Chapter 23 - Annual Lantern Festival

The ideas were just flowing and I kept writing....so here's a quick update! :D Hope it makes you guys happy!

Doesn't His Highness Ryuusei sama look dashing in the royal robes? *w* Izumi is so lucky to have such a hot guy fall in love with her, isn't she? X)

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Izumi pov:

"Let us all now cheer to the long and healthy lives of His Highness the Blood Emperor and Empress Izumi!" Taheji cheered while holding up a sake cup.

My lips twitched, wanting to break out into a smirk but I refrained from letting it surface. I smiled a small smile and glanced at Ryuusei as he took a sip of sake from the richly ornate porcelain cup in his hand. Our eyes met though the holes of the half mask he wore and he smiled tenderly. We then looked ahead to scan those gathered here today to celebrate the festival with us.

Our welcome to the camp on Yokobu Shore was extravagant. Taheji had a parade of dancers greet us followed by women throwing flowers at our feet when we got out of the carriage and walked to the tent arranged for our overnight stay. Taheji asked us to relax and freshen up a bit before he himself came to escort us to the gathering area where dances, singing and other cultural activities would take place as a part of the celebration before releasing the lit lanterns. He was being extra hospitable before executing his plan of launching his attack at us – how cocky of him.

After the celebrations started, Ryuusei decided to have friendly chats with the governors and other officials present instead of idly sitting under the arranged gazebo and watching the activities. I stayed by his side while observing the people we spoke to as well as the ones who were around us. Some were friends and others foes and it was quite easy to make them out just by their body language and the look in their eyes. Even the governors were easy to read – those who wholeheartedly supported Taheji looked confident and smug while those who were forced to support him were nervous and kept their eyes averted from Ryuusei's when they spoke.

Governor Houki, who I had seen in Taheji's tent just two days ago, reacted with great hesitance. He was in a tough position and I could tell he regretted joining hands with Taheji even if it was merely for getting money for his wife's medical treatment. I felt a little bad for him because he was stuck in the middle of two very dangerous people – I suppose I could talk to Ryuusei about his and the other hesitant governors' situations so their lives wouldn't get messed up and Ryuusei wouldn't lose honest subordinates.

"You look very beautiful today, Your Highness." Taheji said while looking over me when we were back in the gazebo.

"I trust you know that you are to keep your eyes and hands off my wife, Taheji. Complimenting her openly isn't necessary." Ryuusei responded instantly with venom dripping off every word.

"Oh of course, Ryuusei! I wouldn't even dream of showing her anything short of respect – she is your wife and the Empress of Nihon, after all." He answered with a chuckle. I noticed him glance at me again though, and with a mocking smirk. "I hope that everything here is to your comfort, Ryuusei, Empress. If there is anything at all that you want, please let me know and I will see to it that it is done as soon as possible."

"We will, Prince Taheji. Thank you." I said with a smile though I met his gaze with a burning rage in my eyes. "And I hope that you too enjoy yourself tonight for we don't know how things will be in the future."

Taheji narrowed his eyes slightly at my words. "I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you mean, Empress."

"I only meant that we may not meet like this, with such celebration, anytime soon again. After all, festivals where we can gather and celebrate together isn't often." I said innocently and took a sip of tea.

"Your words are true, Empress. However, it is possible to have such peace as long as we believe in it."

We didn't exchange any other words after that because it was time to light the lanterns and let them go into the sky. Ryuusei and I, being the rulers of this country, were asked to do the honors first. We were led to an elevated platform extended onto the waters of the ocean and it had safety railings all around. There was a pedestal at the center of the platform on which a lantern had been placed, ready to be lit and released. Ryuusei lit the small lamp at the bottom of the lantern before coaxing me to hold it with him.

We gazed into each other's eyes for a moment and my heart skipped at how deep and absorbing his eyes looked in the flickering light of the lantern. They were tender and held trust and adoration for me and I couldn't help but feel a swell of pride and happiness in my chest.

"I love you, Izumi, and I wish upon this lantern for us to always be together and to rule Nihon together. I wish for a prosperous and happy future, different from what I've had to live through before, and that all the land under my rule will flourish with jubilant people." He said and smiled just a bit, making my heart flutter.

"I wish for the same, Ryuusei. And I will continue to watch your back." I said confidently.

"To a bright future." He said again and we gently released the lantern into the air. It floated high and was soon followed by the numerous lanterns lit by the others on the shore.

Ryuusei and I turned towards the ocean to look over the lanterns that adorned the dark horizon. It was a beautiful sight to see and was the calm before the storm. I inhaled deeply, relishing the feel and smell of the salty ocean winds, while preparing myself mentally for the battle we had ahead – it was going to be a bloody one but I would do my best to not kill anyone I fought. I looked ahead into the distance, my thoughts floating away momentarily – this is where I had first turned up after my last assignment as a gofer or the PDST ended as a failure. This was also where many others from the future had turned up and I had a feeling that we were going to see them soon.

Thinking so, I turned my head to look at the fort in the distance. It wasn't clear to see because of the darkness but the fire on the very top of it was enough to confirm that it was there.

"I see my lonely fort has got your attention, Empress." Taheji said as he stepped up onto the pedestal where Ryuusei and I were standing. "That's the surprise I have to show you today. Would you two like to see it?"

"Sure, let's see what you've got, hmm?" I mused and he smirked.

He clapped a few times and some of his soldiers came marching out of a tent close by while dragging people in chains with them. They wore rags and were so skinny that their collar bones were protruding out of their skin and their eyes were sunken into their sockets. They looked scared and starved and I felt a wave of anger wash over me. This was even more horrendous than what I had imagined after hearing Lily san's description of what had happened to her when she was captured! How dare this guy torture these people?! How dare he put them in chains and starve them!!

I clenched my fists so hard that I could feel my arm tremble all the way up to my shoulders. If it wasn't for Ryuusei wrapping his arm around my shoulder to snap me out of my anger, I'm sure I was bolted forward to make the soldiers release those people.

"Who are these people, Taheji?" Ryuusei asked calmly though I could make out from the firmness of his hold on me that he wasn't pleased with what he was seeing.

"I'm so glad you asked, Little Brother!" Taheji answered with a chuckle. "These people are from beyond our land. They are people washed up on Yokobu Shore and I've been collecting them and keeping them in that fort. They speak of strange things and I believe they have great knowledge that I, I mean, we can use to our advantage."

I inhaled deeply to once again compose myself. Taheji was speaking as if these people were mere objects to him and I didn't like it one bit. I would definitely free these people and help them return home.

"Washed up on the shore?" Ryuusei asked, sounding curious. "What knowledge do they have? And how many of such people do you have in your possession?"

"Well, I believe sharing what I've found out from them is for another time, Little Brother. I have fourteen people in my possession along with six strange objects that some of them have had with them. I have two other objects that washed up on the shore by themselves – I do not know what they are used for but I'm sure I'll be able to find that out and exploit them to their maximum." He said before his smile turned maniacal. "And do you know, Little Brother, that there are probably many more like them living right under your nose in your country? What would you do if they were spies from the land beyond these waters?"

Whispers broke out amongst the onlookers and they waited eagerly to hear Ryuusei's response – they wanted to know if they would be safe from any sort of invasion. As much as I wanted to kick Taheji in the shin, I couldn't do it in front of so many people. It wasn't royal etiquette and two brothers fighting for no reason would make people doubt Ryuusei's stand as the Emperor.

"I'm grateful to you for looking into this matter, Taheji. It is something that we should sit down and discuss before deciding what to do. After all, it is important to maintain peace in this country as well as good relationships with other countries." Ryuusei said calmly.

"Of course, Little Brother. And while we're at it, we should think of possible ways to find those lands and conquer them as well." He said in a softer voice so our audience couldn't hear. "Anyway, enough of that! It is time we relaxed. Why don't we take a calming cruise on the boat I have had arranged for us? I'm sure it will be a wonderful experience."

"Cruising on a boat while surrounded by lanterns is a great idea, Prince Taheji! I'm sure it will be a cruise to remember." I said and held Ryuusei's arm in mine.

"I can assure you that it will definitely be a cruise to remember, Empress....one that you can never forget." He responded, his voice getting slightly dark at the end. "And let us all leave our weapons behind. We wouldn't want those bitter things on a romantic cruise, now would we? You can leave them with General Roichi."

Ryuusei twitched but nodded before handing his two katanas to Ichirou san who gave him a deep, respectful bow upon coming close. Haji san, who would be accompanying us on this cruise, handed in his katana as well and all the weapons along with those of the other soldiers boarding the boat were taken away by Ichirou san to be kept in a tent. We then boarded the boat and I went to stand all the way at the front besides the storage barrels that most likely had Taheji's katana in it. Well, that wasn't the only reason – the view up here was brilliant.

I smiled as I saw the vast expanse of the ocean in front of me. We had already begun to move and I could tell that we were slowly getting farther and farther away from the shore. My thoughts were interrupted though when I felt an arm make its way around my middle. Glancing down, I saw Ryuusei's arm placed there comfortably and I tensed when I felt him kiss the exposed part of my neck.

"Ryuusei! What the heck are you doing?!" I asked in fluster, even more so because I knew Haji san was standing just a few feet away and most definitely watching.

"Showering my wife with affection. I haven't been able to do so for quite some time and I've missed it." He said simply before nibbling on my neck softly. The loose strands of his hair tickled my ear and neck and made goose bumps rise on my arms.

"First of all, I'm not your wife yet and secondly, we're not here on a romantic cruise! We're about to fight!" I scolded barely above a whisper while trying to pry his arm off me. Of course, my efforts were in vain because he was much stronger than me.

"Oh? Then can I take your words as a confession? That you are willing to legally become my wife in the very near future?" He asked with a smirk, ignoring my latter statement.

My eyes went wide when I realized what I had let slip out. A dark blush rose to my cheeks and I stuttered out incoherent mumbles, unable to say yes or no to his question. He chuckled in response and turned me to face him while locking me in his arms. I squirmed in his hold, yet again in vain, and gave up with a sigh soon after wonder why I even tried struggling when I knew I wasn't going to be let go. I looked up to glare at him but nearly jumped out of my skin when he leaned down and captured my lips in a fiery kiss.

[A/N: Ahem ahem *wiggles eyebrows* Well, aren't you two enjoying there? >w> On another note, I have no idea where I found this pic but I'm so glad I saved it! TwT It fits so well with this, doesn't it?]

My eyes lost focus and I shut them while returning it, parting my lips when he silently begged for more caresses from me. He held the side of my head firmly with one hand and held me flush against his chest with the other arm wrapped around me. He parted his lips to caress mine deeply, overwhelmingly and my head began to spin. I lifted my arms to hold him back – one fist clutching his robes tightly on his back and the other placed on the side of his strong neck and shoulder that flexed with every caress he gave me. But we were interrupted moments later by none other than Taheji and Ryuusei pulled away from my lips. My blood was still rushing and I wanted the kiss to be longer so I felt irritated by the interruption. I glared at Taheji who was watching me in mild anger and disapproval. However, he smiled to cover it up and bowed slightly.

"Forgive me, Little Brother, Empress. I didn't mean to interrupt your....moment. After all, this is a romantic cruise that you should enjoy to the fullest with your wife. But I had something of utmost importance to discuss with you when we're alone." He said and walked up to us. Ryuusei hadn't let me go and he eyed me disapprovingly again before looking at Ryuusei calmly.

Ryuusei and I noticed him place his hand on one of the storage barrels casually and it caused us to tense and become guarded. I narrowed my eyes and fiddled with the front ties of my royal kimono without Taheji noticing and Ryuusei readied himself to fight while placing one hand on my left hip.

"Did you know that it is I who deserved to be on the throne?" He said and looked at Ryuusei, deep hatred and anger burning in his eyes. "I am the eldest and I am far more capable of governing Nihon than you are. You're nothing but a beast that kills all who disobey you....who would want you as their Emperor? I honestly wonder how people have lived all these years while accepting you as their ruler."

"Watch your words, Taheji." I said in a calm but challenging tone. "What do you know about governing a country? All you've done all your life is drown in luxury – you think you can understand and manage the complexities of a country so vast but with your brains, I highly doubt it's possible. Ryuusei may be stern but he is very knowledgeable, diligent, confident, honest and so much more than you'll ever be. He has always worked to maintain peace and prosperity in his Empire – and he has succeeded too. I'd like to see you show me one person who is starving or living on the streets ever since he came to the throne. Besides, what you are so unaware of is the fact that the people of this country respect him and are thankful to him for giving them comfortable lives. They are glad they have a righteous man as their Emperor."

Taheij twitched, irked by my words. "I didn't ask for your opinion, Izumi."

"You are not to call her so casually, Taheji. I'm lenient and I allow you to call me by my name or as your 'Little Brother' solely because you are elder than me. However, I will not allow you to do so with my wife – she is your Empress. Don't forget that." Ryuusei warned and received a glare in return.

"Do you think I care about what you say, fool?! I have always detested you, wished for you to just die but you keep finding ways to evade me! It won't happen this time though! Today, you will die and Izumi will become my wife!" He said and whistled loudly causing exactly twelve soldiers to come and surround us while holding daggers pointed at us. "Ha! You didn't expect that I'd corner you like this, did you? You're pathetic, you know that? All this time, I've been slowly taking over all of your provinces and you've had no idea! When I kill you today, everything and everyone will fall at my feet! They will fall at the feet of their new Emperor!"

We stared at him blankly for a moment before laughing. While Ryuusei merely let out an amuse huff, I chuckled with a shake of my head. Taheji's smile faltered and he narrowed his eyes at us.

"Why are you laughing?! Do you think I'm lying?! Do you think I'm not capable of doing all that I said I have done?! You fools!" He bellowed.

"Oh, pipe down, Taheji." I said, still chuckling as Ryuusei let me go. "We didn't laugh because we don't think you can accomplish such a feat, we laughed because we know you can't."

"What did you say, wench?!"

"We've known about your scheme to overthrow Ryuusei for quite some time now and we've been retaliating efficiently. Those provinces you think are under your control aren't – we already have our men taking care of your sorry excuse of an army." Ryuusei said. "We also have enough men to take care of things on the shore while we're here enjoying the ocean cruise."

"W-what? T-that's not possible! It can't be possible!" He yelled before becoming enraged. "I won't allow it to happen! Even if you do subdue my men, I will kill you here and still take the place as the Emperor of Nihon! Men! Attack them!"

"Good try, Taheji, but not good enough." I said with a smirk and his eyes went wide as three of the men surrounding us began attacking the others along with Haji san.

Growling in anger, Taheji reached for the katana he had hidden in the barrels so he could attack Ryuusei with it. Just as he did so, I peeled off the flowy layers of my kimono and threw them aside to reveal the fighting attire I wore below. Ryuusei then unsheathed the katana that I had strapped onto my left thigh and blocked Taheji before he could hurt him.

"A hidden katana?! You knew of this as well?!" Taheji asked bewildered and thoroughly enraged.

"Of course we did." Ryuusei said amused. "Your General Roichi was so kind to help us out. In fact, he isn't really your General and his name isn't Roichi. He is the Shogun of my army and his name is Ichirou!"

"No...no! NO! This cannot be happening! My plan was flawless! Every step was planned out so well! There's no way you could have figured out so much about my plans!" Taheji yelled.

I grunted, having evaded a stab from one of his soldiers and kicked him in the gut. I jumped, doing a three sixty degree turn in air and kicked him across the face as he stood up again before looking at Taheji.

"Sorry to break it to you but you messed up big time, buddy. Your plan was full of flaws – flaws that were way too visible for us to ignore." I said and put another soldier out of commission. Not too surprisingly, we were joined by another two dozen soldiers who were hiding below deck so it was now a fight of five against twenty four.

Taheji, having complained some more about how everything should have worked as he wished it to and how he would make it work by killing Ryuusei now despite being retaliated, went ahead to fight in a one on one all out battle with Ryuusei. While I fought the foot soldiers, I glanced at them every now and then. I was astounded by the power with which they fought. They were almost equally matched and fought as a speed where I could barely see their katanas moving. With every blow they exchanged, sparks went off at the point of contact of the two blades. Their stances were powerful and every strong step they put forward caused the boat to rock unsteadily.

Seeing their power made me feel as if my fighting skills could be compared to that of a child. In fact, everyone of the Elite Division were nothing compared to these two.

"What an energetic evening, eh Sweetheart?" Haji san mused as we met back to back while fighting the soldiers. These guys were strong and not just foot soldiers like what Taheji has said he would have on the boat and they were putting up a tough fight.

"Indeed." I said and ducked to dodge a dagger that was thrust towards my face.

"And that was an interesting proposal you gave to His Highness. Do you plan on officially marrying him soon?" He teased and made my step falter, almost giving the enemy a chance to hurt me.

"Shut up, Haji san! I never proposed to him!" I snapped.

"Okay, maybe you didn't propose to him but that kiss sure tells me that we're going be hearing wedding bells soon. And perhaps even news of a Junior Blood Emperor soon, hmm?" He mused with a chuckle as he killed another soldier. "What passion! What romantic pheromones!"

"I cannot believe you're talking about my romantic relationship and laughing while killing enemy soldiers." I deadpanned.

"It's not good to be too serious all the time." He said nonchalantly.

"Well this is a time to be serious! So stop joking around and concentrate on your fight!" I scolded before jumping away from him to confront another soldier.

I wanted to help Ryuusei in some way but I knew that I would only be a hindrance if I intervened. So I settled for beating the foot soldiers that kept up their fighting spirit. While I left soldiers bruised and beaten and no longer in a condition to fight, Haji san and our other comrades finished them off.

"Izumi, look out behind you!" Haji san yelled suddenly and I kicked the guy in front of me before looking behind.

I couldn't evade the soldier who came at me but Haji san intervened and I gasped at the injury he sustained on his upper arm. He retaliated quickly and killed the soldier before looking at me with a raised brow.

"Don't tell me you lost concentration because you were having romantic thoughts about your precious Ryuu sama. Then again, I did tease you so it's only natural to get lost in blissful daydreams." He teased with a grin.

"Blissful daydreams? Are you serious?? Ugh, you are so annoying sometimes, you know that?" I said with a frown.

"But you still love me." He answered with a chuckle.

My brow twitched but I sighed with a shake of my head and glanced at his arm. "Anyway, are you alright? I'm sorry you got hurt in place of me."

"Relax, Sweetheart. This is nothing – I've lived through much worse."

"I suppose that isn't unbelievable but still....you didn't have to take the hit for me. I may not look like it but I can handle wounds like these pretty well too." I said with a smirk and crouched while doing a semi circle with my extended leg to make an enemy coming at us from behind to trip and fall onto his side.

I then hit him on the back of his neck and left him unconscious on the floor.

"That's impressive, Sweetheart, but I've been ordered by your husband to protect you at all times. He said he would lop my head off if you sustained even a single scratch on your beautiful skin while under my watch."Haji san said with a shrug.

My brow twitched again and I glared at Haji san to cover up my embarrassment. "He's not my husband and I don't...."

"Yet..." Haji san added, once again grinning playfully.

"Would you stop it already?! Just go away and quit bugging me, jeez!" I yelled angrily and stomped away from him.

"You're welcome!" He called back and chuckled, making me fume even more.

Grumbling under my breath, I looked around to see if there was someone else I could beat up to release some steam from Haji san's teasing. But what he said about my 'beautiful' skin not getting a scratch – surely Ryuusei hadn't said those exact words to him, right? I mean, he was poetic and dramatic with words when he spoke to me personally but there's no way he would be that way when speaking to anyone else, even if he was talking about me, right?

Ugh....I still can't get used to the colourful language dynamics of these people....

Shaking my head, I decided to take one of the soldiers off one of our comrades' hands because he seemed to be struggling in his fight of three against one. However, I stiffened and looked to the side when Ryuusei yelled loudly and brought down his katana with brute force. Taheji couldn't block in time, having been a little unstable after Ryuusei's previous power-packed hit, and he grunted as he was left with a deep bleeding gash on his shoulder. He didn't stop fighting though – he sucked up the pain and sent his own set of hits at Ryuusei that left him with several surface cuts as well as a blood oozing one on his left torso.

"Just die already!" Taheji screamed after a few moments of the intense fight.

Both of them had sustained multiple cuts and wounds and I was sure they had several bruises on their bodies as well since they were using hand to hand combat too whenever they got the chance to. However, I gasped when Taheji managed to catch Ryuusei off guard and his blade made contact with Ryuusei's face.

Ryuusei's mask fell to the floor in two pieces and he stumbled back and fell to one knee while covering his right eye. My eyes went wide in horror when I saw blood trickling down his cheek and leaving dark stains on the floor boards of the boat. Beads of sweat ran down his face and he was breathing just as heavily as Taheji but the expression in his open eye was that of absolute fury.

"Ryuusei!" I called out anxiously and sprinted to where he was.

"Stay back, Izumi!" He snarled.

The ferocity of his voice unexpectedly made a chill of fear run down my spine and I skidded to a halt. I watched as he stood up, uncovering his bleeding eye, and looked at Taheji with the most savage expression I had ever seen him give. All his expressions of anger until now seemed like those he would probably show in silly tantrums. He looked like a bloodthirsty beast now, vicious and deadly, and ready to rip Taheji apart to pieces. The air around him and on the entire boat got heavy and suffocating and I knew that the next few moments were Taheji's last.

I clenched my fists and flinched when Ryuusei blocked Taheji's blade again. But unlike the other times, he didn't budge even the slightest under the impact. It was like he was even more powerful than before, even more powerful than Taheji ever was and as if he had been fighting halfheartedly until now. He blocked several hits before pushing Taheji back violently enough to make him lose balance. Even before he could get the chance to regain balance, Ryuusei rushed forward and did a wide diagonal slash across his entire front side, even going across his face. It was so fast that the path of the tip of the blade lit up in a flash and the reverberating hum of the metal could be heard even at the distance at which I stood watching their fight.

Taheji's eyes went wide as blood spurted out of the huge gash and he dropped his katana before falling onto his front with a sickening squelch of the blood. I covered my mouth with one hand, feeling queasy at the gore sight, and felt another shudder of fear as Ryuusei straightened up while staring down at Taheji absolutely placidly. I felt an even sharper chill in my bones when I noticed that his blade, clothes and face had been stained dark red with Taheji's blood.

Ryuusei exhaled deeply and then looked my way making me tense up even more. He had his right eye closed and the slash across it was still bleeding – its blood along with what had splattered on his face made him look quite scary but I also noticed intense grief and apology in his open eye as he watched me.

"Forgive me, Love." He said softly, his voice laced with pain. "I never wished for you to see this side of me. But it seems....it couldn't be helped."

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding in until now. I blinked too and relaxed my stance. This was the true power of the Blood Emperor – this was what Ryuusei had become to be to stay alive and to keep his enemies at bay. If he wasn't this strong or terrifying, he wouldn't be able to live for very long amidst the treachery of those around him. Besides, we expected this to be a violent bloody battle and one in which Ryuusei would show his real 'Blood Emperor' side.

As much as I found this scene unsettling, I couldn't help but sympathise with Ryuusei.

Taking a deep breath, I walked to him and stopped when I was right next to him. I looked up into his eye, ignoring Taheji and all the blood around him, and reached up with one hand. I hesitated for a moment, feeling mildly overwhelmed by the dark thick air that still lingered around him, but placed my hand on his cheek, trying as much as possible to avoid the blood splatter stains. Ryuusei reacted immediately, closing his eyes and furrowing his brows deeply as he leaned into my touch. His hair that was now completely open, the crown having flown off somewhere from the rapid movement during the fight, and the dark tousles fell over his shoulder and onto my arm making my skin tingle. He let go of his katana and it met the floor with a loud clatter.

We were enveloped by silence – Taheji was defeated and all his men lay in pools of blood, having been finished off by our soldiers and Haji san. Our soldiers, two of which had sustained minor injuries, stood a little distance away without interrupting us and were awaiting orders. However, we all tensed and got into guarded stances again upon hearing an ear piercing scream just a little away from where we stood. Looking to the side, we saw Kiyori just exiting the door of the covered area on the deck. She had her mouth covered with both hands and her eyes wide in terror as she looked at the scene in front of her. We relaxed our stances since it wasn't an enemy and I frowned, wondering why she was here.

"Kiyori....what are you doing here? How did you even get on the boat?" Ryuusei asked sternly.

"R-Ryu-Ryuusei sama....I-I was just....I-I wanted to b-be with you. I-I just...." She stuttered helplessly before shutting her watering eyes. Ryuusei sighed deeply and shook his head.

"Of all the foolish things to do....I thought I made it clear that you are to stay behind, Kiyori." He said sharply causing her to flinch.

"I-I'm so s-sorry....I-I didn't mean to cause trouble." She wibbled as she sunk to her knees.

"Well, let it be." Ryuusei said with a click of his tongue. "You are safe and that's all that matters. We should steer the boat back to the shore now."

"N-Not so f-fast...."

We twitched upon hearing Taheji speak through gasps. He lifted his head to look at us though half lidded eyes and coughed up blood. I took a step back, feeling queasy again but Ryuusei merely narrowed his eyes at Taheji's squirming figure.

"So you're not dead yet?" He mused. "And you don't honestly think you can still fight in your condition, do you?"

"I w-will not lose....I-I will not lose alone." He stuttered. "I will t-take you all with me....I will not die alone!"

Summoning the last amount of strength, he threw something to the side. There was a spark near some crates and Ryuusei's as well as Haji san's eyes went wide in shock.

"Get Kiyori!" Ryuusei yelled to Haji san before taking a hold of me around the waist and jumping off the side of the boat. Even before we could touch the water, the boat blew up and we miraculously avoided getting burnt by the scorching flames from the blast by falling into the water.

Ryuusei let me go and we swam away from the boat, joining up with Haji san and Kiyori who were just a little away from us under water. Several more blasts rocked the ship and one even created a powerful vortex of water that pushed us in all haphazard directions.

We then flapped our arms like mad people to make it to the surface and fill our burning lungs with much needed air. We coughed and looked at each other to make sure we were all okay – the four of us were fine but our three other soldiers were nowhere to be seen. Perhaps they had swum in the other direction and we would have to call out to them so we could regroup. It seemed that we had finally got past the worst part of the evening and all we had left to worry about was how to get to shore.

"I think I see her! That has to be the b**** the boss wanted us to find and kill! But how the heck did she swim all the way here from the ship?!"

"Who cares?! Let's just kill her already!"

I looked back with wide eyes upon hearing voices and cursed under my breath for jinxing our luck. It was dark so I couldn't see our surrounding clearly but I did make out two hazy silhouettes on a deck just a few feet from where we were floating in the water.

"Everybody, get underwater!" I yelled and shoved Ryuusei and Haji san, who still had a hold on Kiyori, under water just in the nick of time, avoiding a bullet aimed at me to kill.

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Taheji has been defeated by Ryuusei! And what a fight that was, eh? Ryuusei is much more powerful and deadly than what Izumi had ever imagined him to be....enough for her to momentarily feel wary of him O.O but she has looked past the person he has to be to see the person he is on the inside so she still loves him and will continue to support him :') As sassy as she can be, she knows when she needs to give silent support....how much you've matured, my dear Izumi TwT I'm so proud of you!

And Kiyori managed to sneak on board >.> at least she didn't make an appearance anytime earlier and become a hindrance during the most important battle in the universe....I mean, in Ryuusei's life XD And not to forget all the teasing from Ryuusei and Haji XD

Ah, and it seems Taheji had one more trick up his sleeve. He blew up the boat! Can you believe it?! And now they have to evade bullets!!!

Wait a second....what?!

Another big ass cliffhanger for y'all XD

So!!! How was the chapter? How was Ryuusei's and Izumi's steamy kiss? ;) Are you excited to read what happens next? Then let's see those comments!

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:D