wishchapter33 by nat & yue 2.19.99 “Queen Shinya?! Queen Shinya!!" Queen Tetsu shook the Moon Pendant, trying frantically to bring the dead screen back to life. However, all her efforts were to no avail. Sinking back dejectedly against the bedpost, she let the Moon Pendant drop to the floor with a clatter and buried her face in her hands. "Your Majesty, is there something wrong?" Queen Tetsu gazed up at the owner of the anxious voice. "Oh, Ken, I'm afraid the time has finally come," she replied sadly. "First my precious Hyde… and now, my dear friend Queen Shinya is in danger as well… What shall I do?" Her voice wavered, on the brink of tears. The tall knight stepped closer and knelt in front of Queen Tetsu, catching hold of Queen Tetsu's hands. "Don't cry, Tetsu," he said soothingly. "There has to be a way." "But I feel so useless," Queen Tetsu sniffed. Then suddenly, she looked up, hope bright in her eyes. "I know, we can send an army in secretly to fend off those evil vermin from the Dark Moon. It's possible… isn't it?" She trailed off, the anticipation draining from her voice at Ken's unencouraging expression. "Your Majesty, our army is not strong enough to withstand the magical powers of the Dark Army," Ken spoke, hating to disappoint her but knowing it was necessary. "We would have a problem defending ourselves, let alone attack them." "Then we're lost," she concluded softly, tears sliding down her cheeks. Ken rose and sat down next to her on the bed, holding her close and gently wiping away the tears. "No, I'm sure there's a way to stop this," he said reassuringly. "Now you have to calm down and think carefully. Did Queen Shinya say anything important to you?" Feeling infinitely safer now that she was in her beloved's supporting embrace, the cloud of despair over her lifted, leaving Queen Tetsu much more clear-headed. "Yes… she said something… something about archers…" She frowned, trying to recollect all she could of the previous heart-pounding moments. "Ice… yes! She told me to look for the Ice Archers!" "The Ice Archers? But they are in the Dark Kingdom." "How did you know that?" she asked in surprise. "We have our own spies as well, Your Majesty," Ken pointed out with a wry smile. "She said they might be her only hope. We have to look for them," Queen Tetsu decided, regaining her spirit now that it seemed there might be a way out. "Yes, in that case, Your Majesty, I shall make preparations to leave immediately," Ken said, beginning to stand up. "What do you mean?" Queen Tetsu protested, clutching his arm tightly. He turned back and cupped her cheek in his palm. "Tetsu, it's not easy to enter the Dark Kingdom, not to mention look for spies who are pretending to be the enemy. We can't just send anyone there to die or be tortured-" "But… but I don't want to lose you too," Queen Tetsu whispered. "Why am I so selfish?… An entire kingdom is in peril and here I'm more concerned that you might come to harm…" Deeply touched, Ken placed his arms around Queen Tetsu's shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "You can lay your fears to rest, I'll be fine." "That's an empty promise you can't fulfill." There was just the slightest hint of bitterness. "Tetsu…" "Forgive me for interrupting, but I may have a solution." Startled, both Ken and Queen Tetsu turned to see a slender, green-haired youth standing by the doorway. "Kiyoharu, what are you doing here?" Queen Tetsu asked curiously. "You should be carrying out your duties at the Mansion of Dreams." "My lord?" Kiyoharu glanced over to receive Ken's permission. "May I?" With Ken's nod, he continued. "Your Majesty, in truth, I am a descendant of the clan of Kuroyume." Queen Tetsu gasped. "Kuroyume?! But they were only a myth…" "No, Tetsu, they're real - I only found out not long ago as well - but in these recent times of peace, there was no need for the espionage the Kuroyume clan specialised in," Ken explained. "So they gradually became less and less. Until now-" "There are only two of us left, Your Majesty," Kiyoharu cut in. "You and…?" "Hitoki, Your Majesty." "The Guardian of the Clock Tower?" "Yes, we're cousins," Kiyoharu replied. "I would have like to know more, but now the situation is too urgent to warrant such niceties," Queen Tetsu said briskly. "What is your solution?" "Let the Kuroyume go back to doing what we have always been trained for," Kiyoharu said earnestly. "Hitoki and I will be go in place of Lord Ken to look for the Ice Archers. Being spies ourselves, we will be able to locate them faster and less people will suspect us since our faces are unknown, not famous like Lord Ken's." "What do you think, Ken?" Queen Tetsu asked. "I agree with Kiyoharu, Your Majesty," Ken replied, slipping back into role of First Guard, servant to the Queen. "His solution is practical, and I trust in his and Hitoki's abilities to accomplish it." "Very well then, I wish you safe journey, Kiyoharu, both to you and your companion. May the powers of Ciel be with you." "Thank you, Your Majesty." Kiyoharu bowed and swiftly left. *** "Get your dirty hands off me!!" TMR sent another one of the perverted old men away to the other side of the globe with a powerful kick. "Really, ever since Sugi left, these people are getting more and more daring…" He trailed off, distracted by the commotion at the bar. "Huh, what's happening?" Jumping up and down, he tried to find out what was wrong but couldn't see more than the back of many balding heads. "Get out of my way!" he shouted, pushing and shoving towards the bar. When he got there, he stopped in shock. "Oh, no! Not another one!" In front of him was another pretty young girl in an angelic white dress, just like Haido, slumped across the bar table. "I wonder who _her_ lover is," TMR thought as he approached her. But there seemed to be something off about her, and he realised what it was as he touched her shoulder. Suddenly, he found himself thrown violently back against the 'audience' surrounding the girl. "Wh-what happened?" The girl hadn't even moved, but a surge of energy had emanated from her and struck him. He came towards her again, more cautiously this time. "Excuse me, miss?" he asked rather timidly, not daring to touch her anymore. "Are you alright?" The girl raised herself off the bar top and turned to gaze at him. And he realised that she wasn't like Haido at all. Her face was sharper, more elegant, and it could be said she was more beautiful than Haido, but there was no sweetness in her features, and not a trace of innocence in those large eyes. "No, I'm not," she replied, giggling a little hysterically. "I'm NOT alright. I'll never be alright." She subsided, muttering to herself. "You're drunk, miss." TMR stepped nearer. "Would you like to go somewhere else to rest?" "Get away from me, you hentai!!" she hissed malevolently. "You're just like all the rest of them. I hate you! I hate all of you disgusting men!!!" She spat out the last word like it was something irrevocably dirty, and as she swept her glare across all the men surrounding her, they flew back, crashing into chairs, tables and walls. "And I hate him most of all…" When TMR sat up, massaging the aching bruise on his head, the girl had stumbled out of the club, but the lingering malice that had been in her voice still remained. *** J sat beside the bed, one hand clutching Ino's tightly while the other one gently stroked the hair off her forehead. All he was doing was watching her sleep, but it brought him close to tears. How he had missed doing that! The soft lips slightly parted, the peaceful rise and fall of her breast, the serene expression that came with her slumber, it seemed to him there was nothing else in this universe more perfect. "Ino, we're never going to be apart again," he whispered, bringing the back of her hand to his lips. Just as he was about to doze off himself, he sensed an aberration in the air around him. The energies were agitated, and the atmosphere itself seemed heavier. Someone else was in the clinic - someone from the Dark Side. Checking to make sure there was no one deliberately cloaking himself within the room, J stepped out into the corridor, fully alert. But all his senses couldn't have prepared him for Princess Jun collapsing drunk on top of him. "Oh, f**k!!" They landed with a 'thud!' on the floor. "Jun!" He shook her, trying to get her to wake up. Slowly, her eyes opened and focused. "J!…" she gasped, then burst into tears. "Shit!" J quickly stood up, and led Jun to sit down on the couch. "What happened, Jun? Why are you here on Earth too?" "Sir… Sir Imai was going to make me return to the Dark Kingdom because he said he had no further use of me. But… I don't want to go back to that terrible place, so he ordered the guards to capture me. But I escaped and jumped into the passage… and ended up here," Jun concluded her halting explanation. Looking up at J tearfully, she pleaded, "You've got to help me, J… I… they'll kill me if they find me…" J remained silent, torn between pity and the urge to stay out of the whole mess. He understood how Jun felt, remembering how it was when he had thought he had to return to the Dark Side, his love for Ino unreciprocated. Yet, Jun had refused to help him when he was locked up in the dungeon – so why did he have to help her? "Argh!!" J ran his hands through his hair impatiently, pacing from one end of the room to the other. Glancing at Jun's dejected figure huddled at one side of the long couch, he could feel his heart softening. "What the hell, I might as well help her," he thought. "After all, she didn't have any choice but to obey Imai." He opened his mouth to reply, but before he could say anything, he was interrupted by a loud, "Oh, NO!!" He spun around to see Ryuji at the doorway. In a flash, the rabbit had bounded towards him, cowering behind his back. "What's wrong, Ryuji?" he asked, irritated. "T-t-that woman, First Guard J… s-she's the one who poisoned Princess Ino," Ryuji stammered, pointing a shaking paw towards the couch. "What?!!!" Shocked, J turned towards Jun, only to find that she was no longer sitting there. There was a brief flash of white as he spotted Jun out of the corner of his eye, disappearing around the doorway. Kozi's words suddenly rang in his ears. "Ino!!" Swiftly dashing out after Jun, he caught her before she could step into the room where Ino lay sleeping. As she glared up at him, the tears had vanished, leaving in their place only a piercing, ice-cold hate that seemed to burn him. "Let me go!!" she screamed, struggling to free herself. "I'm going to kill her properly this time!" Whatever sympathy J had for her shrivelled up and died at those words, the fiery rage that had been banked flamed up, consuming him. With a roar of fury, he unleashed his powers, sending Jun crashing into the wall. Sheslumped down, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, unconscious. But J was too enraged to notice, and readied another fireball, preparing to send her to her doom. "Stop!!" two voices cried simultaneously. A large crow swooped down into the fireball's path, intercepting it before it could hit Jun. It dropped to the floor, and transformed into a blond man with a scar over one eye. "Kirito!" J exclaimed. "Are you trying to stop me? Then I'll kill you too!" "No, stop it, J!" Before he realised what had happened, Ino had pushed past him and was standing in front of Kirito and Jun, blocking them from J's wrath. "Ino, get away from them. Jun tried to kill you. Why are you protecting such a despicable bitch?!" "I don't want anyone to die over me, J." Ino's voice trembled, but she stood firm. "Your duty as First Guard is to protect me from harm, and to obey me… I order you to stop attacking them." "Ino…" Then he relented, turning away furiously, banging the wall in frustration. Ino glanced over her shoulder at Kirito, who was injured but still conscious. "Go now," she said urgently. "But if you come back, I won't be able to stop him." Kirito didn't reply, merely lifted Jun carefully into his arms and leapt out of the window. *** "…Do you wanna show me how low and low…" Hide hummed to himself as he locked up the doors to Club Extacy as he had done for years at the crack of every dawn. After checking that all the chains and bolts were in place, he turned around and prepared to head home and get a good day's rest. This particular night had been especially crazy, and he still wasn't very sure about what had exactly occurred while he had popped out for a moment to collect the seeds of those special roses Yoshiki had been bugging him about. "Something about another angel, but a fierce one this time," he recalled from TMR's rather dazed and scattered account. He didn't want to believe it, but the complaints from the customers and the damage done was undeniable. "Thank god we're too popular for this to affect our business," he sighed in relief, walking down the steps and- --falling flat on his face after tripping over a mound of something lying across the pavement. He sat up, rubbing his abused nose and swearing a blue streak. "Eh?" The weak rays of the rising sun illuminated a couple lying unconscious in front of the club, the man's arms protectively even in his injured state. Peering more closely at the two of them, Hide realised that they were both wounded rather badly. "Well…" He stood up, dusting his clothes. "It's really none of my business. What if the police come after me or something? I already have enough people to nurse at home. Yeah, it's none of my business…" With that, he walked off briskly. *** "Yoshiki!! Open the damn door!" Hide shouted, banging on the door with his free hand. "Oi! You… whoever you are, here, get off me and lean against the wall," he grumbled, shoving the blond man off his shoulder so that he slumped to the floor. "Whew! That was a load off," he breathed in relief, slightly shifting the girl he was carrying on his back so that his grip was firmer. He raised his hand to knock again, not really expecting the great Yoshiki to open up so soon. "Damnit, Yoshi-" He stopped his fist just in time before it hit Yoshiki's face. "Wow, that was fast," he said in surprise. But Yoshiki wasn't listening, instead eyeing the couple he had brought back suspiciously. "Who are they? Why are they here?" "Here…" Hide handed the girl to Yoshiki, who stumbled back, not accustomed to having such a burden dumped on him. "Let me help the guy in, and I'll explain." "Yes, I really want to know how in the world my niece and Kirito managed to end up with you," Yoshiki replied, using his powers to move both Kirito and Jun onto the living room couch. "Your niece?!" Hide stopped short in astonishment. "Why do you think I even bothered to open the door for you? I sensed the Dark Force coming from them," Yoshiki said impatiently. "They're like Kouichi and Junji?" "I think Kirito used to be with them, but Jun is my niece, and she is a Princess of the Dark Kingdom," Yoshiki said. "But why are they here? And hurt as well? Who would dare to harm them?" "I found them outside the club when I was locking it up. I was going to mind my own business at first, but…" Hide trailed off. "What?" Yoshiki demanded. "mumble… mumble…" "Huh?" "It reminded me of the first time we met, and I had to save you from those thugs," Hide blurted out in a rush, his face reddening. "The situations were so different, but now I know why I couldn't _not_ help them." "…you're an idiot, Hide, you know that?" But there was no anger in the scolding, just an indefinable trace of… something. "I've been an idiot for years." xxxxxxx “Now where that light go?” Izam said. They had been following the glimmer of light which was going to lead them to their prince, but it had disappeared abruptly. “Yukihiro, when was the last time you saw that light? Yukihiro? I asked you a question!?” Izam spun around, with half a mind to twist his ear, but he was no where to be found. “Damn that fool must have wondered off from me at that cross junction, now how am I supposed to find him?” he said. The prospect of finding one man among the myriad network of alleys was daunting indeed… xxxxxxx Yukihiro was frozen onto his spot, as 4 gangsters which were much taller/bigger than him (okay, only 3 then ^_~) were approaching him with evil looks across their faces. “You have no money do you? Well, I guess I’ll just have to get my payment by other means…” The black-haired gangster said. “Oi, do you know how that sounds? Like you’re gonna take advantage of him! (^^;;;;) No wonder the man is scared shitless!” The other black-haired gangster exclaimed. “Oh, don’t worry, we’re all just _slightly_ pissed that this other guy (i.e. Ichiro) bested us the other day and we’re looking for a sandbag to vent our frustrations…” that, the blonde gangster said menacingly, at the same time, cracking his knuckles. “Guys, aren’t we just in it for the money?” The fat one exasperated. “Oh shut up!!!” All 3 went and continued to surround a hapless Yukihiro. “Now you just stand there and let us beat you up…” “HELP~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!!!!” Instantly, Izam recognised the originator of the scream to be Mr Dry Fish. He had no trouble tracing Yukihiro’s whereabouts for the scream lasted a characteristic (shorter than usual though still) half a minute. Seeing his was about to be beaten to pulp yet was not retaliating, Izam heaved a long suffering sigh and thought to himself “Why me?” before pulling out his mini-broomsticks and striking a Bruce-Lee like pose. “Hey, you tugs, get away from him or I’ll take care of you personally.” The 5 of them spun around and stared at Izam with wide, gapping mouths. Hakuei finally recovered his senses and decided to ‘play’ with this big-sized housekeeper. “So how are you gonna ‘take care’ of me? Change my diapers for me?” he said and the gangster started laughing. “How dare you look down on me!!” Izam hated being patronised like that and immediately spun into action. With finesse one wouldn’t normally associate with a ‘lady’ of his size, she quickly and skilfully finished them off with his pseudo-Bruce Lee-like kungfu technique, which had taken them by surprise. As the gangsters lay in an unsightly heap on the dirty alley-floor, Izam walked towards Yukihiro with a triumphant smile. Yukihiro’s mouth was _still_ wide open at the sight of a housekeeper besting _4_ street gangsters. *Thwack* “Ouch!” Yukihiro was shaken from his reverie by Izam’s powerful knock on his head. “Trust you to get lost at this crucial time when Prince Hyde’s whereabouts are still a mystery! How could you be so _irresponsible_?!!??!…..” Izam continued to lecture/chide/reprimand Yukihiro about their responsibilities to Ciel etc etc, but ever alert, she didn’t fail to catch a flash of brilliant red at the corner of her eye. “Oh my God, aren’t those just the most gorgeous pair of red platforms (guess whose? ^^) I’ve ever seen? And they’re at _least_ 6 inches high!!” The platform-fanatic Izam immediately forgot about the crisis on hand (like I would ^^;;;;) and proceeded to follow the owner of those fantastic pair of shoes. “Hey where are you going? Hey, Izam, I thought we were supposed to find Prince Hyde?!?” Yukihiro, who had been knocked back to his senses, shouted as he struggled to keep up with Izam, whose strides were twice that of his. “I must find out where he got those, I must find out where he got those….” Izam mumbled to himself, totally fixed on the new mission on hand. xxxxxxx “STOP! Release her. You know perfectly well she has nothing to do with your beloved’s condition…” A soft yet commanding voice snapped Sakura back to his senses, and the disturbing demonic glow subsided from his eyes. “I’m sorry Mana. I don’t know what got into me just now. It’s just… she has become so important in my life…I don’t know what’ll I do… if … if… she…” and he released Mana, a haunted look in his eyes. “…Heaven hath no rage, like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury, like a woman scorned.” Kozi contined. “Your beloved’s kind-hearted nature made her an innocent victim of a malicious love as well as a cruel prophecy…’ “OH MY GOD!! Prince Haido~~~~!!!” Izam and Yukihiro, who had followed Kozi and Gackt all the way to this house had unexpectedly found the one person they had been searching for – and he was at the brink of death. “Woohoohoo~~~ it’s all our fault that you’re going to die…..woohoohoo….” the 2 of them had rushed to Haido’s bedside and were blaming themselves. “How do we go and face Queen Tetsu and the rest of Ciel? We should never had allowed the prophecy have a chance to be fufilled. We deserve to die…” “Do not speak of death so easily. You 2 cannot die if you wish to save your prince’s life.” Kozi spoke again. “The citizens of Ciel have unparalleled powers, but they may only accept treatment from their own people (gals, you know like O can donate to everyone, but can only accept O blood). I need you 2 to act as a channel for the healing process to take place. And I will also need the strength of as many individuals as possible. However, the danger involved in this spell is great… ” “Let me be first in line.” Sakura volunteered “Her life matters more to me than my own. If she dies, I die with her.” “Please let me do my part for her that my doctorly skills could not.” Gackt added. “And me too.” Mana spoke, and Sakura cast a surprised and grateful look at her. “Despite what you think she is indeed important to me.” A bittersweet smile played on her lips. And so Kozi gathered them into a pentagon around Hyde’s ashen body and he himself stood outside the formation and closest to the servants of Ciel, chanting mysterious verses in a language long forgotten. Purple flames leaped up from the ground and engulfed the formation. As Kozi’s chanting grew more and more frantic, Hyde’s body began to rise from the bed and as the spell reached its climax, 2 red dragons leapt from Kozi’s palms. Both passed through Sakura who was bearing the full brunt of the spell, before separating and absorbing energy from Gackt and Mana respectively and finally, the full power of the spell was directed via Izam and Yukihiro to Hyde. A blinding flash of light, and Hyde’s body fell back to his bed, and the 5 participants and the magician fell to the ground from the backlash of the spell. Sakura was the first to recover, and he anxiously shook Hyde’s body. “Please, please wake up!” After what seemed like and eternity, there was a flutter of eyelashes and the Prince woke up in a daze. “What… what…what happened?” “Oh I’m so glad you’re alright!!” Sakura hugged Hyde tightly, unwilling to let go of him, as if Hyde might leave him any moment. Hyde had thought he was going to Hell for certain, yet this surely he was in Heaven, for wasn’t this the closeness with Sakura that he had been dreaming about? He was still confused about what had transpired, but the feeling of Sakura’s chest next to his made him feel so secure that he decided to bask in this personal moment between them for the time being… “Waaa~~~ Hyde-sama, you’re alright!! Waaa~~~~” Izam and Yukihiro, who had awoken by now, were so glad to see Hyde had survived the crisis that they ran forward to hug him too. “So much for my Heaven on Earth.” Hyde smiled and hugged the _3_ of them back. Mana looked on enviously at the happy sight; an only child of rich eccentric family, she had never experienced such warmth. She was truly glad that Hyde was alive, but why was there such a deep sadness in her heart? Without a word, Gackt pulled Mana close to him, and lent her his shoulder to cry on. “Don’t forgot - you still haven’t paid me for my services.” The owner of the red platforms left the house with a silent click of the door. ******************************************************** next.... previous... wish index back to zealous