Chapter 24 - Modern Era

This chapter is dedicated to ShyLittleMarshmallow! Happy reading! :)

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Izumi pov:

My heart pounded loud and fast in my ears as I waded through the water. I flinched every time I heard a gunshot and looked at the three others with me to make sure none of them got hit. Of all the possible times to turn up in my time again, it had to be now! And why did I have the feeling that I had returned to the same day of the mission on the Marine Dunes ship? I mean, how was it even possible for me to return to the same day when I had been in the past for close to a year?!

Unless of course, time didn't flow at the same speed or we were just meant to return to the time we were left off at.

I glanced back at Ryuusei, Haji san and Kiyori again. Ryuusei and Haji san looked startled and concerned, unable to make out what exactly was going on besides the fact that I was anxious and we were trying to evade something that could harm us. Kiyori was scared out of her mind and looked close to having a panic attack.

We had to get out of the water and onto dry land before coming up with an escape plan – we were running short of air and we were too open for attacks here. The only problem was that there were people out there with guns waiting for us to surface so they could shoot us. I searched along the deck while squinting my eyes to find a part where there weren't any of the men to see us when we surfaced for air. Thankfully, I did spot one place next to a speed boat that looked unguarded and I motioned to Ryuusei and Haji san to swim toward it. When we were on the other side, hopefully out of the armed men's views, we surfaced and gasped for air. We made sure that we didn't cough and Ryuusei shushed Kiyori who was making a fuss and almost gave away our position. After taking a moment to make sure we weren't seen, we swam to the part of the docks where we there were a lot of crates stacked. We could use them to hide and catch our breath before I assessed the situation and decided how to get out of here alive.

We got out of the water and I guided the three of them through the crates and to a small courtyard of sorts in the middle of several crates. We sat on one knee and caught our breaths while squeezing the excess water out of our clothes and hair. I peeked out from the crates once to see the men with guns running along the edge of the docks to look for me in the water though I could make out that they were planning on using the speed boat to search farther away from the deck and have a few others search the docks in case we managed to get out of the water without being seen. That being said, we didn't have much time to figure out an escape route from here.

"Izumi, what's going on?" Ryuusei asked in a hushed whisper when I sat down next to him.

"We're in my time, Ryuusei. When we fell into the water, I think we fell through the same portal thought which I came to your time." I said and wiped off some water that rolled down the side of my face from my hair.

"What are you talking about?! Who are those men?! What are-mmpghh!" Kiyori yelled but I slapped a hand over her mouth while glaring at her. She was being too loud, dammit!

"If I hear one more word from you, I'm not going to be nice anymore." I hissed and looked at Ryuusei after letting her go. "Sorry but she's really starting to annoy me. We absolutely cannot let those men find us – they're not people we can fight."

"They don't look all that tough, Sweethe-I mean, Your Highness." Haji san said, stuttering at the end when he received a glare from Ryuusei for almost calling me by the nickname he always used when with me. "I think we can take them on....we did just beat more than two dozen soldiers."

"These guys are not like the guys we fought. They carry weapons that we cannot fight against – they're like bows but much smaller with small but fatal-impact ammunition. When they're fired, they move so fast that you'll be hit even before you realize you were being aimed at." I said.

"How is that possible? Can weapons really be made to hit targets faster than normal?" Ryuusei asked.

"It is possible because of the evolution of technology but this isn't the time to be discussing it. We need to get out of here first." I said and stood up just a bit to look around.

I spotted a surveillance camera just a little away from where we were and an idea came to my mind. I reached into the almost flat pouch strapped onto my right thigh and pulled out my glasses – I mentally patted myself on the back for always carrying my modern world stuff with me with thoughts of them possibly coming in handy. I put on my glasses and touched the power button hoping that the battery wasn't dead since I hadn't solar-charged in the two days ago. Thankfully, it still had about thirty percent of charge left and I tapped another button to connect to the main office system. I took pictures of the men searching for us as well as the surveillance camera before once again sitting down.

"What is that? And what are you doing?" Haji san asked. "I thought you said we're supposed to be figuring out how to escape."

"That's what I'm doing." I said and furrowed my brows while anxiously waiting for some signal to pop up on my glasses. "C'mon Teddy....respond. Someone respond – Teddy, Obachan, somebody."

"Love, perhaps we should go around these crates in a direction opposite to where the men are. If we can get far enough from them, we'll be safe, right?" Ryuusei said and took a peek at the men who were yelling and running around looking for us.

"I wish it was that simple, Ryuusei. But there are surveillance cameras all around and I'm sure they've hacked into them. They're probably searching for us using them." I said and huffed in annoyance having received no response on my glasses.

"Cameras? What is that?" Ryuusei asked.

"That's another thing to talk about later." I said and cursed under my breath. "C'mon, please....someone pick up the damn signal!"

A few more tense seconds passed. I was just about to give up on getting any help from the PDST and find some way to get out of this on my own, when a message popped up on my glasses. My eyes went wide in surprise, relief and gratitude because Teddy had picked up on my message through the pictures I had sent and he had left me a message saying that he knew my location and all surveillance cameras that could spot us had been take care of. He also sent a picture of the best route of escape for us that led us to where I had parked my bike.

"You're the man, Teddy." I said, now smirking and looked at the others. "Okay, I've got in contact with the people who can help us get out of here without any trouble. I want you three to follow me as quietly as possible, without asking any questions, until we reach a safe place. Got it?"

"I guess so, Your Highness....but how did you contact people who can help us? I don't see anyone..." Haji san said while glancing around.

I rolled my eyes and huffed. "I said questions later, Haji san. And would you stop calling me 'Your Highness'?? Hearing you refer to me so formally is creepy."

"That aside, Love, we will follow you since I have a feeling that you know what to do better at the moment." Ryuusei said and I was so sure that he wasn't happy about me not wanting Haji san to be formal with me. I ignored it though and nodded before looking over the crates to check where the men were.

After a moment, I beckoned to the three of them with a nod and hurried out of the crates while ducking to make sure even my head wasn't visible. Haji san, Ryuusei and Kiyori followed suit before crouching at the edge of the crate I was next to. Beyond this point was the open deck and we would have to wait for an opening to get to the main street – and we would get just one chance. Peeking over the crate, I waited and watched for a few moments for all the men to look away from this side of the deck. When they did, I took a hold of Ryuusei's hand and ran as fast as I could over the deck and onto the asphalt road that connected the docks to the main street. I glanced once behind me to make sure no one was left behind and continued on.

"There! They're getting away! Shoot them down, dammit!" I heard a voice yell and I cursed under my breath realizing that we had been spotted. Well, with four of us running as a group, it wasn't hard to spot us, especially in these extravagant flowy clothes.

"Haji san, get in front of us! You have to protect Kiyori!" I yelled and Haji san picked up speed to get in front of me and Ryuusei.

I flinched when I heard a series of gun shots. Their aim was good and they managed to shoot dangerously close to us as we ran. Thankfully, they were using regular hand guns so they couldn't get more than six shots per person at a time before pausing to refill. I looked back for a moment and my eyes went wide when I spotted a sniper aiming his gun at us while lying on some crates. Upon zooming in, I realized that he was aiming at Ryuusei's back. I slowed down my pace of running just a bit and noticed the red aim light on Ryuusei's back, right where his heart is.

"Darn it!" I yelled and shoved Ryuusei out of the way just before the sniper shot.

I felt an incinerating pain in my upper back, just a little above my right shoulder blade and I gasped at the intense pain it instantly shot through my body. I stumbled while clutching the fabric above my chest with my free hand, trying to replenish my burning lungs with the air they desperately needed.

"Izumi!" Ryuusei called out in alarm and I heard the sniper reengage his gun to shoot again. We didn't have time to stop and worry about my injury.

Sucking in air through my mouth while ignoring the searing pain I felt, I tugged on Ryuusei's hand again and picked up my pace of running.

"Run faster! We can't stop for even a moment now or else we'll all be dead!" I screamed and bolted in a haphazard way to make sure the sniper couldn't lock on target.

Haji san and Ryuusei picked up on my plan easily and they too began to run while making acute changes in directions often. I did my best to run fast too but the gunshot wound was deep and I was losing blood – I could feel it seeping through my clothes and running down all the way till my waist. My vision went blurry for a moment and I tripped on my own feet. I waited to feel pain upon meeting the hard asphalt ground but I was yanked sideways and swept into someone's arms. Looking sideways, I saw Ryuusei's face contorted in anger, his jaw tightly clenched as he continued to run easily with me in his arms.

As much as I disliked being treated as a damsel in distress, this wasn't a situation where I could show my endurance or stamina so I let Ryuusei carry me while I shouted out which way was our best route of escape.

We turned into an alley soon after and took several sharp turns to make sure that those who were following us on foot would lose sight of us. After several more turns, we made it to the alley where my bike was parked. It was on the other side of the main street and having got an update from Teddy that we were away and safe from the men for now, I announced that we could stop for a breather. I was let down from Ryuusei's arms carefully but the moment I was let go to stand on my own, my legs buckled. I fell to my knees while breathing heavily through my mouth and Ryuusei was immediately kneeling next to me, tugging off my clothes to see how serious my injury was.

"Oww!" I yelped when the cloth stuck to the wound was peeled off by Ryuusei.

"I'm so sorry, Love....did it hurt too much?" He asked, startled and worried.

"No shit, Sherlock!" I snapped but sighed with my eyes shut as I regretted it instantly. He was only worried for me and it was wrong for me to yell at him because I was feeling the pain quite a bit and I was angry on those morons who were shooting at us.

"I'm sorry, Ryuusei....I'm just thoroughly pissed off by those men. And this wound....tch!" I said and reached held my right shoulder that was feeling the strain too.

"I know, Love, I understand. It seems quite deep and I may be wrong but I think there's something that's got embedded in your flesh." He said while looking over the wound.

"The bullet." I said with another curse under my breath. "Listen, Ryuusei, I know this is going to hurt like crazy but you need to get it out of my shoulder before putting on a temporary wrapping. Use the dagger Haji san has."

"Surely you do not think I will do something that will cause you pain, Love." Ryuusei said with a frown.

"Oh Ryuusei sama! I was so scared! And I thought we were going to be killed today!" Kiyori interrupted while throwing herself at Ryuusei while wailing. "Izumi almost got us killed! She must be a rebel, right?! This wench should have got killed instead of just getting such a wound!"

"That's enough, Kiyori!" Ryuusei snapped while shoving her away and she looked at him fearfully. "I've had enough of your nonsensical drama! Ever since I made Izumi my Empress, you have been insulting her and mocking her behind her back and while I am not present with her – did you think that I was unaware of it? She is my first wife, my Empress and the Empress of all of Nihon so she is much above you! Are you questioning the decision of the Blood Emperor?! If you will not show respect, I will-"

"No!" Kiyori screamed in fear and fell to her knees trembling. "Forgive me, Ryuusei sama! I'm very sorry for speaking out of line! I only wish for the best for you! I will not say anything against Empress Izumi ever again! Please show mercy!"

"Mercy? Do you think you deserve mercy?" Ryuusei sneered and grabbed her by the hair to make her stand. She yelped and I saw absolute terror in her eyes as she looked at Ryuusei who towered over her. "Do you think I am unaware of what your brother and father are doing while using my name and our so called family connection? And I know how you have been helping them gain more power too – do you think the money and assets in my name are free for you to use for the benefit of your family? I didn't want to question you for, not matter what, you are a consort in my harem and I wanted to remain kind to you if not to your family, but you are leaving no room for me to be merciful. I may stay silent when you help your family financially but I will not show anything less than torture to those who insult Izumi in any way. Do you understand?"

"Y-y-yes, Ry-Ryuusei sama....p-please forgive me." She stuttered, now with tears streaming down her cheeks uncontrollably.

"Oi, Ryuusei, why don't you let her go now?" I said with a sigh, tired of seeing this weird argument or whatever going on between them. "I don't really care what she thinks or says about me because I know who I am and what I'm capable of and I don't need to prove myself to anyone. Only people who have good enough brains will understand me so I don't blame her for not understanding. Besides, you have to get the bullet out of my shoulder so we can proceed to a safe place."

Haji san snorted in an attempt to hold in a laugh. I glanced at him and raised a brow but he just shrugged while failing to hide his amused smile.

"I thought we are already in a safe place, Love." Ryuusei said while letting go of Kiyori. She fell to the ground in a heap, still trembling and crying, and Ryuusei crouched next to me again with a hand on my shoulder. He was now much calmer and showed not even the slightest attention to Kiyori who was struggling to stand.

"This place is far from safe. Now hurry up."

Ryuusei hesitated but took the dagger from Haji san and held it over my bleeding wound. I inhaled deeply and held my breath while closing my eyes so I could maintain some amount of composure while he removed the bullet. I tensed and clenched my fists painfully hard when I felt him push the dagger into my shoulder. He was quick to remove the bullet and I'm sure he hadn't made the wound worse in any way but it hurt like crazy and I doubled over while biting my bottom lip hard enough for it to cut and bleed.

The dagger fell to the ground in a clatter along with the bullet and Ryuusei placed a hand on my back while leaning to my level. "Love, are you alright? Did it hurt too much? Forgive me....dammit, I feel so helpless right now!"

I took a few deep breaths and opened my eyes before pushing on my left arm to sit up. I looked at Ryuusei and smiled just a bit through the pain, silently telling him that I was alright, but shut my eyes again as I was pulled close to his chest with a hand on my head.

"Um, not to interrupt your moment, but we should really wrap her wound to stop the bleeding now." Haji san pointed out and Ryuusei let me go.

"I will wrap her wound with Kiyori's help. You will turn around, Haji, and do well to not look." Ryuusei commanded and ripped his royal robes with his teeth into strips that he could tie over my wound.

"I doubt Kiyori will be of any help in wrapping a wound, no offense, so Haji san should-"

"Absolutely not." Ryuusei said, cutting me off. "I will not allow another man to see you when you are unclothed even in the slightest. Your bare skin is only for me to see."

"I know you're the possessive type and all but it's really no big deal. I'm wearing a chest wrap so-" I said, only to be cut off again.

"I said I will not allow it." Ryuusei said, his voice getting a little loud and laced with irritation. "You are my wife, not his. I will wrap your wound and that is final."

"Alright, alright....no need to get so worked up about it. Sheesh...." I said with a sigh and shook my head.

"Don't worry, Your Highn-I mean, Sweethea, um, Izumi san? Um, anyway, I'll stay on the lookout while you're being tended to so the enemy can't sneak up on us." Haji san said. His voice was a little weak because both Ryuusei and I were glaring at him for the way he almost referred to me. Ah, the poor guy had no idea how to call me now....

"Alright, Love, I'm going to take off your haori now." Ryuusei san and gently slid it down my arms so more of my back was visible. He also moved my hair over my left shoulder and out of the way.

I would be wrong if I said I didn't feel embarrassed about what he was doing because, first of all, he was my boyfriend, so to say, and a full grown man with romantic thoughts for me looking over my half naked form at such proximity. I felt even more awkward when he reached around me to wrap the wound – his fingers that brushed against my sides, though clothed, made goose bumps erupt on my skin. I stiffened as hard as stone when he kissed my shoulder softly after wrapping my wounds and pulled my haori up to my shoulders again.

Taking a deep breath to compose myself and tightening the obi to hold the hoari in place, I turned to look at him. When I met his eyes, my heart skipped a beat. They were filled with so much anguish and apology and he closed them while pulling me into a gentle embrace.

"Forgive me, Love. I should have been hit instead of you....if only I had known what was happening, I would never have let you get hurt." He said and tightened his hold just a bit.

I laughed softly before pushing on his chest to make him let go of me. "Don't apologize, Ryuusei. You're in my time now and it's my duty to protect you from the things that could harm you. Besides, this isn't the first time I've got shot – I've been working on dangerous missions like this for several years and with the job come the risks. You won't find me complaining about occasional wounds like this."

"I suppose....but I hate not being able to help you in any way." He said while averting his eyes from me. I couldn't help but find him adorable while looking so burdened and worrying about me.

"You did help me by carrying me here." I said and he looked back at me. "Let's save the rest of this emotional drama for later. It's time to go now. C'mon, Haji san, and Kiyori too."

I stood up with a wince and refused Ryuusei's help when he came to support me against him before limping slightly to where my bike was parked. I inhaled deeply and got on, not bothering to put on the helmet, and motioned for the others to get on behind me. They looked confused but got on the bike one behind the other – Ryuusei sat behind me, obviously, and wrapped his arms around my torso in an embrace, Kiyori sat behind him and Haji san at the very back. We were kind of squished together but we would have to manage for the short twenty minute ride.

I pulled out the bike key from my side pouch and put it into the key hole. Turning it to the right, I triggered the ignition. Ryuusei tensed at the noise and the vibration and so did Kiyori and Haji san and it made me chuckle.

"Are you ready to see the real way to travel?" I asked while revving the engine a couple of times with a grin.

"What do you mean, Swee – woahh!!!" Haji san reacted as I let go of the break and accelerated and the bike moved forward swiftly.

I told everyone to keep their legs up on the side supports of the bike and I accelerated more as I drove through the alleys. I wanted to avoid the main streets because we would gain way too much attention – four people on a bike with their long hair and clothes fluttering behind them was surely going to cause a lot of heads turn our way.

"How is this thing moving??" Ryuusei asked while looking over my shoulder. "There are no horses! And it's going so fast!"

"Say hello to the modern way to travel." I said with a smug laugh.

Both Ryuusei and Haji san were awed and impressed by my bike as well as the stuff they saw in the alleys we drove through so they kept asking me questions. It was hilarious – they were awed by trash cans and light poles and the shops' light displays hanging around. I answered some of the questions as simply as possible but asked them to save the rest of their questions for later because the wound on my back was beginning to take its toll on me. I was feeling tired and dizzy and my eyes were losing focus every now and then. I needed to hold out just until we got to the PDST headquarters while avoiding possible crashes and having to listen to their questions and thing of answers that they could understand was stressing me more. With a shake of my head to stay alert, I sped up to reduced the time it took for us to get to our destination.

Thankfully, we reached the back entrance of the PDST without any problems. Having parked my bike a little away, we all dismounted and I led them to the back door of the Headquarters. I pulled out the entrance swipe card and waved it over the sensor next to the door. It authenticated the card and unlocked the door with a soft click. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and stepped inside only to be greeted by several members as well as Juri san herself watching me extreme worry.

Kiyori pov:

Ryuusei sama, Captain Haji and I sat on one side of the strange looking room while watching strangely dressed people – it wasn't decent but not completely indecent either. They were arguing amongst themselves, mostly about Izumi, about how careless she had been and why they couldn't talk to her and why she had got hurt. In all honesty, most of what these people were talking didn't make sense. They were using strange words too and I'm sure it wasn't just me who was lost in the situation.

I took a hesitant glance at Ryuusei sama and he watching them as well. His eyes were narrow and his brows deeply furrowed with dark creases forming between them. He looked frightening and I averted my eyes immediately, not wanting him to catch me staring. I had always known he was a terrifying person but I never thought he would be so harsh with me, his very first consort.

In all the time I had been giving money to my brother and father, I assumed that Ryuusei sama knew about it. I thought that he didn't mind it and only wished for my father and brother to get more political power to govern their assigned parts of the country better. But Ryuusei sama had made it clear today that he disliked that – he thought that we were insulting him.

But I would never do that! How could I ever do something that would harm Ryuusei sama! He is my husband and I would never wish for anything bad to happen to him!

But he didn't have the same feelings I had for him. He loved that wench who turned up barely few months ago over me who has been with him for six years. What did he see in her? What was so great about her other than her uncouth and brash behavior? She ran her mouth like she was superior to everyone, she was so unrefined and unladylike and she wasn't even that beautiful. What did Ryuusei sama see in her that I didn't have, let alone the others of his harem? Just wait until I got to see her alone....I would definitely show her her place! I would not be pushed aside by Ryuusei sama for some ill-bred wench like her!

"Is she alright? Izumi, are you alight?" I heard someone ask and I looked up to see Izumi walking out from the room she had been dragged into the minute we had arrived.

Ryuusei sama was thoroughly against letting her out of his sight but she convinced him to wait while she got her wound tended to and changed into more comfortable clothes. But we were all rather shocked to see the clothes she was wearing when she exited the room – a short white haori of sorts that fluttered loosely enough to expose a part of her slim waist and dark blue pants that stuck to her legs and showed the exact outline of her physique. It was even ripped over her right knee!

"W-woah....okay, I was not expecting to see this...." Haji san said while averting his eyes from her, his face going slightly red.

I looked at Ryuusei sama to see what expression he had and I noticed him staring at her, his gaze lingering on her exposed waist, with his hands and jaw clenched tightly and deep desire swirling in his eyes. When another man who Izumi was talking to touched her shoulder, Ryuusei sama stood up and went to her side immediately. I watched as he slapped the man's hand away while glaring at him dangerously and held Izumi to his chest with an arm around his waist, his palm pressed up against the bare skin of her lower back. It angered me that she was doing something so indecent to get Ryuusei sama's attention but I couldn't find my voice to say anything to him after how he had treated me earlier.

The people around Izumi, having seen Ryuusei sama's reaction, seemed surprised though Izumi only seemed mildly irked and she pushed him away after prying his arm off her. She clicked her tongue and walked with Ryuusei sama back to where we were and both of them sat down. The others too came to join us, though sat opposite to us on chairs while looking at Izumi expectantly and sparing the rest of us a curious glance.

"Look, I already told you guys that I'm fine. Will you seriously stop worrying?" Izumi said and I watched her run her hand through her open hair with an exasperated sigh.

"What do you mean 'stop worrying'?? We're suddenly cut off from you and then you turn up here like this?? With such a bad injury?! It's obvious that we'll worry!" One of the women seated in front of us scolded.

"Watch your tone with her, woman." Ryuusei sama said with another glare but instead of cowering in fear, the woman scoffed and looked at Ryuusei sama with a raised brow.

"Excuse me? And who are you to tell me how to talk to her?" She snapped back.

"Oh? Are you saying you don't know? Then perhaps you need to be shown your place to understand!" Ryuusei sama hissed and stood up, ready to fight. However, Izumi stood up as well and placed her hand on his chest to make him back away from the woman who was standing too and looked ready to confront Ryuusei sama.

"Stop fighting you guys. And Ryuusei? Let me handle this, please." She said and Ryuusei sama scoffed angrily.

"I don't see why you guys are getting so worked up about all this. It's not like this is the first time I've come back from a mission hurt – it's obvious that there are risks in every mission and getting hurt is sometimes inevitable." Izumi explained coolly.

"We don't want to hear that explanation, Izumi." The man who had touched her moments ago said. "You're our best gofer and there's no way you would get hurt on a mission like this. The Jintashiro mission was tougher than this and you made it in and out of that high security building without a scratch."

"Exactly! What the heck were you thinking running out in the open like that when so many of those men were searching for you?! And with guns, no less?! You know better than to do that!" The first woman yelled again. She was yelling too much and it was beginning to get annoying.

"Well what else did you expect me to do then, Juri san? Stay hidden in an inescapable place until I was found and shot anyway? Sometimes doing stupid things is unavoidable! I had to get out of there if I didn't want to lose my life to those men!" Izumi responded, her voice going higher as well.

"That is not a reason I want to hear from you! Do you know how alarmed I was when Teddy called me and told me you weren't responding to his calls?! I rushed all the way here only to find you hurt and bleeding – do you know how terrified I was?!" The lady, Juri san hollered again.

"I still don't understand why you're making such a big deal about this! Yes, I got hurt, but I'm alive and fine now, aren't I? Why are you getting angry at me for doing something – risky or not – that had to be done?!"

The moment Izumi had finished her question, Juri san stepped up and punched her across the face, hard enough to cause her to stumble and end up with a bleeding lip. It was quick and startled all three of us and, of course, angered Ryuusei sama but even before he could say or do something about what just happened, the lady yelled something that surprised us all.

"Because I am your mother!"

Izumi tensed too, as if she wasn't expecting to hear those words. She wiped off the thin line of blood that ran down her chin from her bleeding lip and caressed her reddening cheek before looking at a fuming Juri san, her eyes wide in surprise. Ryuusei sama still looked angry but shocked and curious as well and Captain Haji and I didn't quite know what to make of the situation.

"I have been taking care of you since you were ten years old, Izumi! I've fed you, clothed you and given you a roof above your head and I worry about you all the time! That's makes me your adopted mother! And it gives me the right to yell at you and beat the shit out of you!" She scolded while breathing heavily and I cringed at her choice of words – she sounded just as crude as Izumi.

"Well....I suppose you are my adopted mother." Izumi said slowly after a few moments of silence. She then shrugged and looked at Juri san with a light laugh. "Well then, you may go ahead and beat the shit out of me, Juri san – until you're satisfied. Although, I'd prefer if you spare my face from too much damage."

Juri san twitched and closed her eyes while sighing deeply. She pinched the bridge of her nose with a frown etched onto her face and stayed as she was until she regained composure. She then looked at Izumi with an expression that was a mix of anger and helplessness.

"I'll definitely do that, Izumi, but not now – I don't want your wound to get worse. Anyway, what the hell happened? Teddy told me that you were fighting some thugs on the ship and then he suddenly lost visual and audio on you. He picked up a visual almost twenty minutes later and it's one where you're asking for an escape route. Why did we lose connection with you? Surely the equipment didn't fail....and how did you get to the shore all the way from the middle of the ocean? And who are these people? They're dressed so weirdly – even you were dressed pretty weirdly when you arrived...."

Izumi rubbed the back of her neck for a moment, looking burdened and unsure of what to say. She bit her lip as everybody waited in absolute silence for her to speak and she inhaled deeply before putting a hand on her hip and looking at Juri san.

"Okay, what I'm about to tell you is probably going to sound really crazy but I want you guys to listen until the end before asking any questions. Deal?"

"Fine. Let's hear what happened." Juri san said, crossing her arms rudely and narrowing her eyes at Izumi.

"Well, here goes....when I fell into the water while fighting those men, I got sucked in by the currents and ended up in a place that is six hundred years in the past. I think I fell through some kind of portal....I've been there for almost a year now and, before you ask, I don't know how time travel is possible or what the deal is with the time difference – I'm no brainy scientist. All I can say is that I probably fell through some kind of portal. And these three people are from the past era I have been living in. We happened to fall into the water together and well, we turned up near the docks. This is Ryuusei, the Emperor, Kiyori, one of his consorts and Haji san, a Captain of his army and a very good friend of mine." Izumi explained.

No one spoke after her. I would assume no one knew what to say – and neither did I. What she said sounded strange and unbelievable. Past and future, six hundred years apart....how could that possibly be true?

"So....you're saying you just time traveled?" The man named Teddy asked, sounding disbelieving.

"Hmph....it looks like it's time for her to retire, Juri. She must have lost her marbles after being pushed to go on crazy missions for so many years just because she's got the skills." An older woman said nonchalantly. "And maybe we should consider calling a psychiatrist to come out of her delusions."

"I'm serious, Obachan, and I'm not really in the mood for your sarcasm." Izumi said flatly before looking back at Juri san. "Look, I already told you that it sounds crazy but it's the truth, okay? Why do you think I was dressed in a kimono when I don't even like wearing skirts, for crying out loud?"

"She has a point." Teddy san said with a nod.

"But that still doesn't prove her ridiculous story." The older woman said indifferently. "Of all the times to become delusional – it would have been better if this happened after I retired because I'm going to be stuck with whiny scaredy-cat for gofers now."

"Seriously, Obachan, that's enough." Izumi said in annoyance. "I'm not delusional and I'm not going to stop being a gofer. I'm mentally and physically perfectly sound and I don't want to hear you cribbing!"

"So...he's the Emperor?" Juri san questioned, interrupting their argument and pointing to Ryuusei sama.

"Yes....and my boyfriend of sorts."

"The heck??" The older woman yelped while almost choking on something she was drinking. "You're dating a six hundred year old Emperor? Or rather, Emperor wannabe??"

"He is a real Emperor, Obachan and yes, I am dating him. Now stop being so dramatic! Jeez! Can't even one person around here be levelheaded for once?!" Izumi hollered while throwing her uninjured arm up. "And for the record, he isn't six hundred years old – he's twenty five. It's a very normal, young and handsome age, alright?"

"Listen here, Izumi, I'm finding it very hard to believe all this talk about time travel and Emperors and all but I'll let it go for now. You're injured, most definitely tired and you need rest. I'm going to call a cab to take you and your friends home to rest. I assume your friends don't have any clothes besides these....kimonos to wear so they can borrow some of Teddy's clothes for now and we'll talk more about this tomorrow. It's been a long night for all of us." Juri san said.

"That sounds like a brilliant plan, Juri san. I can't wait to get some food into my grumbling stomach before hitting the bed." Izumi said with a childish grin.

"You do that. I'll go over to your house tomorrow with Urumi sensei so she can have a look at your wound and give it the right treatment." Juri san said sternly before looking over the three of us. I tensed and looked between Ryuusei sama and Captain Haji but they were gazing at Juri san with narrow eyes.

"Well, it's nice meeting you three. I'm sorry if I came off as rude on our first meeting and I hope we'll get along. Thank you for helping Izumi, if you have, and I hope you find your stay in her house comfortable. Hopefully, she hasn't left it as a mess."

"Oh hush, Juri san. You know better than anyone that I'm organized. There's no way I would leave my room as a mess – well, perhaps besides some Nintendo cartridges lying around on the floor in the living room." Izumi said but winced as she took a step forward.

"Are you alright, Love?" Ryuusei sama asked, immediately at her side with a hold around her shoulders.

"I'm good, don't worry." She responded with a smile before looking at Teddy san. "Thanks for all the help Teddy Bear. If you hadn't picked up the hints I sent through the pictures, we probably wouldn't have made it out alive."

"Anytime, Zuzu – you don't need to thank me for that. And stop calling me Teddy Bear!" Teddy san said and I frowned at the nickname he called Izumi by.

"Zuzu?" Ryuusei sama asked, his voice low and the air around him getting thick.

"It's the nickname I've earned from people in the past couple of years. Don't think about it too much." Izumi waved it off, having noticed the change in Ryuusei sama's deamenor.

"Okay, time to break up the round table conference. The cab's here." The middle aged woman interrupted and everybody looked at her. "You lazy bums should go now....before I start getting annoyed with your constant chatter and kick you out myself."

"Do you know who you are talking to, woman?! Do you have a death wish?! How dare you speak to His Highness that way!" Captain Haji stood up and reached for his dagger while glaring at the woman. I flinched and shuddered feeling suffocated by how malicious the air around Ryuusei sama and Captain Haji got but no one else seemed the least bit worried.

What was wrong with them?! Did they not know what Ryuusei sama could do to them??

"Calm down, Haji san, Ryuusei. These guys still don't believe my explanation of who you guys are so cut them some slack for their comments. Besides, you shouldn't take Obachan's words to heart – she talks like that to everyone. She's a tough woman to work with but she warms up to you once you get to know her." Izumi said and took a hold of Ryuusei's arm coolly.

"I don't care who she is or what personality she has, Izumi. She should know well to show me respect! I am the Emperor!" Ryuusei sama snarled and looked at the others as if he wished to kill them.

"That's the point – they are yet to believe that you're an Emperor so just ignore what they say." Izumi said, now sounding mildly irked. "I don't want to have any more arguments at the moment. Let's just go home for now, alright? Teddy, clothes; and the rest of you, out."

She didn't let anyone say another word and she pushed Ryuusei sama with a hand on his back towards the door through which we had entered.

"Um, shouldn't you change into something more....decent before we leave, Izumi?" Captain Haji asked while looking to the side embarrassed and Ryuusei sama stood between him and Izumi to block the view of her exposed skin.

"This is decent and you're going to see a lot of people wearing clothes like this, if not something more exposing. So stop acting all embarrassed and get used to it." Izumi said and walked towards the door whilst showing that she was not interested in hearing even another word from anyone in this room.

"People wear even more exposing clothes....is that normal?" I asked awkwardly.

"It is here. And it's the trending fashion." Izumi said.

Just as we stepped out of the door, we saw a big strange looking carriage waiting outside. It was a brilliant aquamarine blue and had no horses to pull it, just like the two wheeled carriage we had traveled on to this place. One part of it suddenly slid down to reveal a person sitting inside. It was a man, perhaps in his forties, smiling wide while looking at Izumi. He held up his hand in a wave and I noticed Izumi raise a brow as she looked at him.

"Yo, Zuzu! I heard you needed a cab to take you home so here it is! Driver Shuta, at your service!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welp! Izumi got punched and scolded for being reckless and getting hurt ^^' Juri san sure is scary when she's angry, isn't she? But definitely not enough to scare Izumi XD Look at her telling Juri san to beat her up more....

A lot of things are coming as a shock to our three Edo Era friends and their curiosity and behavior is funny and adorable. I wonder what they're going to say when they see stuff like the television and the stove and the cellphone and all the other gadgets we people use XD

And look at Ryuu chan getting all possessive >w> rawr! Calm down Ryuu chan, Izumi is yours and she's not going to flirt with anyone there XD Definitely not Teddy anyway!

And this was quite a long chapter, wasn't it? I didn't even realize how long it became until I typed the cliffhanger scene :P Well, hope you all enjoyed the longer chapter anyway!

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