I'm not abandoning my duty."
Kusanagi sighed at Yayoi's confession.
"You are annoyed at the Gold King so you had a pod made just for it. Oh you and your privileged life. So when will you wake up, does the pod... ?"
"3 days is the longest time he ever let me sleep. After 3 days, he'll make a Rabbit wake me up or he himself. But that seldom happens."
"The Gold Rabbits, huh."
"Shiro has them relieved of their duty with him now. But I think they're still watching over me."
"You need all the protection you can get. It is calm now because the Green Clan still doesn't know about you. So what are you going to do next?"
"I need to get to Shiro and discuss this whole mess with him. Can you help me with the directions?"
There was a different guest at the dorm room in Ashinaka that day. It's usually Kukuri bringing them some foods. But it was a special guest.
Kuro answered the door, with Neko trailing behind him.
"Kusanagi-san?", greeted Kuro.
"Hey, I'm here to escort the royal highness.", answered Kusanagi.
Neko hissed at the sight of the girl.
"Yayoi! I thought you were with Scepter 4.", Kuro said.
"I ran away."
"Again...",
Kusanagi left Yayoi at the dorm room. She entered the small kitchen to the room.
"Shiro.", called Yayoi.
"Oh Yayoi? I thought Kuro-kun said Scepter 4 had you with them.", said Shiro.
"I ran away, to find you."
"You ran away? You really can't stand being with any of your master, can you?", Shiro said with a laugh.
Neko immediately dropped herself beside Shiro and looped her hand on his arm. Yayoi approached Shiro's table where a few books was there.
"Are you gathering information?", Yayoi asked.
"Yes, I need to come up with a solution to this, fast."
Yayoi lifted one of the heavy books and started to flip through the pages. But she closed the book immediately.
"There's nothing in here."
"What?"
"I got a lot of free time to read most books, especially about the Slates. There is nothing in this one."
"So, you read everything at the library?", asked Shiro.
"Not everything, there's still more to read."
"With your memory and my knowledge, we can minimize the book choices and had more time in our hand.", Shiro said happily.
"See, I'm better off here than being the Scepter 4's house prisoner."
Shiro's serious face lit up for a moment. He saw a bigger chance of correcting this whole mess with Yayoi's help.
"How much time do we got?"
"They won't be able to totally free the Slates power, as long as I live. But with me being this far away, they can leak an even more power than it was before. So, the faster the better.", said Yayoi.
"Right. We need to get researching."
Yayoi sat next to Shiro, picking up the books on the table.
"Shiro!", called Neko.
"What is it, Neko?"
"Who is she? I don't like her!"
Kuro almost dropped his cooking utensil when he heard Neko. That's Neko for you, to be able to say she doesn't like you, to the face of one of the most important woman. Shiro gave a small laugh at Neko.
"Hey, what did I do wrong?", asked Yayoi confused.
"Neko, this is Yayoi-chan. She's one of my oldest friend other than the Lieutenant. The Lieutenant has been protecting her and I trust her. She's been guarding the Slates with him.", explained Shiro.
Neko stopped her mean eyes and hissing but still felt uncomfortable with Yayoi. Kuro emerged from the kitchen with trays of food.
"It's lunch time."
"Ah, it's lunch time already? I think I haven't had anything since I woke up."
"So, you said, the Slates won't be freed unless you died. But you also live depending on your King, right? In this case Munakata Reisi. It's the same trouble if he got killed before you.", asked Kuro.
"When my King dies, I will go into a sleep state. Any other King can wake me up and I'll go right back into duty. There are many other King but only one me."
"That's why I called her the White Queen.", continued Shiro.
The table was fully seated as Yayoi had joined them for lunch that day.
"So you can suppress the Slates, just by ... existing?", asked Kuro again.
Yayoi put her bowl down and strayed into her thoughts.
"I don't really know. Do you know, Shiro?"
"When the Lieutenant called me and said he found a way to suppress the Slates, I was curious and investigated Yayoi, but I couldn't explain it either.", explained Shiro.
"But that's how we got to know each other."
Neko hissed again at the friendly sight between Shiro and Yayoi. She'll need a long time to be friends with her.